September 4, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Why You Should Care About the Meat Industry – Part 3/3

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

I wrote the following for the 264th issue of the Weekly Awareness Guide, a written document distributed weekly via email that I offer for $11.11 a month.

Income from the guide helps me get by and ensures I can continue to offer free content, and every subscription is appreciated. The option to subscribe is given at the bottom of this post (learn about subscribing with cash/check here).

Concluded from Part 2

Small U.S. slaughterhouses in business for grass-fed ranchers have had to close due to being “pushed out by larger processors”, Dr. Mercola writes. This is all because of USDA regulations that severely restrict the production of American grass-fed beef despite the clear demand for it. ⁽²⁾

Why not make it easier for small farmers to produce grass-fed beef and ensure the process is humane? It seems like common sense, but apparently, the USDA disagrees.

And finally, the elephant in the room:

The Industry Subjects Animals to Horrible Conditions

Ed’s story might have been a little hard to swallow, but this section will disturb anyone with the slightest bit of empathy.

The following section details the injustice and abuse the animals who become our food are subjected to. If you don’t think you can stomach it, feel free to read on. I have, however, left out many of the most disturbing facts so I could retain some semblance of the lightheartedness this guide is usually known for.

With that said, let’s get into it.

The ASPCA reports that over 99% of U.S. farm animals are raised in factory farms. ⁽⁷⁾

The industry, they report, makes animals suffer by subjecting them to (among other things):

Physical alternations like teeth clipping without anesthetic ⁽⁷⁾
Confinement indoors with “poor air quality and unnatural light patterns” ⁽⁷⁾
The general inability to do things normal animals do ⁽⁷⁾
Breeding, either for “fast growth” or higher yields, which risks the animals’ safety ⁽⁷⁾
Carelessness and neglect toward animals that are suffering, which is an apparent result of the “higher ratio of animals to workers” ⁽⁷⁾
Improper use of antibiotics to make up for unclean and unsafe conditions ⁽⁷⁾
Roughness and abuse from workers ⁽⁷⁾

We’ll focus on what one animal, the chicken, typically goes through. We won’t be learning what other animals endure here, because the subject matter is difficult enough as it is. Although I recommend educating yourself on what all animals raised on factory farms experience, I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much depressing information.

I’ll leave it up to you to learn more if you’re interested and want to help make a change.

The ASPCA reports that chickens bred for meat are raised indoors in “large sheds” that contain more than 20,000 of them. In these sheds, the chickens are “crammed together” on the floor. They live in their own excrement and are constantly irritated by high ammonia levels that burn their throat, eyes, and skin. ⁽⁸⁾

Factory-farmed chickens, the ASPCA reports, are nothing like the wild chickens that preceded them. Selective breeding, low-dose antibiotics, too much feeding, and too little exercise cause factory chickens to “grow unnaturally quickly and disproportionately”. Their breasts grow large, meeting market demand, but their organs and skeleton don’t follow the same pattern. As a result, some of them become crippled and “unable to reach food and water”. Heart failure, trouble breathing, chronic pain, and leg weakness are also common. ⁽⁸⁾

According to the ASPCA, factory farms keep the lights on in the sheds nearly 24-7 to restrict the chickens’ sleep patterns, which ensures they continue to eat and grow. As you can probably imagine, the space becomes crowded as they grow. Thus, they’re forced to compete for space in what are already extremely difficult living conditions. ⁽⁸⁾

Fortunately, animal activists are inspiring some companies to change.

The ASPCA reports that companies are developing policies and committing to addressing the problem of fast growth. Some companies and consumers are also committing to certification programs requiring proper space and natural lighting cycles. You can help too. With the Change Your Chicken Challenge, you can change this grotesque system by changing the chicken you purchase to those raised humanely. ⁽⁸⁾

Dr. Mercola cites animal welfare activist Philip Lymbery, who believes in a solution rooted not in vegetarianism, but a return to old-school farming methods over mass industrial farms. He believes that as consumers, we can make a change by choosing what we eat carefully. We can help by ensuring we eat meet and eggs from farms free of the cruelty for which the meat industry is well-known. ⁽²⁾

Lymbery’s idea is simple: return animals to a natural farm setting.

“This is not, in any way, a call to vegetarianism. This is a call to put animals back on the farm. Pasture is one of the most ubiquitous habitats on the planet, covering 25 percent of the ice-free land surface.

“This is about using that ubiquitous habitat to produce great food in a way which is environmentally friendly and kinder to animals, leaving much-scarcer arable to grow crops directly for people…

“Three times a day, through our meal choices, we have an opportunity to change our lives and thereby help change the world.

“It’s as simple as buying free-range eggs, pasture-raised beef and chicken, and looking for milk that has come from cows that have been able to graze… We’ll start to support family farms, will help to support a better environment, and will help to feed the world in a more humane and efficient way.” ⁽²⁾

Conclusion

If this information doesn’t convince you that you should care just a little about the meat industry, I recommend digging deeper. This is a basic introduction to the subject with the implied encouragement to learn more and ultimately do more about it.

