Sarah, your ability to surface what we're thinking about is so fully-sick, I love. I haven't heard this one...fascinating! I need to digest it, but is it a way to describe a world that is so complex (too complex), that it generates an increasing level of negative outcomes that no one can be held accountable to? So that at any given time, no two of us can even agree on what we’re seeing let alone solve for any problems? Reminds me of your refracting mirrors convo on the last post. It feels so griefy, like hey, my person died, why aren't we all stopping to think about it at root cause. It feels like outdoor air conditioning.
Thank you Sarah for yet another lovely and insightful letter. Indeed, forgiveness is key. We are all part of the same dna, all connected on a higher level and so, if we forgive, we can shift the human molecules of this life we’re in.
There is a lovely forgiveness Hawaiian prayer, the Ho’onopoono; it is based on the hypothesis that everything that happens around me is on some level “caused” by my limiting beliefs and so, by reciting “I am sorry, please forgive my belief(s) that brought this frame I’m living in, thank you for releasing all this, I love you, it is done”, a quantum shift is instigated. Very powerful.
Hello over in Greece! Wow, things being cause by limiting beliefs...now there is a great incentive to quit limiting beliefs. I love it. I'm going to look into it further x
Wow Katerina, what a powerful idea. And I love the idea of reciting these words to shift the limiting beliefs! Prayers and poetry - two ways to help us live more examined lives. This prayer resonates deeply.
I know, right? It so beautiful and grand to recognize and assume responsibility for the part that I play in my daily difficulties or misfortunes, then forgive, then thank, then remember that I love.
If you google it you will find amazing examples of this prayer and how it has affected the future of those involved 🙏🏻
"thank you, I love you, I'm sorry, please forgive me" has been my 'go to' mantra, prayer, meditation for over a decade now .. at this time, I use it often.
its pretty amazing :)
thanks Katerina for highlighting it here in this space
Moloch! Well, that’s a word people are going to get sick of hearing me say. I’d never heard of it and “race to the bottom” just didn’t have the same ring. Thank you for this 🙏
As always, this is written so beautifully and again I feel seen.
It’s so despairing to reflect on all the Moloch - I won’t rant on all the other examples that come to mind - but this piece has provided some hope, though I can’t fully articulate why. Do I feel some momentum for change. Are we all contemplating sitting down first?
Your brother Pete is so right about “getting ahead”! I often have to bite my tongue when this is thrown around - and sometimes I don’t.
And this: “What if we forgave everybody everything?” I remember this but it hit different just now.
Loved the podcast too. I’m going to just sit and process now ❤️
Thank you for your posts, for asking questions and opening discussions. I treasure how your writing (and podcast) prod me to reflect and think. Like turning a marble over and over between your fingers, looking at that swirl of colour at the centre, contemplating it from different angles. Truely grateful.
Hey Sarah - first of all I am sorry I couldn't make the Substack catch up in Melbourne - I had my name down but couldn't come down from Brisbane after all. Sigh. I love reading your musings. I have been holding off writing this, I guess, until now. Having observed the teachers and leaders and thinkers and philosophers and yogis and all that have existed and do exist I have come back to one - Jesus actually. The person not the religion. Before people roll their eyes... I get it. I would never want to be associated with 'Christianity' myself. I guess it seems clear to me that the human race is not the answer to... the human race faces. We need something more. A different way of being a human. We can't fix ourselves. The only compelling reason I have found with Jesus (again, the person not the religion) is the concept of grace and that there is a person we can follow who can show us and empower us innately how to think/act differently to be that different kind of human being rather than trying so hard outwardly with exhausting behavior modification etc. We don't seem to be the answer to ourselves. It seems to be the only thing that gives me hope in this very complex world. I have found John Mark Comer helpful and his book 'Practising the Way' - you might find it useful. https://www.practicingtheway.org/ and also Alpha https://www.alpha.org.au/. :)
I’m an atheist, but grew up Catholic (my Dad was a Catholic priest before he married my Mum, my Mum was a teacher and lay missionary – and the first Australian to live and work with Mother Teresa in India, and I went to a very Catholic school – so about as Catholic a background as it’s possible to have!), and as much as I’ve rejected Catholicism and organised religion in my adult life, I can fully appreciate where you’re coming from. I’d find it much easier to get behind Christianity if I could see more people living their lives in accordance with the teachings of Jesus and modelling their behaviours on how Jesus lived his life.
