I peruse a lot of social media groups that cater to what I guess I’d call “a spiritual mindset.” I’m often shocked to see the kind of ideas out there that one would think “being spiritual” would lead us away from. On closer inspection, one begins to see that the beliefs we had when we weren’t necessarily spiritually awakened simply start to wear a fancier dress.
For example, what may have once been depression based in disconnection might now become anguish over being “left behind.” And the very feelings that brought us to the spiritual path, say our dissatisfaction with life or the recognition of the emptiness of the material world, those very same feelings may begin to feed on the fear of never feeling “better” or “whole.”
There’s also a commonly held fear of being “on the wrong path,” a fear that is often corroborated by those hustling their programs to “discover your path” or “live your purpose.” And while some of those programs may have value, that they come from the assumption that you might not know your path or that you might be living “off purpose” makes them false friends from the start.
Think back to an earlier time in our collective consciousness when we still actually believed that if we didn’t get that new shampoo, someone else’s hair would be silkier than ours. We don’t fall for that so much anymore. We know the toxic crap in one bottle is pretty much equally cancer-causing to the toxic crap in the more expensive bottle. The point is, there is no difference to this kind of belief versus the spiritual idea of being on a particular path. Our pre-spiritual conditioning follows us into spirituality. And we fall for it again and again.
Look. It’s simple. You can’t not be on your path. Whatever it looks like, wherever you are, however you feel…you’re on your path. You’re on it. You’re living it. Even if you’re resisting your life with every ounce of your being, you’re still on your path—the only one available to you. There’s no other choice. Even if choices appear, even as you come to forks in the road, no matter which fork you choose, even if you choose going backwards, you are still on your path. Even if something you wanted more than anything else in the world doesn’t come to you, if you missed the chance, if you lost the contest, you, my dear, are still on your path.
Just walk!
Everybody’s been seeking relief from feeling shitty thinking that spiritual people don’t feel shitty. That too is a huge lie. And guess what? Those shitty feelings you feel ARE YOUR PATH! You’re just not using them correctly, probably because you’re so obsessed with them meaning that you’re not “on path.” They are an indication of what you aren’t seeing. They are an indication of what you are misinterpreting. They are an indication of the lies you have yet to root out.
It’s bizarre, isn’t it? It’s also part of the mysterious game of life. The very belief that you could be off path is still not enough to throw you off of it. But it sure can distract you for a while and make you feel all kinds of worse. And then, because you feel ever shitty, you’re certain you are somehow lacking, mistaken, and lost. Well, guess what? You kind of are, but only kinda.
This crazy idea that we can be “off purpose” or “off path” is a spiritual lie. It’s one of the biggest pieces of bogus being passed around right now. It causes all sorts of anguish, guilt, self-doubt, and needling feelings of dissatisfaction with life. We get ideas like, “if only I was” someone else, more like her, less like him, doing that instead, certified in this, living over there, fill in your blank. And it completely distracts us from the here and now. It blinds us to what is real.
Relax! You’re not going to miss the bus to enlightenment. You’re not going to screw up. You’re not falling behind. And here’s why. You’ve already chosen. If you’re even bothering to read this, you’ve made your choice. You’re up. There’s no going back to sleep, and the work you have to do is right here in front of your face, in your body, and behind thy own eyes.
Just walk. Or better yet, dance!