Ask Lemmy

true that

Ok, that's nice. You're poisoned by Christianity, I get that.

But that's not the only framework.

Your aversion to authority, absolutism, and human supremacy are good instincts, and I commend you for having that mentality, but the thing is you are really way too invested in ratheist dogma.

Objectively there is no good and evil other than what we label. There isn't a single particle associated with hatred, not a single force that aligns with bigotry.

Good and evil are labels we create to try and take our personal prejudices and convince others that they are objective.

For example, I personally believe that Drumpf is evil, because he is the 2nd most significant danger to our democracy, but he is really more just selfish, short-sighted, narcissistic sociopath that was traumatized into a manbaby by his eve more sociopathic father. I use the label 'evil' to galvanize others into being aware of the danger he poses to our country.

but i can’t think my way into it, and i think i’d be further from truth if i did.

sure you can! It's pretty easy actually. I can give you an exercise in how to create a god and you tell me if it is useful for you.

First you need a noble value or ideal that you hold dear that you want the world to be more aware of, a simple and stress free version of this is tree worship. Trees represent growth and endurance, patience, and fertility. These are all noble qualities that you may need more of in your life.

Let's say patience, because everyone could use more of that.

So next, you need to find the embodiment of your god. Look for trees that seem patient to you. I'm not sure how that would look from your eyes, but for me that would be things like a bonsai tree, or a tree that has sprouted out of a sidewalk or retaining wall. Now you need to make the area around your soon-to-be-god special, and what that means is up to you. I like to arrange a circle of interesting rocks, clean up the garbage in the area, burn a little incense but the purification ritual should be uniquely you and is more effective the more it is.

Once the area around the god-to-be is purified, now comes the honoring.

You honor it by first naming it, a name that is meaningful to you, and now boom you have a brand new nature god. Now that you have a name, call out to that name and praise a quality of that tree you want to enhance in your life, i.e. patience.

It will feel silly at first, praising a tree, but trees have a good amount of praiseworthy values. The more praiseworthy values you feel towards your new god, the better.

Now that you honored your new god, it is time for the sacrifice. Something small and personal to you. Something that hurts a little to lose but also represents the ideal of 'patience' that you are wishing to cultivate. Maybe it's a note from your grandma, or a sticker your old middle school friend gave you, or a drop of blood (but don't get stupid, other blood doesn't work no matter what the movies tell you), or even something as simple as a little bit of your lunch that you particularly wanted to eat. Offer that thing to your new god in exchange for their services.

Then thank the new god for their presence, maybe a little more praise (it never hurts), and then end the ritual and go about your day.

Now the next time you are in a situation where you know that being patient will be difficult but rewarding, you can cast your mind back to your new god, call upon them by name, and ask they grant you patience.

All that stuff you did during the ritual has convinced your brain that that tree is actually a person. Not as in, a human, but as in an entity with agency and internal thoughts (even though we both know it's just a clumsily decorated tree). That tree god has all the reality of a person whom you've never actually met but are aware of through the internet. I.e. they are a symbolic entity now that lives in your brain.

The thing is, now you can actually examine that mental symbol you have created for inspiration.

The real godwork:

So spend some time thinking about your tree, what qualities embody patience? Maybe for you it is the ability to split rocks over time. So then you think 'how does my tree god do this?' and you realize it is the buildup of millions of small growths that aggregate to slowly push through with the power of a hydraulic jack (which it kind of is biologically), and then you get the personal insight 'Wow, patience doesn't come from a single act, but from the aggregate buildup of tiny little growths within you as a person that add up to being more resistant to urgency and FOMO'.

So you start to think what those little acts may entail, purposely putting off eating a little longer than is comfortable, or denying yourself a little pleasure to take that time to improve your surroundings, and you start to see a growing range of actions and decisions that lead you towards your goal of becoming a more patient person.

And as your patience grows as you practice these little moments, be sure to thank your tree god for showing you ways to be patient that you did not expect.

Keep this up for a few years, add a few more gods as you go, and you're on your way to being a neoshaman.

Gods are tools our mind uses to tap into abilities we are too nervous to allow ourselves access to all the time. You've heard of the freak strength that mothers can call on when their children are in danger? We ALL have that ability, it is part of our wonderful physiology, but it is SUPREMELY unhealthy to use it, even once.

But imagine if you could call on it voluntarily?

Making a god can allow that, if you are dedicated enough.

We are amazing beings, with capabilities far FAR beyond what we think of ourselves. Making a god can be a way to program yourself around those limitations.

I'm not arguing for the existence of the supernatural, frankly I have zero confirmation on this, but I DO know for a fact and live it daily, that making gods as symbols for the positive changes I wanted in my life has been very effective at helping me transcend my limitations.