I’m currently reading ‘The Amen Effect’ by Sharon Brous, a progressive rabbi from New York and founder of the Jewish IKAR community in Los Angeles. It’s a really beautiful book that draws on the wisdom of ancient Hebrew texts that provide lessons for how we can live richer and more connected lives that are deeply in service to the people and world around us.
I also think there’s so much in Buddhist philosophy that we should be leaning into right now – the idea of non-attachment being just one concept that’s resonating a lot with me at the moment and that relates back to Sarah’s words about living on the “shadow side of the sword” and embracing uncertainty and the unknown.
Thanks for the links you shared - I look forward to checking them out and also reflecting on the idea that “we don’t seem to be the answer to ourselves” (I really like how you’ve phrased that).
Wow Siobhan sorry I seemed to have missed this! I had a Catholic background too, but wow - I think you have the most Catholic background I’ve ever heard of LOL. I can understand why Catholicism is unpalatable (I don’t quite know how to word this but I’m trying to capture the fact that on one hand, it does some good, but on the other hand has caused irreparable damage) and there is in the West (from what I can see) dwindling support. But I think there are good Christian churches out there that are not all prosperity gospel, etc. The one I go to is small, community focussed, gentle in its approach and not too heavy and the principles are humility, service and generosity. I only go because I have struggled to find a tribe in Australia (as we have spoken about!) and it has been a good way to find a few girlfriends and a small community. I try and keep my expectations low with any kind of formal religious structure (which I also to avoid). I can’t wait to read ‘The Amen Effect’! Thanks for sharing. Happy Easter to you and your favour (especially the kids!).
Thank you Amy... I'll be announcing a Byron meetup tomorrow that might suit you.
I think Jesus as an example of what we can be capable of is potent. I think we need a contemporary Jesus to show us how to do it in the contemporary context. I wonder how we'd respond to a martyr. Would his/her efforts get lost amid the chaos? Be dismissed as more woke mind virus?
Sarah I missed this! I love your comment about a contemporary Jesus in a contemporary context. I wonder if we went back to his first principles they might still be relevant (contemporary) but it’s a quiet voice in a very loud world. His idea was an ‘upside down Kingdom’ where the first shall be last, love (not polarise) our enemies and true leadership and power is in service. This seems to have been lost everywhere! There seems to be so much controversy around ‘Jesus’ but a lot of the controversial stuff in the Bible is commentary (i.e Paul and homosexuality or the Old Testament and it’s wild history) but when you look at the actual gospels (and the four books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John describing Jesus’ time on earth) he was considered controversial mainly because well, he claimed to be the Son of God (big call lol) but mainly because of this new idea of the ‘upside down Kingdom’ which reversed how power is traditionally seen. I think that might still have a contemporary place. If only we were able to hear that small voice. Love to you Sarah! Happy Easter
"There are enormous benefits to stepping off the Lemming conveyor-belt first. It’s a dive into the unknown, but as some of you know, I firmly believe that those who dive into the unknown are rewarded by the benevolent flow of life" I often long to live diffently. As expressed by your comments. It's just knowing 'how' that's difficult.
Gosh, it's a long journey that entails reading ...and learning the art of feeling. Some books that write to this - The Body Knows the Score, The Power of Now...I also think Pema Chodron's books, say, When Things Fall Apart, help access this "space". Peter Levine's Waking the Tiger can help with the trauma side. Doing somatic therapies like EDMR can help.
Yes and I think its a process of getting clear on what is most important to you, when you have clarity that helps you to make choices that are aligned with what you value most. Your everyday choices will then change based on what you value and prioritise and in turn change your life.
I totally agree that our body is our first signal whether we are living an aligned life or not and being a Type-A, doer and achiever I've found that I also logically need some kind of plan or structure to "take the leap" and be more in the flow of life. I know its ironic! Reading books about others who live differently, (like SW!!) is also very inspiring if you need some courage. The books that've helped me are Tim Ferriss, The Four Hour Work Week - this was the first book that opened my eyes to a new way of living and working. The Travellers Gift by Andy Andrews is the only book from my network marketing career that my husband actually read and loved which is a story about the choices we have and make in life. Another network marketing book is The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma.
Mary O'Malley What's in the Way is the Way and Gabby Bernstein's The Universe has your Back encourage you to become aware of your thoughts and feelings, to trust, allow, stay open and lean on a source greater than yourself as you navigate a new way.
I also think its taking small steps towards the life you want to be living, for example I want to feel more freedom in my life, so in the Christmas break my husband and I started doing early morning beach swims which we now continue to do once per week during the work week. So looking at our lives as a continuum rather than work and life means we make choices that support how we want to feel each day. And the day we do our beach swim we are both excited and energised and feel like we're on holiday.
Sooo I guess my question for James would be how do you want life to feel and what is one small step or activity or habit that you can add in (or remove) that would make life feel that way?
And Anita Morjani's book Dying to be me is an epic book about the cost of living a life that is expected of you rather than the life you truly want to be living - highly recommend!!!
There is also a saying in the "spiritual" circles that you don't need to work out the "how", you need to work out the "why". Once you know your why, the how will take care of itself.... :)
Thank you for taking such time in sharing your thoughts, very kind of you. I did find SW's book very inspiring in that it showed an example of how to go about living this life we have differently. I will explore the others you have suggested. I agree with your comments on living by our values (the why), as a way of finding our direction. That reasonates with me. :) Thx!
Wow! Moloch ... I knew of the Biblical dude, but had no idea it was a thing. Thank you for sharing such a provocative post.
I read a George MacDonald quote today which came back to me - "With every morn my life afresh must break." Dying each day to whatever, not standing up at a concert, is hard for us all. But, increasingly it dawns on me that that's a key to living well. By dying.
As always you've left us with much to contemplate ... Big love xx
While I appreciate your approach, I think it overlooks a fundamental problem: Moloch is a part of us. The goddess of cancer is as much a part of us as the goddess of everything else, and the concept of yin and yang describes the opposing but interrelated, mutually perpetuating forces within us, as does Iain McGilchrist's hemisphere hypothesis. What appears to be 'out there' is an internal struggle that McGilchrist found supported by numerous literary sources in which legends and myths address this dichotomy. When enough people adopt one side, this influence becomes externalised, but it is our habits that drive the crisis, and just as the story of the Goddess of Everything Else depicts a back and forth with the optimistic victory over the Goddess of Cancer, humanity goes back and forth in history with its adherence to McGilchrist's Emissary or to the Master. Unfortunately, we seem to be under the influence of the Emissary at present.
Golly. This is an interesting post. I think about this alot as well: if so many of us think we're all headed down a not-so-great path then why aren't we making more of an effort to stop? As you say, it would require a big, bold, courageous step from the powers at be, when so many of our leaders don't want to rock the boat too much and just get re-elected. On an individual level, so many of us say we don't like social media and then don't go off it entirely, myself included, even when we lived without it for most of our lives.
