Religion & Spirituality — Let’s Talk About It

Season 2: Episode 10: Religion & Spirituality — Let’s Talk About It

This week, Kristin dives into a topic we often shy away from, religion and spirituality, and how to find the path that feels true for you.

She explores: 

✨ The difference between religion and spirituality — and how they can coexist 

✨ Releasing judgment and shame around your beliefs 

✨ Why your relationship with the divine is personal and ever-evolving 

✨ How intuition becomes your direct line to God, Source, or the Universe 

✨ Simple ways to bring spirituality into daily life — through prayer, meditation, journaling, and presence

You’ll be reminded that abundance is the success of the soul — and part of your design is your unique connection to the divine.

✨ Want to go deeper? Work with Kristin through: 

🔹 Soul Purpose Sessions — 1:1 clarity & guidance 

🔹 Mini Retreat Days — immersive healing & reset experiences

💻 Visit  ⁠Kristin’s website⁠ or connect via Instagram @kristinsvetscoaching⁠ 

🎧 Subscribe to the Abundant By Design Podcast for weekly inspiration and energetic alignment tools.

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Transcript

Season 2: Episode 10- Religion & Spirituality — Let’s Talk About It

Hello, my friends. Guess what we are doing today. We're gonna go there. We are gonna talk about religion and spirituality and finding the path that is true for you. And I know that this is a touchy subject of, you know, we've always heard, like, when you're getting together with family, don't talk about politics and religion.

And I think it's really important to expand the conversation about religion and spirituality. And so for you, whether you refer to spirituality as the universe, as source, or as God, which is the word that I use, but whatever you call it,

We are talking about having faith in something bigger, having a belief, and how to really find your true north, find your path when it comes to connecting with the divine. Because I, of course, believe that this is where we find true happiness, fulfillment, contentment. so I hope that in today's episode, sharing some of my stories and my perspectives about faith and religion and spirituality just kind of creates space for you and wherever you are on your path. So whether you grew up religious and stepped away, and there can be a variety of reasons for that. Maybe you grew up deeply spiritual, but never really connected with organized religion. And whether you're just exploring this for the first time, and then I feel like most people are kind of somewhere in between all those spots, right? You're just still figuring it all out. This episode is here for you to expand your perspective.

And because here is what I believe is that your spiritual path is yours and it's beautiful exactly as it is. And if you are here listening to this podcast, I feel like you're probably on a journey of wanting to even define it more and that know when I talk about this, that it's just an invitation to this perspective. I'm not ever like telling you what to believe, and it isn't about convincing you of anything. It's just that I would love to have a more open and honest conversation about something that can feel really personal to people, because it is, because it's our connection with the divine and our human nature and just the confusing and judgmental things that can come from both sides on this topic.

It's hard to process sometimes. So let's dive into it and let's start first by just defining the difference and defining some terms around it because I think clarity helps when we start there. So religion is often defined as a faith-based organization that has a structure. So it's a tradition, a community, and it typically has a doctrine. So this is organized and it has texts and practices and rituals and leaders and it's collective, right? It's a large group of people that have been born into something or choose to step into this religion. And of course it's Christianity.

And then even within Christianity, you we have all the different layers of that, starting with Catholicism and then all the different versions of Protestant Christianity. There is Islam and Judaism and Hinduism and Buddhism. And these are all religious traditions with established teachings and thousands of years of communities and followings.

There is something really beautiful about religion. There's belonging, there's history, there's a shared practice, there's a framework for understanding the divine and your place in this world. So for me, I was born into a Catholic family. And then it's an interesting nuance there is that my mom was very, very Catholic. Like she did get married and have kids, obviously, but she also would have been really happy to be a nun.

That was another life path that she considered. One of my brothers actually went into the seminary for about six months of his life, but decided that he wanted to get married and have kids and was too young to make the decision at the time. So Catholicism is a big part of my family. And I say that, that I also was raised with a father who was Protestant. He was raised Baptist, but then he also was a church organist and choir director. And he always worked for

Lutheran communities, parishes. And so we were exposed to that my entire life of living in a family with two, I mean, both Christian, but two different religions within Christianity. And I do think having that duality in being brought up that way actually showed me how differences are not. The problem that the world can make them out to be, right? So we'll dive into that more later, but know that, know, so yes, I was raised Catholic, I raised my boys Catholic, they went to Catholic school, Catholic high school, one of my boys in college is even into Jesuit college, and yet, there would be some people who would say that we're not Catholic enough because we don't go to church every week.

