The Messiah Mistakes

September 5th, 2011   by   Andrew

Chapter 13 in the series Myths and Dragons

“Thou art That”

Joseph Campbell had some advice for his students: “Follow your bliss.”

He got a bit of criticism for it. His intention was not to give an open invitation to a life of pleasure. Joe was a warm and smiling and respectful man, but he sure wasn’t a hedonist. If anything, his message was almost the complete opposite. But he did understand how he could be misunderstood, and so offered to edit the phrase.

“Follow your blisters.”

The work that will require your entire heart and soul and mind is the work that will give you both blisters and bliss. But, he didn’t change that first word, “follow”. Brilliant. It’s the most important part of the advice. Bliss or blisters are consequences and not always in our control. Where we end up isn’t always in our hands. But it’s the action, our own behavior and attitude, we need to get right.

I don’t think Joe meant “follow” as in “be led blindly”. And he didn’t live in a time of social media, so I don’t think he meant it as “click a button and passively get updates about other people’s lives”. Blisters and blisses aren’t things to collect or enumerate. Please don’t just casually know of them. Earn them.

“Follow”, for me at least, means “let it be master and guide”. Don’t tell your blisters or blisses how it’s all going to be. Listen to them. Learn from them. They are in charge, not you. But the word also means “copy”, or “apply it to your situation.” Your blisters and blisses make up a map with directions. How do you get somewhere or build something or achieve any goal? Well, follow the directions!

Joseph Campbell is also known for another quick quote of wisdom:“Thou art that.”

I don’t think Joe had to edit this one. This simple quote is a great start to understanding the power of story. In story, the world is not a place of things. We don’t read a story for what’s real. We don’t go to a play just to get an understanding of the props. Stories are worlds of actions and consequences. Story gives us characters that are caught in circumstances that make them act, and then those characters have to deal with the consequences.

What are we supposed to do when we don’t know what to do? What happens when we are confronted with a problem that forces us to do something? How do we deal with new information that could change how we see the world? How should we change how other people see the world?

These are the kinds of questions stories try to help answer, so that when we do find ourselves in these situations, we have a guide or a teacher, or at least some directions. That is what Joe was talking about. It might just be a story you’re reading, but it might just be about you. And if a situation comes up when you don’t know what to do, you just might be able to navigate your way through it because you thought about how things played out in a story, or you saw someone else in a similar situation.

Messiah – a “Thou” or a “That”?

How are you supposed to read a Messiah story? What does it mean if some hero comes dashing in to save the day? Messiah stories create a tricky problem of attitude – should we “wait for a Messiah” or should you “trust in someone else to save you?”

If you do,  you’re not following your bliss. If anything, you’re telling your bliss to come and get you. But also, in Joe’s words, you are not putting yourself in the story. “Thou” sure ain’t participating in “that”.

For example, I don’t think the Jesus of the Bible ever waited for his God to do something. Jesus just went and did it. And dealt with the consequences. A lot of heroes in stories do just that.

Sure, we all need help from time to time. But we have to live our own lives, take on our own responsibilities and participate in our own stories.

For me, one of the most meaningful parts of the Jesus story is that he died while trying to bring a little change in how people lived their lives. It’s kind of good to keep in mind. Your bliss and your blisters can kill you in the end. But maybe it will be worth it because maybe someone will get the message. It’s unfortunate that you might be the one that ends up suffering with blisters, or even something more serious like death, but suffering and death have always been the price to pay for life. How meaningful that life is depends on how you act.

In the larger story of the New Testament, the followers of Jesus didn’t say to each other, “This is great! The Messiah has come and saved us. We can now wait for God to make things right.” If anything, it was the complete opposite. It was more like, “Wow, we have a lot of hard work to do if we’re going to change how people treat one another. We better get to it.” And most of them found deaths that were as bad as any crucifixion. Some even worse.

Blisters and bliss.