My version of the concert thing is the airport carousels. If everyone stood back, everyone would be able to see all the luggage coming well in advance, and have time to shuffle forward, grab their bag and then shuffle back. Yet there's always that one person, or a few, who goes and plonks themselves right up against the carousel so that no one behind them can see the bags coming properly. So then the next person moves forward and so on. Now, in these moments, I find it very hard not to get irritated at 'those people', to 'other' those around me, to blame. Sure, I can stay standing back and not move forward like everyone else, but I feel like it makes no difference to the way the baggage carousel momentum, which is for everyone to go as far forward as they can. It's moments like this that I think, gee, everyone really just is out for themselves and it makes me sad. Is it 'the system' in instances such as this? Or is it just humans being selfish/ inconsiderate? We could all stop doing this and then everyone wins, but not enough of us do stop. Anyways, this is a small thing in the grand scheme of life, and I do just shrug it off sometimes, but other times, watching the airport carousel business gets me thinking...
PS - love the topic of the latest podcast and have started listening. I find myself actively picking the more uncertain and / or less convenient option to reacquaint myself with how it feels!
Such a powerful example Racheal! That behaviour infuriates me and as much as I try to plant my flag in the “right” way to do things, I find myself inching forward so I can see when my suitcase comes. And then I find myself getting aggressive when my bag does arrive as I push my way to the front and I leave irritated at all of humanity!! Thanks for sharing - it helped some of Sarah’s concepts land more deeply...
Sarah, thanks for always identifying and putting these things into words! brings to mind the ouroboros, hopefully there is rebirth at some point... hope!
Thanks for this Sarah it helps me understand and appreciate my fellow humans (and myself!).
I will however challenge the concert analogy. In my experience the first person to stand is the one who leads us all to dance and that’s something to behold. The shared joy in movement together in our clearly less than perfect mind and bodies.
But yep, if you want to dance just get general admission tickets I hear someone say 😉
I’ve been thinking about how we defeat this Moloch ALL DAY. Surely it’s in celebrating and highlighting those amongst us who say NO to toxic behaviour and practices that ensure they ‘get ahead’, collaborate rather than compete, and step away from the Joneses to forge a better path for all. I want to spend less time thinking about Moloch (although I appreciate the understanding that comes with the knowledge) and focus more on the good that’s going on. You know those women (mostly) who volunteer for the local P&C to better the local school and community for ALL instead of doing paid work to, you know add a cinema room to their renovation or buy a boat. Let’s celebrate these people, everyday people amongst us. In my mind at least it makes Moloch less powerful.
Moloch or just another Tuesday night. Wow, a lot to digest and thanks for the introduction to Liv and this new (old) concept. Interesting to apply this to our individual lives to view how stuck we really are in a sick system, to recognize the resulting self-flagellation that we are so stuck (what's wrong with me that I can't break free?) and then the "choices" we make to feel like we are getting un-stuck, that are getting us even more stuck. The cycle of it all.
Sarah, your ability to surface what we're thinking about is so fully-sick, I love. I haven't heard this one...fascinating! I need to digest it, but is it a way to describe a world that is so complex (too complex), that it generates an increasing level of negative outcomes that no one can be held accountable to? So that at any given time, no two of us can even agree on what we’re seeing let alone solve for any problems? Reminds me of your refracting mirrors convo on the last post. It feels so griefy, like hey, my person died, why aren't we all stopping to think about it at root cause. It feels like outdoor air conditioning.
Stef, your phraseology here is lovely and loose an evocative - fully sick, griefy, outdoor air-con...!
You’ve made my day!
Thank you Sarah for yet another lovely and insightful letter. Indeed, forgiveness is key. We are all part of the same dna, all connected on a higher level and so, if we forgive, we can shift the human molecules of this life we’re in.
There is a lovely forgiveness Hawaiian prayer, the Ho’onopoono; it is based on the hypothesis that everything that happens around me is on some level “caused” by my limiting beliefs and so, by reciting “I am sorry, please forgive my belief(s) that brought this frame I’m living in, thank you for releasing all this, I love you, it is done”, a quantum shift is instigated. Very powerful.
