About Us

BASIC THEORIES

1. SPIRIT IS ALL

Spirit encompasses everything. there is nothing that Spirit is not. so one of the languages of spirit is contradiction because Spirit, being all reality, reconciles all opposites. contradiction is an authentic spirituality because it reveals the Whole behind the divisions while honoring the divisions. it is grasped by embracing within the self all oppositions as equal.

this does not mean that we as individuals don�t have preferences - we do, but we can simultaneously recognize that all things are, & are part of, Spirit. this doesn�t mean either that there are no ethics, because there are, but that doesn�t change the fact that unethical things are also part of Spirit. whenever we put seemingly opposite things together as belonging, we act spiritually. being All, spirituality unites us as one unity while keeping our diversity sacred - no differences, all differences - perfect unity, infinite variety. all simultaneously. when we expand our minds & hearts to encompass this, we have grown & begun to know Spirit. this is one of our purposes.

2. ETHICS

our ethical stance comes from the neo-pagan community, but is universal: if it harm none, do as you will. theres a balance here between our responsibility & our freedom: if we dont hurt anyone, we can do what we please. the new ethic promotes non-violence, responsibility, & freedom.

first, it prohibits & restrains involuntary physical violence. if you like being spanked or whatever, that�s fine, but if you dont & it happens against your will, its not okay. violence includes physical injury, non-self-defensive force, & destruction or theft of property. but it has to be physical - it doesnt include being offended or getting your feelings hurt. second, you & you alone are responsible for what you do. no one else can be blamed. you also have the responsibility to make your will known by communicating it effectively.

so everyone has the responsibility to make your desires & dislikes clearly known, & to respect others desires, dislikes, person, & property. if you do this, you then have the right to do whatever else you want. its your body, mind, & life, not anyone elses, to do with as you wish. your right to be free is bounded only by other people�s freedom, & the only legitimate job of the cops is to be peace-keepers, the job of the courts is to settle the inevitable disputes & conflicts between people & groups exercising their freedom.

3. INNER TRANSFORMATION

part of the way to get to ethical living is inner work: psychology, counseling, understanding personality types, spiritual practice, & healing physically & mentally.

psychology is still a primitive discipline, but it has potential to help us understand how we as mental beings work. the mentally healthy personality is open, flexible, peaceful, intelligent, zestful, & loving. a spiritual practice that involves one or more traditions is also part of our liberation. the new spirit way is to have knowledge & acceptance of all traditions, even while only one or a few are actually practiced. healing mental hurts through counseling & keeping the body healthy & strong through activity & eating whole foods also contributes to the inner transformation.

the new spirit movement is lead by people who are journeying the path of all paths, not just gurus & enlightened beings who are looked at as above everyone else. we are egalitarian & we are all equal in spirit. we are all leaders to each other. we are all guides for the world.

to be leaders & guides we must purge our minds & hearts of fear & anger. fear is a useless emotion, a tool used by unethical people to control & manipulate others. anger is equally destructive, coming from being bound, frustrated, unable to express & manifest our needs & desires freely. we shouldnt hold anything inside until it wounds us. we should be honest & open with ourselves & the world, living who we are, not what others want us to be.

4. EARTHWISDOM

this planet is our home while we�re here, & it should be respected. to be empathetic is to be cognizant of hurt outside ourselves & our species, & to act with compassion because of this awareness.

earth is filled with cycles - days/nights, seasons, years, eons - & as we consciously partake in this, we learn empathy. the circle is the main concept of the new spirit - the joining of hands in unity & community, the recognition of growth & change, the honoring of all life-stages as equally deserving, the breaking of cycles that are destructive & cause suffering.

the new spirit encompasses physical reality as being one of the common, unifying realities of humankind. ecology is the study of our home-place & we should all have a basic, working knowledge of ecology & live environmentally respectful lives. in the same way, our own bodies are beautiful & nudity is as good as clothing, just as sex is as good as celibacy. religion & spirituality belong with earth & nature, for our joys & challenges give us gifts of growth & experience we take with us wherever we choose to go after death. until we transform death itself.

5. EVOLUTION

change is an inevitable characteristic of this universe. we live in time & space, & as part of the matrix of evolution, we change & grow in a continuing process that spands our lives & many lives. we are here to learn & develop as beings, & there are specific lessons to learn, positive & negative. though we emphasize & strengthen the positive, evolution requires challenges too.

change & growth are our nature, not stasis & stagnation, & part of the evolutionary process is to experience as much as we can in this life, especially positive things.

humans are evolving away from primitive, violent, intolerant, ignorant beings towards advanced, peaceful, tolerant, intelligent beings in an evolutionary process hardwired into us as spiritual animals. there are different stages of individual development, some people being primitive & some having evolved to a more advanced level. the most advanced beings show the way to the future, & are often either revered as saints or condemned as heretics.

