A primary factor in countering oppression is a sense of vision - on both inner and outer levels. An option - which we often overlook in our zeal to be free of exploitation - is a capacity of opening our awareness to all of our experiences, being capable of responding, rather than reacting, and not inwardly closing off anything. When we practice "radical acceptance" (which is the polar opposite of passivity), we will be reminded that we all have much to offer each other. (For more, see the work of Christina Feldman and Tara Brach).
--- Assisting organizations and individuals who are working effectively to solve problems from a transformational perspective. Choosing political movements and institutions that are responsive to the real needs of people. Choosing and supporting current leaders who are carrying the seeds of a vision for a new, positive world at any level - local, national or international. Today these include people like Ervin Laszlo, Edgar Morin, and Joanna Macy.
--- Recalling Einstein's statement that, "We cannot solve many of the serious social problems we face by using the same mindset that created them."
--- Being committed to learning about both authoritarianism and character pathology. On the one hand, this would involve learning about the diagnosis of "malignant narcissism." On the other: reviewing Abraham Maslow's studies of self-actualizing people, particularly the distinction between democratic vs. authoritarian character structures.
--- We can familiarize ourselves with studies of human potential (thequintessentialmind.com/self-actualization). We can keep in mind Maslow's statement that:
"The study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy. The study of self-actualizing people must be the basis for a more universal science of psychology."
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