(This is Part 5 of my personal series: "The Light I Found In The Dark").
When you're clawing your way out of the dark, you'll try almost anything.
I did.
Therapists. Journals. Mantras. Shadow work. Salt baths. I read the books. Burned the sage. Chased the moon phases like my life depended on them. Sometimes, it felt like it did.
But here’s the truth: Not everything that’s popular is helpful. And not everything that’s “healing” is actually yours to carry.
There were things that didn’t save me:
❌ Being told to “just think positive”
❌ Over-spiritualized readings that ignored my real pain
❌ Teachers who demanded blind faith instead of building trust
❌ Spaces that sold “alignment” without offering structure
❌ Practices that felt beautiful on Instagram but hollow in my hands
There were moments I wondered if maybe I wasn’t spiritual enough. Maybe I was too skeptical. Too damaged. Too logical. But then I realized - My discernment was never a flaw. It was my compass.
What did save me?
✔️ Learning how to sit with discomfort without numbing it
✔️ Finding quiet, honest spiritual tools that helped me process (Meditation & Journaling)
✔️ Crystals that didn’t just “look pretty,” but grounded me (My affinity with Smoky Quartz)
✔️ Tarot spreads that gave me language for emotions I didn’t know how to name
✔️ Astrology that showed me patterns I could work with, not escape from
✔️ Rituals that weren’t aesthetic but anchoring
✔️ Returning to my body. Again and again and again.
I realized I didn’t need to “raise my vibration.” I needed to return to my center. To reclaim my intuition and stop handing it over to anyone with a louder voice.
What worked wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t trendy. It was consistent. Quiet. Deep. It was mine.
If you’ve ever tried all the “right” things and still felt lost… If you’ve ever bought the sage and read the books and wondered, Why isn’t it working for me?
Please hear this:
You’re not failing. You’re refining. You’re remembering what your truth actually feels like. You don’t need more noise. You need resonance. And that, I believe, is what sacred work is really about.
With clarity,
Eileen