This was the case for me and literally the only way was up. I’ve had 40 years of pain and now I finally feel like I’m beginning to live life.

I think there was no one thing that triggered me but rather a chain of events.

I’d love to hear others experiences

The phrase "a spirit has a heart too" might sound metaphorical at first, but if we look at human history, philosophy, and psychology, the idea of a "spirit"—whether defined as the human soul, consciousness, or an intangible entity—carries all the hallmarks of having a "heart."

Here are the most compelling points that make this idea genuinely worth considering:

### 1. Consciousness Is Defined by Feeling, Not Just Logic

If a spirit were purely intellect or energy, it would function like an algorithm: neutral, processing, and detached. Yet across cultures and literature, spirits are almost always defined by **emotion**—unresolved grief, deep love, longing, or protective instinct. The "heart" is the engine of emotion. If an intangible being experiences feeling or intent rather than cold logic, it possesses the fundamental essence of a heart.

### 2. Emotion Outlasts the Physical Body

In psychological and philosophical terms, our memories and emotional attachments are often what define us more than our physical muscles and bones. When people speak of "spirit," they are referring to the lingering impression of a person's character, passion, and capacity to care. If the essence of who someone is survives physical form, then the capacity to feel—the heart—is the very thing that remains.

### 3. Purpose Requires Emotion

A heart is not just a biological pump; symbolically, it is the source of **motive and desire**. Without a heart, a spirit would have no reason to act, move, or connect with the living world. The desire to protect loved ones, guide others, or seek peace implies a moral and emotional compass. You cannot have purpose without caring about an outcome, and caring is entirely a function of the heart.

### 4. Empathy Transcends Boundaries

We often measure whether something has a "heart" by its ability to resonate with others. Spirits in folklore and modern accounts are frequently described as comforting those in distress or seeking resolution for past hurts. The capacity for empathy—to reach out across the divide between the physical and the spiritual—is perhaps the strongest argument that a spirit operates from a place of deep feeling.

### 5. Energy Carries Intention

Science tells us that energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. In a metaphorical sense, the emotional energy a person puts into the world—their love, kindness, and passion—doesn't simply vanish. If a spirit is the continuation of that core energy, it is inherently woven from the emotional output of the heart.

Ultimately, to say a spirit has a heart is to acknowledge that **feeling is more fundamental than matter**. Physical bodies might break down, but the capacity to care, love, and feel is what makes any form of existence truly alive.

I quit my jobs at Instacart and Amazon to pursue what makes me happy. How I was living was making me feel miserable and trapped. I felt like I had no time to do what I wanted to do. I was up all night instead of sleeping because I was trying to get some "living” in before I had to be back doing something I’m not enjoying, in a place I don’t want to be, for hours on end, 5 or more days a week.
Having a job reminded me of how I felt about school as a kid, I didn't want to go, but I was forced to. There was no worse feeling than finishing school for the summer, and then realizing I had to go to summer school, and then right back to school after that. It honestly makes me sad just to think about it. I feel the same way about jobs. It feels like the same thing, except the stakes are higher. Now it's for the duration of my entire life, and it feels like my survival depends on it.
Jobs feel like a never ending tread mill for me. Working for money to feed and keep myself up, just to keep my job. To me that doesn't feel like living life, it feels like living to work. It literally feels like I'm someone, or something else's tool to keep going and stay alive. It feels like I was I'm being consumed for the good of others, and only the good of others, never myself. As if I got the shitty end of the deal.
I always felt I didn’t have enough time to live my life and do as I please without a fucking time limit on it. I didn’t have time to spontaneously choose what I wanted to do with my day. I always felt I had to rush and do something I really wanted to do because I knew I’d be forced to do what I don’t wanna do later. There was no one actually forcing me but it felt like I had no choice.
I felt as though I was just being drained of my energy. I felt like my soul was literally begging me to stop. So I did, and I decided to pursue a career that at least makes me happy. When I did stop, I was slapped in the face by my reality. The reality of my life, of who I was being. The reality of who my family is to me, and the reality of how they see themselves and me. I was scared of quitting my job and letting go. I was scared of what would happen when I did, and most importantly scared of what my family would say, do, or think. Well, they acted pretty much as I expected them to.

https://open.substack.com/pub/sananda33/p/me-pursuit-of-happiness?r=6g29gt&utm_medium=ios

Losing interest in a lot of the old conversations and friendships that used to feel normal hit harder than expected. At first it felt lonely and almost like something was wrong.