Love and gratitude from Greece 🙏🏻♥️
Hello over in Greece! Wow, things being cause by limiting beliefs...now there is a great incentive to quit limiting beliefs. I love it. I'm going to look into it further x
https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/hooponopono
🤗
Wow Katerina, what a powerful idea. And I love the idea of reciting these words to shift the limiting beliefs! Prayers and poetry - two ways to help us live more examined lives. This prayer resonates deeply.
I know, right? It so beautiful and grand to recognize and assume responsibility for the part that I play in my daily difficulties or misfortunes, then forgive, then thank, then remember that I love.
If you google it you will find amazing examples of this prayer and how it has affected the future of those involved 🙏🏻
I'll do just that...saw ur link, too. Thx
"thank you, I love you, I'm sorry, please forgive me" has been my 'go to' mantra, prayer, meditation for over a decade now .. at this time, I use it often.
its pretty amazing :)
thanks Katerina for highlighting it here in this space
much love
Nat
So powerful dear Nat, indeed
Love and Greek sun-hugs
Received hugs warmly 😊
Love this!
Liv would be great for the podcast. In the meantime, if people want to understand Moloch and melt their minds, this will do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSsKV5F4xc
Yup Daniel and Liv, in some serious flow!
Moloch! Well, that’s a word people are going to get sick of hearing me say. I’d never heard of it and “race to the bottom” just didn’t have the same ring. Thank you for this 🙏
As always, this is written so beautifully and again I feel seen.
It’s so despairing to reflect on all the Moloch - I won’t rant on all the other examples that come to mind - but this piece has provided some hope, though I can’t fully articulate why. Do I feel some momentum for change. Are we all contemplating sitting down first?
Your brother Pete is so right about “getting ahead”! I often have to bite my tongue when this is thrown around - and sometimes I don’t.
And this: “What if we forgave everybody everything?” I remember this but it hit different just now.
Loved the podcast too. I’m going to just sit and process now ❤️
Thank you for your posts, for asking questions and opening discussions. I treasure how your writing (and podcast) prod me to reflect and think. Like turning a marble over and over between your fingers, looking at that swirl of colour at the centre, contemplating it from different angles. Truely grateful.
That's an awesome visual. I'm grateful for that!
Hey Sarah - first of all I am sorry I couldn't make the Substack catch up in Melbourne - I had my name down but couldn't come down from Brisbane after all. Sigh. I love reading your musings. I have been holding off writing this, I guess, until now. Having observed the teachers and leaders and thinkers and philosophers and yogis and all that have existed and do exist I have come back to one - Jesus actually. The person not the religion. Before people roll their eyes... I get it. I would never want to be associated with 'Christianity' myself. I guess it seems clear to me that the human race is not the answer to... the human race faces. We need something more. A different way of being a human. We can't fix ourselves. The only compelling reason I have found with Jesus (again, the person not the religion) is the concept of grace and that there is a person we can follow who can show us and empower us innately how to think/act differently to be that different kind of human being rather than trying so hard outwardly with exhausting behavior modification etc. We don't seem to be the answer to ourselves. It seems to be the only thing that gives me hope in this very complex world. I have found John Mark Comer helpful and his book 'Practising the Way' - you might find it useful. https://www.practicingtheway.org/ and also Alpha https://www.alpha.org.au/. :)
Hi Amy :)
I’m an atheist, but grew up Catholic (my Dad was a Catholic priest before he married my Mum, my Mum was a teacher and lay missionary – and the first Australian to live and work with Mother Teresa in India, and I went to a very Catholic school – so about as Catholic a background as it’s possible to have!), and as much as I’ve rejected Catholicism and organised religion in my adult life, I can fully appreciate where you’re coming from. I’d find it much easier to get behind Christianity if I could see more people living their lives in accordance with the teachings of Jesus and modelling their behaviours on how Jesus lived his life.