You know, that there isn't enough of our daily practices for us to say that we're practicing Catholics. And I get the argument and I still own Catholicism as a beautiful religion that gave me my foundation and that I honor it. And it is like, that's where I'm going to go on Christmas and Easter and big Catholic holidays and

Do I say the rosary sometimes? Yes, I do and I also want to say while we're talking about this here that I believe that all religions have their place and are correct for the people that are in them so to the point that there is a lot of judgment within religions and

I understand missionaries wanting to go out and spread the word and call in people to Jesus if it's Christianity or whatever religion it is. I understand that when you're super passionate about something and you want to, you know, go share the good news and share the word. And there's a layer of it that also bothers me because there is a respect and an honoring that is due to all of the other religions and the people who are practicing those religions. So if we are taught in Christianity that God made us in his image and likeness, and so if we really believe that, then how can we judge or say that it's wrong or that any other religion isn't correct when those people are born into that religion? So there are billions of people on the planet who were born into Hinduism, who were born into Buddhism, who were born into Islam, and of course, Judaism, which to me is so connected to Christianity, right? Because Jesus was a Jew. And so if you're born in God's image and likeness of exactly how he wanted you to be, then you're born into the religion that you're supposed to be born into. And whether or not you choose to leave it and you choose to switch religions, that's a part of your life path.

Right. But so I think missionary work is beautiful to get the message to people that needed to hear that message. And there is a enormous amount of respect that is due to every other religion that's out there and honoring and believing that people are where they're supposed to be. OK, so that went off on a tangent of definitions.

So then let's flip to the other side of like spirituality and how is that different from religion and because spirituality of course is the point and the biggest part of religion, but religion is the organized structure and Spirituality to me is the very personal piece of it. It is this inner connection to the divine to God to something greater than yourself

Spirituality is this direct experience, this inner knowing, that feeling that you have connected to spirit, right? That's what spirituality is, is however you define that. And it doesn't require the building, doesn't require the historical texts, it doesn't require the leader because spirituality is yours. It's your connection. It's that you feel the divine, you feel God, you feel spirit within you. And to me, that is about presence and not doctrine.

So again, those things are not mutually exclusive, right? You can be religious and spiritual. You can be spiritual and not religious. And there are people that claim to be very religious that...are not very spiritual and that's where the messiness gets in, right? That's where the human nature and that there is, you know, a dark side to every organization, to, I mean, to everybody. We all have our dark sides. It's part of being human, right? So, so yeah, you can, you can say you're very religious and not be spiritual. And all of these situations are true.

And one of the biggest gifts that we can give ourselves is releasing the shame or judgment around whatever path we're on. I actually have this crazy memory of being a kid, proposing.

I actually have this crazy memory of being a kid and posing this question to my mom about like, what if all religions are wrong? I was creating that question, I was posing the question around almost like atheism, but actually I remember saying that, what if it's just like the sky and the universe? Which is interesting that I would ask this as a kid with my interest in astrology today. And she shut me down instantly. And so I did have a lot of shame around that, but I also like created restriction around it, right? Like I was like, do not question authority. Do not question the structure. And around religion and what is taught. And so I didn't because I learned in that moment that it was wrong. And so it's been super interesting as an adult and really diving in more into my spirituality while still honoring the pieces that I love about Catholicism. And to be clear, the pieces that I love about Catholicism is the spirituality within it. And

When I look at other religions, that is what I love about other religions. It is the spirituality within it because that is what makes them all the same, right? That we're all actually on this same path of wanting to be closer to God, to source, to universe. And that is a beautiful thing. And for those of you that actually don't believe in God or the universe, but you believe.

Wait, Kara, strike that. I'm gonna say it differently. And maybe for those of you that struggle a little bit with that more traditional vision of God, but you do believe in some of the other things I've been talking about, like energy and in the universe, that's totally valid too, because this is the point of this episode and what I would love. For all of you to take away is that you have permission to take what resonates and doesn't, and you have permission to evolve and change your mind because your spiritual journey is yours. And so that's what I want to invite in is just expanding your mindset around these things. And since I just brought up astrology, I want to say one thing about that.

