
I was waiting for someone to present this type of article which marries the polical with the spiritual. Those of us who are aware and awake certainly realise that ALL is spiritual in each of our own individual worlds. I don’t know how far down the rabbut hole you want to go into the idea of individual reality, but certainly there is a lot of epic moments playing out right now for our mass reality!
So…please read this article, you already understand how our feelings drive EVERYTHING spiritually, and…
InJoy!
ByΒ Ethan Indigo Smith
Contributing writer for Wake Up World
βJust because you do not take an interest in politics doesnβt mean politics wonβt take an interest in you.β ~ Pericles
The Political Bottom Line
Everything is political, but firstlyΒ itβsΒ biological. This is the concept behind my recent article on biological oligarchical collectivism. Itβs simply a swift way of saying that, whether realized or not, our lives are influenced by politics, local and international, past and present β but no matter how important this is to understand, it is even more important to understand that despite the insidious infiltration of politics into every strata of human existence, we are still biological beings. No matter oneβs political tendencies or ideologies, we need clean air and water and quality food in order to even begin to contemplate political and social objectives, let alone participate in the world.
Politics permeates everything in society. Politics is something we are immersed in. The people of Flint, Michigan, who cannot drink politics, realize this most directly. We are biological beings firstly, before we are social and political beings. It is only the rhetoric of government and corporations that leads us to prioritize our livesΒ otherwise.
All the politicized, institutionalized, mechanized interaction between individuals and institutions stem from psychological and biological reasons and responses. Sometimes we may not understand our own biological reasons and responses because we liveΒ under the limits of our biology, using it to understand it. And yet we know it to be true from observation and experience. It is our biological fear response, for example, that is exploited by government for the political gains of war.
Indeed, every political problem stems from ingrained biological responses and, judging from the continuous institutional war on individualismΒ and destruction of Earth mother, perhaps deep psychological pathology.
Political, Biologicalβ¦Β Spiritual
As I said, everything is political but firstly biologicalβ¦Β and originally, it isΒ spiritual.Β Despite our deepΒ primordial connection toΒ the Earth, animals, plants, each other, the seasons, planetary bodies, and forcesΒ of the universe far greater than ourselves, the postmodern collective has gone astray,Β lacking spirituality, leftΒ hungry and distracted by the mechanics of institutionalΒ imperialism.
Many individuals, despite their spiritual origins and political predicament, never comprehend the spiritual or political stratum of existence. Many consider littleΒ beyond their biological needs. And thisΒ apathy to realms of reality beyond physical attainment, is the biggest problem we face, with the greatest shielding. The encroachment of politics on our biological and spiritual lives,Β and the majorityβs apathy to it, is an unyielding dynamic in our society.Β ThisΒ apathy to the actions of governmentΒ actually perpetuates the problem, helping to embedΒ the prioritization of political and corporate motives overΒ our biological and primordial/spiritual needs asΒ theΒ status quo.
No matter the particular variation of government, this kind of politics eventually degrades to oligarchical collectivism β which serves only those in powerΒ βΒ and ultimately, into biological oligarchical collectivism, which threatens our biological wellbeing in the process.
(For more on biological oligarchical collectivism, please see my recent article,Β Oligarchical Collectivism: The Institutional βismβ That Threatens Our Very Biology, or simply consider the politics that led to the ongoing health crisis in Flint, Michigan.)
What Would Jesus Do?
What is the solution? Well, letβs seeβ¦ What would Jesus do? Now I donβt ask this in theΒ Bible-pushing, monotheistic way that you might be accustomed to hearing. In fact,Β I openly rejectΒ monotheism β the religious doctrine that there is only one true βGodβΒ β asΒ aΒ form of institutionalization. Rather, I ask the question βWhat would Jesus do?β as a spiritual human who, like the Jesus archetype, appreciates the value of individuals and not institutions.
The bibleβsΒ Cleansing of the Temple narrative tells of Jesus expelling the merchants and money-changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple into a den of thieves, and declaring βMy house shall be aΒ house of prayer.β HeΒ went through an intense process of self-development and refinement. He became a teacher and healer, challengingΒ the prevailing morality. Sound familiar?
The story of Jesus offers the solution to the problem of institutionalization we face today: the millennia-old dilemma of oligarchical collectivism, of prioritizing commercial over spiritual interests. Today, this is the political bottom line. No matter what is going on in the world, no matter the political agenda being pushed, we must perform the inner-work to develop and define our own consciousness. Refinement and healing of the Self is the first step toward individuation, which is the first step to being an empowered individual among power-seeking institutions⦠which is the first step toward changing the political bottom line. The next step is to teach and, when possible, contribute to healing others. As Jesus demonstrated, after one heals, one forgives and heals others. But we can only find this ability if firstly we have found healing for our Self.
