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Overcoming Spiritual Programming: The Journey From Fear To Freedom
Last updated on: June 11, 2020 at 5:52 pm by Cyndi Brannen
Overcoming Spiritual Programming: The Journey From Fear To Freedom 2020-06-11T17:52:10-04:00 Cyndi Brannen
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
We’ve been told what to think and how to be for too long. These are the days of reclaiming our power through spiritual freedom. To everyone who is deprogramming by finding truth in candles, crystals and decks of cards, I raise my broom to you. These are all steps on the road to spiritual freedom. Every time we choose to do what feels true instead of what we are told is correct, we move further from the fear that binds.
Recovering from spiritual programming includes embracing what is true to us, while resisting the attempts at control. It can be overwhelming at times. We want to get it right, and there’s no shortage of self-appointed experts out there ready to tell us what to do. There’s a lot of shade thrown at those new to spiritual seeking from the gatekeepers. This can be so off-putting to someone who is just starting to take those small steps on the road of discovering who they are. We’re often dealing with deprogramming from the religion we were raised in, and then these self-appointed gatekeepers are all too ready to tell us we’re wrong, again.
Those gatekeepers would have us believe that the practices and things that speak truth to us are wrong. They try to tell us that there is one right way to practice witchcraft. They are spiritual programmers, and they are no different than the dogmatic religions that we’re escaping from.
If you find spiritual meaning in creating an altar full of your favorite stuffed animals, that’s perfectly fine. Perhaps makeup speaks of the deeper world for you. Maybe your understanding of the sacred is different than what is written about. This is all perfectly legitimate. When we’re just starting out on our path, we can be recovering from religions that sought to keep us under control out of fear of our own power, and who wielded their power by making us afraid. We don’t need more of that nonsense. However, recovering from this fear, and moving to our own spiritual freedom is a journey that many even within the witch world attempt to block.
Believing that there is one right way to practice witchcraft (or any form of spirituality) is a symptom of spiritual programming, which is indoctrinating individuals until they believe that their own experiences and knowledge are unimportant or wrong. Spiritual programming is based on fear: those who instill it fear us and seek to control us through their methods, while we, out of fear, fall into their traps. Spiritual freedom occurs when we realize that we have a choice in what we believe and practice.

About Cyndi Brannen
Cyndi Brannen, PhD, is a healer, teacher and author focusing on personal development, spirituality and true magic. Founder of the Keeping Her Keys Mystery School, she teaches and writes about the true magic of healing and personal power. You can read more about the author here.
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