Pseudo Spirituality

There is a commercial circulating right now that pokes fun at “spiritual influencers.” The ad showcases a young girl videoing herself using quintessential hashtag buzz words and speaking a fictious narrative about how she just discovered a hidden lake…meanwhile, there is line of people waiting behind her, there to also take their photo near what is actually a public swimming hole. It cracks me up! Unsure which is funnier, the fact that we all know people like that or the fact that I used to be someone like that! YIKES.

The internet will define Pseudo Spirituality as a superficial practice that lacks authenticity. For me, it was so much worse. I cannot speak for others, but I will dispense my dance with the “spiritual ego” now.

Ever read a book or watch a movie that just really hits home? You find it so inspiring you may even dare to confess that it changed your life! Sometimes, we receive new information that permanently alters our original perspective, thus truly changing ourselves and transforming our lives going forward. All accurate and wonderful. But when you take a sacred “AH-HA moment” and turn yourself into a self-proclaimed Guru, the preaching you start doing can be way more harmful than it is helpful. I know because that is exactly what I used to do. I was so emotionally charged with excitement during my own personal growth that I couldn’t regulate the desire to want to share my experiences with others. I became obsessed with “fixing” the world.

It took me years to realize that nothing is broken, and nobody is wrong. Using buzz words like “abundance,” “manifesting,” and “inner being” did not magically turn me into a professional therapist. But that’s what my ego surely believed. I am still a fan of self-help books and choosing whatever avenue of faith that speaks to you, but getting up on a high horse and shoving personal beliefs into the faces of others couldn’t be further from Spirit. I stopped actively listening to others when they chose to share. I stopped holding space for another human. I grew critical and judgmental.

During my years waitressing along the Bible belt of North Carolina, in the heart of a God-fearing military town, I was often offended by the overly passionate and down-right pushy agenda of customers who proudly boasted about their strong Christian faith. In the past I received unwanted Bible scriptures in place of tips and even passive-aggressive “prayers” that seemed to always somehow point out where I was failing in life. How could I be turned off by those experiences, yet turn around and do the exact same thing to others? Was it different because we were on Yoga mats instead of in Church pews? No. My behavior had become the very behavior I was trying to “fix.” Oh, the irony!

Look, at the end of the day — whether you are Spiritual, Buddhist, Christian, Catholic etc., — just stay kind, open hearted, and humble. We all believe that our beliefs are the “right” ones, but nobody really knows for sure. Nobody. When we are “right”, and we choose to make others “wrong,” all we are doing is breeding more division. All we can do is love each other, create safe spaces for connection, and keep that sneaky ego at bay.