Self-Affecting Ministries Manifesto

-Reverend Jah – 11.26.09

A self-affecting action is, as the name implies, an action that affects

only the person(s) that are willingly involved. An action is not considered
self-affecting if it poses a clear and present danger to others that are
unwillingly involved, or if it greatly pollutes and/or endangers the
environment.
We, Self-Affecting Ministries, do hereby declare that as manifestations
and manifesters of the Divine, we are compelled to live as self-affectingly
free as we ever may choose, regardless of any supposed authority and its
unjust claim to the right of governing over and consentlessly punishing our
performances of self-affecting actions. We declare also to be forever in
church, no matter the location or circumstance, and relative to nothing. Our
bodies and minds are our temples, and our self-affecting actions, our
sacraments. Such is the nature of peaceful, uninhibited manifestation of
Self, in the name of which, we now do unify. The performance of our self-
affecting actions is praise to, and manifestation of the Divine, and
disrupting such peaceful activity is indeed the highest degree of blasphemy.
Our reason-based-faith equates to the exact opposite of disregarding others'
freedom, safety, and rights, and the specific undeniable proofs and logic of
our doctrine shall heretofore be expounded upon.
 The main purpose of government is, and has always been, to manage or
control people. The easiest (and most unjust) way to govern people's actions
is of course to make decisions for them. While it’s perfectly understandable
to set interactional limits to avoid unwanted harm, (such as, murder being
illegal), making personal decisions for others implies they are too stupid to
make their own, and any human with a fully conscious mind cannot, and
rightfully will not tolerate such violations of personal liberty.
Each person’s mind and body is their own property, and everybody has the
right to do whatever they please with, and within the boundaries of, their own
property, so long as it doesn't violate anyone else’s freedom, rights, or
safety. If there is no harm done to non-participants from an action, the only
harm is brought about when the action is suppressed and punished. Even if the
action is potentially self-destructive to the person doing it, it is still
their choice to make, and their life to risk. The most that can rightfully be
done is to provide full and applicable information on the subject, outlining
the effects, side-effects, dangers, and instructions for safe and responsible
use.
The matter most simply and ultimately comes down to respecting others'
individual choices and minding one's own business. (The “do unto others”
concept.) Only you should decide whats best for you. Some may recall a certain
anti-marijuana television commercial saying, “When you give up the right to
choose for yourself, you give up what makes you, you.” Obviously, the act of
smoking cannabis willingly (or any other act performed willingly) very well
does require the ability to choose for one's self. The true message that this
flawed propaganda conveys is blatantly hypocritical; according to the U.S.
government's very own logic, drug prohibition (and indeed all other
infringements upon the freedom of self-affecting actions) clearly deprives
citizens of “what makes them, them” by prohibiting their right to choose for
themselves. (Tragically, this type of corrupt broadcasting serves only to
increase the curiosity of unaware youths by focusing on baseless invocation of
intimidation and fear, rather than informing and educating based on logic and
reason.)
Many self-affecting actions (namely: ingestion of psychotropic
substances) are privileges that come with responsibilities, because without
proper use, one's actions may become more likely to breach the definition of
'self-affecting'. The reason of some being incapable of handling a particular
responsibility does not justify everyone being indiscriminately robbed of its
associated privileges. Operating a motor vehicle is also a self-affecting
action that is both a privilege and a responsibility, except its legal under
certain conditions. Since the act of driving a vehicle can potentially, (and
very often does) cause catastrophic consequences, the law requires people to
obtain a driver's license, which means passing a test to ensure capability of
responsible operation. It seems only reasonable to employ this same method for
other responsibility-bearing self-affecting actions. An effective system
potentially could test people over the dangers and principles of responsible
use of each drug, and revoke the 'drug-use license' when they've proven their
irresponsibility, instead of destroying innocent people's lives and families
at the expense of tax-payers. (This is only a rough outline of a seemingly
radical idea, but employed properly, a system of drug-use licensing can prove
exponentially more beneficial than our relatively ineffective system of driver
licensing.)
Evolution, in short, is the process of change into a more complex,
progressive direction. This process is very limited without the acceptance of
new, unfamiliar things. Its a primitive instinct for us to fear and defend
ourselves against the unfamiliar (e.g.: racism), because of the harsh nature
of the wilderness. We however no longer reside in the wilderness, so to
evolve, we cannot avoid new and different things; we must embrace change and
individuality and allow people to perform their own self-affecting actions, no
matter how different or strange they may seem. Otherwise we,(humanity), are
but a dog chasing its own tail, stuck in a loop of futility.
Imagine yourself as the head of the dog, with the tail representing the
part of humanity which is unfamiliar to you, and the rest of the body being
the familiar part. Sometimes you get overexcited, and the first urge you get
is to chase your tail, without even a thought. The tail just wants to
peacefully wag, but you arbitrarily chase it for its unfamiliarity, and when
you've one day caught it, all you've done is bite yourself in the ass. History
repeats itself, but lets stop chasing our tail and break this cycle of
ignorance and oppression, to move forward into a new age of individuality and
union. Self-Affecting Ministries stands as a gateway out of this loop of blind
cyclical history into the future of the All.
Think of Earth as a human body, and humans as the cells within it. The
cells of our composition work individually in harmony for the benefit of the
body, just as each of us must work individually in harmony for the benefit of
Gaia (Earth, as a single organism). When our white blood cells encounter
something like a virus, which causes harm, they attack it. But when they come
