The Unspoken Pandemic Within The Spiritual & Wellness Community.

A Difficult Lesson In Humanity

When I first came out of the religious closet, I was more than ready to open my mind and heart to anything and everything the world of spirituality had to offer. I developed this mindset that if I could rise above basic human behavior and embrace higher spiritual philosophies and ideals, I’d be cured of all suffering and the human experience. I mean, let’s get real. Being a human being on planet earth these days is not easy. If it isn’t one thing, then it’s another, and there seems to be no end in sight for the evolving growing pains of the human race. But at the time of my spiritual awakening, I was sure I could be cured or healed from the human condition. After all, when you look at any philosophical or spiritual texts, it always seemed like the spiritual founders had it put together. That they were able to rise above all of the bullshit we deal with as humans to embody a state of mental and emotional perfection. Or so I thought.

The Practice Of Perfection

My first real taste of this ideal state of being occurred was when I was in my early 20’s. I worked at Starbucks as a Barista at the time, and I had converted to being a vegetarian, then vegan then raw vegan. I was reading through several spiritual texts at the time, some of them channeled from higher beings and ascended masters. Through some of the approaches, I’d heard about the potential of raw veganism and how people claimed to be cured of many ailments, illnesses, mental, emotional conditions. So I gave it a try in an attempt to perfect myself and advance my body and mind. LOL, well it wasn’t easy to say the least but I was able to reach some of my goals.
I sustained being a vegetarian and vegan for the majority of 2 years. I did notice an increase in energy and also in my cognitive abilities. But it didn’t solve every problem I had physically, emotionally or mentally. I still had skin conditions, and I didn’t have the perfect physique. Anxiety, depression, and ADD were still very much a part of my experience as well. I also was an avid meditator in those days, and though I did increase my mental clarity and sense of well being, I wasn’t without pain or suffering. I wasn’t cured and had to continue to deal with the human condition. Life was still life, and yes, things were easier to deal with, but I never ascended into the clouds leaving all of my worries behind. That just never happened.

The Enlightenment Gimmick

As a fellow spiritual seeker, I have also been vulnerable to the promises made by members of the spiritual community. “This crystal fixes this. That light therapy cures that.” There’s an array of gimmicks and quick-fix schemes that have become a part of the seeker’s experience. Go to any metaphysical store, and the level of claims with products for various conditions or struggles is out of control. If someone believes or makes a claim about something, then it must work because it’s spiritual. Once you do the right thing, you’ll be fixed and no longer be privy to this world’s pain.
The promise of spirituality is that you’ll find the answers you seek, and everything will be made right. Once you’re enlightened, then you evolve past the earthly “matrix” of reality. At least that’s the promise I came into the belief system having the impression of. As time has gone on, I’ve seen an emerging pattern of mindset and behavior within the community that mimics enlightenment but is not in fact very enlightened. This being similar to the bible worshipper of America who calls themselves Christian but could not even begin to break down or comprehend the complex ideas and philosophies of Christ.

“To call yourself a thing does not mean you are that unless you embody the realization of being-ness that is exemplified by the thing.” -Asha.

Are You Enlighten Or Just Suffering From Mental Illness?

An unintended side effect of inauthentic spiritual growth can be a mental condition known as a sort of reality disassociation. I call it spiritual depersonalization or derealization disorder. It can be brought on by extreme trauma or ongoing psychological distress. In psychology, depersonalization/derealization disorder involves significant ongoing or recurring experience of one or both conditions:

• Depersonalization — experiences of unreality or detachment from one’s mind, self or body. People may feel as if they are outside their bodies and watching events happening to them.
• Derealization — experiences of unreality or detachment from one’s surroundings. People may feel as if things and people in the world around them are not real.

During these altered mental experiences, the person is aware of reality and that their experience is unusual or not normal. The experience is exceptionally distressful, even though the person may appear to be unreactive or lacking emotion. Symptoms may begin in early childhood; the average age a person experiences the disorder is 16. Less than 20 percent of people with depersonalization/derealization disorder first experience symptoms after age 20. This was a key period in my life when I personally struggled through quite a bit of trauma because of various forms of abuse, and my mother’s diagnosed schizophrenia.

