Fight The Establishment’s Narratives By Getting Clear On Your Own

Guest Post by Caitlin Johnstone

Anti-establishment movements are a mess. Whether they’re left-wing or right-wing, whether they’re statist or anarchist, whether they’re organized or decentralized, whether they place emphasis on official or unofficial narratives, any circle of people who are interested in opposing the status quo on a deep, meaningful level almost invariably find themselves significantly bogged down by confusion, paranoia, infighting, and misdirected use of energy.

Every day, for example, I get people in my inbox and social media notifications telling me I shouldn’t quote or share anything from this or that lefty journalist or anti-establishment figure because they’ve said something “problematic” at some point or have some kind of association with some aspect of the establishment. Rather than simply using narrative-disrupting tools wherever they come from to fight the establishment narrative control machine, I’m encouraged to isolate myself to the extremely narrow spectrum of voices which agree with my exact worldview perfectly. This kind of paranoid, self-cannibalizing mentality is rife throughout most anti-establishment circles.

This happens for a number of reasons, including the fact that the ruling power establishment will infiltrate dissident movements that it perceives as a threat with the intent of sowing confusion and division. But the underlying reason anti-establishment circles so often find themselves getting crushed by their own weight is ultimately because life itself is confusing and difficult to understand.

Hardly anyone holds a lucid and steady awareness of just how much of society is comprised of mental narrative. Most people live their lives under the unquestioned assumption that when they are moving around in the world, speaking, acting, forming opinions, having ideas etc, they are interacting with something that resembles objective reality. The truth of the matter is that most of the things which draw people’s attention in their day-to-day experience, whether it’s names, titles, news stories, political parties, economics, history, philosophy, religion or what have you, consist entirely of mental noises firing off inside human skulls.

You might think it’s a big jump to go from chatting about the sociopolitical dynamics within dissident movements to making vaguely Buddhist-sounding observations about human thought, but it’s really not. The reason our species is in a mess right now, and thus the reason movements exist which seek to change the status quo, is because so much of life is dictated entirely by made-up mental narratives which can be easily controlled by the powerful, and hardly anyone fully grasps this. If they did, the revolution against the establishment would very smoothly and quickly succeed.

Scientific research has found that astronauts suffer problems with coordination, perception and cognition when they are unable to determine which way is up in space. There is no “up” or “down” when you’re outside the gravitational pull that our bodies are adapted to, so its absence sends our whole system out of whack. Navigating a society that is made of mental narrative is very much the same; if you don’t know which way’s up, you’ll get lost and confused. Before you can see the narrative matrix clearly, you might be aware that some narratives serve power and swat at them while you’re spinning through space, but you won’t have any solid ground on which to orient yourself for the purpose of forming a clear path forward toward a healthy and harmonious world.

Your first and foremost task as a revolutionary, therefore, is to find solid ground on which to plant your feet while operating within a swirling sea of narratives and counter-narratives. Without this you’ll find yourself expending energy on ineffectual agendas, chasing shadows, attacking friends and advancing the interests of the enemy as you stumble around trying to fight a threat you can’t even see clearly. You’ve got to figure out for yourself which way’s up.

The only way to do this is to turn inward and sort out your own mental narratives in your own experience. This takes a lot of dedicated work, because there are many layers of tightly believed narratives which dictate one’s perception of the world that most people aren’t even aware of.

As soon as we’re born we are given a name which has nothing to do with the nature of the slimy, screaming naked creature which came roaring thunderously alive out of the womb. We spend our childhood being told who we are in various ways by our family, then we go to school to get taught how to think like everyone else and get labeled good/smart or bad/stupid for the rest of our lives based on how well we dance that dance. Along the ride we pick up coping mechanisms to deal with the stress of this whole unnatural ordeal, many of which become extremely counterproductive unconscious habits in later years. We pick up likes and dislikes, interests and aversions, life philosophies, religious beliefs, societal beliefs, political beliefs, all of which come together to form our worldview.

Because the foundations of our entire worldview are formed in early childhood long before we’re mature enough to decide for ourselves what a useful foundation might look like, we wind up interfacing with life through this muddled, inefficient network of mostly unconscious mental and perceptual habits which don’t serve us very well. It is with this warped, endarkened tool that we interact with the vast sea of official and unofficial narratives we are presented with in our attempts to decipher what’s wrong with the world and how to fix it.

