Our Story of Separation and Control
Introduction to a trilogy of the crumbling foundations of an old, old story
The Trilogy is listed at the end discussing the 10 Commandments, the Inspiration of the Bible, and the afterlife of punishment or reward.Some people think that a myth is a story that has been told for many years that is not true. That is the current vernacular usage of myth that ignores its roots. A myth can be true or false. That really does not matter. What makes a myth is the impact it has on people’s lives individually and collectively (or culturally). A myth is any micro-narrative and macro-narrative that shapes culture, forming its values and beliefs around it. Generally, it is behind the scenes, under the surface, often unconscious and submerged, part of our automatic conditioning, our confirmation bias, our echo chamber of self selected sameness; and thus takes a lot of research and reflection to get to the bottom of it.
It is important to examine the stories that we tell ourselves so that we understand what drives us and forms us. Each of us have our own unique micro-narrative or story or myth that has shaped us and those we are close to. And each culture has its own macro-narrative that is the story of a people, that forms and shapes its values, beliefs, religion, politics, fine arts, and all of its creative expression. It is important to know that underlying story. But it is even more important to understand, not only what story is beneath the surface driving and forming us, but to understand what is further down, beneath the surface of that story.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious,
it will direct your life,
and you will call it fate.”
(Carl Jung)
"I asked myself, 'What is the myth you are living?' and found that I did not know. So... I took it upon myself to get to know my myth, and I regarded this as the task of tasks... I simply had to know what unconscious or preconscious myth was forming me." (Carl Jung)
Most people understand that in our western culture, the Christian religion has been highly influential in shaping the western hemisphere for 2000 years. So that means it is sort of etched in stone. But that also means, it is never really questioned. On the surface of the story of Christianity there are many many questions and contradictions, but we have been taught to gloss over them and never really ask the hard questions. We just walk on eggshells around the established order; heaven forbid we disrupt the status quo. It can be brutal to be labeled a questioner or a doubter or a skeptic or an outcast. I wonder why that is. What are we so afraid of? It is almost as if we were afraid to get a real answer, it might explode in our face, our head may explode, or our head may implode by cultural stoning due to our unbelief or something.
