Your Spiritual Trench Box Pillar 2: Commitment

In this Spiritual Trench Box Series, we are exploring five supports that can help hold us steady as we deepen our mediumship: practice, commitment, community, integrity, and education. In the last post, we considered practice as a relationship we return to rather than an ability we must prove. Now we come to the second pillar: Commitment.

What Happens When the Excitement Fades?

It is easy to feel committed when everything is flowing.

When a reading goes well, our connection feels clear, or we recognize that we are growing, we may feel certain that this is the path we want to follow. But what happens when the experience is less encouraging?

What happens when we enter a dry spell, a reading does not go as we hoped, or self-doubt begins speaking more loudly than our trust?

These are often the moments when we discover what commitment means to us.

I sometimes ask students whether they are truly committed to their mediumship or simply “playing with it” when they feel like it. I do not ask this as a judgment. We are each free to decide what place mediumship holds in our lives.

But I do believe there is value in being honest with ourselves about the answer.

Commitment Is Not the Same as Pressure

Commitment can easily become confused with pushing ourselves. We may think it means never missing a class, practicing no matter how exhausted we are, or refusing to step back when life requires our attention.

That is not how I understand it.

Commitment does not ask us to ignore our humanity. It asks us to remain in an honest relationship with what matters to us.

Sometimes that means showing up for a circle or class even when we are tired. Sometimes it means continuing to practice when the connection feels quiet. At other times, it may mean resting intentionally rather than disappearing from the work because we are discouraged or afraid.

The form may change, but the deeper “yes” remains:

I’m in. I’m willing to keep showing up, learning, and growing.

Staying When the Outcome Is Uncertain

Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of commitment is remaining present when we cannot see where the process is leading.

Not every reading will unfold as we hoped. Not every practice session will leave us feeling more confident. Some experiences may raise more questions than they answer.

It can be tempting to treat these moments as evidence that we are not progressing - or that we should give up before we fail more visibly.

Yet mediumship development is not a straight line. 

A difficult reading may reveal where we need greater trust, understanding, or practice. A quiet period may invite us to listen differently. Neither experience needs to become a verdict on our ability.

Commitment allows us to remain curious long enough to discover what the moment may be showing us.

Honoring Our Own Reasons

Our commitment does not need to look like anyone else’s.

Some of us may feel called to read publicly. Others may express their connection through writing, art, healing, ministry, or quiet personal exploration. One path is not more spiritually meaningful simply because it is more visible.
What matters is whether we are honoring the development that feels authentic to us.

When we compare our journey with someone else’s, commitment can begin to feel like a race. We may push toward goals we never truly chose or judge ourselves for not wanting what another person wants.

A genuine commitment grows from within. It is less concerned with proving how far we have come and more concerned with remaining faithful to what we are discovering.

The Steady “Yes” That Holds Us

Commitment is part of what keeps our Spiritual Trench Box in place when life becomes messy, criticism appears, or self-doubt begins pulling old fears back into the space we have cleared.

It does not guarantee certainty or constant enthusiasm. It simply gives us something to return to.

Without that steady support, it can be easy to slip into old patterns of avoidance or walk away too quickly from something that still matters to us.

With commitment, we can pause, adjust our pace, and continue - not because we are forcing an outcome, but because we have chosen to remain present to our unfolding.

A Question to Consider

What does a steady, honest commitment to your own development look like in this season of your life?

Joe’s Closing Thought

I do not believe commitment means that we never question, struggle, or step back to catch our breath. Sometimes it is simply the quiet decision not to abandon what matters to us because the path has become uncertain. Our “yes” does not always have to be loud to hold us steady.

Peace.

— Joe

In the next post, we explore the third pillar of the Spiritual Trench Box: Community. We will consider why deeply personal work does not always have to be solitary - and what becomes possible when we allow trusted companions to stand beside us as we grow.

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