The Trap of Online Gurus
Stop lying to yourself! You have written millions of affirmations; you have filled hundreds of journals and notebooks; you have worn out countless pens. You have followed different ”manifestation gurus” on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube—people who tell you that if you vibe high enough and think only positively, your life will magically transform!
But it hasn’t, has it?
These so-called “social media gurus” are simply influencers who want only your money and algorithm clicks. I call them the “online spiritual freaks.” Yes, they are, believe me. They tell you that all you need to do is repeat affirmations, manifest, sing mantras, or think positively, and your life will turn into a fairy tale. They tell you that you will magically transform yourself from an ordinary frog into a beautiful prince or princess. Right?
But as far as I can see, there are not that many princesses around me… if you know what I mean.
The Lesson of the Unripe Quince
In reality, things are very different from what these online affirmation scammers promise you! You probably feel frustrated, anxious, and sad because your world is not changing. In the end, you start feeling like a failure, rather than a winner.
Do not judge yourself. I know how you feel—I felt the same way as you. I had to eat the unripe quince of my life to learn the true lessons of living, so that now I can recognize what truly matters and what does not—especially when I look at the online gurus. I listened to all kinds of influencers on social media who explained how to manifest our desires, how to do affirmations, and vision boards. They offered affirmations for love, for money, even manifestations for a wealthy partner and a beautiful house… Just every possible form of fast-food spirituality. These online gurus created one fake, yet profitable, online world that has nothing to do with reality.
I wrote thousands of affirmations; I wore out hundreds of notebooks and pens. I even recorded those affirmations as audio tracks so I could listen to them while traveling on the metro or walking around the city. Every single day for months, my life was nothing but affirmations and sad attempts to pretend I was happy—to vibrate at higher frequencies so I could change my present.
But obviously, it didn’t work. Instead, I started to resemble a zombified monkey, repeating the same pleasant words over and over again, hoping they would drill themselves into my subconscious.
The Reality of Spiritual Bypassing
The truth that nobody on your social media feeds wants to admit is that affirmations do not work—at least, not the way they are being sold to you! What you are seeing is not healing. This is fake TikTok and YouTube spirituality; this is spiritual bypassing—a psychological Band-Aid that is actually preventing you from doing your real healing work.
Affirmations do not heal wounds. They do not replace awareness. They do not replace spiritual and intellectual growth. They are not magic. They strengthen and illuminate what already exists within you. If there is pain and conflict inside you, they will illuminate it through feeling—through resistance, aggression, and dissatisfaction. Affirmations do not work when they are used as a cover for unhealed wounds. When there is pain, fear, shame, or unresolved trauma, affirmations do not fall onto fertile soil. They collide with inner resistance on a subconscious level.
Why Roots and Traditions Matter
There was even a period when I listened to and sang Indian mantras every day—Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha—without realizing that, even though I was studying Vedic astrology, Indian culture is not part of my real roots. And no matter how many mantras you chant, if a practice isn’t aligned with your heritage, your ancestral roots, or your culture, the results may never truly resonate.
Roots are everything. Your native culture and traditions are the fastest way to connect with the so-called Universe and manifest your goals and dreams. If you belong to Western civilization and have nothing to do with Indian culture, then no matter how many mantras you listen to, the effect and the results will be minimal.
The Soul is a Field: The Sacred Wheat
The human soul is like a field, and affirmations are like wheat seeds. In Bulgarian folk tradition, wheat is not just an agricultural crop—it is life, it is the soul itself. Wheat, and the bread made from it, are sacred to us Bulgarians. In our traditions, even throwing away bread is considered a sin. Without wheat there is no home, no lineage, no future… no sacredness.
Affirmations are like wheat—they are sacred, and from them a new life and a new future can truly be built. But if we take wheat and throw it onto a rock, or onto dry, cracked ground, it will dry out and never sprout. The problem is not the wheat—the affirmations—but the soil. First, before sowing, we must plow the field, remove the stones and the weeds, and only then sow the wheat, only then plant the affirmations.
How to Actually Prepare the Soil
Preparing your soul is an individual process. It means healing the wounds in your soul and removing the things in your life that oppress you. If you sit and manifest without making the necessary inner and outer changes, the wheat will not sprout.
- Plowing: We must plow the field—to dig into the dark, cracked places of our soul. You stop running from the pain and face it head-on. You have been told you must always be positive, but this is toxic positivity. Sometimes you need to be angry—furious even. To scream, so that you can release all the pain from your soul. Plowing must come first.
- Removing Stones: This means directly naming everything that trips you up in life: people, old painful memories, and stories.
- Weeding: Letting go of false beliefs and illusions. Removing rotten roots so that we can plant new seeds.
- Watering: Pain is not repaired like a broken vase; it is healed through watering the field. That means spiritual awareness, understanding, and respect for yourself. Setting healthy boundaries. Not striving to destroy the darkness, but gradually illuminating it through love.
- Sowing the Wheat: Only when the field is ready do we begin to sow the wheat—the affirmations. They will sprout with time… slowly, gradually.
Be Your Own Shepherd
Preparing our inner field is not a universal spiritual ritual. For some, it involves therapy or medical help; for others, it involves traveling or breaking out of comfort zones. There is no “universal” TikTok magical secret.
Do not believe every influencer you see. Truly spiritual people have passed through the fire of pain and confusion—that is where wisdom comes from. Always keep a grain of doubt. Analyze what you hear. Test it.
Each of us is our own spiritual guide. We have a direct connection to the Great Force above. We are not sheep in need of a TikTok, YouTube shepherd with a staff. We are entire Universes.
It is time to stop manifesting and start plowing. The harvest is waiting.
