Episode 29: Sacred Activism: The Connection Between Inner & Outer Transformation
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Episode Description:
This episode, Prerna chats with spiritual activist Chelsea Macmillan about just that: activism as a spiritual act, and spiritual practice as a form of activism.
The two discuss how to find hope during such tumultuous times, the connection between our inner and outer worlds, how technology and social media play a role in transformation, and so much more.
Check out the show notes below for a synopsis, and tune in wherever you get your podcasts for the full episode. With our minds inundated with all the crises of the pandemic, the environment, social justice, Ukraine, and more, this is one episode worth allocating some of your energy.
Show Notes:
On cultivating hope in times of despair in the world: “Hope doesn’t arise until we come to terms with all that’s happening. When we get real with what’s happening, only then we can connect with fierce love.” - Chelsea Macmillan, Spiritual Activist
What is resilience? Accepting multiple emotions in a given reality, including the “negatives” like fear and anger in addition to the “positive” like hope
How to have the courage to get present in difficult times, to sit with hard feelings
What it means to practice presence
Coping with the urgency of issues like climate change
What it means to be “a master” of something, like meditation
How to make space for higher consciousness in your on-the-ground activism
What is spiritual activism? - The recognition that inner transformation and collective transformation are intertwined
Activism as a spiritual path in and of itself: the power of changing our personal consciousness, when personal belief systems create widespread culture
How to fight for change both in hearts, in law, in culture, and more
How our technological devices affect our abilities to connect to self, others, and our activist journeys
How our devices are built by white, Western, male consciousness, and how that could affect how devices affect humans - especially women and PoC
“The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.” - Sociobiologist EO Wilson
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (What’s the right societal system moving forward?)
The role of technology in activism
The pros of social media: dissolving boundaries for widespread activism. The cons: performative activism.
Being a woman activist in a patriarchal and heteronormative society, and being a person of color activist in a white supremacist society - Where does love come in?
Toxic positivity
More context on the healing power of prayer: here
Developing trust, building communities of fierce compassion, and finding the humanity in all beings, including those we fundamentally differ from in ideology
Meditating and rest in a capitalist world where your worth is tied to your productivity is also a radical act
Yin & yang balance of inner and outer worlds
How art has an important role to play in where our world goes next and in relation to sacred activism → How are reminds us of our humanity and is a channel for finding hope.
A closing poem: “Mother of God, She Who Hears the Cry of the World” by Mirabai Starr
Mother of Mercy,
the cries of the world keep me awake at night.
I rise from my bed, but I cannot locate the source of the wailing.
It is everywhere, Mother, coming from all directions,
and my heart is shattered by the sheer intensity of suffering.
You of boundless compassion,
expand my heart so that I can contain the pain.
Focus my mind so that I can arrive at viable solutions,
and energize my body so that I can engage in effective action.
Give me the courage to follow the crumbs of heartbreak
all the way home to the place where I can be of real service.
Let me dip my fingers into the dew of your compassion
and scatter it now over the fevered brow of this world.
About Chelsea:
Chelsea MacMillan is a climate justice organizer, ordained minister and spiritual director, and founder of THE ALTER, a virtual gathering space for spiritual changemakers. She co-hosted The Rising: Spirituality for Revolution, a podcast for sacred activists and her writing has appeared in Anchor Magazine, Reimagining Magazine, and Order of the Sacred Earth with Matthew Fox. With a diverse background in interspiritual ministry, climate justice organizing, and the performing arts, Chelsea has spent the last 15 years facilitating humans of all ages and backgrounds in transformational and meaningful experiences. You can find her on Instagram at @revchelseamac. www.chelseamacmillan.com
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