It
is important to me that I am constantly acting on behalf of my values each and
every moment, in all my relationships with strangers and within myself. To do
that, I have had to redefine inner work and make it more robust and engaged. I
find that when there is no boundary between what is within me, and my actions
in the world, there is much more likelihood, that I am going to be connected to
the moment, others, and the Spirit. All of this comes to pass because I
practice what I call an inner form of activism to complement my actions in the
world.
The advent of these internal practices came about as I followed my own
natural ageing process. I have slowly been moving inward. I’ve talked to other
ageing people and looked at the limited research on this subject. The research
shows a resurgence of spirituality in the latter years of many old folks’
lives. This, combined with the reports of my friends, and my own shifting
focus, altered my perspective. I like the sense that I am becoming aware, in a
different way, at nature’s behest.
When
I had my stroke, and especially during this long aftermath of disability, I acquired
(without intent) a new more connected way of experiencing things. This involved
a greater emphasis upon inner life. Alive, in a new way (for me), I have
noticed how I have been naturally embellished through the aegis of getting
older. I believe this is a process of integration aided by the actions of life.
This formulation of an integral activism is an outgrowth of a burgeoning
awareness.
Inner
work has become, in my mind, less “subtle,” and much more engaged and robust.
Inner activism still relies on the cultivation of awareness (meditation,
contemplation and prayer) but is much more active. It uses attention to
actively practice increasing awareness in four areas that I have identified. Internal
activism endeavors to:
• Uproot Internalized Oppression
• Free and Be Yourself
• Practice Community
• Cultivate Paradoxical
Awareness
Uproot Internalized Oppression
There are a variety of forces at work shaping social
reality, contesting for cultural adherence, and working at multiple levels,
trying to capture us. This runs the range from group and class power dynamics
such as racism, ageism and sexism to subtler forms such as advertising,
psychologizing, and other forms of pathologizing or dehumanizing assumptions.
There is a complex amalgam of assumptions that, when internalized, provide the
preconceptions that limit others and lead to prejudicial beliefs. These beliefs
rebound into a kind of self-negation and lead to a variety of self-image
issues.
An example from my life illustrates, I have had to be around
other disabled people to see more clearly how my able-bodied prejudices have
poisoned my experience of other disabled people, and especially how these assumptions
have impacted me.
This is a practice that involves developing an inner
immunity to the internalized messages that are designed to keep us in a
predictable place. The goal here is not to eliminate these messages/beliefs,
but to identify and suspend them. As any interaction, or thought, arises it is
reviewed to see if it expands or limits choice. This is an application of
mindfulness that identifies thoughts and feelings that contain belief
structures that limit.
Free and
Be Yourself
This practice’s goal is freedom. It entails showing up
authentically wherever one is. It involves a combined focus of attention, upon
authenticity and inner conditions that inhibit freedom of expression. As you
can probably tell this practice has several challenges, not the least of which
involves self-knowledge. It acknowledges, that internal factors play as great a
role in inhibiting freedom, as external factors.
To be as clear
as possible, this practice is intended to support being oneself wherever one
is. This means clearing the way within so one can give voice to differences,
choose to offer a unique perspective, and add to the diversity of the moment. This
is a practice that involves exercising one’s own freedom, by focusing upon, and
suspending, the self-limiting beliefs that inhibit free choice.
Again, to use my life as an example, I’ve had to work with
myself to show up as a disabled man. My wholeness, my humanity, is not obvious
if I am unable to put myself out in the social world. To do so, I have to ready
myself to face, out in the world, the very prejudices I know that are within
me. My freedom to be me depends upon it.
Practice
Community
The goal of this practice is to make the migration from
separation to connection. This entails learning about, and practicing, the
inner (and outer) conditions that allow interdependence. Immersion in intense
social relationships necessitates identification with others, and the practice
of internal capacities that connect one uniquely with the collective, lending
surprise, authenticity, accountability and compassion to action.
Differences are highlighted (like my being disabled) in
this practice and provide many of its benefits. The practice of community also
provides insight into the way collectives create and maintain social reality.
This provides a very dynamic environment in which practices of holding on to
one’s uniqueness, can be seen as paradoxically related to the quality of social
connection.
Cultivate
Paradoxical Awareness
This is a practice that proceeds from, and best integrates,
a sense of connection. This practice
provides the deepening of a broader perspective. The practice starts with the
acknowledgement that one has grown knowledgeable enough, to know that one
doesn’t know much. From this recognition emanates a greater awareness that
inner, as well as outer, reality is composed of relationships that are
paradoxically related. That means that things that appear solitary are joined.
The practice is essentially one of focusing attention upon
the perception and realization of paradoxical connections. By cultivating this
awareness, and applying it to all of reality, including one’s sense of self,
there comes an experiential recognition of integrality. Combined with the other
practices, a burgeoning of a broader awareness occurs.
As an example, I offer a
highly relevant quote from Parker Palmer (from A Hidden
Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life —Welcoming The Soul and Weaving
Community in a Wounded World). This quote illustrates paradoxical awareness and
demonstrates how this mindset transforms situations. “If we are to hold solitude
and community together as a true paradox, we need to deepen our
understanding of both poles. Solitude does not necessarily mean living
apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from oneself. It is not
about the absence of other people — it is about being fully present to
ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Community does not necessarily
mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the
awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of
other people — it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship,
whether or not we are alone.”
This particular practice has helped me see how my disability has led me
to new abilities. I now say I am Lucky because I have experienced the enabling
loss.
Integral activism is a product of age, experience, and awareness. It
represents the refinement of love. The world is a holy vision. Gaining access
to this vision does not diminish the passion for justice. It refines it, and
renders a new way of acting.
