10 Common Spiritual Traps (And How to Avoid Them)

OVERVIEW: This guide explores common spiritual traps and blocks that can stall progress along our journey.

_______________

In any hero’s journey, there are multiple obstacles along the way. Trials and tribulations are standard operating procedures.

After all, how is the hero supposed to grow and learn its limitations without experiencing challenges and setbacks?

The spiritual journey is no different. A multitude of roadblocks, trapdoors, tricksters, and demons present themselves along the way.

Everyone will navigate around and through these obstacles differently. And, not everyone will complete their quest.

Knowing the common spiritual traps is amazingly practical and useful.

By bringing these common blocks to consciousness, it helps us notice when we’re getting ensnared so we can stay on the straight and narrow path.

This in-depth guide explores the most common spiritual traps that haunt the greater majority. They represent archetypal forces designed to stall our progress and growth.

Let’s dive in …

CONTENTS

What Are Spiritual Traps?

Spiritual traps are anything that constrains one’s psychological development and spiritual growth.

Most of these traps prey on various egoic or mental tendencies like the drive for safety or the need to feel special.

Many spiritual blocks relate to our collective high level of ignorance and naivete.

When divorced from discernment, knowledge, and critical thinking, the spiritual path can become treacherous.

Charlatans and misguided individuals abound. Individuals on a spiritual journey often maintain a high degree of openness. And this openness, coupled with naivete, leaves individuals susceptible to manipulation, reality distortions, and other common traps.

Pseudo-Spirituality: The Dangers of Fake Spiritual Growth

Before covering the common obstacles to spiritual growth, we need to address a pervasive problem observed in virtually all “spiritual circles,” including traditional religion, secular spirituality, academia, and the New Age.

It’s called pseudo-spirituality or fake spirituality, and it’s a wildly popular ego game.

With pseudo-spirituality, the ego uses the concepts of spirituality and growth as a tool to elevate itself.

How Pseudo-Spirituality Manifests as an Ego Defense

When this game unfolds, the individual might “act spiritual.” That is, they present themselves as “being spiritual” to elevate themselves.

While this spiritual facade is designed to maintain a certain perceived image (how other people perceive the individual), it’s also often an internal game.

Depth psychology illuminates how much of our behavior is unconscious. We can perceive ourselves (self-identity) one way while being entirely different.

For example, we might perceive ourselves as kind, considerate, caring, while remaining psychologically divorced or cut off from our judgmentalism, envy, and spitefulness.

In Jungian terms, this is called being divorced from one’s shadow. And, it’s probably the single most common trap in the spiritual journey.

Divorcing ourselves from all of our “non-spiritual” qualities, we may find it easy to take the “moral high ground” and secretly look down on others. This is standard operating procedure in virtually every cult on the planet.

The Root Cause: Lack of Psychological Maturity

With pseudo-spirituality, the same underlying problem always exists: the individual is not engaged in any genuine psychological development or daily practices.

Instead of mining their darkness, they are reaching for the light. Instead of taking out their trash, they are dumping it in their neighbor’s backyard.

Making matters worse, many individuals mimic practice.

For example, they’ll sit on a cushion for 30 minutes a day and post images on social media about their meditation practice. Or, they’ll let anyone who will listen to them know that they are a devout [put your religious or spiritual affiliation of choice here].

Common Ego Defense Mechanisms in Spiritual Circles

As such, individuals on the spiritual path often engage in all the classic ego defense mechanisms, including:

Psychological Projection: Projecting one’s own qualities onto others.
Denial / Avoidance: Denying that one even has certain attributes or qualities.
Rationalization: Justifying one’s behavior to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths.
Repression / Suppression: Pushing down or completely cutting off from various tendencies, impulses, and feelings.

Each of these ego defenses represents a clear spiritual block.

Generally, when an individual is consistently engaging these ego defenses, it’s a clear sign that the individual lacks self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and self-regulation.

