Saturday, September 06, 2003
[R]evolution
Is it just me, or is it time for revolution?
We live in a world where parastic or death consciousness has just about taken hold of ever aspect of our lives. I tend to get too impersonal in describing these things, so let me site the instances in my personal life where I've seen and felt the rot of death consciousness:
MEDIA. When I go to public places, I can feel the influence of the media all around me - tangibly, like a puke green pea soup that thickens with every corporate logo, every propaganda-induced belief my fellow humans utter, every intrusion of the conscious effort to manipulate and control the behavior of mass populations. I work at a local bookstore that offers independent perspectives, and I've contributed to local community radio and independent news, but even with the growing discontent in our society, the consciousness of mass control saturates the air, slowly simmering us all to death.
ECONOMICS. Capitalism really is an economic system rooted in parasitic death consciousness. It's based on an Oral notion of scarcity [scarce resources, giving only to receive] and a Psychopathic notion of conflict and control [competition for survival, very strict and individual control of resources]. I can feel it like I feel the influence of media - the fear of scarcity and betrayal hanging in the air like a cloud of dollar-green teargas. And when my own economic situation fluctuates, I feel the mark of this economy in my own heart and gut - the rush when my wallet is full, the anxiety when the bank account is empty. Even as we try to envision another way, another world, the very system that we oppose haunts us from within.
FOOD. I want to have a community of fellow live/raw foodists to share in my life-affirming choices. No offense to the 'cookies' [cooked food eaters], but I know in my mind and in my heart that cooked and processed foods are poison. They contain carcinogens, mutagens, other toxins, and no enzymes. If people still want to eat them, that's fine - it's like the freedom to choose consumption of [other] recreational drugs. But I want to have some place in my life [other than the Internent] that I can go to and say "Here, I am among fellow live and raw foodists."
INFRASTRUCTURE. The very structure of our society is based on principles of parasitism and death. Every brick, every stretch of blacktop, is like the stroke of an unseen artist's brush - an artist whose mind and heart is consumed and twisted by their own teror. The paintbrush of technology and human ingenuity, which could be used to paint such wondrous living landscapes, is instead turned to the service of our society's darkest fears. The very designs of our cities promote overconsumption, pollution, and illness, while discouraging ecological thought, bioregionalism, permaculture, health, community, and life itself. Oh, what I wouldn't give to live in a permacultural forest garden community...
Okay - 'nuff said on all that.
The bad news is that all of the above sometimes makes me feel like a lone Jedi without light saber or Rebels at my side to help me face down the Empire. How can there be a revolution when most people aren't even aware that they've fallen prey to Darth Vader's mind tricks, and I can feel the Dark Side lurking in my own shadow? How can we create communities and societies of life and love when the psychological, social, economic, technological, infrastructural, and political landscape all serve to prevent even the thought that another world is possible?
The good news is that all of the above personal experiences make me feel like I've had such a deep and direct experience of this system that I understand and experience it from within. This empathy will allow me to aid in the revolutionary process of deep society-wide healing. Let me put it another way: true nonviolence works to resolve conflict not by defeating or harming violent people, but by creating a resolution that lets everyone be the "winner" in some real and meaningful way. Feeling and experiencing what's going on at the roots of this society empowers me to play a role in laying our society's fears and demons to rest, thus fostering the possibility of a peaceful, just, and life-affirming world. As long as I keep it personal, real, and humble rather than trying to fix the whole thing myself with some grand philosophy, I may actually be able to do some good in the world.
So, what started out as a disheartened blog entry is leaving me feeling more empowered. It's one hell of a mess - one blanking hell of a mess. But the deeper I sink into it, the deeper my power to support the healing journey. On that note, I'm going to go eat some good food, enjoy a good community event, and find my own ways to give thanks for this wonderful life of mine.
This is where our revolution begins - not with a bloodbath, but with the joy of life and the love of our community. We're turning the tables on the system of death every time that we feel the power and pain of the system itself and choose to act in a way that holds onto our own love of life and community. Our joy, our health, our empowerment as individuals and as communities, is a victory so heartwarming that even the bastions of parasitic death consciousness will be moved to join us in the celebration.
On that note, too much computer time! I'm going to go get some fresh air and pursue the sounds of music and laughter that are drifting my way from just over the next hill...