Like any industry, the meat industry would like us to believe they’re doing nothing wrong. Otherwise, we won’t give them our money. It’s true that they’ve improved since the early 1900s when factory conditions were much more appalling, but their modern-day treatment of animals is still far from humane.

The public can directly address the problems with the meat industry by buying our meat from humbler sources that, simply put, don’t have these problems. Responsible farmers that raise animals humanely and treat them with decency from the time they’re born until the time they die.

I think we can all agree – those who love meat and those who’ve sworn off it – that these animals’ suffering is preventable and unacceptable.

Do you care now?

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Sources:

(1) Henry Imhoff Helena, “Problems with the Meat Industry”, Independent Record, September 17, 2013 – http://helenair.com/news/opinion/readers_alley/problems-with-meat-industry/article_387e394c-1f24-11e3-85b7-0019bb2963f4.html

(2) Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Shocking Facts About the Meat Industry” Mercola.com, November 25, 2014 – http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/11/25/shocking-facts-meat-industry.aspx

(3) Adam Voiland and Angela Haupt, “10 Things the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know”, U.S. News, March 30, 2012 – http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/03/30/things-the-food-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-know

(4) Sam P.K. Collins, “Pink Slime Is Making a Comeback”, ThinkProgress, August 20 2014 – https://thinkprogress.org/pink-slime-is-making-a-major-comeback-c58aa671f639/

(5) Joe Satran, “‘Pink Slime’ Ground Beef Product Returns To School Lunches In 4 States: Report”, Huffington Post, September 10, 2013 – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/10/pink-slime_n_3900851.html

(6) Luke Runyon, “Fines For Meat Industry’s Safety Problems Are ‘Embarrassingly Low’”, NPR, August 10, 2016 – http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/10/489468457/fines-for-meat-industrys-safety-problems-are-embarrassingly-low

(7) “Farm Animal Welfare”, ASPCA – https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare

(8) “Chickens – Farm Animal Welfare”, ASPCA – https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms#Chickens

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About the author:

I’m a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, revolution, music and the transformative creative force known as love. I run Openhearted Rebel, a daily news blog dedicated to igniting a revolution of love by raising social and spiritual awareness.

I also have a personal blog, Wes Annac’s Personal Blog, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).

I write from the heart and try to share informative and enlightening reading material with the rest of the conscious community. When I’m not writing or exploring nature, I’m usually making music.

Follow me on Facebook (Wes Annac, https://www.facebook.com/openheartedrebel and Twitter (Wes Annac, https://twitter.com/love_rebellion

If you enjoyed this post and want to support my work, consider a donation by sending funds via PayPal to wesremal@yahoo.com.

Recent articles and videos:

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Why You Should Care About the Meat Industry – Part 2/3

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

Continued from Part 1

I wrote the following for the 264th issue of the Weekly Awareness Guide, a written document distributed weekly via email that I offer for $11.11 a month.

“Factory-farmed chicken”, Dr. Mercola writes, is one of the biggest causes of food poisoning. Beef is no exception to this rule: the USDA has been considering labeling beef that’s tenderized mechanically because during the process, pathogens are compressed from the surface down into the meat. Once there, the pathogens can potentially survive being cooked. This is why it’s been to blame for “at least” 5 E. coli outbreaks in 6 years (2003-2009). ⁽²⁾

Here are some more fun facts about industrial farming Dr. Mercola shares:

It’s responsible for loss of water quality, as it causes phosphorous and nitrogen contamination in streams, rivers, and groundwater. This can contribute to “dramatic shifts in aquatic ecosystems and hypoxic zones” ⁽²⁾
It may be responsible for making crops less nutritious, with the focus on harvesting a high yield over crops high in nutrients ⁽²⁾
It’s responsible for the emission of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases ⁽²⁾
It negatively impacts soil quality ⁽²⁾

With these problems that plague industrial-scale farming, it seems sensible to make the switch to more sustainable farming practices on a national level. In a society as advanced as ours, we should be able to get our meat and dairy without worrying about our groundwater being contaminated or our food being less nutritious.

