Editing and Perspectives
Hello beloved reader,
As you are aware (and I trust you are enjoying) I’ve been curating writer’s responses to questions on writing about spirituality and the Divine Feminine, and sending them out each Saturday. However, when yesterday’s post went out I was having a dilemma about feeling a need to address the insanity of the political mess we’re living through, and I included a few paragraphs that I deleted after it went out, so that the archive of the interview does not have to include that information.
So I’m including those paragraphs below, plus a bit more. I love this following perspective in particular from Bethany Webster, author of Discovering the Inner Mother: A Guide to Healing the Mother Wound and Claiming Your Personal Power.
The Patriarchy is REALLY SCARED.
We're living through a collective dark night of the soul as white people are struggling to metabolize the truth of our history as Americans, and the truth that we were oppressors, colonizers, and created great harm, through many generations and to people all over the world, to this very day.
It's a full-blown identity crisis, especially for white male narcissists in power whose entire sense of self is aligned with that paradigm.
They'd rather burn it all down, than have humility, take accountability or responsibility for the harm that they continue to create.
That's how fragile, scared and weak they are: Diversity is so threatening to them; like the boogey man to the point where they need to plug their ears and cover their eyes. They don't want to see scary words like "Women", "bias" "Inclusion" etc.
The narcissistic white men at the top of the American food chain don't want to share "their assets" with women, black people or brown people or queer people.
Rather than evolve and mature into new understandings, they would rather un-alive it all.
They are battling their own fear and shame and feel ill equipped to psychologically handle it.
And as all narcissists do, when faced with their own shame, they PROJECT and scapegoat it out onto the people that stimulate their shame and blame others for their own feelings.
Yes, this is scary and rough, but see it for what it is....a big old tantrum of scared, mediocre white men. Stay grounded and strong.
IF you're someone who has had to go no contact with toxic family members, this may feel familiar to you, like a macro level event of what you may have gone through in your own family of origin that had patriarchal patterns that you had to distance yourself from.
If you've been doing your inner work, remember that you're ahead of the curve and activate all your inner resources.
Use this time as an opportunity to practice and embody what you've been learning and reach out to others who GET IT for connection and mutual aid.
As horrifying as this is, I think this means the people are succeeding.
"One oppresses what one fears."
—James Hollis, author of "Under Saturns' Shadow"
And for those of you who read yesterday’s post, below is mostly a repeat but with some additions:
I feel like I ‘should’1 address the chaos and suffering that is being caused by the orange one. But this is my dilemma: I am 100% interested in doing my civic duty and voting, and I’ve even been known to call and write to senators. However, politics is not my jam. I have political activist friends who believe everyone ‘should’ do more right now. But in my defense, political activism is not my role in social change. I’m grateful for the political activists who do what they do. But—like everyone—I need the space to be who I am. At what point does someone else’s pushing cause suffering too?
I’m interested in living my dharma2, maintaining my equanimity, sending out loving kindness and compassion—and I stand in my sovereignty that this is enough. We all do what we can do. This chart from
gave me solace. Her book is called, Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.
I also believe what Einstein wisely said, “You cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created it.” Perhaps the whole system needs to crumble before there will be rebirth. I don’t know. I do know it’s important to give oneself and others lots of loving kindness and compassion—especially during these times.
I also love this: RISE stands for: Remember your purpose, Ignite your passion, Share your wisdom, Elevate others. Together we RISE!
And I just read this from the Australian author,
, that I LOVE:“Even now—especially now—you are allowed to ENJOY the shit out of making your art.”3
Which I plan to do!
My dharma includes: making art in the form of creative nonfiction writing; evolving my consciousness; and stimulating an evolution of consciousness in others.
May you be true to living your dharma too🥰✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
I’m also including this lovely graphic and words which seem to be deeply resonating with readers on Notes in Substack.
And one more thought: our Buddhist monk neighbors often talk about “conventional reality” and “ultimate reality.”
"In Buddhism, conventional reality is what people experience and know, while ultimate reality is a timeless state that is beyond conventional experience. The Buddhist doctrine of the two truths describes these two levels of reality.”
and "In Theravada Buddhism, Nirvana is the ultimate reality."
Perhaps this is why Buddhism appeals to me so much: they’re basically saying that there is no suffering in ultimate reality. Sign me up😁
Long time readers of this Substack may be aware of my aversion to the word ‘should.’ My dear old dad, to whom I dedicated this series of interviews here, would always say, “Screw should!”
‘Living one’s dharma’ is explored in depth in the ancient Hindu sacred text, The Bhagavad Gita. We don’t have an exact equivalent English word for the Hindu word “dharma”, but its meaning centers around the idea of your “sacred duty,” your life purpose, or in Mary Oliver’s words, What is it you will do with your one wild and precious life? i.e. How will you learn, love, play, create, enjoy, and give, in this human experience we’re having as spiritual beings?
I have not read or listened to many posts recently. But for some reason, I opened this, Camilla. This morning, after reading of the suffering of the Palestinian people, I wrote in my journal 'What would I write if I were brave?' And went on to question my laziness, selfishness and lack of courage, this post is exactly what I needed to read. Thank you
My friend Harriet Behm, with her sister Charlotte, wrote Clueless at the Top in 2004 about hierarchies and the patriarchy. She has been saying for years that the patriarchy is in its death throes….I sincerely hope so. Her website: cluelessatthetop.com