Colonization is the Root of All Unwellness

Ways we have been harmed by Colonization & Colonialism:

Fragmentation

Separation

Domination

Extraction

Exploitation

Desecration

First, colonization turned land into an object, as something that was separate from us and something to be extracted from. This programmed us to dominate & desecrate our Mother Earth and to exploit rather than nurture and honor.

This severing from the web of life had many implications. Of course this impacted our souls.

This disconnection & separation from the web of life caused a split in us. We became fragmented in our energy and psyche. 

Duran describes colonization as a soul wound. And I have observed people and our society experiencing soul loss due to both historical and modern colonial trauma. 

I want to draw your attention here to the ways that domination, separation, fragmentation, exploitation, extraction, and desecration became normalized in our society, our worldview, and ways of being. In the current (colonial) paradigm, we see these destructive and oppressive ways as “normal”, and they are even rewarded, causing further damage, and unwellness. 

The next cut of colonization was to separate people from their connection to the spirit realms, to their cultures, to their sacred medicines, ancestral wisdom, and traditions. This further normalized desecration and fragmentation and deeply cemented this soul loss and feelings of disconnection. This void was then filled with colonial capitalist patriarchal ways. 

We have been implanted with, and have been programmed to give allegiance to these predatory ideals. In our current society, this has manifested as hyperindividuality, success at all costs, separation from family and community, devaluing of divine intelligence and the spirit realms - except for superficial, capitalist new age, and bypassing relationships in favor of convenience & capitalist hoarding and accumulation

These oppressive and predatory ideals have led us to imbalance, fragmentation, and exploitation. If healing is to come, it must address this wounding as a primary concern. The disconnection we experience explains the imbalance we witness in the people coming to us for help. Given these layers (and more) of separation, along with the violence we continue to experience, it makes sense that the people coming to us for help may be experiencing depression and anxiety, and even a level of disassociation. Knowing this, it is important to not pathologize these reactions, but instead view & name them as healthy and appropriate. The task then is how to navigate this colonial experience so that the people feel supported, encouraged, connected, and strengthened.

Turning to your experience, I invite you to take a moment here to reflect on the ways that you may have been unconsciously colluding with this oppressive paradigm.

How has this unnatural and harmful way of being impacted your view of the world? Your view of self? Your relations?

How has your internalizing of this oppressive paradigm impacted your life decisions? How has it impacted what you value and what you view as “success”?

And finally, how has colonialism impacted your medicine and the way you carry and embody it (or not).