Spiritual Critiques

There are many spiritual teachers who are popular today. This section looks at the ideas of some of the most popular spiritual teachers and analyzes them. I come from the perspective of someone who has been living in a spiritual way for over thirty five years. I try to put these people’s ideas in the larger framework they belong in. I then see if the teachers’ ideas are consistent or do they contradict themselves. I also wonder about the consequences of these teachers’ ideas. The goal is not to belittle actual spiritual experiences but to help people be careful not to add extraneous ideas to their experiences. In that way spiritual people can more easily stay on their spiritual path and more fruitfully share their ideas with other people.

This essay was written by Joseph Waligore. He dedicated his life to following the will of the Universe when he was 20. Seven months later he received a message from his Higher Self or inner connection to the divine to quit Dartmouth College. Through following a deep intuition in a dream and after many synchronistic experiences, he met his soulmate and married her. He and his wife followed their spiritual intuitions in their daily lives, including receiving messages to have children. For twelve years he stayed at home and raised his three children while his wife worked. Then, his wife told him he needed to make some money, so he got a Ph. D. in philosophy from Syracuse University. He currently has a part-time job teaching philosophy and religious studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. More information about him can be found at his MySpace profile. He also has a website with information about his own spiritual journey and his spiritual philosophy.