I do not consent to the narrative
That being rational
Detached
Dissociated or
NumbIs more mature
More spiritual
More evolved
More enlightened
More accurate
More true
Than
The wild tenderness of my
Innocent heart
The shaky vulnerability
Of consenting to
The open cut of feeling
Of that place which is both
Radiant and rawI will no longer turn away from
The hot and holy mess
That can never be cleaned
And call this progressI admit that I am
Forest and ocean:
Disorganized Art
Made of MedicineI do not consent
To the narrative
That I must overcome
How completely out of control
It is
To care this much
To feel this deeply
To hold the entire universe in
My bellyI will not attempt to
Colonize
Or conquer
The wild in me
I will no longer
Pathologise
The wavesI am done pretending
I am not sensitiveWhen the truth is
My heart is made of a million
Tiny
Insect wingsI bow to the feet
Of the sensitive oneI am here for the language
That is shaky and
Uncertain
That is slow like honey
So slow the mind
Can’t catch itI no longer consent to the idea
That the unkempt longings
Of my soul
The unbearable heat of my
Desire
The immaculate fragility
Of my skin
Should be neatly sorted
Fixed
Sewed shut
Or understoodI no longer defer
To the language, values and
Customs
Of the conquerorI honor
My willingness
To be touched by lifeTo taste the wisdom that is only
Revealed
When I admit
The impossible situation
Of just how entangled
I really am
With every
Single
ThingI no longer turn away
From the bare naked truth
Of the fact
Of my relationship
To all these Holy OthersThis is the language
That has been called
Crazy
Irrational
Wounded
Weak
Inferior
And
ImmatureBut now I am learning
That the wide open truth
That can hold it all
That can pulse with the passion
Beyond reason
This,
Is what I am living forIt is the language of
SoulAnd I am willing
Now
To hold the flameCall me crazy
But this feels sane-Maya Luna
Spruce Falls Trail, Great Smoky Mountains, TN, December 2021
“BeLoved. Do not be with your own soul as a tourist, hiding in hotels of normality, afraid to explore the local wonders. Wander mapless out into the streets of your soul and dare to get lost so you may be found. Leave the approved paths and trendy sites and disappear. When you hear a brook running, run to it and drink. Gaze your own face in its reflection. Cry at your naked beauty. Walk through trees of pomegranates and dates, lemons and figs. Devour these delights your soul offers endlessly. Eat your native food. Ignore the curfews set by society and stay out all night in the glory of your soul. When sun blooms at morning’s birth, fall asleep atop a feathery inner meadow and dream your true life to life.”
—Jaiya John
After being canceled for the NFL to perform the Anthem at the season opening game because of my vaccination status, I decided to sing anyways. Except this time not for the theatrics of a football game.. this time I sang for America. To remind her who she is… the land of the free and the home of the brave.
This is dedicated to anyone that has taken a stand for freedom. I stand with you. ❤️🙏🏾🇺🇸
—Victory Boyd
The totalitarian systems of the 20th century represent a kind of collective psychosis. Whether gradually or suddenly, reason and common human decency are no longer possible in such a system. There is only a pervasive atmosphere of terror and a projection of the enemy imagined to be ‘in our midst’. Thus society turns on itself, urged by the ruling authorities. —Joost Meerloo, Rape of the Mind
What else are parallel structures than an area where a different life can be lived, a life that is in harmony with its own aims and which in turn structures itself in harmony with those aims? What else are those initial attempts at social self-organization than the efforts of a certain part of society… to rid itself of the self-sustaining aspects of totalitarianism and thus to extricate itself radically from its involvement in the totalitarian system. —Václav Havel, The Power of the Powerless
“I recite these words if only to wake people up from their sleep! If only to remind us that many have gone before who suffered and died for the freedoms we enjoy. The freedoms to read and write, to worship and pray and speak as we choose. Not just for Christians, but for everyone. Everyone. The freedoms to agree and disagree. Even to believe outrageous “conspiracy” theories.
The internet has created a crisis even greater than the invention of the printing press. In those days, the information of the texts was limited to biblical knowledge. As time went on, that information grew. Now, a seemingly infinite wealth of information is at our fingertips. We are being told that information is dangerous. That we need to put it into the hands of the powerful once again. We must trust them as the doorkeepers between our minds and the mysteries of the universe.
Just as the reformers stood up for their rights to interpret texts on their own, so we must stand up for our rights to do the same.”
—Karen Hunt, from her article The Demonization of the Unvaxxed
Hey. Watch Bo Burnham’s new Netflix… INSIDE.
It’s excruciating to do so, actually.
Aaaand, delightful… shocking… raw… depressing… affirming… BRILLIANT.
It’s… a lot.
Just watch it. If you’re not wake-the-fuck-up impacted by it, well… maybe it is too late.
Last night was our monthly PATH Tribe gathering over the Zoom. Our conversation focused on how we DEMONSTRATE Authentic Power, Acceptance, Truth, Heart, and Voice. While doing so, Dear PATHee, Matt Prindle was clearly conjuring something magical. This beautiful art, the Creation!
Such hearty gratitude have I… to be able to walk the PATH with such Dedicated, Purposeful, Kind, Caring, Intelligent, Creative, Spirited, Shiny, SOULful Beings!