Five Ways Rebellion is More Daring for a Rebel Soul

At its core, rebellion is the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. And a rebel is someone who: rises in opposition, usually with resistance against an established government or ruler, or resists rules or authority and shows this by behaving differently from most people in society.

Despite these limited definitions, the concept of a “rebel” has a bit of sexiness to it, or at least it does for me.

Let face it, most of us wish we had a bit more rebel in us.

But not all rebels or rebellions are the same. There are some important distinctions that matter when we are trying to better understand the rebellion that a REBEL SOUL undertakes.

A rebel soul’s rebellion is not for rebellion’s sake. It is coming from SOUL, rather than survival, defiance, self-interest, self-expression, striving, superiority, oppressiveness, or any number of other things.

SOUL as the source of rebellion shapes every aspect of the rebel and the rebellion.

Related Posts: This is part of a series about the REBEL SOUL.  Click here for clarification on what I mean by SOUL.  

The Soul Experiences a Heightened Sense of Misalignment, So There Are More Calls to Rebellion

Our personalities are bound by reality and humanity. They have been shaped by our conditioning and experiences. They can become traumatized or desensitized. They can be caring and considerate or they can be self-centered and self-serving. They can be complicit in things that are not conscious without even recognizing that they are.

But the soul (spirit or higher self as some refer to it) is our essence and highest possible consciousness. It is the part of us that exists beyond the physical body and brain. It is present. It is calm. It is wise. It is whole. It is connected. It is enlightened. It is clarity and seeing beyond. It is creative. It is courageous. It is expansive and unbounded. It provides meaning and is gripped with ultimate concern. It is trusting and faithful. It is considered. It is virtuous. It is accountable to all for all. It is the I AM. 

Our personalities experience misalignment, but not in the same ways or to the same degree that our souls do, because the soul operates at a much higher level. I believe our soul has a sort of foundational imprint of what conscious relating and creating is and what it looks and feel like. The more attuned we are to our souls, the more we experience a sense of misalignment, of with we might be functioning and what is going on around us, compared to this foundational imprint.

All it takes to get a feel of this is to recall a time when you had a sense of deep angst when you were faced with something particularly unconscious within yourself or around you. For me, I call to mind a walk through the Canadian Human Rights Museum that is filled with the truth about all kinds of profound violations, historically and presently, in my country, and around the world. Those extreme examples resonate through the soul to our personalities, but the soul registers it all. And so, its sense of misalignment is heightened both in intensity and frequency.

Misalignment can occur in near endless forms. For example, it might be:

• Being exposed to some information on a particular social issue that creates an inner tug, telling us that we need to consider getting involved.
• A dynamic in one of our relationships that highlights how we are being treating compared to how we want to be treated.
• An unsettled sense in our soul that we are missing the “more” and the “meaning”. 
• One of our children challenging our approach to parenting and showing us that the relationship result is not what we thought we were creating.
• An occurrence in our work setting, between the organization’s stated values and its policies and practices, or between our values and its policies and practices.
• Receiving medical test results that are reflecting issues in our physical health.
• Ongoing conflict or a lack of connection occurring with our spouse.

The Soul is Pulling Us Toward More Conscious Relating and Creating So Elevation is Required

Our personalities can be quite focused on the immediate rewards of the day, be it comfort, excitement, recognition, status, security, money, belongings, or social media likes, but soul is more interested in trying to catalyze us (if we’re listening). It is urging and encouraging our process of evolving and magnifying its qualities through our physical limitations as humans. It pulls us toward itself, through transcending our personalities and simultaneously embodying our souls. It’s pulling us forward and toward alignment more fully, bit by bit, with that foundational imprint of conscious relating and creating.  

So, when the call to rebellion comes from soul, it’s a call to deepen the installation of that foundational imprint or internal compass and elevate ourselves. This often also involves trying to elevate something around us as well, toward a higher level of conscious relating and creating. 

Think about the difference between a rebellion such as to defy the responsibility of citizenship and try to reduce your owed taxes, versus a rebellion to become a conscious rather than reactive or perhaps abusive parent. The latter example will change and impact you, your children, and your children’s children.

The Soul Requires More Than Resistance or Defiance So Engagement is Expected

Rebellion typically involves resistance. For the personality, this might be resistance or nonparticipation in such things as norms, cultural or unrealistic expectations, societal trends, or too much government involvement, authority, or oversight. But when the soul is guiding the rebellion, it often encourages more than mere resistance.

