Is spirituality increasing? I asked google...

I

india7

New
#1
#1
There's a lot of talk about spirituality and consciousness/enlightenment increasing worldwide. I wondered if this was supported by google statistics.
Here are some searches I did, interestingly searches for the term "spiritual" and "spirituality" have decreased over the past few years:
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Spirituality

But on the other hand "spiritual enlightenment" has increased considerably:
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Spiritual awakening

I'm not sure we can take the idea seriously that there is global awakening until more terms like this are used more often.
 
Hurmanetar

Hurmanetar

New
#2
#2
"Jesus" has also risen slightly... but it seems like there was a lot more variation on all terms in the mid 2000s... maybe they didn't have good data back then?

The topic of "spiritual but not religious" generally seems to be up.
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=/m/0cmf0t3&cmpt=q&tz=Etc/GMT+6

The yearly patterns around the word "enlightenment" are pretty interesting... No one is concerned with it on summer vacation, but by Septemeber/October, everyone must be in dire need of some soul-refreshing information... Or maybe these are the times when students study the period of world history called the "enlightenment"?
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=enlightenment&cmpt=q&tz=Etc/GMT+6

"SHTF" is holding steady... and "WW3" is on the rise...
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=shtf&cmpt=q&tz=Etc/GMT+6
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=ww3&cmpt=q&tz=Etc/GMT+6
 
S

Saiko

Member
#3
#3
india7 said:
I'm not sure we can take the idea seriously that there is global awakening until more terms like this are used more often.
Click to expand...
:eek: Global "awakening" has little to with terms like "spirituality" or how often people search for your fave terms. .

Beyond that, IMO people who have passed a basic point in their expansion would be unlikely to be searching on Google with such terms.

I'll also add that it's both perplexing and humorous that some people seem to have the idea that "awakening" means people thinking/acting in ways similar to them.
 
Reece

Reece

Member
#7
#7
erickh said:
Saiko, and everyone else, I'd be interested in knowing how you understand "awakening". My opinion would be simply that it is a shift in identity from the little me down here to the big me (if that makes any sense:))
Click to expand...
I agree. I'm a bit peeved when the phrase is thrown around for other purposes: political and/or conspiratorial . . . or otherwise (even if I agree with what they say on a lower level). I was going to start a thread on this, actually, centered around a book I bought titled "Waking Up: Over 30 Perspectives . . . " but now it appears the audio book, which is what I have, is not available.

xhttp://www.soundstrue.com/store/wakingup

I assure most here that the first chapter by Adyashanti makes it well worth the purchase. I found it quite incredible and moving.
 
Reece

Reece

Member
#8
#8
india7 said:
There's a lot of talk about spirituality and consciousness/enlightenment increasing worldwide. I wondered if this was supported by google statistics.
Here are some searches I did, interestingly searches for the term "spiritual" and "spirituality" have decreased over the past few years:
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Spirituality

But on the other hand "spiritual enlightenment" has increased considerably:
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Spiritual awakening

I'm not sure we can take the idea seriously that there is global awakening until more terms like this are used more often.
Click to expand...
My gut instinct on "spirituality," though I am more than sympathetic to what's implied and desired, is nothing more than what happens when a society becomes overly comfortable and affluent. In other words, I actually believe spirituality - no quotes - is born more of hard and difficult times, when food and normal resources are lacking, when fears are forced to be faced. I don't want this, exactly, by the way. But I'm pretty confident that as long as (Western) society is in no danger physically, direct or food/water supply, then the term takes on a whole new (diluted) meaning that probably doesn't mean what it should. In other words, I think word phrasing on google is almost entirely useless in determining such a thing.

Here's how we might determine spirituality:

What would be our reaction if the grocery store and water company shut down tomorrow? . . . and we didn't know when they'd resume business? This would be a marker of spirituality . . . not how many times Western society read articles on "spirituality."

With these things in mind, I would be more inclined to wager that society as a whole has placed too much emphasis on the physical body and life as we know it (even through (or especially through) well meaning progressive ethics), but that "spirituality" has declined: we're less likely to be able to relinquish the body or comforts than several hundred years ago . . . I believe people have equated "spiritual" progress with greater material abundance and physical earthly equality and that that's probably more or less an error. For all we know (or I would imagine), greater physical earthly inequality might very well produce greater spiritual strength.
 
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