God is not Santa Claus

God is not Santa Claus

Woman in red dress facing the sunset with her arms raised high
There is no seeking God without finding myself.

What if every single day of your life you woke up in the morning with the absolute power to make your life easier, more tolerable? Maybe even better and more enjoyable? Wouldn’t you take it? To me, that is what God is: the daily choice to live as if. To live as if love was the deepest influence in my life, to live as if meaning was embedded in everything that happens, to live as if I have power over myself and choose to do wonderful things with it. 

Many people who know me, know my commitment to human rights, know of my love for all beings, are surprised to find out about my strong relationship with Life, the Goddess, and all things Spirit. This is because they are used to a God that has taken too much airtime over the past few centuries – the bearded dude in the sky that is tracking your every move like a perv and that is not a whole lot of fun. So they can’t imagine me being close buddies with that one. And they are right, I’m not. But I’m besties with a Life Force that is constantly hooking me up in life – which does NOT mean she’s like Santa Claus. 

Folks disappointed with religion and spiritual life tell me that they can’t believe in God given the state of the world. “If God was all powerful then why is the world so messed up?” Part of the problem with accessing spiritual power is that many folks have been taught about a God that has been colonized, stratified, and removed from daily life. In my practice, there is no God “out there” without Her being in here. There is no seeking God without finding myself. There is no sin other than the ways in which I still need to surrender to Life herself and what she’s teaching me. But many people would like their God to be like Santa Claus: does no wrong, knows all of our wishes, and makes them come true. What if instead of Santa Claus, you understood God as the Mystery, the Life Force, the Source? 

If you expect a Santa Claus of a God, you will most certainly be disappointed. I would be too. Looking around the world it is so obvious that there is no omnipotent being making sure justice prevails. In fact, it seems quite the opposite. Bullies at the global level get away with despicable acts, the natural world continues to be destroyed with seemingly very little each of us as individuals can do, and, in just plain English, shit is fucked.

The fuckedupness of the world is real, and it is something that I work on transforming and alleviating every day of my life. But I don’t believe that humans do horrible things because there is no God. I believe we do horrible things because that is part of human nature. I believe in free will AND in destiny. I believe in the inherent goodness of people AND in our boundless ability to do harm to each other. I believe that paradox is Life’s organizing principle, and the fact that we have messy, painful, unfair lives doesn’t mean that they are devoid of Spirit. It means that they are human lives on Earth. For me, when I make a choice in the morning to act as if there is Love all around me, life gets better. God can be as simple as that. But if you expect a Santa Claus of a God, yeah, then there is definitely no such thing, and be ready for disappointment.

Welcome to Another World

Welcome to Another World

Elisa Loncón, a 58 year old Mapuche woman, was elected on July 4 to be the president of the Constitutional Convention – the group of people who will be writing a new Constitution for Chile over the next 9 months. Ms Loncón is an academic specializing in linguistics, she speaks Mapudungún, Spanish, and English, and is in the faculty of the University of Santiago. Damn. She’s amazing.

Her acceptance speech was short and the most transformative thing I’ve heard this year – she talked about refounding Chile. Three times. actually, the third time she just said “found”, straight up. I counted them because it was so powerful to hear. She didn’t have to explain it, as a linguist, she is excellent with her word choice. What we have isn’t working, how about we start over? But she did explain it, just in case, for the people in the back who never tend to get the message, and what she had to say was profoundly inspiring. There is no way I can do it justice, and because I couldn’t find a version of it in English on the interwebs, I decided that sharing with you my translation was the best I could do. Just have a read and tell me she’s wrong. Tell me it can’t be done. Tell me there’s no other way. I dare you. 

MARI MARI PU LAMNGEN!
(Greetings brothers and sisters)

MARI MARI KOM PU CHE!
(Greetings to all the people)

MARI MARI CHILE MAPU!
(Greetings to the country of Chile)

MARI MARI PU CHE TA TUWULÜ TA PIKUN MAPU PÜLE!
(Greetings to the people who live in the northern lands)

MARI MARI PU CHE TA TUWÜLU TA PATAGONIA PÜLE!
(Greetings to the people who live in Patagonia)

MARI MARI PU CHE TA TUWÜLU TA DEWÜN PÜLE!
(Greetings to the people who live on the islands)

MARI MARI PU CHE TA TUWÜLU LAFKEN PÜLE!
(Greetings to the people who live on the coast)

MARI MARI KOM PU LAMNGEN!
(Greetings to all, brothers and sisters)

A big greeting to the people of Chile from the north to Patagonia, from the lafken, the sea, to the mountain range; on the islands, to all the people of Chile who are watching and listening to us. Here we are pu lamngen, to thank the support of the different coalitions that gave us their trust, that placed their dreams in the call made by the Mapuche Nation to vote for a Mapuche person, a woman, to change the history of this country. 

