sacred resistance
reclaiming our humanity in extractive systems
what is sacred resistance?
Sacred resistance is the practice of staying connected to your humanity while working within systems designed to prioritize productivity over people and extract compliance over conscience.
It's sacred because it honors what is most essential in us—our values, our intuition, our connection to something larger than ourselves.
It's not about burning everything down or walking away from meaningful work. It's about choosing presence over performance, humanity over hustle, ancestral wisdom over systemic conditioning, and wholeness over the illusions of a definition of success rooted in capitalism.
Sacred resistance recognizes that individual healing, collective liberation, and systemic change are interconnected—and that the most radical thing we can do is refuse to let extractive systems diminish our humanity.
why we need sacred resistance
We're at a crossroads in our collective history. Since COVID, people have awakened to a fundamental truth: life is short, and our needs and well-being matter as much as those we serve. People across industries are standing up and refusing to accept the old conditioning that's shaped our workplaces and leadership since industrialization—the belief that organizations can treat people as means for output rather than whole humans.
But this awakening threatens those who've benefited from extractive systems. The pain, suffering, and dehumanization we're witnessing now isn't accidental—it's the desperate attempt of those in power to maintain systems that serve them at the expense of the majority, by any means necessary.
Industrialization may have created efficiency and standardization, but it also systematically disconnected us from our humanity and spirituality by teaching us to model ourselves after machines. Robots don't have conscience, needs, or spirit—and we’ve been conditioned to believe that to be professional—neither should we.
a crisis in leadership
Many of us learned early in our leadership journeys that success meant compartmentalizing ourselves and bringing only the acceptable parts of ourselves to work while leaving our intuition, spirituality, and full humanity at the door.
But this disconnection from our wholeness is why we’re experiencing such a lack of moral courage in leadership across sectors in the world right now.
When we’re untethered from our conscience and internal wisdom, we lose access to the very thing that helps us:
Find the courage to speak truth to power
Stay connected to our purpose and calling
Prioritize humanity above wealth and power
Stay rooted in our values
Learn to trust our intuition and internal wisdom
This moment in our collective history doesn't need more compliant leaders who can execute strategy while ignoring their conscience.
We need leaders to start viewing their intuition as a leadership practice, not a liability—who ground their work in their values rather than organizational approval.
While staying connected to our values may feel like a privilege when so many are struggling to survive within these systems, the reality is that until more of us find the moral courage to create accountability, nothing can change for the better.
Individual compliance with extractive systems—even for survival—ultimately perpetuates the harm for everyone.
the unspoken wounds of mission-driven work
Mission-driven work is often seen as noble—the calling to serve others, to make the world better, to dedicate yourself to something greater than yourself. Which is exactly why we don't talk about how it wounds the hearts of those doing the work.
What we're experiencing isn't just burnout or compassion fatigue. It's the inevitable result of systems designed to extract our compliance while erasing our humanity—systems that demand we bring only our professional selves while leaving our intuition, values, and spiritual connection at the door.
When we're disconnected from our wholeness, we become vulnerable to wounds that cut deeper than exhaustion:
Moral Injury happens when we're forced to act against our values, witness harm we cannot stop, or are pressured to stay silent in the face of injustice. It's the wound to our sense of right and wrong.
Institutional Betrayal occurs when the systems meant to support us instead prioritize power, financial interests, or self-preservation, leaving those who serve feeling abandoned and disconnected from their purpose.
Systemic Grief is the profound mourning that comes from realizing the systems we've dedicated our lives to aren't broken—they're working exactly as they were designed to. To extract. To erase. To dehumanize.
These experiences erode trust, well-being, and the ability to sustain service. Yet most organizations are unprepared to address them, relying on outdated approaches that place the burden of healing on individuals rather than examining the systems that cause harm.
the truth about “broken” systems
Here's what I learned after two decades working inside government and humanitarian systems:
They're not broken. They're working exactly as designed.
Systems with beautiful mission statements regularly harm the very people trying to fulfill them because they were built to prioritize productivity over people, compliance over conscience, and performance over presence.
When we understand this truth, we can stop asking "What's wrong with me?" and start asking "How do I practice sacred resistance within systems that were never designed to honor my full humanity?"
the sacred resistance framework
Sacred resistance is embodied in a practice that takes us from rupture to rising:
rupture | the naming
Acknowledging what happened—the institutional betrayal, moral injury, and systemic harm. Breaking the silence around our pain.
remember | the unlearning
Letting go of the stories, identities, and beliefs shaped by systems of power, politics, and paradox—acknowledging the cost of service and grieving what's been lost to make space for what's next.
root | the grounding
Untangling identity and self-worth from roles, titles, outcomes, and productivity—and re-rooting into your personal values and truth with compassion.
reclaim | the restoring
Exploring the anchors and collective care that nourish us—restoring connection, safety, and the conditions for stability and joy.
rise | the becoming
Living into our moral root system—ethics, values, and boundaries—and choosing how to show up now with courage, clarity, and care.
how to practice sacred resistance
Sacred resistance isn't a one-time decision—it's a daily practice of choosing humanity over the systems that try to diminish it.
individual
choose presence over performance in meetings, relationships, and with yourself
set boundaries that honor your energy and values rather than others' expectations
name systemic harm when you see it, even if others aren't ready to hear it
seek community with others who refuse to normalize what's harmful
practice grief for what these systems have cost you and others
leadership
create psychological safety for your team to name their experiences
address moral injury rather than just offering resilience training
challenge policies that prioritize productivity over people
model sustainable service rather than self-sacrifice
foster collective care instead of placing the burden of wellness on individuals
organization
advocate for trauma-informed practices that address systemic rather than just individual healing
question mission statements that don't align with actual practices
support colleagues who are experiencing moral injury or institutional betrayal
push for structural changes that honor the full humanity of everyone in the organization
the healing ripple effect
The ripple effects of sacred resistance touch every level of our experience:
individual healing becomes possible because we stop trying to fix ourselves and start addressing what's actually causing harm
relationships deepen because we show up as our authentic selves rather than performing roles
organizations transform because they can no longer ignore the humanity of the people within them
systems change because enough people refuse to participate in their own dehumanization
When we refuse to let systems diminish our humanity, we give others permission to do the same. When we choose wholeness over the illusion of success, we model what's possible. When we practice collective care, we create the conditions for sustainable service.
a quiet revolution
Sacred resistance isn't just a personal practice—it's a movement of people who are remembering what it means to be fully human in systems that profit from our forgetting.
It's a quiet revolution happening in break rooms and boardrooms, in one-on-one conversations and community gatherings, wherever people choose to honor their humanity over the demands of extraction. It's the collective awakening to the truth that we were never meant to sacrifice our wholeness for our work, our values for our survival, our hearts for our productivity.
This movement recognizes that our individual healing, collective liberation, and systemic change are interconnected. That the grief we carry from institutional betrayal is sacred and deserves to be witnessed. That practicing collective care isn't optional—it's how we sustain ourselves and each other for the long haul of creating change.
We're not trying to burn down every system. We're practicing a different way of being within them—one that refuses to accept that dehumanization is the price of meaningful work. One that insists our full humanity belongs everywhere we go.