Today, I am sitting here in a cafe in Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala, and I am thinking about the great revolutionaries across time.
As I sip on my americano, I ask myself, “What do Jesus, Dr. King, and Ram Dass all have in common?”
There are a few threads that link them together, but one stands out to me the most.
And it is this:
They all used their spiritual beliefs + practices to create movements that would change the world.
Each of them represents the archetype of the Spiritual Activist.
And that is what I want to talk about with you today.
Spiritual Activism is the idea that our role as spiritual beings here on earth is to bring about a world of love, equality, and justice through ACTION.
Our physical bodies are both vessels for the soul, and vehicles for impacting change.
Unfortunately, the modern spiritual + activist movements have become divided.
Spirituality has become a tool for escaping the problems of this world.
And Activism has turned into a war against systems that we don’t fully understand.
But spirituality is NOT an escape route, it is a practice that prepares us for the pathway towards informed + effective activism.
The most iconic revolutionaries, including Jesus, Dr. King, Ram Dass and many others, like Gandhi, Siddhartha and Mary Magdalene understood that spiritual practice without activism was incomplete, and ungrounded. And they knew that activism without spiritual practice was often misguided and potentially dangerous.
Spirituality + activism need each other.
Perhaps more now, than ever before.
Because the planet is in crisis.
Environmental catastrophes are on the rise.
Social inequality is rampant.
Financial injustice is killing the global economy.
Each of us is being called to take a stand.
We are being summoned to build a more loving, just, equitable world through grounded spirituality + sacred activism.
And here is the good news.
As Spiritual Business Owners, we have the ability to shift the culture through our economic power.
Through our offerings, we can inspire our clients + our communities to show up for movements that are actively dismantling harmful systems, so we can build a better world together.
Before I sign off for today, here are a few tips for aligning your spirituality with activism.
First, observe where you are using your spiritual practices to avoid real world problems, or uncomfortable situations.
This is called spiritual bypassing, and it has become an epidemic in modern spiritual spaces.
Like I said above, Spirituality is NOT an escape route, and using it as such is not only harmful to you, but it can negatively impact those around you.
Spiritual Bypassing can look like using positivity to sidestep real emotional or physical distress. It can look like avoiding hard conversations for the sake of staying “high vibe.” Or it can look like using the Law of Attraction (or other spiritual philosophies) to hold individuals accountable for systemic issues that are beyond their control.
Next, take some time to educate yourself on the systems of oppression that are impacting the most marginalized communities.
Racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are still very much alive, and are negatively impacting people all over the world. The more we understand how these systems are upheld, the more we can do to dismantle them in our own communities, which is the first step towards creating systemic change.
I suggest looking to folks who have lived experience with the “isms” for reliable information, rather than researchers or doctors who study these people.
This means if you want to understand racism, look to BIPOC folks to learn about it. If you want to explore systems of sexism and homophobia, learn from people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Finally, give yourself the space to hold complexity.
Know that in this journey to embody the archetype of the spiritual activist, you will most likely encounter truths + experiences that challenge your perspectives + beliefs.
It’s okay (and maybe even necessary) to feel uncomfortable as you begin to unpack how you may have been complicit in systems of oppression.
This is where you can use your spiritual practices to stay grounded and withhold judgement, until you feel ready to integrate these new understandings and make changes.
One final note, I want to share is that much of the guidance I have received in my own work as a Spiritual Activist comes from my mentors over at Energetic Justice. They have helped me get clear on why this work is so important, and they have developed a vision for how Spiritual Activism can be integrated into my business coaching practice.
This email is not asking you to be the next Jesus, or Mary Magdalene, or Dr. King. It is asking you to be the most grounded + informed version of yourself, as you activate your spirituality, and commit to building a more loving, just, equitable world for all of us.
It’s time that we activate our spiritual practices, and contribute to movements for change. Because all of our lives depend on it.
If you want to explore this further, click here to book a discernment call where we can chat about how you can align your spiritual practices + business with activism, and how I can support you in that work.
Love + Liberation
Lauren Elizabeth