Spirituality in Times of Unrest
Keeping our heads when all about us are losing theirs
This week’s post was supposed to be the second part of what I talked about last week. I hope you will forgive me for taking a slight detour as I address some of the fears and questions that I have been asked about over the past few days. I say slight because this too speaks to everything being a source of inspiration and breaking free of the orbit of the possible.
I was born and have lived in London, UK my entire life. I don’t say that to cement my legitimacy as a Brit because, honestly speaking, I don’t feel I need to do that. I am the daughter of immigrants. All my grandparents and mother were born in India, and my father was born in Kenya. India had gained independence from Britain by the time my mother was born, but my grandparents and my dad were all born in countries under colonial rule. It’s a simple truth, a detail about how my family ended up in West London, but it doesn’t really mean anything more than that to me. India and Kenya are my grandmothers, but the UK is my mother, and I love them all for the flavours and influences they have brought to my life. I share this to give you an idea of why, with all the riots and protests taking place up and down my country, people (of all races and colours) who are afraid right now would be approaching me with their fears and looking for hope. They see me as someone who should be afraid, and yet I am not afraid, and I do have hope.
I haven’t been able to speak to or respond to everyone personally, because I have my hands full with my own friends and family. But I did feel inspired to write this post. The first thing I want to be clear on is I haven’t told a single person that they shouldn’t be afraid and that they should have hope. No, I have tried to hold space to let them feel what they are feeling because I believe that is the most important thing. I think it takes strength to bear witness to the mayhem that is taking place, especially when it would be much easier to spiritually bypass at times like this. It takes immense courage to then actually approach someone like me and admit, with great vulnerability, how hopeless and ineffectual they feel. I am so grateful to these people because they give me hope.
So, I’d like to state that if you are one of those people who are daring to witness what is taking place in the world at the moment and feel great discomfort, sadness, and helplessness, congratulations, you are a human being having the exact response that I believe most humans have to madness, violence, hatred, and suffering. There is nothing wrong with you for feeling this way, and I love you for daring to acknowledge those feelings. But just because we feel that way, it doesn’t mean that we are helpless. I keep getting asked, “why aren’t people doing anything?” and I truly believe most people don’t know what to do. I believe the vast majority of people are horrified and do not feel empowered enough to do anything. It is worth noting that of course I would believe that; it is evidence of my personal bias at play. It doesn’t matter what happens in the world; we will always view it and speak about it from a place that justifies our own actions and who we are. I believe in empowering individuals; all the work I do is around that and how I engage with the world stems from that belief. It is why you will never hear me speaking about the world and people as if they are lost causes because then it means I am justified in doing nothing. I do not believe that. So, as you listen to people talking about the events happening in the world, me included, listen to the subtext. What are we justifying? What are we telling you about who we are and what we believe? What do your beliefs say about you? What do your words and actions say about your beliefs? If you want to explore these themes from an astrological viewpoint, check out information on nodes in Aries and Libra and Jupiter in Gemini.
One other astrological transit I will talk about more in-depth is Pluto in Aquarius. Much of the unrest we see in the UK, especially themes around poverty, cost of living, and wealth inequality, has its roots going back to 2008. This is when austerity measures were put into place after the financial crash that was connected to Pluto entering Capricorn. This is what Pluto does, brings to the surface the rot and the pus to show us the infection, to show us abuses of power, and it takes us to the root of the problem. In a similar way, I think we are seeing the same thing happening in the collective. Aquarius is the sign of collective ideals and humanitarian concerns. I think we are seeing the rot within us, the people, coming to the surface. I mean all of us, not just the thugs and bigots, but the rest of us too, the ones who just sit by and watch and do nothing. I do not say this to shame, blame, or guilt anyone, but rather to draw attention to the real problems in society – the systems and structures that we have in place that keep us helpless. Different groups of people, normal, everyday people like you and I, have been scapegoated for decades now in order to distract from the abuses of power in the Capricorn ruled institutions. Now we see the results of that. I said back in my ‘The Three Faces of Feelings’ post:
“To build this resilience, we must embrace the maiden, mother, and crone within us - react, nurture, and integrate - rather than running away. By feeling deeply and moving through these phases, we embody the full spectrum of human emotion. This process allows us to transcend selfish perceptions and understand the diverse perspectives that make us human. The need for this will become increasingly apparent in the coming months. Astrologically, the upcoming transits of planets moving through Leo opposing Pluto in Aquarius for the first time in over 200 years, will highlight these tensions. We are being prepared for what’s to come, and the narrow well of self will no longer suffice.”
This doesn’t mean I’m sitting here feeling smug, saying “I told you so”. I have learned over the past decade that even when you know, it is still always a surprise. I can understand the themes that are playing out and give them personal meaning, but I am as astounded as anyone else when it comes to the intensity, magnitude, and speed at which these events are taking place. I hope I will always be surprised, as something will have gone terribly wrong if I become complacent about life.
