The Conscious Resistance: Reflections On Anarchy And Spirituality

by John Vibes, Derrick Broze

This book is for those who are interested in meditation, consciousness, indigenous teachings, and spirituality. This book is also for those who understand the philosophy of freedom, Anarchy, and self-governance. We hope to bridge the gaps between these two worlds in an effort to help humanity understand freedom in a way that goes beyond the physical world. We also want to help those who are already spiritually inclined to consider what freedom means from a philosophical perspective.

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2019

Reviews

[Kaberoi Rua · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the following pages, the author proposes that it is not only humanity’s physical struggles for freedom that should be studied but also our daily internal struggle for freedom. The author believes there is a vastly deeper and extremely personal “fight” for freedom taking place every moment. This is the internal struggle, the mental battle, the war waged between our desire for our “highest good” and our doubt and self-imposed limitations perpetuated by our own internal tyrants. It is on this field where humanity’s greatest war is fought. As a result of the author's research and experience, we have come to the conclusion that it is extremely important and necessary to challenge and expose the physical manifestations of power. Equally important is our ability to face and challenge our doubts, fears, insecurities, and pain. Fantastic book on anarchy and spirituality both of which are interconnected to higher consciousness.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of three books by these authors about agorism. Agorism is "a libertarian social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, thus engaging with aspects of peaceful revolution". This is very much an introductory volume outlining definitions and links to other schools of thought and philosophies. It's purpose is to raise questions in the reader and it does. There are many problems in terms of spelling, grammar and typos, but that's not the point. This book is about ideas. I can't wait to read the next two volumes and continue my agorist education.

[Christopher Stubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more of a beginner's manual.
In short, concise chapters, the authors briefly summarize the works of people like Terrence McKenna and Samuel Konkin while describing the basic ideas that embody the philosophy behind Anarchy and Agorism.
The second half of the book attempts to link the use of psychedelic drugs and shamanism with concepts of freedom.
I found myself questioning and even disagreeing with many of the points the authors put forth, specifically the whole shamanism section.
A quick easy read for the beginner but really nothing new for those who have read the works of previously named individuals.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing and life changing book. The writing employed by John Vibes and Derrick Broze is phenomenal, centered in a philosophy of open-mindedness, critical analysis, and peace. In this book, the authors hope to introduce the readers to a number of ways to think that better enable them to evaluate their personal life and how it connects consistently to the way they fit in governed society. This includes, but is not limited to, focus on the scientific method (which acknowledges that what is outside of the materialist 5-sense world is impossible to prove or disprove), unity among anarchists (of varying economic traditions), rights of life applied to animals and the earth, balancing collectivism and individualism, balancing masculinity and feminity, as well as going through various established faiths and their intersections with anarchism.

My only criticism for the book is the lack of thorough analysis of Christian anarchy in chapter 12. For how thorough their chapters on other faiths are (especially the groundbreaking chapters on Islam and Taoism), I think that there's a lot more to be said of Christianity's intersections with anarchism and would advise a revision and expansion of the chapter.

That being said, I still rate with 5 stars for how mind blowing the rest of the book is, chalk it to rounding up a 4.5 star review to 5 stars.