Beyond the Spiritual Bypass: Liberating Love

The eminent psychotherapist John Welwood coined the phrase “spiritual bypassing” to describe a common behavior he witnessed in Buddhist communities, a kind of “premature transcendence: trying to rise above the raw and messy side of our humanness before we have fully faced and made peace with it.” We’ll unpack the term and explore some ways that compassionate presence in the face of uncomfortable feelings and situations can help us avoid spiritual bypassing in ourselves and in community.

Note: We use YouTube to live-stream our Sunday worship services on our church website.  You can also visit the Westminster YouTube Channel for an archive of previous Sunday services.

Sunday worship services are simulcast on the large LCD screen in Smith Hall on Sunday morning. If you have trouble finding a seat in the Sanctuary, or would just be more comfortable being in a more open space, you’re welcome to watch the service in Smith Hall.