How modern spiritual influencers manipulate seekers looking for truth.

In this modern world, when people begin to sense the weight of confusion and darkness of ignorance around them, they naturally start seeking light. Something true. They move toward what feels like a shining point in the distance… like a guiding light in a world that often feels foggy, unclear, and distant.

But not everything that shines is separate from what surrounds it. Sometimes, that same light becomes part of the system itself… drawing people in, especially when they are trying to find a way out.

In many cases, this is where modern spirituality enters. Not as something entirely false… but as something that can be shaped and packaged in a way that keeps people searching rather than truly finding. This is not about being against modern spirituality, or defining it as right or wrong. It is about noticing something that exists within it.

A space that, in many cases, is filled with frauds, scammers, and fake gurus who exploit those seeking light. They turn seekers into clients. They sell something that appears like light… but is not.

Furthermore, they sell peace as membership, healing as monthly royalties, and connection with the divine through connecting with them first… ultimately making people their clients, keeping them dependent on them.

I have come across some of these people too. They know what to say in every video they make. They know how much to reveal to the viewer or client… just enough to lure them into their community.

If I put this in simpler words, they catch people who are already searching for the light. But instead of helping them become self-reliant and find their own light within, they make them dependent on their temporary light… slowly making them powerless, and ultimately turning them into monthly assets from which they can earn revenue.

Let’s dive into details so that we can map them out. There are some similar patterns most of them follow. And it has become quite easy to figure them out if we notice these patterns.

They fake complex personalities and language to appear wise. One of the most common tactics is manufactured complexity. They mix science, ancient terms, numbers, along with modern spiritual vocabulary to sound advanced and impressive.

For example, they’ll say things like:

• “quantum frequency alignment of theta 19223 portals”
• “ancient Egyptian codes unlocking your DNA with 100 strands”
• “5D activation grids and energy siphoning rituals”

If you really look at these words closely, or ask them the actual meaning behind them, they won’t be able to explain it clearly. Instead, they respond with something even more complex than the question itself.

They are very good at mixing things — science, myths, logic, philosophy, conspiracy theories — everything into one dense mixture. Most of these tactics are used to outsmart the viewer or client, so they can appear wiser and like truth-breakers in society.

Always remember, intelligence and wisdom make things simple and understandable. They don’t make things unnecessarily complex. The same is true for real spiritual knowledge. It makes things simpler, not complex. It simplifies… it does not confuse.

They sell toxic positivity and a world full of roses. They make people see everything through rose-colored glasses, focusing only on optimism while ignoring the full picture. Likewise, they sell the idea of eternal peace through memberships.

They encourage people to ignore the darker sides of reality, or keep them trapped in a utopia of perfect bliss that is often tied to their community or paid access. They twist narratives from the religious text that sound just for the most. Furthermore, they provide short escapes from real struggles… and make people believe in shortcuts.

A real spiritual teacher does not teach toxic positivity. They would speak about both light and dark. They would guide you toward what you actually need, and help you become self-reliant in your own light.

They don’t have a stable framework behind their teachings, and their message keeps changing with current spiritual trends. Another common sign of these people is how quickly they shift with what is trending.

They make videos on whatever topic is hot at the moment. A couple of years ago, they were talking about being starseeds… now they are talking about being the chosen one. One day they speak about dragons, the next day about ghosts and spirits.

They are quick to change, and often contradict their own teachings over time. If people observe closely, they will see that they are simply following trends to stay relevant to their audience.

They fake their life to appear overly happy and abundant. Another common sign is how they present a built-up version of reality to the people watching them. They appear as the most happy, blissful, and abundant people in the world. They rarely talk about their own struggles. They teach others how to attract abundance, while their own bills are being paid through the money earned from clients who trust them.

 

They build a lifestyle that looks real on the surface, but is sustained by the revenue generated from their audience. Furthermore, they rely heavily on personal authority or experience, while rejecting any external validation as something “low level.”

They twist narratives. Another common sign is how they reshape ideas from religious texts, literature, or earlier spiritual work in a way that sounds right on the surface, but often lacks real depth or context. They pick selective ideas, reshape them, and present them in a way that fits their own narrative… making it appealing, but not necessarily accurate.

