The Dangers of Spirituality

In our world, spirituality is more accessible than ever - it just depends on what your definition of ‘spirituality’ actually is.

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Whatever your opinion on ‘Solar Power’, Lorde’s new full-length studio album, she makes poignant statements on a song called Mood Ring:

I'm tryna get well from the inside

Plants and celebrity news, all the vitamins I consume

Let's fly somewhere eastern, they'll have what I need (they'll have what I need)

Let's go

It’s satire on our way of relating to each other; Eastern practices have become fuel for the never-ending stream of self-help, spiritual content pumped out on sites like YouTube and Twitter (not excluding blogs, although I really can’t say much in that regard).

I think it’s good that people, now more than ever, have become aware of common concepts/perceptions on spirituality; for example, YouTube has got wonderful videos on chanting, meditation (especially transcendental, as Lorde so eloquently mentioned in the aforementioned song), and general well-being.

However, that comes at a cost.

Spirituality, I feel, has been commodified. What’s supposed to be a deep and personal journey into the depths of the soul - at the risk of sounding dramatic - has turned into somewhat of a restrictive, dismissive, and overall unproductive belief system.

I’m not so much referencing meditation, yoga, and other Eastern practices here; rather, I think that the dogmatic and often self-serving way that these practices are introduced, specifically in the context of social media, can harm more than help.

Meditation, as individual as it may seem, has surprisingly communal roots.

Some introduce meditation and spirituality head-first, surrounding the traditionally restorative and reflective concepts with ‘rah rah’ objectives. Perhaps you’ve seen posts about “meditating to become a beast business owner”, “yoga to crush the day”, something along those lines - the problem is, in Western society, self-advancement and improvement has become a double-edged sword.

It’s wonderful to set an intention for your practice and carry that through the day, but a problem arises when we approach these traditionally communal and deeply interconnected modalities with the sole purpose of expecting, desiring gains, even demanding that the practice become what we want: a magic bullet, something that’ll fix every problem and eliminate all the negativity in our lives.

Admittedly, I’m walking a fine line.

I love spiritual content myself; I’ll be the first to admit that a carefully researched and thoughtful blend of psychospiritual articles, videos, and blog posts (again, consider the source, folks) really makes my heart sing.

I love sharing information, and what makes me endlessly happy is to see others put the vast human experience into words, film, music, etc.

Part of that comes from the fact that these Eastern practices, per my understanding of their respective histories, started in close-knit villages.

Mungyeong World Meditation Village, South Korea

Practitioners would sit next to each other and meditate, not focused on themselves, but considering and appreciating one another’s presence. It was the communal aspect of meditation, a shared reality of values, beliefs, and goals, that brought these individuals together.

If you want to look at it from a sociological perspective, meditation became a deeply restorative way of relating. These people rested not alone, but in the comfort and warmth of each other.

Compare that with the overly individualistic, all-for-one attitude that some of us carry when it comes to Eastern practice. ‘Improve’ yourself, embark on this never-ending journey of fixing and re-fixing until we realize that, fundamentally, we can’t fix something we always consider broken, no matter how much work or practice we put into it.

That goes along with denial, repressing our negative emotions and convincing ourselves that ‘out of sight, out of existence’ is the right way to deal with anxiety, depression, and a host of other struggles.

What I’ve been discussing here is called “spiritual bypassing”, a byproduct of the wellness culture we experience and live through today. I was first exposed to this term after reading In Touch, a fantastic dive into sensory experiencing and healing trauma through the body.

The book - and Lorde, with “they’ll have what I need”, a lyric placing happiness outside oneself - reveals this compartmentalization of ourselves as ultimately ineffective at best and incredibly harmful at worst.

The entire realm of what’s called “shadow work”, to the best of my understanding, focuses on synthesizing the seemingly dark and dingy corners of our mind. It’s incredibly necessary relief from constant course-correcting; our attempts to do ‘right’, whatever that means, can actually lead us down the wrong path.

So what’s the solution to spiritual bypassing?

Some may point to common wisdom, quotes, pieces of advice. The problem is, “live and let live” sounds wonderful on the surface, but it doesn’t really encapsulate the entire problem.

We must accept where we are, what we are feeling, and who we consider ourselves to be at this very moment and place on the spiritual journey.

If we only focus on the end result, we miss everything in between the start and finish line of this marathon - we miss the challenge, the beautiful and ugly, the all-encompassing human condition that makes life so rich, whether it’s in your darkest moments or in your most triumphant.

It’s deceptively simple. Meditation seems easy, easier than anything you’ve ever done before until doubt creeps in and you find that it was never you versus the outside - it’s you versus you.

"If we only focus on the end result... we miss the challenge, the beautiful and ugly, the all-encompassing human condition..."

I’d say that an open mind is essential; a compassionate heart crucial; and the rewards of inner exploration priceless.

If this article helped you, feel free to share with a friend or family member.

You can find me offering guided meditations and talks on trauma at: https://insighttimer.com/anthonybr