How To Connect With Your Soul For Inner Growth

There are inevitable moments where life speaks to us in ways our mind could not explain but our soul intuitively understands.

The past four years have been a pivotal time for me and it had me realized the importance of connecting with my soul to keep myself together. My childhood traumas resurfaced and I had to deal with them while also going through uncertainties in raising my daughter who can’t walk, talk, and play like other kids. It never came to me to be resentful about it though, because it was also the season my soul grew the most. Had I not gone through that, I wouldn’t have learned to listen, connect with my soul, and see beyond the reflection of myself. And even though I had to endure too much pain and suffering, I would never trade the person I am today because of that. I gained a new set of eyes that could see through the depths of my heart.

While I write topics about personal growth and mental health mostly here, I wouldn’t be able to squeeze the words I need for that if soul growth or spirituality is not my foundation. I’ve always been a ‘from the inside out’ person and I didn’t learn the things I share because I wanted to improve myself but because building a relationship with myself is one of my top priorities.

4 Ways to Connect with Your Soul for Inner Growth

One of my visions for Shifting Psyche is to become a place on the internet where people can find guidance and companionship on their journey to soul growth. If there has to be a particular starting point, based on what I have experienced, it is to recognize that we have a soul and learn to connect with it.

The soul can never delay nor rush its timing. We can only surrender to the process it needs to go through until we become one with it. Moreover, a gentle start and small steps always bring out the best results in the long run. Here are my 4 tips you can try to connect with your soul.

1. Have a conversation with yourself every day

One thing I learned in those difficult years was nobody could help me exactly the way I needed it except myself. Our soul is our ultimate friend and help for life. It is the only person we can run to when we see ourselves without anybody while life around us falls apart. By having a conversation with yourself, you are also having a conversation with your soul. Doing this every day helps you familiarize yourself with your soul’s presence and energy. 

You and your soul are one. You can connect with your soul by talking to yourself in front of a mirror or sitting in a private place the way you sit with a confidante. Start with simple questions like ‘How are you?’ or ‘How’s your day been?’ and try to answer back with honesty. You can also say comforting words if that’s what you need. Say things to yourself with words you would say to a friend. All relationships start with a simple conversation that gets deeper as it happens every day. This is also true in building a relationship with yourself. The more time you communicate with yourself, the clearer you hear and connect with your soul.

2. Reduce the attention and importance you give to worldly things

When we are swamped with noises and distractions from the world, it can be a struggle to hear and connect with our soul. The soul does not belong to the physical world, and all material things, both needs and wants, separate us from the soul. Though it is impossible to completely remove these things from our lives, we can reduce the attention and attachment we give to them.

One thing I recommend is to reduce dependence (or addiction) to social media. About 95% of what we see on our screens is litter and only 5% are really helpful to us (stuff we need to purchase for example). After I deleted my personal social media accounts last year (I still have accounts for business), I realized that keeping up with other people’s lives was a waste of time and energy. It also distracted me from working on my goals. But things gradually changed for me after quitting social media. I can now focus on worthwhile things I’ve been delaying for a long time like taking my blog to the next level and sitting back on the novel I started writing two years ago.

You can also separate your needs from wants and let go of the things that do not add value to your soul. Try to minimize everything — from thoughts that don’t help you heal, to the things you buy but don’t really need. Reducing the energy we use to satisfy the ego caters more space for the soul. It won’t be easy in the beginning, but once you get along with this significant lifestyle shift, you’ll feel more comfortable with having less. Prioritizing your soul-needs requires intention and discipline, and as your attachment to things weakens, you’ll connect with your soul more easily.

3. Spend more time in nature

All of us are created by the same Source that created the heavens, the ground, and everything we see in nature. Have you ever wondered why breathing fresh air and bathing under the morning sun rejuvenates your mood and spirit? It’s because we share the same soul with nature and are one with them. And since the spirit of nature has no ego, they are pure and always on a higher frequency than us.

Spending time in nature doesn’t have to be expensive and complicated. It is not necessary to go far places just to create a connection with the skies and the ocean. The essence of being in nature is to absorb its pure energy and cleanse your own, identify your soul as one with the plants or birds, and honor that we are all one.

Think of the fresh air you inhale becoming one with your soul. Close your eyes and imagine the sacred spirit in you expanding along with the atmosphere. A simple nature practice like this will make you more aware of the divine energy within you, discern your soul’s voice, and connect with it. The goal here is to achieve ‘oneness’ with other creations in the universe (the sun and stars, the ocean, the wind, and the greens on the ground) and to feel its collective spirit and empower ours. 

4. Journal your deep thoughts and realizations

Writing what you think and feel using a pen and paper is like creating a bridge between your personality and soul. Your thoughts and emotions are reflections of your soul, and writing them longhand is a powerful way to hear and explore them intuitively.

Expressing yourself through writing is building an intimate friendship with your soul. It is having a friend inside of you that you can call on to share what you are going through, especially on difficult days. When I was new to journaling, I didn’t know I had a soul and not just a body I could see and touch. But as I went on, it felt as if another person was talking to me and knew everything about myself I didn’t even know.

If you are unsure how to use journaling to connect with your soul, write in a way you say things to your best friend. Suspend any form of judgment as you write: beautiful sentences, correct grammar, and impressive vocabulary — none of them matter when you are talking with your soul. Write with your heart, not with your mind so you can be true to yourself and become open to revelations as you submit to the practice.  

Final Thoughts

When we are disturbed and unbalanced, the soul wants us to pay attention to its needs. While it is hard to be sure if it’s our soul speaking to us, everything that happens in us is always connected to our soul. It communicates to us in loneliness, depression, and desperation to find meaning and purpose in life.

Our soul is the core and true essence of our being. It may be hiding behind the facade of our personality but is never less important than our appearance or intellect. If we open ourselves and give a little space for something deeper than what we already know about ourselves, our soul has so much to tell that this world could never teach us.

We don’t need extraordinary gifts to hear and connect with our soul. It may sometimes feel that we are not qualified or capable of living an awakened life, but it is in the ordinariness of who we are that we experience our soul. The path may not be smooth and straight but with courage, commitment, and discipline, our soul will reward us in ways this world can never give.

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