New Atheist authors like Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins have declared that religion is the root of most global conflict. In our novel The Shroud, we explore the notion that tribalism is the true underlying factor behind these conflicts. It is part of our evolutionary heritage. Many physicists and other researchers believe that modern scientific developments resonate with spiritual pursuits and may lead to greater unity, allowing us to override some of our tribal and territorial impulses.
Quantum entanglement, or Einstein's "spooky action at a distance", demonstrates that the universe is interconnected down to the most essential level. And the discovery of "mirror neurons" in humans and other primates demonstrates that simply seeing something happen to another creature lights-up the same neurons as if it were happening to us. In a very real sense, we don't entirely distinguish between the self and others. And this is particularly true when witnessing suffering. A sense of compassion and empathy seem to be hard-wired in us.
From elementary particles to cellular systems to tribes, cities, countries and virtual communities over the Internet, science and our deepest intuition increasingly demonstrate that we are intrinsically interconnected. And this connectedness may even transcend the physical plane as we now know it. Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California demonstrates that the interconnection once thought to exist only at the quantum level may scale all the way up to the macro level -- such that intention may somehow affect the physical world.
The challenge going forward will be to propagate these connections and thwart tribalism, using myth, memes and meditation.
Myths
Weaving myth into cultural narratives -- from literature to motion pictures to social movements -- can be a powerful transformative tool. Martin Luther King expertly used biblical narrative within the Civil Rights movement, describing parallels to the oppressed, enslaved and disenfranchised of biblical times and a visit to the mountaintop to see The Promised Land. This not only energized his followers, but also transformed the filter through which white America viewed the struggle. Dr. King also re-framed the movement to his own followers by describing their opponents as spiritually damaged, yet capable of being healed and made whole by the use of nonviolent civil disobedience. It was a brilliant example of myth, cultural narrative and political Judo -- inverting the power dynamic to one where the oppressed were instead seen as chosen people on a mission to heal those in need.
Memes
Charles Dickens had originally planned to write an editorial letter to a London newspaper, decrying the economic inequality and poverty of his time. Having actually spent several years in a workhouse as a child, Dickens knew of the conditions first-hand. But at the last minute, he decided instead to present his editorial points within a fictional story. And A Christmas Carol was born -- a work that profoundly altered the view of urban poverty of the time, and which is still being read and experienced on the stage and in film almost 170 years later. More recently, Avatar has injected pantheist and conservationist themes into the pop-culture sphere. These dramas inculcate values in a visceral way.
Meditation
An overwhelming body of research demonstrates meditation's benefits in reducing stress and moderating mood. But meditation also dissolves our entrenched sense of self and serves to blunt hard-wired tendencies toward tribal identification.
The short animation below explores science, religion and tribalism, which are themes woven into our novel The Shroud.
Find out more about 'The Shroud' on Facebook and visit the website of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Follow Steven and Michael Meloan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/theshroudbook
Here's some fun questions for you to ponder:
Out of all possible states, do you think we have an infinite # of choices to choose from, or do you think they are finite?
Do you think we have free will if our decisions etc are decided unconsciously?
Do we have free will, or do we just retroactively rationalize our choices after the event?
What is the "I" that has free will? Is it a homunculus operating the human machine? Is it the result of competing 'modules' in our neurology? Is there really no "I", but it is a valuable fiction to enable us to engage with existence? Or...?
I'm not one for blanket statements but here is one I'm pretty confident about: wars are fought over resources (and notice how peacekeeping missions are not prolonged conflicts). Anything beyond that, from the crusades to the Crimean to the last Gulf War are all fought for resources, religion and tribalism are merely convenient ways to drive the narrative. Wars always make somebody richer.
Yes, the same structures, mechanisms, and processes that enable us to go throughout the world, to find meaning and purpose, to create out of thin air such important things as Mercy and Justice also enable us to do the most horrific things. Two sides of the same coin.
Couldn't a group of persons who share common religious beliefs be considered a tribe then?
The #1 definition of tribalism according to Merriam-Webster is: tribal consciousness and loyalty; especially : exaltation of the tribe above other groups
Isn't that exactly what most, if not all, religions do? Each religious tribe exalts its beliefs above all others. Those who share the same beliefs then feel connected as a group, or tribe. They do not feel connected to those who do not share their beliefs and do not consider them part of their exalted tribe.
Many believe that their way is the one true way and either you are a part of the one true way tribe or you are not. Non-tribal myths have no place among the tribe.
In 2004, Christianity Today sought to demonize Eastern meditation as it seeks to find God (Brahman) within and in all things while the biblical view is that we are estranged from the true personal God because of our "true moral guilt". Bible-based meditation always means pondering God's revealed truths and reflecting on how they pertain to us. Wouldn't this lead to a sense of self disconnected from all that is, even God, yet a sense of tribalism with those who believe the same?