I’m currently reading ‘The Amen Effect’ by Sharon Brous, a progressive rabbi from New York and founder of the Jewish IKAR community in Los Angeles. It’s a really beautiful book that draws on the wisdom of ancient Hebrew texts that provide lessons for how we can live richer and more connected lives that are deeply in service to the people and world around us.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720048/the-amen-effect-by-sharon-brous/
I’ve also been listening to some of Rabbi Sharon Brous’s sermons, which I’ve also found illuminating:
https://ikar.org/sermons/
I also think there’s so much in Buddhist philosophy that we should be leaning into right now – the idea of non-attachment being just one concept that’s resonating a lot with me at the moment and that relates back to Sarah’s words about living on the “shadow side of the sword” and embracing uncertainty and the unknown.
Thanks for the links you shared - I look forward to checking them out and also reflecting on the idea that “we don’t seem to be the answer to ourselves” (I really like how you’ve phrased that).
xS
Wow Siobhan sorry I seemed to have missed this! I had a Catholic background too, but wow - I think you have the most Catholic background I’ve ever heard of LOL. I can understand why Catholicism is unpalatable (I don’t quite know how to word this but I’m trying to capture the fact that on one hand, it does some good, but on the other hand has caused irreparable damage) and there is in the West (from what I can see) dwindling support. But I think there are good Christian churches out there that are not all prosperity gospel, etc. The one I go to is small, community focussed, gentle in its approach and not too heavy and the principles are humility, service and generosity. I only go because I have struggled to find a tribe in Australia (as we have spoken about!) and it has been a good way to find a few girlfriends and a small community. I try and keep my expectations low with any kind of formal religious structure (which I also to avoid). I can’t wait to read ‘The Amen Effect’! Thanks for sharing. Happy Easter to you and your favour (especially the kids!).
Thank you Amy... I'll be announcing a Byron meetup tomorrow that might suit you.
I think Jesus as an example of what we can be capable of is potent. I think we need a contemporary Jesus to show us how to do it in the contemporary context. I wonder how we'd respond to a martyr. Would his/her efforts get lost amid the chaos? Be dismissed as more woke mind virus?
Oh this is exciting, I live 25 min from Byron!
Sarah I missed this! I love your comment about a contemporary Jesus in a contemporary context. I wonder if we went back to his first principles they might still be relevant (contemporary) but it’s a quiet voice in a very loud world. His idea was an ‘upside down Kingdom’ where the first shall be last, love (not polarise) our enemies and true leadership and power is in service. This seems to have been lost everywhere! There seems to be so much controversy around ‘Jesus’ but a lot of the controversial stuff in the Bible is commentary (i.e Paul and homosexuality or the Old Testament and it’s wild history) but when you look at the actual gospels (and the four books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John describing Jesus’ time on earth) he was considered controversial mainly because well, he claimed to be the Son of God (big call lol) but mainly because of this new idea of the ‘upside down Kingdom’ which reversed how power is traditionally seen. I think that might still have a contemporary place. If only we were able to hear that small voice. Love to you Sarah! Happy Easter
"There are enormous benefits to stepping off the Lemming conveyor-belt first. It’s a dive into the unknown, but as some of you know, I firmly believe that those who dive into the unknown are rewarded by the benevolent flow of life" I often long to live diffently. As expressed by your comments. It's just knowing 'how' that's difficult.
To find out how you have to get really broad so your nervous system can tell you
Really intrigued by this thought, and thank you for your response. Would you recommend any particular reading/listening resources on this?
Gosh, it's a long journey that entails reading ...and learning the art of feeling. Some books that write to this - The Body Knows the Score, The Power of Now...I also think Pema Chodron's books, say, When Things Fall Apart, help access this "space". Peter Levine's Waking the Tiger can help with the trauma side. Doing somatic therapies like EDMR can help.
Yes and I think its a process of getting clear on what is most important to you, when you have clarity that helps you to make choices that are aligned with what you value most. Your everyday choices will then change based on what you value and prioritise and in turn change your life.