Slaughterhouses Can Be Dangerous for Workers

Luke Runyon at NPR reports that Ralph Horner (also known as Ed), a worker for a beef plant in Greely, Colorado, tragically died at his job in June 2014. The plant in which he died is owned by JBS, the “world’s largest meatpacker”. ⁽⁶⁾

Luke reports that Ed died when a piece of equipment he was working on pulled him in by catching his hair and shirt sleeve. His sleeve bunched up around his neck and mouth, suffocating him. Ed was 54 and married, with three sons and a grandkid. ⁽⁶⁾

Meat and poultry processing plants are safer than they used to be, Luke writes, but they can still be a dangerous environment for workers. In the plants, workers disassemble chickens, hogs, and cattle with hydraulic saws, industrial blenders, marinade pumps, steel hooks, metal chains, and conveyor belts, with mats on the floor to “avoid slips on blood or water”. ⁽⁶⁾

Luke writes that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2004 to 2013, 3,737 deaths occurred on the job at manufacturing facilities. Meat and poultry plants report higher injury rates than the rest of the manufacturing industry. Also, U.S. Department of Labor data suggests beef and pork workers are injured and become ill more than poultry workers. ⁽⁶⁾

Fines for regulation violations are “embarrassingly low”, Luke writes; even when the violations lead to death. By the end of it all, the JBS only ended up paying $38,500 in fines for the violations that caused Ed’s death. ⁽⁶⁾

Ed’s story gives us all a reason to care about the industry’s lax regulations, the injuries and deaths those regulations can cause, and the pathetically low penalties that result.

The FDA Makes Raising Grass-Fed Beef a Headache for American Farmers

Dr. Mercola writes that most grass-fed beef sold in the U.S. (potentially 85% of it) is imported from Australia and New Zealand. Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Brazil are a few other countries we get our beef from. ⁽²⁾

Chipotle recently began receiving its beef from Australia to keep up with the demand for grass-fed, Dr. Mercola writes, as American suppliers don’t have enough and are unable to match Australia’s lower prices. Founder Steve Ells said in a Huffington Post op-ed that the cattle that become Chipotle’s meat spend their lives on pastures eating grass and roaming freely. ⁽²⁾

This sounds much better than being subjected to horrific factory conditions.

He also said he hopes for Chipotle’s decision to influence American ranchers to “adopt a grass-fed program”. He would like to see grass-fed beef go mainstream. ⁽²⁾

Dr. Mercola writes that the climate in Australia and New Zealand supports grazing year-round. There’s also an abundance of grassland in these countries, making it easier for 70% of all cattle in Australia to be “pasture-raised and finished”. Then there’s the fact that, according to Dr. Mercola: “Australians can sell their meat for less than American grass-fed cattle ranchers can”. ⁽²⁾

One reason it’s so difficult for American ranchers to keep up with Australia and New Zealand’s rate of grass-fed beef production, Dr. Mercola writes, is that the USDA has effectively put in place a “stranglehold”. Laws in our country restrict grass-fed slaughtering to a degree; such as the restriction that a grass-fed rancher can’t stay in business if he has no access to a slaughterhouse. ⁽²⁾

According to Dr. Mercola, large slaughterhouses can refuse small jobs from humble ranchers. If they are accepted, these small-time ranchers have no control over the way the animals are treated once handed over to the slaughterhouse. Citing The Carnivore’s Dilemma, Dr. Mercola explains that the grass-fed beef from these small ranchers cannot be considered humane if the animals’ deaths are inhumane. Only some slaughterhouses do their job humanely. ⁽²⁾

Concluded in part 3 tomorrow. Subscribe to read the full article.

$11.11 monthly subscription via credit, debit, or PayPal.

Sources:

(4) Sam P.K. Collins, “Pink Slime Is Making a Comeback”, ThinkProgress, August 20 2014 – https://thinkprogress.org/pink-slime-is-making-a-major-comeback-c58aa671f639/

Featured image credit

About the author:

I also have a personal blog, Wes Annac’s Personal Blog, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).

Follow me on Facebook (Wes Annac, https://www.facebook.com/openheartedrebel and Twitter (Wes Annac, https://twitter.com/love_rebellion

If you enjoyed this post and want to support my work, consider a donation by sending funds via PayPal to wesremal@yahoo.com.

Recent articles and videos:

No copyright. Share freely with attribution to Wes Annac and Openhearted Rebel.

September 2, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Why You Should Care About the Meat Industry – Part 1/3

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

I wrote the following for the 264th issue of the Weekly Awareness Guide, a written document distributed weekly via email that I offer for $11.11 a month.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian or animal activist to be angry with what’s happening in the meat industry. Corruption and abuse litter an industry that provides food in inhumane ways for the sake of profit.

In this article, we’ll be discussing things I wish weren’t happening and am therefore doing my part to help stop. Some parts of this article might be tough to read, but by sharing this difficult information with you, I hope to help you see why you should care.

Vegetarians and meat eaters can work together to effect much-needed change in the industry if we can learn the facts and commit to this common goal. The cause is important for those who want to protect animals and those who want to ensure meat is produced ethically (and is thus safer for consumption). Continue reading →

September 1, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Laughter in an Insane World

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

Let’s be honest: We live in a crazy world with a lot of well-meaning but crazy people. Unless you frequently meditate or go live in the mountains somewhere, it’s difficult to escape the insanity of our modern world.

