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Recognizing Abuse

1/10/2023

"Normalizing Abuse: A Commentary on the Culture of Pervasive Abuse" by Karen Tate

All forms of abuse are rampant in our society, and stem from the origins of techno-capitalism that abused both human beings and the land. Contributors to Karen Tate's Normalizing Abuse were asked to provide short "rants" or descriptions of the abuse they have experienced on their life journey. This is my story. - PEGI EYERS

For centuries the patriarchal agenda has oppressed women, and monotheistic religions have invisibilized and co-opted women’s sacred mysteries in earth magic, healing, birth and communal child-raising. Over time the Euro-patriarchal ruling elites built Empire by converting nature into “lifeless resources,” and during the Enlightenment era fabricated “race theory” to include BIPOC in the same hegemony of oppression and control. For millennia white women were the passive and suffering victims of Empire, but we have also been the “supporting cast” who internalized the values of the patriarchy and were complicit with the colonial directive. Due to the “patriarch within” or “internalized oppression” (take your pick) it has been my life experience that women can be the oppressors of other women.

In a society built on a foundation of patriarchal control and intersectional oppressions, intergenerational trauma and PTSD are the norm. But strange to say, when looking back I faced more direct abuse from women than from men in my personal sphere. During the difficult puberty years I was bullied by a gang of other young girls, and at one point their well-placed kicks broke my baby finger. As a child and especially as a teenager, the women in my family were constantly telling me to “shut up” and “tone it down,” as “my opinion didn’t matter.” As a young wandering hippie, the women I encountered would listen and share to a certain extent, but most offered no real sisterhood or support in a world desperate for security and social capital. When I worked for a well-known fashion designer in my late 20's, I was reminded on a daily basis that I didn’t “stack up” in terms of wealth, status or privilege, and there were so many abusive ad hominem attacks, I had to quit the job for my own self-preservation.

Later in life, during my time as an Office Manager in the corporate sector, and then as an Independent Curator in the art world, I became used to other women seeing me as a rival instead of a collaborator. I experienced competition, tone policing, gaslighting, betrayal, ghosting, the denial of achievements, and the taboo (amounting to hatred) toward all women in leadership roles. And I came to see that the maximum harm came from what women are most skilled at - the passive-aggressive dynamic.

These kinds of debilitating behaviors and unspoken taboos are still a given in many circles today, but things are finally shifting and changing. Abuse is always painful (especially for sensitives and empaths), but being acutely aware of how I was treated by other women allowed me to identify recurring patterns, and to avoid this toxicity in myself and others. I owe my sanity these days to the many kindred spirit sisters I have met, who have been doing the same transitional work. We debate like adults, agree to disagree, accept difference and still offer support, and continue to step forward into new territory – while still loving each other along the way. With hands raised in gratitude and hope, here’s to our continued transformation. PEGI EYERS

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Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for social justice, uncolonization, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon

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LEGACY

8/1/2022

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Pegi Eyers

My personal mythology has come to mean standing on a foundation of ethnoculture, or the specificity of my Scots Gaelic and Anglo ancestors. Where were they from? How, when and why did they come to Turtle Island? I continue to explore these questions, but ambiguities and contradictions continue to arise.

In July of 2022 I travelled to my hometown of Orillia, Ontario and along with other touchstones, lodestones, soul maps and important places, I visited the town cemetery where the oldest and largest mausoleum holds the bones of my ancestors. In the first wave of Settler Colonialism, they arrived in 1832 and founded the town. I don't feel the sting so much of "orphan syndrome" but there was never a huge emphasis in my family on honoring family history, which is troubling and a deep source of grief. We do have a family genealogist who kept the family tree, but most of the important stories I had to find out for myself.

From my positionality today (who I am in 2022) my body [somatically] formed this gesture in front of the tomb, but the actual meaning is far from clear. Yes, on some level I am proud of these people, they are the ones who came before to make me who I am. They are my flesh, blood, bones and DNA, and their struggles and triumphs are also my own. I feel connected, and I own my people. My gesture might be praise, and benediction.

And yet my gesture also feels like a blocking - to keep the antiquated views of my ancestors in the past where they belong. Their white superiority, religious insularity, earth domination, land ownership, and the impulse to re-create their own society on lands that were already inhabited by the civilizations of Indigenous Peoples, are all anathema to my personal beliefs. In fact, the attitudes they carried are the same toxicities that have culminated in the polycrisis we face today of racism, genocide, structural inequality, out-of-control capitalism, and ecocide leading to devastating climate change.

How can I fully embrace my own ancestors, whose worldviews have caused so much harm to people, lands and waters? These are the contradictions that arise (there are more layers) as my relationship to my ancestors continues to deepen, and in some ways, push me farther away. I honestly don't know if there is a way to resolve this tension.

INHERITANCE

My ancestors knew
the whirl
of the cyclone
the writhing,
twisting force
the threat
of swirling knots

They knew
how to dwell
in the eye
the arc of stillness

They knew the briny tangles would smooth to billowy ribbons
They knew how to ride them, gliding to another shore.

Sheryl J. Shapiro

Original Art by Pegi Eyers

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for social justice, uncolonization, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon.

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The "Global Civilization" Myth

4/3/2022

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A Critique of the Cosmopolis Project by Pegi Eyers

“In contemporary language, we are citizens of the planet.”
The Cosmopolis Project

Humanity, Earth, and Cosmos

www.cosmopolisproject.org/what-is-a-cosmopolis

As citizens of the planet it is probably not a “global civilization” that we need, as the very notion is doomed to failure! Instead, what we really need is to cultivate the respect and tolerance for cultural diversity that has been missing (so far) in human history. For millennia we flourished in diverse networks or collectives separated by geography, yet to this day we still lack the necesssary skills for intercultural learning, or integration for common causes. As a solution, the “cosmopolis” myth is deeply flawed, as it implies homogeneity, a uniform monoculture or some kind of “global order,” which goes against natural law. In reality, it is a great diversity of species, including human variations, that are critical to healthy and thriving populations and ecosystems on our beleaguered planet.

Also, one has to wonder who will be in charge of this universality, and what the default would be for this “global civilization.” Oh wait - it will be dominated by the western world (as usual)! Unfortunately the Western academics and New Agers who promote the “global civilization” narrative fail to take into account the opinions of thousands of other cultural groups who do not see the world through a Western lens. Ask any indigenous person who has adapted to a particular bioregion and flourished within the ethnoculture that arose from that particular bioregion if they are interested in a “global civilization.” To earth-emergent societies living within the carrying capacity of the land and within the limits of natural law, the very notion is ludicrous.

Another biased claim is that the “vision of a an ordered cosmos radiant with wholeness, relatedness and beauty” and the idea of “living nature” only come from the Western tradition. Again, excluding thousands of other cultural groups that have reached the same visionary conclusions, this narrow view must border on white supremacy. And the Western perspectivism employed by the Cosmopolis Project is another failure, with the assumption being that “civilization” is the only correct way for humanity to be living on the planet. As it turns out, the exact same Western science that the Cosmopolis Project applauds has proven that pre-agricultural hunter-gatherer societies are the most healthy for human life.

