#8: Atomization
Today I want to talk to you about atomization.
Atomization, very simply, is the process by which things are split apart.
It's one of the most prevalent phenomena in our fast-paced modern world. In science, atomization is the process by which a substance converts into fine particles. In social contexts, atomization is the reduction of a whole into small distinct units, and it has damaging effects on the human spirit. Under late modernity, many of us have become more alienated from ourselves and each other, and it's created a loneliness epidemic and a mass breakdown of community bonds, shared values, and purpose.
If you feel alone in the universe, it's not your fault, and there is a way back to oneness. In this edition, we'll break down some of the causes and consequences of atomization and find our way back to connection and togetherness.
Atomization Is About Separation
Why Activists Need This Idea
Our civilization should be a song! We don't need everyone to sing the same tune, and there is such a thing as healthy individualism. However, our social narratives in the U.S. have packaged and sold individualism in ways where people become victims of their unconscious stories and justify misaligned actions and choices as freedom or liberty.
They often don't realize they are like everyone else, conditioned by the societal program—one that is designed to predict, control, and homogenize. People are sold false ideas about becoming whatever they want but feel lonely and unfulfilled. They experience subtle or obvious frustration, anger, bitterness, or disappointment (depending on their aura type). The result is that instead of diverse fractals or sectors of a flourishing society, we get different echo chambers and voices that clash.
Atomization results in colonized behaviors and mindsets, the erosion of democracy, weakened interpersonal connections, and a diminished sense of belonging. It leaves us isolated, disconnected, and adrift in a sea of individualism, and it's not the society I want to live in. Let's talk about how we got here.
The Causes of Atomization
Atomization is the result of a story of separation. It believes that we can separate causes from their effects and is often rooted in a paradigm of domination. After MLK and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated in 1968, Americans experienced a collective trauma and were said to have received a message to do whatever they wanted in the private sector but never to challenge the fundamental paradigm of dominance. Within about a decade, Reagonomics began, and now we have Bidenomics.
Then, when things like our loneliness epidemic occur, institutions, including the Surgeon General, are quick to make statements about "how important it is to foster connection," but they'll never talk about the underlying mindsets, structures, and economic policies that our society uses to divide and enslave people, erode the undergirding support systems that create resilience and connection, and allow a small group to control the population for their own convenience and benefit.
Atomization is about control.
Did you know that society, particularly American society, wasn't always like this? Several decades ago, before "trickle-down" economics tore through the fabric of U.S. life, there was a thriving middle class and vibrant communities. Author and presidential candidate Marianne Williamson breaks it down in this video on why you're sad, explaining how the cold logic of the market resulted in the alienation and mental health breakdowns we see across society.
As I talk to various groups of people, I see the effects everywhere. Women I talk to wonder if they'll ever be able to stand up to patriarchy. Men who lack a whole relationship with themselves find ways to enact violence on others. Trans people fear for their lives. Younger people wonder if wealth will ever be within reach. Older people find themselves no longer valued as wise elders in our society and also find themselves alone. How do we reverse it?
The Takeaway
The antidote to a story of separation is one of togetherness and interconnection—working together and seeing one another. To begin to experience connection again, we have to work with our unconscious components of the personality, learn to heal and integrate, push back against the cold logic of neoliberalism, and come together to create a new paradigm.
That's a lot, so maybe a good first step is recognizing that atomization affects us and makes itself seem much bigger than it really is. There may be no better depiction of technocratic modernity's cold and colonizing logic and how it can be overcome than in the award-winning Netflix action series Cobra Kai. Check out this scene and notice how people are led to believe that individualism is the solution to their problems when the opposite is true.
Fear, control, and dominance lead to atomization. The way out is cultivating your whole self, investing in resilient communities, and developing an ability to push back powerfully against the status quo. This will create a new ethos of collective action, unity, and collaboration and enable us to replace this alienating system with one that recognizes the humanity in everyone.
"Those who preach the politics of despair want us to believe that all injustice is like the weather, that you can complain about it raining but there's nothing you can do about it. But the politics of hope tells us something else." - A Politics of Hope, Paloma Faith
News, Resources, and Offers
I just launched my new course, Woman Warrior! It's a new diversity, equity, and inclusion training that answers the complexities of the 21st century and pushes back on the injustices you've read about in this newsletter. Watch the trailer here.
My Spotify playlist for the Marianne 2024 campaign provides a way out of atomization and into what a politics of belonging could look like. You can access it at no cost here.
I recently spoke on a mental health panel on meeting the needs of the modern workforce with colleagues from Intuit and other organizations. You can watch the replay here.
That's all for now! Did anything stand out, or is there a topic you're eager to learn more about? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Otherwise, see you in the next issue.
Whenever you're ready, here's how I can help you:
The Woman Warrior Training is available now. It's a self-paced, online training for people who want to change systems, not just talk about it.
I offer 75-minute source code sessions for healing and individuation.
I offer custom, 6-12 month 1:1 Integral Coaching® programs to change your life.
