Spirituality without Bypassing

Bypassing suggests that a person is skipping over the hard parts, the uncomfortable feelings.  

Bypassing suggests avoidance or ignorance of life's trauma. 

Bypassing suggests suppression.

The phrase "spiritual bypass" can be condescending, used to insult and provoke.

I've seen spiritual people blamed and shamed for invoking faith.

I believe we heal by addressing our pain and then moving forward from our pain.  Nobody actually wants pain to last forever, even when we get in irrational loops and find it difficult to let go.  

One of the ways people move forward and let go of pain is through faith and spirituality.  Faith and spirituality mean different things to different people. 

I know nihilists that wish they could find faith; skeptics that long for magic. There are also people who have been harmed by faith.  What an immense complexity...

Spirituality can be a pathway THROUGH pain, not around it.

Having a worldview that includes faith in something greater, can help youbalancethe extremes of life's challenges.

Spirituality helps give you more range, more stretch, more flexibility - so that you can weather the storms.

Don't miss out on spirituality because you're concerned it's some kind of sugar-coated-shortcut. 

The phrases like:

Everything happens for a reason.

It's in God's hands.

Something good will come of this.

Look on the bright side.

Just think positive.

They certainly could be bypassing OR they could be meaningfully spiritual.  It depends on the tone, the intention, the timing.  

Check in to see if the way you are using spirituality is: 

• invalidating 

• gaslighting

• one-sided

• over simplified

• only looks at positive feelings

• unable to be with uncomfortable feelings

Use spirituality to connect deeper to yourself and ALL of your feelings.

Use spirituality to help you hold space for the paradox and complexity of being human.

Use spirituality to practice humbleness and togetherness: we are all impacted by challenges and pain. 

Use spirituality to practice wholeness (vs good and bad parts) within all the different aspects of self.

Use spirituality to ground and regulate the pains of life while also holding space for Great Mystery.

(Completely written by myself, not AI.)