I think it will be a very long time before religious tribalism is thwarted if ever.
http://wsimpson.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/why-the-confusion-about-god/
We are just as we were made by the Great Spirit, and you can not change us; then why should children of one mother and one father quarrel? Why should one try to cheat the other? I do not believe that the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do.''
We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears. We had a small country. Their country was large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not; and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them.
-Chief Joseph
But in your perishing you will shine brightly, fired by the strength of the god who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man. Your destiny is a mystery to us for we do not understand what will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered! The wild horses are tamed! What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt? Where are our Young men! Gone! This is the end of living and the beginning of survival. So we will consider your offer to buy the land.
-Chief Joseph
The great naturalist community planner, Ian McHard, understood as all men have to respect and accept NATURE was essential for man’s survival. Objective Observation of Nature, science, exited long before the NAME. Like planting a garden facing south, building a house above the Flash Flood level. McHarg used ALL formal disciplines to determine his “design with nature”, Physiological, Horticultural, Archeological, Economics, Social, Psychological, Cultural, etc. He rated each development project using all disciplines using a clear plastic foil for each with the darkest color for the greatest cost within that discipline. By lighting the combinations of foils he found the least cost of the road, building, community, etc. he was planning
The intelligence generations have learned and demand. We also understood history, from the Western Indian to Religions. What they said, meant, related to or effected. Simple correlations and opinions for advantage of political or philosophic gain, does not cut it. How can you use these to make a scientific propositions?
Your supposition and propositions are the problems of the folly of man and history stands as witness to the FACTS. Western Indian made many of the same claims you state as Modern Times. That knowledge did not unite and bring harmony. It fulfills those drunk with power from the advantage that their money buys and we suffer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMxlq4WFCoE&feature=channel_video_title
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAUI_0knfk
Fire, of course, is a great good... Too much, or some in the wrong place, or of course when misused, ...well, that's not so good. :)
Sometimes when it comes to beliefs and isms and aspects of humanity and society, people forget the obvious facts that fire *is* and trying to argue it out of existence is both ineffectual and would leave the world a colder place if it could be achieved.
'Tribalism' *is,* ...it can be fires we warm ourselves around, gather around, share around, ...it need neither be abolished nor must everything in the world be burned down.
Why's that so hard? :)
Make me wonder of my DAD and Granddad who had view words, but know so much Science has yet to know. Like 2 wrongs do not make 1 write. Admitting mistakes are better than Living a Lie. So put Patrayus ahead of the CIA. Perfect Assassinations. Thought they did that already. Wll guess not they are still selling it
What's next space
Smohalla and his followers were forced to leave. They moved north to an old Wanapum fishing site called P’na, at Priest Rapids, near White Bluffs (now part of the Hanford Reach National Monument). The area was too arid to attract white settlers and it lacked the minerals that interested white miners. However, it was rich in the natural resources that sustained traditional lifestyles, especially salmon. Smohalla ended up spending most of the rest of his life there.
-Smohallow
After he became known as a spiritual leader, his people called him Yuynipitquana -- "Shouting Mountain" -- because of the belief that revelations came to him from a mountain speaking inside his soul.
He underwent a traditional vision quest in adolescence, fasting and meditating on sacred Saddle Mountain near Wallula in search of his wot, or guardian spirit. According to legend, he died on the mountain, but his spirit was refused entry into the land of the dead, and he was ordered to return to his people as a shaman, serving as a conduit between the tangible world and the spirit world.
By 1850, he had taken on the name Smohalla, from a Sahaptian word for "dreamer." The Indian agents, military officers, newspaper writers, and other contemporaries who chronicled his life offered almost endless variants on the spelling of his name, from "Smawhola" to "Smuxale," but all agreed that his people revered him as someone who could communicate with the spirits through dreams and
No they didnt, and they have aclared that over and over again.
And of course when asked about the title "How religion Poisons Everything" he says that was an editorial decision, no his pick.
And of course, reading the title of the book is a good replacement for actually reading the book...
1. The physiological needs.
2. The safety and security needs.
3. The love and belonging needs.
4. The esteem needs.
All of the preceding four levels he calls deficit needs, or D-needs. If you don’t have enough of something -- i.e. you have a deficit -- you feel the need. Maslow suggested that we can ask people for their “philosophy of the future” -- what would their ideal life or world be like -- and get significant information as to what needs they do or do not have covered.
If you have significant problems along your development -- a period of extreme insecurity or hunger as a child, or the loss of a family member through death or divorce, or significant neglect or abuse -- you may “fixate” on that set of needs for the rest of your life.
Self-actualization
Self-transcendence