Spiritual Online Ickiness
In 2015 my whole being felt as though it was being thrown into a hurricane, waiting for the winds and rain to finally subside. That’s when while searching for some sort of meaning I found some up-and-coming “gurus”. Now to be fair, I was captivated. How were they so positive? How did they just see their past as nothing else but?
I so wanted that feeling too.
That’s when the nonstop book reading of self-help books, online searches, and even classes started.
The experience of all this, honestly made me feel so good. I found a fantastic online community with other like-minded women, and man I finally felt the feeling of being home.
Like most who’ve experienced childhood trauma, the need and want for being a part of something was intense. The women were amazing and to this day I am super thankful for everyone in that community.
Fast forward the last couple of years. The spiritual community as a whole has grown significantly online since social media is so prevalent in our lives now.
Now, first and foremost, do not get me wrong when saying it is a beautiful thing when people gather under the same umbrella. Helping each other stay clear of the constant dreariness that consumes us.
However, I have a big issue with some spiritual “influencers”. (Honestly, I don’t even like that word anymore.)
As a mother with a full-time job that came from nothing; no I cannot just get on a plane when I need a mental health break. No, I cannot just take off to a retreat for the weekend. No, I cannot meditate for 8 hours straight when work is crazy.
These are not excuses, these are truths. Even though we like to think that just because we want to do something only we, ourselves, are in our own way. In reality, some of us have other priorities as well, see above.
If you can do these things. Hell. Yeah. Good for you! I mean it, that’s amazing.
These “suggestions” are highly unrealistic to some, if not most.
Another issue I’ve had recently is the gross interpretation of spirituality within politics. How the COVID-19 vaccine is made from aborted fetuses, how the devil is coming back, how Trump is going to expose all the pedophile Democrats and the seeming antisemitism.
These are very, very scary assumptions. That is really all they are, there is absolutely no proof to any of this. Now, I’m not saying as human beings we shouldn’t critically think, because we should. However, part of that thinking critically is being able to decipher between truth and fiction.
These two groups have somewhat become entangled together. Each other’s ideals are intertwined which is quite bizarre really.
In a perfect world, science and spirituality easily mesh together. Actually, I love the quote by Arthur C. Clarke, “magic’s just science we don’t understand yet”. For some reason though, so many peoples’ critical thinking skills are severely lacking.
As a country, as a world, as a community, we must remember a couple of important notes is that yes, the world is shifting. Critical thinking is extremely crucial for everyday life. This goes for the influencer taking off to Bali for 2 weeks for a “reset” or the online follower of conspiracy theories.
Not to be overly dramatic, but, the way some of the online spiritual community has modified itself as, is very disheartening.
We went from loving ourselves, taking care of each other, to living outlandishly and breaking down the doors of the Capitol.
I need to take my own advice and remember that yes, we truly are shifting, and hopefully one day we can all lead the way for the greater good of all of us, not just me, myself, and I.
