Modern Spirituality and its Pitfalls
Introduction
At this point I think all of us have encountered people who are very proud and extroverted about their spirituality. Some of us have seen them on social media living adventurous and exotic lifestyles. Some of us have friends who are suddenly all about chakras, eastern traditions and extremely vocal about how their semi-precious gemstones are making them more attractive. And some of us, much like myself, have found themselves listening to lectures, experimenting with tarot decks and decorating their homes with excessive vegetation and the same good old semi-precious gems.
Roots of Spirituality
Spirituality is a rather recent term and for its relatively short life, it has adopted a multitude of meanings. Until the 19th century the term spirituality used to mean acting in accordance with faith/religion and being a believer. In the 19th century the term adopted two meanings. One was spirituality being the centerpoint of a religion. The other is that spirituality is a phenomenon based on individual personal spiritual experiences and observations.
Spirituality also became a fundamental category under which all religions are listed. At the same time Spirituality became synonymous with Mesmerism which was derived from Romantic Orientalism and has clear parallels about cosmic energies, esoteric knowledge and homeopathic treatments.
Nowadays it seems like spirituality is a simplified umbrella term for all types of old and new age religious or ideological movements as it can be observed how practices from all religious movements have been adopted and transformed to fit our modern capitalistic trends.
Nevertheless seeking faith, purpose and reason seems natural to our species as it’s been present throughout all of our recorded civilisations. Yet in comparison to some major religions, modern Spirituality is clearly least radical and violent. So in that regard instead of judging it into the abyss, we shall observe and criticize it for what it is while allowing it to be as it is.
How Spirituality is Presented
Nowadays modern Spirituality is presented to us as an accessible solution to all of our internal and external problems. It’s presented as a tool that will help us make sense of the world we’re experiencing as well as help us navigate through it. In its presentation, it’s shown to be simple, applicable and friendly, while simultaneously being esoteric as to why it’s being scrutinised by those who don’t align their beliefs in accordance. Individually as well as collectively, many of us are going through challenging times.
When considering an idea, that we’re living in times when our lives are devoid of all meaning and purpose – we all crave some sort of explanation and at least a hint, that there’s purpose hidden somewhere. When looking at other religions and all the ignorance and violence they’ve been associated with. Spirituality seems like a good, easily accessible and pleasant looking alternative. Considering how difficult and inaccessible sciences have become, it only makes sense that simple terms like cosmic energy, karma and higher self seem appealing to so many of us.
Egocentric Spirituality
First pitfall of spirituality that can be easily noticed in 99.9% spirituality influencers as well as those who preach it to wider audiences beyond social media is ego. Truthfully speaking, at some point I could notice it in myself too. And that statement doesn’t only involve influencers and public speakers, but also those who get into spirituality with a desire to improve their own lives. For most people, the egocentric spirituality is just a phase, that they pass sooner or later, yet according to my observations, it only intensifies for those who choose to involve media and finances into their spiritual practices.
I think most of us acquainted with the subject have seen spiritual gurus on social media, posting their beautifully edited photos from exotic retreats with captions, that seem so pure and full of enlightenment, yet worded in a way that is very long and vague. It is questionable, as why is there a need to apply new meanings to commonly known words as well as create an esoteric illusion around what is being said? And in this case, we can’t compare this type of speak to Aristotle’s invention of philosophical terminology, as a genius of his time can’t be compared to a social trend and those that follow it. In this given situation, it seems as if those people are using vague wording and replaced meanings not because there are no terms for the things they’re talking about, but to create meaning where there is none and to place themselves above those that don’t understand what is being said.
To an extent, we people are greedy animals who crave superiority and dominance in one way or the other, thus what was described above makes sense and can’t be considered as something outlandish. Especially when we’ve seen different manifestations of the same qualities and acts in the past. For example in the form of various cult leaders, religious leaders and so on. Christianity is a great example of people using religious beliefs as basis to praise one group of people and abuse those who are outside of it or use it as an excuse to enslave those who are not in alignment with the belief system.
