When tourism and “mindfulness” cause harm

At what point do we start realizing our search for enlightenment comes at a cost?

Before you read this article, I’m excited to announce that starting in June I’ll be doing a podcast for my paid subscribers. Recently, I drew a deck of cards. It said that I had limiting beliefs. So I am on a quest to uncover them and heal them, and I’ll be meeting with, and doing modalities and practices by some of the most amazing People, hypnotist, energy, healers, light workers, you name it I’m game and I’m gonna put it all live for you to watch. I’m gonna do whatever I can uncover the last nook and cranny of my limiting beliefs, join me on my journey, and become a paid subscriber

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If you take a look around the world at the hotspots of enlightenment, seekers, and nirvana, what you might often find, if you’re willing to look beyond your Lululemons , Jade necklaces, and feathered earrings is that the white man’s (and woman’s as well ) sudden interest in the internal search for happiness has, in many places, caused irreparable harm.

In Ibiza, for instance, most of the workers that support the party industry live in their cars because the rent is so high and the pay is so low to support the locals who show up and serve the westerners sudden desire to be enlightened.

I recently saw a post from a “thought leader“ posting about a retreat they just attended in Ibiza, which was all about the connection and collaboration of humanity… where the cheapest rooms were $700 a night and the retreat was somewhere around $1500 just to attend.

So I guess this “movement“ is only for those that can pay to play.

In places like Costa Rica, and Mexico, the average local citizen can no longer afford a small apartment, because most of them are owned by expats who rent them out seasonally for a profit.

And those that clean them in between guests, well, “they’re natives… they like living in huts…”

Sadly, the quest for deeper wisdom, enlightenment, and transformation have become an elitist game played by the rich. Who are utterly unaware that their desire to evolve is ripe with narcissism. Or maybe they are aware and just don’t give a fuck.

I love to travel. I love and I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to experience many different cultures and places on this planet. I’ve always tried to tread softly and quietly as I explore this deeply diverse and varied world we all exist in.

And I am all for bringing forth the good things that remind us to reconnect to our humanity. And I’m not opposed to people making money, for the record. And I do believe people should be paid for their contribution, because that’s the nature of the reality that we exist in.

But I have become so disgusted by watching post after post of a whole generation “thought leaders” who are culturally inept, appropriate ancient traditions and rituals in the name of profit healing that are charging a fuck ton of money on top of airfare, hotel, food, and general expenses just to come and learn things that most of us can learn by reading a goddamn book.

It’s gross actually.

I have a unique opportunity to be on the inside, while often considered an outsider, because I speak up to this world of “thought leaders” and “influencers” who often steal their ideas from different cultures and or ancient texts, and stand upon the stage using modern linguistics to tell an old tale.

And shame people and guilt people into feeling not enough because they haven’t manifested quickly or what they wanted because they must just not be doing it right. Wait… buythe next course and then you’ll get it.

Meanwhile, the desperate 99% flock to their events, sometimes saving up for years to go, just to learn something that is available to them if they just went to the library.

Or if you can’t travel, you can drive to Santa Ana and get frogs venom dropped upon you from a guy who says “he knows”… or experience “aya” around the corner from a dude who was once named Steve, who is now, Ashakanandamobinansa… because he went to a weekend retreat and now he’s enlightened. I’m just gonna break the hard truth to you. If you’re doing. “Aya” in the US, you’re likely not doing authentic ayahuasca. Because most of the authentic plants required to do true “aya” are illegal to import.

And ironically, the true mission of the shaman, who would deliver such medicine, is not allowed to charge for it. With that being said, I get why a lot of groups in multiple places were plant medicine has been delivered have begun charging for their services, I don’t blame them. It’s the world we live in, the people that want to pretend they abhor materialism and capitalism are the ones that can pay for the opportunity to pretend they are elevating themselves from it.

What does it mean to be enlightened? The whole breakdown of the word enlightened simply means to know thyself. What we’ve been sold is this notion that with just enough retreats in the right places, and with just enough money we get to claim enlightenment because we’ve “done the work“

But have we, because when you attend retreat in a five star resort, where your fed by a chef every day, and there is a ton of people to attend your every need, and those people live in poverty, while they serve you, then I’m not sure how awakened we are truly being.

Or maybe this is the game of this plane of experience. Maybe the desire to separate yourself from the have nots… to brag about your “manifestation“ and your ability to transcend the other suffering experienced by most people that have dropped in here.

Maybe we are failures and your constant need to share about your most recent excursion to far away place where you get to live high on the hog while the people around you suffer is just your reward for “doing it right“

So what is the answer to this conundrum? How can we make the opportunity available to more people to raise their consciousness? Because if it only comes as a paid for opportunity, then the world will never change for so many of those that have the ability to pay that cry they just wanna make the world a better place, then we have to make access to wisdom accessible and we should be conscious of how we care for the people in places where we learn it.