What Is Spiritual Bypassing

Spiritual bypassing is a technique for concealing one's identity behind spirituality or spiritual pursuits. It inhibits people from expressing their emotions and isolates them from both themselves and others. Following are some examples of spiritual bypassing:

• To conceal from insecurities, you can believe in your own spiritual superiority.
• Believing that tragic occurrences must serve as “learning experiences” or that every negative experience has a silver lining
• Believing that spiritual practices like meditation and prayer are always beneficial.

Spiritual bypassing is a flimsy means of avoiding problems, which may make us feel better in the short term but ultimately solves nothing and leaves the situation unsolved.

How do you know if you are spiritually bypassing?

I've learned the significance of compassion for myself as well as those that present themselves as problems after visiting multiple spiritual retreats and meeting many leaders in the industry. “You never know how others feel unless you walk in their shoes,” my father used to say, and his old-fashioned wisdom still rings true three decades later.

• Not paying attention to the present moment; spending a lot of time in a spiritual dimension.

What is emotional bypassing?

“Positive vibrations alone,” “Your thoughts generate your sorrow,” and “Let go of feelings that do not serve you” are examples of this.

These “keep positive” messages became suffocating rather than uplifting as I grew more involved in the wellness community. When I shared my issue or found myself feeling guilty or ashamed about experiencing bad feelings, I began to feel rejected. As a result, I began to disregard myself and the messages my emotions were sending me.

I began to accept the idea that some feelings, such as joy, compassion, happiness, and thankfulness, should be encouraged and nurtured, while others, such as anger, grief, jealously, or sadness, should be ignored, “transmuted” into positive emotions, or rejected outright.

Since “your thoughts generate your suffering,” it's safe to assume that thinking about, acknowledging, or exploring these difficult feelings will only make your anguish worse.

While observing and then replacing negative, critical, or unrealistic thoughts can be extremely beneficial (and is, in fact, the foundation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), it must be done after fully processing the emotions associated with those negative thoughts, as well as practicing radical self-acceptance and compassion.

All emotions are simply data indicating that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. We miss out on a wealth of opportunities for increased self-awareness when we ignore, avoid, or try to “fix” our more unpleasant feelings.

Encouragement to avoid uncomfortable emotions in the goal of perpetual happiness is not only unachievable, but it can also be harmful. We can delve into our full humanity when we allow space for processing and sitting with weight.

What is spiritual bypassing in yoga?

This is referred to as “spiritual bypassing” by woke people. When we employ metaphysical conceptions like God or universal awareness to avoid dealing with difficult real-world concerns or unpleasant emotions, we are engaging in spiritual bypassing. Of course, activities that keep the body and mind healthy are more vital than ever right now, but they should be used to help us cope with reality rather than pretending that we are all one type of divine creature capable of magically transcending the realities of racism. What matters most right now is having the bravery and determination to make a difference in the world. Yoga can help, but only if you're devoted to something bigger than yourself.

Yoga and meditation can help you relax, which can help you become more resilient as an activist. However, these practices cannot replace taking decisive action for social change, and I feel it is every yoga teacher's dharma, or duty, to remind their students of this. Why? Because the wellness business is frighteningly white-dominated, and many white people are currently straddling the perilous line between realizing they are racists and becoming antiracists. Who else is going to do it if a revered teacher doesn't lovingly ask them to lean into their discomfort?

What is toxic spirituality?

The solution is far more straightforward than you might think. You are practicing toxic spirituality if you believe that you must always be positive and that anything negative is wrong.

What makes this notion so dangerous is that it prevents us from learning and growing by suppressing positive emotions.

Each of our feelings has information. This information is neither good nor bad; it is simply that.

Emotions Inform Us

When you have anxiety, for example, you are not a bad person or doing something wrong. Anxiety is trying to tell you something.

It could be a sign that you need to leave the house a few minutes earlier than usual since you dislike traffic. You escape traffic and, as a result, are less likely to develop road rage if you leave the house a few minutes early.

And no amount of meditation or prayer will alleviate the stress. It will almost certainly stay until you have learned the lesson and have left a few minutes early.

When you ignore or fail to gain information from your emotions because you've suppressed them for the sake of being “positive,” you'll either be stuck in your current circumstance or, worse, start self-medicating.

This belief that you must be positive at all times is harmful to your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

How do you know if you are a spiritual person?

The first evidence of a spiritual person is their lack of fear. When you have a fear or a chronic worry, that fear takes over your life and you are unable to be in the present moment. Fear of public speaking, fear of heights, and fear of bugs are the three most common fears among Americans. Many people, however, are terrified of death, rejection, loneliness, failure, illness, or making poor judgments. Spiritual people understand how to yield to forces beyond their control. In this way, they are similar to children in that they know how to ignore their minds and live fearlessly.

What is spiritual trauma?

Spiritual trauma is the result of a person's reaction to a belief system that dismisses and degrades them on behalf of a deity or a set of deities. More information can be found here. Christians are frequently encouraged to recruit for their religion, and losing a Christian friend or family member can be devastating.

Unfortunately, the desire to “reach” to the “lost” and the desperate need to reclaim lost territory with the emergence of the “nones” sometimes lead well-intentioned Christians to say hurtful things to those who have already been terribly hurt by the tradition. Words are important to someone who is just beginning to break free from destructive thinking habits. Here are some of my thoughts.

What happens when you go through a spiritual awakening?

As Kaiser argues, this is the start of your spiritual journey, as you begin to doubt everything you previously believed. You begin to purge certain aspects of your life (habits, relationships, and outdated belief systems) in order to make room for new, more meaningful experiences. You may sense that something is lacking, but you aren't sure what it is. It's common to feel disoriented, confused, and down during this time.

What is bypassing in communication?

Bypassing: Diverse people have different interpretations of the same words. Bypassing occurs when two persons give the same word different meanings. The sender and receiver must attach the same meaning to the words, gestures, and symbols used to form a message for communication to be successful. As a result, adopting specific words, symbols, and gestures that are widely understood will reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation.

Frame of Reference: Everyone sees the world through their own unique lens, shaped by their own experiences, backgrounds, cultures, personalities, and a variety of other things.

As a result, no two persons have the same experience of the world.

To accomplish clear communication, the sender must be aware of his or her own frame of reference as well as the receiver's frame of reference.

Baby boomers and millennials, for example, have very different frames of reference.

As a result, if the sender and receiver do not account for the differing frames of reference, intergenerational contact in the workplace might lead to miscommunication.

Language Abilities: No matter how good a message is, it will not be understood or completely appreciated until it is expressed using the necessary spoken and written skills.

Errors in spelling, punctuation, phrase structure, and fluency can obstruct effective communication. Furthermore, utilizing jargon, slang, and foreign language reduces the clarity of communication.

Distractions: Emotional and physical distractions, as well as digital disruptions, will obstruct proper communication.

When one is experiencing delight, fear, hatred, animosity, grief, or any other powerful emotion, it is difficult to shape an objective statement.

Physical distractions, such as poor acoustics; sloppy look and negligent formatting; and mental distractions, such as multitasking, information overload, and competing demands, can all obstruct good communication.

Focusing on what matters and blocking out distractions improves the likelihood of effective communication.