Ep 58. De-mystifying Integration: digesting your spiritual journey for more potent, sustainable transformation (w/ Anne Ruel)

Back in mid-October I received an email from long-time listener and spiritual development devotee Anne Ruel, sharing some thoughts and questionsep 49 had sparked for her as she considered questions of burnout, purpose anxiety, and integration in her own life and journey.

I thought about responding in a solo episode but had a suspicion a real-time conversation between the two of us would be richer. So in early December, we sat down and chatted all things “integration”.

Anne shared her story of starting with yoga and then moving further down the spiritual growth and development path through training after training (in yoga, energy healing modalities, life coaching, cacao ceremonies, etc)... and how she ended up feeling more burned out, alone, and lost than ever before. At the time, she hadn’t heard of the idea of integration. And she admits that though she’s beginning to suspect it was the missing piece for her, she feels mystified about what it actually is, how to know it’s happening, and what signs might signal it’s complete.

So we get into it.

Along the way, you’ll hear us explore things like:

• the cultural rootlessness and lack of true mentors which leaves us with an immense inner hunger (and how capitalism wants us to feel that and why it can get us into trouble);
• reclaiming curiosity, depth, enoughness, our own power and self-responsibility, and the permission to do things differently;
• what wisdom actually is;
• the costs of coercive capitalism, prizing youth over older age, and punitive justice systems (and how those tie into integration, burn out, feeling lost and overwhelmed);
• setting boundaries (even with spirit guides and the things we love, partly as a way to maintain a sacred sense of connection);
• the relational dance of encountering Spirit and untangling ourselves over and over again;
• “peak experiences” as ruptures of our timeline;
• riding the “down wave” after a peak experience… (hopefully) without feeling like we’re having a psychotic break;
• how we might find who we are and what our purpose is;
• and at what point in our spiritual development journey transformation actually happens (hint: it might not be what you’re used to thinking it is)

…and more.

As you can probably tell from that list, this is a deep (and lengthy) conversation. This might be one you want to listen to in chunks. I listened in for if there was a good place to edit it into two episodes, but decided to leave it intact as one. I leave it to you to find your right pacing for listening.

And I do hope you’ll listen. And share if it resonates. 

From where I stand, integration is one of the key (often missing) pieces to navigating the spiritual and wellness world with more integrity - whether we’re there to deepen our own journey, or as a guide/ teacher/ facilitator for others. 

We need more conversations like this.

Join us around the fire? You’re most welcome here.

And thanks, Anne, for reaching out with your questions, sharing your story and hard-earned wisdom, and joining me in this conversation. 

(P.S. If you’re a listener and find yourself with questions, musings, etc after an episode - feel free to reach out. Maybe we can have a conversation, too) 

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You can find Kate:

Website: www.wildsacredjourney.com

Email –[e-mail]

Instagram: @wildsacredjourney_kp

And if you want to connect with Anne, feel free to pass a message through me by my email above.