The Spiritual Performance: Why Your Rituals Aren’t Helping You
The Ritual Delusion
Most people in the wellness community assume that practicing yoga, meditating for ten minutes, or attending retreats equates to being spiritual.
Let me debunk this for you.
After years of practice, I see spirituality as a philosophy of connecting with yourself. In fact, I believe everything helps us connect: whether through a distressing experience or a harmonious one. By "self," I mean the most authentic version of who we are. No performance. No programming. Just the purest expression of the essence we come from.
Connection vs. Healing
The way we each connect will differ. But none of these methods- the yoga, the retreats, the rituals- are the same thing as healing.
Healing is integration. I call it that because it is the process of understanding every part of our perception and embodying that understanding until internal conflict no longer exists. This is why healing is a lifelong process. It is, quite literally, life itself.
The Identity Trap
Some people assume that being healed means being spiritual, and vice versa. But being spiritual isn’t about how many therapeutic sessions you’ve done. It isn’t about how much you practice discipline on the mat, what you eat, or how often you tap through past trauma.
Healing isn’t an identity, either. Being a reiki practitioner does not mean you are healed. A theta healer may know a technique, but they might not be integrated enough to experience balance or have the wisdom to hold compassion for another. Having the "healer" label doesn't mean you've done the work.
Spirituality is the Result
Spirituality is living in alignment.
It is about embodying love, peace, and purpose in your daily life. A person is deeply spiritual because they live by their values. They honor their joy. They walk their truth. They don’t outsource their alignment to a modality like sound healing or somatic work.
Healing is integration: the process of becoming authentic in every aspect of our lives. Spirituality is the embodiment of that integration in our faith, our decisions, and our perception. It is more than a practice or ritual; it is a way of life.