Whether we care to admit it or not, most of us contribute to the craziness with our political beliefs (and the resulting lengthy Facebook posts), our religious or spiritual beliefs (and again, the resulting lengthy Facebook posts), and the way we generally treat people.

I’ve witnessed too many people on social media claim to be “enlightened” before getting into the kinds of arguments you’d expect from a twelve-year old. I’ve seen people attempt to be a voice of reason on the internet only to be drowned out by a sea of passionate anger from those who’ve long abandoned reason.

Most people would rather fight over their differences than work together to improve a world they claim to care about. If you try to approach them with reason, they’ll drown you out like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Sadly, their tantrum will garner much more attention than your plea for sensibility.

For some reason, we’re more attracted to being outraged (and outrageous) than being sensible. Maintaining a sense of humor allows you to laugh at this craziness instead of letting it make you think humanity is hopeless.

Laugh at the World

It’s easy to be depressed about the state of the world. These days, it’s especially easy to attract hate because of your race, age, beliefs, country of origin, or other similar things about you.

So, what should we do?

We should laugh at the chaos. We should look at our society – our “leaders”, the highly opinionated public they try to “lead”, and most importantly, ourselves – and have a good laugh at it all.

I believe this is one of few genuine ways we can give important issues attention and, as crazy as it sounds, maybe even solve one or two of them. Humor creates a conversation in which everyone can feel welcome by, ironically, having their viewpoint satirized.

With everyone’s viewpoint properly trashed, we can have actual debates in which neither side takes itself too seriously and emotions don’t get in the way. We can be aware of the importance of the issues we discuss and still laugh at them together. In doing so, we might even get somewhere. For once.

Laugh at Yourself

The world isn’t the only thing we should laugh at.

Laughing at your flaws humanizes you and makes them easier to talk about. Most introverts avoid social situations because they worry that if they let their personality show too much, their flaws will become apparent and their “friends” will laugh at them. Most of us want to avoid feeling like nobody likes us.

If we can laugh at our flaws straight out of the gate, we can show those who’d use them as fuel for their hate-fire that they don’t bother us. They’ll see that they can’t get under our skin because we already laugh at ourselves.

We’ll feel more comfortable around people because we’ll no longer try so hard to maintain a false image. We’ll be open about our good and bad qualities, inviting people to accept us for who we are or not.

Laugh Because It Makes You Think

Humor can undoubtedly be used negatively, but most people who joke about controversial topics do it to get people to laugh and think.

Those who can’t lighten up may not see the humor in some controversial topics, but laughter can nonetheless bring awareness and inspire change. To joke about something is not to be unaware of its severity, but to lay a foundation of humor that makes people comfortable talking about it. In this way, we can get the masses to discuss things they prefer to ignore.

How do you think comedians get people to laugh about serious or extreme situations? This doesn’t mean they or their audience fail to realize the extreme nature of what they joke about. To the contrary; they use comedy to generate discussion on topics they know are difficult to discuss.

Would you enjoy it more if I droned on about the government and the endless wars we’re fighting overseas, or if I used humor to make this otherwise unfunny situation approachable? The answer is obvious.

Laugh Because It’s Good for You

I could give plenty of examples of things we should laugh about. Modern-day politics, for example, is either hilarious, terrifying, or both depending on how you choose to see it. Personally, If I couldn’t laugh about it all, I might end up terribly depressed.

It turns out that humor not only creates a discussion and helps you laugh at otherwise serious issues. It’s also good for society and us as individuals.

Here are a few of humor’s benefits, courtesy of HopeSpeak.com.

Laughing and maintaining a sense of humor can:

Help you become more resistant to disease by rejecting stress hormones and increasing antibodies that fight infection ⁽¹⁾
Help your muscles relax ⁽¹⁾
Help you let go of stress and stay positive in negative situations ⁽¹⁾
Help you through times of sadness and anxiousness ⁽¹⁾
“Increase energy for your brain and body”, helping you stay focused and be less afraid or overwhelmed by life’s challenges ⁽¹⁾
Help you make a good first impression and emotionally connect with people ⁽¹⁾
Help you get through disagreements that cause anger and pain ⁽¹⁾

According to Psychology Today, humor poses physical and psychological benefits such as helping with stress. As Dacher Keltner and others have discovered, it can also help with the grieving process. They found that it was easier for spouses of the deceased to adjust to their loss if they could laugh about it spontaneously. ⁽²⁾

Laughter’s physical benefits, Psychology Today reports, include helping your lungs, circulation, and muscles (particularly muscles around your belly), as well as helping you get through “pain and physical adversity”. ⁽²⁾

Laugh Because It’s Good for Your Relationships

According to Psychology Today, it’s unsurprising that people often admire those with a good sense of humor. Your sense of humor or lack thereof could determine whether someone wants to be your friend, go on a date with you, or be in a long-term relationship. ⁽²⁾

According to “most studies”, Psychology Today reports, people look for humor in those with whom they consider having any kind of relationship. Barb Frederickson and others who’ve studied positivity’s upsides have found that humor can even make you more creative. Joking about awkward interactions and “uncomfortable situations” can also make them easier. ⁽²⁾

This information shows us that humor not only poses benefits for the mind and body, but your relationships and society overall. If we can laugh, we can be more comfortable around others and start healing aspects of ourselves and the world that are broken.

