As the world turns dark and people seems to either regress to their more selfish ways or hide in the their “protective bubble”, the meaning of spirituality becomes too convoluted. Indeed there can be no singular meaning of the term because it depends on the human experience and social interaction; however, people tend to forget the reality of it all and the harsh truths. Yes, I’m speaking to those who only rely on the “love and light” narrative.
It is seldom for me to see content whereas people unearth the audience’s trauma, mistakes, regrets, and guilt. Oftentimes, I see tarot readings saying that they either get the love of their life, a large amount of money, or something really positive without contextualizing the messages from the universe. Creators oftentimes don’t provide information on the ifs, the buts, and the how-tos because they only want the audience to see and hear the spectacle of it all. Understandably, they say that the message is for the viewer and that it is for the right sections of the collective.
There is truth. Yes. However, most of the times, the reading lacks the right energy and is often clickbait just for engagement for the reader’s personal desire to be famous, to earn money, and to get a cult following. That in itself diminishes the value of the meaning of a spiritual journey. The audience listens or watches one reading and think that it is already enough – not considering fact checking with contextualization of their material conditions, often leading to spiritual and religious psychosis. People don’t want to face their fears and do shadow work because they say that they’ll be triggered or that it defeats the purpose of healing – to that, I say: “crap.” They busy themselves into buying tools that they drown themselves to the material without recognizing the importance of the self, the immaterial. They pretend that they’re healed; but, in truth, they’re just lacking the opportunity to work out their shadow because they’re too afraid to get triggered – when that in itself is the point of healing.
This leads to this lack of empathy towards the real version of the self that needs spirituality; towards those people who might and will be affected by the journey that you’ve been taking ever since you were born. This prevents true growth and development because you only see through rose-colored lenses. Such pretentiousness to be okay and to be light is only meant for you to be palatable to the masses – since therapy, recovering, and healing are very trendy. You become the person you hate the most – just the opposite side of the coin; and, that’s pretty pitiful and shameful.
I’ve been in this journey for more than twenty years. A journey that is filled with darkness and not so much light. With that tool, I’ve learned to befriend and reconcile with it. The raw healing extends up into the deepest roots because I didn’t really have a reference on the self-improvement steps when I started. And now that I’m immersed in so many jarring and opposing content, I can only feel irritated because people seem to lack the foundations. And those who understand what I’m saying either get shunned, don’t get any engagement from the masses, and, oftentimes, get ridiculed.
With that said, I’m going to echo the five things you have to remember when you finally have the awareness on what’s going on with your spiritual growth:
- The spirituality does not only mean going to the light; but, also, being friends with the darkness.
- The concept of being “healed” does not exist.
- Crystals, incenses and other tools can only do so much.
- Spirituality, being a personal journey, does not excuse you to ignore its political nature.
- The moment you gained consciousness is the same moment that you’ve started your spiritual path.
The spirituality does not only mean going to the light; but, also, being friends with the darkness.
One misconception by other people is that the term “good” or “kind” only means light or positive actions and mindset. Even though we should strive for it, the circumstances of human understanding cause for us to use, subconsciously or subconsciously, the other end of the spectrum to get or provide either justice, love, and understanding. There are those people who only realize and learn their lessons after experiencing darkness. There are those who do things in order to get things that they think they deserve.
Clarification #1. Darkness does not always mean evil. It’s the same thing as the light doesn’t always mean it’s right. An example would be something related to justice. When one use light, they would either just let things be and have karma and the flow of time turn their backs on those who oppress them. However, as human beings, we have a limit on our capacity of understanding and we should always have boundaries in terms what we allow to experience from other people. When lobbying for good governance fails and it seems that the systems don’t allow conversations from everyone who’s involved or affected, it is highly understandable for political activists to resort to abandoning respectability politics and make noise by any means necessary. There are those who allow themselves to be consumed by the darkness, and there may be some good that comes out of it if the people are to be affected enough that it creates conversation and cause a collective shift. And, sometimes, witnessing darkness from other people changes the meaning of what’s right. The only way to understand the relationship of darkness and people is to see both the bigger picture and the small details. Think of it as using the systems approach in order to understand how one aspect of a small thing changes the structure and what it does.
