Is Love and Light a Lie? Are Spiritualists Terrible People?

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Back in my early social media days I spread love and light to everyone. I joined groups based on the idea, followed people who perpetuated it, and kept the general thought that I was doing my spiritual part for the world.

It all changed one day in 2012, as I found myself on the outside of a thread about how oppression was a construct and if we just shared love and light, we’d all be happy. I’m rolling my eyes at the idiocy, even now. Oppression wasn’t real in their heads, but instead, only ideas shared by people who lived as if they were oppressed.

Up until that moment, I hadn’t realized that Love and Light was apathetic. I had no idea it could be used as a blanket to excuse ourselves from enacting true change, simply by claiming spiritual superiority over those we felt didn’t get it. Out of the several hundred people, or more, in that group, I was the only one who thought that “higher vibrations” would not cease racism. It would not topple patriarchal ideals that belittle women and toxify men, nor would it solve anything on the lower plane. It would not stop rape, torture, or the abuse minorities- including women- face every day in order to exist in a white man’s world.

But these people swore, up and down, that it was I who was not seeing the truth behind the spiritualism. Racism didn’t exist, it was just a construct and that by raising my vibrations, spreading love and light, I’d see that I was beyond all that. And, they’re right, I might be- because I’m white. There are others in our community that cannot simply use love and light, like “prayers sent”, to eradicate these so called constructs. False chains or not, to them they are very real and felt every single day.

And, while we’re on the topic, lets define construct- shall we? It’s either the building of something, or a conceptual idea that exists without empirical (verifiable by observation, or experience) evidence. Anyone who is viewing the world, at any point in history, can observe that all sorts of oppressive isms exists- therefore, even if its built to keep some in chains, it exists. Ignoring it in favor of staying on your “high vibration” horse does not make you spiritually superior- it makes you a cunt.

Only those who are in a place, in this construct, to ignore its existence get to live in a way that allows them to seek love and light as an answer. Their belief that they are superior is not false, it’s given to them by privilege- and instead of doing serious shadow work, or even some introspection, they use their positions as mountains on which to judge all below them.

I’m not about that life.

Change is not about praying, or sending loving vibes, it’s about figuring out how to dismantle the systems causing pain. It’s not about ignoring what’s happening in our physical communities, in favor of living in our spiritual worlds, but instead learning how to converge the two for all to be enlightened.

I have someone I know who is always saying that we all deserve love, and therefore, we must excuse people’s willful ignorance- because why can’t we all just get along? The sadness is that she isn’t the only one. “Racism doesn’t exist, it’s all in our imaginations”. I’m pretty sure my lovely friends who face abuse, whether verbally, emotionally, physically, or systemically, would disagree about all of this. In this war that has finally come to social media, I see too many- let’s call it what it is- white women, claiming that we are all already equal and if only people could see that we’d have peace. Add in a sing song “love and light” and you have the recipe for a spiritualist who has no idea what spiritualism is.

Spiritualism, or higher vibrations, isn’t about systemic issues that remove the humanity of our fellow people. It’s not about ignoring plights of those in lower castes than us, simply because we cannot understand how they can’t raise as high as we do. Higher vibrations does not allow you to deny that some of us are born into privilege, and while you may live on another plane, there are still those who suffer- violently- down below.

“Love and Light” is supposed to comfort the soul, heal the mind, and allow a sense of connection. It is NOT an excuse to remove yourself from real issues. It is not a get-out-of-jail-free card that allows you to act as if you’re better than those who can’t even walk a day without pain, let alone find a higher plane that removes pain from their existence.

Even if the intention is pure, the inaction is evil. Yes, I said it. Evil. Throwing vibrations, accusations of lower thinking, and ‘love and light’ like bombs of truth to those less fortunate is a blitzkrieg of apathy burning down worlds. It’s also a contradiction, for if you have all the answers, if you’ve seen a different path, then it’s your job to ensure all of us may walk it. Like Joan of Arc, the voice of God does not ask for apathy- but sacrifice and violent upheaval of injustice.

It can’t be done with falsities and fake spirituality.

Racism exists. Sexism exists. Homophobia, transphobia, etc; exist. The Patriarchy is real. Corruption is rampant. Pain is existential, but real.

Even if this entire world is a man-made construct determined to separate us from our truest selves, how is empty words and privileged pedestals going to change that? How are words of hatred, wrapped in the silver paper of false “love”, going to fix what is systemic? How is denying a rape victim comfort, because her soul is only tethered to the body temporarily, spiritual? How is denying a black woman courage, because her mindset isn’t in the higher vibration range, spiritual?

The scariest question that is never asked is how is forgiving those who perpetuate these constructs, who thrive on them, spiritual? How is forgiving the Nazi, but denying his affect, spiritualism? How is asking for peace, but not ensuring its incision into this broken world, spiritual?

It’s not. It’s a lie, and by living it, you are only spreading hate. Intention doesn’t matter if the world receives your inaction as permission to continue being evil.

We are equal. We are all born of the same value, yet it is society that demands we be seen different- and that’s a beautiful belief to have in spiritual communities. It’s one I also share. But to see social constructs, to see their damaging effects, and not take action to dismantle them…

I just can’t.

It’s not love and light if everyone can’t see and feel it. It’s not higher vibrations if the entire platform we’re born onto is crumbling.

Do not use your privilege as a weapon, do not use your spiritual learnings as a wall, and do not- under any circumstance, belittle someone elses experience with your empty prayers.

And if after reading these words, you continue to do so, then yes- you’re a shitty person. No inspirational quote atop a beautiful mountain scene will erase the damage your silence, your apathy, your unwillingness to get dirty, does to those already in the trenches. We’re at war, it’s time to stop waving your white flag of privilege.

Until next time, my friends…

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