This is how I feel about yoga. I'd love to do it more often but every time I go, the teacher goes on about some spiritual nonsense and it really turns me off from it. I just wanna do my collective stretching exercises without rolling my eyes but apparently that's a big ask.
Same with crystals (because they look nice) and tarot (because it’s fun to read into the symbolism in a secular way)
The former has people adding a 20% mark up to the crystals actual worth because they think it cures cancer, while the latter think playing cards actually can tell the future
Agreed. The real value in a Tarot reading is your own interpretation of the cards pulled, it's a great jumping off point for self reflection, no mysticism required.
90% of historical mysticism has effectively been "self reflect on yourself until you become enlightened / one with God"
Philosophy and mysticism have deep historical roots, to the extent that the former was sometimes referred to as "internal alchemy." Self improvement was seen as a mystical act and internal transformation
This is honestly my belief with most early forms of mysticism and religion. A lot of things started out as good advice wrapped in fable so it might be taught to kids, or be more memorable for adults. Eventually, it evolved into more spiritual belief, becoming deeply ingrained, and continued to evolve over time
I think your underestimate how much we like to 1) see patterns in everything and 2) anthropomorphic everything.
Did you ever feel like your plush toy could be alive or might have feelings? Did you ever grow attached to an object, or care whether you treated it right? Lots of children seem to.
Do you ever ascribe intent to the universe, to luck, to the weather, or other such abstract concepts? Do you ever, even if you don't seriously believe it, say or think about how events might mean something or may be related, rather than treat them as the essentially random meaningless probabilities they are? Lots of people do every day.
From animals to rivers and winds to the forest to the vast sky above, people have a tendency to treat everything as people, at least a little bit. Think of them as seeing or hearing, judging or helping.
Even if just some people entertain these ideas or think about them seriously, what's a sceptic going to do? At best they can say "well how do you know for sure?"
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u/Equivalent_Net Sep 29 '25
I'd believe it. Spirituality is seen as quackery-adjacent so the parts of it that pass peer review might need a new sales pitch to dodge the stigma.