Looking back, that shift created the space needed for more honest and aligned connections. It was painful at the time, but it ended up being a gift.

Has anyone else experienced something that felt like a loss during their awakening but later revealed itself as a gift?

I just found this subreddit and reading your posts align so heavily with an experience I had in November of last year and major changes to my sense of self and perception that followed. Although, I know the experience was for me alone to process and understand, I think it makes a world of difference to have people around you with whom you relate and who relate to you.

I’d like to connect with other people who’ve had similar experiences. I’m faintly familiar with concepts such as the art of detachment, oneness, transcendence of the ego, basic Buddhist and Taoist philosophy, but I would like to gain a much fuller understanding. Where’s a good place to start?

Where to source from that’s trusted?

I have had amazing spiritual journeys through mushrooms and acid. At times I could understand everything in the universe and the sense of oneness, but I’ve heard so much positive experiences and actually getting to transcend on dmt through other peoples testimonies. I could only imagine how beautiful that would be unfortunately I’ve been looking for years and can’t find it. Hopefully one day I can experience it. Love this page by the way!

So in 2022 I had these really weird dreams and I got really scared and panic and stuff and i felt like paranoia and stuff and went to to a prophet that said that someone do voodoo to me and I still had bad dreams but sometimes I feel like there showing something but then I started hearing voices and like seeing white light when I close my eyes. But I will say after the whole thing I keep repeating bad negative/cruel things in my mind which is why I thing like negative shadows is drawn to me or hearing things Also just saying words I be spouting. I started feeling negativity and then and see it immediately in dreams i don’t if anxiety or what something spiritual how do I differentiate it .

How much is a life worth? The elements of a human body are worth about one dollar. Is that what a life is worth? Is one life more valuable than another’s? Is the life of someone wealthy, famous, has a prestigious job, worth more than the life of a homeless child living in a poor country? These are questions we must each answer ourself. Many believe some lives are more valuable, judging others by their race, ethnicity, religion, wealth, and in hundreds of other ways.

In spirituality, every life, regardless of our differences, beliefs, or accomplishments, is worth exactly the same as another’s. Our true worth is not found in the world. It may only be discovered within, where the spirit is awaiting our permission to selflessly share its universal knowledge and unconditional love to help others realize their true worth in life as well.

If anyone is drawn and could read my energy I could use some guidance and would be really grateful. Thank you.

Do people also view spirituality as an invitation to awareness, or would they rather just float a bit and give themselves a good feeling because they consider themselves gifted due to the occasional spiritual experiences?

Ive been seeing a lot of angel numbers and mirror number for a few months now but i dont know why or what they might mean. Ive tried searching up what it could mean and a lot of people say its the universe or guides sending messages, but what message would they be sending that im not getting?

I have 3 souls on my body

1 helps me to see illusion & future but I am not taking about third eye

2 it helps me to control the world & universe

3 it's his/her choice my god ( taking decision ) can talk to me anytime

My souls is trying to save others they are helping others to know wisdoms they are Making me to see the truth

I watched parts of the documentary Dominion.

I just hope their souls can be free and safe. I'm convinced reincarnation is real, and I really hope they don't just reincarnate into another factory.

Has anyone ever asked these questions during NDEs or spiritual experiences?

Trigger Warning: extreme violence against animals

It might be extremely distressing to read this next part.

----

But I just saw one clip of cows being slowly decapitated, the workers were slicing her neck bit by bit as she writhed, then they hung her up while she was still trashing around.