Without cultivating these vital qualities, how can we hope to successfully navigate our spiritual journey?

Conceptual Knowledge vs. Genuine Internal Work

When individuals engage in these common ego defenses, we tend to see a lot of posturing (very common among church-goers, new-agers, and intellectuals alike). Posturing is another way of “acting spiritual.”

This lack of psychological development explains why we’ve heard about so many scandals in the Church with pastors and priests, monks, and gurus alike. It’s why sex cults can form within circles of high-minded intellectuals (academic-types) and devout spiritualists.

Can sexual deviance and physical abuse coexist in an individual with psychological and spiritual maturity?

Clearly, it can not. But when an individual consumes external spiritual information without doing real inner work and genuine spiritual practice, the conditions are set for mischief and upheaval.

Conceptual spiritual knowledge gets mistaken for actual psychological and spiritual growth. And bad things happen because there’s no one in the driver’s seat to observe and regulate what’s going on.

Ten Common Spiritual Traps

In truth, the spiritual journey can be treacherous. Like any true adventure, it isn’t safe, and success is not guaranteed.

Personally, I have fallen into virtually all of these spiritual traps, and at various points along my journey. A few of these pitfalls ensnared me for many years.

Some individuals fall into various spiritual traps and never get out of them. They can ensnare us for a lifetime if we aren’t prudent.

While not all of these spiritual blocks and traps will be relevant to your particular journey, it behoves us to be mindful of all of them.

Potential spiritual traps and blocks include:

Falling for the Spiritual Bypass
Reinforcing the Fundamentalist Mind
Repressing Your Fear of the Unknown
Succumbing to New Age Programming
Leaving Grandiosity Unaddressed
Clinging to Spiritual Pride (The “I Know” Syndrome)
Maintaining Low Intrapersonal Intelligence
Playing the Victim-Perpetrator Game
Lacking Discernment
Avoiding Genuine Practice

Let’s examine each spiritual trap in more detail.

1 – What is the Spiritual Bypass?

Let’s start with one of the biggest culprits that can hinder one’s spiritual journey. This spiritual block can stop the quest in its tracks. It is the essence of pseudo-spirituality.

Some people refer to it as the “spiritual bypass” or “spiritual materialism.”

Spiritual bypassing is a psychological defense mechanism where an individual uses spiritual practices to avoid confronting underlying emotional wounds, unresolved trauma, and the realities of their shadow self.

As psychologist Robert Augustus Masters (2010) established, spiritual bypassing occurs when we use spiritual concepts to avoid the necessary, often messy, work of psychological healing.

Virtually all of the discomfort unfolds during the parts of spiritual growth we may try to bypass, including:

Getting to know the shadow;
Wrestling with inner demons;
Confronting our closely held but false views of ourselves and others;
Becoming conscious of our unresolved trauma and arriving at acceptance;
Understanding the source of our emotional triggers and learning to regulate them.

Virtually every emotional trigger we have, everything that sets us off as adults, was installed long ago.

Even physically addressing the pain and numbness stored within the body (energetically) can cause significant discomfort. But with the spiritual bypass, we attempt to brush over this necessary process and engage in emotional avoidance instead.

With this pervasive spiritual block, individuals might sit in meditation, envision “beings of light”, and chant “OM” secretly to avoid getting messy and doing the real internal work necessary for self-healing.

overcoming spiritual blocks — Photo by Sander Mathlener

2 – Fundamentalism: The Trap of Rigid Belief Systems

Another common spiritual block comes in the form of fundamentalism and absolutism.

When individuals engage in absolutism, they think in terms of dogmas and rules. Everything in life is perceived in black-and-white terms.

Fundamentalism and dogma can rule one’s life, creating mental rigidity within the individual’s psyche and reinforcing one’s dark side.

Absolutism often goes hand-in-hand with groupthink and cultism. Individuals rooted in fundamentalism are highly susceptible to joining cults, whether they be religious, new age, intellectual, sexual, or some other ideology.

