Rebel
Just about anything we can name as an example of social progress begins as rebellion. What we call conscious evolution is revolution. All true (spiritual) leaders emerge as heretics. Intentional collective change (no matter how positive the end result) is renovation — renovation begins with demolition.
There seems to be little historical evidence to support an argument that we can simply and effectively kum-ba-yah our way forward.
The Rebel archetype is more than emotional reaction, without context — it’s not just angry, just pissed, just outraged — the Rebel has a Vision.
What about the Ego?
Does it make you uncomfortable to engage your Rebel archetype? Here in the personal and spiritual development community, we talk a lot about the dangers of the interior voices that originate with the Ego. Indeed there are many circumstances where operating from fear is unhealthy — we don’t want the Ego directly running everything — but the positive aspects of the Ego are self-preservation and protection. Sometimes the most healthy expression of the Ego is to rebel against the fear itself.
Unhealthy ego-driven voices are self-deprecating and abusive — insulting and punishing you for your weaknesses, failures, and passivity — they put you down. The “healthy” Ego Rebel stands up for you — and forgives you for not changing sooner.
As a spiritually-motivated person, maybe you struggle with the idea that you should ever be anything other than “nice.” Non-violent, passive resistance is ideal and incredibly powerful — it still pisses people off. Great moments of (r)evolution are rarely “peaceful” and are often responded to with violence — change is threatening. The greater its significance, the greater its populist support, the greater its importance…
Who are Your Heroes?
How many of them are (or at least began as) rebels, heretics, martyrs?
I constantly hear the term “leaders” loosely thrown around in the media as a basic label for individuals in positions of governmental and religious authority — our “leaders in Washington,” our “leaders within the Church” — the vast majority of whom are actually “managers.” Social organizations with centuries of consistent structure must be maintained — very rarely do true leaders occupy these management positions.
Personal Rebellion
Rebellion doesn’t always have to be political or social — maybe the areas you most need to engage your rebel angels (the divine messengers of self-esteem, innovation/renovation, and will) are entirely personal.
If you work with archetypal energy patterns (such as those found in Jungian psychology and the Tarot) you will find them represented by Swords — ideas combined with action.
The voices of your inner rebels are motivated by the need for positive, personal change. You are guided to resist the maintenance of your personal status quo:
- “Wait just a minute…”
- “Hold on, now…”
- “I beg to differ…”
- “Says who?”
- “That ain’t right!”
- “So what?”
- “WTF?”
- “Who DOES that?”
Your Rebel is the Voice That’s Had Enough
The Rebel is the watchdog, the whistle-blower, the reminder — conscience and consciousness:
- I am exhausted from carrying around this guilt, pain, and anger…
- I’m not going to take this anymore.
- I will not allow this abuse, neglect to continue any longer.
- I deserve better than this.
- I am capable of more than this.
The Rebel is a Creative Prophet
I borrow liberally from Erin Ganther’s interpretation of the Prince of Swords in The Cosmic Tribe — The Rebel voice as the harbinger of innovation and invention:
- the fresh perspective you’ve been waiting for
- a new outlook on life that moves above and beyond jaded weariness, apathy, and cynicism
- an impulse to shake off the pretty comforts of self-delusion
- the aspiration to translate the ideas of the mind/ the intellect into actions that you are convinced can make the world a better place
- a call to chase higher truths, to find them and bring them back for everyone
- the impulse to ascend above the clouds of confusion to a position of clarity where universal messages can be received and then transformed into active behavior
The Rebel is not ignorant and does not blindly oppose for the sake of controversy or destruction — the Rebel is fluent in the language of tradition, knowledgeable enough to see where the holes are, where improvements can be made. The Rebel has the vantage point to spot a new direction, to plot a potentially more direct path to where we all want to be.
Honor and Engage Your Rebel
- Define your ideals
- Break with your “traditional,” entrenched behavior patterns
- Open yourself to the Messages of Possibility that the Collective Universal Intelligence has chosen you to receive
- Give yourself Permission to find and speak your own truth while respecting and blessing the rights of everyone to do the same
Feed Your Rebel Rock n Roll
The most enjoyable way for me to most feel my Rebel, to let him out to dance, sing, preach, and perform, is by playing his favorite songs. You know how to plug into this — it’s the special bad ass brand of joy that surges through you when you listen to the harder edge of your music collection — the songs that demand volume, that make you feel young, powerful, hopeful… a little bit dangerous. A force to be reckoned with.
