22 Ways to Recognize If  You Have Been or Are a Spiritual Colonialist

By Yeye Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis

On one day I had two different spiritual speakers on one of my courses, one was white and one was a person of color. The white presenter was very good and so too was the person of color. They were both brilliant professionals in their field. After the white professional had spoken, I received many e-mails from the white participants raving on about his presentation. However, after the person of color had spoken I received some terrible hurtful e-mails saying in coded and un-coded ways how terrible he was, and what was he thinking of, he went of topic etc. etc. This was a blatant example of Spiritual Colonialism in my face. When I mentioned it to the people involved they acted extremely innocent, like “oh I didn’t mean to be so rude.” Which was another form of Spiritual Colonialism.  I will admit I was really upset, no I was mad, then I became despondent and my heart heavy….nothing has changed, I thought.

Then there was the person who joined one of my course for virtually nothing because I had given her a 90 percent discount. That person came to one class. After she had accessed all my course material she never returned to the class. Latter I discovered she was teaching the same course and concepts to others in the Spiritual Circles.  I opened up a dialogue with this person, only to be met with a torrent of anger, denial and closing statement, “I have known this stuff for years before I met you!” What is interesting is this person had profusely thanked me on many occasions for introducing so many new concepts to them. Like the first time I felt horribly abused, demeaned and depressed. I suffered that first and this abuse in silence. I knew many teacher of color who had been through similar situations.  Each situation was the same, I kept it to myself. Traumatized I kept on smiling and talking teaching about love and compassion. You see I believed that to be a spiritual teacher, you had to be meek, mild, and always gentle. I believed this meant you brought no issues up that rocked the boat. Also facing this constant abuse, I genuinely did not know what to do.

But one day it all became too much, when someone quoted me back a book that took me over five years to research as though it was his vision. Yes, everyone has visions. However this guy had been a student on a course I had been teaching and my book was one of the required reading text. Well, that was it…enough was enough…I felt an ancient primal energetic scream leave my body….I was done with this abuse, I wanted to help people embrace spirituality in a more authentic way, to stop hurting others and ultimately our planet. So I took on a nasty, sticky, foul subject that no “spiritual” person dare to talk about it. That nasty, sticky, foul smelling thing was something I began to call Spiritual Colonialism.  I felt article after article burst out of me, examining Spiritual Colonialism from every angle possible.

I was surprised a buzz begin to happen amongst both white and black spiritual practitioners. The black ones were so relieved that someone was speaking out at last, and the white ones were sometimes angry, in denial, shocked, curious, and excited and engaged about the whole idea. But what I have begun to notice is a lot of white defensiveness and saying, “I don’t know what to really do. How do I know if I am engaging in Spiritual Colonial practices?

 

So here we go, this is my simple definition of Spiritual Colonialism below (please note I flip between the name Person of Color and Indigenous person – when I do I mean the same thing):

Spiritual Colonialism is the taking of something of sacred and turning it into something profane with the mere intent to make money, have fame, bolster ones ego etc.

Spiritual Colonialism is essentially Spiritual Racism. It is born from the Slavery and Colonial era when the Earth was pillaged and raped. In order, to do these heinous acts European Imperialist had to justify reducing Indigenous people’s status of being sacred to one where they were lower than animals. This destroying of the indigenous person’s soul and dignity, was accompanied by their history being stolen, re-shaped and reclaimed as the conquerors’ own. Only the conqueror had the intelligence to speak on these profound wisdom, for surely a person who is lower than an animal cannot.

Spiritual Colonialism pervades all spiritual traditions, a cross section of people, many European men and women.  Spiritual Colonialism is the Sacred Face of Racism. The face where the soul of our Earth and The Other is destroyed. It is about ruling and staying on top through wisdom, information, power, violence to The Other, etc. Spiritual Colonialism hits home to the core of racism itself. Because of Spiritual Colonialism our Earth is essentially falling apart, because Spiritual Colonialism is essentially, ultimately and above all about greed and taking the resources of the Earth and those who care-taked her without regard or permission.

Spiritual Colonialism has left an epigenetic trauma on our Earth and peoples. White descendants of Spiritual Colonialist carry the scars of Spiritual Colonialism through domineering, superiority complexes, and stealing from other cultures to make themselves feel better. Black descendants, including Asians etc. carry the scars of Spiritual Colonialism by being the constant subject of being made less than sacred, and having what is sacred in terms of knowledge and resources, continually stolen from them by the descendants of the original perpetrators of Spiritual Colonialism.

