Listening to the Heart: A Spiritual Journey Beyond Social Media Algorithms

On my spiritual journey, I’ve noticed how social media can sometimes pull me away from presence and connection. Since the last American election, my posts — and those of friends who write about spirituality, healing, and love — seemed to vanish overnight in the algorithms.

This isn’t a complaint, and it’s not political. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said: “I leave politics to the politicians.”

What I notice is that Facebook often pushes me toward a constant state of distraction or outrage. My feed fills with adverts I don’t want, articles I’m not interested in, and even when I press “not interested,” the cycle continues. For me, this has been a call into something deeper — a kind of social media detox, and a reminder to return to mindful living.

A gentle shift away from noise

I share this because many of us have felt it.

For more than a year, my inner voice has been gently nudging me away from Facebook, even when my posts were still doing well. That same voice guided me to put more energy into my own website, where the connection feels alive and authentic.

This morning I felt a real spark of excitement when I noticed that my website and newsletter were bringing more genuine connection than social media had in a long time. There, I’ll be sharing more free material — meditations, teachings, and reflections — because the flow feels natural.

It’s strange: when I log in to social media, I often feel my energy contract, like I’m being pulled into tension. Yet when I share through my website, my heart expands. I feel more open, grounded, and alive.

I believe this is one of the ways the soul speaks to us. Our heart is a compass.

Listening to the inner compass

Perhaps your journey is different, and that’s beautiful too. We’re all walking our own paths.

What I’ve been reminded of is to trust the ebb and flow: success and failure, winning and losing, rising and falling. Each moment is part of the larger current of life, carrying us where we need to go.

When we quiet the mind, balance our energy, and root awareness in the body, we become less dependent on man-made structures. Instead, we open to an unseen current of life — a loving force that guides us through both serenity and storms.

This is the essence of embodied presence: being rooted in the body, still in the mind, and attuned to the subtle movements of the heart. It’s a practice I return to again and again, whether in meditation, in movement like Tai Chi, or simply in the way I pause and listen to the silence before I speak.

The way of flow

Life becomes lighter when we trust the unseen flow. We don’t need to grasp so tightly to structures outside ourselves — whether that’s social media algorithms or society’s endless demands for productivity.

Through practice, we learn to rest into silence, to listen for that subtle whisper of guidance. This is not about withdrawing from the world, but about engaging with it in a different way: with softness, receptivity, and an openness to mystery.

For me, this has been one of the greatest gifts of mindful living. It allows me to notice when I’m being pulled away from myself, and to return to a deeper rhythm — one that is guided by the soul rather than by external noise.

An invitation

So I ask you: what is the subtle and silent pull of your heart drawing you toward today?

Perhaps it is toward a quiet walk in nature, a pause for meditation practice, or simply closing your eyes for a moment to breathe. Maybe it’s toward deeper connection with others, or perhaps toward a gentle social media detox of your own.

Wherever it leads, I trust that your heart is guiding you into a more authentic alignment with your own spiritual journey.

And if you’d like to walk alongside me, I’ll be sharing more reflections, meditations, and teachings through my website and newsletter — a space that feels alive, grounded, and free from the pull of algorithms.