Living with depth, presence, and spiritual truth

Dr. Nibodhi

Ayurvedic Practitioner | Board-Certified Traditional Naturopath

30+ years in holistic wellness. Read full bio →

The longing beneath the labels

What does it really mean to live a spiritual life? What does it mean to live in true authenticity? These are questions that sit quietly in the background of many of our lives.

Sometimes they grow louder when things feel out of sync, other times they whisper in the quiet in-between moments. And lately, with the rise of curated spirituality and performative wellness everywhere we turn, that longing to feel real has never felt stronger.

There’s a deeper part of us that isn’t asking for more information. It’s asking for presence. It’s asking to feel like we’re living from the core of who we are. That longing to remember our essence is the heart of this journey. To walk this path fully, we have to untangle performance from practice and separate the show from the soul.

Spirituality is presence, not performance

Spirituality is often misunderstood as an escape, a way to transcend the messiness of being human. But it’s actually the opposite. It's not about leaving the world behind. It’s about meeting it, fully. Meeting ourselves, fully.

True spirituality is the remembrance that all life is sacred. That there’s an intelligence moving through everything. The same force that created galaxies also created us. The name we give it is irrelevant: God, Source, Universe, Love. What matters is our felt connection to it.

It’s not about perfect rituals or polished expressions. You don’t need to be in Bali or on a yoga mat to be spiritual. You don’t need a matcha latte, a sacred tattoo, or a perfectly curated morning routine.

Spirituality lives in the quiet places. In the way we breathe through discomfort. In the way we sit with ourselves in silence. In how we treat others when no one is looking. It lives in our willingness to wake up, not only from sleep but into full presence in this moment.

Authenticity means living aligned with truth

To be authentic is to be real. But being real doesn’t mean being raw and exposed at all times. It doesn’t mean oversharing or being reactive. It means your outer life reflects your inner truth. It means you’re no longer hiding from yourself.

Authenticity includes every part of you, your joy, your shame, your brilliance, your fears. It’s about making peace with the fact that you’re human. It’s not always clean, or neat, or presentable. But it is always honest.

So much of our upbringing trains us to perform, to be somebody, to curate an identity. But authenticity asks you to return. To meet yourself where you are, not where you think you should be. Living authentically begins with presence. It means being rooted in your experience as it is.

Practices to deepen spiritual authenticity

Here are five grounded practices that invite deeper spiritual authenticity. Each one is simple, accessible, and intended to bring you closer to your truth in everyday life.

1. Daily self check-ins

Create space each morning and evening to ask yourself:

• Where am I not being honest with myself? Bring compassionate awareness to any avoidance.
• What is my soul asking for today? Let this guide your choices.
• What would bring me joy? Make space for that joy.

2. Sacred stillness

Take 5 to 60 minutes a day to sit in silence. Not to achieve or accomplish, but to empty. In this quiet, listen beyond the surface of your thoughts. Let your own presence be the teacher.

3. Saying no

Honor your energy. Say no to anything that pulls you away from alignment, even if it comes wrapped in spiritual language. Make space for your own truth, not someone else’s version of it.

4. Shadow work

Engage in journaling or speak with someone you trust about the parts of yourself that feel hidden or avoided. Ask yourself:

• What wisdom lives in these parts?
• What am I afraid others will see?

These questions help turn self-protection into self-discovery.

5. Make life sacred

Treat the ordinary as holy. Let washing the dishes become a ritual of presence. Let walking, sipping tea, or smiling at a stranger become devotional. Spiritual life is woven into daily life. It infuses the way we move, act, speak, and relate in ordinary moments.

Honoring darkness and light equally

Darkness and light are both natural parts of existence. They move together, reflecting a deeper harmony in the rhythm of life. The light reveals; the darkness holds. The light shines without judgment; the dark embraces without condition.

Stop resisting one or chasing the other. Resistance is suffering. Acceptance is peace. The same sun that shines on the mountaintop shines on the garbage dump. The same light lives in your sorrow as in your laughter.

Both the shadow and the light are teachers. Both are invitations to deepen. Can you let yourself be taught?

Radical honesty as a path to integration

Journal prompts can serve as powerful tools for self-inquiry. They offer a way to gently unearth insights that may be hidden beneath years of conditioning and unconscious patterns:

• What parts of me do I hide from the world?
• What do I judge in others that might live in me?
• What part of me is trying to protect me?

Name your reactions with curiosity, not shame. Meet your abandoned inner child, your inner critic, your people-pleaser. Tell them: I see you. I hear you. What do you need from me?

Ritualize expression. Dance your grief. Paint your joy. Scream into a pillow. These are sacred releases, not signs of brokenness.

Embracing your light

Your brilliance can feel just as vulnerable as your pain. Sometimes it’s easier to hide what makes us shine than what makes us ache. Use the following journal prompts:

• What am I great at?
• What gifts do I bring?
• What makes me feel alive?

Let yourself receive compliments. Let yourself be seen. Visibility is healing. Share your art. Teach your class. Sing your song. You don’t have to be perfect to be powerful.

The body as a portal

Spiritual bypass happens when we try to skip the body. But embodiment is the only real gateway. Your body is the instrument through which spirit expresses. Listen to it. Nourish it. Let it guide you.

The Vedic and Indigenous traditions remind us to live with awareness. They emphasize the value of balance, attunement to natural cycles, and a steady return to presence.

Be still. Breathe into your heart. Fill your body with light. Let it move with the darkness and meet it fully, without resistance.

Walking the path of spiritual authenticity

Spiritual authenticity lives in how we move through the world each day. It reveals itself in presence, patience, and the willingness to keep showing up.

This path is about remembering who you are and honoring that in your actions, relationships, and quiet moments with yourself.

You are not too much. Nothing in you is unworthy of love. Your darkness is sacred. Your light is sacred. Your breath, your body, your emotions are not obstacles. They are the path.

So keep going. Keep softening. Keep opening. Keep trusting that your messy, magnificent humanity is the heart of the sacred.

Prefer to listen instead?

This blog post is a written version of the podcast episode, What It Really Means to Be Spiritual and Authentic. It covers the key insights for easy reading. If you want the full audio experience with personal stories and the energy of the conversation, listen to the full episode.

What I use and love

Want to know what I recommend for a healthier, happier life? Every product on Nibodhi’s Favorites is something I personally use, trust, and love. Take a look at my go-to wellness picks.