At the Last Supper, as the story goes, Jesus told his disciples to remember his death. Yes, despite his apparentlyΒ miraculous birth, Jesus told his closest friends, the night before he passed, to remember how he left this world ratherΒ than how he arrivedΒ β to remember his legacy of spiritualΒ achievements, not his (miraculous) biological inheritance.Β Jesus developed himself and then focused on teaching and healing, as well as confronting the βden of thievesβΒ βΒ the political and commercial profiteersΒ of his day. He confronted and called out the money changers and merchants, and the militaristic authorities, and re-asserted the value ofΒ spirituality. However the oligarchical power-seekers collectivized and subvertedΒ the spiritual aspects he advocatedΒ β and this was the final straw for Jesus.
The Remedy
Everything is political, but first itβs biological, and before that itβs spiritual. No matter if the oligarchies are armed with swords or depleted uranium missiles, as they are today, the solution to the ever-impending and ever-expanding nature of oligarchical collectivism is to be like JesusΒ β to value the spiritual over all else, political, commercial or otherwise. In order to counter the political bottom lineΒ we face today, we must become powerful refined individuals focused on teaching and healing. There are alreadyΒ so many healers and teachers in the world todayΒ whoΒ embody this βChrist consciousnessβ,Β working to counter institutionalization and politicization in peaceful manners, mainly by developing themselves and assisting others directly.Β In order to surpass the political bottom line that has persisted throughout history, we need to createΒ aΒ newΒ metaphysical paradigm to replace it.
Whether one views the bibleΒ as allegorical or literal, the story of Jesus provides powerful lessons, and these lessons are more profound the better one is able to sift through the controlling layers of monotheistic, monothematic consciousness contained therein. Remember, Jesus spoke ofΒ no βtrue religionβ but was simplyΒ a prophet of love, healing and justice.Β Be a lightworker, just as Jesus was.Β Confront and heal your shadow aspects and learn to work in the light. Develop yourself, teach others and stand up against the politics of oligarchical collectivism, which values power and the powerful over humans and humanity. Forget the dogma and the institutionalization, and focus on working in the light, no matter what.Β Refine yourself and then be yourself, as a healer and teacher, and peacefully confront the oligarchiesΒ βΒ like Jesus.
Another important remedy to oligarchical collectivism is to think on different lines than the status quo and the majority. Most people see mattersΒ in terms of their own perspective or even selfish benefit, howeverΒ the terms they think areΒ to their benefit areΒ often enough to their detriment β such as the example of commercial globalization, which provides people with cheap convenient access to resources and products but to the detriment of personal self-sufficiency, localΒ economiesΒ and our environment, which are ultimately of detriment to people. Look beyond the perspective of the self, and the status quo of the majority, and allow the βChrist consciousnessβ to inform your thoughts and actions,Β in everything you do.
But, while the focus of this discussion has been the lesson of theΒ Jesus allegory, the spiritual solution to our political bottom line can be foundΒ in spiritual teachings of all kinds. One of the most profound spiritual teachers, right up there with Jesus (as long as monotheism isnβt the focus), is Milarepa,Β one of Tibetβs most famous yogis and poets.
Milarepa is the Patron Saint of Tibet. Of all the amazing teachers and yogis, including Milarepaβs own teacher Naropa, Milarepa is the most honored of all yogis, and perhaps he himself is the very source of the βwise man on the mountainβarchetype;Β the slightly strange yogi in rags, that resides atop the highest cave in the most secluded valley, awaiting seekerβs arrival with the answer to his question. Milarepa was primarily known for changing the world through his own enlightenment. He is further known for offering answers or understandings which were completely counterintuitive to the average individual involved, and in fact transcendedΒ the problems he was presented, rather than attempting to solve them with the kind of thinking that created them. ThisΒ is the nature of spirituality.
The political bottom line, the solution to biological oligarchical collectivism, and the confinement of politics, is to work in the light, like Jesus, like Milarepa, and like so many countless other well-known and nameless healers and righteous rebels. Empower yourself as an individual, empower others and take on the institutional powers that are nefarious or exploitative. The solutions to political problems are spiritual practices. The solution to political institutionalization is to enhance your consciousness and become a lightworker, or a rainbow warrior, because the best way to contrast the institutionalization of the entire planet is to enhance consciousness individuation across the entire planet. The political bottom line is a spiritual one, the political bottom line is not religious oriented necessarily, but spiritual.
Politics is the highestΒ social stationΒ of the lowest form of social thinking. It is not an ascended mode, nor is it made up of ascended people. It is justΒ the highest operation of the lowest and most basic. The political bottom line, the way to empower individuals and disempower institutions is to be spiritual, and in some manner, or by every means at your disposal, rise above the highest operation of the lowest motivation. The political bottom line is to be spiritual.
About the author:
Activist, author and Tai Chi teacher Ethan Indigo SmithΒ was born on a farm in Maine and lived in Manhattan for a number of years before migrating west to Mendocino, California. Guided by a keen sense of integrity and humanity, Ethanβs work is both deeply connected and extremely insightful, blending philosophy, politics, activism, spirituality, meditation and a unique sense of humour.
Ethanβs publications include:
For more, visit Ethan on FacebookΒ and check out Ethanβs author page on Amazon.
Recommended readingΒ by Ethan Indigo Smith:
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