Of course, resistance can fuel change, especially if it’s in sharp contrast to previous actions or occurs en masse. But resistance alone often does little to change things, so when the soul is guiding rebellion, it’s not typically enough to be defiant. The soul may orchestrate or require sacrifice of some kind. It also often wants us to move into encouraging, shaping, and fuelling transformation. It wants activity and action, not passivity and inaction. It is much more powerful to both resist what we do not want and proactively try to create what we do want. This is the difference between boycotting something and going to the protest, versus also continuing communication with all parties and working on a proposal of what conscious change might look like. 

The Soul Expects Rebellion to Start Within, So Working on Self is Essential

It’s so easy to look outside ourselves since it’s the direction we’re facing. The personality is especially good at this, particularly if there are more narcissistic tendencies. This stance only seems to get stronger when there is a problem. Then all or most of the blame is cast elsewhere.

But, when the soul is igniting the rebellion, it requires that we look at ourselves before turning outward or in conjunction with turning outward. We are part of life, and relationships, and work settings, and communities and society. In most cases, our beliefs, actions, and inactions have at least a little involvement, influence, or impact. We may feel that they don’t, but no matter how small, the soul expects us to self-reflect and correct into something that reflects more conscious relating and creating.

There are of course exceptions, but all too often we exempt ourselves inappropriately because it’s easier. Let’s face it, it’s work (sometimes very hard work) to self-reflect; see our part, our failings, and flaws, and take accountability for changing before expecting others to do the same.

The Soul’s Map Isn’t Usually Clear, So Courage, Creativity, and Faith are Critical

The personality loves to have a structure, a map, or a plan. Or better yet, all three. Anything that clearly lays things out, and makes them faster, easier, and gives them guaranteed result of some kind.

I mean, I’m all for having clarity, following steps and learning from others, but when the soul is driving the rebellion, there very likely isn’t an available roadmap of how to get there. Because of this, we will need to hold more complexity, navigate more uncertainty, rely on more creativity, and take each small step one at a time. We may also find ourselves surprised by how things unfold, both pleasantly and otherwise.

Moving forward without a structure, map, or plan builds muscle, but it’s not for the faint of heart or faint of soul. For the personality, learning to function this way builds things like distress tolerance, self-trust, and creativity. From the perspective of spiritual development, this reliance on the soul’s direction without having a map builds spiritual muscle and faith.

Why the Daring of Rebellion for a Rebel Soul Matters

Before ever considering yourself, understanding the daring of rebellion hopefully makes you appreciate all the rebel souls, past and present, all the more. I know it does for me. They are the ones who changed the trajectory of things in small and significant ways. They are the reason my children and I have the rights, and safety, and possibilities we enjoy.

Hopefully, understanding the daring also helps you see yourself as a rebel soul. Afterall, the world needs more rebel souls. Perhaps looking back, you can see a time you were called to rebellion but didn’t recognize or understand it, so you didn’t lean in. Or maybe you see times you were called to rebellion and responded. Hopefully, this knowing now solidifies your sense as a rebel soul. I believe most of us have the potential to be rebel souls.

Being able to recognize when the call of rebellion is from soul is very helpful for navigating the rebellion a little more easily. We make peace with the messiness and move forward and through as best as we can, while drawing strength and direction from the highest and deepest part of ourselves.

Takeaways About Why Rebellion is More Daring for Rebel Souls

• There are different kinds of rebellions. They can be driven by different aspects of survival, personality, or soul.
• When soul (spirit or higher self) is the source of rebellion, it shapes every aspect of the rebel and the rebellion.
• When the invitation to rebellion comes from soul it is more daring because the soul has a heightened sense of misalignment, it pulls us toward more conscious relating and creating, it requires more than resistance, it expects that we start with self, and it isn’t clearly mapped.
• The world needs more rebel souls to change the trajectory in small and significant ways within individual lives, relationships, generations, organizations, systems, and society.
• Most people have the potential to become rebel souls through the process of rebellion.

Give some thought to your lived experience of rebellion. Doing so might surprise you.

How and in what ways have I rebelled?

What part of me initiated the rebellion?

Can I relate to the daring rebellion that comes from soul?

 With Humility, Hope, and Heart,