In the face of looming climate change and massive collapse, humanity needs to make a serious course-correction, but it is astounding how off-track Western academics can be. The “global civilization fantasy” denies the importance of locally-rooted culture, and ignores and bypasses what is precious and sacred about the specific place and community where one is actually living. Having a focus on the “fulfillment of the cosmic process,” or “a felt sense of the transcendent” only reinforces an abstract, vertical worldview away from, and separate from the Earth, instead of a horizontal vision which would encompass the home landscapes that we know and love. Realizing ourselves as “living embodiments of a vast cosmic process” must at the same time be grounded in a revered focus on the terraforms, plants, creatures, cycles and elements of nature in our own bioregions.

Art by Sam Brown

As we move away from the alienation that was imposed on us by the scientific paradigm, we begin to reconnect to the land and the cycles of all life, and to engage in the recovery of our deepest ancestral knowledge. Accessing our own specific pre-colonial heritage(s) allows us to hold the tension between microcosm and macrocosm, and enhances our ability to preserve the distinct ethnographic practices that reflect our “oneness” with our beloved landscape, the places we call home. Honoring the multiplicity that is the human experience, we come to see that all beings are distinctly separate but forever connected in Earth Community, and in the end, become empowered to embrace a much-needed , and in the end, become empowered to embrace a much-needed Unity in Diversity with the circle of all life.

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for social justice, uncolonization, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon. 

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Power Under Abuse

3/7/2022

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by poplar rose
Reprinted from Hawthorn Heart ~ October 26, 2017

"The classic gaslighter is a sociopath, calculated and relentless in breaking down their victim's self-confidence, self-esteem, self-trust, and even sense of sanity. This sort of gaslighting is extreme and, one hopes, relatively rare, but I see a much more common, subtle and insidious form of gaslighting all the time in my work and life. I call it 'shadow gaslighting.' It's generally understood that we each have an unconscious aspect of self that influences us and drives our behavior. Beneath conscious awareness, this unconscious self is sometimes called our shadow. Our shadow consists of the parts of our self that we have disowned or denied because they are frightening, disappointing, socially unacceptable, or because they threaten our positive self-image." Justice Schanfarber "Gaslighting, Shadow and Abuse: How Protecting Our Unconscious Can Sabotage Our Relationships"

Please keep in mind before you read this........

The incredibly complex dynamics explored in this piece often feel impossible, or terrifying to name. My hope is that a phrase like "power under abuse" (which is similar to, but also distinct from, the concept of lateral violence) will allow us to more easily identify and communicate the abuse we are experiencing and witnessing, and at the same time, I feel cautious offering this kind of shorthand phrase as a tool to talk about abuse. So much of my work is about embracing complexity, and buzz words are so often reductive.

So please know - I am trusting you here, dear audience.

I am trusting you to hear the carefulness in my words, and I am asking you to hold that carefulness too.

Here we go:

When thinking about abuse, most people imagine someone holding power over someone else. We envision a masculine person standing over a smaller, quieter feminine person, and often they are yelling or being physically violent. Undoubtedly, this stereotypical kind of abuse is prolific, and yet power over abuse is decidedly not the only kind of abuse that exists.

Within Hawthorn Heart, my online class for boundary skills and protection magic for femmes, witches and healers, I define abuse as "irreparable harm caused in relationship."

By "irreparable harm" I don't mean that healing from abuse is impossible. Healing from abuse is a kind of death and rebirth. Abuse involves harm that haunts; abuse limits our sense of freedom and safety; and it shapes the terrain of our capacity to love, trust and connect.

"Power under abuse" occurs when someone who has less power, behaves abusively towards someone who has more power.

Sometimes this difference in power is real and concrete (for example a feminine person being abusive towards a masculine person). Sometimes this difference in power is tenuous, or falsely constructed (for example, someone lying about or downplaying how much financial privilege they have, in order to manipulate someone into giving them money). Sometimes it feels almost impossible to track the difference in power between the two parties, because they both hold so many different identities, privileges, and complex experiences of oppression (this is where "power under abuse" can be similar to lateral violence).

"Power under abuse" dynamics happen when the person who is behaving abusively perpetually identifies as a victim, and as a result of identifying this way, becomes unwilling/unable to take accountability for the harm caused by their actions. At the same time, the person with more power (real, perceived or falsely constructed) often tends to feel incapable of setting boundaries, or asking for accountability because they feel a strong sense of shame or guilt because of their (real/falsely constructed) sense of privilege/power.

In coming to understand "power under abuse," it's important to note that trauma perpetuates and enables black and white thinking, and trauma reduces the brain's ability to understand and hold nuance. When we are traumatized (which we all are to some degree) it becomes harder to track these kind of nuanced power dynamics. Many of us, when confronted with abuse, find well-worn comfort in labelling one person as the victim, and one person as the oppressor or abuser. Often we apply these labels based on the identities held by the people who are in conflict. The person with more power is quickly labelled as abusive, and the person with less power is quickly perceived to be a victim. Evidence that runs contrary to this binary label system can lead to extreme anxiety, confusion, and denial that clings to simplicity.

And yet, understanding power in such a one-dimensional way disempowers us all.

Before I move on to the list of what "power under abuse" can look like, I want to note that in this piece I am stepping out of my typical voice as an author. I don't tend to write things like abuse checklists. More often, I write personal narratives, a genre that lends itself more easily to nuance and complexity than checklists do.

I wrote this piece, which employs a checklist, definition and shorthand phrase, because I believe it is desperately needed.

It's possible this list will make you feel defensive, and that's OK. This work is confusing and difficult, but it's also necessary and brave. Take a deep breath, and take care of yourself as you read this. If you notice yourself becoming triggered and activated, set the boundaries you need to feel safe, including disregarding what I have to say, if that's what feels true or needed for you. And please know, my words are imbued with an intention toward healing, not with an intention of enabling abusers.

It's important to name that the abuse tactics I'm about to list stem from survival mechanisms that are related to trauma and oppression. Many of these actions have a way they can be executed, where they are healthy and even necessary. What I am listing here are examples of actions that lead to more harm and more abuse, rather than clearer boundaries, repair or conflict resolution.

Here we are called to notice causality, responsibility, intent and impact.

I also need to acknowledge that I could not have written this piece alone. This piece is a result of deep personal learning that comes from within my intimate relationships. This piece represents what I've learned from my work witnessing and supporting community to survive and heal through violence. And this work came through support from my counsellor, my partner, my friends, and colleagues (brilliant and generous folks like Tada Hozumi, Rain Crowe and Molly Meehan).

I don't claim that this piece is definitive, or applicable to everyone's experience.

I am simply attempting to mirror back what I have witnessed in myself and others. I am offering you what I have learned, in the hope that it will help you better understand your own experience, and encourage you to pursue justice and repair.

And with all that in mind....

This is what "power under abuse" can look like:

- Using shame and social justice language to justify entitlement to someone else's time, skills, resources or capacity.

