What does it mean to engage in spiritual bypassing? How might it stymie growth for the person doing it and how might it affect others? Join me as we discuss choosing the harder but more rewarding path of growth as an alternative to escapism and avoidance that includes healing old emotional wounds, or "unfinished business."

REFERENCES:

Ahmad, S. S., McLaughlin, M. M., & Weisman de Mamani, A. (2023). Spiritual bypass as a moderator of the relationships between religious coping and psychological distress in Muslims living in the United States. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 15(1), 32.

Fox, J., Cashwell, C. S., & Picciotto, G. (2017). The opiate of the masses: Measuring spiritual bypass and its relationship to spirituality, religion, mindfulness, psychological distress, and personality. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 4(4), 274.

Reed-Gilbert, P. (2023). Wounding Words: A Phenomenological study of how individuals experience receiving spiritual bypass [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. LIberty University.

Welwood, J. (1984). Principles of inner work: Psychological and spiritual. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 16(1), 63-73.

OTHER:

Music featured in this episode: "The Song that Feels So Familiar," by Larissa Seay Dashjian (under the moniker The 8th House).

Purchase music from the podcast here: https://www.musicglue.com