Spiritual FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

Today I am recording on another topic, one that has been coming up recently in correspondence and conversations. I think it may be helpful if it were addressed. The topic is Spiritual FOMO. FOMO is, of course, the acronym meaning Fear Of Missing Out. I notice Spiritual FOMO both in Christian circles and among people interested in nondual spirituality. 

In nonduality it comes in the form of Enlightenment FOMO. Quite a few people who reach out to me are afraid that they are going to miss out on enlightenment. They are afraid they will continue to miss out. They do not get it, and they are afraid that they will never get it. They have been trying spiritual practices for years, and they feel like they will never spiritually awaken. They are afraid that they will never be enlightened, at least not in this lifetime, if they believe in multiple lifetimes. They feel like giving up. 

There is a parallel in Christianity. Many Christians feel like they are missing out on something important in the spiritual life that their form of Christianity is not providing them. That there has to be something more than what they are experiencing in their church or tradition or religion or personal spiritual practices. That they are missing out on the fullness of God, on the genuine spirituality. Sometimes among Christians this fear goes all the way to feeling like they are going to miss out on heaven. 

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Transcript

I have not been recording episodes recently.  I may have exhausted what I want to say about the Gospel of Thomas ... at least for the time being. Perhaps I will pick up the Gospel of Thomas again in the future or maybe put it in the form of a book on instead of presenting it orally. I do not know. I don’t do a lot of planning these days. I let things unfold as they do. That is the Tao. So we will see how things unfold.

Today I am recording on another topic, one that has been coming up recently in correspondence and conversations. I think it may be helpful if it were addressed. The topic is Spiritual FOMO. FOMO is, of course, the acronym meaning Fear Of Missing Out. I notice Spiritual FOMO both in Christian circles and among people interested in nondual spirituality. 

In nonduality it comes in the form of Enlightenment FOMO. Quite a few people who reach out to me are afraid that they are going to miss out on enlightenment. They are afraid they will continue to miss out. They do not get it, and they are afraid that they will never get it. They have been trying spiritual practices for years, and they feel like they will never spiritually awaken. They are afraid that they will never be enlightened, at least not in this lifetime, if they believe in multiple lifetimes. They feel like giving up. 

There is a parallel in Christianity. Many Christians feel like they are missing out on something important in the spiritual life that their form of Christianity is not providing them. That there has to be something more than what they are experiencing in their church or tradition or religion or personal spiritual practices. That they are missing out on the fullness of God, on the genuine spirituality. Sometimes among Christians this fear goes all the way to feeling like they are going to miss out on heaven. They feel like they are imposters. Spiritual imposter syndrome, you might call it. 

No matter what spiritual tradition people are a part of, some people feel like there is something they are missing! They feel like there is something more they should be doing. Something they should be reading or practicing or experiencing. They feel like there is some method, some key factor or aspect that they are missing. 

If only they listen to the right teacher or preacher or video or podcast or read the right book, they will come across the key, and everything will all fall into place. It will click and then they will get it. Enlightenment! Awakening! Nirvana! Truth! Certainty! The Kingdom of Heaven! The Kingdom of God!

I want to address this spiritual anxiety today. What I want to say to you is that there is nothing to fear and nothing you need to do. Everything is perfectly alright just the way it is at this moment. I know it does not feel like it, but it is true. There is no need to fear you are missing out. That is because you are not missing out. It is the feeling that you are missing out that is the problem. It is the belief that you are missing out that forms the barrier to realizing that you are not missing out.

It all stems from a misunderstanding of what spiritual awakening is. All stereotypes of enlightenment or liberation or salvation need to be discarded. These mental pictures of what you are expecting to happen are what keeps it from being realized. Have no expectations. Expectations cloud our vision. They are not helpful. Awakening is not a fantastic new experience to add to your resume of spiritual experiences. It is not one more spiritual story to share with others.

A lot of people seem to think that they have had a spiritual awakening of some type – or at least a glimpse of it or a taste of it – and then they lost it. They want it back. They want it to be permanent. It does not work like that. Awakening is not more of something we have already experienced. It is not making permanent something we have temporarily experienced. If it was temporary, it is not it. Awakening is a complete and total shift in perspective. It is about our core identity - what we identify with or identify as. It is a shift in the sense of self. From individual self to universal Self. 

After awakening, one no longer identifies with the human mind and its fluctuating states and experiences. One no longer identifies with fears and hopes, including the fear of missing out and the hope that we will not miss out. It is all about what you identify with. If you identify with this temporary body-mind, then you are asleep. This human form is asleep and it can never wake up. It is not in its nature. 

It does not matter what you do, that human nature can never wake up. Spiritual awakening is awakening from that human condition to see that we are not what we thought we were. We never were. It is not about changing or evolving or growing. It is about realizing that we never were that sleeping, evolving, growing human being. 

We have always been Awake. When the Buddha was asked “Who are you?” he answered, “I am awake.” Our true Self is Awake, the Awakened One, the Whole, the universe, the One that is expressed in every creature including every human creature. We are Being Itself expressed in all beings.

We are not these skin bags of meat and bones. We are not these short-lived human animals. What we are is expressed in and through these human creatures, but we are enlightenment. We are the Kingdom of God. We are the Presence of God. There is nothing we have to do to become what we already are. There is nothing we have to experience to be what we already are.

And there is no way that the human mind can conceive of this or experience this. So do not worry about whether you have got it or will ever get it. Let me make it clear: what you think you are will never get it. So it is futile to be anxious about it. 

So what are you to do? What can you do? I want to say, “do nothing,” and that is not bad advice. Yet the truth is that it does not matter what you do or don’t do. So do whatever you feel you need to do. You are going to do it anyway, so do it without worry or doubt or remorse. It does not matter one way or the other. What is more important than what you do is your intention. Openness to what is possible. That you don’t give up the spiritual life.

Most importantly, do not fear. Do not fear that you are missing out or that you will miss out. You are not missing out. The truth is that what you really are – who you really are – is not missing out. Your True Self is awake now. Always has been and will be. Enlightened. Liberated. Saved. Whatever word you want to attach to it. Your True nature is it because it has always been it. 

It may be helpful to just believe this and trust it. That is where faith comes in. But if you can’t do that, it is alright. It doesn’t change anything about your true nature. The truth is that you are not missing out. The self that feels like it is missing out is not the real you. The self with spiritual FOMO is not you. That is a counterfeit you. It is an imposter. All you need to do is notice the real you. Remember who you are. Then you will realize that you are awake.