- Telling someone that their basic needs or boundaries (which are distinct from their comfort) are not valid because they hold an identity that is more privileged than yours

- Pressuring or forcing someone to have sex with you, and then making claims about their politics when they say no, or name that you were sexually violent towards them

- Accusing someone of controlling or abusing you because they are requesting accountability, or transparent conflict resolution with you, for harm you caused or participated in.

- Accusing someone (often publicly) of harming you in ways that did not happen.

- Refusing to absorb or validate reality checks offered by friends and loved ones who witness abuse in your dynamic, and justifying this deflection by stating that abuse "can only exist when power or privilege is held over someone else."

- Refusing to accept support from anyone other than the person you are being abusive towards, and leveraging shame or guilt at their power and privilege to pressure them not to set boundaries with you.

- Denying, erasing or minimizing the support you receive from the person you are being abusive toward, both in private and in front of other people.

- Acting confused or dismissive when the person whose care you have erased or minimized, expresses feeling frustrated or hurt by you (often this is done in front of other people and the person experiencing the abuse is framed as over-reacting or just having an unrelated hard time).

- Accusing someone of abandoning you when they set boundaries or reach limits of capacity to care for you.

- Refusing to set your own boundaries (when it was possible for you to do so) and then making statements like "you made me do this."

- Calling for ostracization or punishment that is not proportionate to the harm done (i.e. "going nuclear" when the situation does not call for this, or simple conflict resolution would have sufficed).

- Constantly accusing other people of being oppressive, while simultaneously being unwilling to unpack your own privilege or examine how you harm or hold power over others.

- Not acknowledging the oppression experienced by the person you are abusing, and/or convincing the person you are abusing that they have more power (in general and specifically over you) than they actually do.

- Refusing to acknowledge care, labour and resources given to you by the person you are in conflict with, and instead characterizing them as only ever having harmed you.

- Refusing to address conflict in a way that honours the integrity and humanity of everyone involved.

- Stealing from the person you are being abusive toward, and either denying you stole, or claiming you have a right to the thing you stole because you are more oppressed than the person you stole from (which may or may not actually be true).

- Accusing someone of triangulating or breaking confidentiality when they seek witnesses or support, to navigate the abusive dynamic they are in with you.

- Claiming to be "getting support" and "calling in witnesses" when you are spreading rumours and triangulating.

- Weaponizing and applying pop psychology terms like "toxic," "narcissist" and "empath" to create a hyper-simplistic narrative of what happened between you and the person you were abusive towards, where you lack an understanding of what these terms were intended to describe.

- Labelling confusion, miscommunication or difference of opinion as gaslighting.

"Power under abuse" relies on (often deeply unconscious) gaslighting, that leaves the person who is experiencing the abuse feeling like they are an abusive or oppressive person, when the situation is often not so black and white.

People are not born abusive. Abuse results from cycles of trauma, cycles that are often many generations in the making. Abuse originates from maladaptive coping and attachment mechanisms that we learn from our parents, our friends, our lovers, the patriarchy, the deep home wounds of colonization, and from the profound separation and dehumanization of oppression.

Yet none of what I just wrote, is meant to excuse abuse.

If there is anything you can take away from what I've written here, is this - compassion for trauma does not excuse the need for accountability.

Compassion for trauma might make the use of abusive tactics understandable, but it does not make them excusable.

When people are experiencing abusive harm, they are allowed to set boundaries with the person who harmed them, even if they hold more power than the person who harmed them.

What I crave are more tools and models that teach us how to step into our "right sized power." I want us to be able to name without shame, but not statically inhabit, both our victimhood, and our power and privilege. Being victimized is a tender and powerful state, and while I believe we should offer deep empathy and compassion to ourselves and others when we experience victimization, I don't feel it is fair or just to enable someone to continue enacting abusive patterns, because they have been abused or disempowered themselves.

Enabling or ignoring abuse simply allows abuse to continue. Whereas confronting abuse and (as much as is possible within our capacity) holding everyone involved in abusive dynamics as whole human beings with complex histories, can sometimes allow abuse cycles to be stopped and healed.

If you are experiencing a dynamic like this, I highly recommend you seek support from a counsellor or mediator. Restorative justice and community accountability processes can also be instrumental here, for healing from this kind of abuse. Whether you enacted or received it - or both - requires sitting with what happened, and untangling where you have done harm to others and where harm was done to you.

This is not easy work, and it is best done in community.

If you want to unpack how "power under abuse" has impacted your life, you can continue your learning through the following resources:

The work of > Justice Schanfarber particularly:
>Is Victim a Dirty Word? Thoughts on Victim-Blaming, Victim Denial, Victim Mentality and what the Victim Archetype can Teach Us
(justiceschanfarber.com)
>Gaslighting by the Unconscious - How our Shadow can Sabotage our
Relationship (justiceschanfarber.com)
>Toxic Relationship, Toxic partner. Is your Relationship Unhealthy?
(justiceschanfarber.com)

"Healing and Thriving After Abuse" > Kelly-Ann Maddox
Healing and Thriving After Abuse | YouTube

"The Revolution Starts at Home" > edited by Ching-in Chen, Jai Dulani and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
The Revolution Starts at Home (akpress.org)

"Setting Boundaries As a White Ally" > Tada Hozumi
Setting Boundaries as a White Ally: Why its Important, why its Challenging and how to do it Ethically | Tada Hozumi

"7 ways Social Justice Language Can Become Abusive in Intimate Relationships" > Kai Cheng Thorn
Seven Ways Social Justice Language Can Become Abusive in Intimate Relationships | openDemocracy

Episode One, Season 21 of South Park shows Cartman creating a false victim identity, and enacting "power under abuse."

You can access the work of poplar rose here:
poplar rose | The Little Red Tarot Blog

This article was reprinted as a public service by Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon.

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Is it Universalism - or is it White Privilege?

2/7/2022

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PEGI EYERS

Transcript of presentation for the Parliament of the World's Religions (POWR) 2021

Thank you for joining me, as we take a journey through history, and a tour through a diversity of modern religions and spiritual paths. Cause and effect is the ruling principle of the universe, and there is always a backstory for everything! The content that follows may be new information for some and familiar to others, but I invite you to keep an open mind and a sense of objectivity.

I will not be judging the personal choices of any individual, faith or belief system, and if it works for you, please give yourself time to sit with any uncomfortable feelings that may arise, instead of immediately reacting. Feel free to send your questions or comments, and I hope that I can clarify any points, or help with any concerns that you may have.

So before I talk about universalism in broad strokes, I would like to set out some basic definitions for the terms colonization, Empire, the colonizer /colonized or oppressor/oppressed dynamic, and the terms “white people” and white privilege. These inequalities occur everywhere, but my talk today is focused on how these issues play out in North America, otherwise known as Turtle Island.

TURTLE ISLAND

It is not possible to cover every church, religious institution, or spiritual practice in this presentation, so I will be focused on our foundations in the Americas, and to newer spiritual movements that have blossomed in the past six decades or so. I will be using the terms “white people” to describe members of the dominant society and those descended from European ancestors, and the terms “people of colour” or “global majority” to describe groups who have been colonized, displaced and subjected to genocide by the European powers.

