“If human beings are going to work genuinely and effectively on the climate crisis, they are going to need to work at a psychological level so profound that perhaps only religions have discovered the intensity with which these tasks are to be carried out…What is required is a reckoning with ecotrauma.”
Check out Renee Lertzman’s doctoral thesis at Yale on the subject of Environmental Melancholia (ie. Morton’s ecotrauma). The gist of which is we are in a collective state of shock, and we don’t have the maturity, systems or institutions to face/deal with our peril. She offers that a shared sense of Environmental Melancholia is a pathway towards grieving together. Which is in effect, the domain of our various religious traditions. So in the absence of any popular culture alternatives, the un-initiated (in tune with their respective stage/meme within the Spiral Dynamics model) grasp to whatever they can find.
Here is a copy of my Amazon review/synopsis of her book:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Verified Purchase
Breathtaking. Disturbing. Brilliant.
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2016
I believe it was Nietzsche who said some crises are so great that only the initiated can speak of them. This book is a masterpiece aimed at further enlightening the initiated into a larger, grand perspective on the individual and collective unconscious at work relating to humanity's inability to address Climate Change with the focus, maturity and collective political will it requires. Standing on the shoulders of giants, Lertzman has tapped into a complex web of psychoanalytic theories to construct a thesis which strikes at the core of our wounded, patriarchal culture. She has in fact used cogent, cognitive, linear scientific research to support and explain something many sovereign and spiritual elders across various traditions have offered from a perspective of heart-centered awareness (and non-scientific intuition).
The punch line being that we are all in this together - and until we can openly and unapologetically name, own and mourn our despair and fears of loss over our environmental crisis, we are stuck - and we can't get real with one another and get on with the necessary work of adopting the universal political will to confront and transcend the unintended consequences of what our fossil fuel economy has wrought. Moreover, she offers that most environmental advocacy campaigns are working to either put a happy face on sustainability or scare people into action. Yet such threats evoke the most primitive psychotic anxieties about annihilation, and mobilize the most primitive defenses - and yet, even these primitive defenses can serve as an initial impulse leading us into truly feeling and expressing our outrage - not only anger, but genuine outrage. And from our appropriate expression of outrage we can find the courage necessary to feel into our pain. She goes on to offer that "mourning our reality fosters the process of 'working through' ambivalence and fear, rather than using fear incentives and cajoling a socially constructed apathetic audience to action."
This is big stuff - and these are huge revelations towards deepening the conversation and navigating a path of reparation and reconciliation with not only our own split and splintered psyches, but with authentically transmuting our despair and apathy into right action. This book is not light or easy reading. It is a dense and deep academic probe into the unconscious mind - and in bringing these shadows into the light, perhaps there is hope for us to pivot our collective efforts towards owning our pain, confronting the possibilities of our loss, and generating the will to create and innovate a sustainable future.
"we are in a collective state of shock, and we don’t have the maturity, systems or institutions to face/deal with our peril." seems about right, as Elon and DJTs instant trolling and politicization of the Palisades fire confirms. #SAD
What still twists my mind with cognitive dissonance are the words and actions of those professing to be followers of Jesus (and others) that are so far removed from what I can gather his teachings truly were—not even close. It seems Jesus has become a marketing brand for an often mean-spirited approach toward others. One glaring instance: how are these "Christians" applying “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39), where Jesus identifies it as the second of the two greatest commandments?
You rightly mention Trump and Elon’s reactions to the fires, but what about one of the most powerful self-righteous politicians who lays his hat on the Jesus table—Mike Johnson and his crew? Or Joel Osteen, who refused to open his church to those affected by Hurricane Katrina? It seemed more like, "Later, folks, I’m getting out of here. Now, the big question is, which of my jets should I take?"
If you’ve watched the documentary Bad Faith, you’ll see how Paul Weyrich turned churches into political action arms of the Republican Party—not so dissimilar, perhaps, to how the Democrats fecklessly attempted to wield identity politics. The current influence that a small cabal of "Christians" has on government today is breathtaking.
I have no answers, but I wonder: why are these uber-wealthy institutions tax-free and so powerful?
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.” —Edward O. Wilson
Some people just know how to manipulate better than others.
