Rebel Spirit

"Cause we've been trodding on the wine press much too long. Rebel, Rebel"

Robert Marley

What does it mean to rebel? It's really not possible to say unless we put the rebel in context and ask the question "What is the rebel rebelling against?" We have conflicting archetypes of the rebel in our society, some good, mostly bad. The good rebels all exist in the past, even the "forefathers" of the american revolution were (at the time) deemed "Terrorists" by the king of England. It's not until a struggle is won that one can be transformed from "Terrorist" to "Forefather" in the ultimate stretch of vindication. But when you are the king of a mighty colonial empire the word "Rebel" is a very bad word indeed. The king, the kingdom, is the context that the rebel is rebelling against. However, for those who undergo great disparities under said kingdom, the rebel is automatically a hero among the people.

While the king and the kingdom would portray a rebel as a villainous, bloodthirsty sociopath, the people know when the rebel is a passionate soul who can no longer tolerate the injustice in the land. But many such rebels live and die without vindication and the history books of kings will forever label them as "Terrorists" whose brutal end serves as a warning to would be rebels. One might think that a nation born out of rebellion would forever be in solidarity with the roles of the rebels of the world. But our rebellious forefathers were content to keep the same inequities of an aristocratic British society as long as they we're on the receiving end of the disparity. They were not fighting against a class system or an ownership society, they were not fighting for the rights of women, minorities, or the poor, they were fighting for themselves to be on top of a very similar, criminal empire.

The United States now stands as the worlds only self proclaimed Super Power, an empire by anyones' standard. But if power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, what does Super Power do? Hmmmm.... I think it's safe to say that the United states government is the largest and most corrupt empire to have ever stamped its' brand on the planet. The United States and all who worship the false American idol are now the context against which the rebel spirit rises. It doesn't matter if it's someone who plants a bomb on a US naval ship in the port of Yemen, or someone who sets SUVs ablaze in Oregon, or Someone who flies a small plane into the IRS building in Texas. The empire permeates everything on the planet, especially every resource of venal or strategic value, and every form of communication to monitor, shape, and mold our social discourse.

The rebel spirit is just that, spirit: the fire within. Those whose passions rise when they witness injustice in all of its forms have a potent spirit and strong convictions. They feel that they are on this planet to carry out a mission set for them by their own soul, an overwhelmingly benevolent force in the universe. Only the owners of a corporation can watch what that corporation does to the planet and think "That's perfectly fine, no problem here.", anyone with a heart knows when their land is being raped before their very eyes. This is the model of empire, to extract wealth from the far reaches of the planet and pile the gold high in your own backyard. Empire is all about ownership, and ownership is all about stealing and killing. First you kill people, then you steal land and resources, then repeat; you now have an empire. And when you build an empire this way you solve every problem the same way, kill more people, steal more resources.

Churches are the empires of the spiritual realm, the context within which one may rebel. But churches are more concerned with the ultimate deviant, the devil. The word "Devil" comes from the word "Deviate" and just like "Rebel" one must ask what one is deviating from. Just as we're taught to believe that the rebel is a "bloodthirsty terrorist" who "hates our way of life", we're also taught that Lucifer was an ambitious and defiant angel who challenged the authority of the Christian god Jehovah. So the devil, Lucifer, Satan, is basically Osama Bin Laden hiding in the ultimate cave: Hell, from which he sends his demons out into the world to wreak havoc among good Christian souls. Oddly, we're also taught about Jesus, who was pretty rebellious for a god. Oh, but he's a god, if he were a man he would have been a bad guy, even a "Terrorist" fighting against the Roman empire. It's a good thing he's not an ordinary man or he might inspire others to follow in kind.

So expect your nations mainstream news to be quick with the "Terrorist" label when anything threatens our homeland insecurity. Just like the tower of Babel our empire is an offense against god, and man, and goddess, and woman. The earth herself is the princess locked away in the tower that we all must risk everything to save, and if we are to save her we must bring the tower down behind us. The tower of Babylon is an outdated mode of dominance, the commanding heights of empire, and it must be dismantled for our next phase of true equality to begin. We can no longer be satisfied with the calculated coup replacing one tyrant with another, this titanic has already submerged and whoever the captain is they cannot stop the downward spiral to the bottom of the sea. Let go of your attachments to this false entity and begin to work for the planet, the people, and all of the natural world, it's the most rebellious thing you can do.

