This is fascinating stuff, I’d read abit about the Rosicrucian before and always viewed them more or less as a less sinister version of the Freemasons, although I’m skeptical of any organisation that treats mysticism as some esoteric subject that is hidden away in secret societies etc, it should be common knowledge and freely taught for all IMO. That origin story(Wether true or not is something else) is pretty badass though, thanks for sharing!

This is cool, but I’d assume it’s generally not discussed by anarchists much as it isn’t really an example of anarchist ideology. Lawlessness =/= Anarchism. The place being run by the Triad seems pretty hierarchical to me.

Sounds interesting, care to share? Esotericism is really interesting overall and it fascinates me how it seems to share ideas and themes across cultures.

Ugh tell me about it, fucking parasites.. dealing with them through an agency is even worse and lets them insulate themselves from any form of responsibility or feeling of normal human compassion... My partner and I have our first child on the way and had advised them of the fact and that we may need to apply for a shorter lease while we look for a cheaper options as my partner cannot work and I’m stuck with a low paying job. Instead they came back with a rent increase for the shorter time period or the longer time at the current rate. So forced in to a searching for other options, except now under pressure to find before the lease expired, very luckily managed to find somewhere cheaper and actually nicer but am now realising they’ve worked in all this ambiguous BS in the property condition report that’s allowing them to claim all sorts of damages that needs to be repaired that was originally there when we first moved but we hadn’t specified with enough detail to fight them on.. even after paying cleaner to go through they’re now keeping the whole bond and will probably try extort more from us for “maintenance” after they claim they have to replace the entire carpet floors due to some minor stains.. Un-fucking-believable that people can act in such a way when they are well aware of the financial issues which led to us asking for a shorter lease in the first place. Not to mention I know the agent knows they’re a BSing as she’s inspected the place multiple times before and has not once mentioned any of the “damages”... Ima just end thIs rant before I get too aggro so I’ll suffice to say this shit has really got Mao thinking...

good comment

I’m pretty sure that would actually be praxis...?

Eh they were kinda just slapped together on my phone, feel like I should put some more effort in for an actual post but probably wouldn’t be much better but thanks anyways lol

Although now I’m thinking I need to get Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Tubman involved as well somehow...

So that lovely photoshop by Beatnik inspired me to imagine a better timeline in honour of John Brown...

https://imgur.com/gallery/hkviw4p

Also I haven’t smoked weed in like 2 weeks, clearly it’s increased my productivity!

I agree, but I don’t really see ritual as inextricable from religious hierarchy, and in many cases it’s used as a method to attain mystical or divine experiences which are integral in bringing about the positive perspectives associated with spiritual/religious practice. Mediate was probably not the right word to use in this case, perhaps dictate or interpret would have more accurately described what I was trying to convey. An example that comes to mind might be a shaman leading an ayahuasca ceremony through drumming and singing which could be seen as mediating an experience, however it’s more from the stance of a guide, as opposed to an authority imposing dogma or predetermined ways of conceptualising such experiences. As long as power over others is not derived from some kind of spiritual hierarchy I’ve got no problem with how people choose to practice their religious beliefs.

As far as I’m concerned mysticism is the key to converting the religious masses to socialist/anarchist ideology. Fuck the church, fuck the pope, fuck priests and fuck any form of religious hierarchy, nobody can mediate an individuals experience of the divine, we are all one so we should dam well start acting like it. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you, because they are literally you too.

I take this as the highest honour comrade o7

Haha trust me I was still coming up with “gotchas” after the dinner I could have thrown in, although it would be nice to be able to actually discuss at length rather then having to settle for these little back and forths. Family dinners doesn’t make for an ideal setting for these tenser convos, but what other opportunities do we ever get?

Nepal 100%, Although I heard they’ve been hit badly by COVID sadly. I’ve never encountered more genuinely friendly and hospitable people, and not just because they’re hoping for tourist money. + the Himalayas are something you can’t go past, incredible scenery and if you like to partake of the devils lettuce you can head into the mountains for day walks where it literally grows like a weed along the walking paths. One memorable moment was seeing a group of young boys fighting each other with huge branches of the stuff and discarding it in the dirt after, which in another country probably would have been the equivalent of a few hundred $ or a couple weeks wages by Nepalese standards. Crazy and a bit sad to think about. But If you do think about going feel free to hit me up, still have a few contacts there who I am sure would be more then happy to pick up some extra business.

Had a family dinner last night, mums partner and sisters BF discussing presidential election and this came up “I don’t trust Biden but I feel like as an African American woman Kamala Harris could be a progressive voice for his administration.” to which I just about threw up on the table, but managed to get in the following convo:

“Just like Obama right? Do we still think skin colour influences policy?”

“But Obama wasn’t that ba..”

“Expanding the drone wars and bailing out corrupt bankers during the worst recession in the last decades wasn’t that bad?”

“But George Bush and the republicans started that and were much worse.”

“So now our standards for presidents are based on the actions of past war criminals?”

Stunned silence as the libs realise the corner they’ve just backed themselves into, Cue good old mum interrupting to save the day before I reveal my true power level and start advocating to dismantle the state and workers revolution. A totally inconsequential interaction but I can only hope maybe next time they think twice to voice support of corporate Dems. Gotta take those tiny victories where you can get them I guess ...

Edit: oh and of course then everyone stood up and cheered! + another lib hot take “Bernie wouldn’t be able to beat Trump.” 🙄

Thanks for the acknowledgment, we aren’t all libs LARPing as revolutionaries... also that’s pretty awesome you got to see Cornel West, got mad respect for him, even if he could be more radical.

To your point on networking, I think it’s something that could be addressed through tech, some form or encrypted p2p app/website that allows for groups to form and dissolve federations in real time while offering a democratic platform allowing users to casts votes and lend support to different initiatives and allow for consensus decision making. Idk, not really a tech guy so maybe someone could elaborate on this better or shoot it down for impracticality ¯_(ツ)_/¯

After you finish that and have gained the knowledge to master the external world you should try The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu to balance it out by mastering your internal world :)

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

Hey, I’ve just signed up here and will hopefully be active, also religious and spiritual anarchism is a major interest for me as you might have picked up from my username, so this post seems as good a place as any to introduce myself and say hi :)

Edit: also thanks for the link will have to give it a read when I get a chance