No-Bullshit

Spirituality

Hello,

I’m Ash Riley and I advocate for a science-based, socially responsible, and trauma-informed approach to spirituality and conscious business. I teach a practical, nuanced perspective of spirituality, intuitive development, conscious marketing, and related topics to help you discern the bullshit from the cool shit.

No-Bullshit

Spirituality

No-Bullshit

Spirituality

Hello,

I’m Ash Riley, and I’m an advocate for science-based, socially responsible, trauma-informed spirituality without diluting the magick of mysticism. I write a nuanced perspective on spiritual beliefs, healing, astrology, psychic development, and other topics to help you separate the bullshit from the cool shit.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CONSCIOUS?

Raising your consciousness is evangelized in the spiritual, health and wellness industry as getting in alignment with your best self, but this shallow “pop” spirituality lacks the depth and nuance required to truly explore our own shadow and come out the other side transformed. Instead, the opportunistic culture of the Western world has commoditized the sacred, and the result –– now antithetical to its former core values –– is harming more people than it heals.

The time has come for modern spirituality to confront its own shadow.

Spirituality Articles

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NEW TO SPIRITUALITY? ARTICLES FOR BEGINNERS

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RESPONSIBLE SPIRITUALITY ARTICLES

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CONSCIOUS BUSINESS ARTICLES

Hi there. I’m Ash, and I am NOT a business coach.

I’m a trained journalist and former entrepreneur with nearly two decades experience in business and marketing. I’m also a rational mystic, shadow worker, astrologer, and tarot reader.

I take serious issue with the harmful culture of commercialized spirituality.

Spiritual work is sacred work. As a practitioner, people trust us with their deepest level of vulnerability and we have a duty to honor that within our interactions, but once the desire for success overtakes the desire to serve the greater good, the only thing you’re serving is your own ego. The work loses integrity.

Thanks to capitalism, commoditization, and spiritual narcissism, spirituality has become a trendy aesthetic rather than a sacred practice, and the healing process has been converted to a business model that uses sacred terminology to make sales pitches. But healing and intuition are not products or marketing gimmicks –– they are the product of thousands of tears, ache, pain, the deep soul work of burning down the illusions of many versions of ourselves.

All of my years in marketing and advertising and my experiences with “influencing” and “coaching” has made me incredibly conscious of how broken the spiritual community is, and determined to do it differently.

Hi there. I’m Ash, and I am NOT a business coach.

I’m a trained journalist and former entrepreneur with nearly two decades experience in business and marketing. I’m also a rational mystic, shadow worker, astrologer, and tarot reader.

I take serious issue with the h culture of commercialized spirituality.

Spiritual work is sacred work. As a practitioner, people trust us with their deepest level of vulnerability and we have a duty to honor that within our interactions, but once the desire for success overtakes the desire to serve the greater good, the only thing you’re serving is your own ego. The work loses integrity.

Thanks to capitalism, commoditization, and spiritual narcissism, spirituality has become a trendy aesthetic rather than a sacred practice, and the healing process has been converted to a business model that uses sacred terminology to make sales pitches. But healing and intuition are not products or marketing gimmicks –– they are the product of thousands of tears, ache, pain, the deep soul work of burning down the illusions of many versions of ourselves.

All of my years in marketing and advertising and my experiences with “influencing” and “coaching” has made me incredibly conscious of how broken the spiritual community is, and determined to do it differently.

Business Consulting

BUSINESS  |  BRANDING

I offer consulting services to help you make your business, branding, messaging, and marketing more ethical and trauma-informed. You can also hire me as a guest teacher for your coaching program.

Business Consulting

BUSINESS

BRANDING

I offer consulting services to help you make your business, branding, messaging, and marketing more ethical and trauma-informed. You can also hire me as a guest teacher for your coaching program.

Unlearn Bad Business

STOP SCALING. START SUSTAINING.