We refused to be what you wanted us to be

We are what we are, that's the way it's going to be, if you don't know

You can't educate I for no equal opportunity

Talkin' 'bout my freedom, people freedom and liberty

'Cause we've been trodding on the wine press much too long

Rebel, Rebel

Babylon system is the vampire

Sucking the children day by day, yeah

Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire

Sucking the blood of the sufferers

Building church and university

Deceiving the people continually

Me say them graduating thieves and murderers look out now

They're sucking the blood of the sufferers

Tell the children the truth

'Cause we've been trodding on the wine press much too long

Rebel, Rebel

And we've been taken for granted much too long

Rebel, Rebel

Pagan Control Freak?

con-trol [kuh n-trohl] -to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.

ma-nip-u-late [muh-nip-yuh-leyt] -to handle, manage, or use, esp. with skill, in some process of treatment or performance: to manipulate a large tractor.

Let's contemplate a question for a moment and assume that a dictionary is not the place to find the answer: What is control? What does "control" really mean? And if it exists, where does it reside? From the moment we learn this word we are stuck with the task of controlling our selves, in the process our brain is somehow separated from our body and deputized to police all of its' actions. Long before we have our first puppy we have this animal called our "body" and we must train it and keep it on a short leash or else it might aimlessly roam the neighborhoods at night digging in peoples garbage. Some people try using force and punishment to train their animals, some use a pocket full of treats, one way or the other we are working with our will in an attempt to subordinate another. But are we really "controlling" anything? Nope.

"Control" is an elusive illusion that literally makes us crazy if we pursue it, and being a firm pillar in the dominant narrative it's no wonder the world is in the state it's in. I believe that some words really don't need to exist, their premise is false and faulty and they lead the human consciousness astray and away from clarity, reality. "Control" is one of these words, it's about time we lose "control" once and for all. There is a word based in reality that is ready to do the job that "Control" has failed to do, but this word has a bad rap and it's time we exonerate it for the crimes it has not committed. The word "Manipulate" has a heavy negative connotation in the English language, our somewhat venal sense of individuality makes us shudder at the thought of being manipulated. The same may be true for "Control", nobody really wants to be controlled by another, but relax, you aren't. You're also not in control of anyone else, including your self.

But you are manipulating your self (or your body) and you manipulate others and they manipulate you, it's called society. Sure, manipulation can be a "bad" thing, but it's constantly happening in mostly neutral ways, and often in very positive ways. We simply fail to give manipulation the credit when it's delivering the good things in life, we may even mistakenly give the credit to something that doesn't deserve it, doesn't even exist, like "control." If you're not quite convinced that "control" is a mere illusion then lets try a little experiment, part physical part thought experiment. Is there an object nearby that you can pick up? Go ahead and pick it up and move it about one inch and put it back down again, assuming it's under 100lbs of course. How did you do it? What was the first thing that happened? A thought? An intention? Did your arm just move without any special instructions? Did your brain "control" your arm and hands and the object you picked up?

If you can answer "Yes" to the last question, I'm asking you to consider it again, more, deeper. The truth is that "control" is debatable at best, it's not just an abstraction but it's very existence relies entirely on a philosophical question. Manipulation may be equally abstract, but for it's slightly more conservative and realistic definition it's existence is not in question. If I ask the question "Did you (or your brain) manipulate your arm, hand, and the object?" The answer is unequivocally "Yes." But in our culture, for some reason, to be a "manipulator" is equivalent to being a "hater", manipulation is somehow blamed for all of the crimes committed in the pursuit of control. Somehow "control" is the hero and "manipulate" is the villain, as if there was a war and the winner rewrote history, and reality. Manipulation is at the very heart of every verb we undertake from the moment we wake up in the morning to the moment we slip into dreamland once again.

While those who seek "control" over themselves, others, and the environment can grow more and more frustrated with their inability to achieve and maintain that impossible goal, those who seek only to manipulate their world can experience constant satisfaction with their inevitable success. Manipulating another human being is only negative if you believe that it is, it happens no matter what you believe so it's better to see that it is fundamentally benign. In fact some of the most wonderful experiences in our lifetimes require a state of mutual manipulation, not the least of which is making love to another soul. That some people manipulate others for personal gain with no consideration of mutual benefit is no fault of manipulation itself, as Ani Difranco said so eloquently "Every tool is a weapon if you hold it just right." Yet we tend to shun this tool even as we wield it, there is perhaps nothing more dangerous, more negligent than to use a tool in such a state of denial.