The path, then, is to unwind this whole confused, unconscious muddle of mental and perceptual habits until we get to the untarnished blank canvass of that powerful screaming baby who first met this wild world, and inhabit it consciously. That right there is our solid ground.

Who are you? Underneath the mental narratives about who you are? Underneath all the stories, labels and beliefs? Underneath the field of consciousness full of thoughts, sensory impressions and feelings? This is the most important inquiry that anyone can possibly engage in, and it is worthy of the entirety of your focus until it’s resolved.

All of these swirling, babbling thought stories have dictated our lives for as long as we can remember, but rarely does anyone sit down and start sorting out where they come from and if they’re useful. We lug around ancient mental narratives about life, about how we should be, about how other people should be, about the best ways to find happiness, about the best ways to avoid unhappiness, and we rarely consider the possibility that we can interact with life unencumbered by that heavy load.

If you want to find solid ground beneath your feet so that you can push effectively for a healthy world, you’ve got to question every assumption you’ve ever made about yourself and the nature of the world, even your very most fundamental assumptions, because it’s all narrative. As you turn your attention toward your essential nature and away from your churning, babbling mental habits, interest and attention will move away from mental narratives and toward the solid ground upon which they appear. The mind will relax and mental narrative will take on its proper role as a tool that can be used when it’s useful and set down when it isn’t, rather than the dominating feature of every minute of waking existence. Unhelpful mental habits can be discarded, and all attempts at narrative manipulation will stand out like a black fly on a white sheet of paper.

I can’t tell you how to do this. Everyone’s path to the heart of the fundamental matter is unique, and you can only travel it on your own. I can tell you that the answer does not exist in the realm of thought, and that it is closer to you than your own breath. Sincere, dedicated inquiry into your own true nature, on your own and in your own way, will lead you to the ground on which you must take your stand in order to fight the establishment narrative machine effectively.

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Pequiste
Pequiste

“You’ve got to figure out for yourself which way’s up.” Caitlin J.

I disagree with her on this premise from which she proceeds about getting clarity in personal perception.

I would suggest that first, one must figure out which way is “right” as opposed to “wrong”.
Speaking truth to power is eminently nobler than manufacturing lies.

Having clarity with a “wrong” foundation is the path to Hell. A path and perception the West is on right now; and well on its way to that destination.

'Reality' Doug

Hell is an inculcated narrative based on (((hearsay))). I would only change one word in her essay: ” I can tell you that the KEY does not exist in the realm of thought, and that it is closer to you than your own breath.” The ANSWER can then be constructed and housed in the realm of thought. I am shocked a woman can correctly write something so fundamentally introspective. Western affluence tracks with philosophy, and inversely with Christian orthodoxy. The history from Constantine to the Reformation is rather bleak, but winning is really losing or some such when you factor in eternity proven by really old writing not the oldest writing.

Thunderbird
Thunderbird

@ Pequiste

I happen to agree with the writer that one has to figure which way is up first before getting clarity in personal perceptions. Your rebuttal to her premise is weak. Your poorly formed syllogism in rebuttal to her premise contains ambiguous propositions which makes a weak argument and your conclusion is disconnected from the immediate subject of individual orientation.

You say, “I would suggest that first, one must figure out which way is “right” as opposed to “wrong”.”

I would say; as the writer says, before we can align clearly with what is “right” or “wrong” one must clear the mind of false narratives learned in life that bias our perceptions. The writer mentions “the field of consciousness”. Do you know what this means? The field of consciousness is where our “attention” resides. It is also where all our mental images reside. By activating our attention; also called being awake, one can study the mental images contained in one’s field of consciousness and do the work of affirming the truthful ones and denying the negative ones. This takes work. Once this is done a sense of up and down can be established in ones mind. This is getting clarity in personal perception.

You say, “Speaking truth to power is eminently nobler than manufacturing lies”. What do you mean by power? There is only one power and it is God. All other so called power is illusion. If you are talking government as power this illusion is caused by fear in one’s field of consciousness caused by the false narratives the many in society believes. Government is neither good or bad. It is what the collective consciousness of the sleeping people make it.

You say, “Having clarity with a “wrong” foundation is the path to Hell”. What do you mean? How can one have clarity with a wrong foundation when a wrong foundation speaks of confusion of reality?

It seems that the writer is speaking to you and you are not listening.

