Overcoming Spiritual Imposter Syndrome

Have you ever felt like a spiritual

imposter?

If you’ve had a spiritual awakening (and if you’re reading this I’m guessing that you probably have), you will have experienced a sense of being connected to something greater than yourself.

You might work with energies. Perhaps you communicate with the departed, spirit guides or angels.

Maybe you have a strong or developing clairesense:

• Clairevoynce (where you might see visions or messages flash through your mind’s eye),

• Claireaudience (where you hear words, sounds or music either in your own voice, or the voices of others),

• Clairsentient (where you have a feel beyond the norm, such as a strong gut reaction),

• Clairealience (being able to smell odours that don’t have a physical source)

• Clairegustance (the gift of being able to taste something that isn’t physically there) or

• Clairecongnizant (when you have a ‘knowing’ of something or events that are outside of your conscious knowledge).

You might be experiencing these some of the time or even all of the time.

But have you ever caught yourself questioning whether your experiences, gifts and connections are real or whether you are imagining things, or- worst still- going crazy?If you have, you might be experiencing spiritual imposter syndrome.

What IS spiritual imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is commonly recognised as a form of fear – it shows up as feeling like a fraud despite our achievements and gifts. A feeling I’m certain you’ll be familiar with. Often, we dismiss our successes as a fluke, or as a result of someone else’s mistake or in their faith in us. It’s an innate sense of not being good enough.

We might feel like we a fraud or that we’re living a life that isn’t ours, accompanied by a feeling that we might be ‘found out’, or feeling like we are waiting for permission to be ourselves or embrace our gifts.

Spiritual imposter syndrome is where we find ourselves doubting our connection, questioning whether our imagination is in overdrive, or even worrying that others might discover we aren’t as connected as they think we are, being less powerful, gifted to experienced as those we compare ourselves to.

Check your ego

The first thing to know is that it’s completely normal. Everyone who has woken up spiritually has most likely experienced this at some point or another. It’s part of being human. It’s created by the ego. We often think of the ego as an arrogant part of ourselves, inflated, hedonistic and judgemental, but it’s also the mind’s way of trying to protect us and keep us safe.

It’s the part of us that says ‘this is crazy’, ‘did you really feel that, or just think you did’, or ‘am I making this up?!’. The ego is an entirely natural part of being human and part of our job is to train it and keep it in check.

Self Sabotage

If we don’t manage to keep those thoughts in check, we can often take action that gets in the way of achieving what we want to. Or just as likely we don’t take the action that will get to where we want to be.

If we don’t feel worthy, or trust our intuitive guidance, it’s highly probable that if (or when) we experience a level of success we will find a way to self-sabotage it.

The ways that we can get in our own way are endless, from over eating or drinking, reducing our sleep quantity, but as spiritual beings we might let the things that nurture our gifts or nourish our soul fall by the wayside.

If we start to question our spiritual connection it’s easy to fall out of our meditation routine, or stop channelling our gifts.

Smelling the roses

Take time to smell the roses

Spiritual Imposter Syndrome is something I’ve experienced many times - receiving clear messages from my guides, yet poo-pooing them every time and telling myself I must have imagined them. My logical mind kicking in, bringing me back to 3D consciousness. How often have you found yourself dismissing your connection, and your gifts as a figment of our imagination?

For many years my main spiritual gift was Clairalience, the gift of smelling something which isn’t physically present. One evening, around the time of my spiritual reawakening I was doing my yoga practice at home. I had the house to myself and was deeply connected to my practice, when an overwhelming and sudden scent of roses filled the room. It was incredibly strong, a lot like rose scented hand cream. It hung around for 10—15 minutes before gradually fading away. As soon as I’d finished my yoga routine, my logical mind dismissed it straight away. I told myself I’d imagined it, there was nothing and nobody else in the house but me! I quickly forgot about it.

But later, when my partner came home he suddenly asked me what I’d been doing because in the house because it ‘smelt different’. Intrigued, I asked what it smelt like, to which he shrugged and said he didn’t know but that it wasn’t unpleasant. Nervously I confided my experience, and whilst he couldn’t say that it was roses, he was willing to acknowledge something odd was happening. Validation of my experience - and a great reminder that our brain can instantly dismiss anything it can’t explain with logic.

What to do about it

It’s highly unlikely that you’re going crazy, and even if you feel like you’re making it up – that’s a good thing! We never really make anything up, the imagination is simply one way that the mind communicates with us. The solution is simple, and can be challenging at the same time: To trust.

Trust your guides.

Trust the way information, wisdom or guidance is coming to you.

Trust the messages.

But most importantly… trust yourself.

When we trust ourselves, knowing that we are safe to be who we truly are, we can step into our power and work our light, cherishing our value.

Journaling prompts to help develop self-trust

Journaling is a great way to enquire deeper into our mind and explore our thought processes. You might find the prompts below useful to develop your self-trust:

The times when I feel like a spiritual fraud are……

This makes me feel……

The thoughts that are stopping me from trusting myself are….

If I trusted myself completely I would…..

This matters to me because…..

About the Author

About the author

Helen Hardware is a spiritual coach who helps Lightworkers and Starseeds to navigate their spiritual journey, uncover their souls calling and build the confidence to fulfil it.