James Alison wrote in ‘Forgiving Victim’ that, “… our self-identity as ‘good’ is one of our most sacred idols.” I can know myself as good only when I know others in some ways as bad. The comparison is necessary to reveal, to emphasize the meaning of real or imagined differences. I know I’m worshipping the idol of a good self-identity when I hear myself piously intoning liturgies blaming ‘them’ as the cause of my problems.
As Jung wrote,
Everywhere in the West, there are subversive minorities who, sheltered by our humanitarianism and our sense of justice, hold the incendiary torches ready, with nothing to stop the spread of their ideas except the critical reason of a single, fairly intelligent, mentally stable stratum of the population.
The mass crushes out the insight and reflection that are still possible with the individual, and this necessarily leads to doctrinaire and authoritarian tyranny if ever the constitutional State should succumb to a fit of weakness.
This is from the opening pages of The Undiscovered Self, Chapter 1, The Plight of the Individual in Modern Society, and aligns very well with what you have written here and HFTT are about
Rational argument can be conducted with some prospect of success only so long as the emotionality of a given situation does not exceed a certain critical degree. If the affective temperature rises above this level, the possibility of reason’s having any effect ceases and its place is taken by slogans and chimerical wish-fantasies. That is to say, a sort of collective possession results which rapidly develops into a psychic epidemic.
Their mental state is that of a collectively excited group ruled by affective judgments and wish-fantasies. In a state of “collective possession” they are the adapted ones and consequently they feel quite at home in it. Their chimerical ideas, up borne by fanatical resentment, appeal to the collective irrationality and find fruitful soil there, for they express all those motives and resentments which lurk in more normal people under the cloak of reason and insight. They are, therefore, despite their small number in comparison with the population as a whole, dangerous as sources of infection precisely because the so-called normal person possesses only a limited degree of self-knowledge.
Most people confuse “self-knowledge” with knowledge of their conscious ego personalities. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents, not the unconscious and its contents. People measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of himself, but not by the real psychic facts which are for the most part hidden from them. In this respect the psyche behaves like the body with its physiological and anatomical structure, of which the average person knows very little too. Although he lives in it and with it, most of it is totally unknown to the layman, and special scientific knowledge is needed to acquaint consciousness with what is known of the body, not to speak of all that is not known, which also exists.
What is commonly called “self-knowledge” is therefore a very limited knowledge, most of it dependent on social factors, of what goes on in the human psyche. Hence one is always coming up against the prejudice that such and such a thing does not happen “with us” or “in our family” or among our friends and acquaintances, and on the other hand, one meets with equally illusory assumptions about the alleged presence of qualities which merely serve to cover up the true facts of the case.
In this broad belt of unconsciousness, which is immune to conscious criticism and control, we stand defenseless, open to all kinds of influences and psychic infections. Since self-knowledge is a matter of getting to know the individual facts, theories help very little in this respect. For the more a theory lays claim to universal validity, the less capable it is of doing justice to the individual facts.”
Brilliantly stated. It always makes me chuckle when people on FB feel compelled to use the prayer emoji or make a comment "prayers sent" whenever someone posts about a "tragedy" (a lost dog, car accident, kid with a cold...) and you know good and well they aren't saying any prayers but just want people to think they are. "When compassion becomes mandatory, it ceases to be compassion at all." Exactly; and similarly, when it is just a automatic knee jerk and only a click away.
I agree re prayer emoji. It has started to trigger me actually and I stopped using it. Feels like an element of unworthiness or disempowerment in the way the prayer emoji is used sometimes. Begging from God vs creating or surrendering to a better solution.
Definition of prayer: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.
Thank you for sharing, Mary. Something that I have been processing recently.
I really appreciated this write up! You have such a way with words. You are indeed a WordSmith. I resonated with this soooo much:
"The real revolution begins when we stop performing our values and start embodying them - when we recognize that authentic engagement with the world's pain requires neither a megaphone nor an audience. In this quiet authenticity lies the seed of genuine change."