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We live in a world where parastic or death consciousness has just about taken hold of ever aspect of our lives. I tend to get too impersonal in describing these things, so let me site the instances in my personal life where I've seen and felt the rot of death consciousness:
MEDIA. When I go to public places, I can feel the influence of the media all around me - tangibly, like a puke green pea soup that thickens with every corporate logo, every propaganda-induced belief my fellow humans utter, every intrusion of the conscious effort to manipulate and control the behavior of mass populations. I work at a local bookstore that offers independent perspectives, and I've contributed to local community radio and independent news, but even with the growing discontent in our society, the consciousness of mass control saturates the air, slowly simmering us all to death.
ECONOMICS. Capitalism really is an economic system rooted in parasitic death consciousness. It's based on an Oral notion of scarcity [scarce resources, giving only to receive] and a Psychopathic notion of conflict and control [competition for survival, very strict and individual control of resources]. I can feel it like I feel the influence of media - the fear of scarcity and betrayal hanging in the air like a cloud of dollar-green teargas. And when my own economic situation fluctuates, I feel the mark of this economy in my own heart and gut - the rush when my wallet is full, the anxiety when the bank account is empty. Even as we try to envision another way, another world, the very system that we oppose haunts us from within.
FOOD. I want to have a community of fellow live/raw foodists to share in my life-affirming choices. No offense to the 'cookies' [cooked food eaters], but I know in my mind and in my heart that cooked and processed foods are poison. They contain carcinogens, mutagens, other toxins, and no enzymes. If people still want to eat them, that's fine - it's like the freedom to choose consumption of [other] recreational drugs. But I want to have some place in my life [other than the Internent] that I can go to and say "Here, I am among fellow live and raw foodists."
INFRASTRUCTURE. The very structure of our society is based on principles of parasitism and death. Every brick, every stretch of blacktop, is like the stroke of an unseen artist's brush - an artist whose mind and heart is consumed and twisted by their own teror. The paintbrush of technology and human ingenuity, which could be used to paint such wondrous living landscapes, is instead turned to the service of our society's darkest fears. The very designs of our cities promote overconsumption, pollution, and illness, while discouraging ecological thought, bioregionalism, permaculture, health, community, and life itself. Oh, what I wouldn't give to live in a permacultural forest garden community...
Okay - 'nuff said on all that.
The bad news is that all of the above sometimes makes me feel like a lone Jedi without light saber or Rebels at my side to help me face down the Empire. How can there be a revolution when most people aren't even aware that they've fallen prey to Darth Vader's mind tricks, and I can feel the Dark Side lurking in my own shadow? How can we create communities and societies of life and love when the psychological, social, economic, technological, infrastructural, and political landscape all serve to prevent even the thought that another world is possible?
The good news is that all of the above personal experiences make me feel like I've had such a deep and direct experience of this system that I understand and experience it from within. This empathy will allow me to aid in the revolutionary process of deep society-wide healing. Let me put it another way: true nonviolence works to resolve conflict not by defeating or harming violent people, but by creating a resolution that lets everyone be the "winner" in some real and meaningful way. Feeling and experiencing what's going on at the roots of this society empowers me to play a role in laying our society's fears and demons to rest, thus fostering the possibility of a peaceful, just, and life-affirming world. As long as I keep it personal, real, and humble rather than trying to fix the whole thing myself with some grand philosophy, I may actually be able to do some good in the world.
So, what started out as a disheartened blog entry is leaving me feeling more empowered. It's one hell of a mess - one blanking hell of a mess. But the deeper I sink into it, the deeper my power to support the healing journey. On that note, I'm going to go eat some good food, enjoy a good community event, and find my own ways to give thanks for this wonderful life of mine.
This is where our revolution begins - not with a bloodbath, but with the joy of life and the love of our community. We're turning the tables on the system of death every time that we feel the power and pain of the system itself and choose to act in a way that holds onto our own love of life and community. Our joy, our health, our empowerment as individuals and as communities, is a victory so heartwarming that even the bastions of parasitic death consciousness will be moved to join us in the celebration.
On that note, too much computer time! I'm going to go get some fresh air and pursue the sounds of music and laughter that are drifting my way from just over the next hill...
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