Have you heard the news?
Yoga, an ancient science of Self-realization has been co-opted and corrupted from people looking for freedom and enlightenment into yet another movement of political-correctness within a nanny state.
Which is why a previous yoga student made this item newsworthy on social media using my name as the culprit:
"Just a heads up friends. Bitcoin is funding Anarchy and these people are moving to Wenatchee and setting up shops, even in our local gyms."
For a few days she went on a crusade to warn people about my intentions to lead a yoga teacher training in this small town, posting the screenshots included in this piece on her FB page and mine.
(For those of you who may not know, this area of Washington state is a popular Bitcoin mining location as that power here is very cheap due to the proximity and abundance of hydroelectricity. This is causing mild controversy in the area as that some people are afraid of Bitcoin and the idea of a non-government regulated currency.)
This is funny because these posts weren't supposed to be positive, yet if read without a bias against Bitcoin or anarchy, they easily could seem benign. I feel moved to share these to demonstrate my rising notoriety as an ultra minority opinion in the contemporary yoga community and to remind people of the true purpose of yoga, which isn't conformity to any government. You see, while attending Anarchapulco (an anarchocapitalist conference) recently, surrounded by such freedom loving beings, I forgot that most of the world doesn't share this worldview and I posted boldly some concepts of freedom on Facebook which were met with extreme disapproval from potential and previous yoga students. This led to being targeted as a troublemaker to the status quo in this small town in central Washington.
This woman who thoroughly enjoyed my workshops before, once discovering I was in attendance at this conference called the owner of the gym and expressed her concern about this dangerous anarchist (who me?) infiltrating their space. They called me to let me know that they decided to keep me on the schedule despite this. Thankfully, the gym owner told his employees that Anarchy doesn't mean violence. A surprise ally in a sea of ignorance and confusion is always a great discovery.
Oh, this new Cage movement is something else...
The tragedy is that a radical practice such as yoga is being usurped for mainstream disempowering agendas!
But I guess that is what happens when any practice that supports true freedom gets watered down and made as a hobby for the elite.
In fact, judging from the barrage of recent social media posts by some of the most prominent western yoga 'rockstar' teachers, I may be one of the few contemporary 'professional' yoga teachers who doesn't support gun control, publicly.
Oh except for @mwolf13 and @careywedler ;)
Is there anyone else out there?
By no means does this mean I advocate for unprovoked violence, which is the misunderstanding government lovers make when I or others I witness express a position for less or zero government control over beings living in this supposed free land called the United States. In fact, I am so in favor of peace that I would love to disarm the police and military industrial complex that feels compelled to bomb children in foreign countries and to amass its arms from stolen 'tax' money.
ENTER YOGA...What's its connection to anarchy or voluntarism as opposed to socialism or statism?
The first lineage of yoga I studied was Sivananda Yoga and one of Sivananda's disciples who brought yoga to the west was Swami Vishnudevananda. This Swami was deeply concerned about the 'constant disaster of wars' and he went so far as to learn to pilot planes which he flew over the Berlin Wall and Great Wall of China dropping peace bombs, which included pamphlets with info about yoga and flowers. He acted with integrity by not demanding civilians turn in their weapons to armed governments. He simply was a demonstration of peace and shared empowering information. This is yoga in action, for yoga scriptures don't advocate for government growing in power, rather they support self-ownership and deep self-inquiry, and yes, non-harming.
So, this is to my allies, rare and precious jewels that you are, who practice self-ownership in spite of society.
Real yoga is radical nonconformity to man's laws.
Yoga means Union with Ultimate Reality, just a reminder to all who use it instead to promote statist conforming indoctrination. It has nothing to do with being a good 'law-abiding tax paying citizen" and everything to do with transcending all that.
Do not be deceived, despite the current agenda to shame 'spiritual' beings into supporting socialist regimes. After receiving so much backlash from professionals in the 'mindful movement' or in Buddhist sanghas I used to be apart of for my stance on freedom, I am shocked and frightened by how incapable of observing objectively or "mindfully" their own cognitive dissonance on these topics they are! And the recent pro-gun control marches have brought this all up to the surface again, but it's been brewing for a long time I am afraid.
So, let me repeat:
YES, being a yogi is non-violent, in general. In fact, it's so non-violent, that a true yogi could never ally his or herself with any government that uses force, or threats of forceful coercion upon its citizens or other beings around the world.
But for some reason, that ideal of non-violence never extends that far for the statist practitioners of yoga. Their logic can't make that leap and instead they distort and "shape facts selectively, blocking out those that don’t fit their agenda" - (paraphrased definition of "double speak" by Edward S. Herman in his book Beyond Hypocrisy.)