We are very happy for this strength that they give us, but this strength is for all the people of Chile, for all sectors, for all regions, for all peoples and original nations that accompany us, for their organizations, for everyone. This greeting and gratitude is also for sexual diversity, this greeting is also for the women who walked against any system of domination, to thank that this time we are installing here a plural way of being plural, a democratic way of being, a participatory way of being. 

This Convention that today I have to preside over will transform Chile into a plurinational Chile, into an intercultural Chile, into a Chile that does not violate the rights of women, the rights of caregivers, into a Chile that cares for Mother Earth, into a Chile that cleans the waters, into a Chile free from all domination. A special greeting to the Mapuche lamngen of Wallmapu, this is a dream of our ancestors, this dream comes true today. 

It is possible, sisters and brothers, companions, to refound this Chile, to establish a new relationship between the Mapuche people and all the nations that make up this country. In this context, pu lamngen, this is the first sign that this Convention is going to be participatory. We, as indigenous peoples, established that it is going to be a rotating leadership, a collective leadership, which would give space to all sectors of society represented here. All together, pu lamngen, we are going to refound this Chile. 

We have to expand democracy, we have to expand participation, we have to summon every corner of Chile to be part of this process. The Convention must be a participatory and transparent process, so that they can see us from the last corner of our territory and hear us in our native languages ​​that have been postponed for all that the Chilean Nation-State has been. For the rights of our original nations, for the rights of the regions, for the rights of Mother Earth, for the right to water, for the rights of women and for the rights of our children.

I also want to express my solidarity with the other peoples who suffer. We have heard on television what has happened to the indigenous children of Canada, it is shameful how colonialism has assaulted and attacked the future of the original nations. We, brothers and sisters, are a people of solidarity. 

I want to thank here the original authority of the Mapuche people, Machi Francisca Linconao, for her support. I also have a mother who is watching me from my Lefweluan community, a mother who made it possible for this woman to be here. Thanks to all the women who fight for the future of their sons and daughters. Finally, send a greeting to the boys and girls who are listening to us, who are watching us. 

Today a new plural, multilingual Chile is founded, with all cultures, with all peoples, with women and with territories, that is our dream to write a New Constitution. 

Manum pu lamngen
(Thank you brothers and sisters)

Marichiweu! Marichiweu! Marichiweu!
(Ten times we will win, ten times we will win, ten times we will win)

ELISA LONCON ANTILEO
President of the Constitutional Convention

The Magic is Back

The Magic is Back

Neoliberalism was born and dies in Chile

It was never really gone, but it is now front and center, proud, visible. Not hiding. Taking it’s righteous place.

I’m talking about what happened last weekend in Chile. After 30 years of a democracy that didn’t feel inclusive, equitable, diverse, or fair – a direct result of Chile being the first lab in the terrifying neoliberal experiment that prioritizes things over people, people are changing things. And they are not changing them a little bit, on the edges, in the periphery, with apologies. No, no, no, no siree, this time we are changing things deeply, transformatively, from the ground up.

I am talking about the first ever modern nation state that has agreed to write a brand spanking new Constitution, crafted by the first ever democratically chosen group of 155 people that embodies gender equity, diversity, and thank Goddess, left leaning tendencies. And by left leaning I mean an understanding that we are all in this together, and that government can and should serve the people. I mean left leaning as opposed to “If you don’t have money, tough shit” which is the more common right leaning approach. That’s all I mean for these purposes.

Even a short few years ago, the idea of creating a Constitution sounded absurd. “You can’t just rewrite the most basic document of governance in a country!” Oh yeah, hold my drink, why the hell not? If it’s not serving the people, if it’s corrupt, if it’s hurting us, TEAR THE MOFO DOWN!!!! When I was young, the most infuriating thing I would hear about why progress couldn’t happen in Chile was that some ideas were “unconstitutional”, and I’m like, “Yeah but a dictator wrote the Constitution (not quite, but basically), so can’t we just get rid of those bits?” And I would be met with eyerolls and sighs of “poor baby – no entiende nada.”

Anyway, time went by, and “all of a sudden”, after 30 years of trying to tweak things and try social and political change by any and all means possible, Chileans realized that there’s no way to eat a turd that will make it taste good. We need to get an actual meal. In October of 2019, a “social outburst” aka estallido social, began (you can read my writing about it here and here) and ended with a democratic referendum for the country to go through a process to write a new Constitution. But not just any ol’ Constitution, a Constitution to be written by a Constitutional Assembly of real everyday people that actually represent their peers, not a bunch of corrupt career politicians. 