Would they have taken up those blisters without the promise or reward of some heaven, some paradise where what should be and what is align perfectly? I don’t know. But would they have taken up such lives and deaths  if they didn’t believe they could change what is into what should be? These men, according to their stories, believed what should be was more important than life itself, and definitely more important than what was real. I think their efforts would be more meaningful if they weren’t up there in heaven, as the saying goes.

There’s a funny thing going on in some Christianities. Some Christians are so uncomfortable with the idea of an eternal Hell that they have deconstructed it to mean something other than perpetual fire, pain or punishment. (Examples here and here.) Some have even abandoned the concept altogether. I think this is a half-step in the right direction.

Was Jesus a Messiah? In the Biblical story, well… maybe. But was he really the Messiah?That’s a tricky question, and I don’t think that’s the point, really. That leads down a road where we could end up talking about something we cannot really know.

The story that Jesus left behind is an incredible example of actions, consequences and expectations. He really didn’t fit the expectations. If anything, it seems he was trying to change the expected order of things in his day. And that’s what the last stages of the Hero’s Journey are all about. The writers of the Jesus stories seemed to understand Joe’s words of “Thou art that.” Maybe if you want to change your life or the lives of those around you, you better start working on something more important than simply what is. And when you find something more important than yourself, and give it your blisters and your bliss, you become something more than yourself. And you can even transcend the suffering of existence by trying to change a part of the world from what is to what should be. But there are always consequences.

If you believe what should be is more important than what is, and you willingly to dedicate your life and your death to it, doesn’t the idea of heaven rob this noble effort of its meaning? Heaven and Hell might act as good exaggerations or analogies in stories, meaningful comparisons to inspire good actions, but to treat them as specific and certain ends is placing too many expectations on poetic and inspirational storytelling. The phrase is “Thou art that!” and not “Thou shalt be rewarded in the end.”

Maybe we shouldn’t get so hung up on beliefs and expectations, and instead get our stories straight. Maybe then we might be able to see how important other people are in our story, and our role to play in theirs. Maybe we even need a new story to tell us these things.

Maybe what a Messiah story should tell some people is this: if you wait for a Messiah, you might just end up killing him or her when they happen to come along. And then how well off are you?

Christians worried about the integrity of their story have a simple and modest alternative available. Instead of saying, “Jesus is my savior and grants me eternal life”,  another meaningful thing to say would be, “Jesus is my model for behavior in this life.” This would restore the original function of story and save anyone from making claims about things they cannot know for sure.

Life is not about being saved. There is a choice when it comes to attitude. Embrace and participate in your own suffering, be thankful for any help offered to you, change what is to what should be,  and most importantly, follow your blisters.

Now wouldn’t that make a good story?

What do you think?


Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Belief, Beyond Belief, Jesus, myth, psychology, purpose, Religion, story | Comments Off


Dragons are for Facing

August 26th, 2011   by   Andrew

Part of Chapter 11 in the series Myths and Dragons

Have you heard the one about George and the Dragon? There are many versions. Here’s mine.

George was a knight hoping to see the world with new eyes, and he always hoped he could help others see the world with new eyes too. He was armed with a spear, a sword, a shield, some advice from his father, and the confidence of youth. One day he met a poor hermit in some woods near a town called Silene. He asked the hermit where he could find a drink of water, and the hermit smiled a toothy grin and spun an incredible tale for him.

“There’s a spring outside the walls of Silene with the freshest and clearest water you would ever taste!” said the hermit. “And a grove of fruit trees surround it. But you may not wish seek it out, brave knight. There is a cave close to its mouth, deep and dark and foul. Within lives a monstrous beast, a dragon with overwhelming power.”

“The story seems overwhelming itself,” George said in jest.  “Why is it that hermits wish to live alone and yet always tell such interesting tales to capture people’s attention?”