I find it super interesting, especially within Christian religions, that astrology is often taught to be, what's the word I want to use? Just that it's against our religion, that maybe it's even dark. And that to me, again, comes from a place of judgment. It comes from this human desire to like kind of take down other ideas. And it doesn't make sense to me that again, if we believe in God and he is the creator and he created all the people in the religions and cultures that they're supposed to grow up in. And what about the universe? We have this entire just our solar system, mind blowing, fascinating, we can't wrap our human heads around it. And then beyond that, the infinite number of other solar systems that are out there, that the galaxy is actually infinite. And so God created this, and why would He create all of this randomly? Why wouldn't He actually use higher intelligence that is God the Creator to make sense of the universe. Why wouldn't it all have a purpose and a meaning and messages and ways that we can use it to elevate our life and spirituality? So yeah, that's just a little side note that that's what I think about astrology. I think it's beautiful and fascinating and historical cultures.

Used it because it was one of the most important tools that they had and to me it is spiritual and it is not against religion it actually you know to me it coincides as one and you can take that or leave that if it resonates or doesn't It's fine, right? This is this is what I want to open up is that we can all have different opinions about these things

And I did talk a little bit in the last episode about the history of like using the term woo woo as like slang. And also I was super curious about the difference in the Tao and the Dao because when I do in-person sound baths, I often like to finish with a little poem. And there is a book that I love to pull things from that is very popular in yoga studios because it has all these really beautiful snippets, poetry, and reflections. And it is the Tao way. So I actually wanted to dive into that a little bit because it's just a fascinating lens about spirituality and how language shapes our understanding of it. So those together with the term wu wu.

So first, the Tao and the Dao. What am I saying? It's T-A-O and D-A-O. And they are actually the same thing. They're just from different ways of translating Chinese characters into English. So I don't know Chinese at all, but what I understand is that they call it Romanization system. So there's... a way to translate these Chinese characters and the Tao and the Dao are the same concept. They are central to Chinese philosophy and religion that is called Taoism or Daoism. And what does that mean? It means the way. So I interpret that as the path, right?

That is the fundamental nature of the universe, the path, the flow, the underlying order and harmony of everything. And so the Tao is both religious and spiritual. It is a part of an organized tradition with texts and practices, but it's also a deeply personal and experiential path.

Right, so you can study it. You also have to feel it and experience it and embody it. But I have loved using that book so much because I do think it's a perfect example of how religion and spirituality can be one in the same. It's how structure and direct experience can coexist.

And that's the whole philosophy of Taoism is living in harmony with the Tao, with the natural flow of life, with the path of life. It's not about forcing, it's about allowing. So it is a very mindfulness-based practice is of course how we've westernized it. And you know, it's got this message of being like water, that you're adaptable and flowing and powerful in its softness. And that is a similar message within Christianity of that when you trust in Jesus and when you trust in God and it is a surrender, that that is how you become in harmony with your path with God. So when we start talking and using that term woo woo, this is a Western culture thing. And like I said in the other episode, you know, I've been surprised that so many people don't know what I'm saying when I've said it. And it's been a self-defense mechanism that I have used of like, know what I'm doing is really woo woo. And people are like, wait, what does that mean? And, and the slang of it has been like that. It's just a little bit crazy. It's out there. It's not grounded. It's not real or legitimate. And.

So it is a dismissive term. It's like saying that it's weird or not serious or that it's nonsense. And that definitely is a part of Western culture when it's not a part of mainstream religions that we believe in here in the United States. But, you know, truly like anywhere. And then this is what I think is so funny is finding out that the term Wu actually has roots that are from a profound Chinese philosophical concept, and that is Wu Wei, W-U-W-E-I. And it's, again, a core principle in Taoism, and it means this effortless action, this non-forcing. It's not about like a doing nothing or being passive or lazy, it's...

