There has been some discussion online regarding spiritual bypassing and how it overlaps with activism and I have contemplating this idea for the past few months as part of my own continuing Shadow Work. I feel as if this topic overlaps to some degree the idea of enabling which I’ve written about here: Are You Enabling a Change? The two topics are not exactly the same nor do these two blog posts discuss the exact same points, but for me there is some overlap.
Spiritual bypassing was defined by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher
Spiritual bypassing was defined by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher
and psychotherapist, as the act of using spiritual beliefs and practices to avoid dealing with uncomfortable feelings and emotions, unresolved pain, and deep psychological needs while rewarding the individual with a false sense of security and undermining their true spiritual growth and transformation. With spiritual bypassing the individual withdraws not only from themselves and others, but from their authentic spiritual beliefs and practices. The individual favors Universal truth over relative truth; the impersonal over the personal, emptiness over form, transcendence over embodiment, and detachment over feeling and often uses it to suppress or deny feelings or concerns that need attention.
In the not so distant past I was subtly accused of spiritual bypassing by a student of mine and most recently took time to contemplate whether I do so currently and if so, was it a practice I wanted to continue. While contemplating this concept I found myself in a serious conundrum.
I view this lifetime as an experiment. It is a place where we constantly experience the spectrum of contrast that this physical life on earth provides us in order to expand, to gain knowledge and wisdom through these choices and events. This reality is about polarities. There has always been and always will be the two vibrational frequencies of fear and love; on one end of the spectrum is fear and on the opposite end is love. The majority of humanity fluctuates between the two vibrational frequencies as each of us make life choices and have life experiences. This enables us to learn more about ourselves, others, and the nature of the universe.
We are physical human beings and spiritual beings; neither is exclusive of the other. It is through our humanity that we gain wisdom through our experiences which enables spiritual and in a more profound way, universal growth. While we are manifested in the physical we are dependent on those who are manifested along with us because we seek to establish relationships with others in order to learn about ourselves through mirroring. Our spiritual self, while is not dependent on others is still interwoven with others. We are not separate spiritual beings, but are just a part of the greater whole. We may perceive ourselves to be individualized while manifested in the physical we truly are not. We are indeed One.
The reality is that this lifetime is an illusion. It is what we have collectively created around us so that we can experience contrast in order to gain knowledge and wisdom for expansion; but as someone who knows and understands this, it does not mean that I deny, ignore, or am oblivious to relative truths. Instead, it means that I chose to focus on Universal truths, that I spend my energy on sharing love with others, and that I consciously chose to unify in love instead of fight in fear. It is my belief that fighting just attracts more fighting and I just don’t want that in my life.
You may feel guided to be the Spiritual Warrior. I am not, but that does not mean that I am spiritually bypassing on the current events that are occurring locally or globally, nor does that mean that you are following the wrong path. If we are following our subjective truths then all is good. I am constantly working on my own Shadows. I am internally transforming, deconstructing, and reprogramming old beliefs and patterns of thinking that do not serve my highest good, but to an outsider, someone observing my behaviors and speech, they will not be able to see the transformations taking place. That outsider may look at my perceived inaction and claim confidently to the world that I am spiritually bypassing, that if I am not saying something against the issue or doing something to oppose the problem then I am contributing to the problem. Who are they to sit in judgement of me? If my perceived silence or inaction is upsetting to them, perhaps it would be most beneficial for them to ask themselves why that is.
I am working on becoming the best version of myself that I can be. I look to change the world around me, by changing myself. I lead by example, not by force because I realize that I cannot change others, only myself. I recognize that each of us are living our own life experience and experiencing the polarities that this world provides and we will not always agree with each other, but I am working on me and only you can work on you.
In the not so distant past I was subtly accused of spiritual bypassing by a student of mine and most recently took time to contemplate whether I do so currently and if so, was it a practice I wanted to continue. While contemplating this concept I found myself in a serious conundrum.
I view this lifetime as an experiment. It is a place where we constantly experience the spectrum of contrast that this physical life on earth provides us in order to expand, to gain knowledge and wisdom through these choices and events. This reality is about polarities. There has always been and always will be the two vibrational frequencies of fear and love; on one end of the spectrum is fear and on the opposite end is love. The majority of humanity fluctuates between the two vibrational frequencies as each of us make life choices and have life experiences. This enables us to learn more about ourselves, others, and the nature of the universe.
We are physical human beings and spiritual beings; neither is exclusive of the other. It is through our humanity that we gain wisdom through our experiences which enables spiritual and in a more profound way, universal growth. While we are manifested in the physical we are dependent on those who are manifested along with us because we seek to establish relationships with others in order to learn about ourselves through mirroring. Our spiritual self, while is not dependent on others is still interwoven with others. We are not separate spiritual beings, but are just a part of the greater whole. We may perceive ourselves to be individualized while manifested in the physical we truly are not. We are indeed One.
The reality is that this lifetime is an illusion. It is what we have collectively created around us so that we can experience contrast in order to gain knowledge and wisdom for expansion; but as someone who knows and understands this, it does not mean that I deny, ignore, or am oblivious to relative truths. Instead, it means that I chose to focus on Universal truths, that I spend my energy on sharing love with others, and that I consciously chose to unify in love instead of fight in fear. It is my belief that fighting just attracts more fighting and I just don’t want that in my life.
You may feel guided to be the Spiritual Warrior. I am not, but that does not mean that I am spiritually bypassing on the current events that are occurring locally or globally, nor does that mean that you are following the wrong path. If we are following our subjective truths then all is good. I am constantly working on my own Shadows. I am internally transforming, deconstructing, and reprogramming old beliefs and patterns of thinking that do not serve my highest good, but to an outsider, someone observing my behaviors and speech, they will not be able to see the transformations taking place. That outsider may look at my perceived inaction and claim confidently to the world that I am spiritually bypassing, that if I am not saying something against the issue or doing something to oppose the problem then I am contributing to the problem. Who are they to sit in judgement of me? If my perceived silence or inaction is upsetting to them, perhaps it would be most beneficial for them to ask themselves why that is.
I am working on becoming the best version of myself that I can be. I look to change the world around me, by changing myself. I lead by example, not by force because I realize that I cannot change others, only myself. I recognize that each of us are living our own life experience and experiencing the polarities that this world provides and we will not always agree with each other, but I am working on me and only you can work on you.
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