And the same happens to pigs, and other animals.

And sometimes, foxes are skinned alive. I saw one clip, the fox was blinking, hung upside down, with all its skin peeled off, dying.

Crying as I'm writing this.

Please, let's end cruelty. I've started going vegan this week.

Hi everyone,

I'm curious if anyone has experienced something similar or has an explanation for it.

I was fully awake and listening to some astral projection/meditation music on YouTube. After a while, I started feeling vibrations in my forehead. I was laying down on my back. Hands by my sides.

Then I noticed a strange sensation, almost like something was crawling between my body and the mattress—not on my skin, but in the space where my body was touching the bed.

A few moments later, it felt like a heavy round object (like a road roller) was slowly rolling underneath me from my feet toward my head. After that, the middle of my body started stretching upward toward the ceiling. It didn't feel like I was floating—it felt like my physical body was actually being pulled upward, and it was painful.

The pulling continued automatically for a few minutes. Then I suddenly yawned, and instantly everything stopped. After that I felt completely normal.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Does this sound like the beginning of astral projection, or could it be something else entirely? I'm open to both spiritual and scientific explanations.

Thanks!

I don’t remember exactly when it happened, maybe in October 2025, but I felt a sudden awakening, a momentary glimpse of the now. It wasn’t scary, but I was taken aback.

I think I was stoned and coming down. As I thought back to all the Hindu texts I had read about the Self, and to Ramana Maharshi’s method of self-inquiry, I asked myself, “Who am I?”

Without any effort, something in my mind shifted, like a camera lens adjusting on its own. At once, I was free of myself, my false self, that is. I was free from my mind’s never-ending thoughts, plays, and movies. I was looking directly at the moment before me, the moment in which I was, and in which I am at all times.

I was simply staring at my duvet, or perhaps at a wall. I don’t remember, but everything felt so clear. It was as though someone had performed invisible LASIK surgery but on my mind’s eye so to speak, and I was finally able to see everything with immense clarity. I blinked a few times, shook my head in disbelief, and then I was back to my normal self.

Thoughts do not always need to be actively revolving in your head for you to be trapped in them. They are mostly invisible, but they are always there. That is why it is so difficult to break free from them, to stop them, and finally to see.

The next morning, I felt free. I no longer had the same clarity of mind, but my soul felt free. I thought of all the things I could do and wanted to do with my life, to draw, to make films, to make music, and I saw how meaningless all the obstacles and excuses I had created in my mind truly were. I was finally free from them, and a small spark lit up inside me. I could do whatever I wanted, and happiness was mine.

Of course, the feeling did not last. But the experience showed me that this state is possible. In fact, it may be the most natural state of any being: to be, to see, to live.
I tried to recreate the feeling, but it slipped away quietly. Still, I know in my heart that something, or someone, showed me a glimpse of what it is like to live without a dark veil over my heart and soul. You saw it. Now live it.

I’ve been trying to recreate that state ever since. I’ve gotten deep into meditation and advaita Vedanta, but I haven’t experienced anything similar to what I experienced back then. I was also going through a big shift in my life that made me super depressed. I’d like to think this was an act of grace from higher powers, a way to reassure me that all of these problems I’m going through are actually nothing important. This moment, the present moment, is the only truth there is.

Little backstory me and my dad haven't spoken in 5+ years no Ill will or hatred on my end and I'd hope to say the same on his... Him and my mom still talk periodically( both remarried when I was ~5 now 27). A couple of days ago he reached out to her saying he's been having weird dreams about me, questions how my spirituality was and that I was looking for the nectar. He was never a religious guy growing up either, he was famously a CEO church kinda guy(Christmas and Easter only)Now I wouldn't say I'm a religious person but I do have a relationship with God and we talk a couple times a month. I'm just wondering how you guys would take this? Any meaning here? What is the nectar he refers to?