The hermit gave George a narrow look. “There was peace and abundance in Silene. Strong walls protected the town, but as the town grew they needed more water. When they found the spring they were happy. But soon after, their sheep started to disappear. One by one, then two by two. Only the bones were found at the mouth of the cave. Brave but foolish men, in search of quick glory, went to investigate the cave. But they never learned the lessons of the stories they were told,  They boasted and laughed at the growing fear of the townsfolk. Soon enough, their bones, picked clean, were next to be found at the mouth of the cave. They were never to jest again.”

George gulped and decided not to take the hermit’s story so lightly. But he did wonder to himself how an old hermit who loved to tell stories could survive so close to a dragon’s lair.

“The town is now in utter panic. During the night there was a great storm of wind and ash, as though the beast had flown around Silene, bellowing its rage. The town wall facing the spring collapsed under a charring heat and pressure. The townspeople demanded the king send out all his gold as a gift to the dragon, and his daughter as a sacrifice to appease the deadly creature.”

George hung on the hermit’s every word. He thought it strange that a dragon would collect treasure and prize young human princesses above all other things. George sensed an opportunity. “Surely such a creature must be stopped. Is there a way to defeat this dragon?”

The hermit grinned and said, “Of course. Dragons are very much like confident young knights. All you need to do is get the dragon to show you. With discipline, patience, heart and wit, I’m sure a knight could get any dragon to reveal its nature and its weakness.”

The young adventurer raced away for the cave. George was able to smell it before he saw it. The trees began to clear.  Then he saw the spring, and before the spring there was a beautiful woman sitting on a rock. She held up her tilted head with one hand, her elbow resting on her knee. She was dressed in a simple white dress and an ornamental girdle tied snug around her middle.

“Bored?” George asked.

The woman looked towards him surprised, but then shook her head sadly and put it back on her hand. “The dragon was right. If it waited, it would catch the next fool unawares as well. How predictable…”

Before George could respond an overwhelming heat consumed him. He raised his shield as if by instinct. It fell apart in front of him. George rushed for the closest tree. His armour was burning and he tore it off himself as best he could. Then through the protective branches of the tree he started thrusting out his spear, stabbing wildly in panic. George was sweating and the spear shaft was difficult to hold. He heard laughter, a deep and confident voice that shook him to his soul.

“Young knight,” a voice said with disdain, “I can smell the dread upon you.”

Suddenly his spear was gone, as though batted away and his hands couldn’t grip the shaft. George trembled while he tried to think. Was the princess all right? His mind had frozen up and in vain he searched back through his conversation with the hermit. The skin on his arms and face felt burned.

“You seek shelter under an orange tree? You do realize that I’m a dragon,” said the voice.

George’s fear doubled. He fell to his knees and heard an unfamiliar squish. This brought him out of his daze. George thought to himself, did it say this was an orange tree?

When George looked down he saw several oranges on the ground. Some were rotten through, others still green and some fully ripe. What luck, he thought, and started working out a plan. What was it Father told me about oranges?

“Of course I know you’re a dragon,” said George loudly. “And a single tree is nothing to your might. I just thought that after eating me you might wish to refresh your palate.”

The dragon laughed again. “Why would a dragon eat oranges?”

“They’re refreshing! And loaded with nutrients,” said George, buying time. “Would you mind if I had one? Before you destroy me, that is?”

George started to peel a ripe orange and ate half. He felt better almost immediately. “I really do wish you’d try it,” he said and then tentatively threw the remaining half up and through a gap in the tree branches.

There was a noise, like a shifting of some great weight. The orange didn’t make it back to the ground.

Oranges aren’t just good for your gut, his father had told him. They’re good for a knight’s wits, and his hands.

George peeled another orange and rubbed a little of the juice on his palms and fingers. He let it dry for a moment and then said, “I have another one here for you. If you’d reveal yourself, I can be sure to throw it to you better. However I might serve you best, of course.”

“I am too immense, too great for you to fully see. But throw your gift and I will take it. And whatever I do reveal, be thankful.”

Silently, George drew out his sword. His hand gripped the weapon with the help of the juice from the orange. He steadied himself and threw the orange up into the air.

Before him there appeared two enormous reptilian legs of incredible size and strength, but also between those legs he spied a weakness. What was it the hermit said? Dragons are a lot like knights?

George darted out from the tree and thrust his sword up between the two legs. A roar filled the sky but then turned into a whimpering howl. George retreated again to the orange tree, all the while watching where the dragon might go. It toppled before him with a crash that moved the world.

“What have you done?” the creature sputtered. The confidence was now gone from its voice. “Of all the dirty tricks you humans could dream up! My God, but you are cold-hearted! Such a small cut.  How could you? I can’t believe you did this. You’ve circumcised me!”

George stared at the dragon, and then at his sword, and then back at the dragon.

The princess then rushed up and stopped between George and the dragon.

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” she said. She looked at George again, standing there without his armour now, with his red cheeks and his sword in his hand. “Maybe you aren’t so predictable. Listen, my name’s Cleodolinda.”

George smiled but then shrugged. “I’m George. I can’t believe it worked. What do we do now?”

The princess thought a moment and then said, “I have an idea.”

She took off her girdle. George’s eyes widened, and the dragon’s eyes widened too. But she wrapped the girdle around the dragon’s neck and wrapped the ties like a leash around her wrist. The dragon seemed tame and almost welcoming of the girdle and the leash. When the creature could stand, they walked the dragon to Silene.

At first the townspeople could only see the dragon coming. They wailed and cried as though chaos was at hand. But when Cleodolinda and George appeared, their panic changed to wonder. When the two brought the dragon to the gates, wonder turned into curiosity.

The dragon was too immense to pass through the town’s gate, but some of the townsfolk did come out to marvel at the creature. Some even dared to touch it.

The princess told the story of how George tamed the dragon and all were impressed. The king arrived late and looked a little timid, much like the dragon. He welcomed his daughter home but then eyed George with suspicion.

The people of Silene wished to give the knight riches and honors. It seemed only just, for what he did. The king wasn’t so sure. But George had other plans anyway.

George addressed them all. “I faced the dragon and, my God but I found the weakness that would bring down the beast. Part of it was luck, I will admit. But part of it was patience, and part of it was swallowing my own arrogance. In a sense, I had to serve the dragon. All that I ask of you is that you believe that dragons can be faced and can be tamed. It is another form of sacrifice, I am sure of it, but it is more important and more difficult than I can fully explain.”

The townsfolk weren’t sure they understood. Some stood in awe of both the knight and the dragon. Some figured that since George circumcised the dragon it must have to do with religion. George certainly talked like he was religious. They wished to be converted and circumcised right away. Maybe they wished to be timid like the dragon too. George clenched his teeth and tried to find a better way to say what he meant.

The dragon was released on the condition that he must always wear the girdle with the leash. The dragon promised and left with the biggest smile George had ever seen. The princess was sad to let her pet go, but since she no longer wore the girdle she was happy with the idea of helping to bring abundance back to the town and the land. George became a little worried about what that meant, but then thought maybe he’d be up for that challenge too.

How can you not believe in dragons when their stories spell out so much about ourselves?

What do you think?


Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Beyond Belief, dragons, education, humour, myth, psychology, Religion, story | Comments Off


Qualia Soup Confirms the Hero’s Journey

August 10th, 2011   by   Andrew

Zippy at our less reflective blog site, omglols, got excited about a recent video from Qualia Soup. He has posted some screenshots that highlight some research from Nicholas Epley. The studies seem to confirm the“my God” theology we play with around here and begins to explain why conservatives tend to have conservative gods, progressives tend to have progressive gods, and atheists tend to have anti-supernatural non-gods.

But maybe the video reveals something even more intriguing. Qualia Soup also confirms the essential nature of the hero’s attitude:

(Full video post on omglols)

What do you think?


Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Beyond Belief, education, ethics, humour, irony, psychology, Religion, Science, story | Comments Off


The Hostile Brothers

August 1st, 2011   by   Andrew

Chapter 9 in the series Myths and Dragons

I want to go a little deeper into the relationship between The Hostile Brothers.

This is a story inspired in part by a talk from J. Peterson. The whole talk can be found here, but the first 20 minutes or so relate to this post. (I have deviated from the original story a little bit, playing with a Thomas King style of writing.)

God once tried to tell a story to two brothers.

“In this story, there are two brothers. The first brother we’ll call Reg.”

Reg asked, “Is this like the other story? In that story I was called Cain.”

“Kind of the same story. But in that one you were Cain. In this one, you’re Reg. And your younger brother is going to be called Sy.”

Sy asked, “But if it’s kind of the same story, then logically doesn’t that make me –”

“You’re Sy in this story. Ok?” Reg interrupted. “We’re ready, God. Tell us the story. I think I know where this is going.”

God smiled at the two.

“It’s good to see you’re thinking. But remember, sometimes it’s better to let the story tell you where it’s going, rather than tell it where to go.”

The two brothers groaned.

“Sy was a student of the world. He was enthralled by how things were related to each other, how everything was made up of smaller things and how everything was part of bigger things. Reg was a student of stories. He loved how the characters went through changes and dealt with consequences. He also liked how people gave him so much attention when he told stories, and how people started to think the stories were really really important.

“In the course of time the two brothers found they had to make sacrifices. Reg found that he had memorized all his favorite stories and no longer needed his eyes. If anything, they distracted him while he was getting his stories right because his audience was always looking into his eyes with wonder. So Reg got a pair of really dark glasses. They were so dark Reg couldn’t see out of them very well. But, he looked really good. Mysterious and cool.

“Sy realized that every time he picked up and examined something, his hands would, even just a little bit, affect whatever it was he was trying to look at. Sy figured that if he was really going to get an understanding of everything, he could no longer use his hands. So, Sy tied his arms to his back and sacrificed his hands.

“Sy was very happy. He missed his hands but found he was seeing things much more as they were, how they related to others things and not just how they looked in his hands. His knowledge grew and grew and people were impressed with his sacrifice. They felt they could trust Sy even though they continued to use their hands quite a lot.

“Reg was not happy. He found he could only tell the stories he knew from memory. He refused to take his glasses off and so couldn’t see anything new. And as people got tired of the stories, he realized more and more people were paying attention to Sy instead. Reg got a little jealous.

“At that point God went to talk to Reg.”

“Oh, you’re in this story too?” asked Reg.

“Well, It’s my story.”

“I thought this was a story about me,” said Reg.

God took a deep breath.

“I took you aside and asked you why were you so upset. You’ve done this to yourself. You could have learned the lessons of your own stories. If you have truly devoted yourself to story, and to people, then go to Sy and learn what he has found. It has consequences for people’s lives and they need to understand how to live with this new information. Your stories will grow. Your sacrifice can turn out to be great too, if you submit to the consequences.”

“But I had my stories right,” Reg protested.

“That’s when I told you it sounds like you’re trying to be master over your stories and over people and over Sy’s studies, rather than following your own stories.”

“Reg didn’t like that either, but went to find Sy. Sy was out standing in his field. Reg asked his brother to show him what he had discovered. Sy was perplexed, unsure how to show his brother anything when his brother refused to take off the glasses. He tried to explain but Reg didn’t like the words he used. And Reg kept using his hands, which at this point seemed disrespectful to Sy’s methods. And worst of all, every time Sy wasn’t paying attention to his brother, Reg would try to push him down or trip him.”

“I hate when he does that!” said Sy and glared at his brother.

“Is it my fault if my brother can’t keep his balance?” Reg asked.

“Reg was now really upset. No one wanted to hear his stories anymore. No one seemed to understand his stories anymore. And Sy was less and less willing to be around his brother.

“God decided to step in, again. God went to Reg again and told him this must stop.”

“But it’s not fair!” Reg said.

