Spiritual growth is often used interchangeably with personal growth, but they are not the same. Spiritual growth is a form of personal growth, but it differs to how most of us think of personal growth.

When people speak of personal growth, we’re usually talking about things that can be easily observed on the outside. This is because we often equate personal growth with success, and success is usually defined by more money, better career, bigger house or some other external markers.

Spiritual growth on the other hand is not easily observed from the outside. That’s because it’s an inside job.

Essentially, spiritual growth is about becoming a better version of you. A less diluted version; there are less of the fears, anxieties and illusions that control your life. And this leaves more space for YOU and your INNER BEING to shine through.

Spiritual growth is about the letting go of the patterns of thought and behaviour that are unhelpful and unhealthy. I’m referring to the fears, the beliefs and ideas that simply do not serve you or those around you. It’s about becoming more conscious and aware of your inner self and who you truly are.

We could say that we’ve attained spiritual growth when we feel at peace inside. And this doesn’t have to be complicated.

For me, inner peace is making peace with who you are and the decisions you’ve made. It’s having no regrets.

Inner peace is making peace with your parents, who they are, and the decisions they made.

It’s as simple as that.

The journey of spiritual growth involves taking a close look at all aspects of ourselves. When we come across dis-ease with any of these parts of us – whether it’s our emotional or physical self – it’s an invitation to take a closer look. This is to understand what might be at the root, so that it can healed or dealt with.

Not everyone chooses to do this inner work because it’s not easy, but those who do are richly rewarded.

Here are some questions that can help you to better understand where you are on your spiritual path.

Spiritual growth requires you to work on your emotional self.

Healing your triggers and traumas is essential for spiritual growth. How can you be compassionate when you are being triggered by behaviour you don’t agree with? How can you act with kindness and respect if your anger and resentment is hiding under the surface? Healing your emotional wounds is the only way for you to achieve this, and this means digging into those parts of you that want to be healed.

The more negative of the emotional experiences – like fear, guilt, shame and sadness – have low frequencies and this is what makes us feel ‘low’. The more we heal these parts of ourselves, the more we can free ourselves of these low frequency emotional experiences. It’s this that helps us to raise our vibration and expand our consciousness.

Those who have awakened and choose to live more consciously tend to be on the spiritual path, and it’s this choice about being conscious that is inviting them to take a closer look at all aspects of themselves.

In my experience, the fastest way to raise your level of consciousness is to heal your unresolved traumas. In doing this you can quickly start to spend more of your life experiencing positive emotional experiences like love, compassion and gratitude. These are all high frequency emotions, which is why people often refer to wanting to be high vibe.

Spiritual growth is natural result from doing the emotional work and mastering your emotional self.