The Death of Sacred Spirituality

With the rise of social media, influencers, and modern marketing practices there has been a significant shift in the narrative of what it means to be a practitioner of the spiritual arts and even spirituality itself. It’s funny how it has become so commercialized these days, with people stepping into coaching, healing, and spiritual roles as though it is the new trendy way to make a living. You know I am not immune to this as I have been in the industry for over 14 years now, but I have been observing this shift from afar. 

The question I have been sitting with for a while now is  - has this “trending” of spirituality become removed from the sacredness of how spiritual practices have been regarded and practiced historically and culturally? I understand evolution in all areas of the human experience not being limited to our relationship to what is Spiritual and Sacred, but I have noticed during my time as a practitioner and business owner in the field that the spiritual arts have seemed to lose that sense of sacredness over the recent years.

I get it, using social media as a platform for marketing your services as can be incredibly useful to reach a broader audience that can help you make connections and get more clients, but when does it cross the boundary of maintaining sacred integrity with the work rather than becoming just another commercialized cog in the wheel of capitalism causing us to lose the deeper meaning behind the practices themselves? 

I’m all about “to each his/her own” and that everyone has their own path, but I really feel like something is missing when I scroll through my Instagram Feed and see practitioners desperately reaching for that hit of validation and dopamine that comes with being seen on social media. Falling into trendy marketing traps just to become somewhat more relevant in the algorithm in hopes of getting that next client makes me cringe. It’s sad to say that I see it all the time and it continues to grow in that direction.. I’m not saying many of these “social media stars” aren’t good practitioners or don’t genuinely want to help people, but when integrity moves to the side for the sake of validation I get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I get it, many people want to create their own version of success by doing what they love, but does anyone consider the consequences of losing themselves in the process? 

Whew, ok, rant over. I really do want to address this as an issue and hopefully bring awareness to the death of sacredness in spirituality. With the complexity created by the rise of social media I think there is something to be said about restoring a sense of simplicity in this realm. I don’t mean getting rid of social media or other platforms that genuinely help business owners with marketing, but to approach it all with a remembering that the work we do truly is sacred. To look at where we are coming from in our approach to sharing our wisdom with the world.

This is the work of the ancients, our mystical ancestors, and of the divine itself. Can we be OK with allowing our work to truly be Spirit led, maintain integrity of the practices, and share them with authenticity not only for the sake of the work itself, but to demonstrate to the world around us that it’s not necessary to become well known, to reach the entirety of the world, or post trendy content daily just to prove ourselves to an audience? To let go of the masks that modern marketing practices hand over to you and that you gladly wear for a few extra followers or clients, and return them as you return to the deeper knowing within yourself that the sacred does not need a mask, no need to perform, but to just be.

The need to maintain a commercialized version of your identity as a practitioner isn't necessary for you to be successful with your business, in fact the life of success you once imagined may be a completely different version once you allow that identity to dissolve and honor the deeper truth of who you are. Perhaps the 6-figure business you wanted as a world renowned energy healer or psychic suddenly becomes more about the love of these practices themselves and being of service rather than the external lifestyle you can create with them. Maybe when you stop feeding the social media machine and searching for dopamine fixes, you can discover another part of yourself that had been there all along - the true part that just wants to be of service to Spirit no matter what it's “supposed” to look like to the outside world. It's time we take an honest look not only at what we are doing as spiritual practitioners, but how we are leading others on the path as well. 

Again, this is not a complete rejection of the tool that is social media, but an inquiry about how to maintain integrity with one’s self and their practices inside of it. These platforms easily amplify what is already there, so it’s not easy to hide any distortions that are being projected through the lens of your iPhone 16 Pro. Are you trying to manage a perception or bring forward what is aligned within you?

I know it’s obvious that you are reading a blog from a practitioner writing publicly about his issues with public performance, but I want to point out something. There is a meaningful difference between offering your truth as a lantern for others and holding it up just to be seen. I’m definitely not someone who has it all figured out or has the answer to this dilemma. After 14 years in my practice, I have observed an erosion take place that I just can’t ignore. I couldn’t keep silent anymore and wanted to share my perspective for anyone else who may be silently cringing for the same reasons. 

You know, for a while I really wanted my practice to be BIG, to serve tons of people, and live out my spiritual purpose through my business. The reality is that this approach can be exhausting and time consuming in ways that require great sacrifice. I’m also not saying that’s wrong or bad, but the path leading there, from what I have witnessed, can involve  losing one’s self along the way. I realized that I didn’t want to fall into the trends and traps that seem necessary to force that to happen. I began to realize that my practices were meant to remain sacred and that I valued simplicity, intuitiveness, and authenticity in my spiritual work and business. If it just so happens that I experience bigger results from this way of doing things, then I will know they resulted from a genuine place within myself.

If there is anything I learned from working with Spirit is that the most sacred part of life is to just be. To be true to oneself, to be in touch with one’s own true essence, and to allow life to unfold from that truth. Knowing this has really taken the pressure off of trying to create success by societal standards and redirected that inwardly. I choose to stay attuned to the sacredness of my work as much as I can, share my work in ways that feel aligned to my values and with those who truly want it. Success for me is being of service from a place of authenticity while staying connected to my innermost being and seeing what unfolds. Of course I have goals, but I choose to pursue them with integrity and without adorning any societal headgear. There’s something incredibly empowering, peaceful, and self-loving about the simplicity that comes with choosing this path.

As they say, oftentimes things die so that something else may be reborn in its place. If the death of sacred spirituality is underway then I can only hope it will lead us to a renewal of its sacredness as we learn a new way of expressing it in this world that is truly in alignment with our own Spirit and the Spirit of the Universe.