Laugh at Yourself Some More

Let’s return to what’s perhaps the most difficult thing to laugh about: yourself.

By laughing at yourself, you learn to lighten up and stop taking yourself so seriously.

Spiritual people can look to J.P. Sears as an example of someone unafraid to poke fun at himself and the community he contributes to. He puts some of the most common spiritual clichés on display, giving him a platform to discuss many of the pitfalls of being “spiritual” in the modern world.

Sears pokes fun at those of us who strive to be as “spiritual” as possible by pretending to advocate outlandish viewpoints that make him, as he puts it, “ultra-spiritual”. He uses humor to comment on the downsides of modern spiritual and new age philosophies without trashing us just for being who we are.

In doing so, he helps us hone our philosophy to something insightful yet still self-aware and down to earth.

When watching his videos – particularly his video on cannabis – I feel like I’m given a free pass to laugh at myself and the absurdity of some of the beliefs I’ve subscribed to.

It doesn’t make me want to change who I am over some inherent philosophical pitfalls. Instead, it encourages me to have good laugh at myself and then refine my philosophy into something more reasonable.

It’s nice to have your head in the clouds and I’m all for it (seriously; people should spend more time in that space), but it’s important to be sensible too.

To a reasonable extent, I’m comfortable laughing at myself and the way I live. I couldn’t write about all these different topics every day if I didn’t have a sense of humor about them. I’d be far too serious and preachy.

Laugh Because… Why Not?

We talk a lot about changing the world, but I’d prefer not to live in a changed world if it means nobody can laugh. I think social change should be preceded by much-needed personal change that includes the development of a collective sense of humor. Change is futile until we can all laugh.

So, in concluding this, I want to ask a simple question: why not laugh? Provided we don’t use humor as an excuse for hate, we have every reason to laugh at our world and the people in it. This includes ourselves.

I can laugh at myself for unintentionally playing into some of the common spiritual stereotypes, just as I can laugh at the stereotypical right-winger who’d probably burn all hippie spiritual people at the stake if they could.

I can have fun with the shortcomings of others if I can first laugh at my own. Instead of being hateful for the sheer sake of hate, this purposeful sense of humor can open a dialogue between me and all others who think differently. It shows that I’m not so serious that I can’t be open to other perspectives.

The next time you take yourself or the world too seriously, stop and laugh at this bizarre thing we call life. You’ll feel better, be more open with others, and have authentic conversations with those who think differently. Humor will light up your life, providing mental and emotional freedom for you and all involved.

Sources:

“The Importance of Sense of Humor”, HopeSpeak.com, December 16, 2014 – https://www.hopespeak.com/blog/the-importance-of-sense-of-humor/
Peter McGraw, Ph.D, “The Importance of Humor Research”, Psychology Today, September 14, 2011 – https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-humor-code/201109/the-importance-humor-research

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About the author:

I also have a personal blog, Wes Annac’s Personal Blog, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).

Follow me on Facebook (Wes Annac, https://www.facebook.com/openheartedrebel and Twitter (Wes Annac, https://twitter.com/love_rebellion

If you enjoyed this post and want to support my work, consider a donation by sending funds via PayPal to wesremal@yahoo.com.

Recent articles and videos:

No copyright. Share freely with attribution to Wes Annac and Openhearted Rebel.

August 31, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Thank You For Supporting the Blog

Thank you to everyone who donated and helped us at a time when we really needed it. Because of you, we can make end’s meet and keep the blog running.

I look forward to continuing to share (what I hope to be) insightful writings on society and the evolution of mind, body, and soul. Your support ensures I can do so and still pay the bills; a feat that’s not always easy to achieve.

Look out for more writings from me on the Openhearted Rebel blog, as I’ve committed to a more rigorous writing and posting schedule. I intend to post an article of my own every day, if not nearly every day, from here on out. Again, your support helps me survive while I do this.

I can’t thank all of you enough, and I intend to pay it back with articles I hope you’ll enjoy and learn something from.

In love and gratitude,

Wes Annac & Family

If you’d like to help support the blog, contributions can be sent via PayPal to wesremal@yahoo.com. Any and all support is appreciated.

❤

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August 26, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Embrace the Shadow Self: Your Dark Side Misses You

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

What should you do when you experience a spiritual awakening in which you realize reality is an illusion, everything is connected, and you’re slowly evolving on a mental, physical, and spiritual level? It’s lot to take in, and what you do afterward is crucial.

