This is the second post in thee series: Inner + Anarchy = New Wold. As I mention in Part 1 of this series, Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but a sword. This is not Jesus advocating violence, but Jesus indicating that the truth he came to bear witness to and demonstrate would invalidate, delegitimize and supplant the prevailing beliefs, mindsets, narratives and ideologies, and the systems and structures operating upon them. Perhaps you have are unfamiliar with the Jesus I am describing. He is not the Jesus of Christianity. I wrote Inner Anarchy to lift up this Jesus and his liberating and universal message, which has been twisted, corrupted and misrepresented by the church.
Speaking of Inner Anarchy, I have observed a couple things since the release of the book. There are some people who are especially drawn to the “inner” part of the equation. This focus is on one doing their inner spiritual work. This involves turning away from the false beliefs, mindsets, narratives and ideologies that have been programmed into our heads and ruling us from within. We pick up these false beliefs and mindsets through our families, education, religion, mass-media, popular culture, government, corporatism and other societal systems, structures and institutions. They control how we see ourselves, others, God, the world and life itself. The other part of the inner work is turning toward the power and authority within ourselves and trusting what is real in our deep feelings and what we know to be true in our gut. The highest common denominator inside all of us is the awareness that love, freedom, harmony, wholeness and well-being is what’s true. In a nutshell, the inner work is switching sources – turning away from what has been programmed into our heads, and turning to what we know and feel is real and true in out gut.
Then there are people who are more drawn to the “anarchy” part, which is the tangible expression, demonstration and manifestation of a new world and society. This focus is upon the oppressive systems and structures in our world that are standing in the way of humankind’s liberation. Although the word “anarchy” can be a polarizing word (mainly because of people’s misconceptions), the underlying principles and sentiments are a solid practical framework for considering what it would mean to lift up a new reality out of ourselves and into the world. More specifically, some of those principles and mindsets include: (1) The absence of hierarchical power structures and systems; (2) voluntary association; (3) mutual aid; (4) self-organization. Virtually all anarchists view government and capitalism as the antithesis of these values.
So, these are the two sides of “inner anarchy.” A simplification of this might say that the “inner” folks are contemplatives. and the “anarchy” people are activists. What’s critical in my view is that the two be wed together. The “inner” (contemplative) without the “anarchy” (activist) won’t work, and the “anarchy” (activist) without the “inner” (contemplative) won’t work. Not only is it a challenge to unify these two sides on an individual level, it can be a challenge at times for these two groups of people to work together. The “inner” folks and the “anarchy” folks tend to have a different kind of mindset and energy, which sometimes leads to a misunderstanding and conflict between them. In a perfect world, the inner folks would shut up and listen/learn from the anarchy folks, and the anarchy folks would shut up and listen/learn from the anarchy we folks. In my view, we need each other.
How do you do the inner work? How do you do anarchy? That’s the subject of my next post.
