Caer Abred

Something else to chew on: http://www.thegroveofquotes.wordpress.c ... conscious/

“Most religious stories and mythologies have some sort of similar root, some sort of global archetypes.” Maynard James Keenan

“Americans want to believe that the average Brit wears a bowler and a school tie and maintains a stiff upper lip and has a certain dry sense of humour; they do not want to be told that a good percentage of the British population are vulgar dimwits who care about nothing but shopping, alcohol, football and Posh Spice’s navel.” Joe Queenan

In Jungian psychology there is the well-known concept of the Collective Unconscious; a “reservoir” of ancestral experience inherited through genes or very ancient memes. In science it’s known that babies’ brains are “hardwired” to recognise faces shapes and voices. There has also been research that suggests they can recognise spider shapes at an early age, presumably because the quicker you can recognise a danger, like a poisonous spider, the better your chances of survival. These examples show that experience of the world is, to some extent, built into our genes from ancestral experience and show a very basic idea of Archetypes; models of human perception, roles and functions that are often represented by symbols and personalities.

But not only can the Collective Unconscious be ancestral experience but unconscious material that we exchange every day, things in society that we don’t question and take for granted as “reality.” This too contains “models of human perception, roles and functions that are often represented by symbols and personalities” that are called stereotypes.

There is a subtle but important difference between the two; Archetypes, for the most part, come from within and are natural to the human psyche and its development and are the fulfilment of certain human experiences. Stereotypes are things to conform to, that are imposed on the human psyche from the outside by cultural standards. With Archetypes the human psyche is simply going through different processes of human development that most humans go through despite culture. With stereotypes the human psyche is being programmed by cultural forces and made to fit into a preset image.

But it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two when you get to look at stereotypes and Archetypes. Some stereotypes have archetypal aspects to them, the interpretation of some Archetypes can be twisted so that they are conformed to and some Archetypes might be very ancient stereotypes that are so consistent with human existence they become universal in quality.

I think that’s the good thing about Archetypes, their universal qualities allow us to see another culture and understand the basic human experience that is going on underneath the bowler hat, feather headdress, baseball cap, horned helmet or sombrero. It’s only the mind that is so immersed in its cultural or societal stereotypes that cannot understand another human being from another culture because the other doesn’t fit into their idea of human “reality.” In this day and age where humanity is reaching a global phase of its development, it’s important to relinquish stereotypes and embrace an archetypal understanding of others, to form a common basis of understanding and communication. We can still be members of our own culture, but instead of conforming to it we can creatively play with it to complement the basic experience that is the human being.

Interesting.

It is crucial to recognose the universals in all people and to see past the culturally derived behaviours.

For example, smiling is universal. Nodding is not.

Like the adverts for one of the banks (can't remember which one). My favourite is the confusion between the English and the Japanese.

We need to remember there is a basic human experience shared by all, no matter your gender, nationality, sexual identity, religion, ideology, culture, subculture etc that is reached through communication and empathy. This shouldn't be done at the expense of gender, nationality, sexual identity, religion, ideology, culture, subculture etc, because they are also basic human experiences, but should enhance them instead.

treegod wrote:Like the adverts for one of the banks (can't remember which one). My favourite is the confusion between the English and the Japanese.

We need to remember there is a basic human experience shared by all, no matter your gender, nationality, sexual identity, religion, ideology, culture, subculture etc that is reached through communication and empathy. This shouldn't be done at the expense of gender, nationality, sexual identity, religion, ideology, culture, subculture etc, because they are also basic human experiences, but should enhance them instead.

^^^
This

Just moments ago, I had a cognitive breakthrough re: druidry....it is a stereotype..perhaps an archetype that taps into the collective unconscious...and the details..what this druid group does, or that one believes, or that other one writes about, is totally secondary, perhaps even irrelevant. With druidry, The Medium is the Message. There is probably little uniqueness in the ideas, values or theology of druidry, old or new anyway...at best, it shares common human values...compassion, justice, eco responsibility, etc....all the power of druidry is derived from stereotype...the "image" conjured up in the mind's eye...and to simply be identified, or identify as "druid" is about all you really have to do to get the message across..tree hugging mystic, protector of the forests and glades...probably the less one says or does, the better, so as not to spoil the commonly held public belief of what a druid is. Just put on the robe, show up and shut up.

Aha! Now there's a very good point.

A lot of Druidry does seem to be image, or identity based on very superficial qualities. And this is a stereotype.

But I also feel there is a deeper archetype to connect to in it. There is something deeper than what you describe, though maybe not many embody it.

I think I need to give this more thought, it's getting late and I need to rest now, but thanks for your Inspiration

Ambariius wrote: Just put on the robe, show up and shut up.

I like this.....a LOT