Yet again, when we don’t study the history of things we’re curious about, we tend to repeat the mistakes of those who walked before us. So with modern Spirituality, by trying to find oneness, we separate ourselves from the world even more.
Spirituality and Capitalism
Throughout the history of our civilisations, religions have always been for crowd control, attainment of power or some form of social superiority as well as a way to explain things without involvement of science. With the rise of capitalism, religion quickly became one of the most profitable industries in the world. That happened with Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and is now actively happening to Spirituality, although originally it was presented as a form of religion that was based on personal experiences, interpretations and required no material wealth to be a part of.
Nowadays we’re seeing countless courses being promoted by spiritual gurus on social media. Retreats that are essentially about nothing, yet cost thousands to attend. Individual and group practices that have a price tag attached to them. Not to mention how our modern problems, lack of responsibility and emotional health have been targeted too through advertisements of semi-precious gemstones, homeopathic treatments and other accessories that are promised to, if not cure, then at least ease our struggles without us changing much about our lives.
Spirituality has adapted to the ways of capitalism and countless faux virtuous con artists are now using vague language, manipulations and accessories to milk those who are lost, distrubed and confused or simply curious about what we to this day can’t explain.
Spirituality as an Escape
Throughout our history spirituality has been there for us to make sense of our existence and bring a deeper meaning to our lives. It also provided a way to find solace in times of despair, to cope with trauma and to find courage in face of seemingly inescapable situations. If survival and comfort are the forces that drive us, then it could be said that spirituality is the force that moderates us, as it’s no surprise that many religious and spiritual practices put heavy emphasis on moral and ethical disciplines. That shouldn’t be surprising though, as spirituality in all its forms is a great medium for uniting people and giving them a very basic code of ethics presented as allegories or god’s laws.
It can also be observed that religions and spiritual practices become more popular in times of struggle. And even though many would say that we’re living in the most peaceful time of our history – I would argue that we’re also living in the most mentally taxing and well broadcasted time in our history. This is exactly where modern Spirituality comes into play as a very convenient escape mechanism.
Escape from reality
To a reasonable extent – spirituality and religion are the most easily accessible tools for escapism. They’re always in reach and can explain almost every misfortune by saying “It was meant to be!”, “It’s god’s will!” and “The universe is preparing you for something better!”. In combination with all the “5th dimension”, “higher vibrations” and “other dimensions” jazz, it’s no wonder so many people get sucked into this escapist belief system that encourages closing your eyes to all the things deemed “low vibrational”.
In reality distracting yourself from the things deemed “low vibrational” is no more than just willingly placing oneself into a pink bubble. Nevertheless it’s still understandable as all the media fear mongering, artificial drama and a lack of purpose are stressing people out and often they’d much rather dig their heads into the ground rather than look at the realities of our existence in their face.
“Love yourself”
In itself the statement “Love yourself” doesn’t sound bad. Quite the opposite, it only makes sense. Nevertheless our capitalist society, the multi-billion spirituality and self help industries have managed to twist it into another cash cow and breeding ground of ignorance.
I’ve thought about loving myself a lot. Do I love myself? Am I doing it right? How deep does self love go? I eat well, I exercise, I take care of my mental health and I work on improving my personal position as well as my surroundings. Yet I still ponder my past actions and I still question my ethics and motives. I remain self critical as well as try to be as rational as possible. So where does the dissatisfaction come from? Why am I still feeling like something is missing?
Should that seeming emptiness need to be filled with something or is it completely natural and I’m overthinking? The latter seems to be correct. Loving oneself is one of the fundamental parts of our lives. The quality of our self care dictates the quality of our adaptation and success in the world. Yet self love is not the final answer nor is it a fully enveloping state in which we can be at all times. As it’s been said times and times again in my articles – moderation is the key.
What I’ve seen more often than not, is how the self love movement has brainwashed people into believing that they should be in a constant state of loving euphoria and how their comfort should be above all else. As many self love advocates as I’ve seen, I’m yet to see one speak of reasonable moderation and responsibility, instead of simply saying that self love will solve all of their problems and that as soon as people will start loving themselves, all of their problems will fade away as the universe will suddenly start loving them back.
