[Intro] Hello, and welcome to my podcast, Empowered to Thrive. I'm your host, Corinne Powell. I'm an intuitive guide, and I absolutely love helping people to heal from within so that they can create a life that they love, a life that they enjoy. We weren't meant to just tolerate and get through life. We were meant to thrive and enjoy the life we're living.

Of course, we will have seasons and moments that are difficult and challenging. And the beauty of it is that we can be supported in those moments.

I am here to be an aid and a guide to support you. And I hope that you will enjoy not only today's episode, but some of the past episodes if you haven't heard them yet.

On this podcast, I talk about all things inner wellness. We also sprinkle in some spirituality and parenting, because as a mom to three kids, parenting is a big part of my life.

I hope that you enjoy the episode. And that there's at least one thing you'll pull from it and start to implement into your own life.

If you want to follow me in other ways, you can find me on Instagram, @corinne_changeradically⁠, or on Facebook, Change Radically.

Would you do me a favor and share this podcast with your friends if you hear an episode that resonates with you? And would you also go ahead and give me a rating and review my podcast? It would mean so much to me, and I would appreciate it. I hope that you enjoy the episode and that we connect.

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Hey, friends. So excited to have this conversation with you. And I'm excited because it's a topic. It's something that I've had on my heart for a couple years.

And I haven't opened up about it because it is a sensitive subject. And it's a risky sort of topic for me. It's about connecting with a higher source, but letting go of religion.

So what I mean by religion is a set of rules, regulations, a way of living that is very black and white as far as the thinking goes, where you're right, I'm wrong. And if I am right, then you need to see things my way, or you need to see things my way because I am right, because this is the only way. 

And it's very toxic. It sets people at odds with each other. There's no room for compromise. And if you do compromise, you're looked as the weaker person. 

For me, I grew up in a faith community that was evangelical in nature and was very, restrictive, was very controlling, and greatly affected my family's lifestyle. The family I grew up in, the way we lived, the friends we had, were all defined by the church that we went to.

And it wasn't until I became an adult that I started to explore another way. And I haven't

let go of my higher source because I have relational experiences, some that I can't fully explain, and may not easily be understood. But they are very real for me. And something that is experienced cannot be taken from you. 

So perhaps you have experienced traumas, or you have experienced moments with your higher source that define, parts of your life. And yet, you may not be able to prove or rationalize to someone else the why, but you know that these things have impacted you. 

I'm very comfortable with not understanding, and yet believing you, respecting your experiences, and acknowledging them as yours.

What you experience no one can take away from you and you don't need to make them believe you. The experiences I had with a higher source I can't debate with someone and I don't think you should have to either.

Your experiences are valid even if no one understands or believes them. I know it's painful when people don't believe us and our word but that aside they are valid, what you've walked through is valid. 

So for me, it's not about letting go of the higher source. It's really about letting go of religion. I've distanced myself from church, not so much that I don't attend. In fact, I'm involved with the church, and I appreciate that place. I appreciate the people within it. It's not a perfect place, but nowhere is. And I'm holding space and allowing myself, to be in process. 

So where I was two years ago, when I wrote the blog post that I've referenced, is not where I am today. Even my language around this topic has changed.

You might refer to your higher source as Mother Nature, the universe, God, Jesus, unconditional love. And I might use those terms sometimes, and I might say the spirit of light, peace, spirit of love. For me, it's not going to matter so much what you call your higher source. It's your relationship with that higher source that matters most. 

And so in my journey, I'm in process. Things are changing. I'm evolving. I'm deconstructing, and taking a really deep look, look at where I've come from, where I am, and where do I want to be? And I don't even know fully where I want to be. I'm okay with that unknown. So going back to the church, the topic of church, I don't think there's any perfect place.

I think if you're happy going to church sometimes, then that's a wonderful thing. I think if you are stuck on the idea that you have to attend church to have a certain relationship with your higher source, that religion's gotten in the way there. 

Church is a place where people come, as I see it, to worship the higher source that they believe in, to have community and connection, and perhaps to learn and grow in whatever their faith is.

