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The more and more blogs I read the more in tune my bullshit-o-meter becomes. In this post I want to show you a few way you can tell that you are reading a bullshit blog.

WARNING - This post contains harsh language. I know a lot of people who have been hurt by bullshit artists and as such I am very passionate about this issue. I will mostly deal with bullshit “Self Help” blogs.

1. The author claims to be enlightened
There is a very popular blog in the “self help” genre where the author has openly claimed to be a fully enlightened person. Let me tell you something, anytime someone says they are enlightened you should get warning bells.

In these modern times there are so many shady people trying to convince you that they have something special to offer. The truly enlightened person, however, would never claim to be anything special and would certainly never use it as a promotional tool. If you find a blog that is written by a “Guru” there is a good chance it is full of crap.

There is an old saying: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”. This is true of these blogs. They are usually written by people who have just begun the spiritual journey themselves and think they have a lot of the answers. Be wary. This type of blog is a dangerous blog to read because they pass on their misunderstandings to you. It is like the blind leading the blind - everyone gets lost.

2. The author tells you there is no work to be done
One of the classic catch phrases of cults and bullshit spiritual blogs the world over is that they tell you that there is no work to be done. You are fine. There is no point in being disciplined because there is nothing to be done. There is no point to your religion or your spiritual journey because you actually are 100% fine.

The problem I have with this attitude is that it is flagrantly incorrect. We are not fine. We are stressed, nervous, anxious, angry, antisocial and depressed messes. Question: if there is nothing to be done then why are we looking at these blogs in the first place? Why are we seeking help?

Happiness is work. Helping others is hard work. Self development takes discipline because you have to work with your mind and your mind is full of millions of bad habits. These bad habits will not go away because someone is telling you “its ok”. Accept the challenge.

I think the idea that “everything is fine” comes from a misunderstanding of some higher spiritual schools. In Buddhism the highest school is that of Dzogchen or Mahamudra. These schools speak phrases like “everything is primordially pure” and “there is nothing more to be done so relax“. This does not mean “do nothing”. These teachings are talking about our potential for enlightenment, not that we are enlightened now. And if you have to remind yourself to “do nothing” you have missed the point anyway.

It is important that we start at the beginning when we want to work with our mind. Don’t jump to the highest teachings because you will miss the point. It is like trying to do the long jump when you haven’t learned to walk yet. We all have to start at the beginning. Blogs that tell you otherwise are full of shit.

3. The author asks for money
When it comes to self help, spirituality and religion it is always a little disconcerting when the author asks you for donations. The issue of making money from religion is a very, very tricky one.

Let me make some distinctions. If a religious organization like The Salvation Army is asking for donations on its blog it is because they want to help someone. These people put blankets on homeless people, feed those who can’t afford to eat and provide medicine to the sick. It is an organization that the Christians out there can be really proud of.

However, if some popular blog full of Google adverts and affiliate links in its sidebar is asking you to “buy them a coffee” you can bet that their advice isn’t going to have your best interests at heart. It is profit driven.

Now here is where it gets tricky. You have to make money to survive. You have to have money to host a website and allow you the time to write the articles. I have Google ads on The Daily Mind. The reason it is tricky is because it isn’t always easy to ascertain who is in it for the cash and who is in it to help people? All I am saying is that there are people out there who use spirituality and vulnerable people to make money. A lot of money. Make sure you thoroughly examine each blog you read to try and get a feel for their motivation for writing.

4. You only get one side of the story
Some of the best blogs on the internet are about a cause or a side. The political blog Huffington Post is probably the biggest blog on the net and has some incredible articles and really well written updates. The problem with the HP is that it is a massive Republican hater and as such you do not get very balanced news. Any election news that you read is in favor of Obama and the Democrats. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. It just means you have to be careful you are not missing out on some important facts that you might get from a Newspaper that checks and double checks its sources.

Many blogs write a lot of “link bait”. This is the type of post that has an extreme idea and a funky title and is written for the sole purpose of getting people to link to it. And what is the best way to do that? Write something controversial. Controversial articles are rarely balanced and truthful. Occasionally, however, they have something truly groundbreaking to say so, again, use your intelligence to decide.

5. The blog gives little thought to the consequences of their actions
Many blogs are able to influence thousands of people. The biggest blogs on the net have hundreds of thousands of subscribers who read every word that they publish. And a lot of those blogs choose to talk about things that could have a really negative impact on their readers.

There is one blog out there (which I won’t link to because I don’t want to promote it) that is dedicated to hating women. It talks about how selfish and disgusting women are and even advocated violence towards women. The worst part - it has thousands of subscribers.

If you find a blog that is making you more angry, opinionated or greedy then it is a good idea to leave it alone.

Conclusion
The majority of blogs are good. Most of them are great ways to learn new things and meet new people. However, there are a few bad ones. Make sure you examine every blog you read with the methods above to see whether you are reading bullshit.

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