about acting in alignment with the Tao, with the path, the natural flow of life. And it's about trusting the universe and letting things unfold without resistance and being in the current instead of like swimming upstream. It's about like knowing when to act and then when to wait, when to push and when to surrender. It's about ease and flow and harmony. And so, that again is so similar to Christian teachings, right? I mean, it's the same teaching. And so when we dismiss spiritual practices as woo woo, we are actually dismissing ancient wisdom and we're mocking something that's actually about living in harmony with the universe, about trusting the flow, about believing in something bigger that maybe all of astrology is on purpose. And you know, so to me take out the astrology or not like I don't think there's anything crazy or bad about Any of these things this is all actually deeply wise. This is ancient wisdom that we get to bring into creating modern inner peace and we need this and

This is one of the reasons that I wanted to talk about it is I think it's important to understand this because language matters and the way we talk about things shapes how we think about them and the way we label things shapes whether we take them seriously or not. So I'm vowing to take woo woo out of my self-defense mechanisms and then I just open up the floor for inviting in you, if you have used it, to realize that when we're saying it that, you know, we're actually downplaying ancient wisdom. And I think anybody that's on a spiritual path, whether you are connecting with religion or not, I think we all want to like level up how we're approaching these things, right?

Okay, so let's take this back to your relationship with God, with the divine, and what it actually looks like to have a relationship with the divine and whatever that means to you. Because again, as you know by listening to me, I don't think there's one right way to connect to source God, the universe, spirit, the Tao. Whatever you want to call it. I really want to normalize this and I really want to open up honoring all the other traditions instead of passing judgment.

I think sometimes we carry around so much pressure about what our spiritual practice is supposed to look like. And for sure, that comes from religion does tell us, there would be the people who would argue that I am not a good Catholic because I don't go to church every week. And I have learned to let that judgment go because I think it's between me and God.

Right? So again, it's your spiritual practice that is meaningful to you and it can look like so many different things. here's how I see a variety of different practices. Of course, it starts with prayer. It starts with talking to God, to source, to the universe, to your angels and guides.

And having this conversation with the divine and being honest and vulnerable and real and praying for guidance. And then there is meditation in silence. that is, of course, sitting in silence. Meditation doesn't always have to be silent. I lead meditations that are guided. But I think the combination of prayer and meditation in silence, where you maybe just focus on your breath and connect to that still quiet space inside, that gives you those moments to listen. So prayer is talking to God and meditation is listening to God. And I think they're so beautiful together. And again, I think it's super interesting when people are like, I don't meditate because they are.

They believe that their religion doesn't allow it. But even in Catholicism, meditation is a word used a lot of like, go meditate on Mother Mary or go meditate on the 12 apostles, right? Like it's meant to sit in silence and listen to messages that they might have for you.

Now, I also think that all of the other things that I have talked about are spiritual practices that people might not think of as spiritual practices. And that is like journaling, where you get to write out your thoughts and your fears and your gratitude and your questions, because that is another form of prayer and meditation. And so you get to see using writing.

To see what wisdom comes through. It's really amazing when you open up that other side of your brain and the creative brain and free write and see what does your soul have to say. Maybe your angels are gonna help you write something that you wouldn't have thought of on your own.

Time in nature can be spiritual, walking barefoot on the earth and sitting by water and watching the sunrise. Just that feeling of being connected to something bigger than yourself can truly be one of the most spiritual experiences you can have. On our honeymoon, which is now 25 years ago, my husband and I

We're in Hawaii and we did that whole wake up at 2 a.m. and take a four hour van ride to the top of the volcano because you watch the sunrise from the volcano. And that was one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had. mean, most of the crowd just had tears in their eyes, like the one or two tears streaming down their face because it's so beautiful.

I believe that listening to music can be spiritual. Music, of course, is a part of most religious traditions, right? There's music as worship and even as prayer, but there is a connection that you can also do personally, listening to songs that move you, that send those chills through your body that make you sing and dance.

And then if you're someone that plays an instrument, you know how that also makes you feel. You can feel those vibrations in your body. And so with that, like movement can even be spiritual, right? That dancing, just getting into your body, maybe through stretching and yoga. People have a lot of spiritual experiences in yoga. You're getting into your body as a way to connect. To spirit.

