Jul 29, 2026 12:16 AM
When a belief system or ideology gives you a sense of specialness and importance you didn't already have, as if you are the totally fascinating object of some others' attention and plans, you can bet it isn't real. As if you were the center of the universe and worthy of constant coddling from some other higher being(s). This is a false spirituality, desperately clutched to allay your own insecurities and your nagging fear of being just a nobody. A constant narcissistic obsession with oneself and everything about oneself. Take it from G K Chesterton:
“How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men with common curiosity and pleasure; if you could see them walking as they are in their sunny selfishness and their virile indifference! You would begin to be interested in them, because they are not interested in you. You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theatre in which your own little plot is always played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers.”
― G.K. Chesterton
An authentic spirituality constellates around the encounter of the being(s) themselves, humbling if not entirely devastating the experiencer's sense of self. It is the moment of metanoia/transformation and of experienced numinosity, opening us up to a whole new world-changing awareness.
“How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men with common curiosity and pleasure; if you could see them walking as they are in their sunny selfishness and their virile indifference! You would begin to be interested in them, because they are not interested in you. You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theatre in which your own little plot is always played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers.”
― G.K. Chesterton
An authentic spirituality constellates around the encounter of the being(s) themselves, humbling if not entirely devastating the experiencer's sense of self. It is the moment of metanoia/transformation and of experienced numinosity, opening us up to a whole new world-changing awareness.