Escape from responsibility
Escaping personal and social responsibility is one of the biggest problems with modern Spirituality. You’ve found yourself in conditions that are less than desirable? It’s okay, it’s not your fault. It’s karma from your past life. People are distancing themselves from you? It’s okay, you’re just in a higher plane of existence now. You’re not where you want to be with your life? It’s alright, just love yourself and manifest what you desire by writing it down on a paper and burning it.
Same goes for the costly retreats that are organised by seemingly enlightened yet just as greedy gurus. It’s lovely and relaxing to be away from all the stresses and realities of our day to day lives. To spend some time away from society with people who are seeking the same thing as you are. Yet many tend to forget that those getaways are just that – getaways and that eventually you’ll have to return to your life and continue taking care of the situations relevant to your life. Many choose to ignore that and instead choose to tell themselves that what they experienced during the retreat is what they should be experiencing at all times.
That the bliss, peace and joy they’ve paid for should be something they’re entitled to. And when people get into that state of delusion, they also start to wonder, how is it that nobody else gets them. They start to forget that they were simply privileged to experience that type of bliss and that most of the world can’t afford such luxuries.
Escapism is a very slippery slope as the comfort and illusory ease that come with it can be soothing in the moment, yet can cause a list of problems and difficulties later on in life. After all, nobody wants to wake up one day and realize that they’ve done nothing reasonable for themselves for the most of their lives. Nevertheless that’s a sad reality many of us are waking up to day by day or are yet to wake up to.
Different religions and Spirituality shouldn’t be means of escaping reality, but means of tackling it with more grace and energy. Spirituality should be a tool that helps us make sense of our internal and external experiences, within the borders of reason of course. It should be a tool that helps us take responsibility for our lives in a more meaningful way.
Illusion of progress
Another problem that the modern spiritual movements as well as hustle culture have contributed to is the illusion of progress, which is also closely related to escapism. By going to the same previously mentioned retreats and paid masterclasses, we start to think that we’re doing something meaningful. By buying and reading various self help books we start to believe that we’re improving and progressing.
Suddenly we feel more motivated and uplifted and as a result we start to make the connection that all those things we did have contributed to our wellbeing. In a way it’s true. Overall physical and mental activity is good for us, yet it should be moderated and aimed at a goal. Despite how good one or the other activity make us feel, we should still look at it critically and be able to reorganize if needed. Our activities shouldn’t just give us a sense of productivity, but be truly productive instead.
Conclusion
At the end of the day spirituality is a natural part of human experience. It could be said that it’s one of the reasons why we were able to develop to the point at which we are at right now. Spirituality shouldn’t be dismissed because there’s science because one does not exclude the other and even science is unable to make sense of some things we’re experiencing.
As it is with everything, spirituality too should be enjoyed in moderation and should be looked at critically every now and then. As it is with religion, so it is with spirituality. We can’t remove it as we can’t remove the voice in our heads, but we can keep it at bay and use it for good instead of the opposite.
The reality we’re collectively living in is what it is, regardless if we acknowledge it or choose to ignore it. Especially in times of uncertainty – bonding and finding meaning can be crucial to our wellbeing and our ability to overcome difficulties. In these settings, spirituality can be great and helpful. Yet we should also acknowledge that stress is also a part of our existence and is something that has always driven us in our search for improvement and innovation.
No matter how much we’d like to live in a perfect world, at the moment that is not quite possible, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try. Here it is important to mention that it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to struggle and worry. It’s okay to be dissatisfied with our own lives as well as the state of the world we’re living in. But at the same time it means that instead of trying to escape the reality we’re experiencing, we should embrace it and find small and reasonable ways of improving our own lives as well as our surroundings. Do what you can when you can. If you can improve something without hurting yourself or others, do it. If you can’t, find a place where you can or come back to it later. In simple words, moderation is the key.
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Author: Alex
I’ve spend a decade working in advertising, social media and cultural industries, which have given me great insights into what’s going on behind the scenes.