546. The Spiritual Ride Can Get Bumpy | Unexpected Challenges Along the Path

Kara Goodwin: Hello and welcome to Soul Elevation Guiding Your Ascension to New Heights. I'm your host, Kara Goodwin, and I'm excited to be here with you today on Friday, January 23rd, 2026. I have a few things that I wanna talk about that go together and, but they're, they might seem interrelated or they might not seem so interrelated.

So I wanna talk about your spiritual progression because a lot of times when we are on a spiritual path, we may think that it's gonna be. You know, maybe we found somebody who's teaching us and we think that they're gonna take us straight through to enlightenment, that we've found this path, that we've found the right way.

Often it's not a straight shot. Um, and if we find ourselves, I know in my experience, [00:01:00] if when I, anytime I've thought like, oh, this is gonna take me all the way, I'm gonna go from here to enlightenment, or whatever you wanna call the end goal to ascension whatever it is that. That belief was something that I had to overcome in order to keep going.

It was, it ultimately kept me stuck and kind of spinning my wheels in, uh, in the same thing. So that's something to watch out for. But, sorry, I've got my, my notes here. If you see me looking down, if you're watching the video, um. But there's also the reflection that we get as we keep moving along our path.

There's the society factor and there's the breaking away from that and that that can cause us some stress and some challenges along the way. So those are two pieces that I wanna talk about. Um. Let's start with your spiritual progression. Now, if you're watching this, [00:02:00] you are on some sort of spiritual path and, and it's a wide variety of ways that that could show up for you.

I'm gonna talk a little bit about my experience because I think that a lot of people have experiences like this and there are things that we don't always notice when we're in it. So sometimes we have to. Look in on somebody else's experience, see their experience, and then tie it to what's going on with us.

Now. When I first started awakening years ago, um, I joined a spiritual organization and that organization. Really helped me with those foundations. Um, and specifically they were using the teachings of Par Yogananda, who I think is a, a great, great spiritual. Master. He had mastered himself spiritually, and this was an [00:03:00] organization.

There are several organizations who, who are continuing his work. He actually died in 1952, but there are still organizations that use his methods. Use what? Use his legacy, use what he's left behind. 'cause there are a lot of talks. There's, you know, he's the author of Autobiography of a Yogi and I had really.

Profound, uh, awakenings through that, through his work and through that organization. One thing I was thinking about this morning that was really powerful that I hadn't thought about in a while is. I had been advised to look at his, look at a photograph of Yogananda and just stare into his eyes and allow a transmission because there can still be a transmission through the, the photographed eyes of, of a master her and.

I, again, very early in my path. I was still living [00:04:00] in Italy at the time, and, and I moved from, I moved away from Italy in, uh, 2018, so this was probably 20 17, 20 18, but I looked, I gazed into his eyes and I am telling you, I felt. Energy move into my eyeballs and go down my vagus nerve. I didn't even know what a vagus nerve was back then, but I could feel these waves of energy coming in through my eyes and moving down my nervous system, and it was wave after wave.

It was the most interesting thing. It was so special. I never was able to get it to happen again. So it happened one time and then I thought, oh my God, this is so powerful. I'm gonna do this all the time. And it was a, for me, it was a one time thing. [00:05:00] So, but it just goes to show the power of spiritual masters, you know, again, he's been off this planet by that time for almost, for 65 years.

So I received a lot initially from the organization. The organization, um, saw Yogananda as a guru and that lineage as a guru, which is not unusual. You know, there are a lot of organizations, especially if they have a, an Indian, um, relation. You know, that's a very common structure in India is to have a guru and.

But what I found is that because the content was, you know, it was fixed. So all the lectures that he'd given, all the books that he had written, they were what they were [00:06:00] and there was not new content coming in. And the organization. Leaned into that, you know, they were like, we're not gonna pretend that we found some magic, you know, new document of his and, uh, you know, to try to keep things fresh or whatever.

But they would continue to take those same teachings and apply it to, and encourage you to imply it to your life. And that, that did help me for a while. But I did notice I had to be honest with myself after a while. It was this rehashing, rehashing and rehashing, and I noticed that I really wasn't getting.