God poked Reg on the forehead to get the boy’s attention and it left a mark. Then God raised his voice.

“Both of you have important jobs to do. Sy has decided to let the world, as it is, be his master, and has gained trust and knowledge. Reg, if you had decided to let your audience be your master, and served them instead of yourself, you might not have risked losing it all.”

And with that, God had just about enough and disappeared from sight, leaving the two brothers alone.

Reg swallowed a lump in his throat, adjusted his glasses and then said, “I think I like it better when God’s around.”

Sy didn’t hear his brother. He had already gone back to his field and his studies.

What do you think?

Any suggestions?


Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Belief, Beyond Belief, god, irony, myth, psychology, Religion, Science, story, writing | 2 Comments »


Scientology and the Hero’s Journey

August 1st, 2011   by   Andrew

Chapter 8 in the series Myths and Dragons

A while ago I read a small book from L. Ron Hubbard. The book was published in the late 1960s and was intended to explain what Scientology was “all about”.

Scientology, according to the book at least, has found two rules for happy living.


1. Be able to experience anything.

2. Cause only those things which others can experience easily

When I first read this I was quite amazed. It wasn’t the writing style, certainly. But when Scientology is itself cleared of all the gobbledy-gook and silliness, at the heart of it there is a another simplified version of the Hero’s Journey.

My copy of the book is a bit old and has a crucified man on the cover. The Scientology folks have since changed the cover for newer publications. Interestingly enough though, they also use the  image of a modernized Atlas.

And, in the second last chapter of the book there is a technique for meditation remarkably similar to something I learned from Kelsang Donsang, (a local Buddhist teacher). At least they are honest and blatant in their borrowing, I guess…

But still, what is the point of a hero story but to inspire in the audience these two things:

Be willing to experience something new.

Bring back something or do something that makes other people’s lives better.

(I checked the dates, and I was relieved to see that Scientology came after Joseph Campbell’s work on the Hero’s Journey. And of course, almost every myth I’ve ever read predates Scientology…)

The Hero’s Journey is the original twelve-step program! And interestingly enough, what are all 12-step programs about, but changing your life through new experiences or attitudes and making your whole world a little better? No wonder celebrities and actors seem so drawn to Scientology!

(Besides the familiarity with 12-step programs, Hollywood actors crave a wide range of emotional experiences and portray those experiences in order to change, or share something with, the lives of their audiences, right?)

But once again, long before modern thinkers got things figured out, mythology was there. And what’s more, mythology did it in story form.

The Hero’s Journey is a map for how we experience things, especially how we experience things where we have to confront new information. It doesn’t have to be grand quests or daring adventures. Even those little moments of uncertainty in everyday life can be mapped by our attitudes towards new experiences.

Have you ever heard a joke that brightened up your day?

Even that can be a great example of how we face new information.

ORDINARY WORLD Your normal, drab day Stu, Steve and Stedman were having a drink after work.
CALL TO ADVENTURE Someone begins telling a joke Stedman said, “Hey, y’hear the one about the man that went bra-shopping for his wife?”
REFUSE THE CALL Reluctance Stu said, “Yea, I heard that one.”

Steve asked, “Is it any good?”
HELP FROM A MENTOR Someone sticks up for the joke-teller Stedman said, “It’s is a good one” but Stu said,  “Don’t forget that she’s religious.”
CROSS THE THRESHOLD Joke begins Stedman went on. “Right. A man went into a store and told the clerk, “I’d like to buy a bra for my wife.
TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES The joke goes through a set-up “Then he added, ‘Oh, but she’s very religious.’ Come on guys, pay attention.

“The clerk said, ‘Well, all bras can really be put into three categories – catholic bras, salvation army bras, or baptist bras.’
THE INMOST CAVE, the whole picture The joke reaches its crisis “The man, now really confused, asked, ‘What’s the difference?’
Challenge and Treasure The punchline “The clerk told him, ‘Well, the Catholic bras support the masses, the Sally-Ann bras lift up the fallen, and the Baptist bras make mountains out of mole-hills.’”
Refusal, Return laughter “What?” said Steve with a smile.