Attempting To Heal My Trauma Through Spirituality

Having to watch my mother left in a mental institution, begging not to be left behind, after years of traumatic abuse and a difficult divorce from the abuser was more than my teenage mind could bear. I began to question the whole of my impoverished, Hispanic and Catholic upbringing and reality. It was only natural that I’d reach far outside my norm for answers or any relief I could find. That’s just what happened when I discovered spirituality. Within it was radical ideas and foreign concepts from these exotic places and times in our human history from masters who purported to have solutions.
It was fascinating for me, and with every new book and set of teachings came more and more of a sense of disassociation from my painful life and emotional struggles. In time, it lead to me going through a period of disassociation with this very human experience and limiting of “reality,” retreating within my chosen conscious bubble. This exact scenario is what many many spiritual practitioners and followers go through and suffer from today. It is the unspoken pandemic within the enlightened community and offers no real healing or relief. In contrast, there are tools, methods, and approaches to healing that exist and aid those on the spiritual path. But science and medicine must support these methods with evidence, for the potential application to our culture and society is a game-changer and an understatement.

What worked for my healing was a combination of accepting the reality of my life, finding proven coping mechanisms through psychological processes, and integrating spiritual practices that gave me the ability to connect and work through my circumstances. We are adaptive beings, and having the skills necessary to work through life’s circumstances instead of negating and disassociating from it was the key to my stability. Also, having a healthy and nurturing support group around me was very beneficial. Once I stopped holding myself up to such unrealistic and impractical standards, embraced human reality, and put into practice coping mechanisms, I was able to identify with and gain better control of my own life and how I reacted to the world around me. I was adaptable, and though not all experiences are easy to work through, I’m made of solid stuff and expect to get through anything life throws my way. Learning to live in this world and seeing its true beauty and awe without negating its horrors has given me a new sense of self and has been quite empowering.

Reality Is Setting The Spiritual World On Fire

I’ve begun to witness that more and more of a large portion of the spiritual community suffer from psychological disorders and are in desperate need of real healing. I think it’s essential that people be treated with proper medical care and have a solid diagnosis for their conditions. We have folks who do not have a solid grasp of reality and struggle with the disassociation condition I mentioned. They’ve bought into this whole new reality, usually sprinkled with the latest conspiracy trend, and live from a functioning state they believe is real when in fact, it is not. Now I’m no one to tell anyone how to live their life, but recently I observed several situations that have made this painfully clear.

During our Covid-19 lockdown periods, I observed several friends put themselves and others at risk because of their beliefs that did not have solid scientific backing. In other instances, people who had positioned themselves as spiritual teachers and leaders suddenly started to fall apart mentally, emotionally and could not cope with the popping of this reality bubble they’d been surviving in. I won’t lie and say that the lockdowns did not affect my psyche as well because it certainly did. But I could still cope and get through it without an extreme response like considering suicide as several in my spiritual community did. This was quite distressing and made it even more apparent how having a solid grasp of reality was detrimental in our ability to survive in unpredictable & changing times.

This is not the first time I’ve encountered this sort of occurrence. I’ve witnessed it time and time again within the spiritual community. People claiming to be enlightened, only to suddenly become unhinged, and grasping for ideas and beliefs not based in reality. Over half, in fact, of my experiences with folks in the community have shown that there are a lot of people who need real healing and proper treatment for medical disorders. To this day, not a week goes by in working with clients where it’s obvious that the client is suffering from a medical condition, not spiritual phenomena, and I direct them to a doctor, counselor, or psychotherapist. It is easier for these people to believe that they are cursed than to think that they make bad decisions in their relationships or are suffering from a behavioral condition, which is very distressing.

There is a new documentary out on Netflix called (UN) Well and focuses on the alternative healing practices and lends real support and evidence to their approach. It is also a bit of an expose that sheds some much-needed light on the unproven traditions and beliefs within the spiritual community that is simply put dangerous and toxic to one’s healing journey. Check it out! I do not doubt that it will come under tremendous scrutiny and attack by those in the community who have something to prove without proof.

For more information on Ferny and his work go to www.FernandoMarron.com