Freeing Ourselves from The Magical Placenta

Though perfect for the people of a different place, different world, and different time – who’s brains were wired completely differently from ours – these myths are no longer capable of containing, answering, explaining boundless life.  

Terrifying as it may seem, ultimately the whole mythological construct must be seen for exactly what it is – an unattainable ideal, a myth, a story – created from a form of fanaticism that is tantamount to modern mental illness.  
Most world religions and myths subscribe to a category II mythology – the universal struggle of good over evil. This ancient but tenacious category II myth breeds fear, shame, humiliation, dis-empowerment, hate, and separation from all life.
A category II myth could be described as a myth of “NO, lest you suffer the consequences.”  

What most of us call God is constructed out of a category II mythology. In this type of myth, God is the ultimate abusive parent. Able to help (jf you are good), yet not helping (because you did something to displease the god)- unless we believe and practice an exact regiment – as put forth by the holy book of the abusing parent.

The other category II construct is that things happen for a reason – and that reason is to bring you closer to your god. This is seen in the idea of loosing a competition or a game, but knowing that God has a purpose for that loss. One that you can’t see unless you could see what god sees.

In this version of the category II myth, the purposefully neglectful parent (God) has a bigger plan that he doesn’t share – unless we pray and listen for tiny little signs. If we miss the signs, it’s our fault, and we are to suffer the consequences of not paying strict attention.

Whether intentional disregard, abuse, or neglect – the effect is the same: a child of a supposedly loving father is abused at the father’s hand, but must still proclaim faith, trust, love, commitment.
This is child abuse.

In a category III myth, the grand scheme of the horrors of the world are to be over looked and simplistically shaken off as part of God’s reckoning for being bad. Worse still is the idea that God sweepingly punishes entire groups of “bad” people – Pakistanis, residents of New Orleans, Gays, Indonesians, (essentially the evil “others”), because they are some how not of true faith, correct faith, true belief. They don’t obey the rules and laws according to X faith – and must be punished.

Furthermore, down right non-believers of the myth are smitten accordingly – dead people walking – as the righteous faithfully await the return of the divine one.

In this myth a category III myth, it’s my way or the highway. Agree with me or be destroyed. War is the path to eventual harmony for the true believers of the category III myth. Destroy the enemy (everybody who doesn’t think or agree with me) so that the meek and righteous can inherit the earth.

In this way, the old enlightenment can be represented by “do as I say, or suffer the consequences.”
From buddhists who believe that we have to behave a certain way, and remain non-attached to get off the wheel of life, to extremest Muslim’s who believe we should all go back in time 1500 years, to born again Christians faithfully awaiting the return of Jesus – category III myths teach us that if we don’t believe, we must be prepared to die and go to some version of hell.

Myths are powerful stories, with powerful ideas that keep us stuck in childish delusions. To me, myths are like external placentas – given to us by our ancestors – intended carry us from birth to death, in a state of fear, contraction, guilt, and constant shame, that will ultimately lead us to the promised land.

I assert to you that life is happening now. I encourage you to step out of the magical mental placentas of category II and category III myths, and into reality.