Christianity was the West’s psychological immune system for ~thousands of years. It is a deep-rooted Sequoia. Re-integrating this ancestral super-structure is healing & helpful on many levels. One need not identify as Christian in order to do this.
I don’t presently feel a strong need to identify as Christian, though I have had many mystical experiences of Christ in recent years that touched my heart on the deepest levels and changed me.
Like all great religions, Christianity points beyond itself to the mysterious heart of reality. It is in this heart of hearts that we find true rest and solace. In these chaotic times, it is entirely understandable that people are instinctively seeking this restful heart through whatever means are culturally accessible.
I think people are trying to find some kind of handhold in the obviously coming storm; even when they don’t want to admit there is any storm coming. People sense they need to hold onto something.
In the good old USA, people elected a guy who they know has no moral compass because the democrats couldn’t articulate a better alternative.
So with DEI, LBGTQ+ (even my gay friends don’t know what the + stands for) people (particularly people raising kids) are craving for a set of established rules they can grab a hold of and say “this has worked for thousands of years, I’m grabbing hold of that and this is what we stand for”.
So I get what’s going on. Don’t buy it, but can understand.
but it's just. so. boring! nothing ever happens up there in the void of sunyata! the fun shit starts popping off when you drift down into the archetypal realm of gods and monsters...
I think 'finding Jesus' is a convenient way for those who have mindlessly (and later regretfully) indulged in the excesses of consumer society and shallow New Ageism to renew their soiled identities and find a community which will automatically forgive their poor choices.
It is astounding how many 'Shanti Ratchet Priestesses' in Byron Bay Australia are now 'born again' trad-gals. Mirrors the wave of p*rn stars who have 'turned their lives around' by finding the Messiah, conveniently at the time when they were ageing out of the profession and needed an identity cleanse.
Then there are the Jordan Petersons of the world...who have turned to Jesus because they sought for higher truth in rationalism, and were left wanting, due to their own lopsided enquiry and personal lack of capacity for numinous introspective contemplation to complete the picture. In 'Maps of Meaning', Jordan had a good shot at working out a theory of everything. But, as Gabor Mate noted, the guy is full of repressed emotions... "God" and "scriptural revelation" has filled the hole that Jordan couldn't enter himself, because he is too introspectively avoidant.
In both its 'Shanti Ratchet' and 'Respectable Thinking Man' incarnations, finding Jesus is a way to sidestep the holes in ones own ontology and the lack of genuine depth of spiritual connection and understanding.
Nearly fell off my chair laughing when I read the essay on intellectuals finding God.
My fifteen year old grand daughter can write a much more sophisticated essay on the topic of God or the nature of Reality. An essay which also includes a sophisticated understanding of Shakti or the Feminine Principle.
Interesting that you featured an image which featured a blood stained crown of thorns and ten inch nails too. Perhaps it was a premonition re the appointment of Mel Gibson as an ambassador to the Hollywood dream factory. Mel was/is quite fond of such blood-soaked imagery.
His unspeakably vile sado-masochistic snuff/splatter movie in which the "hero" representing every single human being and humankind altogether was systematically and "lovingly" beaten to death was full of blood. Do a search on the topic images from The Passion of Christ Mel Gibson
Add to the Christian revival list the mega-series The Chosen (thechosen.tv). It's quite good.
I wonder if there's space to consider what may happen if we enter the sacred domain of Christianity specifically to pluck the pearls of meta-crisis-friendly wisdom to lift up and reorient around?
After all - love your enemies, and the whole Christ Consciousness movement seem quite apt to fuel a more productive spiritual revolution in favor of sustainable civ. Kingdom come!
I asked Rob Henderson if he thought we were on the verge of another great awakening on his Substack 2 years ago, and Ive believed that we are for at least that long.
The book Im working on is about this subject.
We are not dealing with secularism well, at all. People need rules to live by, and we need community.
The only link that religion has to the climate crisis is that secular people have replaced the 7 seals with environmental catastrophizing.
Forgot to mention that Robert Epstein is trying to prove that our brains are more like antennae than computers. Many creative people say theyre an antenna or conduit, that they dont create, but transmit.
I believe that our lack of understanding of how our minds connect to everything else is where spirituality lies. Ever had an intuition that you couldnt explain away?
