Five steps toward personal emancipation in an Orwellian world

At the risk of embarking on something as lowbrow as a self-help guide, and coming off, to the average person, as eccentric or outrageous, the following proposes 5 steps toward personal emancipation (more important in these Orwellian times than ever!). This post will be regularly expanded and eventually turned into a book, in which I will delve into the history–going back to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution–of these intertwined ideas.

My self-help steps are different from what you might expect in that each presents the same paradox: while some people will find them a snap, others may find them daunting and out of the question.

The 5 steps are progressive: it’s advised to proceed through them in order, though which steps one finds easy or difficult will be a matter of individual personality, and one can start anywhere. They link together, build on and mutually reinforce each other.

STEP 1: Go naked at home and outdoors as well, wherever risk of arrest is low. Not just when alone but with everyone–family, friends, and select guests. Announce in advance your intention to do so; the purpose is not to shock but to liberate living space. Invite (rather than insist) others to do the same by setting an example.

If this sounds like imposing our private matters where they’re not wanted, recall that our homes have long been invaded by the cultural ideology of body shame, and we need to combat it with body freedom.

This has nothing to do with sex (that’s covered in Steps 2 and 3) but with kicking oppression out of the house. If you’re European, you’ll probably find this easier to grasp; the Germans have been practicing FKK (Freikörperkultur) for over a century. International naturism symbol at right.

STEP 2: Be pansexual. Be bolder than a bear hug: sleep with people because you like them, without regard for gender, age, ethnicity, or any other prejudice. Entertain the idea of sexual generosity. This does not mean that we should sleep with everyone, of course, but the point is one’s sexual “orientation” need not be a barrier to sexual expression.

Traditionally, there was one universal straitjacket: heterosexuality. Today, we have five more or so to choose from: LGBTQ+. Take off the straitjacket: it’s superfluous.

Two taboos must be retained: incest (how strictly incest among consenting adults is defined is up for debate) and sex with minors (though teenagers close in age should be allowed to do as they wish, as they will in any case). Pansexuality symbol at left.

STEP 3: Be polyamorous. Dismantle the monogamous nuclear family structure, which is nothing other than the authoritarian state replicating itself in miniature by a factor of millions. Communal polyamory unfolds the household to accommodate more than one family, with communal kitchen, living room, and other shared spaces, while separate bedrooms can be maintained. With this act of domestic liberation, the horizontally extended family enables the pooling of labor, resources, and wisdom and the raising of children in a more socially convivial environment.

Sexual polyamory follows naturally from communal polyamory by turning the bedroom into a shared space as well. How multiple couples work out the often-complex intimacy arrangements is entirely up to them.

An easier option for some is romantic polyamory: multi-partner intimacy without the sex. The polyamory symbol at right.

STEP 4: Explore psychedelics. The natural mind medicines (psilocybin, mescaline, ayahuasca, cannabis, etc.) have been used for enlightenment purposes for thousands of years. Their illegal status in the modern age, due to the state’s arrogating the right to dictate which plants—freely proffered by nature—we may or may not cultivate and consume, is a crime against human freedom and decency.

Fortunately, there has been a collective turnaround in recent years, as their legally sanctioned use in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and PTSD is gaining acceptance. Psychedelics expand consciousness and awareness and can be life-changing and transformational—and frightening (to quote Terence McKenna, “If you’re not scared of psychedelics, you haven’t taken enough”). They are not for everyone, but the risks can be minimized with homework and guided use.

They also powerfully enhance empathy and creativity, while cannabis (steadily being legalized) is the greatest of aphrodisiacs. The mushroom symbol stands for all psychedelics.

STEP 5: Conceptualize freedom. I place this step last, as theory follows from practice; mastering Steps 1-4 better prepares one to tackle Step 5 (some may navigate Step 5 with ease while balking at Steps 1-4). Conceptional freedom involves critically imagining and constructing your own understanding of freedom.

The big step for many people is deprogramming religious indoctrination. However, atheism does not by itself constitute liberation from dogma, as atheists may be just as bound by prejudices (nationalist, racist, sexist) as the religious; and atheists are often just as monogamous as everyone else (the religion of Monogamism). To build character free of a rigid personality structure, uproot internal prejudice and bias in all its forms.

Conceptual freedom can alternatively be understood as psychic, psychological or intellectual freedom; you must invent your own understanding of it. The wellness symbol above serves our purpose, but true mental freedom goes deeper than the often-superficial New Age notion of “wellness.”

Integrating the 5 Steps: Go naked together in your communal, polyamorous family household, while being respectful and inclusive toward others. Open yourself to simultaneous romantic and/or sexual arrangements with more than one person, while striving to overcome jealousy and possessiveness (the enslavement urge). With the aid of psychedelics, reinvent yourself; replace prejudice and blockage with productivity and creativity.

Finally, enrage the capitalists by paying nothing to embark on the five steps. They’re absolutely free! (Even the plant medicines of Step 4 are free if you grow your own.) The best things in life are often free.

If all this sounds impossibly alien, in fact none of it is incompatible with your regular life; you can still have your work, hobbies, and friends. To quote Wilhelm Reich: “Love, work, and knowledge are the wellsprings of our life. They should also govern it.” At left is Wilhelm Reich’s symbol representing the fusing of the body and the psyche. (This symbol has an attractive symmetry and simplicity to it, but I refrain from integrating it with the other five as it’s associated exclusively with Reichian psychology.)

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