These days, spirituality is becoming more of a trend.
With yoga studios popping up on every other corner and more people becoming interested in Buddhism, it seems as if everyone is practicing a sort of spirituality.
While this is a good thing, I often wonder if being spiritual has really helped anyone.
Is it really worth the time and effort?
Is spirituality a waste of time?
Spirituality can be a waste of time, depending on how you use it and the path you follow.
If you are using spirituality to become more empathic, help others, and understand yourself better, it is a worthwhile pursuit.
However, there is a darker side to spirituality: greedy gurus, expensive retreats, and a lot of airy-fairy talk that doesn’t help anyone but waste their time.
Spirituality is a broad term, so just asking “is spirituality a waste of time” is a complex question.
But in general, spirituality is not a waste of time if practiced correctly.
When spirituality is not worth it:
The darker side of spirituality is where the real waste of time is.
Not many people talk about or are aware of the dark side of spirituality, but it is there.
There are several practices and paths that make spirituality a waste of time; here are some of them:
1. Main focus is drugs
If your spiritual practice only involves the use of drugs, then you are wasting your time.
Many people have fallen into the trap of taking drugs to connect with spirituality and reach enlightenment.
This is false.
Drugs only open the mind to one reality, and many people become more confused by their use of drugs than before they took them.
Drugs use can destroy a person’s mind and make them question their sanity if they are fragile in the mind, to begin with.
The use of drugs is not a healthy way to connect with spirituality and will not help you in any way.
If you want to do drugs and truly believe that they help you with your spiritual journey, then that’s fine.
Don’t force or push others to do them with you or judge them for not participating.
2. Expensive retreats, seminars, workshops
I have seen people go on expensive retreats for weeks at a time to find themselves.
They travel across the globe to find what they are looking for, just to come back not really any wiser or further along in their lives, with less money in their pockets.
While retreats can be a great way to meet like-minded people, you need to remember that spirituality does not have to involve money.
There is no correlation between money and spirituality.
You can’t buy your way into happiness or enlightenment with money.
Spirituality is about being free.
It’s about understanding yourself on a deep level, and it’s about having experiences, not things.
You can start your spiritual journey today for free; you just have to look within yourself to do that.
3. The guru effect
Spirituality is about finding yourself, not having someone tell you who you are.
If your spiritual path includes following a guru like some sort of religion, you are wasting your time.
While there are many gurus out there in places in India who will teach you about spirituality free of charge, many in the West want your money and will do anything to get it.
Many of these western gurus will be on retreats teaching you how to meditate while charging $1000’s for the privilege.
There is nothing spiritual about these gurus – they are con artists, and you should stay well clear of them.
Remember what I said above – spirituality does not have to involve money.
You can learn how to meditate and be spiritual anywhere, at any time.
Real spirituality is about questioning yourself and having experiences that make you think deeply.
It’s about understanding yourself and the existence of the universe, not having someone tell you what to do.
No guru is greater than yourself, and your spirituality is inside of you, not outside.
You are your own guru.
When spirituality is worth it:
1. Helps you to create inner peace
If you feel stressed, depressed, or like your life is out of control, then spirituality can help.
A lot of people start to use spirituality as a crutch because they are searching for happiness.
Some people think that there is a moment in time where they will find, what they call in their mind, happiness.
Happiness is something different for everyone, and when we attach this word to a moment or experience, we are actually looking at the wrong thing.
If you want to be happy, then don’t look for happiness in anything or anyone except yourself and the inner world of your thoughts and emotions.
Spirituality is about listening to the thoughts and emotions you have daily and learning more and more about them.
It’s about getting to know your thoughts and emotions and accepting them, not fighting against them.
Once you understand that, you can start to move on in a positive direction in your life.
2. Makes you more empathic
There are a lot of people in this world who lack empathy for others.
Some of them aren’t even aware…
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