3 Stages of Activism

From Opencollaboration (from an apparently removed post)

There are three stages one can be in awareness of world’s problems.

Stage 1: There is no oppression/domination. There are no victims/ People are not aware of the culture/matrix that disempowers them

Stage 2: There is oppression/domination. There are victims. People awake to the idea that there is a gender discrimation, racial discrimination, capitalistic predators etc. At this stage begin to fight, protest, activate to create change

Stage 3: There is no oppression/domination. People become aware there are not victims. They always are in control of how they behave and respond in any situation. They are not attached to outcome. They realize others cannot take their power away from you. E.g. Men cannot dominate women without their acquisense at some deeper level. They also realize people who they thought were ‘oppressing’ them are acting within their own belief systems which they are entrapped in.

At this stage one holds the space for transformation of all involved to occur.

There is gratitude for everyone, and gratitude for all ‘roles’ that are being played. In this gratitude deep transformation can occur. Its a transformation that occurs through acceptance, not through conflict.

The difference between stage 1 and stage 3 is that in stage 1 one is accepting, but it comes from non-awareness, amnesia, and uncaringness. In stage 3 one is accepting, but its a deep acceptance full of compassion for all parties, and its a higher consciousness state one is in. Stage 1 acceptance is not transformative, stage 3 acceptance is.

In stage 1 there is no action. In stage 2 there is action, often motivated by anger or frustration. In stage 3 there is action, but its a Taoist, non-doing doing, where you have dropped your ago, and actions happen through you. Its peaceful and loving.

…

Heres a very rough medical metaphor where the healer/medical personnel corresponds to the activist.

stage 1 : someone has a disease and no one does anything
stage 2: People are trying to fix the disease, its a war against the disease – e.g. war against cancer. Western medicine is often based on this fight metaphor. The attitude is there is something wrong with your body.
stage 3: Certain types of energy healing are based in holding space for a person and allowing their own bodies to self-organize to heal themselves. The attitude of the healer is one of deep acceptance and compassion for the person.

Stage 3 healers often have ‘cures’ that seem miraculous to stage 2 doctors. E.g. healers can help guide people to heal from cancer, diabetes, immune diseases etc.

In a similar way stage 3 activists can help bring about astonishing world change with what may seem at times very minimal energy.