Many years ago John C Lily pointed out that the human body-mind-complex is a very sophisticated Bio-Computer. In his book Simulations Of God he describes how it creates and projects such simulations on to the world stage.
True or not true has no bearing on the definition of the word. Simple fact we all have beliefs and they affect our behavior in all things. religion is one of the foundation stones of any organization, along with Marriage and Education. To destroy a culture these three must be changed.
Religion is a specific type of belief system. A very explicit belief system that generally includes teachings about the nature of life, practices to follow and esoteric knowledge. Many organizations are founded on non-religious belief systems. For example, I sure wouldn't say that religion is the foundation of a corporation or little league baseball club.
I've found that insisting that all belief systems are religions is a setup that precedes: "And you need to ditch your trivial, stupid belief system and obey MY religion."
Civilization Just to put a definition on the word, is a mutually beneficial social organism. There is a spirit attached to it as to other s There are three foundation stones to any organization and comes with the interplay of thee three.
First Educastion training in objective thinking, and produces a product , reading writing arithmetic.
Religion (N) Beliefs. No more no less, anything attached to that is denomination and /or doctrine.
Marriage A male / female social contract. He promises to provide, protect, procreate. The Lady promises to be faithful. No more no less. As an aside , Ladies do not have to love their husband but must respect Him.
Just for the benefit of those who might read this I personally have no interest in what You believe, it is why we believe what we believe is what interest me.
In each of those four words I defined if there is a better definition please let me know Now why those particular definitions
Education if it consist only in memerozation is useless, we must learn to use what we have , not only for our benefit but for others also. Only objective thinking will do that.
Religion Is what we believe and only what we believe. The primary function in a religious Org is to unify all beliefs, yet if not based on truth, is in error.
We get those from parents brothers sisters acquaintances , and the values we are born with.
“If human beings are going to work genuinely and effectively on the climate crisis, they are going to need to work at a psychological level so profound that perhaps only religions have discovered the intensity with which these tasks are to be carried out…What is required is a reckoning with ecotrauma.”
Check out Renee Lertzman’s doctoral thesis at Yale on the subject of Environmental Melancholia (ie. Morton’s ecotrauma). The gist of which is we are in a collective state of shock, and we don’t have the maturity, systems or institutions to face/deal with our peril. She offers that a shared sense of Environmental Melancholia is a pathway towards grieving together. Which is in effect, the domain of our various religious traditions. So in the absence of any popular culture alternatives, the un-initiated (in tune with their respective stage/meme within the Spiral Dynamics model) grasp to whatever they can find.
https://a.co/d/i2dvqEt
Here is a copy of my Amazon review/synopsis of her book:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Verified Purchase
Breathtaking. Disturbing. Brilliant.
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2016
I believe it was Nietzsche who said some crises are so great that only the initiated can speak of them. This book is a masterpiece aimed at further enlightening the initiated into a larger, grand perspective on the individual and collective unconscious at work relating to humanity's inability to address Climate Change with the focus, maturity and collective political will it requires. Standing on the shoulders of giants, Lertzman has tapped into a complex web of psychoanalytic theories to construct a thesis which strikes at the core of our wounded, patriarchal culture. She has in fact used cogent, cognitive, linear scientific research to support and explain something many sovereign and spiritual elders across various traditions have offered from a perspective of heart-centered awareness (and non-scientific intuition).
The punch line being that we are all in this together - and until we can openly and unapologetically name, own and mourn our despair and fears of loss over our environmental crisis, we are stuck - and we can't get real with one another and get on with the necessary work of adopting the universal political will to confront and transcend the unintended consequences of what our fossil fuel economy has wrought. Moreover, she offers that most environmental advocacy campaigns are working to either put a happy face on sustainability or scare people into action. Yet such threats evoke the most primitive psychotic anxieties about annihilation, and mobilize the most primitive defenses - and yet, even these primitive defenses can serve as an initial impulse leading us into truly feeling and expressing our outrage - not only anger, but genuine outrage. And from our appropriate expression of outrage we can find the courage necessary to feel into our pain. She goes on to offer that "mourning our reality fosters the process of 'working through' ambivalence and fear, rather than using fear incentives and cajoling a socially constructed apathetic audience to action."
