I want to share my Christian testimony with you. In particular, how I became a Christian.
I'm not going to lie… I'm nervous to share this part of my life. I am aware that the topic of religion is a sensitive one for a lot of people.
However, in the spirit of transparency, I feel compelled to openly share my religious beliefs with you.
Being a Christian is a very important part of my life. If you are curious as to what my spiritual journey looks like, keep reading!
Watch the video below:
(Click here to watch on YouTube)
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My spiritual journey has made me who I am today.
Before I dive into my Christian testimony, I want you to know that I am respectful of your beliefs. I am not writing this blog to offend you, to convert you to Christianity, or to say that my beliefs are right and yours are wrong. My intentions are always pure. I simply want the best for everyone. That being said, I understand that talking about religion can be controversial.
I started Project Life Mastery as a way to share my journey to mastering every aspect of my life. I want to be the best version of myself. Whenever I come across something that has enriched my life, I feel compelled to share it. If you benefit from hearing about my spiritual journey, amazing! If not, that's okay too.
Not everything that I say and do is going to connect with everybody. However, at the same time, I think it would be disingenuous to not share my spiritual testimony with you. Being a Christian is a huge part of who I am. In fact, it's more powerful than many of the things that I talk about on my blog or YouTube channel. I've never shared this aspect of my life before.
I grew up as a Greek Orthodox Christian but I don't speak or understand Greek so I wasn't able to connect to the church. On top of that, we only went to church twice per year. My parents didn't impose religion on me.
When I was younger I always believed in God but I didn't have a relationship with him.
When I was 17 years old I found the world of self-development and I was hooked. However, over time I started feeling that a lot of the personal growth work that I was doing was surface level in nature. There were deeper levels of myself that I wanted to explore.
When I was 21 years old, I tried Ayushacha. This is a spiritual medicine that is used in tribes to heal trauma from people's lives. Auyshacha has hallucinogenic properties, meaning that you experience an altered-state from consuming the medicine. I had a very life-changing experience from it. All of my suppressed emotions came to the surface and I was forced to confront them.
Part of the Ayushacha journey is about learning how to let go and surrender. That's the moment that you are able to fully release pain and suffering and transition to a state of freedom and joy. After that experience, I started to think about life in a very different way. I asked myself questions like, “What happens when we die?” and “Where do we come from?” This is what started my spiritual journey.
I started exploring the work of Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Michael Singer, and Eckhart Tolle. These people enriched my life. Slowly I began developing a relationship with God. Knowing that you're not alone through the good times and the bad is really comforting.
I started to realize that things in my life were happening because of a higher purpose.
Later on in my life, I had a desire to learn about the different religions of the world. I started to study the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. I attended mosques, synagogues, and churches but I felt myself being pulled towards Christ. The Bible spoke to me.
There came a time when I explored the 12 steps as a path of self-development and spirituality. One core principle that I really benefited from was admitting that your life is unmanageable on your own. That's a very freeing step. It showed me that I was trying to fix and improve my life on my own.
I came to the understanding that there are certain parts of myself that can never be filled by something natural. I wanted to surrender to a higher power and connect with something that was supernatural. By letting go of my ego and asking for help from a higher Source for guidance, I found freedom.
A few months ago I had the honor of getting baptized again when I was in Israel.
Tatiana and I went to the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. We both had the desire to rededicate our lives to Christ. It was one of the most emotional moments of my life.
If you have the desire to explore Christianity on a deeper level, I encourage you to pick up a Bible. The first Gospel that I would read is the Gospel of John. This is the story of Jesus Christ. When I first read it, I was deeply moved and have been ever since.
My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important relationship that I have. It is the foundation for everything that I do and experience in my life. Being a Christian and a follower of Christ has forced me to be a more loving, generous and honest person.
This is how I became a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ.
I encourage you to explore your faith on a deeper level, whatever it is that you believe in. Come to your own conclusions and beliefs and connect with whatever serves and empowers you and your life.
Thank you for your willingness to hear about my spiritual journey with an open heart. I am grateful to you. God bless.