Now, if you've been listening to me for a while, you also know I love breath work and breath work in and of itself. When done with safety and connection, it can shift your state to release and connect. And it also can be a really beautiful spiritual experience. And then that's actually where I love to bring rituals into daily life because you can create a spiritual experience at home that you might have seen in churches right that you're lighting candles that you create your own little altar You know, this is what I love about the Mexican culture in the day of the dead and I feel like in the United States Especially if you haven't lost someone close to you that might feel like so odd It's hard for us to understand it is so beautiful. They are making an altar with flowers and candles and the elements of the earth and things that their loved ones loved and honoring that. I just think it's so beautiful. That is a spiritual experience that they're doing and bringing into their own homes. And you can do this with, you know, changing of the seasons or the moon cycles. I of course love to use the moon cycles. you know, and I work with Oracle cards and I know again, people judge on that. I love them and I always call in angels and God and Jesus to guide me when I'm pulling those cards because I want it to be of the highest power and the greatest good. So know that what you've seen in a church, you can create a miniature version in your home for however it would be nourishing to you.

And then again, this is also where just like simply living with intention and presence, you know, being kind, being grateful, being aware, you can make every moment a spiritual practice. And that's why I think intentional living, mindful living is so important because it actually becomes a part of who you are every day and that shifts your energy, right? So again, there's no rule book here. Practice of spirituality can be formal or informal, structured or spontaneous, alone or in community, and I love both. And what I also want you to know is that if you're evolving and your beliefs are changing, that's beautiful. It's a part of your path and you don't have to have shame behind it.

You don't have to question it as long as you're having a conversation with God in source, because spirituality is not static. It evolves as you evolve, and it's going to look different at different stages in your life. Maybe what you believed five years ago doesn't resonate anymore, and maybe what you felt true even like last year feels different now, and that's not wrong.

It is your own personal growth. And say like maybe you used to pray every night as a child. I know when my kids were little, we would sit, I would tuck them in and we would say prayers every night. But then maybe you've stopped. I would imagine my boys are not saying prayers on their own every night. I would love for them to, but I don't know that they do. But if this is you and maybe now you're coming back to it in a different way, it's so beautiful.

And maybe you've tried on a bunch of different types of spiritual practices and none of them have stuck and you're still on the journey to find that one that does, that's also beautiful, right? Like continue to try on what fits for you. And I mean, I will share different things fit at different points of my life because we get to search and question and figure it out because we...are always changing. we're supposed to be always changing. That's like perfectly okay. It's normal. Spirituality is not about perfection. It's about connection. And so we don't have to have it all figured out. It's about staying open and asking questions and most importantly, listening because your relationship with God and the divine is yours. And you know.

I know this statement ruffles feathers, but I believe that no one else gets to define it for you. It is your relationship with God. And when you develop your intuition in this self-trust, in the knowing, you are using this super powerful way to deepen your spiritual connection. And so,

Again, to me, that doesn't matter if you are religious, if you're spiritual, or if you're both. Your intuition is your direct line to the divine because it is this inner knowing. It's that quiet voice that just knows.

I'm going to circle this back to like this is where that woo way really comes into practice. It's trusting the effortless knowing. It's not forcing answers. It's not overthinking. It's just allowing this wisdom to flow. And I mean, I will tell you, I still struggle with this all the time. You know, I'm like, I'm going to pull some more cards because I like, I really need an answer to this question. Then I'll pull a card and be like,

I don't like that card. I want another card. Or like in the last episode, we talked about signs. I want a signier sign. So how can you develop this practice? again, as you've heard me say before, you have to create the space. You can't hear your intuition if your mind is constantly busy, constantly consuming information and constantly distracted, which is where we're all moving, right? We're listening to podcasts.

We are watching videos on YouTube, we're scrolling, we've got the TV on, we've got our computer open, we've got our phone next to us. There is so much that we're feeding into our brains that you have to make the space to pray, you have to make the space for quiet because that is...where the intuition is going to be developed. It's why meditation and breath work and time and nature, all of those practices help. They quiet the noise so you can hear these divine messages and these divine connections. So a really great reflection question, if you're faced with a decision or a question.

What I really love to do instead of the example of getting a little nutty around pulling cards is to take a breath, put your hand on your heart, and ask, what does my soul know about this?