This type of mental rigidity is observable in individuals with and without an organized religion. As psychologist Stephen Larsen explains in The Fundamentalist Mind: How Polarized Thinking Imperils Us All (2007), fundamentalism is wired into a part of the brain.

This trap stems from the drive to have certainty and being unable to accept ambiguity (not knowing “the truth”). Individuals plagued with fundamentalist ideology haven’t come to terms with their insecurities.

If we don’t observe, challenge, and overcome absolutist thinking and the false sense of comfort it provides, it will continue to dominate our consciousness and stall spiritual growth.

3 – Repressing Your Fear of the Unknown

Behind fundamentalism is a hidden fear of the unknown. Having someone tell us what the truth is can bring comfort because it eliminates feelings of uncertainty.

Uncertainty and doubt create mental discomfort. Our minds seek to resolve, suppress, or repress this discomfort.

Absolutism or fundamentalism is one way this “resolution” manifests. This rigid thinking keeps us from reflecting on questions like:

What if my beliefs aren’t true?
What if the cosmology I grew up with is wrong?
What if specific individuals created my beliefs as a system of control?
What if academia and other industries are funded by specific groups with a nefarious agenda?
What if …

Another underlying fear relates to feelings of meaninglessness and existential despair. To avoid such overwhelming feelings, we may cling to the known (that is, our cherished, pre-programmed beliefs).

The key to overcoming this spiritual block is to acknowledge one’s fear of the unknown rather than pretend it’s not there. Then, begin to lean into the discomfort and see where it takes you.

4 – The Dangers of New Age Spirituality

Individuals on a spiritual journey are often curious and open-minded. This curiosity, however, can get you into trouble, trapping you in unending, troublesome rabbit holes.

The “Love and Light” Game

New-age ideologies are rampant in the modern age. Many individuals began departing from traditional, organized religions only to find themselves in various “New Age” religions instead.

Channeling is a common practice within the New Age, something the ancient traditions specifically warned against. With channeling, various “entities” (spirits, ghosts, demons) can enter your etheric body during this process (without you knowing it).

Those who embrace the New Age often use language like:

“Love and light”
“Ascension”
“Invocation”
“Light workers”

That is, similar to many of those in traditional religions, these New Agers become ungrounded, divorced from the dark side of their psyche.

As such, they are likely to:

Remain unconscious of their behavior,
Avoid genuine shadow work, and
Stall their psychological development.

Once one is indoctrinated in new age ideologies, spiritual discernment usually goes out the window.

Behind the New Age Agenda

It’s worth noting that the roots of the new age movement are found in the works of Alice Bailey, Helena Blavatsky, and the Theosophical Society. Baily established the Lucifer Trust in 1922, before changing the name to Lucis Trust (as it’s called now).¹

If you research all the sponsors of Lucis Trust, you may better understand why caution is advised for this devious spiritual trap.²

In addition to being ungrounded, New Agers often seek novel, altered states of consciousness while being entranced by the endless phantasmagoria within the etheric and astral domains. The astral realm, too, is cautioned about within ancient traditions, and for good reason.

grandiosity portrayed by Gustave Doré — Gustave Doré, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

5 – Spiritual Grandiosity: Recognizing Ego Inflation

Grandiosity, arrogance, and ego inflation are other common spiritual traps.

Grandiosity is the feeling of being “better than” others. Grandiosity is a form of elitism as well as cultism.

For instance, when we identify with a particular group and believe that the group is “special” and superior to others (because we’ve been told so), it naturally fosters grandiosity. The ancient Greeks referred to it as hubris, outrageous arrogance.

This dynamic is sometimes referred to as the “Chosen One” syndrome, and it often occurs in religious organizations and cults. It also leads to the Savior Complex, where you think it’s your job to save other people.

This grandiosity is arguably even more rampant in academia, where atheists and “secular spiritualists” falsely believe they have the moral high ground and the “models” to prove it.

