THE GENESIS | Ashley Paola | SeekingTruthWithGod - Ashley Paola | #1

The host of the podcast Seek Truth With God, Ashley Paola, is excited to finally start her podcast after wanting to do so for five years. She emphasizes the importance of putting God first and opens with a prayer. Ashley discusses the darkness in the world and how knowing Jesus brings her a sense of joy and excitement about the future. She shares her personal journey from agnosticism to atheism and the rebellion against religion that followed. Ashley talks about her experiences in the party scene, feeling lost, and hitting rock bottom. She recounts a moment of realization that she has a soul and calls out for help. That same night, she receives a package containing candles, crystals, and other items. What's going on everybody, welcome to Seek Truth With God, with your host Ashley Paola. I am so excited, yo, I've been wanting to do this podcast for literally like five years, but God's timing is perfect timing because five years ago I was not walking with Jesus, I was just, yeah, no. So point is, now this podcast is going to be all for his glory, which brings me to, I want to actually open up with prayer because making sure the Holy Spirit is present, really putting God, Jesus, and specifically at the forefront is really important to me and a huge motivating factor for this podcast. So with that, Father God, we come to you today and really just want to thank you first of all for making all the equipment that's necessary for a podcast, thank you for anybody that's listening to this podcast, may you become present Lord, less of me, less of me, more of you, Holy Spirit, and may anybody listening to this, may they be blessed, may they learn something, may they be encouraged, and if they don't know you Lord, maybe they can hold on to something that will lead you, or excuse me, lead them to you Lord. I appreciate you, I adore you, thank you, and we pray this all in your precious name, amen. All right, so gosh, I am just so excited, yo, okay, I gotta stop saying that because I know that can get annoying, but yo, I'm excited, I'm lit, let's go, but yeah, dude, so putting God first, why is that important? Because it's dark out there, I don't know if y'all have seen the world right now, but it's pretty dark, and I say that with like a smile still because when you know Jesus, when you know God, when you know the end, when you know the Bible, when you know how this all ends, yo, you can't help but have so much just like, almost like some giddiness inside of you because you're just like, yo, like this was all planned, and so I guess this is a great segue into my story because I didn't always believe in Jesus, like I said, five years ago, I was agnostic at that point, but let's start from the beginning, I think that's important, it's a good way to start this podcast, so you guys get to get to know me, kind of see where I'm coming from, and I hope that a lot of you can relate, I hope a lot of you have come in from similar paths, and if you don't, like, that's cool too, but if you can relate, that's so cool because once you've been in that, and now you're on the other side, it's our obligation and duty as believers to go show other people the way, and podcasts like this is really what helped plant seeds in my journey that ultimately led me to Christ, so yeah, let's take it back, so I grew up in, I guess you would say a Catholic household, but we never really practiced the Catholic religion, I mean, we would, we would, kind of not really, only when my grandma was around, shout out to her, rest in peace to that beautiful sweet soul, we would only come around, yeah, we would only go to church when she was around, Easter, Christmas, you know, all those things, Ash Wednesday, but I didn't have a relationship with Christ, neither did my parents or anybody in my household for that matter, so that's something that I really want to point out is that there was no relationship, it was all religious acts, okay, and so there was a season in my life where I was, you know, in middle school where I was taught that we gotta go to catechism and first communion classes and, you know, all that jazz, and I did because, again, I was in middle school, so for the most part, I listened to my mom and dad, no shame at them, or shade at them, excuse me, really me, but that's besides the point, but anyway, so I went, okay, but this is where my questioning of life started because I'm like, what, like, why are we, I don't get it, okay, because I was not excited to go to these classes, I was just going to go, I mean, I didn't have a relationship with Jesus, why would I be excited, I was just doing it because my mom said so, and so there was this specific moment in time where she dropped, was about to drop me off to class, catechism class, and I asked her, I was like, why do I have to go to these classes, and bless her soul, I know she was doing, you know, what she grew up with and what she thought was best, but, you know, her answer was simply, well, because if you want to get married in the future, these are just things that you need to have done, and I was like, what, and at the time, you know, again, middle school, I was dating around, you know, point is, I was thinking of marriage, supposedly, and so when she said this, I was like, why, like, huh, like, well, what if they're not Catholic, is what I responded with, and she said, well, then you can't marry them, and that was the moment where I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, and I rebelled against the church, okay, that's when I was completely checked out, I was like, nah, rules, not for me, okay, and, you know, fast forward through middle school, high school, I was like agnostic, and then atheist, agnostic, atheist, kind of going back and forth in that, you know, realm, and so agnostic meaning, you know, if God is real, all gods are the same, they lead to the same path, new age, we'll get to that later, but yes, basically new age, right, or atheist, where, yeah, I didn't believe in God, okay, so kind of was just going back and forth, because I really didn't care, like, middle school, high school, I didn't care enough, I was just being a teenager, there wasn't really much of a motive to seek God, or understand God, so after high school, though, and before I move forward, understand that the foundation underneath all this, I was a very broken girl, like, I had abandonment issues, I saw fourth issues, not feeling loved, not feeling seen, you know, and, you know, probably get into that in a different episode, not today, but it's important to point that out, because I was seeking all this love acceptance, and all that, you know, through high school, through boys, and boyfriends, and drugs, and, you know, parties, you know, the classic, right, so when I got out of high school, that just amplified, okay, and I got met with the raving scene, and, you know, also growing up, I had, like, a lot of anxiety, a lot of, like, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, didn't really understand that that stemmed from something deeper, I just thought I was going crazy, literally, but once I was in the raving scene, and if you guys don't know what the raving scene is, it literally is just music festivals, where people can just go listen to music, and do drugs, and love on each other, and, you know, you don't always have to do drugs, but the whole concept is good vibes, and good music, and FTS, which is the system, not going to say the F word, right, but it's just like this, like, awakening movement that makes you believe that you are accepted, no matter what, no masks, no nothing, and although that is true, like, literally anyone can go, and everybody loves you, there's too much freedom, like, freedom where it's, like, there's literally no rules, no morals, no, like, they say there is, but not really, so with the raving came a lot of psychedelics, and sleeping around, and just nonsense, literally doing whatever I wanted to do, okay, now, as I said, anxiety, self-worth, not knowing who I was, with mixing that with raving, you get a really lost girl, doing a lot of dark, lost things, and so with that, it came to a point, this was like, really the turning point of my spiritual walk, doesn't get good, though, just yet, but this is just a spiritual, you know, movement, is where I did something really dark, okay, really bad, not cool, not gonna talk about it, just because other people are involved, all right, and someone at work came up to me, Chick-fil-a, shout out, came up to me, and was like, yo, like, basically just, like, telling me, like, they knew what happened, and just asking, like, are you okay, right, and that was the moment where I was like, yo, something is wrong, like, it was the first time as an adult, truly, that I hit rock bottom, like, I looked around at myself, I looked, actually, I looked at myself for the first time, and I was like, yo, like, something is really wrong, so that was the first time I actually probably asked myself, like, yo, am I depressed, like, what is this, what is going on, there's darkness, anyways, I was driving home that night, in my Dodge Avenger, up the 15 freeway, Cali, and I was, like, crying, and crying, and crying, I was listening to Calvin Harris' face, and if you guys know this song, there's a part of the lyrics that states, I need to feel my soul come alive, and it was at that moment where I was hit with the reality for the first time in a long time, probably ever, I have a soul, like, oh, my goodness, and that's what sparked something, like, there has to be something bigger than me, like, I can't be in this darkness alone, right, so, fast forward, get to my house, my mom tells me I have a package, and I run up with the package into my room, because I am crying at this point, I didn't want her to see me, I open up the blinds, and I'm, like, such a dramatic movie, I swear, but this is really what happened, I open up my blinds, and this is, it's dark, right, and I'm just, like, calling out to something, anything, and I'm, like, yo, if there's something out there that's bigger than me, help, because I don't want to be alone right now, I don't know what to do, there's, like, something's got to give, and I felt this overwhelming, now I see that it was, you know, possibly the Holy Spirit, possibly something else, I'm not too sure until, up until this day, I really don't know, but I felt something, and I knew at that moment that I wasn't alone, okay, so then, that same night, remember, I have a package waiting for me, so I get the package, I open it up, and what do you know, a package full of candles, crystals, probably other things that I don't remember, okay, and, you know, my friend that sent me this, she was, she meant well, she was on the same vibe as me, okay, and that's what, that was the night that really led me down the YouTube rabbit hole of what is the meaning of life, what is life, what is the truth, why am I here, crystals, chakras, healing, aliens, literally