In short, they modify already existing spiritual work in a way that serves their purpose, at least for a while.

They create urgency and fear hooks with exclusive identity traps. One of the less observed patterns is how they operate by making people feel special. They give them names like chosen ones, starseeds, one in a million… everything to lure viewers and clients into their teachings.

Then they create urgency to buy things, often using fear through the same identities they offered. First, they make people feel special. Then they bait them with emotional hooks, like the fear of ignoring their teachings.

And then they sell their products… memberships, knowledge, paid courses, and more.

These are some of the patterns that many of them repeat in order to sell their packaged enlightenment. There are more patterns, but for now, becoming aware of these common ones helps us stay safe from being scammed or lured into the false light that the modern world often presents as enlightenment.

The irony is that when people find themselves stuck in the dark, in a world of ignorance, they begin to seek light and answers. Unfortunately, they often come across these modern-day spiritual traps, which can be worse than being in the dark in the first place.

You see, some people do exploit this vulnerability in others, especially when there is no strong sense of personal judgement, morals, or values. If people don’t trust their own light, their own judgement, their own logic, they can be easily influenced by those who sell light and enlightenment.

You see, there is nothing like packaged enlightenment… or something people can gain by taking a course or enrolling in a community or membership to become spiritually awakened. Spiritual awakening is a personal experience. It does not depend on any external force… it is a remembrance of ourselves, of our own soul and higher consciousness.

It is a deep, personal journey. Furthermore, it cannot be mapped out as an algorithm or sold as a course or tutorial.

Today, there are many terms being used that create a false sense of superiority… like starseed, lightworker, chosen one. These identities often come from the same sources that sell packaged enlightenment, guiding people into beliefs that separate them from others rather than helping them understand themselves.

As you saw in the previous chapter, the psychology of division plays out here as well… just in a different form. The same false beliefs that separate one human from another.

Most of modern-day spirituality has become a business model to earn money by misguiding people, letting them hear what they want to hear, and teaching things that feel comfortable… shortcuts, easy paths, roads full of roses. In other words, it can serve as a tool to place everything under the label of spirituality, so people can justify their actions and decisions through it.

In simpler words, much of modern spirituality uses a false blanket to cover everything in the name of spirituality, even when some of those things are neither truly spiritual nor, in some cases, moral at all.

These have become some of the core patterns behind it.

Modern spirituality often rejects the more grounded aspects of growth and spiritual development… like discipline, strong values, being noble, and cultivating virtues.

It often does not teach the hardship, pain, and struggles that one’s own soul may go through in order to carve a better self and find the light within… a gradual connection with the Most High, with God.

Meanwhile, it often ignores the harder path, the truth, and the darkness that surrounds the light. Most of the time, it has been reduced to things like manifestation that revolve around material abundance and living only for one’s own life, focusing merely on personal joy and pleasure rather than caring for others as well… nature, the planet, animals, and other human beings.

It teaches self-love, but ignores unconditional love and ordinary love. It teaches people about their rights and what they deserve as existing creations, while ignoring the duty and responsibility that come with being that creature… a human being.

It shows the flowers, but ignores the thorns. Likewise, it shows the light, but ignores the darkness.

At last, when we combine all these patterns together, we will begin to see the broader picture. Sometimes what presents itself as the light, the guidance in the modern world often becomes the another distraction, another darkness wearing the spiritual clothes. It belongs to the same system that has created the darkness and distraction at first place. It gives people something to believe in, something to join and enroll in, and something to buy… while keeping them distant from their own inner clarity — -their own light. Furthermore, it serves as tool to make them dependent on them by giving them comfort without truth, identity without inner realization, positivity without discernment, and promises without inner transformation.

Enlightenment and spiritual awakening cannot be packaged, sold, or handed over by another person. It is a personal journey that one must walk for themselves. Everyone has different roads, different paths, different experiences… yet many of those roads lead to the same destination, the same realization, the same truth that we call spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

So we must honor our own journey, and not fall for the packaged ones that are ready to be sold.

Taken from a chapter in my book No Devil? — check out the full book via the link in bio.