I’ve been woo-curious since childhood. Whilst my friends were scaring themselves at sleepovers as we attempted to levitate each other, or summon demons in the bathroom, I just wanted it to be real. We watched 90s slasher films way too young, scared each other with prank calls during The Ring - I’ve still never watched it - and Blair Witch is still terrifying to me.
It’s really no surprise that I became a true crime listening, slasher movie watching, morbidly curious adult. And whilst spirituality, astrology and witchcraft don’t have to be spooky, they are certainly spooky adjacent.
As I got older my curiosity never wavered, I’d always read my horoscope, and gaze at the moon as my mind would try to fathom how big the universe is and how tiny we are.
When I hired a business coach in 2016, I was introduced to mindset work. It started with the ever popular personal development, time management and money mindset books, all designed to squash my “limiting beliefs” and open me up to make millions whilst I slept… but as time went on, and I smelt the bullshit (and privilege) on a lot of the techniques used, I leaned into my spooky little self instead.
Practices like journaling, for personal and professional support, which at times blended together because neither worked in isolation. I started exploring Tarot and Oracle cards as a tool to help me find a different approach or offer a different perspective to a problem I might encounter.
The practices existed within my life and business, they were daily rituals that I adopted and I found they helped me feel more grounded during times of stress. Even as I started following the intuitive eating framework and worked through the principles, I used journaling as a tool to unpack my feelings and experiences. It was a way for me to write about my childhood, and process some of the memories I knew I’d never get answers to.
But last year I started to notice that diet culture, weight loss and gender stereotypes were consistently present within modern day spirituality, and even in spaces with people I deeply trust, they would bring up weight loss and wellness under the guise of manifestation or goal setting.
It was exhausting to constantly be presented with these narratives in spaces that, at least for me, were supposed to be a safe place, away from these systems of oppression.
So I stopped, cold turkey for most of last year.
I found myself asking the question: can spirituality and fat liberation co-exist?
And the simple answer is, yes, of course the two can co-exist because they are both parts of my identity. My personal spiritual practices are designed to help me unpack and process experiences I might encounter, and I’m able to use journaling alongside my fat liberation and anti diet work.
In this episode…
I’m exploring the multifaceted nature of spirituality, sharing my personal journey and how it intersects with fat liberation. I’ll be discussing the evolution of my spiritual practices, particularly during the pandemic, and the challenges of reconciling these practices within spiritual spaces often permeated by diet culture.
I’d like to note that these practices are often individual and interpersonal, and I recognise that we need community and structural changes to fight back against the injustices we are witnessing today. I also know that right now many of us are trying to find that balance between informed and overwhelmed, finding comfort, slowness, peace in practices on a personal level allows us to be better equipped to fight back against these systems of oppression.
Takeaways
Practices should be flexible and adaptable to individual needs.
Spirituality can coexist with activism and personal values.
Diet culture often infiltrates spiritual spaces, creating challenges for fat positive activists.
Spiritual practices can serve as acts of rebellion against societal norms.
Self-care rituals can be supportive for navigating overwhelming times.
Chapters
00:00 Exploring Spirituality: A Personal Journey
05:32 Navigating Spirituality and Fat Advocacy
08:54 The Intersection of Spirituality and Diet Culture
13:51 Witchcraft and Rebellion: Here We Go Again
16:28 Finding Individual Practices Amongst The Noise
Share this post