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Welcome to The Making of You. I’m Alexandria, founder of The Mastery Project and Your Transformation Hub. And this podcast is dedicated to the whys and ways to transform the ‘mundane’ into the magical, ‘doable’ into enjoyable, successful and purposeful, all while having fun becoming the architect of your own life.

Okay, so the topic today, let’s dive in. It’s five whys devotion doesn’t make you a doormat.

Okay, so this is a very interesting spiritual tool or state of being. I kind of look at devotion as being both. And it is something I believe in. My number one has been a little bit misunderstood and also conditioned into a certain image that perhaps, perhaps has discouraged people from using this tool.

So my number one, I want to just re evaluate what devotion can mean and what its truest and fullest nature is.

Now, in most of our religions, or in spiritual devotions, literally, there has been in the past a conditioned element of, of giving up, of a modest means, or even of a state of poverty and also a degree of suffering associated. If you’re devoted, then you’re going to suffer to achieve it. Now, personally, I believe this is just perhaps lost in translation or only potentially half the story, simply because over time many of our religious truths have sort of been embellished or, or have become perhaps even in some cases the opposite of what they truly mean.

So what does devotion mean? Well, I personally believe that devotion is a state where we are learning to refine our relationship with our higher self, with our spiritual nature, with the pure essence of all that is, of unconditional love.

And so when we’re doing that, of course we’re not going to be focusing on our limited self, but we are going to be aware that in our human state and in our physical life, as well as all the other dimensions of ourselves, of course we have our humanness. So we have a degree of ego that is here helping us run around and do our daily human life, as well as the higher self elements of us that is supporting us in understanding the purpose, the meaning, the quality and the other aspects of our multi dimensional presence.

So devotion has often been seen to have to literally, as I say, purify someone into being without in order to achieve a pure state of devotion.

So they go to a place of selflessness. And that means in no way can they be receiving anything for their good, if you will, or to benefit them, or simply to say, you know, the answer to the question, what’s in it for me is zero.

Well, for me, selflessness is a really misunderstood place and misunderstood condition. And for me, selflessness means ego less, not forget about who your true nature is, who you truly are, what your true identity and spiritual significance and worthiness is.

So for me, in number one, please don’t be sort of put off by devotion, because automatically I think it means suffering and poverty and basically there’s nothing to support or fuel yourself.

I think it’s simply saying I’m choosing to put my ego, my limited self, in a very back seat, way behind. And I’m not allowing my contribution, my service, my help, my compassion, whatever it may be in the devotional nature to be in any way influenced by the ego and by the ego saying, hey, what’s in it for me?

So for me, devotion, if you want to achieve it, I believe it is to be mindful of your ego, your limited self, trying to control the process or trying to whisper in your ear, you should be doing this, or, you know, what are you getting out of this? Or don’t do it, because you know you’re not going to get anything for you.

So devotion for me is not giving up everything.

And it’s not also constantly asking, what’s in it for me. All right. Devotion is this neutral place where you are learning to quiet the ego, quiet all of those limited demands, and simply listen to the pure flow of your heart consciousness.

So it is a very loving place.

And it might not surprise you to realize in number two, that in my interpretations of devotion, that devotion actually starts within, not outside of ourselves. Yes, in many of our spiritual and religious traditions, there have been great and grand souls who have reached a very pure state of devotion. And so they can be examples to us. But the choice to devote to anything in our lives has got to start with us and with choosing inside our hearts.

So I think you can say, and I’d like to say, number two, that devotion is a state that we accept that we are going to choose profoundly and commit profoundly to the qualities, to the loving demonstrations that we believe are really important in life.

So you could say that we devote to being joyous. We devote to being unconditionally loving. We devote to be unconditionally supportive of others.

So what does that mean? Well, if we’re going to achieve that, we do need energy and of course, to be in devotion. I think if you want to be joyously devoted to anything, you’re going to need a degree of balance.

So my number two is just remember, devotion starts within. It’s another very important spiritual choice that we can all make in our lives. And it’s not to Be frightened of it. It’s not to say, oh God, if I get devoted, then that means whatever I want goes out the window. What it is, is a lining between what is of higher consciousness benefit, what can help you become the person you want to be.

And of course, unconditionally loving energy.

And of course, as I said, putting your ego in the back seat, so not sitting constantly looking at the material, practical or physical benefits of the devotion that you’re making.

