Spirituality, the gift that keeps on giving. A topic that has a thousand questions and often no answers.
It's often said that "our" society is a hollow one, "a carcass of a worm, a monstrous cadaver" that leaves its inhabitants feeling just as dead and empty. Much of what gets called radicalism seems to be an attempt, in more or less reactionary ways, to fill this void with meaning.
Much like with organized religion radicalism gives you a congregation (group of people who probably dislike each other but agree to meet once a week), good works and foundational texts, and while that all may be fine it leaves me wondering if we could go further.
What would your ideal Anarchist spirituality be? Has it existed in the past? Are you practicing it now? Does it come from a cultural legacy you share, or is something new? How can we work towards an anti-social spirituality?
Comments
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anon (not verified) Sun, 09/08/2019 - 21:55
pass
haha, jk. imagine if that was the whole comment.
my attempts for "spirituality" have been like banging my head against a wall.
there's just nothing there for me. maybe there is a god or gods or spirits, they just don't wanna have anything to do with me.
maybe i'm color blind to them and it's an impairment. or maybe it's just bullshit that's there if you can will it to be.
a lot of people do this
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 00:19
In reply to My favorite spiritual by Le Way
a lot of people do this
My experience
Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 09:46
In reply to a lot of people do this by anon (not verified)
Was completely different. I was given my first mystical experience (a term I don't particularly care for) on all of 2 grams dry Psilocybe cubensis, in the rain in the backwoods. This was only my 2nd time at this dose; I was age 25 at the time. An entire body of experience was to follow. I'm not sure what makes the difference here.
I will say this
Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 10:23
In reply to My experience by Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified)
I was NOT some Evolved Being destined to receive Samadhi at a young age. I was easily in the most damaged 15% of the population. Nearly constant major depression during age 16 thru 22, much of which manifested as hate rather than obvious depression, from which I got permanent brain damage (hypocamus- I tested 2, 4, and 7 percentile on working memory; I first noticed this at age 18). To use the Doctor Words, I had a borderline "personality" (character) disorder with an attachment disorder underneath it. NOT an apparently promising candidate for what quickly became high-dose work with LSD.
are the CIA pushing LSD to
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 11:48
In reply to I will say this by Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified)
are the CIA pushing LSD to the usual suspects?
The counterculture
Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 14:27
In reply to are the CIA pushing LSD to by anon (not verified)
And the new left (what we call "the '60s") was ALL a CIA Plot!
Actually could have been a
anon (not verified) Sat, 09/14/2019 - 08:26
In reply to The counterculture by Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified)
Actually could have been a Neonazi plot. Germanophilia... Volkswagen cult... Exploding markets of LSD (a product of Nazi scientists)... Long-haired Aryan hippies... first major instance of antizionism... progressive national-socialism... Anti-Americanism... The new aesthetics weren't anywhere close to that of the NSDAP, yet all the rest was there.
SURELY
Redpanther/Bad Kitty (not verified) Sat, 09/14/2019 - 18:15
In reply to Actually could have been a by anon (not verified)
This is true.
perlman suggests that some
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 02:40
perlman suggests that some medieval heretical christian sects (e.g beguines) had anarchistic tendencies in against his-story. they rebelled against church and society through a primitivist impulse (a move away from complexity and abstraction). vaneigem has a book in the same vein, the movement of the free spirit, which i havent read.
if theres going to be any kind of anarchist spirituality i think it will be a mutation of something that already exists. aaragorn! had an essay about making your own indigenous animism by squatting next to a river and making up a new grunt language, which is a nice thought, but i think the desire for a tabula rasa on which to build something completely new is utopian. i cant see myself becoming any kind of christian either.
like le way, i think there are parts of buddhism that have potential
zen buddhism itself is like a
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 03:19
In reply to perlman suggests that some by anon (not verified)
zen buddhism itself is like a buddhism/daoism hybrid strain. anarchobuddhism is possible. we should infiltrate zen temples
i dont really know anything
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 03:51
In reply to We must first understand that by Le Way
i dont really know anything about zen yet. im gonna read some books. i imagined it would be better to learn from irl people though, hence the temple. howd you start surfin this zen continuum? did you just read books?
i would have not come up with
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 03:31
In reply to perlman suggests that some by anon (not verified)
i would have not come up with neither spirituality or science (nor language) by myself. it would have been a much more enjoyable silence in my head, and more taking my surroundings and moving through them and resting.
my spirituality will be oblivion
This is it
GO3 Mon, 09/09/2019 - 20:48
In reply to i would have not come up with by anon (not verified)
Let go and let go
The Verse
GO3 Mon, 09/09/2019 - 20:59
In reply to This is it by GO3
If one says fire is light,
Do not respond, shake your head.
