Cultural Appropriation or Appreciation? Sitting with the Hard Questions

One day, as I was smudging my space with sage, I paused. A question popped up: what would my ancestors have used for smudging? It turned out that in Slavic traditions, it would have likely been mugwort or juniper.

The big, looming question of cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation in my spiritual practice and personal development has been following me for a while now.

I find myself resistant to attend most events I've gotten used to enjoying in the last 10 years or so. I just cannot find peace around the issue of cultural appropriation and the colonial mindset. With my growing awareness of these issues, I find it impossible to "just relax into it and enjoy." Cacao ceremonies led by white Europeans where nothing is said about the roots of the practice, or where the cacao comes from and who made it possible for us to use. White European singers belting out Sanskrit mantras while mostly white and rich audiences sway in meditative unison. White European DJs mixing ethno-house bangers (created by other white artists) in ecstatic dance parties. I'm a white European who has actively participated and co-created in all of these - with joy. But these days I just can't stop thinking about one thing: we, as white Europeans, have access to these cultural elements at large/mostly because people in our own lineage colonized lands and violated the people who created them, and we today are still actively benefiting from the ongoing oppression and white privilege. 

"But I am just expressing my appreciation! I feel such a deep connection to this culture! Why can't I use some of the elements for my personal practice and to connect with my community?" I've said these things in the past.

The roots of most of the spiritual practices we connect to today lie in Indigenous traditions. That’s because many of us are on a journey of reclaiming our connection to the body, to the Earth, to spirit, and to community - everything that Western modernity has disconnected us from. Where else would we look if not to our ancestors, to those who lived in harmony with the land, practiced embodied spirituality, and honored the Earth as home? The longing for all of this comes from the same source: we humans are searching for healing.

And yet... It seems more important than ever not to perpetuate the colonial mindset in our search for healing. What do I mean by a colonial mindset? Taking without asking. Using without giving back. Enjoying while exoticizing. Feeling superior and entitled to access, often unaware of the historical and ongoing harm that makes such access possible.

This is a vast and deeply uncomfortable topic. Even as I write this on a laptop built from materials, possibly mined by exploited children workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I feel overwhelmed. But building the capacity to be with that overwhelm and to not look away is what we must do. And so much more. The white fragility and white guilt cannot keep us away from seeing, acknowledging, speaking up. 

Is purging my practices of all elements that do not have roots in European traditions the answer? My Buddha statues are not mere decorations; they remind me of my own Buddha nature - something I learned through years of Buddhist practice in my early twenties. But even that is not un-complicated. After all, I was taught by a Danish teacher who, having had received permission from his Tibetan teachers to bring these teachings to Europe, has put his own white colonial spin on it. 

Is learning about the culture enough? Is paying respect enough? Is acknowledging the colonial past enough? No. But maybe it’s a place to start.

Perhaps the key is not in abandoning practices that have meaning to us but in engaging with them differently. To ask: Who are we supporting when we partake in these traditions? Are we honoring the cultures they come from in ways those communities recognize and appreciate? Are we also making space to reconnect with our own ancestral wisdom, rather than only seeking meaning from cultures outside of our own?

I don’t have all the answers. I have many blind spots. But I do know this: awareness is the beginning. Intention matters. And we can do better - not just in seeking personal healing but in how we hold and honor the line between appreciation and appropriation.

Inspired by this post on IG.