Spiritual Proficiency and Neuropsychological Humility: Nourishing Equilibrium Between the Magical and Material

 Everything I believe and/or suspect to be true could be wrong.

I know that a statement like this seems like anathema to anyone who has cultivated a “platform” or career based on some form of spirituality. It seems like an egregious admission for someone who has written a book (and endless blogs and blurbs) about mermaids and extraterrestrials. The fact is that any one of us who claims to have had supernatural, elemental, or extraterrestrial experiences (and more) has no way to truly “prove” any of these things. Most of us cannot even provide a single shred of evidence for what we have experienced…. And how could we in most cases? How do we practice and engage with things that we cannot provide scientific evidence for most of the time? I am not saying that this is inherently problematic, but something I have seen for my entire life, whether applied religiously or spiritually, is that nearly every spiritual group or denomination truly believes that they have found “The Truth.” I take no issue with someone who says, “I pursue what I believe because it is the highest truth I have so far discovered.” However, this is usually not the direction the narrative takes… and “the truth” is often debunked over time or found to be extremely limiting as knowledge and research expands.

Skepticism has been an endemic organism in my mental microbiome, even as I have pursued my interests in lucid dreaming, had “prophetic” dreams without intending to, channeled extraterrestrials, and interfaced with mermaids and elementals in my personal practice. The people who know me well aren’t surprised by my skepticism (you should have heard me arguing with theologians in my teens), but it often gives a bit of a pause to my followers or spiritual acquaintances when the topic arises. Ultimately, when someone holds “truth” (whatever it may be and if it objectively exists) in high esteem, they will encounter a moment where they are sitting in the spiritual sandbox with all the perceivable pieces laid out before them… and they realize that we could be totally and utterly wrong about it all.

I think that these moments are so foundational to who we choose to be because these are the moments where we decide whether to radicalize our beliefs and act from a place of arrogance… or whether to humble ourselves and acknowledge that we may not know more about what lies beyond our three dimensions than anyone else. In The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake Dr. Steven Novella allots a lengthy portion of his book to cultivating what he defines as neuropsychological humility. In earth speak, neuropsychological humility is “understanding how our brain processes and experiences the world.” Novella helps the reader etch out how our human brains are flawed and fallible, even when we are certain of their integrity. He reasons that because our brains are the tools we use to understand and investigate the universe, it is essential to learn how they operate and how they can often perceive and remember information incorrectly.

In spirituality and in some religions, there is this massive push to have “blind faith” or to step into “absolute knowing” to access higher realms. Some teachers even say that you cannot ascend to higher dimensions or realms until you release all your doubt that clouds your “true self.” I realize this is anecdotal, but I have not seen this kind of thinking do anything besides make people more manipulable and radicalized in unhealthy ways... though I am speaking through a westernized lens. It is totally okay to believe in something and even dedicate your life to it, but I think we all need to develop the ability to entertain the idea that we are not perfect beings, even in the third dimension. So how could we also assume that any perception that we have would also be perfect where the intangible is concerned? Since spiritualists often come up with contradictory information when their “revelations” are compared, it would be fair to assume that sometimes we can get messages wrong, even if we do not intend to do so. Our NDEs, e.t. encounters, and astral journeys feel real, but modern science has yet to find ways to support that these experiences represent objective reality, not just something happening in our heads.  And yes, I have Dumbledore’s voice popping up in my consciousness too: “Of course, it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

 Part of determining how to absorb this quote- often used in spirituality- comes down to what we mean by “real.” This is a topic well-loved by philosophers, but to save myself from writing pages and pages of a dissertation that I am not qualified to write, I think most of us define what is “real” by what we are certain we have experienced. These can be physical experiences or they can be mental, emotional, or spiritual experiences. The problem is that psychology and sociology tell us that most of what we think we experience isn’t accurate at all. Our brains function to help us navigate the world and maintain our survival… so they often fill in the gaps with information that isn’t there so that we can find a way to make sense of what is going on around us. (You can watch the show Brain Games for a simple look at how we often misperceive or misremember the things around us). In terms of spiritual activity, there is no real way for us to corroborate most of our experiences… But still, we feel that our experiences are “real.” What now?

This is where I stood several years ago. I have always enjoyed questioning why I believe what I believe and whether any of it can truly hold water when submitted to the rigors of reason and skepticism. And most of it cannot (hold water) in an empirical sense. The only thing I can be momentarily certain of is that I feel I had an experience. Even so, this is where I deviate from some skeptics… Some skeptics say, “There is no way to be certain, so why waste your time pursuing the uncertain?” I can completely understand where these skeptics are coming from and I have great respect for them, but I think that many things that arise in our consciousness, whether spiritual, mental, or emotional, can still serve to benefit us even if, objectively, they turned out to not be “true.” (Or at least remained elusive for the rest of human time.)

