Pseudo Spirituality

Theresa Byrne can’t take it anymore—‘Pseudo Spirituality’ has to stop. 

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That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t even pretend.

This concept of (Pseudo) Spirituality: supposedly “spiritual” people who are quoting memes and one-liners that have no idea what they really mean. What it means to “Trust the Universe.” Or how freaking hard it is to actually get down and dirty with your own growth; how to deal with your own issues. Walking around spouting words and concepts that sound cool. “Love is all there is.” (Insert heart-smiley face icon here).

Saying things like: “Namaste” or “Love and Light”—then going about treating others cruelly. Or judging another’s choices. Putting someone down. I looked up “namaste,” there’s nothing about judgement in there.

Or those that find themselves simply sharing the words of others, because sharing is caring? Quoting this spiritual guru, or that one, or even the paraphrased gibberish from someone else’s guru. Cutting and pasting the cute memes or pictures thinking it makes a difference.

I mean no disrespect to anyone actually in the trenches, honestly dealing with themselves, it ain’t easy. Doing your work, learning about yourself on a level that not many tread. Those “dark nights of the soul” are tough. Anyone who has been in them, who has dealt with themselves on that level knows the difference. It’s the posers I can’t take anymore. Posturing. Posing. Pretending. By doing “what spiritual people do” as if there was a manual and you can follow it to be part of the In Crowd. These same people that are miserable, numb or hurting people intentionally.

You can attend seminars. Go to self-help workshops. Read books. You can quote Gandhi all you want, but until you know that being the “change” means every friggen day.

You choose it.

You choose to be that change.

You aren’t purposefully hurtful, ever.  And if you hurt someone, you apologize. And every day you choose peace, even when someone makes you mad. You choose love, even when it’s the hardest thing to do. You choose to be kind when someone else cuts you off, or they explode in anger at something you said or did. You don’t make it about you, you let them be. You choose because you know it’s a choice. And you walk that path. All the time.

Ok, most of the time.

You may even choose to cut people out of your life as an act of self-kindness so that you can stay sane. You draw boundaries that keep you safe; let you keep the good in, and keep the negative draining stuff out. And when that means choosing to be alone most of the time, instead of with people: that can be tough.

It’s difficult, it takes work  to open up. It’s not for the faint at heart. And you don’t get a tee shirt that says, “Been There Done That.”—but along the path you will recognize others that have done their work.

You do not awaken because you bought a poster or shirt that says, ‘Thoughts Create Things’—and yes, I own that one too. You don’t wake up because you can quote the new age philosophers. Because you get a tattoo of Asian symbols or poetic words. You don’t wake up because you post positive memes on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Instagram, Whatsapp, or any other form of social media.

You wake up because you are out of options. You have done everything you knew how to do and, here’s the kicker: it wasn’t enough. You weren’t enough. You couldn’t fix it. You couldn’t make it right. You had no ideas left on how to make things better. You are tired of the same patterns over and over. You want more. And you have a chance to look yourself in the eye, and see who you really are.

To wake up means to find yourself one day at the bottom of the barrel. You met your own shadow. You found you. The real you.

Maybe you’re emotionally, spiritually, physically or financially bankrupt. Maybe you can’t get out of bed because the demons and negative thoughts in your head are overriding any happy thoughts.

Maybe you find yourself in relationships that are draining you; you have a job you hate; you’re selling yourself short to hang with a certain group of friends.

You don’t speak up because you’re afraid of being kicked out. Maybe you’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

In that moment it’s just you. You are the only one: you are naked, alone, screwed up, miserable, empty and you finally stop blaming anyone or anything else. No one is going to show up to rescue you. You are it. No book or guru is going to give the answers that you seek, all you have is you. Alone. The only one—the one you’ve been waiting for, and it ain’t pretty.

And in that moment you give up. You stop fighting yourself. And you wake the hell up!

You take stock of your life and you start living from that authentic place because you just can’t fake it anymore. You don’t want to live up to anyone else’s expectations of who you should be, or how you should be. What you should say, and what you should do.

You realize you are enough, that you do have a lot to offer the world.

Then you start to become who you came here to be. You’re finally free to find your own power.

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