Interview Your Rebel
This week, listen to your Rebel — what is he telling you? In what area of your life is he demanding that you change? He may sound angry to you at first — mad at where you’ve been, how things are currently — ask him about the Vision of where you’re going and who you will become. He’s mad at your past because he’s a bit impatient — he sees your future.
image credit David Paul Ohmer via Creative Commons on Flickr
Contacting Your Spirit Guide 101
Free resources for Shift Your Spirits readers:
- Read the eBook by Slade Roberson especially for beginners who want to know who/what spirit guides are and how to communicate with them
- Listen to the mp3 preview of the Spirit Guide Attunement portion of the Talking to Your Spirit Guides class by Slade Roberson
- Try the meditation to Meet a Guide contributed by Jeff Lilly of Druid Journal
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11 Responses to “Rebel”
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Slade, you are such a New Age rebel! That explains why I enjoy your writing. Thanks for being such a distinct voice.
I love the idea of the Rebel as a Creative Prophet. That captures so much - forward movement and fresh ideas.
It all begs the question: if you’re NOT experiencing your Rebel, what DOES propel you?
Let go my Ego.
Laurie, I believe in answer to your question and I only see this in terms of my personal journey, when you are not experiencing your Rebel, nothing propels you. A person is stuck on their road, frozen in their tracks and involved in the loop of their life’s repetitive events. Break free, I say!
Slade, I wonder sometimes, if when I am sleeping you crawl into my brain and poke around and then write some of your articles! I am at a crossroads in my Life right now. Have been for about 2 years, not being able to make decisions for the Future, so instead my inner voice, Rebel (Ego) makes..excuses: Its too hard, there are too many steps to get to a certain goal, will I have enough money, what if I fail, what if it takes too long.. etc. I have finally decided to stop listening to the Rebel ( he always repeats himself anyway..) for now and take a leap of Faith. Sure some things need to get in order and I know in my gut I am (and my partner) will be make the right decisions to better our lives.
So, instead of saying “Maybe” and “Someday..”, I have changed it to “When I go.. ” I also, find a bit of cleaning up the Past is in order to move on too. Getting rid of old clothes, books, bills and furniture frees the soul. Untangles you from the tendrils of former memories. Why do we hold on to so much material stuff? It is good to start fresh for the one important reason, because we can.
How long will it take to achieve my (our) goals? Only as long as the Present Moment, which isn’t that time consuming at all.
Being determined to meet your personal achievements , isn’t aggressive, its a dynamic and bold way to push through the walls of your insecurities to reach the light on the other side.
Hello Slade! (Did I respond to your email way back when? If I didn’t, I apologize.
The Universe has certainly up-sized its Clue x Four this weekend.
I had an experience which had me saying everything you mentioned as the Voice that’s Had Enough. Just afterward, I turned on the TV and Guillermo del Toro is talking to Charlie Rose about how we must pay attention to painful situations because there are important lessons to be learned.
Yesterday, I ran across a yard sale with some music CDs. While I looked at them, the owner marked them down from $1.50 to $.50. It was as if the universe was saying, “If you’re going to be in a funk, it may as well be P-Funk. Here, have some Green Day while you’re at it.”
Today your message about the Rebel arrives in my email. All I can do is laugh because what I’ve essentially done this weekend is rebel. As I muttered to myself in panic, “I had enough and I’m never going to be in this situation again,” I finally worked out the kinks of my studio logo. Guess what? It’s a variation on a pirate flag. Can’t get much more rebel than that. ;-D
So who are my heroes? Bettie Page. Frida Kahlo. Jim Morrison, despite the drinking (the man could *write.*) I guess you can say Rumi and perhaps Hafiz fall into this category too. They were certainly rebels in their own way, weren’t they?
Hi Kenneth,
I just read your post and what struck me was that in searching for your goals, your truths that you keep inserting your ‘partner’ or ‘ours’. Please, Please, Please separate that idea for just a moment and just look at your Truths, regardless of whether they match with your partners. This is really truly important.
I know, as for many many years, my goals were supposedly ‘our’ goals. In truth though, you are served divinely when you act in individual truth. Even though there is a collective Oneness that we all share, each and every ‘one’ of us has our unique Truth, unique voice.
I’ve been there with the indecision and crossroads in Life, I speak from experience in making HUGE changes. Those changes came only after I looked at my unique Truth.
