We came to be human
Last year, a friend of four years — who considers herself highly spiritual — unceremoniously ghosted and then blocked me for reasons that remain unclear.
It was hurtful and confusing. When I emailed to ask her why, she gave some vague explanation about her spirit guides telling her it was for the best.
But it didn’t feel very kind, loving — or spiritual — to me.
In my experience, the people who shout the loudest about how spiritual they are are the ones who have the most ego.
But it’s a problem that is far more insidious than my female friendship fiasco.
Let me explain.
Spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity are the result of cherry-picking spiritual practices without actually doing the inner work.
The “good vibes only” approach is not spiritual. It’s egotism in fancy dress.
Waving burning sticks around and talking about love and light might sound nice. But it doesn’t really mean anything.
Denying the shadow self is a form of shaming. It perpetuates the painful patterns that keep us in separation, unworthiness, and lovelessness.
Yet many self-styled spiritual leaders do just that. They measure their spirituality by how many cacao ceremonies or ecstatic dance sessions they’ve facilitated.
But here’s the thing — we didn’t come here to be spiritual. We came to be human.
We’re spiritual beings having a human experience. Therefore, we don’t need more spirituality. We need more humanity.
The truth is, following a spiritual path is messy. It’s not sexy, and it doesn’t look good on Instagram.
A spiritual practice requires you to look inside yourself and bear witness to all aspects of your being — even the ugly, painful parts you usually avoid, shun, and hide.
That’s why the path doesn’t matter. Whether it’s Taoism or Nordic shamanism, the purpose is the same.
To reconnect you with yourself and your humanity. What you do after that is the real spiritual practice.
Being the best human you can be is the goal. That’s the real reason we chant, meditate, burn things, journal, dance, practice yoga, and perform rituals.
To be better humans. To open our hearts and let the eternal source of love from which we came flow through us and touch the lives of those around us.
That doesn’t mean that we all have to run out and jump on a Greenpeace boat. The path of activism isn’t for everyone.
But we do all have a responsibility to be the best humans we can be. Our activism takes place at the scale of our daily lives.
It’s easy to give a spiritual performance. Anyone can wave a sage stick around and call themselves a shaman (apparently). But living your spirituality is quite another matter.
Since Paganism is a nature-based religion, it makes sense that, as Witches, we should take care of Mama Gaia and all her children.
Recycle, save water, volunteer with animals if that speaks to you. Plant trees or pick up rubbish from your local beach or forest.
But don’t forget that other people are part of nature, too. A spiritual path should teach us how to treat each other better — otherwise, it’s meaningless.
And it’s not just about being nicer to your mum, partner, or kids. It’s about solidarity with all our sisters and brothers.
Turning a blind eye to injustices in the world is not a spiritual act.
India, the home of yogic spirituality, has been rocked in the past year not only by COVID but also by the farmers’ protests.
Yet, many of social media’s biggest yoga influencers have been silent on the issue.
This is cognitive dissonance and spiritual ego at their finest. People who make millions in profit from talking the spiritual talk fail to walk the walk.
The world doesn’t need more spiritual naval-gazers. It needs more spiritual action-takers.
In yoga, this is known as karma yoga — the yoga of action.
As the mass awakening continues on this planet, we need more people living and breathing their spirituality — people treating other people with humanity.
You don’t have to tackle every issue. Pick one or two causes you care about and donate your time or money to them.
And look for ways to incorporate more kindness into your day-to-day. In these volatile times, kindness is a revolutionary act.
How do you embody your spiritual practice? Hit reply or let me know in the comments.