spirituality

208 readers

7 users here now

A place for spiritual discussion of all kinds. All faiths and beliefs welcome.

This is a space for exploration, not proselytizing. Share your truth, but leave room for others to discover theirs. Rational discourse and lived experience is welcome; dogma and demands are not.

RULES

No dogma. Whatever system you want to follow is yours to follow as you feel best but don't try to impose it on others, or otherwise shame others for not doing things your way. Discussing the tenets of your system is fine but know the difference between "this works for me", "this is the only correct way" and "this is what the teachings say".
No bigotry, hate, racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia etc. 0 tolerance policy.
No AI slop, or spam. No paywalled content. Limited self-promotion is fine but it shouldn't be your sole reason of posting here. Active posters engaging positively get more leniency.
No soliciting or offering services of any kind.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

_OneSoul_@lemmy.world

bsit@sopuli.xyz

Spiritual bypassing (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 days ago by ArchsageRamases@lemmy.world to c/spirituality@lemmy.world

2 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is making me hate spirituality as most do this. Spiritual bypassing is using spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid dealing with painful emotions, unresolved trauma, or difficult life issues. Coined by psychologist John Welwood, it's the act of trying to "rise above" human struggles—like anger, grief, or conflict—before fully processing them.

Examples include:

Saying "everything happens for a reason" to dismiss someone's grief. Using meditation to numb emotions instead of feeling them. Claiming "we're all one" to avoid addressing injustice or personal accountability. While it may offer temporary relief, spiritual bypassing can lead to emotional stagnation, dissociation, or even spiritual narcissism. True growth comes from facing our pain with compassion, not bypassing it Added by me: "Love and light" only people who fear/attack darkness and ego and don't integrate and use them.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] _OneSoul_@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I don't know that "most" do this. It's just that obviously you're not going to notice the ones that don't do it. But yes, it's a real issue and one of the reasons I'm not on board with the "I'm my own guru" sentiment or avoiding communities. That's usually a great way of isolating one-self from healthy feedback. Of course there's the flip side that teachers can be corrupt and communities can be cults but I'd say in this day of hyper-individualism and algorithm based spirituality, spiritual bypassing is the bigger problem. Of course you can have a spiritually bypassy collective but ehh... those are more likely to also get called out these days, thanks to social media.

You might enjoy Near Enemies of The Truth and Opening The Heart of Compassion. They get into the topic.

[–] ArchsageRamases@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Thank you 💯