Spiritual Anarchism: Spirituality Without Conformity

Do you like figuring things out for yourself? Do you dislike being a follower? Are you willing to get your insights anywhere, whether it’s in a book, a bird’s chirp, or a neighbor’s rude remark?

Then you might be a spiritual anarchist.

Anarchism is a political and social philosophy that advocates for the absence of government or other hierarchical authority structures. And although there are different strands of anarchism the goal of anarchism is often to create a society in which individuals can freely and autonomously organize themselves without the need for a centralized authority.

The prefix “an” means without, while “archy” is derived from the Greek “arkhia,” meaning ruler. Therefore anarchy is a society without a ruler.

Spiritual anarchism can be seen as such a rulerless society based on spiritual values like love, peace, joy, etc. While I’m definitely down for such a society, this is not the spiritual anarchism I want to address here.

When I say spiritual anarchism I mean something much more immediate and applicable in your own life than the hopes for a better society.

Spiritual anarchism means being the only authority in your journey for truth. That doesn’t mean you can’t consider other people’s insights and opinions. Nor does it mean that you can’t use the help of a teacher or teaching.

It means you have your eyes fixed on truth and not on any of the pointers toward it.

Of course, at some point or another, we all get led astray. That’s part of the journey. The jungle of obstruction has a lot of sidepaths and luring calls from all directions.

But by being ruthlessly sincere with yourself, you’ll develop discernment.

Discernment then weeds out everything that might lead you away from reaching your goal (whatever that goal might be). If truth is your goal then everything needs to be weeded out eventually.

Concepts need to be thrashed against the rocks of reality.

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I would argue that spiritual anarchism isn’t even about spirituality in the traditional sense. As a spiritual anarchist you have no use for beliefs and ideologies. No one is an authority over you and no one is too holy not to be questioned.

If we by spirituality mean that layer of being that encompasses everything, well then, spiritual anarchism is about spirituality. You stretch your autonomy to such a degree that it eventually leads you down the metaphorical cliff and into the void.

At that point you might realize that not only are you not in control but that the idea of control is absurd. The further you get on the journey, the more you leave behind (of yourself), including control.

It might sound like spiritual anarchy is some kind of superior ideology, like you should be a spiritual anarchist. But that’s not what it is. There are no beliefs, concepts, or rules of conduct you need to pick up.

It’s well in your right to reject everything you read here as well.

The only reason I’m using “spiritual anarchism” is because I find it a damn good combination of words for describing the inner journey to your true nature. On that journey, you’re not following someone else. Neither are you becoming less or more than anyone else.

You’re following the truth.

Truth is limitless and unconditioned. It can never be the sole domain of a religion, philosophy, system, or ideology.

If we approach the truth through an intermediary, we have brought it down instead of ascending to it.

We like to believe that only certain people hold the key to freedom/happiness/peace/whatever you want to call it.

That’s not true. No one holds that key. There are no locked doors, so a key is not necessary. But if you need a key then you can be sure it’s always within your reach.

Speaking of truth in this way may sound vague and mysterious but this is only to sidestep the clinging to concepts. We can attempt to describe the truth but every attempt is merely another pointer.

We might say truth is our natural state, or immediate direct experience without anyone to take hold of it, or the always present common denominator, or everything and nothing, or simply life as it is.

Some descriptions might resonate more than others but we’re not trying to find the right description.

We’re trying to be unconditionally free. Free from the suffering caused by all the ideas and beliefs we have innocently picked up over a lifetime of conditioning.

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Who or what are you following?

Are you following the call for freedom or a teacher/teaching/philosophy/belief?

Teachers and teachings are without a doubt useful but they’re not endpoints. We strive to understand teachings to free ourselves not to be perpetual seekers.

Any good teacher will eventually urge you to move beyond him or her by always pointing back at you.

That’s where everything you’ve been looking for resides. Happiness, freedom, peace, truth. These things can only be found within yourself.

Reliance on outside authority can never give you anything substantial or lasting.

But even the belief in outside vs inside dissolves eventually so that all the outside help is equally inside help. (I guess you could call that a paradox.)

Ask for help, comfort, and assurance as much as you need but keep in mind that everything in life has at some point served its purpose. When you find your balance you no longer need the trainingwheels.

As has been said, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.”

If there is still a Buddha (authority/belief) left for you, you have some killing left to do.

And when there is no more killing left to do, you might look back and recognize that everything’s been perfect all along.

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Luka

Hello friend! My name is Luka and I am the creator of mindfulled. Here you'll find illustrated essays and stories about spiritual awakening and the art of living.