Looking inside is hard. Usually big life changes come with some initial pain (yup, just like that no pain/no gain idea) and then, to avoid the ‘pain’ part comes the compromises. BUT, those nagging voices will keep getting louder and louder inside you, until you follow your Truth, your gut, your instinct, your…..
It doesn’t mean that your partner and your goals may not be in sync. It just means don’t ever assume that to be the case. If you are always making compromises to meet a goal that is not hearing authentically.
All the best to you in overcoming fear and jumping into Life’s unknown. The adventure comes when you step into your Truth….Remember, your spirit guides are there to help you, ask and listen and act and that is truly rebellious!!
All the best to you!
Lynette,
Thanks so much for responding. I understand completely what you are saying. The change that is happening in the future is a move to another state. One thing that has been holding me back is I wanted to do everything “together” and now your post has hit home. Though we are partners and both have the same end results in mind, getting there is going to take our individual efforts and strengths. I can only do it my way with my best interests in mind. I know from the Past, when I act in this way, it proves to be a more enriching process.
Thanks for making me see what was there all along. I have one spirit guide I know of and will definitely seek her guidance through my new awakenings.
Peace.
K
Thank you, Slade.
Slade,
This is my all time Favorite. Thank you!
cheers!
Ginger
The Spirit of Rebellion is SO important, yet so hard to find in people today. I try to surround myself with as many rebels as possible. They are always uplifting and motivated, fed up with the shortcomings of the present.
That’s also a great point you make about leadership - very rarely are well behaved individuals remembered historically.
Also glad to see you mention the Tarot here.
Some of my favorite music of rebellion:
Burning Spear - “Marcus Garvey”
Immortal Technique - “The 3rd World”
Nas - “Nigger”
Rage Against the Machine
Thanks Laurie!
I feel we can certainly be motivated by simply wanting to improve, but at some point in that thought process — especially more powerful and urgent needs for change — there has to be some Contrast at work as a motivating force.
Ken,
I don’t think the Ego is synonymous with the Rebel — I think the Rebel is one aspect (a healthier “mood”) of the Ego.
In regard to your partnership — ask yourself this: are you “dialing down” your vibration in order to remain in harmony with your partner’s energy? A partnership is like two notes in a chord — if one changes, if the note goes up or down, the other must follow in order to remain in harmony. Often, the more “conscious” partner (who typically feels he is more capable of conforming or shifting) will allow the other to set the tone. This can be the exact opposite of what probably “needs” to happen. Choose to be the one who sets the tone, establishes the cord, and raises the vibration — by shifting your own “note” up… Your partner will automatically respond, even unconsciously, the need to maintain that harmony is so great that he will follow… If he does not, then he will choose to “disconnect” entirely — in which case it would probably be better to know that now than later.
Lynette,
I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses to Ken.
Azra,
Love this bumpersticker — “If you’re going to be in a funk, it may as well be P-Funk.” Ha! Excellent.
(My Rebel is definitely a Green Day fan…)
Sheldon,
Expect to see a lot more articles in the future regarding Jung, Archetypes, Tarot — I feel these are spiritual pattern recognition programs — perhaps one of the most accessible ways to approach the interior mystical experience.
Thanks for the Rebel Soundtrack recommendations. You know, it’s funny, because when I did my “Songs that Shift Your Spirits” post, I had like a gazillion that didn’t make that list — and they all belong on the Rebel Soundtrack.
I feel a sequel musical post coming up now…
Linda, Ginger — you’re so very welcome my darlings!
First, I must say that the message here resonates with me. Second, I really like the way you write- the way you convert ideas to writing. Like here, “You know how to plug into this — it’s the special bad ass brand of joy that surges through you when you listen to the harder edge of your music collection — the songs that demand volume…”
Its that ability to see things in everyday life with clarity and then put them down in words; in a beautiful way that people get. (”the harder edge of your music collection”- I would have never come up with that phrase and its so true! ) Kudos to your gift/talent!
Ashwin!
Thanks for the specific feedback — it’s a great affirmation for me. I very much identify with Writing first and foremost, and beyond “marketing” my intuitive practice, this blog is a chance for me to wear my writing cap on a regular basis.
I’d have to say that my two “greatest goals” with each article that I post are:
1. “Read the mind” of my readers — give voice to those voices we share, that you will recognize and identify with. Resonance.
2. Expose the magic in the mundane — I don’t believe there’s any such thing as “supernatural.” I hope to bring a lucid, accessible perspective to all the potentially Woo Woo stuff.
Hence the promise of my wise-ass tagline.
