I have come across two types of spiritual bypassing when it comes to dealing with suffering in this world.
One type claims that the world is so full of fear and suffering, that this is the true nature of this physical world, that there is nothing we can do about it and that it is not our job to change it. In this view, the only way to escape this suffering is by making sure that when we leave this physical world and body we will not return but instead ascend.
It says in ACIM: "The world is not left by death but by truth, and truth can be known by all those for whom the Kingdom was created, and for whom it awaits." The kingdom of God or the state of heaven is reachable in this world and is created for all of us as our birthright. This state is the state of infinite love, which is the truth of who we are. We cannot erase what we are but we can put up blocks to our true reality of love. So thinking that we are powerless and separate from the consciousness of the world and that we need to leave this world through death to transcend the suffering is really just another type of separation from source.
We are the only ones that can change the world. This will not come in the form of our individual selves changing the minds of every other person on the planet. It is much more intricate than that, and has more to do with energy than with physical interaction. God did not create this physical reality of seeming separation and suffering, our minds did and we can undo it. In ACIM the first step in this undoing is creating a happy dream. This means that the physical world, the dream, will still be our reality but the suffering will be gone. We all have our individual place in this salvation and it starts with seeing ourselves for who we are and having infinate compassion for others.
The second type of spiritual bypassing claims that this physical reality is not the ultimate reality anyway so we do not need to do anything about the suffering that seems to exist. Alternatively we just need to spread love and light and leave it at that. This view tries to sprinkle artificial love and joy over everything and refuses to look at the shadows. Of course most of us know that this does not work, since looking at the shadows and dealing with them is necessary in order to release them and get to the true love that lies beneath. It says in ACIM that "The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance."
Anyone who is practising Transcendental or Vedic Meditation has been taught that seemingly negative feelings will surface from time to time and that this is part of what the meditation is for, to release old stress and to transcend. To do that we need to accept these feelings arising and look at them. When we do, they are released. This can work on a micro level as well as on a macro level, individually as well as societally. The state of the world, the corruption, racism, sexism, violence, war, environmental destruction and the leaders that we are unhappy with represent suppressed shadows of the collective consciousness that need to be looked at, worked through and released.
Spirituality is not an excuse to bypass the state of the world. Quite the opposite. The people who can see most clearly have a responsibility to fix it. One miracle at a time, a miracle being a shift from fear to love.