What does God and the divine and my guardian angels want to share with me about this? And then you listen, and not with your mind, but with your body and with your inner wisdom. And you will quickly notice the difference between like a fear or self-sabotage message that comes in versus intuition.

and self-knowing because that fear voice is urgent and chaotic and worst-case scenarios and it feels tight, feels constricted in your body. Whereas intuition is calm and clear, it's that quiet knowing and so it feels spacious and grounded in your body. It's a you know what to do and trust yourself.

So the more you practice this listening, the more you're going to know that feeling in your body. So, you know, in a sense, like it gets louder. So the more it speaks and it is just beautiful that when you trust your intuition, you're trusting the divine, you're developing your spirituality because your intuition is the divine speaking through you. And again, of course there's prayer, which

is conversation with the divine, however you want to think about it. It doesn't have to be formal. It doesn't have to be on your knees with your hands folded and your eyes closed, but I do that sometimes when I really have a big prayer that I want to focus on. My body actually feels the need to do that. But you also can pray very simply with just dropping in and praying. It can be a conversation.

Can be honest and vulnerable in just a real conversation, just talking to God, talking to Source, talking to your guides and angels. However you relate to the divine, I invite you to start talking to that Source. Ask the questions, express gratitude and thanks. Ask for guidance.

Surrender your worries and ask for the ability to surrender your worries. know, state your fears and ask for them to be taken away from you, for your load to be lightened and to celebrate your wins with gratitude and appreciation. And again, then you want to come to that point to listen, sit in enough stillness or go for a walk, but don't. Don't have your podcast going. If you're wanting answers, you've got to create the space for the divine to communicate back to you. So again, like we talked about in the last episode, it could be signs, but it could just come as a thought, a download. It can come in a dream. Just stay open and receptive of however that might drop in.

So I want to end this with giving you permission to take what resonates and leave what doesn't. But that you do have permission within both religion and spirituality to believe what you believe. You also have permission to question what you were taught.

To explore traditions that aren't yours, as long as you're doing it with true, deep reverence and that you're wanting to honor what those traditions are. And you have permission to stay in your tradition and love it deeply. I feel like I do both. I love Catholicism. I love all the teachings within yoga and meditation, which come from all the other. Religions of Buddhism and Taoism and Hinduism. There's so much in that that I truly honor and love.

And you know, you have permission to do that as well, to blend practices from different paths because it is that you get to create your own path because your path is yours. You get to change your mind. You get to not have all the answers because a spiritual path is not a straight line. I don't believe that it's supposed to be.

In the spiritual world, you see a lot of spirals. In nature, we see spirals, right? It's a journey. It's an unfolding. And wherever you are on that path right now, wherever you feel connected or disconnected or like super clear or confused or really grounded or still searching, you're exactly where you need to be. There is no timeline. There is no finish line.

Except of course at the end of our lives, right? But there's this moment and your willingness to stay open and asking those questions of what is spirituality to me? Are there religious practices that I want to be involved in and would that bring me closer to God source, the divine? Because what I know to be true is that when you are connected, to something bigger than yourself. When you trust that you're being guided and supported, when you move in harmony with life, that natural flow, then you step into this whole new level of self-trust, of inner wisdom, of this feeling of inner peace and deep happiness.

And to me, that's what abundance is. It's not material abundance. It's this soul level, deep abundance, the kind that fills you up from the inside out. So however you connect to the divine, please just keep connecting and keep listening and keep trusting and keep flowing.

I believe that abundance is truly success of the soul. I believe that you are abundant by design and that part of that design is your unique, beautiful, evolving relationship with the divine. And you don't need anyone's permission and you don't need anyone's approval. You just need to trust yourself and trust God Source. The divine. You are so deeply supported and I'm so grateful for you listening to this message today because it's a deep one. It's vulnerable and I'm just so glad that you're willing to explore these topics and these questions with me. I would love to hear what resonated with you. I would love even to like debate if you have a counterpoint that you want to share. It's just important for all of us to stand in our truth and for me, spirituality is such an important part of my life and that's why I wanted to make this episode. So thank you so much for listening. I hope you have an amazing week and I will talk to you then. Thanks so much.