Truth tends to divide under the banner of transparency: revealing is destructive. Fictions tend to unite through simplification: power requires narratives. Our species tends to waffle between tearing down the grand productive narratives (fictions) and exposing hypocrisy (truth).
It is cyclic: after hypocrisy is revealed and power weakened for a while, the appeal of joining back together under a single narrative to reestablish control and security reasserts its attraction, truth be damned.
Tag: body
- Theme: Self
Truth destroys, Fiction unites
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1–2 minutes - Theme: Self
We do not Overcome without Nurturing
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1–2 minutesYou must nurture your positive drives, allowing them to become strong enough to overcome the negative impulses and habits.
It is not enough to decide; you must develop the inner fortitude to perform the outward action.
(This supposes we live inward-to-outward instead of external-to-internal.)
- Theme: Self
Strength Erasing Diversity
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1–2 minutesWe are taught "absolute power corrupts," but simplify the concept into a more daily reality: strength leads to abuse.
We can further simplify the concept of strength into physicality (a more Spartan view of strength). At the same time, mass consensus (The Cultural Revolution in China) leads to tyranny by "cutting down the tall poppies;" the strong or unique.
It is easy to attenuate "strength" into a physical characteristic, but the more insidious power is to erase diversity in the name of unity. - Theme: Self
Hierarchy’s abusive logic
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1–2 minutesThose in authority become assured of their beliefs: "Since I am in power, it must be due to the quality of my thinking and dedication."
Unfortunately, when their patronizing, narrow-minded edicts meet resistance, they can only see the dissention as rebellion: "Can’t you see this is not only for your own good, but the good of all?"
Any response from below is inherently nonsensical, simply because it is from below: "If your thinking were correct, you would be in my role."
And yet, if the arguments do make sense (logic) then to maintain their role (identity) the authority must revert to bullying to maintain status (coercion). "Do it, or else." - Theme: Self
Lamed by fear
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1–2 minutesWhat does it mean to “live in fear?” How does fear misshape us over time into petty and cruel things?
Can we redeem ourselves with one moment of bravery at the end? If so, your redemption could more easily take place right now: being brave now (looking within) saves a lifetime of inflicting pain around you.
- Theme: Self
Our consciousness is managed by our body.
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1–2 minutesOur feelings spring forth as ideas from our consciousness. Yet, where and why do these arise?
There is a complicated interplay we casually neglect of how our body -an endocrine system of humors- both moderates and produces feeling: it both feeds notions to consciousness and works to dispel wayward ruminations. - Theme: Self
Coming to your senses
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1–2 minutesComing to your senses is literally waking up from thought.
To come back into your physicality is to escape your mind’s incessant ramblings - Theme: Systems
To use is to be used
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1–2 minutesAre you using technology or is it using you? more complicated: are you using health, or is it using you?
Under the guise of use, we find reliance. Unexamined lay the imperatives of deeper programming driving us. - Theme: Self
Panic is a form of hubris
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1–2 minutesPanic (fear and irrationality) stems from a loss of control: the world does not operate as we anticipated.
Yuval Noah Harari says upheavals are much better met with bewilderment. At least bewilderment does not emanate from self-assured pride, but is more open to recognizing the fluctuating mystery of reality and our place within it.
- Theme: Self
Sticky Stories
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1–2 minutesStories have power.
The ones told first are sticky and hard to dislodge, despite more rational stories that reveal truth and work to promote harmony. And thus we perpetuate half-truths and shams out of sheer momentum and consensus popularity.