Once the referendum took place (which had to be delayed due to the pandemic), EIGHTY percent of Chileans who voted expressed their desire for a new constitution written for and by their fellow countryfolk. Those 155 people were elected last weekend and they now have 9 months – the same time it takes to create a new life) to deliver the document. They may be able to get a one time only extension of 3 months, which means that in a year we should have a new Constitution that then will be taken to the polls for a Yes or No referendum. 

And who’s in charge of this massive job of writing a new Constitution? By the numbers:

  • 77 women and 78 men
  • 60 lawyers
  • 45 years old on average
  • 41% under 39 years of age
  • ⅔ quorum needed, meaning that consensus building will be necessary and no one will be able to impose their views without negotiation, collaboration, or compromise.
  • 17 are representatives of Indigenous people. 

How this will all turn out, we will not know for another year. This is what we do know: what we’ve been doing until now has been failing miserably. The fact that the first place that was subjected to the neoliberal model is the first place to take radical action to reject it, and embrace an open, democratic, and fair process to try something new, is poetry. I also don’t think it’s an accident. Chile has had it with this because we’ve been putting up with it for the longest. May the transformation that we are engaged in lead us to a better tomorrow, may it inspire other nations, may it center Life and Love and Human Rights. I have no doubt it will.

So mote it be.

Rites of passage as limits and boundaries

Rites of passage as limits and boundaries

Left: Billie Eilish age 17, right: Billie Eilish for Vogue interview age 19

I like to think that back in the day, before the industrial revolution, when an infected tooth could kill us cause we didn’t have antibiotics yet, ritual was a more explicit and clear part of our lives. If you’re into anthropology, ethnography or even sociology, you might have read about all the different rites that announce a life, demark childhood from adulthood, how care of elders differs from other types of care, how death can be accepted and processed in many different ways – and us witches maintain that how we do any and all of these things has a big impact on the quality of our earthly lives.

Take Billie Eilish, for example. She is a 19 year old ridiculously talented musician who became absurdly famous as a teenager – read, as a child. Being a public persona, all her fans and the media follow her every move, and she chose a baggy clothing style as her trademark so people wouldn’t comment on her body or give her shit of any type. This is both brilliant on her part, and demoralizing and depressing that she had to hide her body as defense from nameless assholes who feel entitled to having opinions about women’s bodies. 

Anyway, she grew up in the public eye and just this month she is on the cover of Vogue magazine in what are considered traditionally super sexy and provocative clothes: lingerie, corsets, high heels, stockings, the works. Most of her fans love the look, a few feel she “sold out”, most people aware of such celebrity comings and going have an opinion. 

My opinion is this: I love that this 19 year old young woman chose to scream to the world, with her look and style, “I’m a sexy grown-ass woman”, and that she didn’t do it at 17. I think she probably would have done it at 18 but the pandemic and all, so who knows. Her Vogue cover leaves no doubt about the fact that she is choosing a very specific look, with very specific connotations, that are appropriate for an adult and not a child. 

And while the difference between 17 and 18 may not be that much, and it may be that at those ages humans are already mostly grown, and probably super sexually charged, it is important that we draw the line somewhere. Why? Because we can’t be protecting young ones from older predators on an individual basis. While sexual consent is a whole nother topic, it is important that as a society we agree that it is not available until children are grown ups, and that the limit of childhood, the boundary of adulthood, occurs at 18 years of age. 

This doesn’t mean that you are fully grown and won’t continue to mature after 18, it just means that before then, you are a kid, and you deserve our love and care and protection as a child. And that after 18, you are free to run wild and trash your life or thrive, as you see fit.

My gut reaction to Billie Eilish’s new look was that of “OK, she gets to do whatever the hell she wants now that she is a woman. Glad that she shared with the world such an explicit memo”.  When younger media personalities are sexualized, it’s confusing and dangerous for all involved. I super apprecite the clarity of the boundary this photo shoot as rite of passage communicates. It is now clear to all that Billie Eilish is no longer a child, and this has been communicated at an appropriate time. How refreshing! May we all find the rites of passage we need for all stages of our lives.

The day the sun didn’t rise

The day the sun didn’t rise

It’s Wednesday September 9, 2020, and the sun didn’t come out in San Francisco. Actually, it didn’t come out in the Bay Area at all. Cars are driving around with their headlights on and I have all the same lights on that I have on at night. My neighbors lights are also on. I went outside and it’s cold, a weird, eerie, creepy cold that I don’t think I’ve felt before. It’s chilly not because it’s actually cold like a normal cold day, it’s cold like it should be a hot day except the sun is being blocked by a massive cloud of smoke so thick that the light can’t get through and the day is not warming up.

It’s my mom’s birthday. She’s in Santiago de Chile and I waited to get a hold of myself before calling her cause I didn’t wanna freak her out about the end times feeling particularly dramatic in SF today. Chile is barely dragging itself out of a Covid induced hole that has been battering the country for months. There is a critical referendum in October. Also – strikes, economic downturn, the whole thing.