AGE OF DISCOVERY

So our current era on Turtle Island goes back to 1492 and the “Age of Discovery,” when the European powers expanded all over the world, imposing their worldview violently on Indigenous societies through forced conversion, displacement, genocide and assimilation. The process of oppressing people and seizing lands to replicate the home country – an agenda shared between religious elites, merchants and the military - is known as Colonialism. And the rapid emigration of people from all socioeconomic backgrounds to inhabit lands, is known as Settler Colonialism.

WHAT IS COLONIALISM?

SETTLER COLONIALISM

The term “Empire” can have various meanings. It can refer to the overall European civilization that was built in the Americas, to individual nation-states such as Canada or the USA, or in a broader sense to a worldview that is based on exploitation, domination and control.

So if there is a colonizer, such as England or Spain, then there must also be a colonized, such as the Lakota or Cree. There were over 2000 tribes on Turtle Island totalling 60 million people at First Contact, each with their own distinctive language, economy, diplomacy, material culture and spiritual traditions. Considered “primitive” or “savage” by the Europeans, the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island had no place in the grand vision of the colonizer, and like the vast forests that used to cover these lands, were felled by direct attack, disease, expulsion, the reservation system and residential schools – all amounting to a genocide known as “the holocaust of the Americas.”

COLONIALISM

So if the homelands of Indigenous Peoples provided the landbase, black slavery abducted from Africa provided the labour that built Empire, and these brutalities were made possible by a firm belief in European superiority. During the Enlightenment, a new “race theory” was invented by the European elites to justify the dehumanization of people of colour. Patriarchs, aristocrats and scientists decided that the white race – mostly Germanic and Anglo – were to be placed at the top of a fabricated hierarchy above the other ethnicities, with those on the lower rankings hardly considered human.

WHAT IS RACISM?

As race theory became widespread, in a tragic twist Europeans from Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Poland and other countries placed in an inferior position on the scale began to hide their ethnicity, in order to evade the prejudice directed toward them, and to join the “white club.” There are millions of people in the Americas today, whose European grandparents changed their names to Anglicized versions, or had their names changed for them at checkpoints such as Ellis Island.

ARRIVING AT ELLIS ISLAND

Along with the Papal Bulls, a belief in manifest destiny, the concept of empty lands known as Terra Nullius, and the endless growth paradigm, Euro-colonization is the most destructive paradigm the world has ever known. As we can see from this map, there are very few places on the planet that have not been touched by the imperialism of the British Empire.

So where does the tragic history of the USA and Canada leave us today? The first thing we need to do, is identify which side of the colonizer/colonized divide we are on. Are we the descendants of the western world, Settlers from Europe, or are we the descendants of the original inhabitants of Africa, the Americas, or other non-western countries? The abuse of people of colour through poverty, lack of opportunity, segregated neighbourhoods, racial profiling, mass incarceration, denial of land claims, murdered and missing Indigenous women, and other brutalities are ongoing today, as the direct continuation of colonization. First Nations and Black people in the Americas continue to experience the denial of their human rights, and the same racism and displacement they have endured for centuries. In our modern world of multiculturalism and polyglot exchange, it may be hard to see that white supremacy - the policies and beliefs of domination - are central to Empire and always have been. This is our legacy as white people.

WHITE PRIVILEGE

Based on these realities it may be hard to understand, that there are no exemptions from the colonizer/colonized dynamic. Even those belonging to established religions or newer paths such as New Age, Pagan, Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry or Goddess Feminism, who are descended from the original Settler Society, do not exist outside of the rubric of white dominance. The truth is, unless we are native to the Americas, we are interlopers to this place. This history is not often talked about, and it is painful to see our own heritage as part of a colonial pattern. And yet we need to remember that these oppressive systems were in place long before we were born, and we were not the people who created racism or white supremacy. But elements of our belief systems and lifestyles can replicate colonialism, whether we are aware of it or not. When it comes right down to it, a grounded spirituality today is about acknowledging deep truths and taking responsibility, and there is nothing more relevant, than understanding the backstory of our own reality.

BECOMING AWARE OF PRIVILEGE

So let’s move on, to the definition of white privilege. Within the white supremacy construct, the Settler Society reaps the benefits of the system in countless ways, both mentally and physically, and in terms of our spiritual life as well. The study of inequality began in 1986 when Peggy McIntosh noticed that when racism put people of colour at a disadvantage, the same system granted huge advantages and privileges to white people. Her keystone text Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack is still in wide circulation today, and many scholars and activists have furthered the understanding of white privilege. White privilege is complex, with various benefits on a continuum that also take into account class and wealth, and the intersectional oppressions of gender, sexual orientation and ableism. The benefits of white privilege are unearned, automatic and institutional, and to give you a sense of how this dynamic works, I highly recommend accessing the lists of white privileges from print sources or online. I’m sure that others will occur you, for example this one that I discovered recently. “I have the privilege to benefit from intergenerational wealth, passed down from estates and industries that exploited people of colour.”

Another important aspect of our heritage as white people, is that our European ancestors experienced religious and economic oppression in their own homelands, and this was a huge driver for the diasporas that settled the Americas. In these great migrations, we lost our language, heritage, cultural expressions, spiritual practices, and even our connections to our own ancestors. This tragedy has been referred to as “soul loss” or “orphan syndrome,” and since then, the white descendants of the European exodus to Turtle Island have been lacking in the elements that give rise to an authentic spiritual life. Our postmodern rejection of organized religion has also caused a gap, and the rise of capitalism in recent years has encouraged us to adopt consumerism to fill our spiritual needs.

Today, white people have become the greatest consumers of spiritual products, books and tools in the world. To our credit, we have done monumental work in establishing a continuum of spiritual belief systems and practices, and a mind-boggling array of different modalities. And yet, when looking at this vast collection closely, it becomes clear that many of the elements that make up our spiritual paths have been made possible by the domination of other cultures, including those oppressed by Empire. We have been entitled through white privilege to appropriate elements of the world’s religious and cultural identities, as a normalized and unchallenged practice.

NEW AGE CAPITALISM

UNIVERSALISM

Turning now to the concept of “universalism,” this is both an ancient tenet in many religions and a brand-new idea that has gained traction in recent years with new movements and spiritualities. In a positive sense universalism can mean compassion, inclusion and tolerance for all, regardless of religion, ethnicity or other differences. But the idea of universalism can also cause harm, such as the belief that Christianity is universal and applicable to everyone whether they agree with it or not, otherwise known as forced conversion. Interpretations of universalism can also open the door to harmful practices such as cultural appropriation and other boundary transgressions.
At its root, universalism is the truth that the human expression of the sacred has been common to all human groups and cultures. It refers to the truth of interbeing - that existence is a vast nexus of causes and conditions, constantly changing, in which all beings are interconnected. The great mystery traditions and literary canons confirm that we share knowledge of a vibratory field that connects all things, a place of universal love and enlightened rapport, alternatively described as “the cosmic unity of One energy,” “the music of the spheres,” “the unified field,” “the great chain of being,” Unio Mystica, or the primordial OM. This field of energy is found in the inner worlds of human awareness and our core being, that aligns with the invisible realms and outer worlds of tangible form. Variations of the “unified consciousness” can be found by opening the heart, prayer, fasting, visioning, dreaming, magical workings, “in the zone” creative pursuits, and meditation practice. There is no doubt that this multidimensional state exists and is within reach, and has been accessible throughout human existence.

