Embodied Mystical Solidarity

The United States is erupting once again after yet another killing of an unarmed black man. Protests rage not only throughout the country, but even across the world as many step forward to do what they can to try to fight injustice and bring about a better world. 

Integral Christian Network is a made up of many people and voices. As Paul and I are the founders and gatherers of this network, as well as the primary voices for our Sunday writings, we want to express our solidarity and support for all those seeking justice for and change to the violence and systemic injustices against people of color in this country and around the world. We condemn police brutality and all forms of white supremacy.

There are many voices of color full of wisdom and experience in this area far greater than our own. We encourage everyone in our network to seek out voices of local activism in your area, as well as a variety of perspectives outside the usual channels of those in power and privilege.

For our part, coming from the tradition of Christian mysticism, we’d like to offer a few words.

Mystical Solidarity and Action

Integral Christian Network is a community of embodied mystical practitioners. As such, it is vital that we not spiritually bypass collective and individual trauma, anxiety, struggle, pain, and death which is at the forefront for so many right now. The collective energy field of the world is being shaken with the vibrations of this necessary disruption. This, along with all the agitation already caused by the global pandemic and the rise of authoritarianism around the world, is an invitation to evolution. Significant change and growth in consciousness rarely happens without conflict and interference.

How we respond to disruption and challenge has a direct effect on whether we stay where we are, regress, or be part of the move into a higher consciousness that is more loving, inclusive, and complex.

Two Common Diversions of Mystics

“Rising Above” 

We will not seek to “rise above” any of these very real human realities, especially in a time like this. Transcendence is an important and valuable spiritual movement, but not all transcendence is outside of and away from. We can transcend our small self, moving into an immanent participation with one another, with the world outside our singular perception from our constructed identity and beyond own narrow perspective of separateness.

We seek to be mystics who will stay in the thick of things, even when they get messy. What we can do in the midst is to descend within and underneath the storm, down into the fount of love. We can ground through our roots into a deeper holding, a source of energy that charges us to be present in our incarnated being here and now, on this one earth we all share. We can live from our divine identity in our womb, where God is continuously creating us anew. Living from this flow allows us to participate from this deeper, loving consciousness rather than any reactionary and tribal identity impulses that objectify and dehumanize one another.

“Escaping Denial”

We will not seek to “remove” ourselves from this either, as some mystics set themselves apart in a manner of denying the world. Again, this movement away can have its time and place, but once we move beyond the illusion of separateness into the reality of WE, it is impossible to stay on the outside for very long. The desert is ultimately meant to teach how to truly engage.

We seek to be mystics who will listen with an open heart, respond and relate in loving solidarity and presence, engage and act in support of the marginalized and oppressed. If we’re coming from a place of privilege, we might have the ability to stand back and keep at a distance from this messy conflict. We may even feel inclined to do so, feeling impulses such as safety, security, fear, futility. These are the instincts of the separate self. From our whole, embodied and collective self, we can seek to show up in heart communion and action with our brothers and sisters in this time of need.

How We “Show Up”

As incarnated spiritual beings on earth in this moment now, we can and must engage with these present experiences before us. That might mean physical protest and embodied action, or it might mean participation in a host of other possible ways. We all must show up and do the work that is ours to do, to give the gift that is ours to give. No one else can tell you what exactly that is, but we are empowered to listen with humility and receive the invitation of our calling.

That invitation might come from listening to someone experiencing oppression, it might come from our deepest divine identity within, and it might come from a spiritual guide who is with us, such as Jesus, Mary, or others. At best, it will come from all three.

Showing up is often not easy. We can draw on the very real presence of Jesus and other spiritual guides with us to aid us with courage, wisdom, comfort, and strength. Moving into a mystical relationship with the Living Jesus or other spiritual guides is to discover the loving divine presence beside us, always there to help. Moving into the flow from our divine identity present within opens us to continually evolve beyond our separate identity and limited perspective, welcoming more and more of not what we already know, but what we are about to know.

We can also draw on the example of Jesus. Jesus challenged the empire of his day, but he did not seek power. He lived from the energy of the consciousness of his deepest identity, at one with God. He constantly invited his followers to take the perspective of the outsider, of the “other.” He called us to love our enemies.

Amidst the many feelings and challenges that face us now, let us not seek to escape this present reality, but to more deeply engage with the consciousness and presence of love and solidarity. Let us be mystics who show up, who listen, who work from the radial energy that invites the world forward into a more just and loving future.