In 2012, a woman locked me in her house overnight. She claimed to be a "Starchild" with an alien implant who had been sent to get me on board the mothership. I'm unsure how closely this correlates with the Starseed movement, but the experience was immensely traumatic and brought shudders for several years whenever the conversation came up. As time passed, I gradually met other people who identified as Starseeds, and my general fear wavered, replaced by the much simpler idea that the entire New Age community were intensely annoying and borderline insane.
I can apply my aversions to almost every spiritual organisation. More often than not, these people come from a place of unadulterated ego, whilst pretending they don't. There is an overarching claim of exalted superiority, which, in itself, attracts followers who say things like, "I always knew I was different and special." From this position of self-authorised supremacy, they truly believe that (a) the world is in a particular spot of metaphysical crisis at the current moment, and (b) they are the only ones who see it, understand it, and can rebalance it. I hate to burst the bubble, but EVERY doctrinal text, dating from before the Ancient Egyptians until now, declared that they were living during an era of unprecedented cosmic shift. It's astonishing that so many of these gurus are yet to realise that this conflict is evolutionary and will only appear to increase over time, as it always has. Can you remember when the global news last felt as if it was calming down in the slightest? Has that ever happened in your life?
My resistance was blatantly unhelpful, so I took a deep breath and set aside my preconceptions, surprised to find that this book slooowly thawed me out, thanks entirely to author Rebecca Campbell. Everything about her proposals was gentle, with simple ideas delivered across short chapters, while her personality shone through each word. By opening her first chapter with an invitation to absorb what resonates and discard the rest, she'd already appealed to a major spiritual ethos of mine: mass education, zero commitment. And via this shared viewpoint, tiny nuggets of wisdom presented themselves (in between a ton of silliness). I loved the push for creativity and the focusing of the ancient soul when conversing with others. I shifted nervously when specific observations applied to my life, such as my restless travelling, and, even more uncomfortably, how many of the definitions of an empath described me precisely (although I refuse to identify as an empath). Finally, and most revelatory, her highlighting of how some of us spend our lives in a transcendent state without doing the groundwork in the material world was a wake-up call. My focus is solely on breaking out from reality, which I sheepishly realise might not be sufficient to appreciate the full experience of life.
Nevertheless, she did very little to help me swallow this movement overall, as it still suffers from the same downfalls as most of these types of texts. Whenever she attempted to sound profound or poetic, it felt forced and fell flat. Furthermore, so much of her analysis comes from compartmentalising components of personality or skillsets or energetic connections and repackaging them as something celestial, relabelling them with new names. Why are we as humans so desperate to box the mysteries of the universe? I keep asking myself who this person thinks she is, just like I wonder who every guru, neoshaman, or even priest thinks they are. I can't accept any of it. They stand entirely as their own references, and because they agree with themselves, that is enough for them.
That said, the problem might be me. I'm either way ahead or way behind. Starseeds see themselves on an elite level that only certain individuals have awakened into. In contrast, I view humanity as a collaborative system in which every perspective plays a balancing role. To place yourself as superior or more awake is to function from a complete lack of non-dualistic unification. Similarly, so many self-certified truth-seekers claim that awakening is an uncomfortable experience, but any time I connect with the Greater Thing, I feel ease or excitement. My only discomfort comes when I am resisting or trapped in an emotional loop within the distraction. Because of this, I regard my scepticism as both my greatest strength and weakness. It's as if I've been dropped into a spiritual ocean where I'm yet to find anyone who has accurately described my journey, and my mission remains uncharted. Which is fine.
All critiques aside, this book did pass my most crucial test. I acknowledge people need guidance, and I support people believing whatever they want to believe. My understandings bear no weight on another's validity. However, what's important to me is the consequences of those beliefs. So, when analysing these Starseed shenanigans, I approve of their pleasant vibes and harmless intentions, which could ultimately be beneficial to follow. For that reason, I am behind anyone who floats in this direction, and, if nothing else, I enjoyed studying the subculture.
THIS BOOK IS PART OF THE GREATER LAMB PROPHECY STUDIES! Book 1: The Lamb Prophecy is out now! Book 2 is written and coming soon!