On Lineage.

I recently had an exchange with a colleague on the topic of esoteric lineage and how its over-emphasis often comes from a place of exclusion and hierarchy seeking. One of the great misfortunes that we, as human beings, cling to replicating is our tendency towards the unhealthy manifestations of ‘top-down’ relational models.

Don’t mistake me; the concept of hierarchy, when removed from the reality of discrimination and discriminatory attitudes, isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it can often be downright positive, especially so when good stewardship, accessibility and generosity underscore the motivating ethos. Further, when used as an organizing principle based in expertise and level of specialization, it’s certainly not unreasonable. One would assume that the greater the depth of knowledge and specification, the higher in the hierarchy one would be. Yet true oversight takes a wide depth of understanding and experience, and truly thorough generalists are an uncommon, and deeply valuable, find. Regardless of how your understanding of hierarchy is oriented, the expression of its conceptual potential is often under-realized. And most commonly, the aforementioned tendency towards finding ammunition for discrimination is but one piece that sits at the heart of that under realization.

So then, bearing in mind how bogged down and fraught the question of belonging or not belonging is, why does lineage matter? Does it matter? Are hierarchy and lineage, by definition, inherently linked?

While they certainly can be, I don’t believe they inherently are.

A lineage is a naturally occurring consequence of belonging to a particular manifestation of a principle. It is a chain whose links are formed by each subsequent generation who substantially partakes of said chain. Lineage does matter, but not for the petty reasons we commonly hear.

At its best, the purpose of lineage as an organizing and defining concept is to affirm a connection to a current of power. It aids in the tangibility of the formlessness of an enlivening agent, it communicates the current of said agent, and clarifies it both to those within the lineage and those interacting from outside of it; both of which disseminate the current of said enlivening agent, based on the nature of the proximity they have to it. To be part of a particular lineage is to be a nexus for the inheritances of said lineage. In another manner of speaking, it is to slipstream in both the power of the enlivening agent, and the collective force of ones forebearers within said lineage. It goes without saying that there’s strength in numbers, especially if those numbers have been compounded and deepened by longevity and consistency. To become a link, is to both receive and contribute within the generation of that collective. It is a very powerful act, and it has the potential to deeply enrich both those who partake and have previously partaken- regardless of where within existence they currently are. There is deep significance in this kind of torch bearing, especially in a time where testaments to the power of longevity are becoming more and more abstract.

But, nevertheless, these exchanges can still be fraught. It’s not unlike joining a new workplace; just as you will receive the benefits of membership within the organization, you will also be exposed to the pitfalls of working there. Some companies have more issues than others; some have a greater awareness of said issues, and some are further along in the process of addressing, alleviating and providing supports in contending with those issues. There are also those organizations that make a home of ignorance. There are those who simply don’t, won’t or can’t address what’s turbulent about where they work. As a result of their negligence, each new hire will also experience the pitfalls of their new company, potentially compounded by previous hires, often without the mitigation that someone new would require in such an environment. Such experiences can follow you home; one need not look far to find accounts attesting to the reality of burnout, in addition to being met with a plethora of tips on discerning the toxic load of an environment. Curiously enough, both the gifts and the challenges of linking to lineage can be similar, if not the same. At its worst, a lineage can function as a magnifier for both the personal and collective unwellness of those who are links within the chain. Overdependence on notions of hierarchy that are based in belittling and self-aggrandizement, as opposed to the creation of healthful structures that support the communities that interact with the lineage, is one clear manifestation of such a pattern of unwellness. Pride as joy is different than pride as arrogance. We all know someone stuck in the cycle of the latter, and such deficits can either be fed or starved by what you partake in.

Along those lines and in many ways, membership in a particular lineage can alter aspects of our identity. This happens not simply through the conscious acts we take to comply with the tenets and beliefs of said lineage, but also potentially through the particulars of the current of formlessness interacting with us on our other layers of existence. Said input often necessitates support through the prescription of the previously mentioned conscious acts. Often, it is those acts that assist, deepen, and ground the subtle levels of change taking place. But the degree of permanence of those changes depends on a variety of factors, not limited to the nature of the change. In partaking of any lineage, it is important to consider the conditions of reversion. Can it be affected simply by removal from the lineage or are there some changes that stay with us for better- or worse. Such as it often is, the answer lies in the situation and how we negotiate selfhood in the face of much larger forces.

We underestimate how deeply involved we are with the tangibility of lineage. Maybe that’s particularly a contemporary western idiosyncrasy, as much of this society is just as easily differentiated by how disparate it is as how united it can be. In truth, individualism stands on the shoulders of those who came before; the aspects of identity that each of us have in some way, have also belonged to someone else. Are we not part of that collective, of all gardeners or all magicians or all physicians before us? And while there are more conscious ways to interact with these markers, even on mundane levels, it cannot be said that we are disconnected from the inheritances of those before us simply due to our inability to engage them on the more subtle levels of existence. Each time you have a breakthrough in something you’re working on, each time you set your gifts in motion, you are contributing to the generation of the principle you’re enacting. So too are those before you present and (sometimes) helping, often in ways we do not recognize or understand.

This is why it matters.

To exist is to be part of a lineage. You are partaking of lineage- right now, just by breathing. There is glory there, as well as there is need for examination. Not every lineage we’re part of is one we’d want to remain in just as there are lineages who want us to partake of them, even when we don’t recognize it. One of the most reasonable things one can do is simply to ensure, both by those contributions to you and your contributions to it, that what you partake in is healthful and encourages the goodness of what you seek for yourself. Lest you enact patterns that aren’t for your betterment.

But of course, these are just my reflections. In all things, further perspective is required.

With gratitude,

-Alexis