Conflict avoidance is often framed as a preference for peace. In practice, it frequently functions as a refusal to tolerate discomfort — both one’s own and that of others. One of its most damaging expressions in adult relationships is ghosting: the sudden withdrawal of contact, communication, or presence in response to tension, disagreement, or...
Pride and entitlement are rarely acknowledged as central barriers on the spiritual path, yet they quietly undermine both personal development and genuine transformation. Unlike overt egoism, these traits often present subtly: through defensiveness, resistance to feedback, assumptions of superiority, or an expectation that growth should occur...
One of the most confusing experiences on the spiritual path is the tension between stagnation and divine timing. Both can feel identical from the inside: nothing moves, nothing changes, and the external landscape appears stubbornly still. Yet the inner dynamics behind these states are profoundly different. One arises from avoidance, fear, or...
Victim identity and perceived powerlessness represent some of the most subtle yet deeply entrenched obstacles to spiritual growth. While both experiences often originate in very real histories of trauma, injustice, or chronic disempowerment, they can persist long after external conditions have changed. The challenge on the spiritual path is not to...
Spiritual development is often described in language of light, awakening, and transcendence. We are encouraged to envision ourselves rising above suffering, discovering clarity, and connecting with a higher purpose. Yet the deeper layers of growth are rarely straightforward, and they are almost never entirely comfortable. At the heart of this...
Ireland is a country that cherishes its image of warmth, resilience, and compassion. Yet beneath that surface lies a painful contradiction: the vulnerable within our own communities are too often treated as lepers—cast out to protect the collective self-image of moral decency.
Over the past decade and a half, Nigeria has witnessed a deeply troubling pattern of violence in which Christian communities have suffered large numbers of fatalities. For example, one comprehensive monitoring report found that between October 2019 and September 2023, out of a total of 55,910 people killed in nearly 10,000 deadly attacks in...
The archetype of the wounded maiden—a vulnerable figure who denies her own betrayal and unconsciously aligns with a predatory force—appears across mythology, literature, and psychology. This archetype reflects real psychological mechanisms such as betrayal trauma, identification with the aggressor, and shame-based attachment. By bridging archetypal...
The Great Famine (1845–1852) reshaped Irish society in ways that outlived the immediate demographic catastrophe. Beyond mass mortality and emigration, the famine taught behavioural lessons about vulnerability, authority and survival that became embedded in cultural practice. When the famine is read as predatory trauma—a crisis in which existing...
The human skull has served as a potent emblem in many cultures, conveying ideas far beyond the simple fact of bodily death. Historically, skulls have symbolised mortality, transformation, memory, and spiritual thresholds; more recently, crystal skulls—skulls carved from quartz or other hard stones—have become central in modern spiritual practices...
