The Spiritual Neverland
One thing I’ve been sitting with lately and observing is the act of transference and how that is presenting in the Spiritual World.
There are many reasons why people find themselves exploring spirituality and I truly believe we need more and more people connected into their Spirituality for shifts to take real root in our world.
Yet with it, we need people to be aware of how their patterns transfer over to the spiritual world, how, part of the spiritual path is about maturing out of these patterns + creating liberation away from being dependent on certain aspects within the field of spirituality.
What I am seeing + what I have also experienced within my own journey is that the pattern or coping mechanisms that people hold don’t go away, they get transferred, for example:
Workshop hopping has become the new bar hopping, nothing is integrated, it is just another way to chase the high these workshops bring but the reality is there’s no focus on integration.
Ecstatic dances + conscious raves is the new way to get a fix of hedonism.
People are moving to places like Bali + Koh Phangan under the guise of living in the heart of a spiritual community, where what I sense is that many do not wish to grow up.
Spirituality is more about an aesthetic than actual depth, similar to how in the normal world people present a certain aesthetic, but behind the scenes they are deeply unhappy + disconnected.
People are shifting from one disordered eating pattern to a more acceptable disordered eating pattern called intermittent fasting.
Those who used to sell drugs are now serving plant medicines.
Ayahuasca Ceremonies every other weekend are continuing a state of addiction + disassociation but a seemingly more acceptable one + one that looks like they are doing the work.
Going to Spiritual Festival after Spiritual Festival is just another form of escapism from the responsibility that people don’t want to take.
Its the stopping smoking and replacing it with regular use of hape.
You’ve gone from chasing extreme sensations through extreme sports you can feel something and now you do the same with ice baths and breathwork
It’s the same pattern but lets call it spiritual and then it’s ok right?
It’s the same pattern with a different, more socially acceptable hat on.
It’s performative.
It’s rooted in escapism + finding a way to cope.
And where escapism lives, lack of responsibility lies.
And where lack of responsibility lives, a lack of maturity is present.
This piece is not about denying the desire many have to break out of the mould that society has created, I believe it is vital for us to take ownership of our lives and live accordingly, which is a huge part of taking personal responsibility, but that’s not what I see for the most part.
What I see is adults walking around the spiritual world, still rooted in their adolescence + not wanting to grow up / don’t have the resources to mature due to trauma keeping them frozen in time.
There is a lack of responsibility for the self in the spiritual world + the reality is, it doesn’t serve anyone, let alone the individual.
It may feel fun, cute + like you are playing dress up, but the reality is, that is likely all you are doing, playing make believe.
It’s living in a Spiritual Neverland, where your patterns have been transferred, your problems + trauma still exist but you’ve added crystals + floaty dresses to the equation, so it’s different right?
If your spiritual journey doesn’t allow for your patterns to be re-written, your stories + trauma to be integrated + your way of life be fruitful, connected + grounded in your body, you are playing make believe.
A lot of real transformation is really fucking dull.
Its the process of chopping wood + carrying water.
It’s about learning the art of holding yourself without outsourcing your power to others, to trinkets, to a teacher.
It’s the path of stripping yourself bare + building up from your foundations over sticking a plaster over a shaky structure.
Its about getting really real about whether what you are creating is a way of life that continues your patterning with a different face to it or if you are going beyond it, to choose life on the other side of your current patterns + identities.
Those who are seeking freedom through spirituality who then get caught in this cycle are missing the vital + very grounded components; embodiment + shadow work.
Without these basics, your experience of Spirituality is just going to be a patchouli scented version of the same patterns you’ve been running from your whole life.