“You’re such a knob,” said Stu, all the while laughing.

Steve then asked, “Did you tell your wife that one?”
Crossing the Threshold, Resurrection Laughter dies down and everyone takes a breath After a while, Steve said, “Ok, I guess that one’s not bad.”
GIFTS and THE ELIXER Everyone evaluates the joke and tries to remember it “I bet Jim would like that one,” Stu said.
MASTER OF TWO WORLDS Friends either give respect, esteem, or shake their heads Steve shook his head and then said, “All right, man. I’ll buy this round…”

Want to be a hero? The next good joke you hear, remember it and share it with someone. They might have a better day because of you.

And what’s the point to this post?

Whether it’s a new religion, an old religion, a fantastic heroic tale, a gripping story, or a good joke, remember:

Somebody has likely told the story already,

And someone has likely told it better, too.

But still, it can be fun to tell the story and change someone’s day for the better.

What do you think?

:-)


Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Belief, Beyond Belief, book review, irony, Jesus, myth, psychology, Religion, story | 2 Comments »


Medium, Message, Viewer, Content – Known, Unknown, Audience, Knower Part 1

July 29th, 2011   by   Andrew

Chapter 7 in the series Myths and Dragons

[Part 1 - the history of the audience, Part 2 - the plural nature of the audience]

Although Peterson’s work on the metamyth has the potential to transcend the gender stereotypes embedded within it, as well as bridge the divide between religious tradition and scientific exploration, I believe there is a fourth element to story that has been somewhat ignored. Peterson breaks down mythology into the known (social order) the unknown (the complex natural world) and the knower (the one that explores or goes through change) in order to show how stories act as maps for behavior through appealing to the most common and general experiences of our lives. His focus in Maps of Meaning is to provide a starting framework for understanding human motivation and behavior when dealing with novelty or new information. And he found that framework in mythological consciousness and in the art of storytelling.

The point of mythologies, steeped in exciting adventures and harrowing ordeals, is to show us how we can adopt stories as guides for how to act in situations when we don’t know how to act. But we must also adapt these stories to our personal life or current situation. We all experience these moments of facing the unknown, but if we are armed with a heroic attitude, we can find promise and hope in that unknown, and endure a journey in which we are reborn wiser, stronger, more skilled, and able to contribute to the community, even if it means making personal sacrifices.

But in a sense, these three elements (the known world, the unknown world and the exploring hero) don’t tell the whole story. There is a fourth element that takes the story in by hearing the ideas or watching the dramatic actions, either through imagination or through some medium. This fourth element is the empathic audience.

The title of this post refers to something from Marshall McLuhan – The medium is the message and the viewer is the content (see this post where I try to explain it a little, or see this other website). I want to substitute Peterson’s three elements  into the statement- the known is the unknown and the audience is the knower. The stories we know and tell each other prepare us to face the unknown with the right attitude, and the audience must empathize and identify with the heroes. Without the audience, there is no story.

Jeremy Rifkin separates the history of global civilizations into different modes of consciousness.

Mythological Consciousness
Theological Consciousness
Ideological Consciousness
Psychological Consciousness
Dramaturgical Consciousness

I want to use this breakdown to give an oversimplified history of the empathic audience as related to how we use stories. (I would like to flush these ideas out further but I have some limitations when it comes to time, persistence and competence. I’d like to make a more thorough and proper study to explain all this, but that would take a whole book…)

In tribal culture, where Mythological consciousness bloomed and matured, the audience listened to the stories but then actively participated in the rituals – the hunt, the war dance, the rain dance, the trip into the dark magic forest, etc. The behavior that led to transcendence was not (always) restricted to the chief or the storyteller. Identification with the hero in a story was more direct and simple. Mythological consciousness continually tried to instill within the individual the proper heroic attitude and bring the individual to the unknown prepared, armed and hopeful. The audience takes representation within the very story itself sometimes (friends of the hero, family of the hero, social norms in the story that reflect the customs of the tribe, or even just the hero herself).