everything in between within that realm, which is new age, new thought, one world religion, healing, new age, self-help, I'm trying to think of all the different names, but they're all the same thing, it's basically, you are your own healer, you are God, you can heal yourself, here are some deep knowledge, hidden truths that you now have access to, and you, there's just so many things that I could like describe this as, but they basically paint you as this special person that has awakened into questioning life, you know, remember, raving is FTS, which is the system, so you have, I have that concept of like, the government is corrupt, there's something, something wrong in this world, and now you have this new age practice that's telling me that, yes, you have woken up out of the matrix, and now you can control your life, and you can get yourself out of this matrix, and you can rewrite your story, recreate your life, yada, yada, yada, so I was ripped, I was like, yo, like that fast, like I got, and I fell into new age in that moment, now remember, I said I had anxiety attacks, these anxiety attacks did not go away, but you know what did come into my life, yoga, and yoga is what really even propelled me even deeper into the new age, not going to get too much into that right now, I'm not going to get into any topics right now, this is just kind of letting you know, okay, so I became a yoga instructor, did yoga religiously, crystals, meditation, every single day, affirmations, I would light candles with affirmations, I would hum, bum, all these different things, binaural beats, like actual projection, if I said that already, psychedelics, mushrooms, weed, religiously as well, marijuana, so I was just in the hippy dippy vibe, yo, I figured out the sauce, and everybody else that is a Christian, or any other religion really, that is super just devoted to one truth, oh, you poor, poor person, you are brainwashed and controlled, but me, and everybody else in new age, we're awakened, and we are different, and we're going to change the world by healing ourselves, and then in turn we can heal others, it's very narcissistic, now that I, when I really think about it, it's really narcissistic, it really breeds narcissism that we all already have inside of us, you know, there's healthy narcissism, but there's like this dark narcissism, and I do believe that self-help and new age breeds that, so yeah, so that is my story with new age, now that went about for, I mean, 2014, like seven, seven years, okay, I was even vegan, sorry, I'm really bad at math, there was a long pause, the podcast is not over, it didn't cut out, your girl is just slow with with math sometimes, anyways, so yeah, so what really got me into, now let's get to the good part, kind of, so then fast forward 2018, I had another boyfriend, so I still had boyfriends all the time, anyways, so I had a boyfriend, and we were both in this whole realm of self-help, I mean, we had a business, we were thriving, this was like, pretty much my prime when it came to my old career, and as well as for my boyfriend at the time, and I was sitting in the car with him, and I was still like, do you ever feel like, you know, we have all this, and we have all the knowledge, or whatever, I didn't phrase it like this, but basically my question was, do you still feel like, kind of lost, like, why we're here, like, I get we can do all this, and we would do, we have the power, yada, yada, but like, what's the point, and he thankfully was, his answer was, you know, I think now, but at the moment, I was like, oh no, he was like, have you ever read the bible, and I was like, oh man, I really like you, yo, like, I really thought this was going somewhere, because I, like, remember, anybody that I knew that was Christian, or believed in Jesus, or the bible, I literally thought something was, was wrong with them, like, I felt bad for people that believed in that, so when he said that, I was like, oh, okay, this is awkward, but sure, so we got a bible, and I began kind of reading, but I didn't really understand anything, so I was still kind of, like, confused, okay, and so I like to say that I was introduced to Jesus, but I didn't go and get to know him, I just was like, oh, hey, but that's it, and I went about the rest, you know, of my life for about a year, fast forward a year, and I'm still lost, you know, I'm doing all these things, I'm teaching yoga, I'm doing this and that, and my friend invites me to a business meeting, he's like, hey, you know, my family, my family friend, Colleen, is really interested in the product, and I was like, oh, bet, game, like, you know, at this time, like, I'm big on, like, business, and all that, so I was like, yeah, let's do it, so I drive out, like, 45 minutes to Corona, meet them, and great conversation, I'm telling you that this is the moment, okay, this is huge, I thought I was going into a business meeting, turns out, I walked into the restaurant, and I was about to be saved by the glory of God, he sent this woman to me, reason being, is I was talking, we were talking about all these different things, right, like, I always loved talking about the government, and this, and that, right, okay, that was like, until this day, like, this is something that really fascinates me, because I do believe it all ties in together, but at that dinner, I randomly, like, this I know the Holy Spirit is so real, and he's just there guiding, and taking over sometimes, because I literally blurted out, do you