With the rise of pseudoscience, much of which is verifiably harmful (think in the “health” related realms with jade eggs and orthorexic dietary recommendations), and the anti-science and the obsession with conspiracies like “Luciferian” occult supposedly running our whole world, it is uncool to question a lot of the spiritual information floating around. Back in 2012-2015 when hybrid children and alien babies were all the rage, I was kicked out of several online spiritual “pod” groups for questioning whether any extraterrestrials we were supposedly contacting could be: 1. Real. 2. Have good intentions if they were real. 3. Be coming down from their realms to contact or land on planet earth. My experiences with these beings were “real” in that I recalled having meaningful dreams with them and being excited about the possibility of their existence, but was it truly enough for me if that is all that they represented? If we are being honest, whenever past religious or spiritual claims have been made about a guru, god, or evolved race of beings making a magical appearance on our plane, they have never come to pass… and the “promise” of hybrid children coming to planet earth to further our race was the direction most channelings took. (Some of these were absolutely rooted in eugenics… A big issue in the starseed community.) With this knowledge in mind, was my experience with extraterrestrials, which I used as a permission slip to evolve in a self-perceived positive direction and pursue an eccentric interest, still worth it to me? My answer is yes. Therefore, on my home page for The Sedona Mermaid website, I stated in one of the introductory sections that, “Making contact with your true inner self is the most important step to accessing other realms, whether they be real or mythologized.”

I think that humans have incredible potential for personal and collective growth, even through the fictitious. Our video games, fantasy and sci-fi genres, and stories we pass from generation to generation lend us strength, imagination, and curiosity, and sometimes even unlock the physical potential we possess to create something new and cutting edge on our planet. Most of us love to imagine, dream, and create things virtually or on paper that would otherwise be too expensive or difficult for us to conjure up in our day-to-day world. We do some of this while we are waking, though many people report receiving inspiration for projects and innovative creations from their dreams! Would it be fair to say that we also could create “higher” entities unconsciously within our own psyches and perceive them as “divine” or extraterrestrial in origin? If we are being honest with ourselves, the answer is yes. It is fair to at least consider this as a possibility. The question then becomes: If we accept that everything we think is “spiritual” is just originating from inside of us, is it still worth it to investigate and build an entire practice on it? This is entirely up to the individual, and for my part, I would be denying a very rich and nutritive source for curiosity and exciting adventures if I dismissed something just because I created it. (Enjoy the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought because it is his. In every work of genius, we recognize majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility than most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else, tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.”) And maybe there is more than one kind of “truth!” Much of it is currently immeasurable just in emotional contexts (though we can study the emotional body to some extent). Indigenous people have known for far longer than I have, that “truth” and phenomena do not have to be measurable to be relevant or valid.

For me, it is enough to go cryptid searching and still admit that cryptids may not be actual entities in our world. Sure, I have had “experiences”, but I could have easily misperceived what I was looking at and filled in the blanks with what I already believed to be true. Studies show us time and time again that our brains can distort information easily—and they do so often! Memories are much more like play-doh than they are like concrete. Our brains can manipulate information (unintentionally!) through fusion, confabulation (We can literally just make things up by accident… It isn’t the same as lying.), personalization (Where we think that something that happened to someone else happened to us… It happens more than we think.), contamination (information we share with or receive from others can taint our memories), and distortion (details of memories can change over time… or even right after we wake up from a lucid dream). Even false memories can be created through the idea of “recovered memories.” Recovered memory syndrome was one of the driving factors behind “repressed memories” that led, in part, to the 1980s “satanic panic” phenomenon. In fact, repressed memories are extremely uncommon, and some experts question whether memories can truly be repressed at all. Either way, my point is that memories are constructed not just as they are experienced, but as a continuous process afterward as well. And sometimes, our “memories” never even happened.

