Tina Fey
Highly spiritual people can seem a bit strange to others.
There are certain habits, behaviors and ways of experiencing life that less spiritual people may find bizarre or inexplicable.
Here is a look at some of those behaviors from spiritual people that have difficulty translating for some outside observers.
1) Spiritual journaling
Spiritual journaling is an excellent way to explore deeper thoughts and emotions and chart inner growth and experiences.
It’s something which some highly spiritual do which may seem a bit odd to others who find out about it.
Keeping a journal is generally fairly “normal,” but those who aren’t familiar with the concept of a spiritual journal may find it indulgent or kooky.
The truth is there’s nothing more sensible and useful than keeping a record of spiritual and life experiences over time and reflecting on them along the path of life.
2) Dancing freely
Dancing freely in an uninhibited way is a very spiritual thing to do.
Getting fully into the body and the joy of the moment is a deeply spiritual experience.
But it may strike others as kind of odd or even look drug or alcohol-induced.
More often than not, however, dancing freely is simply an expression of the deep emotions and dynamics of a spiritual person getting in touch with themselves and the cosmos.
“There are Five Rhythms, Soulmotion, Biodanza, Core Connexion, Ecstatic Dance, and more.
This kind of dance style is a great opportunity to let your hair down in a place that isn’t filled with booze and people who are totally focused on becoming nearly unconscious and hooking up.”
3) Working with crystals
Spiritual people who believe in the power of crystals has become something of a running joke.
A big part of this is spiritual people who don’t know much about crystals using them willy-nilly or claiming fantastical miracles to various stones.
The truth is that crystals do have spiritual power and cultures stretching back to the most ancient times have believed that.
Specific examples include:
- Chakra-balancing quartz
- Negative-energy cleansing black tourmaline
- Joy-inducing citrine crystal
- Luck-producing green aventurine
- Spiritual connection aid labradorite
People who use these crystals and more, including therapists and masseuses among others, may seem a bit odd.
But really they are tapping into the spiritual power of crystals that goes back ages.
4) Practicing smudging
Smudging is another spiritual practice that can look unusual to the outside observer.
I remember having neighbors who were smudging their apartment and I couldn’t understand why until I looked it up and learned more.
Smudging comes from indigenous traditions and is all about the use of smoke from sacred plants to clear out old and toxic energy from a space.
It’s often done by burning sage or things like palo santo, but there are many more things you can smudge with than just these.
5) Taking a salt bath
If a highly spiritual friend tells you about taking a salt bath or a wind bath, you can be excused for scratching your head.
But these are actually very valued therapies in the spiritual tradition.
Salt baths involve using epsom salts or sea salt in the bath tub and is like the use of quartz:
It’s a negative energy drain, helping that toxic and stuck energy to flow away.
People report leaving a salt bath feeling unburdened and reinvigorated with energy and vital life force.
A wind bath is another mindfulness-related exercise and is essentially exactly what it sounds like:
The person goes outside and stands naked in the wind, letting it heal their body and mind and becoming conscious of their presence in the larger framework of the universe.
6) Doing breathwork
Breathwork is another one of those practices done by highly spiritual people that may seem just downright weird to less spiritual folks.
The fact of the matter is that there are many types of breathwork but the basic concept is to center yourself and experience emotional, spiritual and physical benefits by breathing deeply and consciously.
As the one part of our organism that is both potentially conscious and unconscious, breathing is a bridge between the spiritual and physical.
You can’t tell your digest to digest faster or more fully, but you can consciously decide to follow and guide your breath, growing in consciousness as you do so.
7) Making a vision board
Vision boards are a place to post up ideals and goals for the future.
Highly spiritual people like to do them to set intentions and help manifest the future they want.
If you come into a highly spiritual person’s room or living space and see a vision board it may seem kind of bizarre.
What’s that thing with all the photos on it and lights around the edges?
Well, chances are it’s a vision board.
8) Vacationing consciously
Those who are accustomed to thinking of vacation as going on a break may find highly spiritual people’s idea of vacation a bit odd.
That’s because very spiritual individuals tend to like to go off the beaten track.
Instead of just enjoying some sun at the resort or going to a nice place on the riviera, they may attend a meditation retreat, or explore Buddhist temples in Asia.
Rather than just relax in the sun, they may volunteer for a few weeks helping a village with a clean water project and so on.
This isn’t the vacation that some people are used to hearing about!
9) They want to give more than they take
Many spiritual paths and religious faiths encourage us to give and serve others.
Highly spiritual people are often extremely dedicated to service in ways that can look excessive to the rest of us.
What are they trying to prove? We may wonder…
Why don’t they take more time to enjoy life and relax?
But the truth is that those at a certain stage of spiritual progression have almost become addicted to service.
They don’t do it for a reward or Heaven or outer recognition, and they’re not trying to prove anything.
They just genuinely love to serve others and bring more joy and ease into this world.
“This is one of the most common types of spirituality.
It’s because people experience spiritual peace when they serve others.
There are many ways to achieve this spirituality, but the core of it is helping others without expecting nothing in return.”
10) They find lessons in pain
When life doesn’t go the way we hope it’s painful.
Disappointment, rejection, loss and heartbreak are examples of difficult emotions which stop us in our tracks.
But highly spiritual people try to look in pain for lessons.
This is often misunderstood as spiritual people denying pain or gaslighting themselves:
To be fair, such types of spiritual people do exist and muddy the issue.
But for the more enlightened spiritual individual they admit pain is not pleasant and upsets them, but they also try to take the patience and fortitude from it that is possible.
When you don’t have a choice, you use what you’ve got!
“Spiritually-minded people will often go out of their way to look inside themselves for answers, instead of just attributing the outcome of the situation to chance or blaming it on someone else.”
Separating spiritual narcissism from genuine spirituality
There is such a thing as spiritual egotism and narcissism, which masquerades as the real thing but is a far cry from it.
As Justin Brown discusses in the video below, there are various spiritual narcissistic behaviors here which are right to call out and which are inauthentic.
But genuine spirituality is different: its behaviors aren’t done for impact or image, but out of genuine habit and belief.
Its routine is established by people who really want to live their lives in a certain more connected way and may not even realize it looks or seems odd to others.
The main thing to keep in mind is that there’s a big difference between those who are performatively spiritual and those who are genuinely spiritual.
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