Rejecting the Spiritual Path of Least Resistance

Last week, when reflecting on SpiritDAO, I wrote, “Whatever you label it [SpiritDAO], we are what our active members are making it, and it is beautiful.”

Over the past few weeks, there has been quite a buzz around certain intellectuals and their embrace of salvation narratives to align with the infinite. This has caused quite a commotion within the Liminal Web, as people feel conflicted about this pivot.

The statement about SpiritDAO is equally applicable to all spiritual communities and organizations; they are what most active practitioners make them to be. Herein lies the central challenge with the salvation narratives: The most vocal and active followers seek to dominate and diminish others. Today, fundamentalist Christians proactively seek to strip the legal rights of women, people of color, and LGBTQ communities.

There is no denying that wisdom traditions of the past contain some value, especially from a theoretical and philosophical viewpoint. At the same time, these sacred texts are not separated from the tribal dominion ethos contained within them. All religions are spiritual-political technologies, and the salvation narratives were created during a human time experience far from our own.

To embrace these narratives is to embrace selective hypocrisy. The challenge is that there is no consensus around this hypocrisy, so an individual who embodies their texts as sacred unwittingly champions the profane. They are not enough to meet the needs of the moment, and often serve to proactively further our descent into the crisis.

While I consider myself a fervent champion of the single truth, it requires no believers. Therefore, we take an ambivalent stance toward an individual’s personal choice of orientation. Our objective is to share an alternative where there has previously been none, allowing others to shape their orientation.

Claiming alignment with inherited spiritual dogmas is the path of least resistance. It can also boost fleeting popularity. Developing spiritual alternatives is a difficult, messy, and arduous task. All the more reason to embrace core values informed by enthusiasm and courage; this is a worthy pursuit.

This is an excerpt from the 3/12/24 SpiritDAO newsletter.

Ron Rivers is the author of Self-Actualization in the Age of Crisis and a co-founding member of SpiritDAO. You can learn more about his efforts at ronrivers.com and by connecting with him on X (twitter).