That is sooo gooood! In light of so many "good" people recording their "kind acts" for all to see and blasting it online for praise, this write up reminds me how foolish it is. We all can be the fool in life, though, right?
Being dedicated to authenticity takes a lot of self awareness, especially when people are watching. Not doing anything is also a valid choice. We've got to own not doing anything and let those uncomfortable feelings be. There is so much pressure "to do something" when taking full accountability and responsibility for your own wellbeing is really the most important thing to do in life. I cannot save anyone from their inner turmoil.
p.s. There is something really sinister about Is-Ra-El and the Rothschilds-- it's as if they are hiding behind "the Jewish narrative" so they can get away with their misdeeds claiming it's "all for the greater good." I have to be very discerning when I go down this rabbit hole to unpack it all.
Thanks Starr. It is an incredibly complex rabbit hole that is rife with misdirections from all camps. I am still trudging my way through its layers after 20 years.
So much of what you mention here rings true. Noticing how online virtue signaling has devolved. From needing to be performative, to calling for demands for outrage. From moving away from recognition of one's shadow in those displays, to the lack of awareness around perpetuating a victimhood consciousness.
I find it's gotten so muddy to even speak authentically on complex issues due to performative online ecology that's been pervasive now for years. Sometimes it seems futile, because the social media spaces reek of inauthenticity.
One of the complexities we have in present day is that we have the ability to share about anything and everything. That's quite a power to behold, and people are still learning how to wield it. As you mentioned, the seed of change lies with the quiet authenticity. That's what I seek. I believe authenticity is signal amongst all the other noise.
Great article Thanks Joel,
James Alison wrote in ‘Forgiving Victim’ that, “… our self-identity as ‘good’ is one of our most sacred idols.” I can know myself as good only when I know others in some ways as bad. The comparison is necessary to reveal, to emphasize the meaning of real or imagined differences. I know I’m worshipping the idol of a good self-identity when I hear myself piously intoning liturgies blaming ‘them’ as the cause of my problems.
As Jung wrote,
Everywhere in the West, there are subversive minorities who, sheltered by our humanitarianism and our sense of justice, hold the incendiary torches ready, with nothing to stop the spread of their ideas except the critical reason of a single, fairly intelligent, mentally stable stratum of the population.
The mass crushes out the insight and reflection that are still possible with the individual, and this necessarily leads to doctrinaire and authoritarian tyranny if ever the constitutional State should succumb to a fit of weakness.
Wow, I've never come across that Jung quote before. Thank you for sharing.
This is from the opening pages of The Undiscovered Self, Chapter 1, The Plight of the Individual in Modern Society, and aligns very well with what you have written here and HFTT are about
https://archive.org/details/TheUndiscoveredSelf/page/n9/mode/2up
Also from chapter 1 below
Rational argument can be conducted with some prospect of success only so long as the emotionality of a given situation does not exceed a certain critical degree. If the affective temperature rises above this level, the possibility of reason’s having any effect ceases and its place is taken by slogans and chimerical wish-fantasies. That is to say, a sort of collective possession results which rapidly develops into a psychic epidemic.
Their mental state is that of a collectively excited group ruled by affective judgments and wish-fantasies. In a state of “collective possession” they are the adapted ones and consequently they feel quite at home in it. Their chimerical ideas, up borne by fanatical resentment, appeal to the collective irrationality and find fruitful soil there, for they express all those motives and resentments which lurk in more normal people under the cloak of reason and insight. They are, therefore, despite their small number in comparison with the population as a whole, dangerous as sources of infection precisely because the so-called normal person possesses only a limited degree of self-knowledge.
Most people confuse “self-knowledge” with knowledge of their conscious ego personalities. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents, not the unconscious and its contents. People measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of himself, but not by the real psychic facts which are for the most part hidden from them. In this respect the psyche behaves like the body with its physiological and anatomical structure, of which the average person knows very little too. Although he lives in it and with it, most of it is totally unknown to the layman, and special scientific knowledge is needed to acquaint consciousness with what is known of the body, not to speak of all that is not known, which also exists.
