In a new society, everyone’s goal would be cooperatively allowing everyone (including ourselves) full access to the bottom four tiers. The result of all that energy freed up by ending the fight would (hopefully) be everyone finding their lives on such a solid footing that tier five, self-actualization, becomes accessible, and the new prime goal for everybody.
Well, this makes sense. It’s hard to “think about God” with an empty stomach (btw. I like the revised Maslow’s hierarchy). Then again, its quite ironic that people at the rock bottom are often the ones who actually not only “think about God” but also “approach God”, and not the ones that have their needs fulfilled. I mean, it’s that “approaching God” that leads to and allows for cooperation, after all. At least that’s what I could observe. But yes, clinging to bottom two tiers, because it’s the only thing one has, is worse than how animals live (not that there is something wrong with animals and their life).
“Embraced” implies a touchy-feely “welcome to the family of God” vibe, that I think cheapens the whole enterprise […] The thing is that bringing the shadow into consciousness, “bringing the devil home,” does change the shadow (whether it wants o change or not), but only because we as a whole are changed. Not only is the devil not who he was before, but neither are we. He only exists as the devil because we have rejected that part of ourselves and “cast it down” from the heaven of our ridiculous “perfect self” concept.
This. Sometimes I think that an approach of a loving but principled parent is the best. Maybe it has to do with my specific kind of projections I gathered during this life, who knows. I mean, sometimes I wonder whether that endless arguing and opposition somehow dissolves completely. Then again, there are ancient stories that even Buddha was visited by Mara quite frequently…and I don’t even want to start about The Last Temptation of Christ — that movie hit the proverbial nail with surgical precision. Though I wonder what was their true relationship (Siddhartha and Jesus as persons and Mara and Devil respectively). I still didn’t give up the idea that they were actually best friends, and I have the feeling that when you say —
God and the devil stop being artificially split apart, and what’s revealed is what we always really were, neither God nor the devil, but something beyond them both. Something we could not have imagined. Something we have to see to believe.
— you are actually saying the same.
Btw. when you say, “Something we have to see to believe,” I’m starting to understand what you mean by believing.
I’m really glad you’re back on Medium, Spike! It’s been a bit dull here without you!
What can I say, I missed our back-and-forths, too ;) Not to mention your sense of humor :D
