Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Liberation as a State of Existence

I. PREMISE
People should have the right to live in their organic state, to reach their full and maximum potential, so long as this does not impede upon another’s equal right to do so.
By “organic state”, I mean to say who you actually are at your very core. The essence of you; an unashamed, unrestricted expression of everything that you can be.
II. PROBLEM
There are thousands of social and institutionalized oppressors in global society. These oppressors systematically distort your true nature. They tell you:
How to be, who to be, what you like, what you don’t like, what to do with your life, how to express yourself, who you are attracted to, etc.
Examples of oppressors may include but are by no means limited to: religion, capitalism, sexual oppression, laws, etc.
This form of power and control is not usually overt. It is subtle, engrained, and hard to see without strong critical thinking skills. Though these oppressive institutions make up the majority, there are a few liberating institutions as well.
III. THE GOOD NEWS:
It is possible to free yourself mentally even when the oppressor invades your environment.
IV. SOLUTION
With this in mind, we get to the core of this idea. In order to become a liberated individual, you must first recognize the various forces which oppress you.
After you are aware, you must understand 3 components of the oppressor:
What makes it an oppressive force
How it is oppressive to instances in your life specifically
How the institution continues to thrive.
It is important to note that many oppressive forces are self-perpetuating.
Then, you can come to terms with the dynamics of the institution, grapple, philosophize, perhaps grieve, and then detach.
This process can take days or decades, depending on the damage done.
This process must play out for every oppressor you identify.

The previous describes the “baseline state” of liberated existence. We will now go forward to part 2 of the liberated existence, that is, the “higher state” of liberated existence.

I. Once you have freed yourself from a particular oppressor, or are amidst doing so, you are prepared to begin a higher state of liberated existence.
II. The higher state of liberated existence addresses the issue of liberating others from their oppressors. To achieve this state, 3 dynamics must be thoroughly understood:
Every single person is a part of several institutions which systematically oppress others. These may be by default (IE: race) or by will (IE: homophobia).
These systems we are a part of reflect power and privilege in our society.
In order to free others of their oppression, we again turn to awareness. This time, we seek awareness of our own power and privilege.
Dominant forms of privilege include:
White privilege
Male privilege
Heterosexual privilege
Socio-economic privilege
Etc.
III. THE PROBLEM:
It is difficult to identify, accept, and understand one’s own privilege. Part of being privileged is not realizing that you are in fact privileged.
Those who are hurt by your privilege are the first to see it.
IV. SOLUTION
Once you are aware of your privilege you must understand:
What makes it a “privilege”
How you have benefitted from it
How it has hurt others
How the oppressor/privilege continues to thrive.
Once you have come to terms with these elements, you can either:
Relinquish your power
Augment their power
Then, you can stand on equal human footing toward the organic self.
V. LIMITATIONS
Unlike the “baseline state of liberated existence” the previously described “higher state of liberated existence” cannot be accomplished alone. The higher state requires collaboration with the community, thus essentializing the importance of social activism and community outreach.

What questions does this formula answer?
I. The general:
Why should we be socially/politically active?
What is one purpose or condition of life?
II. The personal, specific to me:
Why do you talk about religion/sex?
Why do you do social work?
c. Why are you studying law

What inquiries doesn’t this formula answer?
I. The subjectivity of selflessness as a higher state of being
II. Does liberation lead to happiness? Should it?
III. Less so: the subjectivity of what it means to be liberated and/or oppressed.

8 comments:

  1. To Me Being Liberated Is Hard To Do So, But Not Impossible.

    Whenever I Accomplish a Goal, There Is Always a Person Who Tries To Bring Me Down.

    I Try My Best To Stay Away From People Who Treat Me Like That.

    I Always Think To Myself "As Much As They Don't Like What I Accomplished, They Can Never Take That Away From Me!"

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  2. Have you studied psychology or sociology? You seem to have some ideas rooted in existential psych as well as socio-cultural psych. Much of your ideas connect with Marxist power-theory along with feminist theory. You frequently use the word "oppress" rather than "influence." Being a member of the "white-male" dominant group and having taught psych and soc while recognizing my power dynamic in relation to others--I acknowledge that both my gender and "race" have influenced everything that I am and my relationships with others. That being said, I recommend that you study some more sociology if you've not already done so--there are some fascinating works out there. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on this and other topics.

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    Replies
    1. Reading your comment after all these years was quite insightful.

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  3. tho i may not understand it fully i find this very interesting and helpful. cant wait for the book you talked about in your video

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  4. Hi Laci,
    A comment became unworthy for my response, so I posted it:

    http://spiralofhope.com/liberation-as-a-state-of-existence,-2010-09-07-response.html
    http://tinyurl.com/25dxul7

    To summarize, I see the best qualities of your philosophy as:
    - self-knowledge
    - identify and tackle one's own hurdles
    - help others with self-knowledge
    - collaborate with others over shared hurdles

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  5. Let's not forget one of the most important self-realization impediments in modern history: educational institutions. We are taught to buckle down and be good worker bees. How to free the mind and soul; a relevant question, and a pretty full list of things to do here. Nice work darlin.

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  6. Hello, new viewer of your YouTube, but I learn better via text and repetition, so... ;)

    I just wanted to comment about your video (without adding to the inundation of comments, and blocking acknowledgment of my contribution), Part I. Your philosophy is something that I recently became aware of in the past two years- obviously, through a different path.

    I was, at the time, using marijuana (I don't know where you live, but here in California, it is perfectly legal.), and was under the influence, traveling with a friend. He would be considered a 'tree-hugger', which is why we got along in the first place (we live in Placer county- so, dense forest areas abound!), but he was always getting very angry and going off into frustrated spiels concerning manipulation of our selves, through multiple methods, every day. I, however, viewed his 'rantings' as more of a conspiracy theory; I always agreed vaguely, but didn't actually, really, grasp and hold the concepts of what he was talking about.

    So he was raving, like any other time... and something just 'clicked'. That is literally how it felt- a lightbulb, an epiphany, a door opening. It really opened up whole worlds for me, and i've been trying to formulate my own philosophies, recently beginning to read from leaders in philosophy and psychology- Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, & Freud so far- in order to assimilate or extrapolate their beliefs with/from my own.

    It really has been an incredible experience. So, before my digression, my point was: have you ever had a 'click' moment? Were you ever semi-conscious, until one day, not only did you realize you had been semi-conscious, but you were now awake?

    -Basia

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  7. I know this may not mean much to you, but the beliefs of my religion are exactly that of what you just explained. It is essential that the individual is able to unfold themselves naturally and without restriction. The word for this in my religion is Will.

    Every man and woman is a star in an infinite universe, we decide our orbits and our fate. There is no god except for us. Absolute freedom is the only way humanity will ever evolve. People who have experienced freedom must work to let others experience it.

    I am glad to see that we have both found freedom and are working to establish it in the world, albeit through different ways. This post really made my night Laci, have a nice one.

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