Cathy and I will not be updating this week; we are celebrating our second wedding anniversary and will not be in town. However, I couldn’t help myself when I saw this video - I just had to share it. I don’t agree with everything the narrator says, but the core idea of culture being like a flawed computer operating system struck a cord with me. Take a look!
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Welcome to the return of the Friday Vibes column on The Pageless Book. I’m not going to promise that we’ll have this column on a weekly basis, but I am going to try valiantly to see if it can be done. There are two pieces of news that I’d like to touch base on this Friday - some religion and some pop culture. It’s a nice mix, as always…
First, I want to talk about Moses and his alleged drug problem. Benny Shanon, an Israeli scholar, recently put forth the theory that the experiences of Moses on Mount Sinai were caused by the hallucinogenic drug, ayahuasca. SoMA Review has an article about this issue, proposing that Shanon’s proposal might be a little too speculative to be given any serious consideration. However, I would contend that Professor Shanon may be on to something.
All religions have their genesis in shamanism - the most primitive form of religion. Every shamanic culture has used extreme methods of altering consciousness, including the use of hallucinogenic drugs. It isn’t too much of a stretch to believe that Moses may have been what we would consider a shaman for the tribes of Israel. In which case the question becomes of which means of altering consciousness did Moses use? Ayahusca is as likely a suspect as fasting, sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, and oxygen deprivation.
We have this idea that spiritual experiences that are purposely sought after are some how less important or real that those experiences that occur naturally. I can’t disagree more. The means in which Moses experienced God is little more than a historical note. So long as you find the message meaningful to your own life, how a religion came upon its message is unimportant. What is important is to remain open minded and honest with ourselves so that meaning does not become dogma.
In other news, the father of roleplaying games passed away this week at the age of 69. Gary Gygax, along with Dave Arneson, developed Dungeons & Dragons. This game inspired legions of awkward teenage boys to gather weekly around the gaming table… myself included. Even now, Dungeons & Dragons remains my favorite hobby. I strongly suggest heading over to The Wild Hunt to read Jason Pitzl-Waters’ tribute.
As for myself, I don’t have much to say, except that I am grateful for Gary Gygax’s contribution to gaming. If it was not for Dungeons & Dragons, I would not be half the writer I am today. So in honor of the original Dungeon Master, I present the following video:
Above Photo by Chris Brown.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“In the ages that past, many books were pieced from the words grasped through the smoke and scent of the mind. Some were warped by the poisons mankind had consumed, others were broken and still others were misunderstood… All these books where once in time one page and again shall return to one page.” - The Gated Emptiness.
Last night, I was taking a walk and looking at the stars when I began to ponder what religion would be like in the future. I wondered if each individual would one day be able to understand their spiritual experiences for themselves, instead of having them interpreted for them by religious leaders. Then I realized that if each individual were to interpret their own spiritual experiences, what we would have is a society of modern shaman.
As much as mainstream religions would like us to believe it, religion didn’t just spring from the lips of God fully formed - religion evolved. This idea is rather upsetting for anyone who wishes to believe that their particular religion is somehow unique in its interpretation of the truth. The well supported theory that religions evolved doesn’t just suggest that no one particular religion has a monopoly on the truth, but also demands that we recognize that religions borrowed from each other and changed over time. Can you see how this might be a problem for religious zealots?
If we accept that religion evolved, we have to ask from what it evolved. Although we know only very little of how the first humans lived, scientists have surmised a number of details. The first humans were hunter-gatherers, had little to no time for anything other than hunting and gathering, knew little else besides what they needed to survive, and died at a comparably young age. Yet, we also have to assume that at some point, one of their number had a powerful experience.
Whether that experience was the result of ingesting a psychedelic chemical or some crude form of meditation is anyone’s guess; the important thing is that it occurred. When that individual had this experience, they attempted to describe this experience to others. This individual would have had a very limited vocabulary with which to describe this experience and wouldn’t be entirely sure how he would go about recreating this experience. However, the experience would be deemed important enough that this individual would try to have that experience again, if only because that experience may have value to his tribe. This individual would become the first religious leader, who would then go on to teach another what he had seen and learned, who would then add their experiences and understanding and pass it along to the next generation.
As writing developed, someone would have started writing the stories down. With writing came permanence - the teachings now didn’t have to be reinterpreted by each generation. Unfortunately, with writing also came the idea that the interpretation that had been written was the only ‘correct’ interpretation. The spiritual teachings became a political resource and a means of a few individuals controlling the multitudes. If one person’s spiritual experience contradicted the written teachings, that person also threatened the power of the priesthood that was already in control. Even those spiritual experience which where in agreement with the written teachings were only in agreement because that individual knew of no other way to interpret that experience.
As we became more advanced, we began to realize that literal interpretations of written teachings did not agree with the reality that we were experiencing. We became more numerous, and religions came into in closer contact, each threatening the other for dominance over their society. Humanity began to find new ways of expressing itself and more people had time to discuss and understand their individual spiritual experiences. This of course leads us to the situation we have ourselves in today.
The dominance that religious institutions hold over our society is already waning. Every conversation concerning religion regains some of the authority over our own spirituality from religious institutions. Eventually, each person will become their own priest and spiritual experience will be interpreted by each individual for themselves. Again, this is nothing less than a return to shamanism. This time, however, we will understand better our experiences and will know that how we describe these experiences to each other are not literal, but are figurative.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