UNIO MYSTICA

In our own time, the movement toward unity has been referred to as “One Spirit,” “One Mind,” “One Vision,” “One World,” “We Are All One,” and the Rainbow Tribe, and has been emerging from all directions - multifaith theology, perennialism, new age spirituality, noetic philosophy, alternative lifestyles, and pop culture. Manifesting today as the collective impulse toward a global consciousness, the “One” implies an ideal and utopian coming together of humanity in love, mutual cooperation, harmony and peace. The ethereal idea of a Golden Age has also taken root, and many believe that we can emulate the way of the universal mind, the “One” beyond all physical limits. Variations on the “One” promote an “evolutionary transition,” a “quantum leap forward,” and a “new world dawning” for both humanity and the planet itself.

But as the concept of the “One” continues to find popular usage, we can examine it from a more grounded perspective. The universality of “One” should not mean coming together in a uniform monoculture or some kind of “global order.” All beings are subject to the laws of nature which stress that species diversity works better than homogeneity, and that diversity is essential to healthy human populations. A multiplicity of cultural groups has worked for millennia, and there is no reason we cannot continue reaching for that goal.

WE ARE ALL ONE

Looking closely at the contemporary trend of “We Are All One” we notice that it is mostly led by privileged white people, suggesting that a dynamic of white perspectivism is at play. But how did the principle of universalism become so readily adopted? When we hear universalist principles such as Indra’s Jewels or the Tao, we need to remember that this is ancient knowledge from well-established ethnocultures. When spiritual teachers share their wisdom on the universality of creation, such as “all religions come from a common root” they are speaking from thousands of years of continuity. For them, these statements are transcendent and metaphoric, but white spiritual seekers take them literally, because of the void in our own culture from lost roots and eroded traditions. When we hear these statements it doesn’t mean we are free to adopt them - it means that we are floundering, without spiritual anchors of our own. It is my own opinion that the roots of world religions were always meant to be culturally specific. To emphasize my point, if a Swami was to say "OM is universal to creation" to a group of pre-colonial (or decolonized) Lakota people, they would NOT adopt the practice of chanting OM, as they have their own cultural and spiritual expressions in an unbroken line going back thousands of years. This is the difference in perception we need to understand.

In terms of the harm caused by themes of universalism, the following example may serve as an illustration. As a beloved change agent, the work of visionary Joseph Campbell created the opening for many contemporary seekers to “follow their bliss.” Campbell promoted the idea that the mythology from any tradition could be seen as an aspect of the universal “monomyth.” Today, this point of view is critiqued as an over-simplification, and a profound flaw in mythological thinking. This kind of reductionism leads to the breaking down of cultural diversity, and allows for the normalization of cultural appropriation. Seeing through the lens of Eurocentric scholarship and white privilege, Campbell did not realize that specific religious and/or spiritual practices unique to each cultural group should be preserved, not stripped of ethnographic context. Diversity should be the priority, not universalism, and, to reframe a popular saying “all religions are not different paths up the same mountain – they are different paths up different mountains.”

In terms of cultural appropriation, I would like to offer some recent themes from the New Age, Transformational, Pagan, Shamanic, and Goddess Feminism movements. They reflect a shared understanding on universalism, but saying “we are all one” can be a mantra that sidesteps the discomfort of discussing systemic racism, and the fact that there are those who suffer from colonialism, and those who benefit. These statements can be very insulting to people of colour, coming from the dominant society that is the source of their unrelenting oppression.

MYTH OF THE RAINBOW TRIBE

So these are typical statements that proclaim the freedom and privilege of white spiritual seekers to have no restrictions of any kind in formulating an identity or personalized spiritual path.

1] If it speaks to my soul I can claim it.

2] Right now we are in the process of evolving toward a “a global consciousness, and a unified vision of humanity,” so cultural differences don’t matter anymore - we are above all that!

3] Since all wisdom comes from the same universal source, we need to focus on our similarities instead of cultural distinctions, and come together as “One.”

4] Indigenous Wisdom comes from the cosmic knowledge that exists beyond time or influence, and as a lightworker my inner mind has access to that space.

5] It’s too confusing to attach spirituality to a specific culture, and having specific histories, worldviews and symbols just alienates everyone else - spirituality is a universal experience and we should be focused on that!

6] It’s OK to mix and match your spiritual beliefs, as long as you have a full understanding of the history and the ceremonies as they were practiced.

So these are some of the controversial ideas held by white spiritual seekers today, including this one that seems to be foundational:

FOUNDATIONAL NEW AGE ASSUMPTION

“We Are All One” stems from an overwhelming sense of personal entitlement, ignores our shared history with the oppressed, and denies accountability for white racism. Our own colonization as white people can result in an identity crisis and a lack of an earth-connected ethnicity, but admitting there is a problem is always the first step toward solving it! I have noticed that white spiritual seekers can be very hyper-focused on their own personal growth while forgetting to extend that same effort to the greater community. By realizing the price of our privilege, taking on social justice, or becoming allies in making change, we are truly able to recognise the humanity of all people, which is the true path of service in spiritual devotion.

SHAMANISM

To round out our look at cultural appropriation made possible by ideas of universalism, the New Age, Neo-Pagan and Goddess Feminism canon has been extremely successful in marketing the genres of shamanism and native spirituality. As practiced by non-native people these modalities contain genuine fragments of ancestral wisdom, and important themes of earth-connected spirituality. But modern shamanism also includes homogenous stereotypes and inaccuracies, and awareness on the specific history and traditions unique to each First Nation (hopefully the communities in one’s own backyard) is lacking. The fabricated practice of “shamanism” continues to grow, but reflective of consumerism it’s a free-for-all compiled from a multitude of beliefs and practices, and does not include an essential connection to wild nature or a specific homelands.

ALTERNATIVE TERMS FOR "SHAMAN"

We have been told that we can possess “shamanism” instantly, just by reading a book or attending a workshop. In reality, it is the work of an entire lifetime to actualize the mystic or healing potentials in traditional Indigenous societies, and it is unrealistic to suggest that we can achieve the same goal. Being disconnected from our own root culture, white spiritual seekers have come to believe that “no one owns spirituality,” but this is untrue, and this idea perpetuates a “one size fits all” mentality. In fact, the Indigenous Knowledge that each First Nation holds has been acquired over millennia, is specific and unique to them, and like a well-fitting garment, is not transferable, or necessarily of use to any other cultural group. Unfortunately critical thinking has not been the priority as we take a cruise through the spiritual supermarket, and our obliviousness to specific histories and traditions of Indigenous cultures has long been the hallmark of white privilege.