In Spiritual Colonialism even the people of color’s deities are not spared. Of course, they too are seen as savage and primitive or have their blackness denied as their magnetic presence is worshipped – just think the Black Madonna, the Black Buddhas, The Black Dakinis, the Black Goddesses and Gods of India and more.

It is important to recognize practicing other traditions is a blessing, for surely oneness is important and we should work towards it. But practicing traditions with no real intent to spiritually grow,   but to instead to culturally appropriate is a whole other matter. Spiritual Colonialism essentially damages everything that is sacred and dear to our humanity.

Even though it is mainly White People who engage in Spiritual Colonialism, indigenous teachers do too. Due to the materialistic nature of our society, indigenous spiritual teachers are often suffering from a lack of material goods and needs unmet. Guess what happens when a white person comes along with the resources, on the surface enthusiasm, and interest? Well, some indigenous teachers sells the tradition to the highest bidder. So Spiritual Colonialism can become a vicious cycle, which we can all break. As the cultural appropriators are often white and they have had a confusion about whether they are or have been engaged in acts of Spiritual Colonialism, I have produced a 22 point punch down list for checking. I invite you to take your time and with an honest heart, go down the check list.  On a final note, Spiritual Colonialism hurts us all and above all the sacred future of our Earth and children.  Remember, anything you name can be changed.

 

Am I or Have I Ever Been a Spiritual Colonialist? Check List

1. Putting historic accomplishments of Nations, specifically Africa, down to Aliens or some mysterious nation, such as the Atlantis myth that resurfaced during colonialism and was only used when amazing civilizations were found in Africa, such as the Egyptian and the Nok of Nigeria.
2. Suddenly paying more attention to a spiritual teacher who is not of color and judging the teacher of color by much harder, harsher and higher standards
3. Going to a country for just a few weeks and suddenly you are a master teacher of their tradition
4. Going to a country to meet indigenous teachers, just to use it as a stamp that seals you as the expert
5. Going to another country and engaging in the indigenous culture and showing lots of pictures about it, with the main intent that you want to show you have the authority to teach from that culture
6. Leading ceremonies in a chosen culture, which in that culture takes much training, has certain protocols, and normally takes a process before those ceremonies to occur.
7. Steeling information from an indigenous/person of color, who is a spiritual teacher, and passing their information off as your own, meaning you have not credited the source of your inspiration in writing or verbally.  So you may start a project and say your inspiration came from another source, you may start teaching something and act like the idea fell from heaven and mercilous into your head
8. Having events about traditional medicine, healing and concept and only having white trainers or having a few indigenous faces present because it gives you kudos.
9. Putting more weight the acquired wisdom of the “white” spiritual teachers, as opposed to black spiritual teacher.
10. Getting angry when your spiritual colonialism is called out by a person of color, denying, defending, withdrawing, acting like you are being horribly attacked, putting on tears so that you don’t have to deal with what is being said.
11. Using Indigenous teachers to validate you and make you shine, rather than having a genuine desire to engage with their practice and engage in your journey to ascend your spirit
12. Seeing spirituality more like a career where you can make a big name for yourself, validate who you are, make money, rather than engaging in the genuine spiritual practice of refining the spirit.
13. Going on a teacher of colors course, just so you can take the material and make it your own. Of course, there is no credit given.
14. Claiming native and indigenous identity of a particular tribe, nation or culture with the sole purpose to bolster your authority to teach about that culture. However, deep down you do not know if you really have this identity and who in your family may have had it. And sometimes you plain well know you don’t!
15. Saying you had an original idea or vision, but basically stole it from a person of colors book, research or information they have given.
16. Using indigenous cultures to validate your need to feel wanted, admired, loved and seen.
17. Not reading and equipping oneself with the knowledge and destruction of colonialism and how it perpetuates itself today. Repeating racist histories and lies from the colonial era, which exist in spiritual traditions you learn.
18. Refusing or not bothering to make an effort to do some form of diversity training and recognize how you perpetuate and uphold overall cultural and spiritual repression.
19. Addressing teachers of color, talking to them, writing to them complaints with no regard to any form of respectful communications. Yet you would never do this with a none person of color teacher.
20. Your gatherings are not welcoming to persons of color and are normally filled with white middle class liberals talking and doing indigenous practices.
21. Acting like you are very spiritual, kind and loving to people of color but deep down you have racist and biased views about them. One way, like you are all open, but harboring negative beliefs about them.
22. Engaging in Spiritual Bypassing and not ever owning up to your Spiritual Colonialist actions because you want to stay away from anything that disturbs your “peace”.

 

 

 

 

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