188: Aaron Doughty – Channeling Your Creativity

Welcome to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. Here, we bring you inspiring guests to help take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.

Today, my special guest for you is the ever-fabulous Aaron Doughty. He is a popular social media influencer who has been shaping and shifting the lives of more than 1 million subscribers of his YouTube channel. I was able to catch up with him at his amazing space in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. What I love most about his content is that he talks about everything spiritual, and it has really helped me through my own spiritual journey as a photographer and creative entrepreneur. 

“A lot of spiritual awakening is questioning reality.” – Aaron Doughty

How true! Sometimes, it’s only when we start questioning what’s happening around us, who we are, why we are here, and why certain things happen,  that we experience a spiritual awakening.

In this episode, we talked more about spiritual awakening, channeling your creativity, alignment, and synchronicity as a by-product of how reality works. The world is synchronous when you surrender to it, when you allow it to be, and when you create something magical with the universe. So with that, let’s jump into this interview with Aaron Doughty.

Who is Aaron Doughty?

Aaron Doughty is a YouTuber whose vision and mission is to help people expand their consciousness. He went through a spiritual awakening back in 2012 that transformed his life. He discovered and learned meditation and started questioning everything he “thought” about who he is, which started his journey of self-discovery where he learned to let go of his painful past and dropped the things that didn’t serve him. Eventually, Aaron became free from what he calls the “autopilot beliefs” he was operating from.

Aaron believes that his life purpose is to raise his vibration and level of consciousness and to help others do the same. He also believes that deep down, you are on a journey of raising your vibration, and as you do, it changes the world.

Today, Aaron and I are unpacking how we can become more aware of the deeper world around us, aware of our traumas, and aware of who we are in this world. I’m sure you’ll find great insights from our conversation. If you haven’t seen his videos, you should check them out. He’s been doing one video a day for the last few years, and they’re incredible. He channels a lot of his content, and we talked about what it actually means, how you can channel your own creativity from the higher power that exists, and how to get into the flow of your creativity.

What is Channeling?

Since we’ll be talking a lot about channeling in this episode, let’s begin with Aaron’s definition of channeling: 

“[Channelling is] something that everybody does, whether they’re aware of it or not. Everybody gets into their flow state. And when they’re in that flow state, they are, in a way, connected to what is called our ‘higher self.’ We all have a higher self, and that higher self is, in a way, broadcasting us a signal. And when you get into a channeling state, it’s like you’re just very connected to it. And normally this channeling state that everyone has, it’s something that you’re really passionate about.” – Aaron Doughty

In short, channeling is doing something you are passionate about. There is a connection to your inner and higher self, and what you are passionately doing makes an impact on others. For Aaron Doughty, his passion is creating videos that inspire other people. As for me, I love taking photographs. I am also passionate about my custom hat business, and recording podcasts like this one, where I get to have conversations with amazing people and creative entrepreneurs.

“I started making daily videos back in 2017. It started slow, and then it started growing. But then, there was like a spiritual awakening on the planet, and it continues to grow.” – Aaron Doughty

When you are channeling your creativity, and you are passionate about what you are channeling to other people, you will experience a spiritual awakening where you are getting out of your egocentric self and evolving into a selfless person, always looking to add value to others’ lives.

“So for me, the most important thing with channeling is the ego getting out of the way. … The most important thing for me in my career, and just even on YouTube, is that my intention is always to add value. So I’m passionate about what I talk about. But I don’t just think about myself. I always think about being able to help other people on the other end of that camera. And when I have that intention, it’s almost like there’s more energy that comes flowing through.” – Aaron Doughty

Are you doing something that you love? Or, are you stuck in a nine-to-five job that you hate? Have you noticed that when you’re doing something that you don’t like, your creativity is very low? But when you start working on something you’re passionate about, you’re channeling your creativity while providing value to others at the same time. That’s a kind of Creative Alchemy where you are inspiring others to do the same.

“I tell people this all the time: the biggest jump you will ever make if you’re a creative [entrepreneur] … is when you don’t have to go to a job that you don’t like, and you work for yourself.” – Aaron Doughty

For Aaron, his biggest jump was when he made a career shift from making $70,000 a year working on a commission-based nine-to-five job at a luxury shop to making a million dollars a year creating content that adds value to millions of people worldwide.

How about you? Are you ready to make a shift to a career that you truly love? If you don’t like your current job, you would hardly be able to channel your creativity because there is no synchronicity with what you are doing and with your higher self.

Recognizing Alignment and Synchronicity 

Every time I experience synchronicity, I always feel like the Universe is looking out for me, and there’s an overwhelming sense and peace that everything is okay and in order. Synchronicity is a concept of awareness of the events that seem meaningfully related despite the fact that there’s no connection between them. 

