IS OUR APPROACH TO ETHICS HURTING US?
The meaning of ethics, and are missing the point in this hyper polarized world
Our societies are more polarized than ever. Ethics and social justice have been on the forefront of the collective's minds. But is our approach to ethics the very thing that is hurting us?
Ethics and Spirituality ARE NOT for:
Ethics and spirituality is not a way to judge who is good or bad. Ethics and spirituality is not about creating a 'worth table' for yourself or others. While I do think it matters what we say or don’t say, what we post also does not determine our worth. Policing others also does not signal worth for the signifier. Our worth does not change. Our worth is non-negotiable. A worn $5 bill has the same value as a mint $5 bill.
Ethics and Spirituality ARE actually for:
A basis for discussion on how we are going to co-exist as a group of very different human beings, with different beliefs, experiences, realities, and needs.
Ethics are ways for us to form an infrastructure where we can relate socially, economically, physically, and spiritually (not to be confused with religion). In other words, ethics and spirituality is not for judgment, but to gather information and apply the necessary changes so there is more consensus. Ethics cannot work if we remain only invested in our personal values. Ethics requires us to engage in interpersonal values.
In other words, ethics...
Is NOT performance to avoid punishment.
Is NOT earning approval or a reward.
Is NOT about feeling superiour.
Is NOT a checklist or remaining in the literal.
Is about understanding the SPIRIT of the issue, and finding ways to tend to the issue fruitfully that honours the whole.
When I hear the line 'we all know what's right', well, yes and no. If we all know what's right, then why do we disagree so much? Ethics asks us to be extraordinarily willing to be present and (borrowing Donna Haraway's line) to stay with the trouble so that cooperatively we can reach resolution. This is only possible when we can see things beyond the black and white, and redefine polarity as oneness that contains a spectrum instead of fragments of opposition. For context, the terms Yin and Yang literally translates to Shade and Sun respectively, and Daoist legend has it that they were terms to describe shady and sunny parts of the SAME mountain. Continuing with the mountain metaphor, ethics is about how we exist as custodians of the mountain, where there are parts of the mountain with dramatically different microclimates, realities, and needs.
Join me and step into what inspires creative renewal of who we are.
Aligned with Spring’s Wood Element according to Taoist traditions, we will engage with polarity, change, courage, and creativity through animate words, embracing both tangible and intangible realms, and in ways where our energy and capacity feels sustained and renewing.
The Black Holes Birthing Stars Series dispels the status quo and the stagnant, up-ends your ‘givens’, offering tools for vitalizing your present, empowering writing techniques, potent esoteric practices, and dynamic collaboration with intuition and Mystery grounded in daily life. It challenges the reliance on ‘how it’s always been done’, returning us to reimagine our selves and humanity.
We start March 25. Sliding scale tuition. Partial Scholarships available.
With heart,
Mimi
Animist spirit medium + founder of Ceremonie