Clarification #2. Being friends with the darkness doesn’t give one the justification to prefer using it in their day-to-day as there should be balance. This is for those who are dumb enough to be sarcastic in terms of this topic. It is important to understand that darkness, even though inherent for human beings, is not justified by itself. Just because one can make mistakes, do bad deeds, and become a menace of society, it doesn’t mean that you can do it just for the sake. Using darkness on its own means promoting apathy and it shouldn’t be the case. Empathy, being the utmost important aspect of light, should pull its opposite to bring balance to the scales. For example, if one is to take justice in their own hands, they can think of a number of things, even borderline illegal, to be satisfied. However, they control the variables by thinking of how it will affect other people and themselves in the long run. They’ll think of whether they truly want justice, or the type of revenge that will drag them down into the downward spiral. They’ll ponder on the repercussions of their actions into other aspects of their lives. Empathy allows people to critically think on how they’ll use the darkness for the collective good. If you lack empathy, then you’ll end up being like the likes of dictators, authoritarians, and stupid capitalists that further and worsen the human suffering of the masses.
Clarification #3. It’s about the thought process and the catharsis. Yes, you can use darkness and light to bring goodness to everyone, including yourself. However, in what manner? How will you ensure that there is balance? How can you create something out of that balance with the highest form of reward and an understandable risk appetite? Spirituality is not just about the feeling and experiencing of life. It’s also about the development of your thought process with the aim of the collective good. This is why shadow work happens. It is not just the understanding of traumas that happened to people as it is also the further exploration of the question: “what now?” So, one is able to determine the reasoning behind their damaging behaviors, to forgive themselves, and to learn from their mistakes. What now? How can such lessons help in developing better practices for the self? How can the lessons radiate to and help other people who might be experiencing the same or a similar thing? If you can have both empathy and critical thinking, your spiritual journey becomes magnified to a point that your standard framing of the world is a mixture of above and below, and everything in between. It won’t matter if you use both light and the dark if you won’t develop your thought process. Without the thinking capacity, you won’t even find the balance that you want to have.
The concept of being “healed” does not exist.
Another misconception towards spirituality is that you can achieve the peak state of being healed. It’s almost the same thing as people believing that after going to a few rounds of therapy, that they’re finally okay. You cannot achieve that state of being “healed” because you experience life itself. You can experience continuous healing and increase your endurance in terms of experiencing trauma. You better yourself through spirituality by being able to withstand anything with increasing intensity; but, you can never be fully healed. There are some wounds that are so deep that one can only learn to live with it; and, every time they act up, if one is healing, they can prevent themselves from being too affected by it OR they can use transmute the pain that they can feel from such resurfacing to something that is entirely beautiful.
Clarification #1. The point of spirituality is the continuous learning and healing. The state of being human is all about the experience of both pain and love. It also entails the experience of trauma and our never-ending attempts to get over it. It doesn’t mean that going to therapy or working out our existence through spiritual means is moot and senseless. It doesn’t mean that you, as a person, must not attempt to be better in living. Yes, it is tiring and, sometimes, nerve-wracking; but, that is part of the beauty. The wheel keeps on turning; which is why you will have your chance in experiencing convenience. The universe has to be fair as it accounts everything that you’re doing, experiencing across all lifetimes. It is not our duty to always demand for good stuff to happen to us. It is only our responsibility to live life in the moment and make better choices every time.
Clarification #2. Pain and love equally exist so the mission is learn how to be present while they both play a tag-of-war. This is a difficult thing to do; but, one that we must always try. It’s like trying to balance the train in the middle of turbulence and an unpredictable weather. It is understandable that we tend to be shake-y because we aren’t usually prepared on what’s to come. The human web has become so entangled with a lot of variables that alongside change, chaos is present. To be stable in this chaos is one of the major goal of spirituality. Stability means that your identity is intact, you are unchanged unless necessary, and you remain on your destined path. It means that you are able to access the lessons that you need to learn in this lifetime.
Crystals, incenses and other tools can only do so much.
Every herb, candles, and other things that might help you with more clarity on your spirituality came from the Earth. However, they only act as amplifier and an extension of you. If your mind, body and soul are not in line with what you want to do or to have, then everything will be turned into dust and you’ll either spiral down unnecessarily. What do I mean by that? If you aren’t clear on your intent on what you want to achieve, then whatever you’re doing will fire back very negatively. If you are not balanced and aren’t willing to do the leg work, then the tools will not work. And, I’m not going to lie, the universe will laugh at you when you do so.
Clarification #1. What if you’ll need the tools in order to take the first step? Then, of course, you are recommended to use those. However, you will need lots of introspection, meditation, and protection from everything that might be thrown at you. It is important to remember that in spirituality, every move can be seen by the “shadow” – the “enemy”. If you move with such callousness and stupidity, you will most likely be noticed and be tainted by enemies that manifest either through being human or being circumstances that will prevent you from proceeding in your path. You will also need to remember that you have to use the items for giving you a push to make your move, to guide you when things seem so blurry and chaotic; and, not as a walking stick as if as you’re a helpless piece of meat.