OBLIVIOUS TO THE HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES

We cannot deny that the magical, oracular and healing powers of seers, mystics and “walkers between the worlds” have been essential in every earth-emergent tradition, including our own in Old Europe, but we need to access terms from our own lineage. Beginning with anthropology and early New Age, “shamanism” was appropriated and lifted out of context from the original Indigenous culture. First coming to light in the 1914 reports of American ethnologists, the origins of the term “shaman” describe the practices of the Evenki-speaking tribes of eastern Siberia, and it can be argued that only practitioners from those places have the right to use it. To deal with the problem, when we go back to our own ancestral lines and pre-colonial cultures, we can find an appropriate term that replicates the roles and responsibilities of a “shaman.” In addition to the ones in these charts, examples of acceptable alternatives include Animist, Spirit-Worker or Wise Woman.

AYAHUASCA

Another gigantic industry that has evolved in recent years is the ayahuasca phenomena, with hundreds of retreat centers in Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Europe that cater to white spiritual seekers. This industry, which has been referred to as spiritual extractivism, puts enormous pressure on Indigenous groups, and the ecosystems where ayahuasca is grown. When we research ayahuasca and uncover the layers of cultural appropriation, we arrive at some disturbing conclusions. In contact times, the colonization in the Amazon basin was so brutal, the genocide so calculated and the people so decimated, that the full scope of their traditions was completely lost, or pushed underground. When ethnologists, anthropologists and botanists arrived later, to work hand-in-hand with the rubber barons in the Empire-building era, their goal was to name, identify and find new sources from the natural world - products to take to market, including "exotic" substances and philosophies, all tied in with forced exchanges with captive or oppressed Indigenous peoples. These interactions created newly-fabricated and whitewashed Indigenous Knowledges, NOT the original versions.

In short, the ayahuasca "traditions" in Peru are the result of oppressed peoples cooperating with the colonizer to survive, and is the history of erasure and commodification during multiple waves of colonization. Based on these dire realities, would it be so difficult for white spiritual seekers to develop a code of ethics that avoids cultural appropriation, until Indigenous peoples are fully healed from genocide? Understanding the connection between imperial domination, the truth on the ayahuasca industry, and how our choices in self-empowerment impact Indigenous lands and peoples, is important for activating a better code of ethics.

THE AYAHUASCA PHENOMENA

SOLUTIONS & CONCLUSIONS

The positive message of universalism suggests a sacred vision of humanity, and a coming together in transformative thought and action. As we continue to see an explosion of interest in multifaith practices today and the dissolving of boundaries, it is helpful to remember that some of our choices have impacts that may cause harm to the global majority. If we are indeed evolving toward a Golden Age, we may need to synthesize our moral code and critical thinking skills with a heartfelt social consciousness. To participate in themes of “We Are All One” we would do well to revisit the movement by being firmly anchored in our own ancestral wisdom, instead of leaning into people of colour. Whether we call it “unified consciousness” or the “One,” qualities of kindness and compassion will be essential to common causes, and our sacred expressions going forward.

The attraction we feel for earth spirituality is a veiled desire to reclaim our own ancient indigenity, and the process required to seek out, and re-discover the ways of our own ancestors is not all that difficult. Reviving our own root culture solves the problem of appropriation, and adds to the wider circle of spiritual diversity. If we are shifting to a new paradigm, can we commit ourselves to the theoretical and practical work it will involve, and take on the responsibility to learn what is truly valuable and worth rekindling in our own ethnic-based earth-emergent traditions? To return to the source of all spiritual knowing - an intimate and humble interaction with Mother Earth, the ground of our being, is to understand that the wisdom and cultural traditions of all human beings comes from the land.

CAUSE AND EFFECT ~ THERE IS A BACKSTORY FOR EVERYTHING

Not to realize this is to remain disconnected from our ancestral roots, and to perpetuate the goals of Empire, which is to separate us from our embeddedness in the natural world. To think we have met our soul needs in the “metaphysical marketplace” is to remain disembodied, and an outcast to our own spiritual ecology. Along with the dire aspects of the colonial pattern we have inherited, there are treasures in our ancestry, and we owe it to our worldwide circle – our Unity in Diversity – to rejuvenate our own earth-emergent traditions. These issues have been the driving force for me in my own writing, and as inspired by Elder James Dumont (who spoke so eloquently at Parliament 2018) when he said that “everyone needs to return to their own Indigenous Knowledge.” My book Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community was written as a guide to this process, and I wish you well on this exciting journey of reclamation. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions you may have – I am personally dedicated to people reuniting with their own ancestors and lands. Please, find your own ethnocultural traditions and practice them!

I am so grateful to the Parliament of the World’s Religions for this amazing opportunity, to add my voice to the beautiful diversity of spiritual paths happening today. May we all find our way home, to our deepest authenticity, to the place that holds our soul’s calling, and to hear the Voices of our Ancestors once again.

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Objections to “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari

11/29/2021

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PEGI EYERS

There seems to be no end in sight, for references being made to, and quotations appearing from, "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari. Shortly after the book was released in 2016, from my own reading I noticed an appalling set of issues. As "Sapiens" continues to gain traction, here are some important points to keep in mind.

(a) Ethnocentric Tone. This is history from a western perspective. It does not take into account the thousands of Indigenous societies that developed successfully *outside* of the model(s) Harari proposes. What about them? There is no such thing as "ONE HUMANITY” – only western academics have the audacity to continue with this privileged definition and make invisible non-western societies. There are countless cultures outside the rubric of western knowledge that cannot be described by the themes in this book, but does this occur to western academics with PHD’s?? NO – and I am really tired of this implicit racism.

(b) Racist Comments. Harari decimates the integrity of Indigenous peoples with various insults, plus he conflates the western development timeline with the flourishing of Indigenous societies, which is a complete misconception. How horrified a First Nations person must be, to read this tripe~! For example this piece of racist nonsense on page 28: “People can easily understand that ‘primitives’ cement their social order by believing in ghosts and spirits, and gathering each full moon to dance around the campfire. What we fail to appreciate is that our modern institutions function on exactly the same basis. Take for example the world of business corporations. Modern business-people and lawyers are in fact, powerful sorcerers. The principle difference between them and tribal shamans is that modern lawyers tall far stranger tales.”

THERE IS SO MUCH WRONG WITH THIS PASSAGE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN. Harari has absolutely no knowledge of anthropology and/or the study of Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous lifeways, Indigenous peoples and/or Indigenous epistemologies all over the globe, that ironically still carry oral traditions and knowledge through the centuries from the ancient times Harari is describing. Another imperialist error of western academics is to think that living traditions would not hold important or contradictory information to their own thesis.

(c)  Harari Discounts the Sacred.  Magic and mystery do exist, the numinous does exist, the Gods and Goddesses do exist, the Earth Spirits do exist, the Divine Feminine does exist - as do all the other ephemeral and metaphysical aspects of both human and other-than-human life on this mysterious and multi-layered planet.