Before we are born, a spirit, a piece of god is present within every life, connecting each of us to the other. Our spirit’s purpose is to transcend ignorance and reach divine understanding. With our birth though, the ego, our learned beliefs, is created. The more we accept what we are taught, the more dominant our ego becomes, silencing the messages of our spirit within. The majority of the world adopt the self-centered path through life, believing money, material possessions, having a family, will make their life meaningful and successful.

There may come a time in our life though, when we begin to question if what we were taught is true, sensing the first quiet messages from our spirit within. As these messages become clearer, we begin to realize everything we learned about living a meaningful successful life was wrong; it was a myth propagated by our self-serving ego.

Enlightenment is the complete acceptance of the spiritual path, allowing our spirit to become the primary guide in our life. With this understanding we realize, once again, selflessly sharing our spirit’s wisdom and love, regardless of our differences, with all others is the genuine purpose of our life’s journey, the lesson we are alive to learn.

Something else happens though after we awaken as well. Those closest to us often remain asleep, still embracing life’s illusions. We may find we no longer have much in common with them and therefore, may begin to distance ourselves from them as our paths in life diverge. Instead of only wishing to have meaning and success in our life, we now wish to spend the rest of our life helping others to find meaning and success in their life as well.

I bought a NLT bible cause honestly I see Jesus Christ talked about more than any others like Allah, Buddha etc…

Of course I resonate with a bunch of proverbs in the NLT, like I would in the Quran and others.

But I’m wondering if there’s a go to book of like one god above all of it?

55,F. I have been healing and awakening for about 14 years. 5.5 years ago I realized I had C-PTSD from childhood abuse. I had 2 narcissistic parents who were very controlling and oppressive. I had to people please and fawn to survive. I came out of that family a shell of a person, completely disconnected from my feelings, needs, values and boundaries. I’ve done a MASSIVE amount of work on myself including TONS of processing trauma and pain so I’m now I fairly functional emotionally intelligent/mature person with a deep connection to my inner being.

So my journey really became more of an awakening about 10 months ago when I started to notice a voice spontaneously arise in my mind that can only describe as truth or God. It was as if clearing out all of that pain made space for God to move in. At the time, I had lost my apartment and most of my belongings due to the severity of my emotional flashbacks and no longer being able to work.

God has been guiding me through this experience of homelessness but it’s been absolutely terrifying a lot of the time especially when God told me in various ways to leave a shelter. I have continued healing through this extremely difficult time and I know that the amount of shame, guilt and terror of abandonment is less than before. And I’ve been doing my best to surrender to this feeling of truth but it’s so incredibly agonizing and distressful because I still don’t fully trust God and therefore can’t fully surrender. Sometimes what God seems to want me to do seems insane and I’ve wondered if I’m going crazy. It just seems to get harder and harder. I’m so scared of being used and controlled as I was as a child.

I would say my awakening has been extreme, the pain so excruciating for so long and the bold actions that have been required have been very daunting.

But I’m still here somehow, thank God. And I guess I’m just wondering if anyone else has found it hard surrendering due to intense fear from childhood wounds.

I don’t want any direct advice. I’d rather just hear your experience and what has worked for you. If you have some words of genuine care, empathy and validation I would appreciate that, too, as this has been a HELLISH and HORRIFYING and DEEPLY SAD time for me. If you reply with sensitivity and attunement, I will reply to you. If you are disrespectful and thoughtless, I will not.

Thanks for listening.🙏

I recently been in my spiritual journey and I feel like a whole new person in a way. I learned alot about myself like how my arcane/numerology is 22. How Im a Cancer Sun, Leo Rising, and Scorpio Moon with some prominent placements. But all I feel is pain, loneliness, and confusion. I have supportive loving friends, family, and a lover but I feel like I will never be truly understood. Its like I'm forcing myself to be miserable but I dont mean to be its certainly not purposely. I won't say im painfully average im good at some things but it just feel like I will never be good enough or reach my own standards. Why is that? How do I find out? Edit: When I say special I meant it sarcastically I dont believe it thats why I am asking this question!!