Let me start by presenting my current thoughts on today’s topic through the diagram below. Please be informed that the contemporary “woke” subculture is part of human Beliefs and not of an Awakening. To a large extent, these two are even each other’s opposites. The awareness in “woke” represents a blindness to anything else, which results in (highly) biased opinions. Opinions are symptomatic of (ideological) beliefs.
Needs, Wants & Beliefs represent the three collective development stages in Life and Nature. All lifeforms are in the Needs stage. A small number of lifeforms uses tools (eg, birds, humans), which represents the Wants stage. The only lifeform in the Beliefs stage are humans. It should be noted that some animals (eg, elephants) show signs of proto-religious beliefs (eg, mourning for a death).
These same three collective development species can also be witnessed in our own species: Needs are predominant in Africa, Wants or consumerism in Asia and Middle East, and Beliefs are predominant in Europe and USA. Only humans seem capable of two additional individual development stages: Awakening and Wisdom. All five stages have pros and cons.
One of the most difficult questions (for me) is why there are only three (3) collective stages rather than five (5). It just occurred to me that we may not be able to recognize our own stupidity. I doubt I would notice my own stupidity – if any (sic!). If we do not notice this negative aspect of our beliefs, then why would we want to change our beliefs?? A recent Psyche article (my blog) seems to confirm this line of thought.
I suppose that only introspection may result in recognizing and acknowledging our own stupidity. Probably, this is why the ancient Greek wrote “know thyself” on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The other two inscriptions – or Delphic maxims – are also important: “nothing to excess” and “surety brings ruin” (Wiki).
If introspection is the way forward, then what is keeping us from doing that? Perhaps, it’s as simple as this: we are afraid to know who we are. Also see my related blogs of 2018, 2019-02 and 2019-06.
I’m Afraid of Myself (1941) by Mildred Bailey & Delta Rhythm Boys
artist, artists, no lyrics online, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2, Wiki-3
Darling,
I’m not afraid of you
I’m afraid of myself
Darling,
I have no fear of you
I’m afraid of myself
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise.
0 Comments