Connecting with the Divine: A Path to Living a Truly Authentic Life

If you’re anything like me, you’ve picked up a book, read a poem, seen a piece of art, or, in this case, read a quote and thought, “Wow, that was powerful.” It resonated intellectually. But reencountering it during a different season of your life—perhaps after a heartbreak or a devastating loss—the same piece goes beyond intellectual understanding and resonates almost cellularly. It feels as if it was written for you, knowing it would support your evolution.

Over the last few months, I’ve been weathering a storm—a self-created storm of uncertainty and, at times, unworthiness. Those who follow my blog know that my healing journey has been about going deep inside, mending the invisible wounds of moral injury, and re-learning to Love Self. (No, that’s not a typo. I use the capital “S” in Self to refer to my higher Self, the observer, the divine spark, the interconnectedness with all things.) While I am infinitely far from where I was just three years ago, fragments of the core belief of unworthiness still pop up.

I call it a “self-created storm” because, from one perspective, the universe is providing abundant opportunities to engage in meaningful, mission-aligned service. I am at a proverbial crossroads with a dozen potential paths forward, and my egoic mind is trying to wrestle the steering wheel away from my heart. My ego is attempting to revive the “practical” version of Ryan that would use a reductionist approach to calculate the probability of success. But now, I recognize fear in disguise. I welcome it in and get inquisitive. I thank it for hitting the pause button to make a more conscious decision on which path to take.

During this “pause,” I came across a quote from Howard Thurman that I’d read at least a dozen times but had only engaged with superficially:

“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

My ego interpreted this as, “Does the market present an unmet need you can capitalize on? Do you have the resources and capabilities to deliver a solution? Does this path provide safety and increase your probability of success? Come on, Ryan, you can serve your community AND play it safe!”

But Thurman’s profound spiritual wisdom resonated on a much deeper level. I have one life to live, and I’ve fought hard to get where I am today. There has never been and will never be another “me.” Without me, the universe’s story is incomplete. Why am I here? What unique gift do I have to offer? When do I feel MOST ALIVE?

I feel most alive when I am just “being” with someone and occasionally find opportunities to feed their divine spark by reflecting what I feel, see, and hear. I witness that with each reflection, the embers within them grow brighter. I watch as the layers of trauma and social conditioning simply melt away until they realize that they are infinite beings with limitless potential. Together, even if only for a moment, the veil is pulled back, and we remember that the point of life is to just “be.” Be what only you can be—your unique, miraculous expression of the Divine.

So today, as I step forward, I do so with an open heart and a clear mind. I welcome fear and embrace uncertainty, knowing that they are both hollow constructs of my mind and signposts provided by the universe to lead me home.

I’ll close this blog with more wisdom from Howard Thurman:

“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.”

May we all find the courage to listen to the Divine within ourselves, to follow Its guidance, and to live a life that is truly our own. Remember, the micro reflects the macro and vice versa. What we practice as individuals will ripple and reverberate through the cosmos. Each action taken toward individual consciousness inevitably raises the collective consciousness.

With Love and Gratitude - Ryan