The bipolar nature of the psyche makes it easy to swing from highs to lows—from ego inflation (better than) to ego deflation (less than). Both are distortions.

Finding and holding to one’s center, this ego game is put to rest.

6 – Spiritual Pride: The “I Know” Syndrome

Pride is another expression of grandiosity.

Pride signifies a lack of humility, leading to the “I know” syndrome. “I already know that …” (even when you don’t).

Pride and the “I know” syndrome:

Inflates the ego,
Stalls spiritual development, and
Removes the drive for genuine spiritual practices.

After all, if you already “know,” why practice, why inquire, why carefully observe, and why self-analyze?

Why even endure the spiritual journey at all if you “already know”?

The “I know” syndrome is common among religious practitioners, academics, and many other groups.

In the context of spirituality, individuals who are well-read in spiritual topics or who read scripture their entire lives may develop deep “spiritual pride” in their external knowledge.

This pride becomes another challenging demon to conquer, for it most often causes a strong spiritual block.

The mind deals with concepts and mental maps. In contrast, the Self, one’s Original Spirit, is the source of all inner knowing.

Remember that true Self-knowledge is internal and not derived from any books or external concepts.

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

7 – Low Self-Awareness: The Root of Spiritual Stagnation

Intrapersonal intelligence is a fancy way of saying “knowing yourself.”

The biggest challenge with having low emotional and intrapersonal intelligence is that we lack a strong internal radar and feedback system.

With emotional and intrapersonal intelligence, we have:

Self-awareness: Sufficient internal awareness to neutrally assess our thoughts, attitudes, impulses, reactions, judgments, and behaviors.
Self-regulation: The ability to examine and regulate our emotions and feelings.
Self-leadership: A strong internal observer who can evaluate and make course corrections as needed.

In the absence of these qualities, how can we successfully navigate one’s spiritual path?

Research shows that people who struggle to understand their own feelings are much more likely to have issues with stress and conflict.

A study in the European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education shows that having high emotional intelligence helps you manage your feelings better and makes you more resilient when dealing with challenging life circumstances.³

True spiritual growth is impossible without high self-awareness. When you lack intrapersonal intelligence, you lose your internal feedback system, making it nearly impossible to identify unconscious ego games or maladaptive behavior patterns.

As such, authentic spiritual growth requires us to engage in practices that help us build essential skills related to developing a strong internal observer.

See: An Integrated Guide to Self-Awareness: Practices for Emotional Intelligence and Inner Growth

8 – The Victim-Perpetrator Dynamic: Breaking the Ego Game

With this spiritual trap, the individual plays the Victim role while blaming someone (or a group of people) externally as the Perpetrator.

This victim-perpetrator ego game is age-old. It’s played on the individual level, on the group level, and even on the national level.

In the context of the spiritual journey, we often fall into the victim trap when we initiate the self-healing process.

And it’s understandable. In learning about our past, we naturally see others as the cause of our trauma and misfortune. The perceived cause might be a parent, a teacher, a friend, or a school bully.

The victim’s position is usually perceived first. It’s not that this perception is entirely inaccurate; it’s just not the whole story (from the bigger picture perspective).

However, as long as we continue to play the victim-perpetrator game, we’re not ready to “let go”, arrive at acceptance, restore our internal power, and heal.

From the bigger picture, we see that a series of archetypes possesses each of us. And when various archetypal forces are in the driver’s seat, we are not in control of our behavior.

Instead, our prior conditioning and these archetypal energies rule us. Once this is all fully understood and digested, it’s difficult to engage in the victim-perpetrator game.

9 – The Lack of Discernment: Avoiding Ill-Advised Spiritual Paths

Discernment is “keen insight and good judgment.” It’s the ability to use critical thinking to separate authentic growth from marketing-driven spirituality.

Without this internal filter, spiritual seekers often fall for unverified claims and novelty-seeking behavior.

