SPIRITUAL TERMINOLOGY AND MEANINGS
Browse spiritual terminology and meanings by letter:
Projection
What is projection?
The term projection comes from psychology and refers to the tendency to unconsciously attribute unacknowledged or unwanted emotions or traits about one’s self to another person. In spirituality, this concept is often spoken of in terms of a “mirror.”Projecting Negative Traits
Those projected unwanted and unacknowledged traits are known as the shadow or shadow self. When the shadow is projected onto others, there is a tendency to villainize the other and assume the role of the victim or saint, in order to bypass emotional discomfort around assuming responsibility for one’s own character flaws or actions.
This kind of projection plays out not only in one-to-one relationships, but also among social groups, sometimes in the form of political ideologies and other social movements.
Some examples include:
- accusing someone of being racist against white people for talking about white privilege
- the men’s rights and incel movements as a response to feminism
- pro-life proponents condemning women who have abortions while supporting the death penalty
Projecting Positive Traits
Likewise, individuals may also project unacknowledged positive traits and emotions of themselves onto others. This often manifests as idealization and placing others on a pedestal. We often subconsciously seek out in others the positive traits which we cannot see in ourselves.
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Why QAnon Infected The Spiritual and Wellness Communities
I’ve been receiving a lot of comments on my posts lately from people within the spiritual community and outside of it all saying the same thing: “I don’t understand how people got from spirituality to QAnon.” Hold my beer, I’m gonna draw you a diagram…





The Shadow of Spirituality
The time has come for the spiritual community to confront its own shadow.




How to Spot a Spiritually Immature Wellness Influencer
s spirituality continues to become more and more mainstream, in large part thanks to social media platforms, we are seeing an explosion of spiritual coaches, wellness influencers, and people offering intuitive services. On the one hand, this is...





The Shadow Self and Shadow Work’s Role In Spirituality
I talk about shadow work all the time on social media. I’ve had a few people ask me questions about what the shadow is, what shadow work involves, and express an interest in learning more, so I’ve revamped an old post to provide a better explanation, as well as make a connection between spirituality and psychology that I think is often overlooked or misunderstood in the spiritual community.




5 Toxic People To Avoid On Your Spiritual Journey
There’s five people we all meet on our spiritual journey that we wish we hadn’t. Here’s who they are, how to spot them, why you should avoid them.




Speak Your Truth, But Be Forewarned…
I originally wrote the first half of this post in 2015, but I came across something on Facebook last night that reminded me of it and I had some additional thoughts to add. The phrase “Speak your truth” comes with a couple of important caveats. I’m diving into a new one in the second half of this post.



Materialistic Spirituality
I don’t talk about manifesting a lot, even though it’s all the rage. Here’s why.



How To Know If A Spiritual Teacher Is Credible
The concept of credibility came up in my post on critical thinking and spirituality yesterday. I think part of our issue today with all of the misinformation floating around is that a lot of people don’t really understand what credibility means. Today I’m going to give you a rundown of what makes someone credible in the realms of science and journalism, and how to apply that to spirituality.




The Most Important Work You Will Ever Do
All of the world’s problems (and yours) come down to this.




Do Not Look Away
This post might make you uncomfortable. Can you sit with that discomfort long enough to figure out where it’s coming from? Let’s find out.




The Dark Side of Positivity
There’s a dangerous kind of thinking perpetuating the New Age community from all sides. Bullshit New Age content farms are hocking over simplified clickbait social media content on a daily basis leading people into an ideology that keeps them locked in a low-level conscious state. Here’s how to spot it.



What’s in a Self? Soul, Personality & Ego
“I am a bit confused about personality and soul. I understand about being in alignment and think I can feel when I am in it. However I am not sure if this is because I am in alignment with my personality or soul. If I live not in balance with my personality, I am soon aware that I don’t feel in alignment, but I thought that our personalities are just cloaks for our souls? Rarely do I feel urge to do something which I wouldn’t ordinarily do and wondered if this is soul overriding personality?”



The One Thing You Must Do Before Developing Your Psychic Abilities
It’s really hard to see clearly when there’s a yucky film on your glasses. It’s really hard to hear someone clearly when there’s a ton of background noise. It’s really hard to talk when you have a sore throat. All of these things get in the way of your ability to clearly communicate. So what’s getting in the way of your ability to communicate with spirit?
Why QAnon Infected The Spiritual and Wellness Communities
I’ve been receiving a lot of comments on my posts lately from people within the spiritual community and outside of it all saying the same thing: “I don’t understand how people got from spirituality to QAnon.” Hold my beer, I’m gonna draw you a diagram…
The Shadow of Spirituality
The time has come for the spiritual community to confront its own shadow.
The Shadow Self and Shadow Work’s Role In Spirituality
I talk about shadow work all the time on social media. I’ve had a few people ask me questions about what the shadow is, what shadow work involves, and express an interest in learning more, so I’ve revamped an old post to provide a better explanation, as well as make a connection between spirituality and psychology that I think is often overlooked or misunderstood in the spiritual community.
The Most Important Work You Will Ever Do
All of the world’s problems (and yours) come down to this.
What’s in a Self? Soul, Personality & Ego
“I am a bit confused about personality and soul. I understand about being in alignment and think I can feel when I am in it. However I am not sure if this is because I am in alignment with my personality or soul. If I live not in balance with my personality, I am soon aware that I don’t feel in alignment, but I thought that our personalities are just cloaks for our souls? Rarely do I feel urge to do something which I wouldn’t ordinarily do and wondered if this is soul overriding personality?”
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