The Limber Mind

Dudeism is new to the the tournament of ideas, the vast array of world views and religions, but already it is becoming a worthy opponent. Among the din of hyperbole and conflict that dominate our discourse, Dudeism offers a gentler approach. Not that Dudeists are always quiet and willing to let aggression stand, but that the metric of what deserves to be called out as a travesty is much different than that of the “religions” many of us are used to.

The belief systems that dominate the landscape are all vying for your attention, if not your obedience, we Dudeists are content to, for the most part, let things be. With an “if it aint broke, don’t fix it” attitude Dudeism offers a moderate stance compared to its compeer “religions”. Dudeism doesn’t want you to do anything in particular, in fact Dudeism encourages maybe doing less. Hell, Dudeism doesn’t even necessarily want you to become a Dudeist. In a world with so many demands on the individual Dudeism stands apart by not demanding, offering is our gig, not taking.

While there are things that are intolerable in this world, Dudeism finds most of the so called sins from other beliefs to be essentially non issues. Take for instance, the gay marriage debate that rages across this planet. Dudeism is blind to gender roles when it comes to sharing in Zesty affairs. Short of violence and cases of power plays (eight year olds dude), Dudeism has no reason or purpose to tell some one who to love.

Gender identity is also not the kind of shit we are willing to let bother us, in Dudeism there is no distinction between the sexes, all are Dude. We have been accused of being phallocentric in the past, an almost understandable charge given that we use the nomenclature “Dude”, to many an identifier of gender. Then there is this sausagefest vibe that the casual observer gets, but upon closer scrutiny one can see we sre almost obsessive about equanimity. Dudeism does not judge based on who or what you are, but rather on what and how you do what you do.

Dudeism also has no threats or promises of reward or punishment in some afterlife scenario. People are under enough pressure here and now, adding vague threats about admittance to some mystical league game, that may or may not even exist, seems to just confuse the threads of our existence.  Like Buddha once said, whether or not gods do or don’t exist, they seem to have no effect on our reality. In Dudeism we only want to be the dudes in our time and place. If there is an after game, and we do get more frames when we leave this life, the Dude would still be the Dude, being who you are, when you are, where you are seems to be the most prudent and least exhausting plan of action. If you feel you need the outside pressure of a meta-physical judge, maybe Dudeism is not right for you.

That does not imply an anything goes situation, there is the undude out there, actions and understandings that would be be contrary to Dudeist ideals. Stealing from poor innocent, young urban achievers would certainly fall into the undude catagory. But if you are looking for a distinct list of Dude commandments, you will be disappointed. Abiding is the order of the day for Dudeists, not blind adherence to uptight ideas of right and wrong. Keeping his mind limber the Dude follows the threads to discern the chill from the unchill.

The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.

If powerful men and women
could venter themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.

From a translation by S. Mitchell

Yes, we are lazy, lazy like a summer afternoon, lazy like the birds singing and the sun casting shadows. The Dudeist understanding of lazy is different than that of the capitalist over achiever’s definition of lazy. We rest in abiding, not in the pursuit of amassing wealth in an attempt to be “rich”. The Dude is rich, life itself is the greatest treasure, how can we not feel rich if we can still be and feel? In practical terms as long as the Dude can afford his rent then nothing is fucked here. Not that wealth in and of itself is a bad thing, sure the Dude would be fine moving into a higher tax bracket, but not at the cost of the riches he already enjoys from abiding. Drawing from the ancient wisdom of the Tao, the Dudeist does not concern himself with the doing of things, and so he can leave nothing undone.

If you identify with any of this, or if you find it intriguing, why not stop by Dudeism’s home page today, take a gander at what we are blathering about. Think we are full of shit? Feel free to say so in the comment section below, I would be more than happy to engage you in some Dude-natured debate.