You have a few options; some that will take you higher and some that will stall your spiritual growth indefinitely. You can, for example, start behaving in a way you assume is more “enlightened”. You can try to be positive every second of every day in hopes that your forced good mood keeps you in harmony.

Constant Positivity Only Goes So Far

You can go straight to social media, proclaiming to the world that you’re #woke and telling everyone to just stay positive (despite the very real hardships people go through every day).

This will work for a while. You’ll feel like a #woke warrior with a high vibe and an unshakable spirit. If something goes wrong, you’ll tell yourself to just think positive. It will all work out if you avoid negativity and refuse to get upset. Don’t think about what upsets you or bums you out. Just be positive.

Before too long, however, something will feel amiss. Your curious mind, which led you to awaken in the first place, will continue questioning things. This will include your newfound philosophy.

You’ll continue to deeply examine life and the “you” living it until you discover an inherent flaw in your previously infallible belief in positivity.

For most of us, that flaw is that despite our incessant love and positivity, we still feel sad. We still get angry. We still get weak and succumb to the world’s temptations. That dark side of us we thought we transcended is still intact and begs for our attention.

This is where self-honesty becomes important. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll explore those negative feelings and consider that they have a role to play in your life. If you’re not, you’ll think you’ve simply failed to be positive for a few moments and push yourself right back onto that self-destructive path.

Don’t Stop Being Positive

I don’t recommend giving up on positivity altogether, because it’s good for you. It’s healthy to look at the positive and the negative. Personally, if I didn’t see both sides, I’d either be in denial or miserable and depressed.

To focus only on positivity is to bury your head in the sand regarding the problems in the world and in yourself. You’ll feel good, but you’ll be blissfully unaware of these issues that desperately need your attention. This is the opposite of being awake.

But if you focus only on the bad and decide that positivity in any form is naïve, your world will turn dark quick. Give yourself permission to be positive, optimistic, and hopeful. But don’t ignore the world’s problems or abandon your dark side for the sake of staying emotionally high.

“If you’re trying to stay high then you’re bound to stay low” – Matisyahu ⁽¹⁾

So, you have a choice when you first “wake up”. You can tell the world how awake you are and insist we all stay positive; or, with meditation and introspection, you can silently contemplate your shortcomings and the role your dark side can play in catalyzing spiritual growth.

I know the latter option doesn’t sound too fun. The concept of endless happiness and bliss is much more appetizing. In chasing endless happiness, however, you avoid a fundamental aspect of the evolution of mind, body, and soul: the shadow self.

What Is the Shadow Self?

Let’s learn a little about this part of ourselves we fight to ensure never reaches the surface.

According to Mateo Sol at Loner Wolf, Carl Jung created this now well-known archetype to describe a fragment of our unconscious comprised of all that negativity we repress because we think it’s bad for us.

Soul work, Mataeo writes, inevitably makes us aware of the darker aspects of our psyche.

“If you’re truly honest about self-exploration during your soulwork journey, you will come across many aspects and traits about yourself that you will find difficult – if not completely disturbing – to accept.” ⁽²⁾

Carl Jung, he writes, was led by reading spiritual scriptures to create the “Archetypes model”.

“In the domain of psychology, renowned psychologist Carl Jung devoted a lot of thought to this problem of the ‘Shadow Self’, being deeply invested in the research of ancient esoteric knowledge and spiritual scriptures to not only treat the mind of man, but his soul as well.

“In response to his serious preoccupation Jung created the Archetypes model, a concept wherein he believed our unconscious minds are fragmented or structured into different ‘selves’ in an attempt to organize how we experience different things in life. Two of Jung’s major Archetypes are The Persona and The Shadow Self.” ⁽³⁾

Mateo describes the persona and the shadow self:

“…The Persona, according to Jung, defines what we would like to be and how we wish to be seen by the world. The word ‘persona’ is derived from a Latin word that literally means ‘mask’, however in this instance the word can be applied metaphorically, representing all of the different social masks that we wear among different groups of people and situations.

“On the other hand, the Shadow Self is an archetype that forms part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, instincts, impulses, weaknesses, desires, perversions and embarrassing fears.

“This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos and the unknown. Jung believed that these latent dispositions are present in all of us, in many instances forming a strong source of creative energy.” ⁽⁴⁾

The Mask Is Here to Stay

In my opinion, the persona is unavoidable to an extent. We all wear a mask. We all have this side of us tied to the ego that doesn’t want to be embarrassed or humiliated and just wants to fit in.

The world could certainly use more authentic people, but I don’t think we can or should remove the mask entirely. The problems come when we latch onto the mask and forget about the shadow self or the unconscious altogether.

One way we become reattached to the persona after a spiritual awakening is by insisting on being positive and refusing to see the negative. We decide one day to never take off the mask and let our hurt show. In this way, an awakening can unfortunately lead to the opposite of what was intended.

