Dichotomy is the nature of all things. Two sides to every coin.

There are cool people and then there are hipsters.

There are religious people and then there are spirituals.

There are people silently working on their spiritual journey and then, there are Spiritual Hipsters.

Let me begin by painting a carnal picture of the spiritual hipster.

Spiritual Hipsters are the ones walking on their arduous path of self discovery with a loudspeaker, a boombox and confetti guns.

They blow the trumpets of their (inner) progress often, because they believe in being the change they need in the world.

They believe in contagiousness. They believe in unity in diversity, in responding to the needs of this Age of Aquarius without further adieu.

They are self designated managers of their self growth. Cool kids, also, self aware. Like clouds on a rainy day, acceptance comes easy to them. They flow with the world, meeting it’s worldly requirements, achieving their own worldly goals and always listening to that inner voice.

Their journey is like everybody else’s – it’s to be walked alone, but what they do different is leave behind cute little cues and stories along the way, mostly for many others like them.

These are the ones exposing their vulnerabilities and strengths on social media. You will find them striking yoga asanas on Instagram with a personal writeup, bringing back dreamcatchers and curating spectacular nature grids. (These are examples just to get started! The guys running this website fall in the same category)

They are the new age hippies with money.

Dichotomy? They embrace the spiritual and material. Afterall, material is a manifestation of the spiritual. Dogmatic? No sir. I would like to say that the spiritual hipsters have a very organic and tantric approach to their journey, instead of being too unyielding and stubborn.

Why I want to specifically acknowledge the spiritual hipster is because I personally believe that sharing is a very powerful thing.

When you share, your heart lightens and opens up, new space for scope is created. The one you share your story with gets a taste of your energy, feels clarity through your words and finds keys to the locks within themselves. Because sharing (verbally, visually or silently) is so powerful, I want to acknowledge the spiritual hipster for inspiring me. They don’t mindlessly follow some dogma because they are asked to, their search for god/truth is full of life and experience. These are people like you and I, who have found true happiness in varied ventures. Had they not shared this, the world would have been deprived of a good amount of broad mindedness. Fancy yoga pants are not shallow. They are an expression of celebrating their practice, like decorating an altar with flowers and candles.

They hold great value for feelings and are heart centered in their life approach.

Collective consciousness is important today because it is kalyug; simply put, the masses are miserable, don’t know how to get over it and hence, are spreading misery. To combat that, the drums of self love need to be loud and everywhere! And you learn to drum one day at a time. More and more people are now opting for a better lifestyle and engaging in holistic health measures. This is where the spiritual hipsters deserve a medal. They make everything look interesting and welcoming, even easy, definitely cool and essentially, celebratory.

The first time round is always difficult to step into a territory of self-love, meditation, understanding the subtle realm… it’s all too new and dubious and the mind revolts. I would like to point out the importance of the influence a spiritual hipster leaves on the minds of people, simply inspiring them to get on and get started. Started yoga? Follow one yogi online. Practice compassion? Listen to Thich Nhat Hanh. Need to be empowered? Louise L Hay is your woman. Diet? Dreamcatchers? Dance it out? There’s someone for everyone, pick the helping hand you wish to hold. DIY never meant you are alone in this, and knowing you can bank on someone’s presence and help whenever needed, is very relieving for the human heart.