So what’s number three? Well, number three, I just want to say with devotion that for a lot of people devotion means that you give everything, everything away outside of yourself. And what I’ve said in number two is I personally believe that to be successfully devoted to anything you need to understand the balance between giving and receiving, the balance and integrity of your service, serving self and others equally. And also that you do need like self loving practice to understand how you can use that energy wisely.

So in my number three, whenever you’re going to be in devotion and be devoted to something that you truly believe in, I want you also to look at understanding what your balance point is from the point of view of helping others and from understanding what you think is going to create a quality situation. Now a lot of people when they get into this state where they know that there’s some devotion required, some commitment that can get very extreme or feel very heightened in the urgency to do something about it.

So as a result you can have imbalanced expectations.

So really give a huge amount at the beginning of a particular devotion to a cause or to a person, or to an improvement that you would really love to see come into reality.

So when we do that, of course we’re throwing big energy, but we’re not necessarily commanding our balance point. So what we can do is start being devoted but devoted from a point of imbalance or even polarity.

And so that can end up not being a very solid or flexible foundation in which to be devoted.

So my number three is just make sure that you’re not devoting in a reaction or the sense that you need to feel that you might be a better person by doing something rather than understanding how can you serve in a joyous way, how can you be devoted in a joyous way to whatever cause or situation that you believe requires your service or your help and enjoy doing it rather than potentially move into that conditioning I was talking about in number one where there’s a degree of suffering and that’s accepted and that it can’t be a joy to be devoted and to Be helpful.

So my number three is check your balance point. Are you over giving to compensate? Are you trying to please other people? Are you devoting to something outside of yourself and then finding that actually secretly your ego is behind it and it’s trying to make you look good or trying to get you imbalanced and to push you into more of a mental sort of definition of the devotion, rather than the practical and emotional reality and honesty of what it takes to be devoted and supporting in that way.

Okay, so number four. Well, for a lot of people, devotion is very much about actions. But I also consider that devotion is about an immaterial connectedness. And one of the greatest devotions, I believe, that are very supportive lifelong is to realize that love is everywhere. That our reality is made from love. And that loving consciousness, infinite energy, all that is, is the way that we are all connected and is one of the, if not the most important aspects of our experience here.

So for me to devote to believing that love is always the answer, irrespective of it appearing in dark times or in difficult times, I think is a devot that we can all personally have that can get us through any amount of recycling of fear, any amount of initiations.

And to say that just because our world is dark, if we’re devoted to love being the answer and love being ever present, even if it’s obscured for a short period in our lives, then we can see that that devotion is in a way the all embracing one. That we’re never going to give up on love and we’re never going to succumb to the fearful aspects and the desire, shall we say, to perhaps disregard the power and empowerment of a loving state of being.

Okay, so my number five today, right then, if you are in devotion to some of the great spiritual examples in our world, then I think it’s an excellent thing to bring that devotion in the outside world of teachings and of spiritual practice into daily life, but into yourself first and foremost. So to ask yourself on your path of devotion, what do those particular examples and those particular ways that different spiritual figures, different famous spiritual devotions to causes, those aspects, what are they actually feeling in the sense of how are they connected to you today? How do you resonate with them and what are you learning from them?

I think a lot of people want in devotion to learn from great spiritual contributions and examples by copying them. Exactly.

Now our world has evolved, it is transforming and it is expanding. And I think it is very important today to. To look at the foundational devotions, the foundational spiritual practices related to devotion and to say, how does that remain eternally relevant and resonant to me?

And I think by asking ourselves those questions about where does unconditional love fit in my life? Where does less ego fit in my life? And how can I achieve a place of greater fulfillment, joy, unconditionally loving sense of support, or self loving sense of support if use and reach for the tool of devotion.

So it’s to make that devotion part of your life, but also, obviously not to take it too seriously, but also to say devotion in the time, for example, of Buddha, or devotion in the time of Martin Luther King, or devotion in the time of Muhammad. Perhaps those different beautiful people and their examples were of course, of their time and not necessarily would you go about what’s happening in that way today?

Okay, well, it’s been my great pleasure to talk about the spiritual tool and the sense of being of devotion. I hope you have been able to feel connected and feel supported and have greater understanding. If you like this content, please don’t hesitate to like and subscribe on your chosen platform. Or if you’d like to go direct to source, then Please go to YourTransformationHub.com There are plenty of episodes and there’s lots of bonus topics, interviews and other episodes on the website that you won’t be seeing on the regular platforms. I’m Alexandria and thank you for devoting today to the making of you.