PlatoPlubius

Thunderbird,

Well said! I enjoyed Ms Johnstone’s.
After reading her article and thoughts expressed about worldviews I wonder if she happened to stumble across my first and only featured article on TBP here

‘BIRD BOX’: Christianity, The Great Awakening 2.0, Transhumanism, and the Neo-Feudal Order

ueue
ueue

Soooo relevant. Spiritual aikido – parry past the “discursion”. Each/every very special/unique “One” – manifested in to this ‘world’ in the image of the almighty ‘Author’ – must “seek/trudge” One’s own path to “Salvation”.

22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor
22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor

The author practically wet her panties the other day over Tulsi Gabbard running in 2020 so that should tell you all you need to know.

Still has faith in government

Still has faith in menstruating voters and candidates

hardscrabble farmer
hardscrabble farmer

Caitlin suffers from that mistaken belief that because she can think logically or reason out a position, other bipeds are equally capable. I’d venture to say that 75% of the US population wouldn’t be able to make it through her first paragraph and the remaining 24% who could wouldn’t understand what she is even talking about.

She’s far too high up the intellectual foodchain to believe in myths like people constructing narratives in their mind to explain the phenomenon they observe. Most people are just lucky to avoid getting struck by a motor vehicle on any given day.

And her writing is very workman-like in its construction. I feel like I’m watching one of those youtube videos where a couple of old Finnish guys are building a log house with a hatchet. Mesmerizing.

Mongoose Jack
Mongoose Jack

Thinking the same thing.

22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor
22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor

Good grief HS. Are you going stir crazy spending so much time indoors?

Caitlin absolutely gushed over (female) Democrat Tulsi Gabbard running in 2020 just the other day… just days before Tulsi formally sucked up to the LGBTQXYZ MAFIA.

Please tell us you were just a little loopy when you heaped praise on her. I am highly suspicious of writers like her- new wave demonstrably fake conservative writers who sound great 95% of the time, hoping they can rock you to sleep with PASSIVE CRAP like 1. Vote for Tulsi Gabbard- it will be great! (Caitlin Johnstone) 2. Vote, call your congressman, mail checks to the NRA and hey, mass non-compliance with firearms laws is not a strategy (Duane Norman/FM Shooter). 3. All the other fake “conservative” psyop writers popping up lately who peddle the notion that voting and mailing checks as the path to liberty.

Five Reasons I’m Excited About Tulsi Gabbard’s Candidacy

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-tulsi-gabbard-lgbtq-rights_us_5c3e250ce4b0922a21d93a93

Why “Mass Noncompliance” With Firearm Laws Is A Losing Strategy

2008, 2012 Nig Prez
2016 Jewish Prez
2020 Tampon Prez

MARK MY WORDS and get well soon HS

PlatoPlubius

Wingman,

I usually am in agreement with the majority of your thoughts but on this one, not so much.

I wonder if you actually read the article she wrote about Gabbard or just read the title? Maybe you should go back and read it again for comprehension to understand her points as to why she is excited.

22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor
22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor

Anyone who endorses anything whatsoever within the system is seriously suspect. I reread and it’s worse than I thought. Gabbard is a CFR hack too.

PlatoPlubius

Wingman,

My initial comments on the Gabbard thread pointed the CFR membership as clearly suspect, red flags and alarm bells going off..

Like I said, I tend to agree with the majority of what you say, especially about Trump, likewise Gabbard has been groomed for this run.

She will give the ostracized from the Democratic party who are anti expansionist and war a candidate unlike any of the potential other candidates, sorta like what happened with the Republicans and Trump…maybe even some of the libertarians, Republicans or Tea Party members who are anti war will vote for her too.

Maybe not when you consider Gabbard’ s recent apology about her previous comments about the LGBTPQRSTUV Community., blaming it on her conservative upbringing.

I don’t think Johnstone was necessarily endorsing her rather than looking at Gabbard and her effect on the Democratic Party as an institution.

EL Coyote (EC)
EL Coyote (EC)

1998 Nig Prez
2000 Saud Prez
2008 Gay Prez
2012 Ruskie Prez
2020 Lez Prez

Chubby Bubbles
Chubby Bubbles

You’re displaying precisely the phenomenon Johnstone wrote about: chastising allies for insufficient purity of thought.

22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor
22winmag - Q is a Psyop and Trump is lead actor

If your allies want to open the gates for a Trojan Horse, your allies may need more than chastising.