follow Jesus? Now, for me to ask this was so left field, because, like, yeah, we're talking about matrix government, all that truth, but I would have not asked that, you know, if it wasn't for all the seeds that were planted in the past, and if I was, you know, like, I just was not, that was not my intention, okay, that's my point, and when I asked that, she looked at me, and she said, I'm so glad you asked, and proceeded to tell me her testimony, I was amazed, and wow, I mean, nonetheless, let's just say, we walked out of that restaurant, she followed me in my car, and she asked me if she could pray for me, and I said, yes, and she led me through the salvation prayer, and I was, like, shaking, crying, I don't know what's going on, and she's like, it's okay, don't be scared, and I was like, okay, so Holy Spirit was just, you know, just, like, just taking over, and that, I would love to say, is when I just fell deeply in love with Him, and I just never turned back, but no, I fell away for God, from God, I was on fire for about, like, half a year, a couple months, I don't even remember, it's all blur, but eventually fell back into the world, got into a really nasty relationship, I was really obsessed with trying to become rich, and just self-indulging again into me, me, me, me, me, me, how can I live my life, fell back into new age practices, was doing yoga again, I didn't repent, I didn't truly surrender to Jesus yet, it wasn't until 2021, where I was like, okay, enough is enough, and I will say this, and this is how I'll end the podcast, is I was living in Texas, and I was doing some form of marijuana, but it was, like, legal marijuana, Delta 9, I believe, I think it's that, correct me if I'm wrong, but I was doing that, and I was really, really high, just being honest, really, really high, and so high, that I started to hear, like, voices, like, I'm not even kidding, like, audible voices in my head, and I was at the farmer's market, and I was like, what is going on, like, and it was, like, voices that were, like, stating things about myself, about the world, about, I know that sounds crazy, but that's literally what was going on, like, just, like, almost an overwhelming feeling of doom, and anxiety, and self-loathing, okay, I freaked out, I ran to my nearest friend, quotation marks, which I thought I could run to for grounding, because I was tripping, and I literally day near break into his apartment, whatever, and I was like, yo, I'm tripping, again, anxiety attack, okay, that I had not gotten in so long, and I told him, I said, I'm freaking out, I need some grounding, can you give me a hug, okay, this person tells me, I'm on a call right now, I can't, okay, completely just doesn't even, so needless to say, we ain't friends anymore, or nothing, right, but that's not the point, okay, so then, that led me to literally having nowhere else to go but Jesus, so even though I hadn't been talking to, I can't even remember the last time I talked to Jesus at that time, but I remember going to the other room, and I was, like, tripping out, I almost thought, like, I was on a faint type of anxiety attack, because I could not stop the voices, and I was, like, Jesus, I'm sorry, please help, Jesus, help, help, Jesus, Jesus Christ, and I just kept repeating his name, and slowly but surely, a peace, the voices were silent, there was nothing there, like, there was no heaviness, I just felt light and peace, and it was in that moment, where I was, like, nah, I ain't doing this my way anymore, I truly got so scared, that I just followed Jesus from that day, I mean, of course, I'm gonna be, I'm not perfect, and I have fallen, but I've never turned away from God, I've never deliberately wanted to go against God, you know, since that day, it's just been a completely different relationship, it's, that's what it is, I actually have a relationship since then with him, so, and there's been a lot of other stories that really propelled me into becoming so passionate about God, that people would never know, and probably will never know, those are just intimate moments him and I have, but, you know, just to tie this, you know, to an end, I really pray that as I continue to share things, whether it's politics, culture, spiritual truths that are embedded in the Bible, that people know that this isn't coming from a condemning place, this isn't coming from a pointing the finger at you, it's coming from a place of, I get it, I've been there, I understand, like, literally, I understand, something I don't get with culture and politics, but for the majority, would like to, I get it, because I was there, especially in new age, especially in free thought, in all of that, so, I pray the Holy Spirit knocks on people's doors, so, with that, I really appreciate you guys listening to my story, I really hope you guys are going to come back, you know, if you guys are listening on YouTube, turn on the notification bell, subscribe, comment, like the video, leave a review, all these things do help, it's not, again, it's not for the algorithm, excuse me, it's not for the numbers, it's for the algorithm, so, this can go and get to other people, because I do believe that podcasts like myself and other people will plant seeds that the Holy Spirit can water, and, yeah, so, with that, I appreciate y'all, I'll see you guys on the next episode, as I get more into what the new age deception really is, and what people don't know is about it, so, I appreciate y'all, and I will see you guys next time. Bye. you