So, what can we as spiritual people do at times like this? Beyond praying, meditating, and using our own spiritual practices to keep us steady and able to cope with outer turmoil, we have to trust in the inner resilience that we have developed and, with intention and mindfulness, step forward and be anchors for humanity at this time. Remember, we don’t need more believers; we need more people that believe to act as if they do. The true marriage of heaven and earth lies in our ability to weave our spiritual beliefs into the fabric of our physical reality. As idealists, we are called to manifest our visions through tangible actions. This is not the time to disengage, but to embody our values more than ever.
When I say be an anchor for humanity, I don’t mean that you have to be out there on a public platform – we all have people in our lives that can benefit from our stability and faith. Here are just a few of the things that I do outside of Aquarian Insight. I don’t know if they are right for you; only you can decide that, but maybe they’ll inspire you to come up with different ways to engage:
I stay informed but not overwhelmed: I follow a number of independent media channels and don’t just rely on mainstream media to get my news. I don’t aim to stay up to date and informed on every single thing that is happening in the world – I would do nothing but watch news videos if I aimed to do that and still fail. I have the topics that I am passionate about, and those are the ones I stay informed about, from a number of different perspectives, that support and challenge my views. I trust that there are people like me staying informed on other areas of concern. This is where having a community or groups of friends in our lives with a wide range of interests is extremely helpful, as we’re all very capable of breaking down our own areas of interest for each other. The key part of this is trust – I trust those people to be charitable in their takes and be self-aware enough to be honest when they cannot be unbiased.
I also make sure to balance the difficult news with more heart-warming and hopeful content. Immersing oneself in just content about the horrors of the world can very quickly lead to burnout, cynicism, and nihilism. My favourite type of content are stories about the best of humanity. I read books such as ‘A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster’ by Rebecca Solnit, which is all about human beings showing the best of what we are in the absolute worst of situations over the last century. I usually have three books on the go at any one time. I read physical books in the morning, usually on a difficult or serious topic I am trying to educate myself on (I am currently reading ‘A Web of Our Own Making: The Nature of Digital Formation’ by Anton Barba-Kay) and during the day/afternoon, I’ll listen to/read a book related to my beliefs (I just finished ‘Awakening Shakti’ by Sally Kempton) and then in the evening, before bed, I only listen to fiction audiobooks.
I practice active compassion: I truly believe that small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect and therefore believe it is important to act on the compassion I feel. There are so many ways I try to do this. This can be everything from conversations I have with people – more about that in a moment – to supporting media outlets and creators who I believe are aiding in bringing unity to the world and not peddling divisive narratives. I make donations to help people in their work and share creators within my social circles. I can feel all the love in the world, but I believe it is important to show it, even if it is just with a smile or compliment. I have no business pointing out that which I see as wrong in the world if I also can’t highlight that which I find beautiful and right.
I engage in constructive dialogue: I make time for the people in my life, be that family, friends, or community, and even if I don’t have the same concerns that they do, I recognise that sometimes all someone needs is to be heard. I can listen and I can discern where I am engaging in a mutually supportive relationship, and where I am enabling self-centred behaviour, and I aim to prioritize the former. I want to understand and support people in conversations that are not judgmental and hostile. I use whatever sphere of influence I have to share messages of unity, understanding, and encourage self-aware, self-empowered action.
I fight systems, not people: I am very suspicious of any solution that lacks self-awareness and is focused on othering and scapegoating a group of people. I mean this even in relation to ‘the elite’. There are systems at play that keep us locked in these struggles and those are what I hope to change. I will talk more about this next week, as those are the orbits I think about breaking free from.
Often people comment on how much I get done, as I also have a full-time job with my own business, family commitments, and I run communities and have social engagements. I prioritise my physical health by making time to cook healthy meals and exercise, and my mental health by always being curious and remaining teachable. There are 168 hours in a week, but even then, I have had to make sacrifices. Over the years, I have cut down on video games, so now I very rarely, if ever, play them. Recently, I have limited the amount of, what I see as, mindless entertainment time, especially when I use it as escapism. I love to watch movies or lose myself in a series, but in an honest appraisal of what I need to make time for, that was the fat I was able to cut. This is not a judgement, only we know what we are doing with our own time. I will be making time for the latest season of ‘The Boys’ when I get a chance.
What other ways are you an anchor for humanity? Whether you see yourself as a spiritual person, a religious one, a lightworker, someone who is awakened, or whatever language you use to describe what brings you to reading and watching people like me, I have to believe that the faith that we have has given us the resilience for these turbulent times. All of us are capable of being a grounding influence on others without telling them what they should or shouldn’t be doing, just by our presence and example. You are welcome to add to the unrest and violence in the world; sadly, there will be those that fight fire with fire. Or you can be the embodiment of a different way, because remember, your example immediately will be proof of what is possible.