The Shit Doesn’t Change. You Do.

Most people assume that spiritual transformation is some kind of serene ascent into enlightenment—floating above the bullshit, radiating wisdom, and getting invited to the best silent retreats. But real transformation isn’t a straight line; it’s a gauntlet. It’s disorienting, uncomfortable, and often involves realizing that everything you thought you knew was a lie. It’s an evolution of awareness that shifts how you engage with the world, from nihilistic detachment to fierce guardianship of what truly matters.

I’ve mapped out five distinct levels of this transformation. You can’t skip steps. You might get stuck in one for a while (or forever), but if you keep pushing, you’ll find yourself seeing the world—and your role in it—very differently.

Level 1: This Shit Doesn’t Matter

At first, nothing matters. Not in a liberating way, but in a dull, gray, static kind of way. You feel detached, floating through life without texture or weight.

Everything feels like a game with rigged rules. Politics, religion, work, relationships—it’s all some performative illusion, and you’re not interested in playing along. You tell yourself you see through it. That you’re above it. But in truth, you’re just avoiding the risk of caring.

Apathy is protection. If nothing matters, nothing can hurt you.

Some people mistake this for enlightenment. It’s not. It’s a holding pattern, a waiting room. You can stay here indefinitely, watching life pass by like a movie you’re not a part of.

But at some point, something breaks through. A moment, a feeling, a person—something wakes you up. And when it does, you realize:

Some shit does matter.

Level 2: This Shit Does Matter

When you arrive here, it’s like stepping out of a dark room into bright sunlight. Suddenly, you see things you were blind to before—relationships, community, creativity, justice, purpose. You start paying attention.

You get angry about injustice, moved by acts of kindness, passionate about making a difference. You feel alive in a way you never have before.

At this stage, people often get deeply involved in causes, spirituality, or personal growth. They start seeking meaning everywhere. They become activists, artists, teachers, healers. They start businesses with soul. They fall in love with life in a way that’s almost overwhelming.

The danger here? Burning out. Getting lost in emotional reactions instead of strategic action. Caring deeply is essential, but without discernment, it can turn into self-righteousness or martyrdom. The key lesson here is that passion needs direction. Otherwise, you just become another screaming voice in the void.

The next shift happens when you realize that not all shit is created equal—and some shit is especially dangerous.

Level 3: The Same Ol’ Shit is Dangerous

At this level, you start seeing patterns. Cycles. The ways the world keeps repeating itself, reinforcing the same broken structures, the same tired thinking.

You notice how people cling to the familiar, even when it’s killing them.

You see how systems protect themselves, even when they no longer serve anyone.

You realize that real transformation isn’t just about good intentions. It requires breaking the loop.

This is where you start unlearning. Shedding old beliefs, old narratives, old habits. You begin questioning everything. Not just externally, but within yourself. You recognize how you’ve been complicit in the cycles you want to escape.

It’s uncomfortable. But necessary.

This is also the level where people can get trapped in rebellion. They become professional critics, always pointing out what’s wrong but never building something better.

The real shift happens when you stop focusing solely on what’s broken—and start creating something new.

Level 4: Different is Good

At this stage, you realize that the most powerful act isn’t just rejecting the old. It’s creating the new.

This is where originality lives. Innovation. Reinvention.

You stop obsessing over what’s wrong and start imagining what’s possible.

Instead of fighting the same old battles, you experiment. You take risks. You build. You lean into what’s different—not as a gimmick, but as a necessity.

At this level, you don’t just question tradition—you move beyond it. You stop looking for permission. You stop seeking validation. You realize that what’s true is often what’s least expected.

But here’s the catch: The world resists what it doesn’t understand.

And if something truly new is going to survive, it needs to be protected.

Level 5: Protecting Different is Essential

This is where the real artists, visionaries, and revolutionaries live.

By now, you know that the most fragile thing in the world is a new idea.

Before it becomes accepted, it will be ignored. Mocked. Attacked.

You understand that protecting creativity, protecting difference, isn’t about ego—it’s about survival.

You become a guardian. Of art, of thought, of new ways of being. You create spaces where the unconventional can thrive. You hold the line against those who want to dilute, co-opt, or destroy what doesn’t fit the mold.

This isn’t the sexy part of the journey. It’s not about being loud or making a splash. It’s about endurance. It’s about tending the fire, keeping it alive long enough for others to see it.

At this level, you’re not just an individual anymore. You’re part of something bigger. A lineage. A movement. A force.

And when you look back, you realize:

It was never about you. It was about making space for what comes next.

“The path isn’t a straight line; it’s a spiral. You continually come back to things you thought you understood and see deeper truths.”

— Barry H. Gillespie

Final Thoughts

This journey isn’t linear. You’ll move forward, slip back, cycle through different levels at different times. You might spend years in one phase, only to suddenly leap forward in an instant.

But once you start down this path, you can’t unknow it.

Each level peels away another layer of illusion. Each shift demands more of you.

If you’re an axiology nerd like me, you’ll notice that these phases follow a pattern: intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic thinking. The first two phases—nothing matters, then something does—are shifts between internal realization (intrinsic) and outward engagement (extrinsic). The third phase—recognizing patterns—is systemic awareness, seeing how it all fits together.

The final two phases? They form a loop of all three. To create something new, you need intrinsic wisdom (deep knowing), extrinsic action (making shit real), and systemic vision (understanding the larger forces at play). And to protect what’s different, you need to move fluidly between all three, over and over again.

The ultimate lesson? Transformation isn’t about escaping the world—it’s about engaging with it at deeper and deeper levels. It’s about going from indifference to passion, from destruction to creation, and from rebellion to stewardship.

And in the end, it’s about one simple truth:

The world doesn’t need more of the same. It needs what’s different.

And it needs people willing to protect it.