across something like a red blood cell, which is a part of the whole and
causes no harm, they let it be. They don't eliminate it just because its
different from them and they may not understand it.
Throughout history, any enforcer of laws against self-affecting actions
is or was either brain-washed and ignorant (Usually the governed, oppressing
others because of exploited differences like race, gender, or personal
decisions), or acting in their own interests (Usually the governing, seeking
power and wealth by monopolization of an institution or industry, while
maintaining their grip on the governed). If this fact does not already appear
obvious, please consult a history book: the same types of conflicts are seen
over and over. A few major examples are: the Romans persecuting Christians,
the Nazis persecuting Jews, the Salem witch trials, and Americans persecuting
Native Americans. The biggest present-day examples of these injustices are:
the outlaw of gay marriages, drug prohibition, and censorship. It’s blatantly
wrong to tell someone who they can’t love, what they can’t put into their own
body, or what they can’t hear or see. Its like getting a ticket for dying your
hair the wrong color or wearing the wrong brand of shoes, just because it
offended the wrong people. Now, since most of us have finally learned that its
wrong to persecute and discriminate against fellow humans just because of
their race and religion, its about time to take the next step and broaden this
lesson by realizing that its wrong to prohibit any person from carrying out
any self-affecting action. A victimless 'crime' is no crime at all, and its
disgustingly absurd that this Truth has to even be brought into argument
instead of universally existing in the realm of humane, common sense.
In the wild, a species' member's have the same basic needs, which
accordingly encourage the same basic traits. In order to survive, the group
conforms and combines individual efforts to fulfill these needs, similar to
many bricks joining together to build a house. An individual that does not
conform to the group will often be attacked and/or cast out. Humans, however,
have the ability to fulfill their survival needs and contribute to society
while still remaining diverse individuals. Some may argue fascism to have its
utility in extremely unintelligent societies, but the only use of it in modern
human society is to monopolize and capitalize for the benefit of only the few
in power. The outlaw of self-affecting actions is an obvious beginning step
towards fascist rule.
 The 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution states
that, ”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In regards to the fact that
technically any action could be considered holy by one person and unholy by
the other, persecution of the 'crimes' of our day previously mentioned are
clearly violations of this amendment. To address this paradox, the 1 st
Amendment is in need of an update, reading: “Congress shall make no law
prohibiting the free and responsible exercise of any self-affecting action.”
Since at the time of this text's writing no such update is expected soon, we,
Self-Affecting Ministries, arise. Independent and enlightened individuals have
lived our basic tenet of unencumbered, peaceful self-manifestation throughout
history, yet it is only now that this union takes form for the sake of
evolution and liberty.
Metaphorically, every person's mind and body represents a huge boulder,
just waiting to be chiseled and sculpted into a beautiful piece of art. Who
has the authority to decide what kind of chisels are used and how? None but
the rock. To suggest otherwise is a self-centered, ignorant, oppressive crime
against humanity, the universe, and the very essence of being. We can never
allow sculptors reign over our selves in any manner; our form always must
emanate from within.
The challenge of Now has always been to look so infinitely within while
accurately and compassionately interacting and projecting so infinitely far
out. This paradox is not contradictory when aware of the implications of such
matters as the Gaia Hypothesis[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis],
or of the various intriguing interpretations of quantum mechanics
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretation_of_quantum_mechanics]. As we gain
ever more scientific backing for what we have Known to be True, we're called
to further the undeniable cause of Consciousness and Universal Oneness.
To those disenchanted by religion in general, who count themselves among
the "spiritual but not religious": Our religion is that of pure spirituality.
Do not allow the widespread blasphemy of the present day to degrade your world
view to the point of abandoning all sense of sanctity, for this is the looming
problem of our age.
We are forced to stand and climb ever higher under the weight of moral
obligation and necessity. We are the equal and opposite, yet infinitely more
powerful and pure reaction, to an historically unparalleled force of
debauchery and sacrilege. We are the new goddesses and gods of old, and, in
the name of Universal Love, we unrelentingly command our peaceful morals and
Whims From Within to go forever unpersecuted by the many darkly deceptive
forces of ignorance, tyranny, and oppression.
So please remember: The next time you feel inclined to harass or
imprison somebody for the performance of a self-affecting action, keep in mind
the Oneness of our being, and the Freedom of Self-Affecting Actions, and ask
yourself, “Should I chase my tail, or let it be?”

Endnote
This manifesto began in its primitive stage in 2004, in my 10 th grade of
high school, as an essay originally titled “The Freedom of Self-Affecting
Actions”(Not originally created as an assignment). I felt I was onto something
from the beginning, but it took 5 years to grasp the full potential of my zeal
for liberty and knowledge by recognizing my heartfelt convictions to be
synonymous with the non-bastardized version of what is commonly referred to as
‘religious conviction’.
None of the major principles contained within this work are new. They
are in fact, ageless and eternal. These principles have been detailed
extensively by many others long before myself, and at least a few works in
particular warrant mentioning: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, The Perennial
Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, the Luminist Manifesto by Dale R. Gowin, and many
more which can be found in the Holy Media section of the ministry’s website.

- This manifesto is not final -

We are not yet officially formed as a ministry, and have an incomplete
website, but to get in touch, please visit:
ManifestGod.com