(d) Harari is Condescending. He includes a brief, shallow and erroneous explanation of animism. Harari trivializes the capacity of the human being to have transcendental experience, and the need for spiritual expression. Humans are four-fold beings – emotional, rational (mental), physical and spiritual. Like so many western reductionist thinkers, Harari only dwells in the realm of the physical and rational, and ignores, pokes fun at, devalues, or scorns the human capacity and necessity for the spiritual.

(e) A Poor Grasp of Root Causes. Harari engages with an ideology or movement well into its development and then conflates it with things that are not even connected. This book includes the worst description of the rise and maintenance of the patriarchy I have ever seen, and his suggested reasons for patriarchal dominance are a complete insult to western women.

(f) Better Academics and Scientists than Harari have determined that Neantherthals went extinct from a naturally-occurring virus or maladaption, not from some kind of “ethnic cleansing”! There is evidence of the gene pool being mixed from intimate contact between Neanderthals and other groups, so why would early human-like creatures then slaughter the entire group? Much more accomplished anthropologists and ethnologists than Harari have concluded that Indigenous groups almost NEVER wipe out entire tribes – their focus is on acts of bravery, warrior-to-warrior combat, making a statement, and absconding with captives such as women and children (who were treated kindly) to add new relatives to the gene pool.

(g)  The Megafauna Were NOT Wiped Out By Humans. I thought everyone knew that this ridiculous theory has been repeatedly debunked. (See Vine Deloria Jr., archaeologists Todd Surovell, Brigid Grund, and many more.) The study of contemporaneous Indigenous societies show that they *never* destroy a species or food source to the point of extinction, but remain *within* the carrying capacity of the land. The plant or animal species is *always* left with a colony, or colonies, to re-propagate itself. There has *never* been an instance of Indigenous peoples wiping out an entire species, unlike European or western groups who have no problem with mass and total annihilation. As western thinkers support ethnocide and genocide so readily, this theory appears over and over through the western lens. How absurd that if Indigenous groups today (and let’s say for the past 800 years) did *not* practice ecocide, why in the world would our most ancient forebears practice it? Habitation on the planet was only beginning! That small scattered groups of hunter–gatherers could kill entire giant species is a ridiculous notion, and those who subscribe to it seriously misguided.

(h) And the final and most important point – the title says it all – “A Brief History of Humankind.” Many Indigenous and anti-colonial groups have *never* followed the civilizational impulse, and the title of this book invisibilizes them. I come across this *all the time* – white or white-passing authors who have the audacity to speak about “humanity” when they are *only* describing western knowledge systems, the white POV, and the world as seen through a western lens. *Absolutely* there are countless cultures outside the rubric of western knowledge systems, who have *never* lost their connection to the Earth. But this does not occur to PhD’s like Harari, and this implicit racism needs to stop.

Ending on a positive note, this meme offers a quotation from Harari's work that is actually true, and worth considering.

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising:
Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community"
an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural
competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon. 

3 Comments

Settler Song

12/17/2020

1 Comment

PEGI EYERS

Driven by notions to fulfill some great “Manifest Destiny” on “Terra Nullius” (lands proclaimed empty by religious decree), tolerance for cultural diversity or peaceful co-existence were never the policies of the Settler Society. Beginning with genocide and the theft of Indigenous lands, whitestream Canada has gone on to enact racism, relocation, residential schools and assimilation on First Nations. An attitude of white supremacy was the driver for this oppression, and the exact same conditions exist in Canada today.

In the process of dismantling colonialism - examining our own “whiteness” and being complicit with the hegemony of Empire - it may be useful to envision other ways of being. What could have been different in the beginning, in our “first contact” interactions with First Nations? With the poem “Settler Song,” my intent is not to simplify, derail, essentialize, romanticize, adore, trivialize, whitewash, move to innocence, make a colonial alibi or perform a Settler Sidestep, but to present a worldview that is less arrogant, less domineering, less paternalistic, more kind, more humble, more heart-focused, and more aware of being a newcomer to a land already inhabited by a magnificent diversity of sophisticated societies.

Settler Song

We touch the earth through you
You are this land
Your blood, the rivers
Your hands, the rocks we rest upon
Your breath, the sacred flame on distant hills ~
Your life-spark, a warmth the Firekeepers know
Your strawberry heart drums the living earth
Your dance, the survival of us all

Storm-born, new moon, new world rising
We wander west, émigré but free
We swim your sacred waters, woman-blessed

And in the forest, pitiful, we are the “other” you find
Markers of wampum, renewal of life,
Fatherland fades away ~
You teach us respect
How to conquer with love
Your kind voice, our home
Your arms, the circle
Our trees and animals heal each other

Anishnaabe, take us back to common ground
May we find Mino Bimaadiziwin - the Good Life, again

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon.

1 Comment

The Rainbow Tribe Fallacy

9/2/2020

3 Comments

PEGI EYERS

The Rainbow Tribe Prophecy/Legend of the Rainbow Warriors is an urban myth, and certainly did not arise from First Nations! Since the early 1970's, the hippies, New Agers and creators of the environmental movement began referring to the “Rainbow Warriors” as the fulfillment of a Native American prophecy, with provenance that alternated between Hopi, Lakota and Cree. The work usually referred to as the primary source for the story - The Book of the Hopi by Frank Waters (1963) - actually makes no reference to it. Alternatively attributed to Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt (1932), Black Elk’s wonderful visions do have some elements of multicultural inclusivity, and reference rainbows as having meaning specific to Lakota people, but there is no actual “Rainbow Warrior” story.

The actual origin of the "prophecy" is not Native American at all (!) but is from a 1962 book entitled Warriors of the Rainbow by two white men, William Willoya, a Christian Preacher, and Vinson Brown, the owner of Naturegraph Publishers. The book was an evangelical Christian tract, and an attack on First Nations by attempting to evangelize within Native American communities. In the book, the legend states that Native Americans will be joined by their light-skinned brothers and sisters, who are in fact the reincarnated souls of Indians killed or enslaved by the first Settlers. It is said that the dead souls of the first people will return - in bodies of all different colors: red, white, yellow and black. Together and unified, like the colors of the rainbow, this group will teach all the people of the world to cultivate love and reverence for Mother Earth. Warriors of the Rainbow connects these fictitious "Indian" prophecies to the Second Coming of Christ, and has a covert anti-Semitic tone, while evangelizing against traditional Native American spirituality.

This story - misrepresented as ancient prophecy - is an example of modern "fakelore." The Warriors of the Rainbow myth inspired the naming of the Greenpeace ships; has been used in countless environmental protests; and is the namesake for a still-thriving hippie group, the Rainbow Family. While there are variations on the theme - especially as it has been popularized by New Age books, websites and internet memes - the common thread in all versions is that a time of crisis will come to Earth, people of many races will come together to save the planet, and is credited as a First Nations prophecy. "It is said that in a time of great devastation when the trees are dying, people will unite and create a new world of justice, peace, and freedom, and they will be named the Warriors of the Rainbow. They will reteach the values and the knowledge that was lost to time, and demonstrate how unity, harmony, and love is the only way forward."

