The landscape has changed
The internet has transformed how people encounter spiritual and metaphysical content. What was once passed through personal relationships and local communities now arrives through algorithms, social media feeds, and anonymous channels. This shift has created new opportunities — but also new risks.
Spiritual seekers are often in vulnerable states. They may be processing grief, navigating life transitions, or searching for meaning during difficult periods. This vulnerability makes them attractive targets for those who exploit spiritual language for financial gain, social control, or ideological manipulation.
“The same openness that allows genuine insight also creates exposure to manipulation. Discernment is not scepticism — it is a form of self-care.”
Why traditional fact-checking falls short
Conventional fact-checking works well for empirical claims: dates, statistics, scientific consensus. But spiritual and metaphysical content operates in a different register. Claims about energy, consciousness, past lives, or spiritual realms cannot be verified through standard methods.
This does not mean such claims are inherently false — it means the usual safeguards do not apply. When someone claims to channel an ancient being, no fact-checker can confirm or deny the source. What can be analysed are the patterns of communication surrounding such claims:
- Does the message create artificial urgency?
- Does it discourage independent verification?
- Does it establish authority through unfalsifiable sources?
- Does it use emotional manipulation to bypass critical thinking?
These patterns are observable, measurable, and consistent across traditions and languages.
What spiritual intelligence means
Spiritual intelligence, as we use the term, is the capacity to engage with metaphysical and spiritual content whilst maintaining healthy discernment. It is not about debunking beliefs or dismissing experiences. It is about recognising when the delivery mechanism of spiritual content uses techniques associated with manipulation, coercion, or exploitation.
Think of it as a parallel to media literacy. Media literacy does not tell you what to believe — it helps you understand how information is framed, who benefits, and what techniques are being used to influence you. Spiritual intelligence applies the same principle to metaphysical spaces.
An open-source approach
We believe these tools should be transparent, auditable, and free. If a tool claims to detect manipulation, you should be able to inspect exactly how it works. Every marker, every scoring weight, every pattern match is open for review.
The tool runs locally on your machine. It never sends your text to external servers. It never collects or analyses third-party content. Your spiritual exploration is your own business — we just want to make sure the tools for self-protection are available to everyone.
Read on to learn about threat modelling in spiritual contexts.