Thursday, December 22, 2011

Awakening Thought of the Day: Masculinity and Patriarchy


With increasing awareness and understandable anger at centuries of patriarchal behavior, or false male power, we have come to believe that masculinity―and men―and patriarchy are the same thing. Consequently, we deny and repress the power and the gifts of the Divine Masculine.--Gary

Visit the website for my book, Awakening the new Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Why I'm an Occupier, and why you should be, too....

(Gary's note: this is a letter I submitted to two local papers, neighbors, and various FB websites. This is an example of how we reach across the memetic, political, and personal boundaries of the separation of duality.)

You've undoubtedly seen the news about #Occupy Wall Street and the other 1500 or so Occupy Groups that have organically sprung up around the US, including my home in Western North Carolina, and in 84 countries around the world.

What you may not know is that the vast, vast majority of people in the Occupy movement are not unwashed, incoherent, directionless, lazy, or very different from you and me in spite of how they are being presented on most news reports.

It may surprise you to know that I'm one of them. I'm a minister, a family man, a homeowner, a soon-to-be published author getting ready for a book tour, a workshop facilitator, and I care about my community, our constitution, and our country.

In Western North Carolina, we're your neighbors and your friends. As confessed members of the 99%, we care about the same things you do: quality of life, low taxes, opportunity, and equality, just to name a few.

I'd be willing to bet that you're part of the 99%, too, and in fact, there's only a 1% chance you're not!

Like most of us, you can't afford your own personal politician or judges, and you're probably feeling that your voice is being lost to big money, big banks, big religion, and big business and big crooks. We believe in a fair shake for everybody. We're not anti-capitalists, socialists, or communists, but we think people are more important than profit. We believe Jesus felt the same way.

But don't take my word for it. I'm inviting you to come to a local Occupy WNC meeting (or one in your town) and meet the people who care about the same things you care about. Maybe not all of them, but I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts we have more in common than differences.

What I do know is that if we don't stand together we'll fall apart. And that's just not acceptable. So, right or left, tea party or occupier, come find out for yourself what we're all about. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Mission Statement: OccupyWNC is a diverse and non-partisan coalition that acts to promote economic and social justice for the 99+1%
  • Open to all people -- we are the 99%
  • Consensus gained through shared leadership
  • Change unsustainable systems that benefit the few at the expense of the many
  • Use all possible non-violent means of action
  • Prioritize people over profits
  • Yes! We are united to preserve our constitutional right to equality.
We also believe in building bridges.

Image: http://morgaine.multiply.com/journal/item/249/Duality