Clarification #2. If you don’t want to use the tools, then don’t use those. No one is forcing you to. If you can handle your spirituality on your own or using any other means (let’s say therapy), then you may do as you please. Since each person’s journey is special and unique to themselves, certain methods might not work. The standard might not work to you or to other people. Do not be affected by trends on social media because for most instances, they’re only presented to you to either be caged to specific types of spiritual people, be influenced in a capitalistic sense and have yourself buy things that don’t even serve a purpose that is specific to you, and/or be baited to watch content of other people.
Spirituality, being a personal journey, does not excuse you to ignore its political nature.
Everything is political; and, I’ll add the real reasons why (unlike others who just like to make statements as clickbait). Spirituality is political because it entails the human experience – that is continuously developed by material conditions and power dynamics that a person experience from childhood to adulthood. Even when you’re a baby – you are shaped by your parents who have their own political biases, economic standing, and experience of the world amongst others. The trauma that you’ve experienced or are experiencing? It is based on power inequality between you and the other person included in the situation. Your access to tools and methods are affected by politics. Even your coping mechanism can be affected by the nauseous spectacle and propaganda. You cannot separate spirituality and divinity from politics because both need your human aspect.
Clarification #1. Spirituality is empathy and you cannot separate empathy from your participation in what is happening in the world. You cannot simply ignore all events that happen in your surroundings because those will creep into your lifestyle and into your experience in one way or another. How can you choose to be kind to yourself by neglecting the calls from outside of your comfort zone – telling you to listen and to join the cause? Exacting justice for yourself can only be satisfying to a fault – but, it can extend to a long-term one if you are one with the world. When people tell you that they need help and you choose to ignore them, then you are denying your capacity for love and to be social. This is why a lot of “spiritual people” who only preach “love and light” but are closed off and selfish tend to lean into spiritual and religious psychosis. This kind of people tend to think that they’re the ones who are right and only a certain perspective of human experience should be followed. If you’re a spiritual person who dictates other people to fall into a certain kind of box, then what is your difference from those who inflict trauma on you in the first place?
Clarification #2. To find the balance from experiencing both the human and divine natures of spirituality, one must be able to see the political situation of the collective. As we are one with the universe and all of us manifest the physical reality that we are living in, to raise the vibrations of everyone including yourself, you must be able to break your bubble and see the situation in an empathetic way. That doesn’t mean you being a political activist is a need. When you follow a spiritual path that is leaning towards balance and truth and love, your energy radiates to other people causing them to do things that are for the greater good. At the same time, when you’re into the path, then you should be able to protect yourself from political views that are manipulative and harmful to yourself and the collective. In such a post-truth era where we can never know what is real unless you use your critical thinking, you get to the bottom of it all by seeing everything in the bigger scale.
Clarification #3. This is not to say for you to change your straws from plastic to metal or for you to go vegan as it is “stereotypically spiritual”. Since spirituality is political, then it is cultural. You must understand two things; 1) your material conditions and your reality determine your tools and methods; and, 2) you must be able to critique such material conditions while simultaneously experience those.
The moment you gained consciousness is the same moment that you’ve started your spiritual path.
Every step that you take at the moment you begin to have a consciousness is a step further or back to your journey. That doesn’t mean that you have to look back to the first moments of your childhood and critique everything that happened. It’s okay for you not to do so because, again, you are human – bound to make mistakes and from them. What is important for you to do is to simply recognize that whatever you’re doing for yourself and other people, regardless on its magnanimity, contributes to who you are, your values and belief systems, and your potential paths.
Now, I’m going to take a pause for you to digest everything. At a time when everything is either sensationalized or reduced to plain stupidity to get the audience’s attention that is getting shorter by the minute, it is important to uplift truths about spirituality.
In a world that moves at the speed of a swipe, where everything has to be either over-the-top or dumbed down just to hold attention for a few seconds, real spirituality can feel like a lost art. But that’s exactly why it matters. It’s not about looking the part or chasing the latest trend. It’s about asking the hard questions, sitting with the uncomfortable truths, and finding meaning beyond the noise.
So, take a breath. Let what I’ve said sink in. Take what resonates (funny), challenge what doesn’t, and most importantly, make it your own. Because at the end of the day, spirituality is not performative nor a publicity stunt. It’s something to live. And in a world that’s constantly trying to pull you in a thousand directions, finding something real to hold onto is more powerful than ever.
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