Spiritual Guidance for Living in Toxic Times
Spiritual Guidance for Living in Toxic Times
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee: The spiritual regression of humanity and what we can do about it
The deep sadness that followed Trump’s reelection among his opponents will likely linger for a long time. On Instagram Madonna said: “Trying to get my head around why a convicted felon, rapist, bigot was chosen to lead our country because he’s good for the economy?”
It should come as no surprise that people prioritize economic interests over moral and ethical values—hasn’t this all too often proven to be the case? But there’s a sense that something more profound is at play. This issue transcends politics; it isn’t simply about differing opinions or personal preferences. The polarization we’re witnessing isn’t just a matter of contrasting belief systems, ways of thinking, or cultural backgrounds. And this isn’t solely about Trump or the US. He is merely a vehicle, a local expression of a toxic force reemerging worldwide—a force that history has shown us time and again. There is much more and that runs much deeper than that. What is felt is an indefinable yet unmistakable denial—a stubborn refusal, a blindness that refuses to see, let alone change, regardless of the facts or how sound the arguments. It’s a rejection that says: “No, no, and no. Whatever the facts, whatever it costs, I don’t care.” This negation is wrapped in a deafness that defies common sense, yet it is palpable, concrete, and something to which we are still trying to assign a rational explanation.1 But a negation of what? Deep down, we sense a deeper meaning that eludes common understanding—something the mind can intuit but never fully grasp.
We won’t find clear answers by staying on the surface, questioning whether it’s inflation, the cost of living, immigration, or any other socioeconomic factor that led to a return to the past we are witnessing. While these factors are concrete and real in our daily lives, other, deeper forces are the true triggering motives. Far deeper unconscious motivations are at play—ones we cannot understand through a purely rationalistic or materialistic lens.
It’s time to recognize how the outer world mirrors the inner world. We must learn to interpret the significance of current global events from a deeper, spiritual perspective.
From a spiritual perspective, it becomes clear that what we are witnessing is not about any specific personality, leader, economic model, or political ideology. This unfolding reality is not tied to any single person or government, however powerful they may appear. Instead, it is a movement of consciousness and a global life-force in the human collective and that reflects a choice—an outward consequence of a decision humanity made, maybe already before Trump became a prominent figure, and certainly earlier than the recent European far-right resurgence. I suggest the reading of a previous post to understand the context, and where I outlined what this choice entails and the choice humanity must make.
The following talk, given by the Sufi master Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee in 2017, may help clarify. It offers a profound spiritual perspective on current world events, looking beyond superficial appearances. Entitled “Spiritual Guidance for Living in Toxic Times,” the talk provides deep insight into the root causes behind humanity’s choice of a path toward spiritual regression—a vision he shared only seven years ago that now feels prescient. Yet, it also offers guidance on what 'we' can do in response. In his words: “As our world becomes increasingly divisive and toxic, here is simple guidance on how to safeguard our spiritual practice and ensure we can make a real contribution to what is sacred within life and the Earth.”
The full talks can be found on his website, goldensufi.org, in the audio library section. I've compiled them into a single audio file, and I recommend taking your time to listen to it. For a preview of the content, a brief synopsis follows below. The footnotes reflect my personal interpretation applied to the present state of the world.
According to Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, humanity was presented with an opportunity and a choice. On one hand, it could progress toward its “higher destiny,” addressing the many issues arising from its ancient collective unconscious but making a leap forward. This path would embrace interconnectivity, interdependence, and a spiritual awareness of oneness with both humanity and Nature, paving the way for a global civilization—a next step in human evolution. A difficult path, that requires us to deal with our deepest unresolved traumas and emotional issues, clearings of old, dense, and obsolete ideas, but a path towards the Light.
On the other hand, humanity could cling to its “lower destiny,” maintaining its profound disconnect from Nature and the environment as a separate entity, resisting change, avoiding real responsibility, and remaining on the familiar path of an ego-centered collective consciousness. It is the easy path, because it doesn’t require to change ourselves but is a relapse into the darkness of fear and separation—a retreat into spiritual regression.
Humanity’s collective was offered an opportunity, but it replied, “No, thank you. We don’t want that.” Unfortunately, it has chosen the latter path.
Because it feels, it knows, that the American Dream and the ideal of endless, transgenerational growth in material wealth have come to an end. A new order is essential—one that ends the cycle of rampant consumerism and fosters a renewed, respectful relationship with Nature and the environment. However, this demands change: new habits, new ways of thinking. Yet, a collective unconscious resists, denying and refusing to embrace the transformation required. This is why primitive, instinctual forces from the depths of the unconscious are taking over, leading us into a post-truth era where the refusal to transform results in a society where denial and disinformation become necessary to rectify one’s otherwise untenable worldview. He gives the example of anger, which, if not properly addressed, will dominate us and hinder our spiritual progress. These forces2 lure the collective with the promise of perpetuating a consumerism disconnected from Nature. Something Vaughan-Lee describes as a “toxic web of illusions,” leading to fantasies of isolationistic neo-nationalism, division, duality, an ongoing ecocide of the planet.3 A collective unconscious based on an ego-centered fear that forces us to perpetuate the status quo because it is our comfort zone. Something unwilling to transform and transition toward a new consciousness, and incapable of envisioning and feeling the beauty and harmony of a world grounded in a higher order of unity and human oneness. It manifests in a mindset that is ready to surrender its own freedom and once-sacred principles, in favor of preserving its barbaric commercialism.4
Is everything lost? No, but humanity is unlikely to return to its “higher destiny” anytime soon. This will last at least for a couple of generations to come. What we can do is cultivate a practice that aligns our individual selves with the higher self—resisting the pull of external events, staying inwardly focused, and nurturing an inner connection to the Love that flows from the highest realms into our hearts. Through this “re-embrace of the heart,” we can bring Light, Truth, and Love into the spiritual body of the Earth. Our greatest service to others is not found in an external activism, but in protecting our own light from the encroaching darkness. There will be an “evolutionary split between those who are working with the Light and those who will be caught in the density of this world.”
The next post will further explore what this “evolutionary split” is about.
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Of course, you can explain any kind of human behavior by appealing to economic, social, political, historical, psychological, psychoanalytic or even genetic factors. However, this may itself be merely a theory constructed by the materialistic mind that has lost itself in yet another form of denial: naturalism.
I believe that these are the real collective subconscious forces, rooted in animalistic instincts, manifest through repressed emotions of anger and frustration, that fuel ideologies that nostalgically seek to revive societal models and ideals from the past—models threatened by the opposing trend of progressive unity, fairness, and human oneness. For example, the return of patriarchal ideas where “women have to know their place in society.”
Something that explains the election of ignorant, primitive, and wicked leaders who justify the ongoing ecocide by declaring climate change a 'hoax'—not only in the U.S. but worldwide—because this narrative allows us to cling to the illusion of endless economic prosperity and growth.
Therefrom the enthronement of the economy above human values, along with the tendency to label anyone suggesting a transition to a different economic order as a “communist.”