Ready to ditch the marketing gimmicks and new age buzzwords? The Ethical Entrepreneurship online course will teach you the foundation of ethical business. Learn what ethical business actually is, why it’s necessary, and how to begin.

Unlearn Bad Business

STOP SCALING. START SUSTAINING.

Ready to ditch the marketing gimmicks and new age buzzwords? The Ethical Entrepreneurship online course will teach you the foundation of ethical business. Learn what ethical business actually is, why it’s necessary, and how to begin.

On The Blog

New to In My Sacred Space? Here’s the must-reads.

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WHY YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE SHOULD BE TRAUMA INFORMED

Not all spirituality is helpful or healthy spirituality. Trauma-informed spirituality is the direction we need to go in our attempts to leave behind toxic, abusive spirituality. Here’s what trauma-informed spirituality is and how to identify it.

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SPIRITUALITY HAS A TOXIC MARKETING PROBLEM

If you’re a spiritual practitioner who hates marketing yourself, or you’re someone who is in the market to find a practitioner for any kind of spiritual service, you need to read this article right now to learn about some of the shady shit going on in the industry.

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WHY YOU DON’T FEEL ALIGNED WITH MODERN MARKETING

A common complaint I hear from spiritual entrepreneurs is how they feel completely repulsed by modern marketing, and yet, believe there’s something wrong with them and spend thousands of dollars on business coaches.
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HOW ENERGY WORKERS CAN EASILY HARM CLIENTS

Even the most well-intentioned energy workers, coaches, and spiritual practitioners can harm their clients if they don’t understand trauma. Here’s a personal story about how an energy worker harmed me and the signs she missed.

a graphic of a woman praying

WHY YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE SHOULD BE TRAUMA INFORMED

Not all spirituality is helpful or healthy spirituality. Trauma-informed spirituality is the direction we need to go in our attempts to leave behind toxic, abusive spirituality. Here’s what trauma-informed spirituality is and how to identify it.

A hand holding a glass sphere

SPIRITUALITY HAS A TOXIC MARKETING PROBLEM

If you’re a spiritual practitioner who hates marketing yourself, or you’re someone who is in the market to find a practitioner for any kind of spiritual service, you need to read this article right now to learn about some of the shady shit going on in the industry.

A hand holding a glass sphere

WHY YOU DON’T FEEL ALIGNED WITH MODERN MARKETING

A common complaint I hear from spiritual entrepreneurs is how they feel completely repulsed by modern marketing, and yet, believe there’s something wrong with them and spend thousands of dollars on business coaches.
a graphic of a torso with a crystal grid on it

HOW ENERGY WORKERS CAN EASILY HARM CLIENTS

Even the most well-intentioned energy workers, coaches, and spiritual practitioners can harm their clients if they don’t understand trauma. Here’s a personal story about how an energy worker harmed me and the signs she missed.

GET ON MY EMAIL LIST

RESPONSIBLE SPIRITUALITY  |  CONSCIOUS BUSINESS

Subscribe to email list to be notified about new posts, projects, events, and other communications from me.

GET ON MY EMAIL LIST

RESPONSIBLE SPIRITUALITY

CONSCIOUS BUSINESS

Subscribe to email list to be notified about new posts, projects, events, and other communications from me.

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DOWNLOAD

RED FLAGS CHECKLIST:

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TOXIC MARKETING

Unlike a lot of marketers, I don’t believe in dangling free offers as bait to grow my email list. My ebooks are completely free, no strings or email signup attached.

An image of the Red Flags ebook cover

DOWNLOAD

RED FLAGS CHECKLIST:

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TOXIC MARKETING

Unlike a lot of marketers, I don’t believe in dangling free offers as bait to grow my email list. My ebooks are completely free, no strings or email signup attached.

WHY DO WE NEED CONSCIOUS MARKETING?

Ash talks ethical business and trauma-informed marketing with authentic business coach George Kao.