What shamanistic systems do (that moralistic systems do not) is to put you into a direct relationship with yourself.
Moralistic systems are actually designed to avoid this, since they are constructed in order to prevent you from succumbing to harm/danger. However, one cannot deeply know anything without free experimentation. In particular one cannot know the limits of anything, without experiencing some degree of harm. So, morality, which seeks to save us from harm, is always in danger of doing us ongoing harm by denying us self-knowledge.
Moralistic systems' covert inclination is to deliver an unborn soul into the hands of a deity. Any historical change or personal transformation is viewed in the light of degeneracy or decay. Shamanistic practices follow a different line. Change is inevitable. The only disaster is a rigid and inflexible personality.
Cf. http://unsanesafe.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/im-very-well-now-but-its-taken-time.html
Marechera, Bataille and Nietzsche. Shamanism's initiatory method is designed to facilitate a return to oneself. Basic shame prevents the return and must be combated by setting aside illusions that produce self-doubt. You don't learn to respect yourself until you've combated yourself in your worst nightmares. Only then do you have the capacity to learn self-love (not really "self-esteem" but rather in self-respect and self-knowledge. We respect a formidable foe -- and we learn that we are that formidable foe.)
3 comments:
So the Gukurahundi was fine.
If you think that hurting others is fine, then yes. But you seem to have a reading comprehension problem.
"When one is misunderstood as a whole, it is impossible to remove completely a single misunderstanding. One has to realize this lest one waste superfluous energy on one's defense."NIETZSCHE
Post a Comment