Finding True Spiritual Growth in Everyday Challenges
EP. 14
In this episode of the Mae B Mindful Podcast, Hannah Mae dives into the real essence of spiritual growth beyond the quiet moments on the mat or in meditation. She explores the true test of spirituality—how we respond in life’s most chaotic and challenging moments. From managing interruptions during spiritual practices to embracing the discomfort of growth, this episode is a candid conversation about integrating spirituality into everyday life and letting go of attachments that no longer serve us. Tune in for insights on patience, presence, and finding grace in the messiness of life.
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Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to the Mae B Mindful Podcast. I am your host, Hannah Mae. I'm a mother of six, a conscious birth instructor and educator, a spiritual growth facilitator, and a certified hypnotist. This podcast is about inspiring hope, expanding awareness, and raising consciousness to revolutionize the way we live and experience our lives. You can expect thought-provoking episodes each week, spanning a range of topics drawn from both my own journey of transformation and healing and from working with others. I hope you find this podcast to be informative, refreshing, illuminating, and instrumental in your own soul's evolution and growth. Let's jump right in!
Hi guys, welcome back to the Mae B Mindful Podcast. How's everybody doing? I thought I'd talk about spirituality today—like the super spiritual people of the world—and how we grow, the opportunities we encounter, and how we get to where we want to be. I have to laugh at myself because even saying it sounds a bit arrogant—it’s like the opposite of what the spiritual experience actually requires. Spirituality requires humility, recognition, and allowing. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Okay, so imagine you take me to a mountaintop and leave me there alone. You send me to a retreat, or just leave me alone to watch a sunset, get quiet, and pray. That’s my happy place—just to meditate and cultivate peace because that’s what really makes me okay at the end of the day. Based on my journey and seeing what doesn’t work and knowing what does, taking that time is a spiritual practice. But throw me back into my family at dinnertime—a situation that can sometimes feel like a war zone—or into a conflict, or a highly combative situation with someone being inflammatory, or even into a group of people I don’t know, and then you really get to see how spiritual I actually am. How do I respond to people? How awake and conscious am I? How connected to spirit am I in those moments? What tools can I draw from, and what practices have I already integrated through previous challenges?
This spiritual practice isn’t just about what you do when you’re alone; it’s about how you integrate it into life. How do you find your place? How do you become right-sized in the world with others? It makes me laugh because, yeah, on my own, I might feel very evolved and conscious, but no one’s pressing my buttons. If I go do yoga on my porch, which I love doing, I can really get in the zone. I love practicing yoga anywhere where I can just go inward, drop into the practice, and get very present with my body—that’s a spiritual practice. But what happens when my kids come in fighting? Do you know how many times my kids have interrupted me when I’m trying to have a spiritual moment? How many times have I gotten frustrated with them or even yelled at them, only to think, “Wow, how spiritual am I really if I’m yelling at my kids right now?”
The real opportunity for growth and spirituality is in allowing it to be integrated into my behavior and having a different reaction. How do I have that different reaction? First of all, I have to recognize that I need help—that I don’t have it all figured out. I’m very attached in that moment to needing things to be the way I want them to be, so I can experience peace. But spirituality isn’t just a feeling state. Yes, you can be gifted peace, consolation, and other fruits of living a spiritually aligned life, but if you’re not putting those into practice, then it’s superficial. It’s actually selfish because it’s just self-gratification.
Yes, my yoga practice and meditation are incredibly important to me. I’ve learned to set boundaries around them and say, “Hey, I need the last 10 minutes to myself, and then I can give you my full attention.” It took time to get there. But what happens if that boundary is disrespected? Or better yet, what if it’s something that can’t wait, and I’m called to action? I might have to leave that sacred space to be of service, which is a deeply spiritual action in itself. There’s selflessness in that, and it’s refining. There’s a death of self in that because I wanted things to be a certain way, but I had to let it go temporarily to grow.
So, how do we grow? It’s not like ordering a Snickers from a vending machine—you don’t just press A4 and get what you want. If I want patience, does a fairy godmother come along, tap me on the head, and suddenly I have the gift of patience? No, that’s not what happens. Instead, I’m given trials and opportunities that push me to practice patience.
People often tell me I’m patient, but they don’t know the truth. If I do exhibit patience, it’s because the need for it in my life is so great that I have no choice but to practice it. As a mom, you spend your life being interrupted. Sometimes, I can’t even finish a thought because I’ve been interrupted so much. This is a conditioned response, and while I joke about it, it’s not the real issue—I have other issues.
Here’s an example: you’re putting your toddler in the car, and they want to buckle themselves in. Sometimes there’s no time for this, so you do it for them, and they break down into hysterical tears. You have to be patient with that because they’ve experienced disappointment. But if there’s no logical reason to say “no,” and you have the time, you let them do it, even if it takes longer. You have to be really present to appreciate moments like these because they’re working on a different timeline.
Back to patience—if you ask for it, you’re not magically going to have it. Instead, you’ll be given challenges that build patience. I was recently reading St. Catherine of Siena’s conversations with God, where she explains how God allows temptations through love, to refine and strengthen virtue in us. He says we’re already strong and don’t need to consent to the lies that weaken us. When we accept challenges, we grow stronger, and once we overcome them, we’ve conquered that level. We now have a tool we can access because we’ve used it before. Through these trials, we come to a deeper knowledge of ourselves and of God.
Spiritual growth is about letting go of attachments that keep us in bondage. When we release these attachments, we open up space for Divine grace to flow in. This applies to all kinds of attachments, whether it’s unhealthy habits or toxic relationships. Letting go creates space for something new to come in, and that’s where the magic happens. It’s not easy, and there’s a purification process that’s uncomfortable. But when we let go of trying to control everything, we allow for something greater to enter.
I’m not minimizing the importance of prayer and meditation—they are critical spiritual practices. But it wasn’t always something I loved. A couple of decades ago, I found relief in nature when I was trying to avoid harmful behaviors. Eventually, I had to let go of those harmful solutions, which takes immense courage. When I stepped onto this new path of spiritual growth, I began to wake up to life, and everything felt raw and intense. I had to learn how to get centered and not be pulled in every direction. I’m not naturally grounded, so I’ve had to work hard to find that balance.
Being present with yourself is a gradual process, and I’m still on that journey. The more our awareness grows, the more we’re called to rise to new challenges. We’re operating in multiple dimensions—human and spiritual—and while our human nature tries to pull us back, our soul longs to grow. The spiritual path requires endurance and growth, and as we become more conscious, we’re met with new challenges to prove our growth.
It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t get easier. The goal is Divine Union, and that’s what the soul seeks. It’s the only thing that truly satisfies. We have moments of connection and surrender, but they’re often interrupted by our human circumstances, which keep us humble and reliant on grace.
There’s so much more to explore, like joy, gratitude, and other concepts that often get bypassed. Gratitude is powerful but must be genuine, not a superficial attempt to avoid the journey. The journey is essential because it requires us to experience the full range of emotions, from disappointment to joy. We can’t bypass the process—it has to be felt from beginning to end.
I don’t know what I just talked about in this episode, but that’s all I have for today. I love you guys, and we’ll talk again soon. Thank you for tuning in to the Mae B Mindful Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us grow and improve. For more information, resources, and exclusive content, visit our website at maebmindful.com. Until next time!