Permission Granted…Permission Received

​>>Submitted for Social Foundations: Reading Response<<

It is 12:17pm on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. As I sit to write this response, I am finding myself still hyped from the group discussion of hegemony* and religion. Never did I think that I would willingly enter spaces of conversation that address such “hush hush” subjects like religion. But here I am. I’m holding my own. I’m listening with an open ear and heart. I am not just speaking my truth, I am walking in my truth: the truth of eco-spirituality.

*Before we proceed, hegemony is a word that I would NEVVVA use in my everyday discussions. Nevva Evvva. My working definition of the word refers to a power structure. A domination of one group/practice over another. A system of power. If you need more than that, you can click here.

If you’ve read my other work, you already know a little bit about how I arrived at this space of spirituality versus religion. As a quick recap:

•  My first name is Christal. It was given to me by my Mama to reflect her religious foundation that CHRIST is in ALl of us. She was very creative and intentional with the spelling.
• My middle name is Mischelle. It was given to me by my Dad. Although he didn’t have an exact ‘why’ as to this name, he just liked it. Come to find out, in December of 2020, my middle name is derived from Michael which, in Hebrew, means “Who is like God?” I love this question.
• My last name is Omni. It was a co-created name with my husband. I didn’t want to take his last name and he didn’t want to take mine; therefore, we opted to create something unique and meaningful for us. As you might already know, Omni means all. And when you put it with the question presented by my middle name it creates a beautiful question and answer: Who is like God? All!
• If “All” is like God, I believe that nature can be god, too!

Greetings, Souls of Love & Light!

Now that you have that recap, let’s move into the reading of Culture, Resistance, and Struggle by Stuart Hall. I invite you to a quote located on page 187, “…if a group is to enter into important cultural negotiation with the dominant ideological or cultural forms of a society, it must have a good deal of persistence and strength. From this single quote, I received an energetic support for my idea of Permission Granted.

I was baptized when I was little and was raised with Black Baptist expectations. My Mama was a Baptist. My Dad is a Baptist. My Grandma was a devout Christian. As you can begin to see, I already entered this world with an inherited religion. Unfortunately, I was never presented any other way of experiencing a spiritual connection. I was simply expected to blindly follow the faith of my family. Now that I am ‘grown grown,’ 46-years old, I am  unapologetically entering into an “important cultural negotiation.” For the record, I’ve been strengthening this resolve for over five years and have finally arrived at a place where I want to grant permission to explore spiritual autonomy; an opportunity that was never afforded to me. 

Before I leave you, I want to share a moment of “Permission Received” and invite you to page 188. Hall writes, “You cannot enter into negotiation without knowing the ground you are working on and the possibilities and potential sites of victory, however small they may be. The moment of negotiation is also a moment of struggle and resistance. The fact that the other side is not going to be overthrown does not mean that important concessions and gains cannot be won.”

While discussing this reading with my small group, one of our members said to me, “it wasn’t until JUST NOW and the discussion you had in the classroom that I was able to see this. I truly relate to what you are saying.” My heart smiled and I viewed that as a ‘site of victory.”

This young lady received permission to embrace her spiritual autonomy as a result of me walking and speaking my truth. To each of you, my souls of Love & Light, I wish the same for you should you desire. In this closing moment, I grant you permission to see with new eyes, listen with new ears, and speak with new tongue. Until next time…

Love & Be Loved!
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~Chris “The EcoHealth Hippie” Omni, MPH