conspirituality

Games, Culture, and Spiritual Grift

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Spiritual merchandise is quite a world to explore. Stones that supposedly block 5G radiation, pants that circulate Chi energy, assorted crystals that are different from those other crystals, potions with luck vibrations, and so on. Plenty of people are ready to sell you all sorts of made-up solutions to your problems that your major problem will be poverty.

Now I’m not against spiritual merchandise per se, like any good mystic I have my own selection of tools and idols and the like. However some of this market gets grifty, with all sorts of claims, questionable testimonials, and even more questionable practices. There’s more than a few sales pitches dug up from the depths of social media that eevated my blood pressure.

A lot of this merchandise seems to be Conspiritual in nature, promising to sell you secrets hidden by them or to fight their influence. You know, that them. It seems things sell better when you think you’re screwing someone else over by buying it. People also seem to ask less questions when you can battle some conspiracy with a credit card charge.

Looking over all of this, something strikes me – a lot of this spiritual grift-merchandise sounds like something out of a role-playing game.

You know what I’m talking bout, games with treasures like The All-Seeing Sphere of Vormak or The Whirling Axe of The Moon. Games with Potions of Healing and Draughts of Clarity. Those specific treasures with special magical effects you’ve probably seen if not spent hundreds of hours using in various games.

These sound just like these 5G Blocking Crystals and Spell Kits For Invoking Loki At A Discount

And I wonder . . . is that an influence?

I mean by now standard RPG game tropes are pretty far integrated into culture. Dungeons and Dragons is a worldwide phenomena and a surprisingly fun and good movie. Computer games with plenty of lovingly-rendered magic items are available to play. Game tropes have worked their way into assorted fictions.

So now I find myself wondering, is all this grifty merch playing on the fact that we think in terms of magic items?

I really don’t know, but now I wish I had a way to analyze it to see if I was on to something or merely have been playing too many games. So if you have any insights, let me know.

If nothing else we can trade game recommendations . . .

–Xenofact

And A Child Shall Bleed Them

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I keep up on modern cults, conspiracies, and conspirituality. It’s fascinating to me, it’s a way to understand people, and it lets me know who would probably try to kill me and the people I know. It’s a depressing win-win.

Recently, following up on a specific modern cult (that I shall mention later) that had lost it’s leader, I was surprised to find it had two competing child leaders. I assumed that it was a case of people finding two manipulable figureheads to let them seize control of the cult. As I listened to the analysis, I found I was wrong or mostly wrong.

The cult members weree thrilled to have these young people spewing their doctrine back at them. They encouraged them, gave them nicknames, hung on their every word. They were elevating two poor kids that had walked into this mess into leaders, and the open desire of the cultists was painfully obvious. Whoever might be behind the scenes, the cultists were becoming sycophants pretty damn well on their own.

That’s when I realized these people were no different than the various sycophants, we see around techbros, hack authors, politicians, and “mainstream” “religious” leaders.

Some people want a leader so intensely they’ll construct one out of whatever and whoever happens to be around. Someone says what they want to hear, suddenly they’re all ears, boosting their new savior, and donating online. Throw in the social experience of believing with all the other needy people and you have a powerful trap of peer pressure and sunk cost.

Of course the would-be leaders usually play into this – mostly out of greed and delusion I’m sure, but probably too many out of sheer ignorance. A few posts and videos in the right spot and suddenly you’re a Thought Leader, a Spiritual Master, or Leader of a New Revolution. It has to be tempting even for decent people.

As for non-decent people, it has to be not only tempting but easy as hell. Say a few things and people will attribute near (or actual) godhood too you. Get some financial backing from rich lobbyists or delusional wealthy folks, and you can amplify your message more. Once the belief machine gets going, you just have to keep churning out platitudes – and of course directing people at new enemies.

Any child, literally or emotionally, could do it and judging by the state of the world many have.

So now third-generation billionaires with no idea how people’s lives work, drugged out techbros, and internet influencers with no other skills but video editing become leaders of thousands and millions. Sure they may have help, but plenty of people will help them become cult leaders because they want it so bad.

Child or manchild, there’s not much difference when people want to surrender to a leader so bad. It also helps us ask when we might surrender our free will easier than we’d think.

– Xenofact

I avoided mentioning the podcast, but it was a look at a gematria cult done by the lead podcaster of PokerPolitics/Adventures in HellWqrld. https://www.patreon.com/posts/hellwqrld-48-88061916

You’re So Lucky You’re Not Special

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You’re not the reincarnation of some famous historical figure.

You didn’t have a past life in non-existent Atlantis

You’re not a genetically engineered time-traveling super-soldier created to explore space and fight aliens.

You’re not a super-assassin secretly trained by the US government.

You’re not an alien Starseed here to save Earth.

You’re not touched by a bunch of suspiciously white-looking so-called “Ascended Masters” to Awaken Humanity.*

You’re none of those things.  Those things are just bullshit made up or hijacked by grifters to sell to you.  Their goal is to make you feel special by selling you a story that at best has a bare echo of truth, and at worse is made of whole cloth.  The internet has made this somehow worse.

The thing is the grifters, the opportunists, and their legions of followers are trying to sell you that you’re special just like them.  They sell a story of specialness you can all participate in, but not only is it a grift, it’s the same kind of specialness for all.  They’re not only deceiving you (and possibly themselves), but it’s not really specialness.

To make it somehow worse this kind of recycled bullshit and telephone-operator-con-games covers up the real wonders and horrors of reality.  It sells you a blueprint for destiny you can plug your own imagination into while you plug in your credit card number to buy yet another book.  It doesn’t encourage you to open your mind let alone your eyes or Third Eye, it just keeps feeding you more of the same.

You’re not special, not in their way.  What you are is unique because you’re you.  Whatever the gods, powers, destiny, or random chance has for you it’s yours.  You may well have been touched by supernatural forces or great opportunity or just plain luck, but it’s not going to be in any form that comfortably fits into a $199 two-hour online seminar.

And that’s great!  You get to choose how you deal with whatever kind of uniqueness you have.  Maybe you aren’t even that unique so you get even more choice and far less social pressure.

And who wants to be part of some great destiny or plan anyway?  Maybe you have your own ideas, your own life to lead, and you don’t need the pressure.  Take it from a professional Project Manager, a lot of plans fail or go off the rails anyway!

Go be the unique you.  That’s one destiny you can fulfill better than anyone.

– Xenofact

* SubGeniuses like myself DO have Yeti blood, but at this rate so does everyone else.  Also we’re just weirdos.  We’re more weird than special.