Anonymous
Anonymous

HF, why do you even care if 99% of the population has never contemplated enlightenment? We both know that the path involves a pitchfork or shovel, sweat, manure, sunshine, the sound of the breeze rattling the cottonwood’s leaves and the voice calling you to breakfast. Caitlin is wasting her pencil lead, we know it, but have to busy our mind as we lean on the handle while we catch our breath.

Thunderbird
Thunderbird

I don’t think Caitlin is preaching to the choir. Maybe she is speaking to those who are beginning to wake up.

The waking of consciousness has so far taken thousands of years. It may take thousands of more years but groups of people are slowly waking up.

no one
no one

I considered a bulleted list of her points and see where they lead. It is workman-like here.

There is a bit of a germ of truth in the narrative of the mind versus the power of NOW.

This moment, told in hindsight, becomes my word against yours.

Free Speech Forum

The US has gone completely batshit insane.

Americans used to fight Nazis and Commies, but have now become Nazis and Commies.

Americans are simply unable to see hypocrisy or understand unintended consequences.

Americans say Obama was an asshole for destroying the US with wars, debt, and tyranny, but then they turn around and scream Trump is a holy god for supporting wars, debt, and the police state.

Americans think the government can magically rule by decree.

Americans say tyranny only affects others and that they are immune from the police state.

Americans insist freedom only benefits other people.

Americans want the government to ban saggy pants and smoking, but then they are puzzled why prisons are overcrowded.

Americans demand that the government start a trade war, but then they are stunned when prices rise and no one wants US exports.

Americans say tiny homes must be illegal, but then they baffled why homelessness and housing costs increase.

Americans beg for welfare and then they are shocked that the US debt is growing.

Americans want the government to have regulations and high minimum wages, but then they are dumbfounded why there are no jobs.

Americans want the government to start endless wars, but then Americans do not understand why the world hates the USA and why there are refugees, terrorism, and tyranny.

Anyone who loves wars, debt, and tyranny is considered to be normal and anyone who supports peace, balanced budgets, and freedom is called a nutjob and racist and is banned, gets an IRS audit, gets arrested, or is killed.

The entire country seems to be committing suicide.

WTF?

dunno y
dunno y

And that is why we love Americans while mocking the crap out of them. Americans are not to blame, American subversion and corruption is and well that’s a terabyte book right there. They are not alone.

SmallerGovNow
SmallerGovNow

“Americans want…. (fill in the blank)”.

WHICH Americans are you referring to? You seem to think “we” are a monolithic block. “We” are anything but. I for one am one of those you say gets called a nutjob and a racist. There aren’t enough of us I’m afraid… Chip

Thunderbird
Thunderbird

@WTF Who are you talking about? That is what the media wants you to think. Stop drinking the media poison. Many are misinformed or uninformed but don’t think like that. Stop smelling the dung.

PlatoPlubius

Thunderbird,

Perception management strategies, what the news talks about and perhaps more importantly what it doesn’t talk about often shapes individual perceptions. We might feel isolated or the false belief that not many people entertain similar thoughts…

This is why TBP is such a diamond in the rough… The ideas shared here remind us that there are others who see through the fog of bullshit and think for themselves.

PlatoPlubius

Free speech,

I get the point your making when you said this,

Americans used to fight Nazis and Commies, but have now become Nazis and Commies.

But I would argue there jave been many Nazis here even when other Americans were fighting them in WWII.comment image

dunno y
dunno y

Better to die on your feet than live on your knees which doesn’t take z to get to b leaving from A ay. Most of the women that follow her actually need this insight into a good look at themselves. She pulled off a great tact and show’s she is growing through this as life intends. Confused a bit still but more growth will reel that in, she has hope better to be nurtured than dismissed. Not everything is a flippin narrative thou while some of us aren’t on themselves we just live. The only thing that pisses me off is simply why do these people believe they can fix things when they themselves aren’t fixed. Bloody interventionists leave things be to settle by themselves. Patience is a virtue intervention bullshit not. Caitlin once used very liberal language “you know” “like like well you know” now she has stepped off that trip her colonial education is coming to the fore. Still as we say she has a crack where many are to gutless.

no one
no one

It is our only hope.

Stucky

“Most people live their lives under the unquestioned assumption that when they are moving around in the world, speaking, acting, forming opinions, having ideas etc, they are interacting with something that resembles objective reality.”

