Escaping the New Age Trap & Seeking Authenticity with Laura Shamanic Self This episode dives into a hard, unvarnished conversation about spiritual authenticity, deception, and the traps people fall into when they first break away from organized religion or mainstream narratives. Ryan opens by reflecting on how questioning everything can be liberating but also destabilizing, especially when old belief systems collapse and the alternatives—New Age teachings, "gurus," channelers, star-seed mythologies, and spiritual authority figures—often carry their own hidden agendas. He emphasizes his commitment to staying open, critical, and self-interrogating, even when perspectives clash, and he acknowledges that not every spiritual experience or teacher is fraudulent—there are glimpses of genuine love, beauty, and authenticity worth fighting for. Laura, founder of Shamanic Self, joins the show to break down her journey out of the New Age movement and explain why she believes much of it is a sophisticated trap. She discusses how people awakening to deeper truths often get funneled directly into another belief system that feeds their ego, siphons their energy, and pushes them toward external entities, "guides," and false cosmologies rather than their own inner knowing. Laura describes the years she spent following prominent New Age figures, the moment her life collapsed under their guidance, and how that crisis ultimately became her exit ramp. She outlines her current approach to intuitive work, one built on inner discernment, rejecting external "guides," and avoiding anything she sees as astral interference or AI-like deception. The conversation goes deep into metaphysics, soul contracts, resets, the nature of consciousness, why certain public spiritual figures may be controlled opposition, and how to navigate a world distorted by misinformation and hijacked belief systems. Despite clear disagreements, both maintain a grounded respect for one another's perspectives. The episode ends with a shared commitment to seeking truth, staying sovereign, and not surrendering personal power to any system claiming to have all the answers. WEBSITE: https://www.shamanicself.com/ ---------------- Takeaways include" Many people escaping religion fall directly into another trap—the New Age—because it appears liberating while quietly redirecting power away from the individual. Authentic spiritual insight requires discipline, inner work, and the ability to distinguish intuition from astral manipulation or external influence. Not all "gurus," psychics, or channelers are malicious, but many deliver harmful guidance, feed ego, or operate as controlled narratives. Sovereignty comes from grounding in personal intuition, not outsourcing authority to entities, guides, movements, or ideologies. Even within a world filled with deception, personal experiences of love, beauty, and genuine connection remain proof that not everything is corrupted—and those glimpses are worth defending. ---------------- Shamanic Self, spiritual authenticity, New Age deception, inner sovereignty, discernment, shamanic practice, matrix reality, astral interference, soul contracts, awakening, controlled opposition