What I, that it wasn't quenching my thirst the way it did in the beginning, and I really had to be honest with myself about that. And if, if I would talk to people within the organization, especially, you know, leaders [00:07:00] in the organization about that, they would reassure me. That this was the fastest path.

Don't be tempted off this path. This is the one true master, the one true way to, again, whatever you wanna call it, ascension, enlightenment. I don't think they used either of those terms. Self-realization, that's what they would say, and I believed that for a while. But the way that I see it. Right or wrong, I'm not saying that this is absolutely sure.

This is my perspective and my experience after going through my own work. But humanity is changing very rapidly and it has been changing very rapidly, and this planet is changing very rapidly. The sun is delivering new codes all the time that adjust us at a consciousness level, our [00:08:00] consciousness, our level of consciousness is individuals, and as a collective is changing.

We are not the same. Energy as a, an individual and as a collective as we were a hundred years ago. And so those teachings were aimed at a level of consciousness that was applicable a hundred years ago. And I believe that if you know a spiritual master such as Yogananda, we're still living today, he would be adapting his guidance, his message.

To adjust for what is happening today. And I was not, so things just, it's not that I was seeing the teachings as irrelevant or. Inaccurate. I still think they're very sacred, but I was pushing up against some sort of ceiling where it was [00:09:00] like, okay, I get it. You know, I, and there's more that I wanna explore.

There's so much out there. There's the Enneagram, there's Jean keys, there's human design, there's, you know, there's a lot of things that didn't exist back then that still can. They're still valid, even though they didn't exist and he didn't teach them. And I found this a similar thing. So anyway, I, I, uh, kind of separated from that, not out of any sort of, you know, they're wrong, but just out of a, a desire to keep growing and to keep exploring.

For me, I wanna be. Pushed in terms of, um, I want, like my intellect wants to keep experiencing different things. I don't wanna keep rehashing the same thing that com Some people might find that comforting and comfortable and they wanna go deep into something and they don't [00:10:00] wanna have a lot of distractions.

And that's not wrong. That's just how they're built. But for me. I kind of get the, I get the core of it and I get what I get out of it. And then I notice if it's not that I still have this like flame within me that wants to be stoked and that re repetition and the same old thing isn't stoking the flame.

And for me, understanding who I am and how I'm built, which is something that I see in hindsight. It wasn't something that I was conscious of at the time. But I needed more stimulation. I needed some things that were going to, uh, challenge my intellect or give me something new to think about and to consider and apply to my life, and I couldn't get that.

I recognized I wasn't getting that. I was on a hamster wheel. So it's something that I encourage you. To take into consideration. And again, you may be designed [00:11:00] that you may be in some sort of organization and you may have been in it for decades, and it may be doing you, it may be giving you exactly what you need.

You may have comfort and that's what you need. And in my opinion, if we're too comfortable, we might not be growing. And so that's something you really wanna be honest with yourself about. Are you comfortable? Are you still able to grow or are you hiding? Are you letting safety get in the way of your own growth?

And I can't answer that for you. Nobody can answer that for you. That's something that you really need to go within, connect with yourself within, be honest with yourself, and then take action. So the. I then you can read about this in my book, your Authentic Awakening. I joined an organization, a different organization.

There was two or three years in between this, uh, [00:12:00] you know, these two organizations. But this one, I wouldn't really say the other one was a cult, but this one, I would say in hindsight, was a cult. And there are, you know, again, it was a. You know, don't look outside of this organization. Go deep in this organization.

There was some, you know, don't, if, if your family and friends aren't, uh, aren't supporting you and they're saying you're in a cult, you know, disconnect from them, let go of those ties. So I've been through that too, where I thought that I found something that was really helpful. I got some great. Insights into new spiritual teachings that I had never come across before.

And they felt very powerful. They felt very advanced. And that's what they were saying. These are really advanced mystery school teachings and so forth, and there was more and more control. [00:13:00] The deeper you got into it, the, the closer you got to the center of this organization, the more toxic it became. Um, and.

That was a, a really eye-opening experience. It was a different experience, but it was something that felt really. Uh, like it was really challenging me. So that kind of, that part of me that I was explaining before where it's like, I wanna learn new things, I wanna be challenged. Well, this was like providing me a ton of new information and challenging me.

