As humans, we all have connections to spirituality, whatever form it takes. We interpret it differently depending on our own character, our individual and family history, the community around us and the community we were raised in. We also all have the ability to connect deeply and profoundly to it, whether it’s through visions, ecstatic ritual, soul travels, channeling or other ways. Many of us are not interested in these connections and never seek them out, some of us are fascinated and seek them out in whatever way we can get them, others are neutral but are hounded by these connections for some reason. But we all have the innate ability to connect, even when it takes some work to get over our internal barriers or we need special techniques to help us get in the “zone”.
A profound spiritual experience, whatever form that takes, is definitely special, and it can change you in fundamental and previously unimaginable ways. In a way, it does make you special, to contradict my title here, at least to yourself and your own spirituality. But it doesn’t make you better, wiser or more powerful than other people, and that’s where the dangers of conspirituality come in. Conspirituality is a relatively new term (wikipedia attributes it to the article cited below by Ward and Voas, 2011) that describes the growing convergence between spirituality (especially so-called New Age spirituality) and conspiracy theories. Ward and Voas (2011) argue that:
“conspirituality is a politico-spiritual philosophy based on two core convictions, the first traditional to conspiracy theory, the second rooted in the New Age: (1) A secret group covertly controls, or is trying to control, the political and social order.(2) Humanity is undergoing a ‘paradigm shift’ in consciousness, or awareness, so solutions to (1) lie in acting in accordance with an awakened ‘new paradigm’ worldview.”
Looking at the state of the world today it’s easy to see why people are increasingly drawn to a philosophy with these tenets. As the financial and social gap between the ultra rich and the rest of us widens, connections between those in power and the rich become ever clearer. That can certainly make it seem like a relatively small group of people holds all the power when it comes to political and social order. We are also living in an age of massive changes in so many ways, with social disruptions and changes from the pandemic, the rise of extreme far-right political movements throughout Europe, genocides being broadcast live on our phones, and relentless pushback to human rights advances through all stages of society. That’s not counting the myriad environmental catastrophes that are happening, both natural and man-made. Our constant connection to news from all over the world through social media is pretty overwhelming and can be too chaotic for our brains to process. Considering all of this as well as our disconnection from spirituality in the last few centuries, it makes sense that people are increasingly seeking out spiritual connections, wherever they can find them.
The gradual disconnection from spirituality and religion throughout Europe and North America is important here. I’m not exactly a huge fan of the Christian faiths as institutions, as they have been instrumental in destroying and suppressing not only indigenous practices and connections, but also in further marginalising vulnerable groups of people throughout the ages. But instead of finding other ways to find spiritual fulfilment, we somehow gravitated towards atheism and a denial of our own spirituality.
Suppressing such a vital part of our human experience was bound to come back to haunt us, and in my opinion the rise of conspirituality and New Age narcissism is part of that haunting. It’s the “good vibes only” crowd that refuses to even acknowledge hardships, marginalisation or difficulties around them; it’s the self-proclaimed “shamans” that went on a “journey” to take psychedelics and now know the secrets of the universe; it’s the tradwife mentality claiming women are only good for giving birth and cooking; it’s the spiritual “leaders” claiming to be able to teach you to also become a spiritual leader through a multi-level marketing scheme.
Claiming that a few hours’ course, a large payment or a psychedelic trip can make you a “shaman”, a curandere, a völva or a healer is like claiming a few hours of lectures can make you a qualified brain surgeon. All are titles you earn by doing years, usually decades, of hard work and training, and of earning the respect of the people around you. They are also titles that are bestowed on you by your immersion into a community and by helping other people. Often the training involved is sacrosanct to a certain cultural or ethnic group, and those practices have all too often been stolen by colonisers, bastardised and twisted to fit into either a Christian or atheist/agnostic setting that feels comfortable to white people - and especially to rich, white women. The cultural appropriation of ayahuasca, cacao, smudging, white sage, yoga and sweat lodges is material enough for a whole another article but I’ll include a few links to other people who have already written them at the end here. That isn’t to say that any spiritual experiences you’ve had with those practices isn’t real or important to you, only that basing your spiritual practice on (or making money off of) washed out misinterpretations of native wisdom is never going to bring you the true experience you’re searching for.
So what can you do? First of all, listen to indigenous voices from all over the world and uplift them. Recognise that there is no single, universal wisdom that will “set you free” or fix all your problems. There are plenty of things that can help, but you need to find what works for you individually, then realise that those things won’t necessarily help the next person. Remember that spiritual growth takes a long, long time - it doesn’t come all of a sudden all at once. Finally, the most important spiritual quality to nourish, in my opinion, is humility. Recognise your own limits and then recognise the power you can hold when you work with others. We humans are social creatures and we need community to thrive. Finding community with other spiritually open people is crucial, but it’s important to be aware of red flags that point to cult-like behaviour or delusional individual claims. Any spiritual practice that focuses only on individual growth as separate from community, or on never being fully grounded in your body, feeds into spiritual psychosis, which is dangerous not just for you but potentially those around you. Read up on narcissistic behaviour and multi-level marketing schemes so that you know what to look out for, and you’ll quickly find your way toward people who are authentic in their practice and way of living.
Notes:
1. I am writing mainly about things I’ve witnessed within a European and North American context, as that is what I know best. I myself am white, European, not living on either native or colonizer land (Iceland) but am continually benefitting from colonialism and white supremacy. I try my best to combat those things within and around me.
2. “Shaman” is a term I use in quotes because it’s an often misunderstood and appropriated term used freely by certain people. There are different roles within indigenous and traditional cultures all over the world that follow what might be called a “shamanistic” tradition (including but not limited to trance work, spirit flight, channeling non-human entities and working in different dimensions). In this article I use the term to invoke the way in which New Age movements and conspirituality tends to use the term, which is not truly in accordance to the older traditions.
3. I tried to find an openly accessible version of the essay by Ward and Voas, but didn’t find one, so if you’re interested in it but unable to pay for the access, send me a message.
Bibliography:
Ward, Charlotte and Voas, David. 2011. The Emergence of Conspirituality. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 26(1), 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2011.539846
Recommended reading:
Walsh, Aisling. 2020. The Power of Cacao: The Latest Trend in New-Age Consumer Spirituality. Dismantle Magazine. https://dismantlemag.com/2020/03/16/cacao-ceremony-latest-trend-new-age-consumer-spirituality/ (visited 25.04.24)
Amor, Bani. 2019. The Heart of Whiteness: On Spiritual Tourism and the Colonization of Ayahuasca. Bitch Magazine. Accessed through the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200610090846/https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/heart-of-whiteness-spiritual-tourism-colonization-ayahuasca
Comments