Christianity gave us the mythology of the Garden of Eden, the Fall, Original Sin, and the world itself as a creation of the Devil. And it gave us Armageddon. Even though we may no longer ascribe to that religion, its mythology continues to live through us. The Unconscious, Spirit, the Imagination needs a mythology to live by.
You can see how it easily carries over into Shamanism. The Garden of Eden is the way indigenous people live. The Fall is how we live, modern humans who, in our alleged baseness, have destroyed the indigenous peoples. The world we have created is a bad place - just look at what we have done to the planet, and look at our terrible corrupt, self-interested governments. (Or so it is said.) It is the work of the Devil. Of course we ourselves are idealistic and conscious, it is humanity collectively that is venal and greedy, especially our corporate and political leaders, they are the worst of all, and not to be trusted. Armageddon is the climate-based extinction which (it is alleged) we face because of our own sinful natures.
I'm thinking out loud. Shamanism is life-affirming, it is about biting life to the bone and savouring it. People, life, the planet are all beautiful, soulful things. It is a rare opportunity just to have a body for a while. Shamanism can be used to build the opposite of this self-flaggellatory, pessimistic view of the world. Or it can be used to perpetuate it. I recommend the former.
Indigenous people are always giving thanks for the good things in their lives. In the modern West, we have so much that is good, and have had for many decades now. Keep giving thanks for it, instead of feeling guilty, and ignore the news. It can change that awful doom-laden cynicism about everything human and modern, that is like an epidemic nowadays. Remember the unconscious Christian mythology that is fuelling it.
I think humanity and the natural world will get through this huge transition that we are undergoing, and we will learn to live in a hi-tech but balanced way with nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment