To find the courage and wisdom to stand and live a peaceful life is a challenging endeavour. On my last post "Boundaries that honour Sacred Relationships", I outlined how those boundaries work and the authority & power we have to maintain them. But how does that translate into real life? How can we walk the path while honouring the sacred space of others?
Following are examples of real life situations that I've seen and how people could approach them using methods to honour the sacredness of others. Yes, many of you may not agree, so I challenge you to contemplate what I'm saying. In this world, it is far too easy to justify violence against others or to stand in righteousness as we violate others. Let's see how this goes, shall we.
Louisiana passes law banning abortions after heartbeat is detected
Lets start with one that is very controversial. There are many jurisdictions in the US and even around the world that is passing legislation that would make it illegal for a woman to have an abortion. When we apply boundaries to this story, we must acknowledge that we have absolutely zero right to force our will upon women. Zero! You can quote scripture, supreme court cases or legislative enactments until you are blue in the face. The fact remains, the woman has every right to decide what she does or does not do to her body. Using the law to force our will against somebody else violates spiritual law and the highest standards in morality and ethics. The fact that people feel justified to use the law to force women to do or not do things is repugnant.
So what about the women who wants to have an abortion? Well, if we apply these standards to her pregnancy, we must also acknowledge that the spiritual being growing a body inside of her has the same sacred protections as any of us, no matter what stage of development they have reached. The woman has no right to terminate the body of that spiritual being. If she chooses to violate that individual, that is on her and she will have to deal with the spiritual consequences of that choice. But the choice is and always will be hers to make, not ours! We can share our thoughts and feelings about it, but we must not engage in violence, coercion, shame, guilt or any other manipulations to control her choice. To do so would violate the boundaries of sacred relationships!
But there is a root cause to this whole debate that people seem to bypass. If we rebuilt our tribes and re-established healthy relationships by honouring the boundaries of our sacred relationships, the number of unwanted pregnancies would plummet, perhaps even fall to zero! That would make this whole point mute. So while people focus on the abortion rates, rape, disabilities, etc, these are symptoms of a much deeper and more evil plot to destroy our tribes, families and individuals. Rather than getting caught up in the symptoms, our discussions should be focused on resolving the root causes instead! Don't get distracted by the evil doers on this planet. That is their secret weapon.
Tennessee Pastor Who Is Also a Detective Calls for L.G.B.T. People to Be Executed
When we apply the boundary principles of sacred relationships to this news article, it is clear that nobody has the right to terminate the vessel of another spiritual being. Hatred, whether justified by our interpretation of scripture, court cases, etc is not a valid excuse to kill, harm or discriminate against other spiritual beings. When we grow in maturity so that we can make choices in our lives on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level, then we have reached adulthood. From that point on, we are 100% responsible and accountable for our actions and behaviours. If we choose to love another spiritual being, that is our right and duty to do so, as long as we approach the relationship in an honourable way. Who we invite into our inner sanctum is completely up to us to choose.
We must also help those who have not reached adulthood and teach them what boundaries are and help them to learn about sacred relationships. Our youth don't have the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual maturity to know themselves or to navigate around the complexities of what healthy boundaries look like. It is the tribes job to teach them, not by telling them or forcing them, but by leading through example. I would suggest that this whole topic would disappear when we all acknowledge the monumental harm colonization has done in destroying our family, clan and tribal units that worked hard for thousands of years to lead our youth through inclusion and example. By breaking apart our support and teaching structures, we forced people into the closet and attack them when they come out. That is not how we treat, love and respect other spiritual beings. If people felt safe to express themselves, I suspect many would find the healing they need in order to connect with the loving, nurturing and caring relationships that they need in their life, no matter who their partner may be. Spirit has a strong influence on the physical, so we should not be judging people based on their physical bodies. In fact, we should not be judging people at all!
Eager to Limit Exemptions to Vaccination, States Face Staunch Resistance
Here is another controversial topic and when we start respecting the sacred boundaries of others, we must acknowledge that we have absolutely no right to make medical decisions for others or use the legal system to force those decisions. Many people would argue that by vaccinating people we save lives. While the debate rages on with one side providing proof that vaccines work and the other proving that they don't, the whole debate seems to dismiss the fact that nobody has the right to violate the vessel of another being. Illness and disease is a fact of life on this planet. We cannot reduce our risk of illness or death to zero. That is impossible to do. We will always deal with risk and that is life on this planet. Some are prepared to have a higher tolerance to risk, taking chances with life for big gains, while others have a low tolerance to risk, wanting to be safe and secure. It is up to each individual to learn how to navigate, reduce or mitigate risks in their lives. If some people want to use the medical system to mitigate risks, then that is their sovereign right to do so. However, if others want to mitigate risks in other ways, that is their right as well. Either way, both groups have to do their due diligence, research and take responsibility for the outcomes.
With that said, when we come down with an illness, we must also ensure that we don't put others at risk. To willfully spread our illness violates the sacred boundaries of others and would jeopardize our integrity and violate spiritual law. Welcome to being an adult who is 100% responsible and accountable for their own actions and behaviours. So what about our youth? I will repeat what I said before, the tribe is responsible for those who don't have the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual maturity to make decisions. The tribe is responsible for teaching our youth how to properly evaluate risk and mitigate it. Society is woefully inept at evaluating risk that whole industries have popped up to profit from the complete disconnect that people have with the risks in their lives. Fear feeds that industry and many have become billionaires and millionaires as a result.
The tribe must teach the youth how to properly evaluate and mitigate risk and find the courage to make their own choice without force, coercion, guilt or shame manipulations. Until the point where our youth is independent, we must make the choice for the youth and get them involved in the decision making process, with the final decisions being made by their parents depending on the maturity of the youth. But that choice must be made while respecting and honouring the sacredness of the young spiritual being! Balance is critical to ensure violence is not introduced into the relationship. Every single one of us is going to die in this life time. There is no escaping that fact. How we die is just as important as how we live. By confronting death we remove the fear and approach life from a whole new paradigm. But when we engage in force to protect the whole while we sacrifice hundreds or even thousands, that is completely unacceptable as EVERY SINGLE LIFE FORM ON THIS PLANET IS SACRED AND HAS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE!!! The sooner we see life in this way, the sooner we can start shifting how we interact with ourselves, each other and Mother Earth.
One more point on this topic. When the state takes the youth away from families or tribes, they are engaged in genocide. Period. The tribe and parents are responsible for the youth and every step should be taken to support them in those efforts. So rather than paying foster parents, we should be making every effort to rebuild and support the tribes. To do anything else would be a major violation of spiritual law and violate the sacredness of all involved!
Husky fined $3.8M for 2016 oil spill into North Saskatchewan River
Why is it that when two fighters get into a ring, nobody is charged with assault? Ironically the legal system recognizes some principles of spiritual law as they recognize that when two consenting adults want to fight, that is their right to do so. But when we don't have the consent of another spiritual being, we have no right to engage in actions or behaviours that would cause harm, period. When it comes to consumerism, resource extraction, minding, transportation, etc, it all depends on the state granting permission to others to engage in risky activities. But it always involves using force or coercion to push these projects through as they always violate the boundaries of other spiritual beings. ALWAYS!!!
This is where people justify the coercive power of the state. If they had to gain consent from absolutely everyone, each individual having a full veto power, nothing would get done. This argument is the whole justification for the state, legal systems, armies, police and bureaucracy. Wars have been fought over these kinds of issues. But we are not here for wealth, power and conquest. We are here to learn how to have sacred, healthy, balanced physical, mental, emotional and spiritual relationships.
The whole system is founded on force and coercion. We used it to push people off the land so that the colonial empire could control, rape and plunder. People support that agenda because they receive benefits, privileges, wealth, power and life style as a result. The share holders are all the voters and participants, whether they are poor or rich. If we implement boundaries and recognize the sacred relationships of all life, this whole industrial complex would come to a screeching halt ... and it should! Our political, financial, economic, industrial, food and medical systems violate spiritual law and need to be replaced.
But how do we get anything done if we have to talk to people, negotiate and gain consent all the time when we all disagree? Now isn't that the trillion dollar question! We would rather engage in violence than sit down and work stuff out? Life on this planet is here to serve us on a spiritual level. That means that all the plants and animals are willing to sacrifice them self for us, but we must approach them in honour and respect. The moment we don't honour their spiritual sacredness, the deal is off and we will starve or perish. We break the rules with our institutions and there will come a day when it all comes crashing down due to violating spiritual and natural law.
When we get ourselves back into harmony with spiritual and natural law, we will be protected from the violence and chaos. By honouring the boundaries of others and gaining consent from all the life forms we use to nourish our own bodies or protect them from the harness of Mother Earth, we honour Creator and overcome the foundational lessons that we are here to learn.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. - Matthew 19:24
The kingdom of God is spiritual, so there is no amount of fictional or physical wealth, power, greed, violence, genocide or theft that will provide the keys to gaining spiritual growth. When we participate, interact or support these institutions, we violate spiritual law by forcing our will upon the plants, animals and even Mother Earth, who have NOT consented to this shit. Those who participate in the system have consented, whether they realize it or not. But when we walk away from these institutions we remove our consent and make it harder for them to continue on these harmful, destructive and blatantly violent disregard for the sacredness of life on this planet.
Image of clear cut forestry practices in northern Ontario (2017)
When we take a look at every single thing we do or fail to do, we are always responsible for the outcomes. Do we engage in violence or violate the sacred space of another spiritual being or did we enter into a sacred relationship, provide offerings, do ceremony and take all the steps necessary to gain consent? Do we look for the easy way through a situation and let others pick up arms to make our life easier, or did we do the right thing and take full responsibility for our lives? Did we blame others or accept that we are fully accountable for the actions or inaction that we take? Did we fully honour the sacred space of our own being and that of all the others that we interact with on a daily basis?
This path is not easy, but when we start to honour and respect the sacredness of others, life will change on this planet, and it will change quickly!