Instead of exploring our unconscious, which is our link with the other side, we abandon it. By adopting false positivity, we cling to the persona and push the shadow self ever deeper until it’s forced to erupt just to get our attention.

Spiritual Bypassing

This suppression is known as “spiritual bypassing” or using spirituality as a reason not to explore your subconscious because of the demons that lurk deep below. Confronting these demons is the chief purpose of a spiritual awakening, and the fact that it’s often used not to do this is a little ironic.

Jordan Bates at High Existence describes spiritual bypassing, citing psychotherapist Robert Augustus Masters.

“In the early 1980s, psychologist John Welwood coined the term ‘spiritual bypassing’ to refer to the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid confronting uncomfortable feelings, unresolved wounds, and fundamental emotional and psychological needs.

“According to integral psychotherapist Robert Augustus Masters, spiritual bypassing causes us to withdraw from ourselves and others, to hide behind a kind of spiritual veil of metaphysical beliefs and practices. He says it ‘not only distances us from our pain and difficult personal issues, but also from our own authentic spirituality, stranding us in a metaphysical limbo, a zone of exaggerated gentleness, niceness, and superficiality.” ⁽⁵⁾

The purpose of this “exaggerated niceness” is to separate ourselves from those negative feelings that will eventually come to the surface anyway. Tragically, some people genuinely believe that to let these feelings in is to stray from their path. They try their hardest not to acknowledge anything negative.

This constant positivity keeps you in the shallow end of the mind, stopping you from diving deeper, finding the monsters at the bottom, and kicking their asses (metaphorically, of course). When you finally acknowledge them, everything changes.

Not for the Faint of Heart

Since I like to cite spiritual teachers in these writings, let’s hear from a few about the harshness encountered on the spiritual path and why we should be open to it. It turns out there’s no shortage of guidance on the inevitability of struggle and the ways in which it can help you become a better “you”.

According to Bernadette Roberts, this journey is not for the faint of heart.

“This is not a journey for those who expect love and bliss; rather, it is for the hardy who have been tried in fire and have come to rest in the tough, immoveable trust in ‘that’ which lies beyond the known, beyond the self, beyond union, and even beyond love and trust itself.” ⁽⁶⁾

One challenge, she writes, is the dissipation of the ego and subsequent descent of the “cloud of unknowing”.

“In experience, the onset of this process [of God-realization] is the descent of the cloud of unknowing, which, because his former light has gone out and left him in darkness, the contemplative initially interprets as the divine gone into hiding.

“In modern terms, the descent of the cloud is actually the falling away of the ego-center, which leaves us looking into a dark hole, a void or empty space in ourselves. Without the veil of the ego-center, we do not recognize the divine; it is not as we thought it should be. …

“From here on we must feel our way in the dark, and the special eye that allows us to see in the dark opens up at this time.” ⁽⁷⁾

St. John of the Cross affirms that the spiritual path contains plenty of “darknesses and trials”.

“The darknesses and trials, spiritual and temporal, that fortunate souls ordinarily encounter on their way to the high state of perfection are so numerous and profound that human science cannot understand them adequately; nor does experience of them equip one to explain them.

“He who suffers them will know what this experience is like, but he will find himself unable to describe it.” ⁽⁸⁾

Brother Lawrence encourages introspection after an awakening.

“When we enter upon the spiritual life, we should consider and examine to the bottom what we are.

“And then we should find ourselves… subject to all kinds of misery and numberless accidents, which trouble us and cause perpetual vicissitudes in our health, in our humors, in our internal and external dispositions; in fine, persons whom God would humble by many pains and labors, as well within as without.

“After this we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, to submit ourselves to them, and bear them as long as God pleases, as things highly advantageous to us.” ⁽⁹⁾

Your demons become your allies when you embrace and work to heal them. You no longer worry that the universe is punishing you and instead take responsibility for your role in your struggles. When you ignore and avoid them, they grow and grow until they become your most formidable opponents.

They’re easier to deal with if you confront them early on when they have less power over you, but their power grows if you continuously ignore them. They slowly take over, demanding you do what would’ve been far easier in the beginning.

Conclusion

The plain truth is that you can’t run from the “negative” things that form the individual and collective shadow self. Nor can you run from the struggles on your path. You’re a spiritual being, but you’re also human. Your dark side is a natural part of the human experience, and struggle is a natural part of life.

Suppressing or ignoring them is not.

You can get to the heart of this beast within you by letting it surface and figuring out what caused it to form (besides the fact that it’s natural).

Then, positivity will arise naturally when the moment calls for it; as will anger, sadness, disappointment, and all those other feelings we don’t prefer. The difference will be that instead of pushing them back down, you’ll feel them, learn their lessons, and let them go. This is evolution.

Let the process flow naturally instead of clouding it with forced positivity, and you’ll enjoy true, authentic happiness and spiritual growth.

