spiritual burnout in the age of social media
Social media presents unique challenges to spiritual practitioners who desire to share their gifts and perspective with the world.
The internet has long been a place of refuge for me. So admitting that a lack of boundaries with it has led to burn out is, well, a bummer But I think this was kind of written in the stars for me.
At age 12, I started keeping a semi-regular blog on Xanga, i.e. a now-defunct social media platform that predates Myspace, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I recorded my inner thoughts, frustrations, and memories of my small existence, knowing that my expression would be witnessed by others.
Super cringey example of my Xanga blog — this entry is from 2006.
Xanga also opened the door to discovering my own identity, independent of my family and friends. I developed my own taste in music, art, and books, all from the comfort of my mom’s spinny computer chair in the small town of Danville, Illinois.
Shout out to Xanga, though. IYKYK.
I share this information because I think it naturally inclined me toward using the internet to express myself online in the way I do now, which is frankly pretty unhinged.
At 28 I experienced my spiritual awakening and “came out” as a medium. This was a profound gift that revealed itself from the hard work of healing my soul after chronic substance abuse. I felt like, in order to develop the mediumistic skillset to its potential, and become “great”, mediumship had to become a full-time job.
Despite spiritual work being considered a sacred act, I allowed my natural inclination toward the internet and its ability to connect humans to dictate the direction and vision of Sunlight Oracle. As a result, I find myself depleted.
So here are 3 contributing factors to creative/spiritual burnout:
The persistent cultural belief that work is something that people believe should be given away for free (at least that’s what’s evidenced by the hundreds of such comments on my videos). But what these people do not realize is that gifts, especially the spiritual kind, require tremendous amounts of maintenance, self-care, and the ability to hold space effectively for others. It’s not a hobby — it is, in fact, a lot of invisible work. And damn, does America love to work.
Sharing my work on the (ruthless) content-creation hamster wheel *in addition to* making a ridiculous amount of soul-driven art. All spiritual and creative gifts require a tremendous amount of maintenance and self-care in order to use them effectively, so the demands of “making this a business” means sometimes the self-care is lacking; thus, burnout.
Mediumship is not therapy but it is therapeutic in nature. If I’m not in near perfect working order, my clients and spirit guides will pay the price. The ability to hold space for others is not a hobby, and it is, in fact, a lot of invisible work.
I write this blog because I’m currently taking a break from mediumship readings, and I’m finding that I have the time and energy to think about what really may be happening here: for so many of creative people, our spiritual gifts, artistic talents, and soul offerings must be exploited in order to merely survive in this late-stage capitalist society.
Artists and spiritual weirdos: Are we on the precipice of bringing forth a new reality in which all of us can thrive? Or are we stuck in a world that requires us to exploit our gifts to survive, and then shames us for doing so? I see many artists asking this question now.
Should I be expressing my gifts online and exploiting the potential of the internet and human connection across the planet? Or is there another most sustainable way to serve people, and we’re just too far into the digital black hole?
These are not rhetorical, I am truly seeking answers. And I’ll keep you posted on my experience.
Warmly but frankly,
Sunny x
