Margaret re: spiritual bypassing

[Guest guest]

>>There's lots more interesting stuff about spiritual bypassing which

he defines as:

" using spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep personal,

emotional 'unfinished business,' to shore up a shaky sense of self,

or to belittle basic needs, feelings, and developmental tasks, all in

the name of enlightenment.<<

This is so great. This is why I so appreciate The Work. Previously I had

been under the impression that anger, sadness, need, etc. was not spiritual.

I was advised to " drop it " and meditate on the Self. I latched onto that one

because when I was growing up, anger (my anger, not my parents' anger) was

not acceptable. I couldn't help but notice that a whole lot of people

associated with the ashram I used to go to were clinically depressed. I

don't know what came first for those folks, the chicken or the egg, but I do

know that the guilt I was feeling for having perfectly human feelings led me

to an even deeper depression than I experienced before having a " spiritual "

life. And I couldn't really meditate on the " Self " because I had no idea

what the " Self " was. There was all this stuff covering it that I was

supposed to " drop " and couldn't.

Thank God that's over. I never dreamed how freeing it would be to be able to

say " I'm angry because... " and examine that, without the thought that I was

bad or unreasonable for having a reaction.

Love, Carol