This is big stuff - and these are huge revelations towards deepening the conversation and navigating a path of reparation and reconciliation with not only our own split and splintered psyches, but with authentically transmuting our despair and apathy into right action. This book is not light or easy reading. It is a dense and deep academic probe into the unconscious mind - and in bringing these shadows into the light, perhaps there is hope for us to pivot our collective efforts towards owning our pain, confronting the possibilities of our loss, and generating the will to create and innovate a sustainable future.
"we are in a collective state of shock, and we don’t have the maturity, systems or institutions to face/deal with our peril." seems about right, as Elon and DJTs instant trolling and politicization of the Palisades fire confirms. #SAD
Amen Brother Jamie.
What still twists my mind with cognitive dissonance are the words and actions of those professing to be followers of Jesus (and others) that are so far removed from what I can gather his teachings truly were—not even close. It seems Jesus has become a marketing brand for an often mean-spirited approach toward others. One glaring instance: how are these "Christians" applying “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39), where Jesus identifies it as the second of the two greatest commandments?
You rightly mention Trump and Elon’s reactions to the fires, but what about one of the most powerful self-righteous politicians who lays his hat on the Jesus table—Mike Johnson and his crew? Or Joel Osteen, who refused to open his church to those affected by Hurricane Katrina? It seemed more like, "Later, folks, I’m getting out of here. Now, the big question is, which of my jets should I take?"
If you’ve watched the documentary Bad Faith, you’ll see how Paul Weyrich turned churches into political action arms of the Republican Party—not so dissimilar, perhaps, to how the Democrats fecklessly attempted to wield identity politics. The current influence that a small cabal of "Christians" has on government today is breathtaking.
I have no answers, but I wonder: why are these uber-wealthy institutions tax-free and so powerful?
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.” —Edward O. Wilson
Some people just know how to manipulate better than others.
Can I get an amen?
Amen Brother Steve. So much for "awe and reverence".
Christianity was the West’s psychological immune system for ~thousands of years. It is a deep-rooted Sequoia. Re-integrating this ancestral super-structure is healing & helpful on many levels. One need not identify as Christian in order to do this.
I don’t presently feel a strong need to identify as Christian, though I have had many mystical experiences of Christ in recent years that touched my heart on the deepest levels and changed me.
Like all great religions, Christianity points beyond itself to the mysterious heart of reality. It is in this heart of hearts that we find true rest and solace. In these chaotic times, it is entirely understandable that people are instinctively seeking this restful heart through whatever means are culturally accessible.
P.S. You’ve become one of my favorite writers in recent times, Jamie. Your spicy wit is hilarious. Keep it up! 🙏🏼💙
I think people are trying to find some kind of handhold in the obviously coming storm; even when they don’t want to admit there is any storm coming. People sense they need to hold onto something.
In the good old USA, people elected a guy who they know has no moral compass because the democrats couldn’t articulate a better alternative.
So with DEI, LBGTQ+ (even my gay friends don’t know what the + stands for) people (particularly people raising kids) are craving for a set of established rules they can grab a hold of and say “this has worked for thousands of years, I’m grabbing hold of that and this is what we stand for”.
So I get what’s going on. Don’t buy it, but can understand.
In times of helplessness, people always turn to the gods.
Take a look at non-dualism if you're religious-curious but Abrahamic cautious.
but it's just. so. boring! nothing ever happens up there in the void of sunyata! the fun shit starts popping off when you drift down into the archetypal realm of gods and monsters...
Can't be entertained into wisdom.
I think 'finding Jesus' is a convenient way for those who have mindlessly (and later regretfully) indulged in the excesses of consumer society and shallow New Ageism to renew their soiled identities and find a community which will automatically forgive their poor choices.
It is astounding how many 'Shanti Ratchet Priestesses' in Byron Bay Australia are now 'born again' trad-gals. Mirrors the wave of p*rn stars who have 'turned their lives around' by finding the Messiah, conveniently at the time when they were ageing out of the profession and needed an identity cleanse.
Then there are the Jordan Petersons of the world...who have turned to Jesus because they sought for higher truth in rationalism, and were left wanting, due to their own lopsided enquiry and personal lack of capacity for numinous introspective contemplation to complete the picture. In 'Maps of Meaning', Jordan had a good shot at working out a theory of everything. But, as Gabor Mate noted, the guy is full of repressed emotions... "God" and "scriptural revelation" has filled the hole that Jordan couldn't enter himself, because he is too introspectively avoidant.