If you're a fan of Kung Fu movies you may think of ancient China as a land of martial chaos, but the practice of martial arts has always been largely misunderstood looking from west to east. Those who practice martial arts are actually less likely to be unstable, aggressive, and dangerous elements of their communities, unless of course their goal was to harness all of the power and none of the respect. But for most people the process of learning the extent of your physical power, your martial energy, also brings you the necessary respect that power requires. Those without this knowledge of the force within them are truly the less stable elements, walking around with a gun that they didn't know was loaded. The body and all of it's physical energy is our most powerful tool, and the practice of martial arts and other body energy studies such as Tai Chi and Yoga are how we get a handle on that tool. And without a handle, a knife, an ax, a shovel aren't tools at all, just dangerously sharp objects littering the landscape.

But "control" alone is not the worst drug on the street, it's more of a gateway drug for the true poison called "Control over." I'd prefer that no individual make any special effort to "control themselves" if they can accept "manipulate" as a suitable alternative, but to attempt "Control over" others is a crime of a much higher order. If one achieves a position of authority in some aspect of life based on merit alone, chances are they were not driven by the notion of "Control over". But in our political world of military force, police brutality, corporate rule, and the corruption that makes it all possible, there are many forces out there that seek to have "control over" everything and everyone in a monopolistic fervor to rule the world. "Control" may be an illusion, but the crimes committed by those who pursue it are very real. Imagine a world without this word, without this illusion, without the primary fuel for tyranny. Maybe you can't "make it happen" but you can manipulate it into being, not unlike the way you moved your arm.

Walk With Me

"And think not you can guide the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, shall guide your course."

Khalil Gibran

From a certain age we all begin to think of love, in a curious longing for what we know so little. We tend go through elementary phases of innocent romance, obligatory crushes, and the occasional teenage relationship before anything very serious comes into our lives. And even through all of these progressions in ones budding love life, true love may remain a fleeting glimmer on a distant horizon. We are sadly aware that no one is guaranteed true love in this lifetime and many never find it. Many more languish in abusive or self defeating relationships that they want to believe is true love but hope does not make it so. There is a simple reason so many cannot find love in another, and it's no real secret to reveal. True love is self love, until we learn to love ourselves we can never truly love another.

For most people self love is an elusive goal or not a goal at all, as if it's importance were not at all known. In fact many people grow up feeling that "self love" is "selfish" or "self centered", as if it's conceited to love ones' self. If this describes your understanding of self love I am asking you to consider just the opposite, there is nothing more selfless, more generous, than to love yourself exactly as you are. Do not consider your faults, they are simply the other side of your strengths. Your faults fade in the presence of your love and you will see that your faults have always been your strengths working without the nourishment of love. When you have self love you do not seek it with a desperation if you seek it at all, you emanate it like a radio tower and attract it back to you. Like attracts like, those with self love attract those with self love; those without attract those without.

Self love is a spiritual, not superficial goal, it is a basic level of enlightenment that simply puts one on a path that will continue to expand their consciousness as long as they maintain that self love. The universe is love down to it's smallest bits and in it's complete form, within each one of us is a tap into that bottomless well. This love exists beyond the boundaries of time and space and is therefore eternal and shared by all things; plant, animal, mineral, past, present, and future. The knowledge that one can be alone and still have love is the antidote for the fear and desperation which guides many in their search for true love. There will never be a cologne called "Desperation" because desperation is literally repulsive, one intuitively understands that they are being asked to love someone who does not love them self. This same rule applies for salesmen, you are more likely to make a sale if you too would buy the product.

One may have a lover and still not have self love, because as we all know sex is not necessarily love. Chances are neither lover has self love if we follow the like attracts like principle, but there are other possibilities. One lover may see that the other is at the doorway of self love just waiting for someone to invite them in, or they may both be in that threshold as they meet. But it's all too common for two people without self love to stay together for a very long time without this precious element and sometimes even preventing each other from attaining it. One person in this relationship can begin to attain this love and if the other does not follow suit they will soon vibrate out the door to find another mate. But these self loveless relationships often go on long past the point of being mutually beneficial because losing the relationship would mean losing love. The sometimes sad truth is that all relationships are temporal, one can only find comfort in the knowledge that love itself is eternal.