But it's a place with people, and so you can imagine that it's a place with some pain. Wherever there are people, there will be emotional pain. And for me, it's been a difficult experience, to feel accepted as my authentic self in a church setting. There have been some places I feel very welcome and accepted no matter how I show up.

But that isn't everywhere, and I understand that. It's just meant that I have a harder time figuring out what I'm doing and for how long I'm doing it.

I have grown and learned so much through my experiences, in church settings, in a faith community with my higher source.

And I don't hold anger towards church, but I absolutely hate religion. Religion divides, it destroys, and it's toxic. And you're probably catching from me, I'm not really interested in a debate, but I am open to conversation. And I think the main thing I want to make clear is, that I'm not meaning religion to be your relationship with your higher source. 

Your relationship with your higher source is very different to me than religion. I think in religion, people start to want to control one another. And sometimes it's very easy for one person to think their way of living is the way that everyone should live. And I see that as very toxic. I don't think control in those forms is good for anyone. 

Even when it comes to a parent-child relationship. I don't think control is the way to parent, the way to relate. I think children, even young children, can have choice. And yes, we are there to guide them as a parent. We are there to protect them and to help them. But if I believe that I know it all, if I believe that I always know what's best for my children, or I know the way that their lives should go, then I think I've taken too much power into my own hands. 

I see them in their autonomy. I see them as their own persons. And I want to help them to live the fullest life they can. But I recognize that I don't know it all. And I also recognize that I'm in process. And what I think today may not be what I think in a week.

And I'm learning and evolving and growing. I'm healing and I'm changing. I hope I'm expanding more into love. And as I expand more into love, I want that expansion to be far-reaching. I want to cross the divides that religion has made and through love to bring people together.

I want to be able to sit with people and see other people sit in a room where we don't all agree on the same thing, but we're willing to relate to each other.

We recognize that connection can be made even if we don't all agree on the same thing. And that we don't have to have topics of conversation only around what is controversial.

That we can simply relate by getting to know each other. By asking questions and discovering about other people. Who they are. What's their life been like? What do they love? What do they hate? What excites them? Let's get to know people.

And I feel like religion gets so stuck on things that divide. On things that don't matter. I've heard so many people in church and in faith communities,

in religious relationships, talking for hours and hours and hours on subjects that seem to have no relevance. I know that the people speaking, the people debating, feel like these topics have high importance and high relevance. But I sit there and I listen and I just, my heart breaks and I think, wow, we're spending so much time talking about something that is really not going to matter. 

Do we know each other? Do we love each other? Are we bettering the world? Are we deepening connection? Are we expanding in love? Those are my questions, friend.

Whether you agree with me or not, on some of the things I've said, whether you've been to church or not, whether you still go or you hate it, I hope that in this moment you will know that there is a higher source who simply cares about your heart, who wants to know what you love and what you hate, who isn't concerned about making you to be something or causing you to think a certain way. 

Love offers freedom. Love offers choice. Love gets to know and connects deeply. Love doesn't divide. And so I leave you with much love. And I'm sure we will pick this conversation up again. Be well, my friend.

[Ending] We've come to the end. What did you think about what you heard? I hope that there's something you pull from today's episode and start implementing it into your life. Create the change that you want to see, the change that you hear about. You have the opportunity to transform your life. And I'm ready to link arms with you and to help and guide you to the life that you want to live.

If you resonated with what you heard today and it touched you, would you share it with your friends? Would you also go ahead and rate my podcast and write a written review? It would mean so much to me.

I hope that we'll connect, whether it's for a session or just to connect because I enjoy meeting new people. You can find me on Instagram, @corinne_changeradically, or on Facebook, Change Radically. You can also always email me, corinne@changeradically.com. If you have thoughts, questions, or anything that you'd like to know, or you just want to talk about, send me an email. 

I hope that you have a wonderful week, but no matter what your week is like, in the moments that are quiet, maybe it's when you pillow your head at night, or when you're driving in the car, or taking a walk, or maybe it's going to be in the midst of the chaos with your children, or with the craziness of work.

I hope that you'll remember how significant you are, that there is meaning and value to your life, and that I, for one, am so glad that you're alive.

Catch you again next week.