In both its 'Shanti Ratchet' and 'Respectable Thinking Man' incarnations, finding Jesus is a way to sidestep the holes in ones own ontology and the lack of genuine depth of spiritual connection and understanding.
Nearly fell off my chair laughing when I read the essay on intellectuals finding God.
My fifteen year old grand daughter can write a much more sophisticated essay on the topic of God or the nature of Reality. An essay which also includes a sophisticated understanding of Shakti or the Feminine Principle.
Interesting that you featured an image which featured a blood stained crown of thorns and ten inch nails too. Perhaps it was a premonition re the appointment of Mel Gibson as an ambassador to the Hollywood dream factory. Mel was/is quite fond of such blood-soaked imagery.
His unspeakably vile sado-masochistic snuff/splatter movie in which the "hero" representing every single human being and humankind altogether was systematically and "lovingly" beaten to death was full of blood. Do a search on the topic images from The Passion of Christ Mel Gibson
Add to the Christian revival list the mega-series The Chosen (thechosen.tv). It's quite good.
I wonder if there's space to consider what may happen if we enter the sacred domain of Christianity specifically to pluck the pearls of meta-crisis-friendly wisdom to lift up and reorient around?
After all - love your enemies, and the whole Christ Consciousness movement seem quite apt to fuel a more productive spiritual revolution in favor of sustainable civ. Kingdom come!
These ‘conversions’ function only to reel in compliant acolytes. It is stupefyingly transparent.
I asked Rob Henderson if he thought we were on the verge of another great awakening on his Substack 2 years ago, and Ive believed that we are for at least that long.
The book Im working on is about this subject.
We are not dealing with secularism well, at all. People need rules to live by, and we need community.
The only link that religion has to the climate crisis is that secular people have replaced the 7 seals with environmental catastrophizing.
Forgot to mention that Robert Epstein is trying to prove that our brains are more like antennae than computers. Many creative people say theyre an antenna or conduit, that they dont create, but transmit.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/your-brain-is-not-a-computer-it-is-a-transducer
I believe that our lack of understanding of how our minds connect to everything else is where spirituality lies. Ever had an intuition that you couldnt explain away?
Many years ago John C Lily pointed out that the human body-mind-complex is a very sophisticated Bio-Computer. In his book Simulations Of God he describes how it creates and projects such simulations on to the world stage.
Religion (N) Beliefs.
True or not true has no bearing on the definition of the word. Simple fact we all have beliefs and they affect our behavior in all things. religion is one of the foundation stones of any organization, along with Marriage and Education. To destroy a culture these three must be changed.
Religion is a specific type of belief system. A very explicit belief system that generally includes teachings about the nature of life, practices to follow and esoteric knowledge. Many organizations are founded on non-religious belief systems. For example, I sure wouldn't say that religion is the foundation of a corporation or little league baseball club.
I've found that insisting that all belief systems are religions is a setup that precedes: "And you need to ditch your trivial, stupid belief system and obey MY religion."
I regret that I did not make myself clear.
Civilization Just to put a definition on the word, is a mutually beneficial social organism. There is a spirit attached to it as to other s There are three foundation stones to any organization and comes with the interplay of thee three.
First Educastion training in objective thinking, and produces a product , reading writing arithmetic.
Religion (N) Beliefs. No more no less, anything attached to that is denomination and /or doctrine.
Marriage A male / female social contract. He promises to provide, protect, procreate. The Lady promises to be faithful. No more no less. As an aside , Ladies do not have to love their husband but must respect Him.
Just for the benefit of those who might read this I personally have no interest in what You believe, it is why we believe what we believe is what interest me.
In each of those four words I defined if there is a better definition please let me know Now why those particular definitions
Education if it consist only in memerozation is useless, we must learn to use what we have , not only for our benefit but for others also. Only objective thinking will do that.
Religion Is what we believe and only what we believe. The primary function in a religious Org is to unify all beliefs, yet if not based on truth, is in error.
We get those from parents brothers sisters acquaintances , and the values we are born with.