RE: Theism is literally childish
November 10, 2017 at 8:58 am
(This post was last modified: November 10, 2017 at 9:10 am by The Grand Nudger.)
@Whatevs
Nevil Drury has a great intro to his book Shamanism, he starts it off by mentioning that it would be fantasy to transpose the world of the shaman onto our contemporary world and lives. It's endemic to small groups, to societies with room for the individualist. The more people there are, the less shamanism matters. It falls apart when too many people report their own disparate experiences of the spirit world, and it's -that- experience...of what we could only assume to be charlatans, that means shamanism will never again seem authentic. It started out, as far as we can tell..as a way to communicate with lost members of the group. By the time it's about charms and rituals and divine manifestations...a tradition passed on from one shaman to the next, it's already well on it's way to being an organized religion. The next shaman in line expects to see what the last shaman told him he would. They're not intrepid explorers heading out into the unknown otherlands in search of Uncle Ogs spirit advice anymore.
At the nexus between high shamanism and low religion..they serve the same purpose. Through the shaman or the priest and the rites either engage in, we all get a shared experience just from watching them. Not much different than going to the movies with your parents or a pretty girl..or your whole community. Fundamentally, the only difference between shamanism and organized religion...is how many people are watching.
Now, consider what we think about people who drink alone or dance with themselves? We share art, art that isn't shared is just a doodle. Risk taking is most fulfilling when we engage in it as a group. The primal urge that all of these things seeks out, from low shamanisms search for the lost member of the tribe to organised religions ritual, to base hedonism at parties and whitewater rafting......to secular humanism....is a connection to each other. We're getting closer to our primal needs, recognizing them more fully and removing what obstacles and tedium we've placed between that and ourselves. LOL...fucking -facebook- might be the purest expression of that primal urge, of the most potent force on earth. Human beings acting and experiencing and sharing together. At least until we somehow manage to become telepathic..removing the final barrier between us in the last false images of self we construct and project.
Nevil Drury has a great intro to his book Shamanism, he starts it off by mentioning that it would be fantasy to transpose the world of the shaman onto our contemporary world and lives. It's endemic to small groups, to societies with room for the individualist. The more people there are, the less shamanism matters. It falls apart when too many people report their own disparate experiences of the spirit world, and it's -that- experience...of what we could only assume to be charlatans, that means shamanism will never again seem authentic. It started out, as far as we can tell..as a way to communicate with lost members of the group. By the time it's about charms and rituals and divine manifestations...a tradition passed on from one shaman to the next, it's already well on it's way to being an organized religion. The next shaman in line expects to see what the last shaman told him he would. They're not intrepid explorers heading out into the unknown otherlands in search of Uncle Ogs spirit advice anymore.
At the nexus between high shamanism and low religion..they serve the same purpose. Through the shaman or the priest and the rites either engage in, we all get a shared experience just from watching them. Not much different than going to the movies with your parents or a pretty girl..or your whole community. Fundamentally, the only difference between shamanism and organized religion...is how many people are watching.
Now, consider what we think about people who drink alone or dance with themselves? We share art, art that isn't shared is just a doodle. Risk taking is most fulfilling when we engage in it as a group. The primal urge that all of these things seeks out, from low shamanisms search for the lost member of the tribe to organised religions ritual, to base hedonism at parties and whitewater rafting......to secular humanism....is a connection to each other. We're getting closer to our primal needs, recognizing them more fully and removing what obstacles and tedium we've placed between that and ourselves. LOL...fucking -facebook- might be the purest expression of that primal urge, of the most potent force on earth. Human beings acting and experiencing and sharing together. At least until we somehow manage to become telepathic..removing the final barrier between us in the last false images of self we construct and project.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