What is commonly called “self-knowledge” is therefore a very limited knowledge, most of it dependent on social factors, of what goes on in the human psyche. Hence one is always coming up against the prejudice that such and such a thing does not happen “with us” or “in our family” or among our friends and acquaintances, and on the other hand, one meets with equally illusory assumptions about the alleged presence of qualities which merely serve to cover up the true facts of the case.
In this broad belt of unconsciousness, which is immune to conscious criticism and control, we stand defenseless, open to all kinds of influences and psychic infections. Since self-knowledge is a matter of getting to know the individual facts, theories help very little in this respect. For the more a theory lays claim to universal validity, the less capable it is of doing justice to the individual facts.”
Written so well. Resonating and Deeply appreciated. Thank you for sharing.
So glad. Thank you.
Brilliantly stated. It always makes me chuckle when people on FB feel compelled to use the prayer emoji or make a comment "prayers sent" whenever someone posts about a "tragedy" (a lost dog, car accident, kid with a cold...) and you know good and well they aren't saying any prayers but just want people to think they are. "When compassion becomes mandatory, it ceases to be compassion at all." Exactly; and similarly, when it is just a automatic knee jerk and only a click away.
I agree re prayer emoji. It has started to trigger me actually and I stopped using it. Feels like an element of unworthiness or disempowerment in the way the prayer emoji is used sometimes. Begging from God vs creating or surrendering to a better solution.
Definition of prayer: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.
Thank you for sharing, Mary. Something that I have been processing recently.
I like the dove emoji. A feeling of peace 😊🕊
Beautifully and sagely articulated once again Joel! I wish I had written it myself.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciated this write up! You have such a way with words. You are indeed a WordSmith. I resonated with this soooo much:
"The real revolution begins when we stop performing our values and start embodying them - when we recognize that authentic engagement with the world's pain requires neither a megaphone nor an audience. In this quiet authenticity lies the seed of genuine change."
That is sooo gooood! In light of so many "good" people recording their "kind acts" for all to see and blasting it online for praise, this write up reminds me how foolish it is. We all can be the fool in life, though, right?
Being dedicated to authenticity takes a lot of self awareness, especially when people are watching. Not doing anything is also a valid choice. We've got to own not doing anything and let those uncomfortable feelings be. There is so much pressure "to do something" when taking full accountability and responsibility for your own wellbeing is really the most important thing to do in life. I cannot save anyone from their inner turmoil.
p.s. There is something really sinister about Is-Ra-El and the Rothschilds-- it's as if they are hiding behind "the Jewish narrative" so they can get away with their misdeeds claiming it's "all for the greater good." I have to be very discerning when I go down this rabbit hole to unpack it all.
Thanks Starr. It is an incredibly complex rabbit hole that is rife with misdirections from all camps. I am still trudging my way through its layers after 20 years.
Excellent. Thank you!
Appreciate your insight & the way you express it Joel. Peace.
Thank you!
There is a book in your future. No doubt in my mind. 💯🔥
Seeds been planted my bro.
This resonates a lot for me Joel!
So much of what you mention here rings true. Noticing how online virtue signaling has devolved. From needing to be performative, to calling for demands for outrage. From moving away from recognition of one's shadow in those displays, to the lack of awareness around perpetuating a victimhood consciousness.
I find it's gotten so muddy to even speak authentically on complex issues due to performative online ecology that's been pervasive now for years. Sometimes it seems futile, because the social media spaces reek of inauthenticity.
One of the complexities we have in present day is that we have the ability to share about anything and everything. That's quite a power to behold, and people are still learning how to wield it. As you mentioned, the seed of change lies with the quiet authenticity. That's what I seek. I believe authenticity is signal amongst all the other noise.
In addition, with regard to you speaking specifically about your Palestine heritage, I remember hearing you speak about this with Alec Zeck in fall of '23. For me, it was refreshing to hear discussions like this in contrast to the rampant propaganda and performative posts at the time. Thank you! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-55-responsibility-and-dispelling-myths-on-israel/id1544492743?i=1000634362574
Excellent piece, Joel. Grateful for your insight and expression. HFTT dates don't work out for me, but the content looks amazing