Thanks to Gib for sending me the article by Jeff Brown in the Elephant Journal, 10 Ways to Bypass the Real. Jeff writes about the many ways that the New Age movement has brought the greater need to understand the branches of the spiritual bypass tree. The modern spiritual movement has created a large, unbalanced focus on peace, love, and light, which can easily lead to patterns of self-avoidance on the path to enlightenment.
According to Jeff Brown, the ‘Forgiveness Bypass’ is “The tendency to avoid unresolved emotions and relational experiences by feigning forgiveness, or premature forgiveness. What often manifests is a tendency to shame those who haven’t forgiven, as though forgiving a wrongdoer is more important than healing itself. Real forgiveness requires a genuine working through of the emotions and memories related to our experiences. And, at the end of that process, it is the victim’s choice as to whether they choose to forgive.”
Forgiveness is a process, and one that I spent a year and a half engaged with prior to transitioning into my present work. It was a long and grueling process of internal cleansing that occurred with times of integration in between facing my darkness. I think Jeff’s point is that we have to be present and authentic with our spiritual selves. Let’s get a whisper from an angel:
Sensitive people who are working with their spirituality often have a large life purpose. The larger the life purpose, the bigger the ego. The ego of a spiritually focused sensitive person will often manifest internally as a conversation within. The ego will judge itself against a hidden comparison, which is perfection. This leads to projections of the shadow self, self-defeating habits, and moral and spiritual judgments that can be misleading.
Higher levels of consciousness, when left ungrounded, can support incorrect thinking based on a hopeful view of the world, distanced from reality. Spiritual bypass of the truth begins with justifiable actions based on the standard of spiritual perfection. Spirituality without clear practices and a grounded focus can lead to suppression of major emotions. Anger, when suppressed in the name of love, becomes a negative imbalance of energy that emerges as anxiety. The emotion of disgust can become sadness as it breaks the barriers of hope, therefore diminishing trust. Contempt can become sadness for humanity and a loss of faith.
The senses of a spiritual person can become imbalanced as a result of suppressing true feelings and justifying themselves to suffer by suppressing anything perceived as negative. This can lead to an overall feeling of not wanting to be here anymore, as a spirit loses touch with reality. This feeling is common in spiritual beings, as the thought of being in the arms of the divine brings the most comfort. If this is occurring, it is a sign that some part of the individual must cease to exist in order to shift awareness with regard to the current reality.
Express your true emotions so they do not become trapped within. Feel the freedom to see your true self becoming released from false teachings of how you should act. Be authentic with yourself to avoid the traps offered by spiritual illusions. Take action toward being your best self. Grounded presence with reality is the highest form of holding love and light.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
