Whether we realize it our not, our bodies are tremendous sites of conflict—a cultural, political, social battleground for businesses and governments. As a result, and due to a lifetime of formal and informal education, the mind is colonized. Decolonizing the mind involves the never-ending struggle of getting rid of deeply, intimately engrained forces that came and stayed without consent. (We could also speaking of decolonizing the diet, decolonizing education, etc.) The following outlines some suggestions, if you can even adopt one or two of these that you may not currently do, you’ll be on the road to a happier life!
- Participate in random acts of generosity.
- If you still watch television, watch less or stop altogether. (Check out Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television.)
- Read, fiction and nonfiction, and read at least one book each month.
- Attend a concert or lecture or listen to one on YouTube.
- Actively seek opposing points of view.
- Actively take the unconscious and make it conscious.
- Walk outside for at least 30 minutes, at least 5 days a week.
- Question everything. Analyze (at least parts of) everything.
- Start a blog. (It’s free or low-cost and easy.)
- Hang around children, especially those who have not gone to “school.” (Gloria Steinem says, in her talk with bell hooks at The New School, “I didn’t go to school until I was 10 or 11, so I missed a brainwashing.” And, an additional gold nugget she shares is, “I never understood the nature/nurture thing because obviously it’s both.”)
- Accept everyone as talented and unique.
- Regularly look at things from the point-of-view of others.
- Share what you know with others. bell hooks says we must “educate for critical consciousness.”
- Be yourself, boldly and confidently, and encourage others to do the same. And try different things to actually find out who you are when decolonized.
- Read articles about History and science and recognize these are all deliberately constructed narratives with agendas.
- Listen to and look at beautiful art – music, painting, sculpture, theatre.
Happy New Year!! Please comment with additional suggestions.
See also: “Decolonize Your Mind” by Steve Bearman and “Goals, Attributions, and New Year’s Resolutions” from me last year and “13 Things You Can’t do (and be Honest) in the United States.”
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda 