The Journey to Self Discovery

This topic of spiritual abuse has echoed in my heart and mind for years, and lately, I've seen a rise in conversations on it through emails and social media. So many people share stories that sound familiar to my own, and I felt it was time to address it openly once again. Spiritual abuse is real, and if you’ve experienced it, know that you’re not alone. I lived under the heavy weight of spiritual abuse for 26 years. It scarred me and left me skeptical of churches or ministries that use intimidation and manipulation as tools of control. In my experience, spiritual abuse can involve a variety of tactics meant to silence, control, or manipulate followers. Here are just a few examples that I’ve personally encountered: Pressure to Stay Despite Burnout : A minister once told me that even though I was physically and emotionally burned out, leaving the ministry would mean losing all of my God-given gifts. Exclusive Teachings : A church I was involved in claimed that it alone had the “true...

If you’re feeling empty, you’re not alone. Many of us feel empty in different ways. For instance, you might feel empty because something is missing in your life, This might be emptiness from a loved one moving or passing away. You're stuck in a vicious cycle. You're down, depressed (not necessarily clinically). Because of that, you constantly feel unmotivated, tired, lethargic. You don't have the energy to get out there and try new things. Staying home doing nothing just makes your mood worse and worse. You need to find a way to break the cycle. You have to recognize that if you don't make a very serious effort then things are just going to get worse. The good news is I think that you already realize this. You know that you have a problem. You're looking for help. The other key is that you have to know beyond a doubt that you (and you alone) have the power to make things better. Or the emptiness might stem from slowly abandoning ourselves, not listening...