When you realize moksha, which means liberation in sanskrit, and is the promised result of yoga practice, you can't actually accept the notion that you could be property of a 'state', or any parasitic entity that rules with brainwashing, manipulated media, or threats of violence for non-compliance.
The delusion that a collective could claim ownership over you without your consent is an archaic and sad current paradigm that eventually will be revealed for the insanity it is. True yogic techniques can help individuals realize this and that is why I feel passionate about sharing them.
Besides, the wise yogi isn't regulated by human laws, rather he overrules the attempted tyranny of his fellows and follows his inner compass or conscience. In some Indian yogic sects, weapons are donned for self-defense and protection of the vulnerable. Research Sihkism or Shiva yogi warrior ascetics.
As the Wild West Bitcoin Outlaw Yogini, I suggest you ally yourself with Ultimate Reality using the temple of your body and move toward Self-Mastery which naturally implies Self-Ownership.
Whoever would deny your freedom and be willing to hire others to use violence to make you comply with legislation of your personal body/mind/property can't be acting from an enlightened position and it's hilarious and tragic really that it is seen as more 'spiritual' in most yoga groups to be pro-gun control.
What about being a "spiritual gangster"?
Since when do gangsters ever hand over their weapons voluntarily to police?
But after a few years now of debate with those who would like crabs in a bucket of samsara would rather keep me in the bucket...
It seems clear that the only solution now is to simply DISOBEY
duh!
Nothing to argue about, legislate away and this outlaw yogini will follow her inner authority authorized by her relationship with ultimate reality in spite of the peer pressure and shaming tactics employed in the new Cage movement...
I must accept that I am outnumbered in my desire for freedom from the state in current westernized collectivist socialist yoga culture, but i can be content with that now.
Because the righteous path is often very solitary. To be popular for being ungovernable would be an ignorant hope.
It's better that people be warned about me, because most people don't crave the freedom I would support them realizing.
"Love and light" is a gross oversimplification of yoga's incredible techniques of transformation and can lead to incredible misunderstanding and disempowerment.
What has unfolded is a lack of critical thinking capacity and a discernment deficit amongst current yoga culture.
A radical yogi named Osho once said:
"Society is very much afraid of your reality...the state is afraid, everybody is afraid of your essential being, because the essential being is rebellious, intelligent. It can't be reduced to slavery. It cannot be exploited. Nobody can use your essential being as a means; your essential being is an end unto itself. The whole society, up to now, has been very violent with the individual. It does not believe in the individual; it is against the individual. It tries in every possible way to destroy you for its own purposes. It needs clerks, it needs stationmaster's, deputy collectors, policemen...it needs soldiers... It wants you to function like a machine, efficiently, but it does not want you to become awakened. It does not want Buddha's and Christ's- Socrates, Pythagoras, Lao Tzu. No, these people are not needed at all by society. If sometimes they happen, they don't happen because of society; they happen in spite of the society."
Thank you for anyone who appreciates freedom and has enough integrity to recognize that even if they don't like it, it's not their place to attempt to legislate it away. Maybe with more people practicing yoga, eventually they will go deeper and if they ever begin to reach the realizations of freedom, they will release their obsessions with controlling others and rejoice in the inner victory found when one achieves yoga ~ yoking of the infinite mind with the finite consciousness.
Mastering living according to those laws seems far more important than trying to conform to or even resist man's laws. Why get muddled in wading in the shallow waves of delusion and battling the other waders when one could learn to sail on the surface above? Anarchy and Yoga go hand in hand in the evolution process of humanity. For to understand the depth of the situation and consequences of endorsing statism, requires a stamina that yoga can support and sustain. And true yogic evolution invites a sovereignty that is unstoppable and beyond the management of small minded humans.
May we use this ancient wisdom to free ourselves of enslavement, along with any other helpful modern technologies like crypto currency, to pioneer and usher in a new social organization that supports individual awakening.
For more support in this stay tuned and please upvote and comment ~
with love,
your current Bitcoin outlaw
*yogini anarchist *~
*images include screenshots of FB, Swami Vishnudevananda on his plane, an anonymous activist online, and a 'spiritual gangster' logo
Wonderful story, thanks for sharing! It is so odd that something based so fully on sovereignty can be so totally misused, but at the same time it makes sense. Part of the reason I stay away from the americanized yoga practices is that they don't incorporate all 8 limbs, and we all know what happens when one tries to make use of a system, without understanding all of its parts.
PS: I added you to the up-vote list for @tribesteemup, our community voting bot for conscious, anarchist, beautiful world-changers!
PPS: Mackenzie's account is @mwolfe13
Thanks for sharing.