Relationships have so much to teach us, especially with mutual love and self love. But there are also many pitfalls to be avoided, though falling in is one way to learn all about them. It's important to understand that your life follows a path and very few people share your charted course. In the terrain of love we more often cross paths with people who are coming from different places and heading in different directions. We meet because our paths bring us to the same place and time where we can share at least that much in common, but chances are we can no more harmoniously trade our routes than we can trade our shoes and expect them to fit. But relationships, especially marriage, force one or both of these courses to drastically change. Over much of human history it has been without question that the woman gives up any plans or goals that conflict with those of the man, the mans course becomes hers.

When you see your course on this physical and metaphysical landscape and have the greater vision of self love, you can see the potential to simply share a path with a lover for a while, as long as it is mutually beneficial and before it becomes mutually destructive. I am in no way suggesting that love can be destructive, but holding onto something or someone beyond it's natural expiration date is destructive, like drinking sour milk. I assure you that aligning relationships with sour milk is not a pessimistic view of love, perhaps some people should be asking themselves "Why buy the milk when it expired last week?" When two people simply share a path for a while they are braiding their two paths together, they may go his way, or her way, or find some compromise between the two. But giving up ones path completely, or compromising both can eventually lead to mutual resentment, blaming each other for goals not realized. Walk together for a while but do not forget your path.

As a self proclaimed pagan I naturally find flaw with the "Institution of Marriage" but I don't secretly or publicly wish doom and failure on any married couples. I do sympathize with them however for the impossible goal they carry, a potentially lifelong burden. "Til death do us part" is an unnecessary and potentially destructive element of marriage, or "merging." Love flowers when two people have a mutual appreciation for each other, when they can overlook faults to see and utilize the gifts that they have for one another. If one believes that they are "stuck" with the other they almost immediately begin to dread the others faults, and "til death do us part" quickly becomes a curse filling the relationship with bitterness and resentment. Marriage has historically set a great imbalance between the genders in their respective roles. For millennia men have been able to achieve success after success in their careers, while most of our mothers and grandmothers, great grandmothers and so on, we're left with the task of "keeping the family together". This goal is often never fully realized because time keeps marching on and the family could always fall apart the next day, no "Mission accomplished" banners for mom.

Though I'm not a true practicing pagan I follow the logic of the hand-fasting rituals, some specify that the two are bound together for a specific cycle but not limited to that time, others simply leave out "Til death do us part." No marriage or relationship is guaranteed love, but one does not need institutional marriage, or even a relationship to begin to love ones' self. The escape hatch of divorce is becoming increasingly utilized for those who become disillusioned in their marriages, but I'm suggesting that some relationships can survive healthy and happy for many years without the lifetime guarantee, and in fact that impossible commitment may be the instrument of undoing for many couples. Years ago I noticed that with the coming generation all step parents were becoming step-grandparents, and now they are becoming step great grandparents, this trend is irreversible even as it speaks to the reversibility of marriage. But even after a bitter divorce or split, it is important to go back and see the other for their gifts and not let their faults spoil the better qualities they shared, hopefully this process can be mutual.

No matter where you are in your life, teen crush, young love, young parent, not so young parent, there is one thing you simply must do to improve the quality of your love life and life in general, love thyself. Just as the inscription at the temple of Delphi instructs us to "Know thyself" we begin to see that until we know our selves we cannot truly know anything or anyone else, the same is true for love, that we must first love our selves before we can truly love anything or anyone else. Do not seek love, instead go deep within yourself and discover it there. Discover your thing, is it writing, playing a sport, music? Whatever it is, do your thing and focus on nothing else and love will fall all over itself to ring your doorbell. Even if you're in a marriage or relationship, with or without self love, ask yourself what your "thing" is, or what your thing would be if you were not in your current relationship. Then do it anyway, even if it causes friction in your relationship, allow it to begin to correct your life as you attract like elements into your world.

Love your self, and do your thing, nobody else can do either of these for you.