Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
A lifelong skeptic explores whether you can doubt and believe at once — and why questioning might make spiritual connection stronger, not weaker
—
I never thought I would be sitting down one day to write an article about spiritual connection. The reason is that I am a bit of a skeptic. Actually, to be more honest, I’m a lot of a skeptic. Even after years of soul-searching through meditation, journaling, and even writing a spiritual self-help book, there is still an ongoing struggle within me between having complete faith in mystical concepts and occasionally rolling my eyes at conversations about spirit guides, signs, and intuition. Which leads me to the topic I want to explore – can a person be skeptical and spiritual at the same time? No one wants the answer to this question more than I do. So, today I lit my orange creativity candle, set out my carnelian crystals for inspiration, and politely asked my spirit guides to join me in figuring out the answer.
Here’s something I’ve discovered. Since opening up about my spiritual side to the world, people assume spirituality requires certainty, blind belief, or complete faith. I don’t believe that is true.
I’m actually a walking, talking contradiction to that statement. I don’t feel comfortable with blind faith. I ask questions of the Universe and I constantly reexamine my spiritual connection. That’s not an easy way to live because it puts me in a strange middle between the entirely skeptical and the profoundly devout. No matter which camp I’m talking to, whenever I admit I have occasional doubts about what is real and what is a figment of my imagination, there is an awkward pause. Sometimes I wonder if I should keep my wobbles to myself, but that doesn’t sit well with me either. Everyone deserves to be heard, to be allowed to question, and it needs to be acceptable to say “okay, but what if.”
What’s very cool is that I am encountering more and more logical people who are just like me, starting to question and explore the spiritual world around them. They are seeking answers to the “what if” as a way to offset the stress and disconnection of our modern world. People are sensing that there is literally something more than meets the eye, and when they open themselves up to the possibilities, just like me, they feel there is something or someone there. Signs appear. Nudges happen. Things that cannot be simply explained away start showing up. In those moments, I have complete faith, and I do all I can to maintain that connection.
How do I do that? There are a few ways and I’ve found that it’s not only dramatic efforts that maintain my connection and help me quiet the skeptical voices, but simple things make a big difference too. For starters, I ensure I make space for quiet moments throughout my day because chaos really drowns out my intuition. It doesn’t have to be specifically in meditation. For example, with my morning coffee, while the kettle heats, I close my eyes and say good morning to my spirit guides. Nothing elaborate or ceremonial really, but just as if I was saying hello to a close friend.
Almost always, I feel their loving response in the form of a warm feeling slipping over me, but not every time.
Those are the times I feel that trickle of doubt, but that’s okay too. It means I need to push myself a little bit further and ask for a sign or something throughout the day to remind me I am not alone. Then, I open myself up to the possibilities, and without fail, at some point before I go to bed, I will experience a moment that reassures me. It can be an intuitive pull toward something that turns out to be the best choice or as tangible as a feather on my walking path, but there is always an answer.
Don’t get me wrong. I use more elaborate methods too. Every day I ask for guidance from the Universe and pull a tarot card as a way to give my spirit guides a chance to answer. I reflect on it and journal my thoughts. Some days, the answer is crystal clear, and I can go on with my day confident in my spiritual connection. Other days, that is not the case and I can be left wondering if I am forcing meaning when there is nothing there. On those days, I retreat to my altar and add more ceremony. Candles get lit, and incense is burned, and I meditate as open-mindedly as I can muster. Even then, there are times I walk away wondering, “Is this real?”
But skepticism is not the enemy of spirituality. In fact, I think it’s healthy.
Even though it unsettles me at times not to be one hundred percent sure we have a spirit guide superhero team always with us, my skepticism keeps me grounded. Because of it, I don’t believe absolutely everything I read or hear just because it sounds mystical or comforting. When someone claims to have all the answers about the Universe, my skepticism helps me slow down and weigh those claims against my own experiences and intuition. That’s important. What’s ironic is the more honest I am with myself about my doubts, the more authentic my spiritual connection actually feels.
Now that I’ve written this, I realize that spiritual connection is not a test. It’s not something a person passes or fails at, and there is no gold star for having the most faith. I won’t win a medal for never experiencing doubt again. I went into this seeking an answer, worried that questioning my connection would somehow weaken it or disappoint the Universe and my spirit guides, but now I don’t think that’s true. Not at all. Seeking answers is okay because overthinking and second-guessing are part of my analytical nature. When I feel fear or skepticism, that doesn’t make me less spiritual; it makes me human. What matters most is that I am willing to continue to stay open to what’s possible and keep trying.
So, can a person be skeptical and spiritual at the same time? I think the answer is absolutely yes. Spiritual connection is not really about reaching a perfect state of belief where doubt never enters the picture. It’s more about staying open enough to notice when guidance is happening and intuition is kicking in. Staying curious and receptive to the signs and nudges. I would bet there are a lot of people who fall into a similar gray area, and for all of us, it’s really okay to be a little of both. For now, for me, that is answer enough.
You may also enjoy reading Building a Bridge Between Your Personal Voice and Your Spirituality, by Scott Matthews.