In empirical culture and Religious consciousness – the audience watched spectacle. Involvement became generally passive and began its evolution towards what we understand as the audience’s role today. The written word, an extension of the eye, started to replace the spoken story as the authoritative medium. Central American priests sacrificed thousands of people to the sun while the gathered population stood and witnessed the ritual. In Mesopotamian or Egyptian empires, the emperor, king or the highest caste performed the rituals and held connection to the transcendent. Only an elite group was usually literate and held the power of knowledge. The audience tended to work through a medium of a priest or official to maintain or achieve any kind of relationship with the transcendent. Where Mythological consciousness was primarily concerned with teaching the individual how to act, Religious consciousness focuses on holding the attention of the audience and controlling the audience’s safe transcendence. The audience identifies itself as followers or members, not regenerating or living the stories as much as witnessing the stories or being responsible to the stories.

In Ideological consciousness, the audience watched plays or read books. The world and all its stories became much more accessible due to transportation and technology. Transcendence came from exposure to something that was either convincing, inspirational or able to temporarily suspend disbelief. But the audience turned into a more complex consumer, able to both pick their journeys of transcendence as well as become much more passive and uninvolved. Reading and reviewing a book, for example, is a much more individual pursuit than participating in an ancient hunt. Watching and critiquing a theatrical performance is quite a detached activity compared to participating in a tribal dance. The main goal of Ideological consciousness is to understand things, or know the object-world of what is, even to the point of ignoring or suppressing the individual’s confrontation with the unknown. The audience identifies itself by adopting titles or labels that usually end with ‘-ist’ or ‘-ism’.

Psychological consciousness created an audience enthralled with the inner journey and upward economic mobility. Electricity became a dominant technology. Where print was an extension of the eye, electrical circuitry became an extension of the nervous system. Audiences became further detached or isolated from the ritual and the story due to screen-media technology. The nature of story itself transformed. Television abandoned the traditional story line for sharp commercial effects and the snappy delivery of punchlines. Comic book superheroes had sidekicks, little representations of the audience drawn into the story and playing right along.Transcendence became understood as celebrity and fame and success. Again the choice was still present though – the audience could actively participate through modeling heroes, achieving goals, pursuing social change and identifying with movements, or they could passively participate through hoping to be discovered, collecting memorabilia, and (to use a religious and modern pop phrase) worshiping their idols. In some respects, the focus of Psychological consciousness was the unknown, and in particular the unknown within the individual. The audience might identify itself as having a prescribed ‘condition’ that needs to be managed or a ‘talent’ that needs to be recognized and developed. The audience might also buy into a program in order to gain self-fulfillment or general improvement. The audience member became a fan (from fanatic).

Today, according Rifkin, we are entering into a world Dramaturgical consciousness. Video games, improvisational theatre, instantaneous media,  abundance of new information, and global identities have created a mass audience with choices – we can easily get involved through participation (giving instant evaluation of news, adding voices for support or dissent, acting as a mass towards global goals) or through passive consumption (retreating from available new information, adopting apathetic disinterest and angst, or buying into the benefits without giving or establishing relationships in return). The audience is embedded within the story and getting constantly bombarded with novelty and challenge. These new media are all extensions of the community. The goal of Dramaturgical consciousness, I hope, is to not only see the whole story, but take part in it too.

We have a way to fully understand and live McLuhan’s cryptic declaration: the medium is the message and the viewer is the content. But now, we share a really, really big story and we have to make sure we do things right – especially since each individual, almost literally now, has the power to challenge the present culture (activism), bring down chaos on society (terrorism), create innovative change (technological growth) and re-establish social order (relationships within an international community).

What do you think?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Beyond Belief, dragons, empathy, myth, psychology, story | Comments Off


« Older Entries