And so the realization that I had to come to with that organization was, oh wait, they're siphoning from me. They are asking for all my attention, all of my, um. Energy, they're wanting me to bring more people in. You know, they're asking people to in invite people. Actually, to be honest, that was something [00:14:00] that I did.

I wasn't in this organization very long, to be honest. Um, but I became friends with people who were in it, who as they started to defect, um, because of their experiences and the warning signs that were increasing within them. They were experiencing, okay, we've been asked to recruit and they were really taking advantage of people.

And he, the amount that they were charging for retreats for, uh, online courses for, I mean, it was extortion. And they were saying if you, uh, you know, not only do you get this course, but you're helping us to. Uh, spread our mission, spread our message to bring the new Earth and all of this stuff so that ultimately I was able to see clearly that that was toxic.

But it took [00:15:00] me a while because of things that I write about in the book. I'm not gonna go into it, you know, hugely today 'cause that's not the point, but. It was another challenge along my path. It was something that was giving me what I recognized I needed from my first experience, you know, filling some of those gaps of the, the new information and the, you know, kind of advanced quote unquote advanced teachings.

Um, but it sort of led me into a, a toxic environment and that was, that was challenging that. Was hard, that was hurtful. It was, uh, you know, you feel foolish. You feel like maybe every, maybe the whole thing is fake. Maybe all of spirituality is fake and I've just fallen for it. And, but ultimately it became the grist in the mill, and it helped [00:16:00] me to become more empowered because I had handed over so much of my power to these people that I'd become convinced were very spiritually advanced and were gonna help me advance so fast.

I was like, okay, I trust you. Whatever you say I'm gonna trust and I'm gonna do, and. I, through that experience, through that, that handing over of my power. I am now, I mean, if you've watched my content, you know how much I'm, I'm trying to encourage people to really come into their power to really get to know themselves at the soul level and to let that be what expresses through you.

And I practice this all the time too, and I'm very conscientious about. The programming, how easy it is for people to get programmed and you know, being my own person and really [00:17:00] letting Pure source light, letting God, letting my higher self radiate through me, through my words, through my being, through my expression.

And that's really important to me, and it's important for me to encourage other people also of. How critical that is to our spiritual development. So the last piece to this that I wanted to bring forth is the societal factor, because however you're moving through your spiritual development, whether you're early in your path, whether you've been going for a long time, the deeper you go into your.

Empowerment into the fulfillment of yourself as a spiritual being, the less it's gonna be reflected in society. So it's really easy for us to live a material life where we're caught up in the fads and the the things that are [00:18:00] popular, the things that we're told to care about, whether that's what's happening politically or.

What's happening with our health that we're getting these guidance from the, the big, you know, let's call it Western, uh, perspective about how to handle the, our own health, whatever it might be, whether it's celebrity news or who knows, but you know what it's like to be a human and. There's the popular trending things that are happening, and when you are on your spiritual path and you're nurturing that aspect of you, you naturally realize what a distraction that is and that it's really not feeding your soul.

It really feeds the ego part. It feeds that. The physical aspect of ourselves, the material aspect of ourselves, but that's the [00:19:00] temporary part of ourselves. It's not the soul. And a lot of people are caught up. The majority of people are caught up in the illusion of society, in the illusion of politics, the illusion of the news, the illusion of.

Um, trends, you know, how you're supposed to present yourself. Once you start to disconnect from that, you start to, your, um, interest and participation in those things goes down. And as such, it becomes harder to see reflections of yourself in the outer world. So when you're wanting to engage with content, for example, you want some downtime.

I know I come up against this, like I've got some [00:20:00] downtime, I wanna watch something, you know, and just kind of chill out. If I turn my TV on. It's like I have to switch over to a different part of myself and, um, Hey Michelle, it's good to see you. Thank you. Um, so it's, it's like I have to switch over to, okay, well this is how I'm gonna be entertained today.

I'll watch whatever, you know, whatever's on, but it's not gonna be nurturing to my soul. And if I want to. Nurture my soul. Then I, I seek out the content that will, so for example, you know, the, the, this podcast maybe has some content that you wanna listen to in your downtime, but this type of content is not what is being plastered everywhere.

You know, there's not, you're not gonna see it in commercials during the Super [00:21:00] Bowl, you know, so you have to do your part to be able to find it. And this content, this type of content is not reinforcing that material side of you. It's not telling you, well, if you wanna advance, then get this, you know, this cream that you can put on your face and it's going to, you know, give you everything you want in terms of, uh, spiritual aura.

