Key Points & Themes

The Spirit Underground Lineage
Sharing the magic and mysticism of the spirit underground. The Spirit Underground is a spirit realm inhabited by beings concerned with both social liberation for beings in the physical/relative world and Ultimate freedom for all beings. The Spirit Underground continues the liberation work of the historical Underground Railroad, which functioned to aid the enslaved in seeking freedom, and takes this work to a deeper level. We believe that members of this physical underground movement transitioned from this world into the Spirit Underground, where they and other spirit beings, including Harriet Tubman, continue to work for our liberation in this realm. The Spirit Underground Church is the embodiment of this larger cosmic Bodhisattva work in this physical loka. It is a vehicle for awakening here on Earth. Through sacrament, members can connect with the spirit realm and the teachings and guidance there.

Plant Medicine and Decolonization
Clarify what Ayahuasca is and what it does through decolonizing “the sacred medicines of the world.” The goal is to expand the access point and shift consciousness around the use of plant medicine to create a new narrative, an inclusive dialogue, and present a radically different perspective around plant medicine “use” and “who” it’s for. In this documentary, we are seeking to amplify new voices because we want to diversify, create entry points to these powerful healing plants, and help remove the unconscious “colonized” views that create barriers of access for BIPOC folks.

Spiritual Abolitionism
Sharing the evolution of the movement from anti-slavery abolition to Modern Abolition in this current moment in time. This is a documentary based on the inspiration of how Harriet Tubman approached liberatory work during her life and how it can be applied to this moment in time.

Spiritual abolitionism is more than a critique of power and how social systems work to grant and deny people resources that they need to survive. It is more than just abolishing the material carceral state with its prisons, police, and surveillance. Spiritual abolition is dreaming and then beginning to live beyond the violent indoctrination of the binary that enables people to express dominance over others. Abolition is a fluid, ephemeral word that demands that I stop basing my dream of a liberated future on the preservation of the “good” qualities of present systems and enter the real struggle of imagining brand-new ways of being in relationship with myself and my communities. These relationships are not based on dominance, overconsumption, or trauma and despair. We abolish anything that prevents us from being in direct, honest, and compassionate relationships first with ourselves and then the communities we belong to.

Buddhism/Radical Dharma

The teachings of the Buddha are called sutras and the body of teachings from all authentic lineages streaming from the Buddha’s original teachings. Freedom is attained through individual and collective healing of the mind, body, and spirit. It is a practice of cutting through the confused dualistic concepts to abide in the clarity of our true nature.

Radical Dharma is the practice of integrating both social and ultimate liberation in our practice, arguing that there is no ultimate liberation without social liberation.

Black Liberation Theology and Black Prophetic Tradition

Enslaved Black folks were forced to adopt Christianity by their enslavers. However, Black folks eventually tuned into the liberatory stories of the Exodus as well as the liberatory teachings of Christ that helped them to form a Black Liberation Theology where they believed that God was on their side, the most oppressed, and like the ancient Hebrews, Black people too would be freed from bondage. Black Liberation theology is the root of the Black Prophetic work, which is how Black Liberation is expressed and aligned with not just the liberation of Black folks from continued systemic racism but the liberation of all people from oppression.

The Container of Protection

A transparent, non-cult-like structure rooted in a strong code of ethics. The Spirit Underground lineage distinguishes itself from cults through transparent communication about the nature of its work, fostering open dialogue, and clearly articulating its ethical principles. The church is a Buddhist-based community, which means the moral and ethical system is about reducing harm and violence and cultivating wisdom and compassion. We use the 5 Precepts of Manzanita as guidelines, which includes:

• Aware of the violence in the world and of the power of nonviolent resistance, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the compassion that seeks to protect each living being.

• Aware of the poverty and greed in the world and of the intrinsic abundance of the earth, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the simplicity, gratitude, and generosity that have no limits.

• Aware of the abuse and lovelessness in the world and of the healing that is made possible when we open to love, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate respect for the beauty and erotic power of our bodies.

• Aware of the falsehood and deception in the world and of the power of living and speaking the truth, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the ability to listen, and clarity and integrity in all I communicate—by my words and actions.

• Aware of the contamination and desecration of the world and of my responsibility for life as it manifests through me, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate discernment and care in what I take into my body and mind.