I think that recognizing these biological proclivities induces the self-honesty we need to practice more intentionally within ourselves. I am not out here to “debunk” most people’s beliefs, especially where it concerns the rather innocuous things like lucid dreams, e.t. contact, or interactions with the supernatural. Nor do I feel that I should attempt to “debunk” beliefs or practices belonging to other cultures. Dissecting my own spirituality with skepticism or using skepticism to critique verifiably harmful (predominately white-driven) agendas or recommending skepticism to my western friends should never carry over into European imperialism or spiritual colonialism territory. Practice-based and participatory methodologies are fundamental to the spiritual practices of other ethnic groups and cultures. What I am recommending in this article is not obligatory by any means and I am primarily talking to myself and (generally) white spiritual practitioners who can easily fall into ethnocentric or spiritually arrogant attitudes when we become too “certain” in our westernized self-revelated versions of “the truth.” My goal here is to find balance… not to advocate for the erasure of the unseen or currently immeasurable. Experiences should not have to be mechanized to be integrated or accepted.

(Back to speaking about my personal life!) All of my own spiritual experiences and potential “memories” mean a great deal to me, but ultimately, I think of them in the same way I think of archetypes. The archetypes themselves do not have to be “real” historical figures or figures that are experienced by everyone to have the power to infuse me with a deeper understanding of my inner mythos. The months and years I have spent speaking with mermaids and learning from extraterrestrials would not lose their potency, even if I were to discover that it was “me” all along making it all up! If the mermaids who came to me in my bathtub as a child were some part(s) of myself creating imaginary friends (I had a very abusive childhood so this isn’t a far-fetched idea), I would still love them the same. (And can I say… wow? I made up a really cool world if that is the case.) Human brains have evolved to find meaning in the potentially meaningless and to find patterns in the “white noise” around us. I think that even if this is all spirituality ever cracked up to be, it would still be a beautiful thing because we made it and it helped “make” us who we are. This is a self-created and potentially stunning cycle for us to explore immortal concepts within the temporal. The architecture of our inner worlds doesn’t have to be erased by skepticism—skepticism can serve as a self-deepening tool to understand how we create, not a self-limiting one.

My career has never been founded on my spiritual interests, though my work in the spiritual realms has been equally meaningful and beautiful for me. I am exceptionally grateful for this because it gives me extra freedom to be radically honest about my doubts, hopes, and interests without any consequence to my personal well-being. The fact is that when someone wants me to look them in the eye, swear fealty to all I think I know, and promise them that I am (beyond a reasonable doubt) certain that the things I experience best represent reality… I honestly cannot do it. There is no real way to “know” whether my small slice of reality is reflective of larger truth or whether it is a mere vehicle for me to choose to grow… or simply experience personal entertainment (though I apply it with the intention of self-betterment). But the truth is that I do not need to know for sure which one it is. Humility and spiritual experiences can coexist together. We can cherish memories and beliefs without putting them on the pedestal of perfection or demanding that they give us special answers that few others are privy to behold.

For those who will be concerned that I am walking away from my spiritual interests: This was not the goal, message, or intention for this post. I will always facilitate mermaid contact when it shows up for me and I do not think I will ever lose my passion for sharing the amazing things I learn about elemental realms with others. Mermaids, elementals, extraterrestrials, meditation, lucid dreaming, “shadow” work, and various spiritual schools of thought have enriched my life and served as permission slips to assist others. But could I have attained self-betterment and helped others heal through other venues? Yes, and I have done so! This is where true spiritual humility comes from… Understanding that we as individuals do not have all the answers and that the answers we do have may not apply to everyone or even be relevant to the majority. In fact, we could have been so clever that we fabricated an entire inner mythos, and that is okay!

We can call ourselves starseeds, lightworkers, healers, and more, but rather than using them as descriptors to elevate ourselves above the people around us, they should describe interests and paths of inquiry instead (and we are not better than anyone for our interests either). Labels are useful when they serve as field guides to discovering what we want to explore, but not as helpful when they are used to create “chosen ones” or “awakened” delineations to create separation from others. Being “spiritual” and having supernatural experiences says more about how our brains work than how “evolved” we are. A spiritual “gift” does not necessarily correlate positively with moral aptitude. We have to decide to grow through those “sleeves” and capsules before they reshape into remedial iterations for the collective (and again I am not implying that any of our “western” modalities should be exerted upon other cultures or ethnic groups without their explicit informed consent… if at all).

Our relentless and luxurious dive(s) into the lush realms of our innermost selves is a path that will always yield “surprises” to our conscious awareness. Our humility can temper the experiences with a more equitable understanding of human consciousness, but the emotional impact does not have to be diluted in the process. We can love the magic and still find it ridiculous. We can discover the ridiculous, laugh at the way it gift-wraps itself, and still extract the potent Self-truth within. The medicine is in the paradoxes and in the balance, struck between our ability to know our weaknesses while embracing our aptitude to tumble into the ineffable.