This is an incredibly powerful post, and I'd like to thank you for STANDING YOUR GROUND in the face of criticism from the new age, sorry - NEW CAGE - movement and its fashionable, brain dead followers.
Luke 22:36: “The one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one".
Jesus would have been pro-gun, or rather pro-freedom.
Excellent post, you really explain the essence of the yogi SO well, how difficult it is to fit into current societies, governments, etc ... when we begin to become aware of what we are, when we understand moksha as you explain it in your post. Thank you for sharing and taking time to approach your concerns and internal growth. I upvote and Follow you! If you are a Yogui I wait your visit in my blog soon! :-)
I've been trying to start yoga for a while now. I last 3 days max. I keep downloading new apps and starting from tomorrow all the time. Ah, the magic land of tomorrow where nothing ever happens...
Need to be in the now-now, not tomorrow-now :D
Statists gonna state, haters gonna hate. lets crowdfund real yoga for them. new cage deception is so attractive to ego spirituality... many of my friends are stuck with this new religion :(
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@evolutionnow/i-am-your-god-almighty
I like this post and I like you!
I'm not quite a full-fledged practitioner yet, and I'm into yoga strictly for its health benefits. I'm sorry you have to face others' negative opinions of you strictly due to their fears and lack of understanding. Still, I'm glad to see a few of them actually starting to ask questions instead of immediately judging.
All the best with your endeavors.
Thank you! Yogi Bhajan said the job of the yoga teacher was to "poke, provoke, confront, and elevate" ~so i agree, if they can stick around and ask a few questions then I did good! Sometimes, the confrontation is too much and they can't stick around for the elevation phase, and that always feels unfortunate.
The best post I have seen on steemit to the moment. Steemit (and the world) needs more authentic spiritual people like yourself, and less stupid intellectuals. You clearly show authenticity in self-mastery and self-understanding. What baffled me the most was that you had to describe who Osho was :-) I don't think he was radical at all. He was simply natural. He might seem extremely radical to the conditioned mind. Thank you for posting this.
natural is the new radical! ha!
"Spiritual Gangster" - an honorable description of the Yogini Anarchist. We press on, despite the seeming magnitude of the quest to free peoples minds.
Press on, SG.
thank you my ally
Nice up date thanks for sharing
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I am so thankful I found this post. First, sorry for the trouble that you've experienced back in Washington state, however I think you're doing something right.
As they say, the guns only start firing when the bomber nears the target. You're hitting close to home, sister, WELL DONE!
I totally understand your feeling about Anarchapulco and the feeling of liberation on social media. This year was my first time and on my social media, I also did not give ASingleF and was posting the good stuff. I've kept doing it too, but notice I have watered it down. time to step it up again.
I love how you said the New Cage movement. I've been listening to Mark Passio's podcasts and love his description of that. CHALLENGE these people! Because many are good but they are lost. And you can tell them the truth that they don't want to consider alternative information because of their big fat enormous EGO getting in the way. They could never be wrong...
Finally, it's in my head so I'll say it. In your bitcoin mining area of Washington, I would say a few things. If someone complains about the enviiiiiiironment you can ask them if they know which organization is the LARGEST POLLUTER on the planet. They probably won't know and you can tell them it's the US military. Then tell them to start protesting against that.
Secondly, if they are scared of a non-regulated currency I would say "Yeah, without the central bank making me poorer every year how would I live?"
When they give the conditioned "Federal Reserve is there to balance the economy, smooth out the business cycle" crap I would say:
"right, because before the Fed we had such horrible 15-year depressions and prices kept rising. Please tell me more about the GREAT GREAT Depression of 1835 and the Housing Bubble of 1867. Oh wait, those never happened because there wasn't a central bank." Something like that.
I don't want to tell you what you should say, but I like sharing my thoughts and think they can be helpful. Please feel free to do the same with me.
All the best and Go go go!
-Michael
So sorry i didn't check back here sooner- so nice to get such a thoughtful comment! I do appreciate your points and will keep them in mind when/if this issues arise in future discussions. Critical minds coming together is good, good, good and i love this mutual aid platform to meet folks like you! Thanks again for your feedback.
Anarchy is rules without rulers. Nothing to fear and everything to love. I don't see a problem with Anarchy. I do see a problem with state-ism.
They believe in magic powers. Think they have the right to harm people to force them to do what they want them too. They act against the none aggression principal.
Religious fanatics is what they are.
That's a good point...i have been accused of being fanatical but it's truly the statists who are!
Statists have and always will be the most fanatical religion on the planet. Right there with atheism, Christianity, Islam and scientism.
You're on the @abusereports naughty list! Bad Steemian!