I totally agree that our body is our first signal whether we are living an aligned life or not and being a Type-A, doer and achiever I've found that I also logically need some kind of plan or structure to "take the leap" and be more in the flow of life. I know its ironic! Reading books about others who live differently, (like SW!!) is also very inspiring if you need some courage. The books that've helped me are Tim Ferriss, The Four Hour Work Week - this was the first book that opened my eyes to a new way of living and working. The Travellers Gift by Andy Andrews is the only book from my network marketing career that my husband actually read and loved which is a story about the choices we have and make in life. Another network marketing book is The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma.
Mary O'Malley What's in the Way is the Way and Gabby Bernstein's The Universe has your Back encourage you to become aware of your thoughts and feelings, to trust, allow, stay open and lean on a source greater than yourself as you navigate a new way.
I also think its taking small steps towards the life you want to be living, for example I want to feel more freedom in my life, so in the Christmas break my husband and I started doing early morning beach swims which we now continue to do once per week during the work week. So looking at our lives as a continuum rather than work and life means we make choices that support how we want to feel each day. And the day we do our beach swim we are both excited and energised and feel like we're on holiday.
Sooo I guess my question for James would be how do you want life to feel and what is one small step or activity or habit that you can add in (or remove) that would make life feel that way?
And Anita Morjani's book Dying to be me is an epic book about the cost of living a life that is expected of you rather than the life you truly want to be living - highly recommend!!!
There is also a saying in the "spiritual" circles that you don't need to work out the "how", you need to work out the "why". Once you know your why, the how will take care of itself.... :)
Thank you for taking such time in sharing your thoughts, very kind of you. I did find SW's book very inspiring in that it showed an example of how to go about living this life we have differently. I will explore the others you have suggested. I agree with your comments on living by our values (the why), as a way of finding our direction. That reasonates with me. :) Thx!
pleasure!
Wow! Moloch ... I knew of the Biblical dude, but had no idea it was a thing. Thank you for sharing such a provocative post.
I read a George MacDonald quote today which came back to me - "With every morn my life afresh must break." Dying each day to whatever, not standing up at a concert, is hard for us all. But, increasingly it dawns on me that that's a key to living well. By dying.
As always you've left us with much to contemplate ... Big love xx
While I appreciate your approach, I think it overlooks a fundamental problem: Moloch is a part of us. The goddess of cancer is as much a part of us as the goddess of everything else, and the concept of yin and yang describes the opposing but interrelated, mutually perpetuating forces within us, as does Iain McGilchrist's hemisphere hypothesis. What appears to be 'out there' is an internal struggle that McGilchrist found supported by numerous literary sources in which legends and myths address this dichotomy. When enough people adopt one side, this influence becomes externalised, but it is our habits that drive the crisis, and just as the story of the Goddess of Everything Else depicts a back and forth with the optimistic victory over the Goddess of Cancer, humanity goes back and forth in history with its adherence to McGilchrist's Emissary or to the Master. Unfortunately, we seem to be under the influence of the Emissary at present.
I agree
Wow. You have hit the nail on the head.
Looking forward to seeing your grey hair!
Soon, soon!
The gorgeous among us should take the lead as inspirations!
I let myself go grey but I doubt anyone's inspired.
Golly. This is an interesting post. I think about this alot as well: if so many of us think we're all headed down a not-so-great path then why aren't we making more of an effort to stop? As you say, it would require a big, bold, courageous step from the powers at be, when so many of our leaders don't want to rock the boat too much and just get re-elected. On an individual level, so many of us say we don't like social media and then don't go off it entirely, myself included, even when we lived without it for most of our lives.
