Dear Reader: I spent much of my adolescence and twenties thinking about and feeling into colonization. Not colonization of someone’s land or nation, but colonization of my inner world by unhealthily boundaried others. There were lots of those, utterly determined to take over my inner world and its quest for peace, with their hellacious narratives and messages. And not just others—colonization by those inauthentic parts of me that had internalized the take-over as a way of being. After so many years living on a battlefield, it was difficult to keep my own tendencies to self-undermine at bay. It had become the groove by which I knew reality.
One of the key steps was noticing and naming the shifts in consciousness. Like literally saying, “I am currently feeling aligned with who I really am,” and “I am currently feeling misaligned, but I will be back when the moment is right.” Over time, the timeline narrowed so much that I no longer panicked when I felt like my inner landscape was no longer my own. It still happened, but the soul-centric groove had become so firmly established that it found its way back into consciousness relatively quickly. In other words, I was less often colonized by that which wasn’t me.
This is the work of a lifetime (and more!). In the attached video, I encourage you to normalize this way of thinking, and to put words to your own inner colonization processes. Name it when you feel like you are at home within yourself (what Alexander Lowen called ‘self-possession’) and when something outside or inside of you has taken over. Normalize the internal conversation between the who you really are, and the who you really aren’t. And bring this way of understanding and experiencing the self into those human relationships that can tolerate this level of consciousness. In the same way as others now acknowledge that they are standing on colonized land, acknowledge it when you are standing on a colonized inner-landscape. Let others know when you are not quite yourself, because something or someone has interceded to obstruct your access to what is truly yours.
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For those who are interested, my next book- In Trudeau’s Kitchen’- is now available for pre-order lots of places. It is now popping up on the lists of many independent bookstores worldwide. If you have a favorite store, please let them know about the title so they too can order it in. Nothing helps an author more than positive word of mouth, especially after being defamed by politically motivated (and ridiculously well-paid) miscreants for nearly five years. With respect to the larger venues, it is already up for pre-order (paperback, ebook, audiobook) at all Amazon locations, Chapters-Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Copperfield’s books, Book City, and McNally Jackson Independent Bookstores. Although the story is (largely) set in Canada, its tentacles reach everywhere.
The related documentary for ‘In Trudeau’s Kitchen’- and its prequel book- ‘Where is God in all of this?: A Conversation’- should be ready for view in 2026. Watch for it (and watch it!).
Treasure yourself, Jeff Brown
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