6. OUTER TRANSFORMATION

the new spirit doesnt just believe things, we actively live & advocate them. our living exposes others to the new spirit & the diversity of healthy human potential, & our activities promote our ethics & evolutionary progressivism. we dont hide, we dont lie. we are open & honest to the greatest of our evolving abilities.

politics is for followers, which most of us still are. its the collective attempt at evolutionary advancement, but democracy is primitive compared to consensus. with the new spirit, politics becomes peer consensus - a group of equals making decisions with intelligence & compassion, & only when ethics are violated. laws will be stripped to the bare minimum, limited & focused. those who wish to work within the political & legal system to inact change should do so.

we recognize that many laws are unjust, & we may choose to ignore these in our lives & in our pursuit of positive experiences. We accept the responsibility for doing so & the consequences of living the new spirit in a basically primitive social context. we know we are out of step with the majority & that we have to be in order to lead others into the future.

7. THE FUTURE

we are responsible for the future. if we hide, we contribute to the triumph of the primitives. the future is as we all will it, & we must use our lives to make it better than the present: more peaceful, loving, whole, tolerant, adventurous, fun, & fulfilling. we are working towards a spiritual renaissance & the vision of omnitopia where not just we have rights & freedoms, but everyone does, even if we disagree with them. this is spiritual maturation. this is the new spirit.

PRACTICES

We live our lives, every day, one hour at a time, by The Rede: IF IT HARM NONE, DO AS YOU WILL. This statement doesn't just guide us, it governs us. It is the deal we make with our spirit and each other: if we do no harm to another person, we can otherwise do what we want. "Harm none" means doing physical harm to a non-consenting other. It does not include yourself because it is your body & no one but you has the right to say what happens to it. This includes putting drugs into or even killing it. [Of course, friends & beloveds may have something to say about your killing yourself!] Nor does it include emotional harm such as getting your feelings hurt, being offended, or getting insulted; each of us is individually responsible for our response to verbal abuse or diverse lifestyles, & part of the new spirit is to toughen up emotionally so others can't yank us around with their words or choices. But "harm" does definintely include involuntary physical injury. That is the big, black line that we do not cross, nor do we allow others to cross it with us or anyone else. If we see a stranger being beaten in an ally, we will do something about it immediately, either by doing something ourselves if the situation warrants it, or by calling the police. We do not raise our hands against another in violence except for the purpose of defending ourselves or others against involuntary violence. Except for this, we live our lives with non-violence and peace towards all. [Not that we're going to like everyone, but we don't go out of our way to harm anyone.]

If we live our lives according to the above restrictions, taking full responsibility for our actions, then we have the right to the second part of The Rede: we can live our lives exactly as we please. Our right to do so is limited only by the rights of others, including the right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. If we live & let live, don't try to take someone's freedoms away, leave their possessions and property alone, & refrain from pissing on their personal, private parade, we may then live our lives as we see fit. It doesn't matter whether others approve of our lifesyle or choices - we could be a minority of one - we can believe & act as we deem appropriate for us. We are free to be exactly who we are, express ourselves precisely as we choose, dance with our own spirits even if, especially if, that dance is totally different or even contrary to anyone or everyone else's.

The first part of The Rede is the only tenet of the new spirit for which there are NO exceptions. You cannot be a new spirit if you harm others. Ever. If you physically harm someone else, including the smallest child, you must seek to redress your action immediately & completely. If you strike someone, you must apologize & make amends in a way acceptable to the person you harmed. But there can be no excuse for seriously debilitating someone nor any forgiveness for murder. For serious injury comes imprisonment and extreme restitution, even to indentured servitude, & for murder there is imprisonment for the remainder of life. Period. Controlling our tempers is an integral part of new spirit work & an inseperable part of our ethics.

We seek to live in harmony with Earth. If we can ride our bikes or take a bus, we will do so. If we can plant & nurture a garden, we will. We plant trees. If we can cut down on our energy consumption, we must. If we can afford solar power for our homes or an alternative fuels car, we buy & use them. We shop whenever possible at health food markets & natural stores rather than elsewhere. We consume as little as possible. We recycle everything & in every way we can. Our lives must reflect our commitment to the environment. We do not preach one thing & live another. We regard the planet we live on as invaluable & worthy of protection. We therefore work with a local, regional, or national environmental agencies or groups &, as much as we are able, live as environmental activists. Greenpeace & EarthFirst! are two highly effective examples.

We dress in beautiful clothing or simple clothing, but we are careful not too dress for status instead of comfort. When it's 90 degrees outside we are unlikely to wear a suit, & we certainly avoid ties, which are symbolic dividers of head & torso as well as being uncomforable & just plain silly. Unusual dress & clothes that fit one's particular mood are common drawn from every culture of Earth.

New spirits rarely, if ever, use deferential titles such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Doctor, Officer, sir, ma'am, or other examples that clearly serve to erect an unequal hierarchy, nor do we allow them to be used when others address us. This is a simple & subtle choice but it can be profound. Although we are different, everyone is equal.

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