Only a thief recognizes a thief,
At one question he immediately nods.
the modern civilized subject
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 04:00
In reply to sri badonkadonkananda was an by dingleberry (not verified)
the modern civilized subject has been anally castrated. the only path is to penetrate the decadent phallus.
sounding.
I don't understand, what is
Dark Nipples (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 08:45
In reply to the modern civilized subject by anon (not verified)
I don't understand, what is anal castration?
Do you know anal retentive,
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 18:33
In reply to I don't understand, what is by Dark Nipples (not verified)
Do you know anal retentive, which is slang for obsessive compulsive disorder. Sooo, anal castration means being free of obsessive compulsive drives. It other words, laid back, relaxed, easy going.
You put "laid back, relaxed"
Fauvenoir (not verified) Sat, 09/14/2019 - 08:53
In reply to Do you know anal retentive, by anon (not verified)
You put "laid back, relaxed" in the same typology as "easygoing". Not exactly the same realm... If I'm laid back then that means I don't necessarily wanna deal with others' high-energy tempers, and I deal with who I feel like dealing with. As anything more would easily become a stressful effort.
Laid back means to be a loner...Living for your own comfort, not that of others (becoz YOLOLOL). That, unless you got some special traits/smell that attracts other dogs and make them like you by default.
wow, that gets to stay but
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 06:20
In reply to the modern civilized subject by anon (not verified)
wow, that gets to stay but the humorous bootyism comments get censored.
Pathetic
Booty is sexist white male
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 06:28
In reply to wow, that gets to stay but by anon (not verified)
Booty is sexist white male racist talk simple reason, butt is gender and race neutral and romantic, so put up or shut up!
06:28
dingleberry (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 08:19
In reply to Booty is sexist white male by anon (not verified)
i didn't realize this site was for idpols and the language police. stupid me.
booty is sexist white male....? now i realize what people mean when they say these progressive sjws live on social media rather than irl.
no worries, i'm gone.
Zen
Nettle Mon, 09/09/2019 - 11:21
You cannot learn zen by reading nor by listening to others, nor by not doing either of those. But you can start anywhere.
Lol.
Anyway, I was recently reminded of this essay by Alan Watts http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Miscellaneous/Beat_Zen_Square_Zen.h…
He says "
But the Westerner who is attracted by Zen and who would understand it deeply must have one indispensable qualification: he must understand his own culture so thoroughly that he is no longer swayed by its premises unconsciously."
And I would say that last bit is the place to start, just as he says. Learn about your given spirituality so that you understand the whys and hows and wherefores of it before (or alongside) learning from a different culture.
The rest of that essay and much of Alan Watts' writing is terrific.
Zen is another religion. Its
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 18:07
In reply to Zen by Nettle
Zen is another religion. Its another " The " ism except its spelt Zen. Its Zenism, no different to Heidebgerism's "Dasein". Its just another inversion on any culturism with and "ism" added to it.
Just do the opposite of what the status quo do and believe and you have Zen.
Le Way was right, it should be spelt zen and its nothing more than projection.
I've been following this
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 03:01
In reply to Zen is another religion. Its by anon (not verified)
I've been following this thread, and its all over the place. For a start, Leway has been deleted as usual, what's new? And he was agreeing with Alan Watts view, so anon 18:07, Leway didn't call zen a religion, but you're contradicting his view, and he described the spirituality as a self-consciousness as a vector towards connecting sources of creaþive energy, that's NOT RELIGION, that's social energy!
Not on topic, but it irks me
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 15:46
Not on topic, but it irks me no end to read otherwise smart people use the term reactionary when they actually mean to say reactive. A reactionary is not a person who reacts, but is someone who’s interested in a prior political arrangement (usually an imagined past filled with hierarchical glory). It’s the opposite of progressive.
Unsure what makes you think
damo Mon, 09/09/2019 - 16:02
In reply to Not on topic, but it irks me by anon (not verified)
Unsure what makes you think it's being used otherwise
progressive isn't the
triviabot (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 16:56
In reply to Not on topic, but it irks me by anon (not verified)
progressive isn't the opposite of reactionary by any means. "progressive" is a term for statist liberals / the reform wing of the democratic party.
And real anarchists hate them
senileoldtroll (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 18:13
In reply to progressive isn't the by triviabot (not verified)
And real anarchists hate them both equally ;)
is that picture of magpie's
anon (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 17:30
is that picture of magpie's new band?
also, this:
5 Anarchist Zodiac Signs Who Rebel Against Authority
https://www.yourtango.com/2019327316/horoscope-five-anarchist-zodiac-si…
so yall can plan your week accordingly.
what is your sign? (Twitter poll)
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 17:51
In reply to is that picture of magpie's by anon (not verified)
What is your sign? (Twitter poll) [only 24 hours]
https://twitter.com/anarchistn3wz/status/1171578673872457729?s=20
What is your sign?
- naruto RAAN like a mf'er
- plz don't generalize
- abolish all signs!