My version of the concert thing is the airport carousels. If everyone stood back, everyone would be able to see all the luggage coming well in advance, and have time to shuffle forward, grab their bag and then shuffle back. Yet there's always that one person, or a few, who goes and plonks themselves right up against the carousel so that no one behind them can see the bags coming properly. So then the next person moves forward and so on. Now, in these moments, I find it very hard not to get irritated at 'those people', to 'other' those around me, to blame. Sure, I can stay standing back and not move forward like everyone else, but I feel like it makes no difference to the way the baggage carousel momentum, which is for everyone to go as far forward as they can. It's moments like this that I think, gee, everyone really just is out for themselves and it makes me sad. Is it 'the system' in instances such as this? Or is it just humans being selfish/ inconsiderate? We could all stop doing this and then everyone wins, but not enough of us do stop. Anyways, this is a small thing in the grand scheme of life, and I do just shrug it off sometimes, but other times, watching the airport carousel business gets me thinking...
PS - love the topic of the latest podcast and have started listening. I find myself actively picking the more uncertain and / or less convenient option to reacquaint myself with how it feels!
Such a powerful example Racheal! That behaviour infuriates me and as much as I try to plant my flag in the “right” way to do things, I find myself inching forward so I can see when my suitcase comes. And then I find myself getting aggressive when my bag does arrive as I push my way to the front and I leave irritated at all of humanity!! Thanks for sharing - it helped some of Sarah’s concepts land more deeply...
Sarah, thanks for always identifying and putting these things into words! brings to mind the ouroboros, hopefully there is rebirth at some point... hope!
Hi Sarah, it’s an important and fundamental issue to surface, and I don’t mean to be flip, but I wondered out loud what would happen if Moloch went into therapy? https://jonathanrowson.substack.com/p/moloch-in-therapy
I remember reading it when it came out! I'll email you now
Thanks for this Sarah it helps me understand and appreciate my fellow humans (and myself!).
I will however challenge the concert analogy. In my experience the first person to stand is the one who leads us all to dance and that’s something to behold. The shared joy in movement together in our clearly less than perfect mind and bodies.
But yep, if you want to dance just get general admission tickets I hear someone say 😉
I get what you're saying, but it's probably taking the analogy too literally!
Indeed! Hehe I’m guilty of this often.
I’ve been thinking about how we defeat this Moloch ALL DAY. Surely it’s in celebrating and highlighting those amongst us who say NO to toxic behaviour and practices that ensure they ‘get ahead’, collaborate rather than compete, and step away from the Joneses to forge a better path for all. I want to spend less time thinking about Moloch (although I appreciate the understanding that comes with the knowledge) and focus more on the good that’s going on. You know those women (mostly) who volunteer for the local P&C to better the local school and community for ALL instead of doing paid work to, you know add a cinema room to their renovation or buy a boat. Let’s celebrate these people, everyday people amongst us. In my mind at least it makes Moloch less powerful.
Choose better heroes! Support the "weavers"!
@brookemcalary said it best when she ‘broke up’ with the Joneses in her book ‘SLOW: Live Life Simply’
I’ve found that ‘trying’ to live counter-culturally both a challenge and a joy! Find your people, grow your vision, the joy is contagious x
Sarah, Moloch is one perspective. There are many to choose from. Just my 2 cents. D
Yup. Yes...and...
Moloch or just another Tuesday night. Wow, a lot to digest and thanks for the introduction to Liv and this new (old) concept. Interesting to apply this to our individual lives to view how stuck we really are in a sick system, to recognize the resulting self-flagellation that we are so stuck (what's wrong with me that I can't break free?) and then the "choices" we make to feel like we are getting un-stuck, that are getting us even more stuck. The cycle of it all.
It's also collapse, per explainers by Jared Diamond and others, when efforts to fix the crisis make the crisis worse.
And it seems like those efforts are ramping up
Some are...sadly, the energy-heavy "same consciousness as what caused it in the first place" efforts are.
Yep. Jevons Paradox covered in a NY Times column today.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/opinion/vegas-sphere-energy-efficiency.html
thanks Terran, missed this in my feed.