" The festival-goer's careful curation of "spiritual vibes" could catalyze authentic practice. "
- This is a realisation I have long had, but to be honest I don't think the conversion rate is particularly high and.....hmmmm........a quite experienced spiritual facilitator who I think it is fair to say took this wager....well they hinted to me recently that it may not have really paid off in that sense (though, to add my own commentary, financially it appears to have been quite lucrative).
Probably one of the more 'authentic' guides I have met was a quite serious KY teacher (sadly died from Cancer quite recently) who taught in a fairly rudimentary shack. She owned a crystal shop, and she gifted me a small one when we parted ways after I moved to take a job elsewhere. So yeah, liking crystals isn't inherently bad for ones' spiritual progress by any means.
But there are definite issues with superficial spirituality. GPT is strong here:
The Double-Edged Sword of Inauthenticity
Inauthentic spirituality tends to create environments that prioritize appearances and vibes over substance. While this can attract people to certain practices initially, it also creates several structural problems for those who want to move beyond the surface:
Lack of Depth in Community:
Authentic seekers often require robust communities of practice—spaces where they can ask difficult questions, explore vulnerabilities, and be guided by those with more experience. But a culture steeped in inauthentic spirituality tends to prioritize performative aspects, like aesthetic conformity or “positive vibes only,” which can alienate seekers looking for depth.
---------------------------
When I get some time, hopefully soon, I will be blogging about some of my experiences in the mystical, magical world of the 5Rhythms. But for now, I bring it up because essentially one learns the rhythms largely through mimickry and somewhere in all of that something authentic and magical is supposed to emerge. Did it, does it, will it? I guess you'll see, sometime, maybe. In the meantime there's a good Adam Curtis blogpost: https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fadamcurtis%2Fentries%2F843165bf-1e69-3dec-873e-973fc8e604a5
“Glitter isn’t just decorative it’s generative.”
You’ve swayed my view on form and aesthetics.
🙏🏼
" The festival-goer's careful curation of "spiritual vibes" could catalyze authentic practice. "
- This is a realisation I have long had, but to be honest I don't think the conversion rate is particularly high and.....hmmmm........a quite experienced spiritual facilitator who I think it is fair to say took this wager....well they hinted to me recently that it may not have really paid off in that sense (though, to add my own commentary, financially it appears to have been quite lucrative).
Probably one of the more 'authentic' guides I have met was a quite serious KY teacher (sadly died from Cancer quite recently) who taught in a fairly rudimentary shack. She owned a crystal shop, and she gifted me a small one when we parted ways after I moved to take a job elsewhere. So yeah, liking crystals isn't inherently bad for ones' spiritual progress by any means.
But there are definite issues with superficial spirituality. GPT is strong here:
The Double-Edged Sword of Inauthenticity
Inauthentic spirituality tends to create environments that prioritize appearances and vibes over substance. While this can attract people to certain practices initially, it also creates several structural problems for those who want to move beyond the surface:
Lack of Depth in Community:
Authentic seekers often require robust communities of practice—spaces where they can ask difficult questions, explore vulnerabilities, and be guided by those with more experience. But a culture steeped in inauthentic spirituality tends to prioritize performative aspects, like aesthetic conformity or “positive vibes only,” which can alienate seekers looking for depth.
---------------------------
When I get some time, hopefully soon, I will be blogging about some of my experiences in the mystical, magical world of the 5Rhythms. But for now, I bring it up because essentially one learns the rhythms largely through mimickry and somewhere in all of that something authentic and magical is supposed to emerge. Did it, does it, will it? I guess you'll see, sometime, maybe. In the meantime there's a good Adam Curtis blogpost: https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fadamcurtis%2Fentries%2F843165bf-1e69-3dec-873e-973fc8e604a5