Seeking serenity: Navigating spiritual crises

As the world teeters on the brink of spiritual renaissance and existential quandary, an episode of my podcast, Wellness Curated focuses on young people exploring the waters of inner truth and navigating spiritual crises.

We've all felt it, right? That tug at the heartstrings, that whisper in the back of your mind searching for purpose, for peace, for a bit of spiritual spark. Young people today are no different. In fact, they're leading the charge, turning to meditation apps as often as Instagram, attending yoga classes, or quietly journaling their journey towards enlightenment. But let's not sugar-coat it, this journey is as messy as it is beautiful. It's full of soul-searching questions, late-night existential debates, and yes, even a few "what the heck am I doing?" moments.

Gen Z's spiritual sojourn

Welcome to the spiritual saga of Gen Z, the tech-savvy trailblazers born into a world buzzing with information and choices. They're the new kids on the spiritual block, tuning out the external cacophony to tap into a more profound, personal vibe. This generation isn't just about hashtags and high-speed internet; they're on a quest for authenticity and inner peace, mixing and matching meditation apps with ancient rituals in a vibrant, ever-evolving spiritual cocktail.

Take Arjun Shakya, a 22-year-old sports channel intern. For him, spirituality is a fluid journey, a mix of modern meditation practices and the mystical allure of ancient Tantric rituals. “It's about what hits home at the moment,” he says. “Spirituality for me is constantly evolving. I find solace in meditation apps, but I'm also drawn to Tantric rituals of ancient times. It's all about what resonates with me at the time.”

Sis Gugu, a healer and psychic from South Africa, observes that Gen Z is all about questioning norms and carving out a unique spiritual path. “Gen Z is much more likely to question everything rather than follow in blind faith. They are becoming much more open-minded to finding a version of spirituality that works for them and often that means stumbling onto YouTube to find healers like me. Everyone is looking for a healer to guide them, but spirituality is not group work, it's about individuality that comes from within and finding your own way,” says Gogo Nobelungu aka Sis Gugu.

The  2021 MTV Youth Study threw up some cool insights, showing a fresh wave of spiritual and religious curiosity among these young mavericks. It's like they're swapping their parental guidance for a more personal spiritual GPS, navigating life's choppy waters with a mix of ancient wisdom and modern mindfulness.

This isn't our grandparents’ spirituality, no ma’am! It's a vibrant, self-driven quest for deeper meaning, supercharged by the introspective vibes of the 2020 pandemic. Youngsters are finding their zen in meditation, yoga, or whatever gives them that inner glow.

Take Liam Noel, a 20-something graphic artist with a story that'll strike a chord with many. When the world went on pause, he turned to meditation, a screen-free sanctuary from the indoor blues.

“I started meditating during the pandemic,” he shares, “It was the only screen-free activity I could tolerate doing indoors, and I haven't stopped since then. It helps me cope.”

The millennial quest for authenticity

Millennials, the digital age pioneers, are swaying to a rhythm that harmonises the spiritual with the material, navigating a world where yoga mats are as common as smartphones. A 2022 YouGov poll of 1,000 respondents in the US found that nearly half of the respondents engage in meditation, Tai Chi, yoga or mindfulness practices. Meet Vikrant Sawant, a 34-year-old investment advisor who's as familiar with stock trends as he is with yogic breaths. "Life tossed us the internet, 9/11, and a financial meltdown," he shares. "Yoga is my anchor in the storm." It's all about crafting a personal brand of spirituality that vibes with their world view.

Spiritual crises

Gen Z is confronting spiritual crises characterised by a lack of deep connection in a hyper-digital world, anxiety over environmental degradation, and the mental strain from information overload. They struggle with finding purpose in a rapidly evolving society and grapple with the effects of social polarisation. Says Caitlin Marino, an internationally recognised virtual energy healer and teacher, “These spiritual crises sound scary and difficult to go through, but they’re actually propelling us towards closer connection with God, the source, the universe... whatever you’d like to call it. They can bring us to our knees, to a place where we don’t have any other move but to pray, meditate, or be in solitude and contemplate where we are in life. Then, hopefully, we emerge and awaken our lives in a new way, with more harmony, a sense of purpose, a sense of connection, and a different worldview or belief system that serves us.”

Among these crises is the 'dark night of the soul,' a term coined by St. John of the Cross, that refers to a period of spiritual desolation where one feels utterly bereft of divine presence. The 'dark night of the soul' is a concept that transcends the boundaries of traditional faith, a universal experience of spiritual desolation. For both zoomers and millennials, this period of seeming disconnection is, in truth, a connection to the collective suffering of humanity. Adds Marino, “When you emerge from a spiritual crisis, you will be different.”

As the rulebook of life gets a rewrite, these young souls aren't just going with the flow—they're the ones drafting the new chapters. They're not hanging around for someone else to tell them how to do spirituality. Instead, they're building their own sanctuaries, free from the one-size-fits-all approach. I, for one, am excited to see how they transform not just their lives but the spiritual landscape, one enlightened step at a time.