I dunno, I'm totally making that up, but it's not. It is not reinforcing what you're seeing in a capitalist society. There is also the reality of the expansion of consciousness, the strengthening of your own consciousness, and how that works against society. And the powers that be, the powers that control know this, and they're, [00:22:00] they're intentionally.

Not supporting it. And there is something that is called, 

Shadow Banning.

Speaker: And if you, you know, there is some indication that that is happening with this channel in particular where you're not totally taken off. But the things that you say represent enough of a concern because you're not plugged into the narrative and you're actively working against it.

And so there's not the outright taking it away, but it says, we're not gonna offer it. We're not. We're gonna make it harder to find. So you can still find me. But things that help with that, with my content or content like mine that you recognize is supporting your growth is feeding your soul. And helping [00:23:00] you to advance things like subscribing, things like liking the video, things like sharing.

I know many more of you listen to the podcast, then watch it. So if you are listening to this. You know, doing a review on whatever platform, if it's Apple or Spotify or whatever that is, giving a a five star review, sharing, all of those things are really, really helpful. But they also help to reinforce within society, to strengthen this within society.

Because if we are nurturing and, and. Kind of the way that I'm seeing it is like we're kind of gathering and helping to put some momentum behind what it is that actually feeds that part of ourselves that we wanna see more of. Then it strengthens it for others. So it [00:24:00] also does help to tell the technology behind the scenes people wanna see things like this and that can, it can help to turn the tide.

So, so that it makes things more popular and it makes things more easily found by the people who are looking for things like that. So it is something to think about. Simple ways that you can help support and you can help to change the face of. What society is offered, because there are a lot of people, I, I don't, I mean, it's easy when, when you are on your own path and you are awakening within yourself and you're kind of letting go of some of the things that the mainstream, you know, they're just pulled around by their noses.

It, it's really easy for the powers that be to just manipulate and say, this is what you care about now. [00:25:00] And this is what your behavior should be to, you know, reinforce that. And when you're pulled out of that, it can be hard to remember that things kind of have to land in the lap of the masses for them to ever even see it, for them to ever even consider it and to start to be open to it.

So, um, yeah, that's, that's. The push and pull. You know, it's, it's interesting for us to pull away from some of those societal things, but there's also the, the aspect of you that won't see that reflection. You'll see your own reflection less and less in the outer world, which can cause some. Doubts. It can cause some heartache.

It can cause you to not feel like you're relating so much to people. [00:26:00] But the really amazing thing is that as you continue to grow and evolve, you may not resonate so much with people that you used to resonate with, meaning that you may not wanna spend as much time with them because they, you don't relate to them as much anymore, but.

It's okay to let that let those things go. It doesn't have to be a big argument. You don't have to put them down, you don't have to judge them, but it's really just around recognizing the types of conversations that you enjoy, the types of activities that you enjoy that could be evolving. As you evolve, you know, for example, maybe you used to really enjoy going to the clubs and you know, being the prettiest or most handsome person there, and really striving to be the hottest person there.

And then as you're going through your awakening, you may recognize that that doesn't really matter and you may care less and less about that. You may [00:27:00] not wanna spend as much time focused on those things as you used to, but then. You might not relate to the people that you used to do that with, but as you let those things go, new people will come in that match where you are now, and it's really beautiful how that happens.

You start to find the people that you do resonate with and so don't be afraid to let go. Of the people who might be holding you back or that you don't resonate so much with. As you continue to grow, know that that's a natural part of the process and you will find people who nurture who you are becoming.

So I'm really grateful to spend this time with you. Thank you so much for being here, for listening. If you're listening to the audio, if you're watching the [00:28:00] recording, thank you so much. I wish you many, many blessings, and I will see you next time. 

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Soul Elevation. If someone in your life would be inspired or uplifted by what you heard today, please take a moment to share it with them. These are the kind of conversations that ripple out and elevate collective consciousness.

And if you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss the powerful episodes ahead. Your presence, energy and support truly help amplify this mission of raising frequency and anchoring in a more awakened humanity. Thank you for your support, and I'll see you for the next episode of Soul Elevation. 

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