I wonder if folks realize that she is espousing Zen philosophy.

comment image

NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

Stucky

comment image

Thunderbird
Thunderbird

Stucky, is that true for you? It is for me. Just asking.

PlatoPlubius

Stucky et al

In Cognitive Behavioral Psychology there is a term used to describe this,

“AUTOMATIC thoughts”

These thoughts can be triggered by a variety of external stimuli and are developed or maintained through experiential factors.

This site does a pretty good job of explaining them. The trick, for some of the negative automatic thoughts might be to realize what has triggered it and understand that we do not have to take ownership of it, and if it has to do with how we perceive or spend our attention, consciously attempt to change how you see or feel about the stimuli.

https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Automatic+Thoughts

Automatic thoughts, a concept in cognitive behavioral therapy, are images or mental activity that occur as a response to a trigger (like an action or event). They are automatic and ‘pop up’ or ‘flash’ in your mind without conscious thought.

Thunderbird
Thunderbird

PlatoPlubius,

Very well said. I would also like to add that Automatic Thoughts will also trigger hidden emotions carried in the body along with triggering body movements; like twitching, coughing, facial expressions, etc. And vice versa emotions can trigger automatic thoughts and even guilt. Even some of the food we eat can trigger negative emotions. An alert attention can capture all this.

Just as important as denying negative thoughts is healing the emotional body. We are emotional creatures. The healing of emotion is very important in becoming a balanced organism. Bad or traumatic experiences involve emotions captured by negative experience and held in the body. These emotions contain thoughts, images and guilt associated with the experience and can be triggered by sensations coming in from the outside through our five senses.

Getting into these traumatic emotions and healing them involve courage and fortitude but until it is done one will always have them lurking in the subconscious trapped in their miserable condition.

There is a series of books called “Right Use Of Will” written by Ceanne DeRohan between 1984 to 1997 that really delves into this subject and suggests how to free these emotions that; she says, are trapped in the Gap. These books have to be read with the head and heart. She also wrote a book “Feelings Matter” Keys to the Unexplored Self, that explores the first years of life and the development of the reptilian brain, the mammalian, emotional, Limbic brain lobe, or Limbic system. She explains how circumcision in babies leaves emotional scars and the terrible experiences meth babies go though. A good read that explains why for many; seemingly bad emotions, surface in one that seem unconnected with anything they experienced in conscious life.

So Automatic thoughts are just a small part of our brain activity that can be studied by our attention. Emotion and body movement are also important to notice and study in oneself.

PlatoPlubius

Thunderbird,

Wow! Just wow!

Thank you for the thoughtful response. So much to unpack and I will definitely be checking those books out.

Yes, like you mention, even our diet can have physiological, emotional and cognitive effects. Again, like you mention, anything our senses interact with can trigger these automatic thoughts.

Trauma, like divorce can leave emotional scars on young persons and dependent upon the behaviors of the two parents after the divorce can trigger these automatic thoughts and emotions. My mom and dad divorced when I was but 2 years and a few months old and from a few lasting memories I remember, wasn’t pretty. Luckily they are relatively civil and polite towards one another now, which is astonishing, considering all the things that happened over several years.

Again,

Thank you for adding so much depth to my initial comment. I hope others get as much from it as I have.

no one
no one

My dear friend’s son is facing a very ugly divorce. Small children, aged two to seven, are involved. It is tragic for these little kids to see the hurt and anger between the parents.

EL Coyote (EC)
EL Coyote (EC)

Getting clear is a Scientology concept that resembles the Christian concept of forgiveness of sin. In the Scientology practice, a person does not confess his sins to god. Instead he does so to an auditor who determines when a person is ‘clear’ by using an electronic monitoring meter.

I have often complained about dumb memes originating with comedians that people repeat mindlessly as if they were generalized American values instead of brainwashing that occurred while they were in a fit of hysterics and their mind was open to suggestion.

I agree with the overall message of the article, the so-called blank slate (tabula rasa) is socialized by the exposure to many impressions, ideas, repetition and experiences. Americans of every stripe and color became Americans because of the common experiences and learning. It is difficult for a foreigner to remain a foreigner once he is exposed to the local environment for a while. While Billy argued that a spider does not become a farm animal for living in the barn, the flaw in that argument is that humans are not as different from one another as a spider and a pig are.

HF related the story of becoming a part of a group after he and other noobs shared in the attack against some rebels.

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