Sources:

“Matisyahu – King Without a Crown Lyrics”, Lyrics Mode: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/matisyahu/king_without_a_crown.html
Mateo Sol, “Shadow Self: Embracing Your Inner Darkness”, Loner Wolf – https://lonerwolf.com/shadow-self/
Loc. Cit.
Loc. Cit.
Jordan Bates, “10 ‘Spiritual’ Things People Do That Are Total Bullshit”, High Existence – http://highexistence.com/10-spiritual-bypassing-things-people-total-bullshit/
Berandette Roberts, The Experience of No-Self. A Contemplative Journey. Boston and London: Shamballa, 1985, 13.
Bernadette Roberts, “The Path to No-Self” in Stephan Bodian, ed. Timeless Visions, Healing Voices. Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1991, 131.
Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez, trans. Complete Works of St. John of the Cross. Washington: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1973, 69-70.
Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. Mount Vernon, NY: Peter Pauper Press, 1963, 22.

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I also have a personal blog, Wes Annac’s Personal Blog, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).

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August 22, 2017 by Openhearted Rebel

Awakening in Action

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel

The Openhearted Rebel blog is in need of financial help, as we’re low on funds this month and require reader support to keep the blog going. If you’d like to support us, consider a donation or subscription to the Weekly Awareness Guide.

I wrote the following for the 263rd issue of the Weekly Awareness Guide, a written document distributed weekly via email that I offer for $11.11 a month.

Spiritual awakening is the greatest gift you can receive, as it makes you aware you are a multidimensional being with a foot in all worlds. It helps you to see that the world is far more surreal than we like to think. Spiritual awakening is a treasure not to be discarded or misused, but cherished.

To “wake up” isn’t enough on its own, however. Once we’re awake, it’s up to us to do something with it. The universe doesn’t hand out enlightenment; we must pursue it and any opportunity for evolution our awakening provides.

We must do something with the gift we’ve been given.

The first question, then, is what to do with your awakening. Do you want to dive headfirst into the pursuit of a higher consciousness, or do you want to use what you’ve learned so far to help others? You could choose to forget about your awakening altogether, but why discard something so valuable?

You’re better off choosing one of the other options. Personally, I choose both.

I use writing to share what I’ve learned with those walking a similar path, and I use music and meditation to grow closer with the inner spirit. Writing also brings me closer to this part of myself, serving the dual purpose of expanding my mind while helping me to help you.

Although writing is undoubtedly a stern mental discipline, it feels good once you get the hang of it and the words start to flow.

Once awake, you can use writing, music, meditation, and plenty of other similar activities to become more aware while helping others do the same. With writing, you can research and share what others have said about the spiritual path or you can go straight to the source: your own mind, heart, and intuition.

The same can be said for if you pursue music, as creativity comes from the heart. The mind certainly has its role to play, but the heart lays the foundation.

In my opinion, the greatest thing you can do with your spiritual awakening is to return to the heart. Let your awakening redefine love as you know it. Awakening makes you aware of love and the importance of sharing it with a world that doesn’t know what it truly is.

Let the heart take center stage in your life. Share love with all, and let your love inspire compassion. After an awakening, your heart will break when you see how many people are suffering across the world. Don’t fear a broken heart. Let it fuel you to change what you cannot tolerate.

War, famine, and poverty are unacceptable. Tyrannical governments and dictatorships controlling, watching, and killing their own citizens is unacceptable. The suffering of the innocent angers and saddens the heart. In this way, you can see compassion as a source of power. Use it, and use it wisely.

One aspect of spiritual awakening people avoid is that it leads you to embrace what makes you uncomfortable. It led me to start exercising, for example, and to become a writer in this community. Despite that these things make me uncomfortable, they’re important to the path I’ve chosen.

My awakening has blessed me with a clear understanding of why I’m here and why I should pursue the path ahead of me. This doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable or I’m always satisfied, but it’s worth all the trouble.

Whether you want it to or not, spiritual awakening will take you out of your comfort zone. It will lead you to things you never thought you’d be comfortable with, like meditation or creative work in service to humanity.

Whether you cross that threshold willingly or unwillingly is up to you. But if you stick with your path after awakening, you will cross it.

Spiritual awakening is a gift, a blessing, and a pain. It’s not all sunshine and flowers, but if you can get past the hardest obstacles on your path, there will be plenty of sunshine to come.

Embrace all aspects of your awakening – especially what forces you to leave your comfort zone – and you’ll quickly go from awake to transformed. To be awake is great, but to transform is to realize the goal of the path on which your awakening sets you.

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About the author:

I also have a personal blog, Wes Annac’s Personal Blog, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).

Follow me on Facebook (Wes Annac, https://www.facebook.com/openheartedrebel and Twitter (Wes Annac, https://twitter.com/love_rebellion

If you enjoyed this post and want to support my work, consider a donation (no PayPal account required):

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