We can end up following various ill-advised “paths,” fields, and practices, driven by our ignorance, childlike naivete, and drive for novelty.

We might chase fleeting experiences (like altered states of consciousness) while neglecting the steady application of daily practice.

Be especially mindful of this trap if you have wandered into the New Age camp. Discernment is often not exercised within this arena.

Some of us naturally possess higher degrees of discernment; others need to develop it through everyday learning (making mistakes) and continuous feedback.

Developing keen insight is the only way to avoid ending up in manipulative environments or unhealthy spiritual rabbit holes

Along your spiritual journey, as you strip away everything you are not and move toward wholeness within yourself, spiritual discernment becomes more readily available.

Remember that true discernment is internally derived (from the Self).

picture of person meditating by Anway Pawar — Photo by Anway Pawar

10 – Avoiding Genuine Practice: The Difference Between States and Stages

This final spiritual trap affects individuals on devout religious, new age, and secular paths alike. Spiritual aspirants may avoid genuine practice for various reasons, including:

A) Not having a strong foundation in the importance of practice.

Without a strong foundation of how spiritual practices can transform us and help us develop, spiritual knowledge tends to remain exclusively conceptual (with no direct insights).

Often, the individual has a fixed mindset and is unaware of alternative options.

B) Focusing excessively on scripture and reading books.

When conceptual learning (book learning, sermons, and seminars) is not balanced with developmental practices, spiritual pride tends to grow rather than the individual.

That is, the authentic spiritual growth stagnates.

C) Proudly identifying oneself as “spiritual” or “religious.”

When an individual identifies themselves as spiritual or religious, they are maintaining an external identification. Identifying oneself as “spiritual” is nothing but a social mask—a standard ego game.

For example, if one proudly identifies themselves as spiritual or religious, they may find they are less motivated to engage in self-discovery or examine their shadow (unconscious).

What if they discover inner demons, desires, and attributes that are inconsistent with their spiritual identity? That’s a BIG risk!

Instead, they may simultaneously abort self-actualization and their authentic spiritual path without even knowing it.

D) Not understanding the vital difference between states and stages.

Spiritual practices exist that can produce positive results. However, many of these practices do not necessarily lead to internal development.

How is that possible?

As outlined in this guide to 200+ spiritual practices, some methods can trigger altered states of consciousness while others can lead to structural changes in one’s consciousness over time.

Generally, structured stages promote development, while altered states do not.⁴ In many ways, our spiritual journey requires developmental progress.

Shadow Work: The Path to Inner Honesty and Grounding

While there may be many spiritual traps, the key to navigating through all of them is the same: stay grounded and centered within yourself.

From a place of inner honesty, you become immune to most of these spiritual blockages.

This is why shadow integration is so absolutely integral to one’s spiritual path.

Shadow work breeds inner honesty and acceptance.

When I was engaged in the spiritual bypass, I didn’t want to acknowledge all the baggage I was dragging around.

When I was engaged in absolutist thinking, I wasn’t acknowledging how confused and fearful I was.

Divorced from my darker half, I couldn’t see my grandiosity and spiritual pride.

Shadow work forces you to come to terms with everything that’s left unaddressed from childhood.

Then, these various traps and the monsters they represent begin to fade in the background.

Safe journeys.

References

Cumbey, C. (1983). The hidden dangers of the rainbow: The New Age movement and our coming age of anxiety. Huntington House.
Garaigordobil M. (2020). Intrapersonal Emotional Intelligence during Adolescence: Sex Differences, Connection with other Variables, and Predictors. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 10(3), 899–914. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe10030064
Larsen, S. (2007). The fundamentalist mind: How polarized thinking imperils us all. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books/The Theosophical Publishing House.
Masters, R. A. (2010). Spiritual Bypassing: When Spirituality Disconnects Us from What Really Matters. North Atlantic Books
Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambhala Publications.

10 Hidden Spiritual Traps That Stall Growth and Psychological Development