Some versions of the story specifically state that the new tribe will inherit the ways of Native Americans, or that the Native ways will die out, to be replaced by the new ways of the "Rainbow People." So we see how a narrative that claims to support unity, is in reality an example of the white savior complex, and a device for cultural genocide. Native American author and poet Sherman Alexie has called this syndrome of native displacement the "inner Indian," and describes how white people co-opt Indigenous culture, most notably in his poem How to Write the Great American Indian Novel.

“In the Great American Indian novel, when it is finally written, all of the white people will be Indians, and all of the Indians will be ghosts.”

3 Comments

We Are Those People

4/20/2020

0 Comments

PEGI EYERS

We cannot deny the fear and frustration of many people right now, especially the millennials who are finding these times of lockdown traumatic. And yet, some of us have already experienced similar times of restriction. Not too many years ago I spent 12 weeks tethered to an IV in two different hospitals. And yet as dark as that time was, I discovered a silver lining. I was able to find comfort, solace, healing, respite, and inspiration by going deep within, and exploring the imaginal spaces.

Not to bypass the stark realities and protocols happening right now, but this is also an excellent time to daydream, time-travel, drift, walk aimlessly, go inward and create something new (music - paintings - a book) that will blow people's minds when the crisis is over. All these inward-directed activities are portals to happiness and balance, and the magical realms of Earth Community.

Find a place out on the land, where the ancient energies are vibrant and alive. The natural world is a miracle and a mystery, and everything is unfolding exactly as it should. The birds are singing, the trees are budding, the watershed is flowing, the clouds are endlessly changing, the night sky is eternal, and love is the currency of Gaia. As Thoreau would say, don't read "The Times" - read the eternities.

"As both observer and participant in the luminous healing power and ultimate joy of the green realm, you will be ensouled with the deep knowing of being intrinsically linked to Mother Earth, and the interconnectivity of all creation." Ancient Spirit Rising (Ecodigenous, Page 167)

Days of uncertainty are good for summoning up gratitude for what we CAN do, and all the things that we DO have. Obviously we were born at exactly the right time to witness this global pandemic - at the apogee of western civilization - and there is no point in not accepting it. After all, if apocalyptic events have been predicted for years now, and we've already wrapped our brains around that possibility, why should we be surprised or inconvenienced?

WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE, and our task is to SURRENDER, and to be grateful that we are alive at all, to witness this unfolding of global destiny. We are face-to-face with what is real, what is essential and what is crucial, to be one unique being of many, dwelling in the Sacred Circle of All Life.

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores
strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with
Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric
worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming
peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon.
With 420 pages, full colour, extensive notes, live links & exhaustive references, the Ancient Spirit Rising >eBook< is “A Compendium for Change!”
Join our >FB Group< for sharing on social justice, nature spirituality
and the Ancestral Arts.
ANCIENT SPIRIT RISING

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RIGHT NOW - In a Time of Global Pandemic

3/27/2020

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PEGI EYERS

Are you, like me, feeling that the mythology of your life is now divided between the eras of pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid 19?

RIGHT NOW – the future is totally uncertain.

RIGHT NOW – let’s be honest, the stress and terror we are experiencing from the total disruption of our daily lives, is worse than the worry about falling ill.

RIGHT NOW – we know that the virus will run its course – some will catch it, others never will; some will die and others recover – these are plain truths we can deal with, and not that difficult to accept.

RIGHT NOW – it is impossible and incredibly hard to know what to say, or do - as most of our usual habits and conversations seem tone-deaf to the reality that is unfolding.

RIGHT NOW – except for those with savings galore, everyone is suffering an economic hit, and the ability to keep a roof over our heads is in jeopardy.

RIGHT NOW – we are being stripped down to the essentials of refuge, food, medicine and other basic needs.

RIGHT NOW – the mobility of our aesthetics, education and pleasures have been stripped away – café culture, dining out, bookstores, pubs, theatre, concerts, browsing in second-hand stores, speciality shops, art galleries, academia, conferences and spiritual gatherings have all closed their doors.

RIGHT NOW - here we are, spending our days in our homes; humble or palatial as they may be.

RIGHT NOW – this is an era we have never experienced before. Covid-19 has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed.

RIGHT NOW – How surreal it is to go for a walk, and think a deadly virus is waiting just around the corner to contaminate our lives, and that the people, places and objects of our desire may carry a deadly contagion.

RIGHT NOW – we are feeling the terror of being a statistic, a member of the Covid-19 case count that doubles or triples every day.

RIGHT NOW – we watch in mounting disbelief as the cognitive dissonance continues; as the majority of us carry on with the same beliefs, opinions, consumer behavior and activities we have always had, thinking the quarantine is just a temporary blip in our lives.

AND YET KNOWING FULL WELL how capitalism is designed, without the intake of daily profits, countless businesses will NEVER rise from the ashes. Not having a miraculous reserve to keep them afloat, many businesses and services in the retail, gastronomic, cultural and entertainment sector will likely collapse after 2-3 months, without money coming in.

WHAT WILL the world look like in 6 months?

ARE THESE OUR NEW WORDS? Austerity. Being alone is good. Social distancing. The new normal. The basics. Online reality. Shelter in place. Ground Down.

AND YET WE HAD SO MUCH TO BEGIN WITH. Are you feeling the irony of living in what seemed to be a time of cultural renaissance, when western civilization is actually collapsing under its own weight? In reality, we have been comfortable with the “sky falling” for decades now. We are already in an era of apocalypse. A civilization that destroys the natural world to live, will destroy itself. Altering the balance of nature by massive deforestation, and the annihilation of natural habitat will unleash viruses like Covid-19 on the world. It’s a given.

SO HOW DO OUR LOVELY modern lives of mobility, fashion, adornment, décor, jet travel, restaurants, café culture, fine living and entertainment fit into “the new normal?” Millions of us work in these industries – how many of them will actually revive post-corona? These pursuits are not negative in themselves, and yet capitalism has enslaved art and creativity, and created a commodification of natural human expression that is competitive, inflated and beyond all natural limits. With the apogee of “economic success” as our ruling principle, we have normalized a hierarchy of celebrity that is akin to the abuser/abused relationship – both toxic to the narcissist “have” and the pre-judged “have-not.”

AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME we need to be thinking - what is truly ESSENTIAL to human life?

Perhaps our new habits of social distancing will change these industries and niches forever.

"Isolation" (C) Sam Palmer

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD? The stress, terror and loss we are feeling is real. And yet, we need to hang tight, keep our spirits up and stay positive~! Isolation has a silver lining, as it offers us the gift of time, and the space to retreat from the world. We can make the most of this opportunity by honing our craft, singing, dancing, laughing, crying, and telling the stories of our lives. And each of us are linked together in community, by virtue of our individual relationship to Covid-19.

THE NATURAL WORLD REMAINS the foundation of all life, and the ancient wisdom of re-wilding and re-landing has not wavered. For the first time in many years, Mother Earth is flourishing from reduced emissions and pollution, and the portal is open wide to animist connections and nature bonding. And as they always have, new initiatives will manifest in tough times as we rise to the challenge, and at some point in the not-too-distant future, the human impulse to experience beauty will bring us back to each other again.

HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE

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