In essence, there’s a feeling that the things and events happening in our lives are somewhat aligning or syncing up beyond reason. Sometimes, there’s an alignment of events already happening around us, but we’re just not aware of them, especially if we are not living mindfully. So, it’s important to recognize the signs because synchronicities can bring us joy and peace if we know how to recognize them. However, there are negative synchronicities that we need to recognize, as well.

“The more in alignment I’ve gotten, the more that synchronicity has come into place … on both sides of the spectrum — negative synchronicity and positive synchronicity. If I’m in a positive state, I think the vibration on the planet is speeding up. … I feel like the perception of time is going by faster and faster as our vibration increases.” – Aaron Doughty

Do you feel like there’s balance in your life where there is an alignment with your work and your passion? If yes, then that could be a sign of positive synchronicity. But if you’re overdoing it too much, like spending extended hours on your work to the extent of compromising your health and your relationship with your family, then that is no longer positive synchronicity. Instead, it’s negative synchronicity, and no alignment happening in your life.

“I have to balance these things out. So once a month, I’ll watch [TV] like UFC. … Even though it might be entertaining to watch, if I watch them too much, I find that it might have a negative effect on my energy, and then negative synchronicity happens.” – Aaron Doughty

This reminds me of the famous quote by Edna Ferber that says, “Perhaps too much of everything is as bad as too little.” We may be experiencing positive synchronicities right now, but if we fail to balance our experience with them, they could turn into negative synchronicities. However, before these things can happen, we must first be able to recognize them as they happen.

“I think synchronicity is a natural by-product for the way reality works. — That’s just how it works. But the more aware we become, that’s what we call synchronicity. If we’re unaware of it, it’s just chaotic events. … There’s really just an alignment there.” – Aaron Doughty

Awareness is essential for synchronicity to happen. If you’re not aware of it, it could be just an alignment. So, I asked Aaron how he defines alignment.

“It’s a congruence of being connected to who you really are, like your higher self. … It’s just an absence of resistance. … We’re naturally meant to be in alignment. But we have all these beliefs, and these limitations, and these stories, and these thoughts. … that cause the non-alignment. So alignment is just a lack of that resistance.” – Aaron Doughty

Do you ever feel like you want a cup of coffee, but you don’t have the energy to get in the car and drive to the coffee shop? Or maybe you have some great ideas at work, but your co-workers and managers can’t see it, or disagree? These are signs of non-alignment, and there’s no synchronicity here. But if things are falling into place, an alignment is happening. And if you’re aware of it, then there is synchronicity. 

The Formula for Creative Alchemy

Aaron has shared so much value and wisdom, and he just showed us that recognizing positive synchronicity and being able to channel your creativity can be a perfect formula for Creative Alchemy.

Alchemy is defined as the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that cannot be explained.

With that being said, I define Identity Alchemy as the process of deconstructing who you don’t want to be in order to realize who you want to become. 

Through it, you’ll be able to identify your shadows (things you don’t want to be true about you) and shed them slowly. I believe that the deconstruction process of life and your inner world is such a huge piece of understanding who you are so that you can curate who you want to become. In general, I noticed for myself that the more inner work that I do — the deeper shadow work that I do to understand myself — the better life becomes towards the path of wholeness. Aaron Doughty is another perfect example of a Creative Alchemist, and I am honored to have him on this podcast. 

If you loved this episode, make sure to connect with Aaron on social media. He’s on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You may want to check out Aaron Doughty’s courses on his website, where you can take a free short quiz to recalibrate your vibration and know more about your energetic bandwidth.

Also, don’t forget to check out my website too. There, you can find a short  10-question quiz designed to help you get to know your creative identity better, and get some of my best free content to help you out on your creative journey.

Thank you so much for joining me today, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please take a screenshot and post it on Instagram and tag me, @nickonken and Aaron, @aaron_doughty44. And if you have time, leave me a review on Apple podcasts. I’d love to hear your feedback.

I’ll catch you guys next time — keep channeling your creativity and live the life you want.

Nick Onken

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!

“The ego is separation and the more we emphasise our ego the more we emphasise the walls between us.”

Some things we learn in this podcast:

• How Aaron Doughty got started on Youtube [6:10]
• How to describe a spiritual awakening [16:00]
• What channeling is [31:00]
• How to open up and be comfortable in front of a camera [31:10]
• How Aaron Doughty meditates [40:00]
• When Aaron meditates [44:40]
• What kind of meditation Aaron does [46:05]
• How to describe alignment [53:55]
• What self-love means [1:04:45]

Links Mentioned:

Connect with Aaron Doughty on Instagram | Youtube | Facebook | Aaron Doughty Website