As you may recall, I think of fundamentalism as a pattern of beliefs, sensations in the body, and behaviors that are characterized by a stark black/white view of the world, judgment (of self/others), and rigidity.
Further, fundamentalism is a pattern at play everywhere in the world around us; it isn’t limited to religion/s.
Today, I’m here to offer seven approaches (in no particular order) that actually work to dismantle this pattern.
APPROACH #1: Slow down.
To create real and sustainable change we need to go slow and take our time. This is why I’ve shifted the Witchy Healer Wisdom School to a lifetime access model… there is now time/space to practice, to allow things to land and to deepen, to take root.
APPROACH #2: Become an animist.
Become someone who extends personhood to the other-than-human world and who is willing to be in the mess of learning to relate well with all persons.
As we engage with a wider diversity of people, our ability to tolerate (and perhaps even appreciate and celebrate!) difference increases – medicine that is sorely needed in these times of increasing polarization and fear of those who believe or see things differently than us.
APPROACH #3: Develop connections in both the seen and unseen worlds.
Having connections in the seen and unseen (spirit/ancestral/other-than-
APPROACH #4: Set appropriate boundaries and practice discernment.
Learning to set boundaries and practice discernment with both the people (human and otherwise) and energies you are engaging is a lifelong practice for most of us.
Your blood ancestors and their wellness (or lack thereof) affects your ability to set and maintain boundaries. This is an often overlooked aspect of boundaries that can make boundaries quite ease-filled or very challenging.
APPROACH #5: Work to resolve the trauma in your ancestral lines and in your body/nervous system so that you can be present in your body, in the moment.
- Learn a bit about trauma and the nervous system including gaining awareness of when one is being activated into fight/flight/freeze and how to re-anchor in the body and the present moment;
- Learn to notice when you are not in your body and learn how to return;
- Seek help in healing up of the unresolved trauma flowing to you from your ancestors.
APPROACH #6: Take a deeper look at how fundamentalism is everywhere.
Learn to see how it is embedded in your lineage, your culture, your lives/bodies and seek resolution there (with ancestral support). Begin to embody/live the antidotes of wholeness, integration of polarities via the body, ability to have a beliefs/opinions and allow others to have differing beliefs without the need to ‘save’/change/fix them, etc etc.
APPROACH #7: Learn to grieve.
There is much to grieve and the cleansing waters of our tears honor both our own pain and the pain of others.
Grieving allows us to move out of unresolved trauma (that keeps our bodies and nervous systems locked in the pattern of fundamentalism) and into a place of softening and tenderness that allows us to see both ourselves and others in a kinder, more generous light.
In summary…
While each of the above are necessary to dismantle the pattern of fundamentalism, there is no particular order in which they need to be approached. Each of the above is a doorway that offers an entry point into healing.
Which door(s) have you walked through already? Which one is now open and awaiting your arrival at its threshold?
with love,
Larisa
ps. in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School, all the above approaches intertwine. And, you don’t have to do any of them alone.
pps. the Path Of The Witchy Healer introductory workshop returns next month! I’m not sure when I’ll be offering this workshop again so, if it calls to you, do register! And yes, there will be a replay if you aren’t able to attend live.
ppps. have you read my Healing Fundamentalist ebook yet? If not, it is my gift to you when you join the Witchy Healer newsletter.
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