My bestie lives in Herzliya, 8 miles outside of Tel Aviv. I video call her so I can show her the shitshow outside my window, but I also know that Israel is going through a deep moment of intensification of their own shitshow. Israel has never been an easy place, but for those of you who follow world news, you know that right now Netanyahu is acting out. My bestie, her partner and their teenage daughters have been going to protest in Jerusalem every Friday for weeks. So I don’t keep my friend on the phone for long cause I at least try to condense my whining/ freak out sessions to the bare minimum. 

And the bare minimum is this: it is important to acknowledge the pain, to feel the fear, to worry about worrisome things, like the loss of NATURAL LIGHT to ecological collapse. But we can’t afford to dwell in those places. So what do we do instead? Well, I got up a bit before 8 am and have been working this morning. I have been reading the news, and sending messages to loved ones all over the globe telling them about what’s up here. Because there is something transformative in the act of sharing, and it makes it easier to have support from others. I sat at the altar, as always. Pulled a tarot card, so beautiful and filled with joy that it felt “wrong”. But in my experience the tarot is never wrong.

It’s true that my life right now is beautiful and filled with joy. I get to celebrate my mother’s birthday, at a distance, but celebrate nonetheless. I have so many friends in the Bay that I could literally spend the rest of the day calling them all. Actually, I may just do that. My phone has been filled with texts and calls from folks that are feeling confused, sad, terrified, angry… The best thing we can do right now is be together. We don’t know exactly how we’re gonna get through this, but we know we won’t do it alone. We will need each other, and not having all the answers right away has ALWAYS been the state of things for humans. It’s just that right now it’s slapping us on the face harder than it has since we can remember. Taking the next step together will then reveal the following one. And the following one. We will most definitely make it through. Se hace camino al andar. Don’t forget that.

As Within, So Without

As Within, So Without

The lovely Brian Truskowski interviewed me for his podcast “Illuminate”. In introducing myself, I found myself saying that I’m a witch, I work magic, and I have a bunch of spiritual tools that have allowed me to build a really beautiful life, one that I enjoy and I’m fortunate to have. And, I’m also an activist, I spend my days working on social change, and I am obsessed with the socioeconomic political context that affects us all.

These two things are core pieces of my identity, why and how I am a witch is a longer story, but I’m an activist because I can’t imagine being a witch and not wanting to influence the outside world as well. As within, so without.

In my conversation with Brian, I told him about three ideas that are important to me, that you’ve heard me talk about before but that explain my deep connection to both witchcraft and activism:

1. Paradox is the organizing principle of Life.

When I believe this idea, I can love more openly and I can love more fully. I believe that connectedness and embodiment of Love is what I need to be healthy and happy. Things that are seemingly contradictory can be true at the same time: I can be very strategic and very analytical and very sharp operating in a pseudo corporate environment and bring to it a decolonizing strategy lens, bring to it an open heart, bring to it a depth of intuition. That doesn’t make the strategy any less valid and it doesn’t make the magic any less magical. But that’s a lot of work: to incorporate seemingly contradictory things and to embody the Paradox. Owning the paradox means that I understand that I may mess up things but that doesn’t make me a messed-up person. You might not be the upstanding human that I want you to be 100% of the time, and that doesn’t make you any less human. Embracing this allows me to love you anyway, and to love you openly and with compassion. I can do this for myself first, and then for everybody else. 

2. Speaking truth is the path of liberation.

The act of speaking truth itself has magical powers. It changes consciousness, creates connections, transforms realities. There’s a reason a classic social change phrase is “Speak truth to power”. Because if there is no problem, there is no solution, and because we do certainly speak our reality into being, it is critical to search for the truth, speak, and when you think you found it, keep searching for it. Truth is direction of travel, not a location.

3. Politics matter.

The rise of fascism, of authoritarianism, of oppression and violence are real. I call it out every chance I get because the way these things happen at a political level is when we try to pretend that it’s not happening or we’re too scared of talking about it. I am terrified of the political situation in the US and while I can’t do everything about it, I can do something about it. This is not going to sort itself out, we’re going to sort it out. 

So if you think that we can love and light our way out of the current mess, please take a seat, and listen to the women and men that have been resisting for centuries and take a page out of their survival playbook. If you think you can green smoothie your way out of your spiritual thirst, you have a long way to go in your search and may I suggest your path will be clearer if you think about others as well.

You don’t have to be a witch to have spiritual power, but it helps. You don’t have to be an activist to be happy, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. I wanna invite you today to do one thing that will get you closer to spirit, and one thing that will make the world around you a little bit better. And let me thank you for that on Life’s behalf.

 

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