- society!(or othr plz cmt)
hmm....this checks outhttps:/
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 18:51
In reply to is that picture of magpie's by anon (not verified)
hmm....this checks out
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGWTLdhXfp/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2He-ZphDE-/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jNKUk-ruRg
(Feminazgul and Nomadic War Machine respectively)
kidding, but seriously, who's really on the pic is mentioned on anews editorial i think
wat?
anon (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2019 - 08:53
In reply to hmm....this checks outhttps:/ by anon (not verified)
Since when does a bunch of yuppie cool kids recivilizing the forest in the name of some neopagan "rewilding"? Oh wait...
Margaret Killjoy fuck off, btw. Only camp fire that deserves a celebration is that of your picture-perfect shack along with your picture-perfect band members set @flame.
all of the above
anon (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 18:24
signs are:
-for roads (so civ)
-for advertising (so market)
-for language (ugh, so civ)
-for gangs (that's so..ugh..not iconoclastic, why are you labeling yourself with a sign?)
-for contracts and autographs (wow, you sell-out)
false religions
mugwort (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2019 - 14:27
Opposite of truth like politicians. Same type of people wrote these books. Iraqi god of old testament too obvious is an underworld god annoyed when his slaves learned things & wore clothes & Jesus encourages large social inequality & evil power they say Serpent is, but if they say God is good when clearly evil & they say the Serpent is evil then we know the Serpent is good & in order to do different to them & be called evil by them the Serpent must then be an anarchist & we know from archaeology that he was around before the 4,000 BC god of the old testament when it became hierarchical.
^^^^^Typical archaic binary
anon (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2019 - 15:37
In reply to false religions by mugwort (not verified)
^^^^^Typical archaic binary paradigm bs full of opposites.
W H I T E R I N G
anon (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2019 - 17:47
https://www.boundmfg.com/chaind-volume-2-flooded
I am currently involved in an
David T (not verified) Sat, 09/14/2019 - 06:21
I am currently involved in an anarchist spiritual current, The Moorish Orthodox Church. I also wanted to mention Discordianism. Above commenters mentioned Zen. Discordian co-founder Kerry Thornley wrote a book about an anarchist take on zen, Zenarchy (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/kerry-thornley-zenarchy). Camden Benares wrote Zen Without Zen Masters, out of print but on archive.org. Enemy Combatant recently published Tsuji Jun: Japanese Dadaist, Anarchist, Philosopher, Monk by Erana Jae Taylor. Jun attempted to combine Nietzsche, Stirner, and Zen. If you are into zines there are several spiritual anarchist zines current. The Moorish Science Monitor and The Mysterious Rose Garden of the Moorish Orthodox Church, are both MOC zines. Babylon Begone is about very weird anarchist Christianity (ie not your momma's anarcho-pacsifism or Catholic worker stuff).
Peter Lamborn Wilson has a lot of great stuff. Spiritual Anarchism: Topics for Research (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-lamborn-wilson-spiritual-…), for instance. Also several books about Islam.
etc.
Don't forget Max Cafard's Zen
anon (not verified) Sat, 09/14/2019 - 06:35
In reply to I am currently involved in an by David T (not verified)
Don't forget Max Cafard's Zen Anarchy (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/max-cafard-zen-anarchy) and Peter Lamborn Wilson's CALIBAN'S MASQUE . Spiritual Anarchy &. The Wild Man in Colonial America, which is in Gone To Croatan (Autonomedia, 1993).
Someone above mentioned Vaneigem's The Movement of the Free Spirit (Zone Books, 1998), which is excellent. He also wrote The Resistance to Christianity. The Heresies at the Origins of the 18th Century, which has never been released as a book in English but is fortunately here (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/raoul-vaneigem-the-resistance-t…). Reading texts is not the same as practicing an anarchist spirituality but it certainly gives you a flavor of what people have done in the past, what is possible.
spirituality and conciousness of reality
LovelyBuffoon (not verified) Sun, 09/15/2019 - 06:52
to me is an ever changing game, for me i have really strong realizations and those effect how i look at my life forever. This doesn't protect me from feeling shitty and depressed as much as i would like it too sometimes, but it does help me make better decisions and gives me a line of defense against the self-hatred of my own thoughts that comes up from time to time.
"How can we work towards an anti-social spirituality?"
is this another attempt to be different from other people and stand out? Sounds like something written by a brand new LBC intern. You realize that the internet may be anti-social, but it is constructed and used by people? I guess this terminology is also possibly just a rejection of generalized pro-social attitudes that people will mindlessly command you to adopt, "thinking positive" and what not. Hyperactive stupidity is one of the greatest anti-social/social methods of late capitalism. Hatred is a dish best served cold IMO, kill them, ignore them, lol. I'm logging off so i don't get too overwhelmed by my own anger!
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