Here is sad attempt at an abstract of Terror Management Theory that will explain the function of worship in terms of the "heroic impulse". This research is based on Ernest Becker's (Denial of Death, 1974 Pulitzer Prize). Some of it is repetitive. I apologize for not being able to create a seamless consistency of logic.

1) We are animals first, humans with imaginations second. We are born into a dangerous world, in an unsure world, where as infants we have complete dependence on our families and society. Injury and death is just around the cornor. Our phyisologies and animal instincts are affected by this very real possibility, our sense of preservation is keen and we must reconcile this awareness with fact of having to move forward with confidence. We feel vulnerable in our animal natures and limited. We strive for growth, mastery and propagation just like every living thing that has ever existed. Since we are social animals, we affiliate with those among us that promise to protect and nuture us - for anything that represents more abundant and secure biological life. As social animals, we require to know what our individual worth is in group is compared to others since status provides the power to influence others and get more secure life within a rule-bound society. We naturally look to those more skilled and powerful than us to protect us. We emulate our heros.

2) The reconcilation of our awareness of our finite animal natures with higher abstraction, symbolic and imaginary skills is the aim of child development and social evolution. There must be a reconcilation between what we can actually do and what we imagine we can do. Our skills in the physical realm becomes overshadowed with the ability to manipulate symbols and rules in man-made arbitrary culture. Thus, this and motivation of magic in prehistory. Magic was needed to explain the dangerous world and get some kind of imaginary control over our precarious situation. Magic eventually turns into religion. Religion turns into secular society.

3) Ego arises from the abstraction part of the brain, and uses symbols of protection to insulate the body from feelings arising from more primitive parts of the brain. This removes feelings of vulnerability and fear from our thinking selves. This is the source of mysterious "force" alluded to in your book. The displacement is a necessary condition for mental health and negotiation in a symbolic environment. The ego is defined as the process of labeling and identifications we make with those affliations or cultural symbols that represent protection, worth and therefore security. As abstraction abilities developed our egos created complex systems of rituals and customs representing security of the group. This is culture. Culture is arbitrary and its main function is institualization of protective symbols. The function of ego, as social animals, is to compare worth, significance and power in an abitrary culture - to find our place in it and too feel significant, worthy, more powerful. However, symbols are not reality they are simply representations of the world that is more or less aligned with actual environmental survival factors. That is why cultures change.

3) We create conflict and suffering through competing symbols within arbitrary rule-bound social world called culture. Absolutist ideologies provide some of the most powerful displacements of physiological anxiety. So, we create complex symbolic absolutist views and cultural sanctioned rituals, rules and behaviors that institutionalize the strategy against death. These provide order and sense of meaning to individuals in the world. Religions address the the anxiety most directly. Cultures are systems of symbols that reinforce a consensual strategy against death. Cultural values change as the demands of survival from the environment change. The value of the concept of immortality and single great hero, God, has been greatest imaginary prize. The heroic impulse turns to worship any symbol the promises more secure and abundant life.

4) Our egos function is to strengthen its stature and sense of self compared to others. In particular it doesn't like to hear we are akin to competing animals, or we are the cause our own suffering or
that we are vulnerable, limited and will one day die. So we seek ways of removing
our guilt and feelings of vulnerability by latching on to anything or anybody who can make us feel secure, safe and confident that all will be well, and in their care that we will prosper, grow and live a much fuller life. This is the "heroic impulse". It is pervasive within all cultures. We value and acknowledge that which will make us feel safe or make us feel like winners. Child development observations has mirrored historical anthropological evidence on this point

5) Our egos are willing to defend, belittle or even fight to the death any symbol or person who threatens our unconscious immortality symbols. Our ego's imaginary life is at stake. We do this unconsciously. The impulse to prove oneself right and the other wrong is simply the defense of the ego against imaginary "social" death.

6) Whether it be God, Nirvana, or our financial legacy, our egos find something to latch on to, no matter where we live, if it promises growth, security and sense of significance and meaning. Cultures, religions and financial markets exist to provide approval-seeking humans ways of organizing, encouraging, coping, prospering, staving off death and moving civilzation toward and imaginary immortality (infinite growth). Unbridled capitalism has limitations in that it is a slave to short term mortality anxiety, despite the fact of a finite resource base and inability to for present economic systems to satisfy demand for more symbols of immortality. How much do we really need to feel worthy?

7) Our egos can be exploited, controlled and abused by those who use our needs, hopes and dreams to suit their own agendas. We all, quite naturally, give our loyalty and our lives to those who best can communicate to our feelings insecurity, the symbols that promise security, strength and growth including institutions like financial markets. The success of leadership or institutions is proportional to the level of alignment of these culturally adopted values to the real demands of the environment. The need for human connection is primary and real, economic values are secondary and imaginery.

8) The source of much of the individual suffering when we allow the ego
unbridled growth, comparison, identification and power-seeking or when we let our egos get
competitive, huffy and violent over whose coping mechanisms, behaviors, opinions are best. Judgment and negativity is the primary diagnostic - whether it is ubridled praise or criticism.We could spend our time much more profitably by recognizing when and how our ego's comparative
functions operate and rein it in when conflict is shown not aligned to the greater long term good.

9) Since a monopoly on spiritual truth is impossible and unbridled growth is physically impossible in a real world that has finite resources, we could look to tolerant belief systems, the economics of sustainability, waste due to egoic comparisons and identfying economic inefficiences above and beyond what is needed for secure and healthy life. Research into strategic growth in utilties and resource potential could allow for social advancement. Since growth economics serves a irrational need for security we could look into social replacements for our need for belonginess and feelings of security. Our research and leaders could look to our common needs and our common problems and working together to make a difference, rather than defending our egoic coping religious and economic systems.

10) Ultimately, all human activity is "religious" in that it provides a sense of mastery of life over death. The denial of death and the displacment of anxiety by imaginery symbols is the primary motivation (force of growth) for humanity. This irrational motive lies behind science, economics, art, technology, politics, philosophy and culture. Even the behavior of rationality has an irrational motive behind it.

Hi Nekselaf,


I liked your view on worship.

I understand that worship is the attachement to whatever ego wants or needs?

If so that would mean worshipping stops with NON-attachment. Not wanting, not needing.

It would also implie that faith and ego and worship belong together.

When NON-attachment occurs faith will be enlightend, ego will be enlightened and worship ends.

Do I get what you are saying?

Zjenny

Hi Fifths

The Mayan writings and the Tzolkin.
I live by them.

NO! I am NOT worshipping it ...lol

Maybe you know the site of Carl Calleman or the mayanmajix site?
The latter has a learninglab and video's, very good and enlightening.

Zjenny

Hi Jasciu,

10) Ultimately, all human activity is "religious" in that it provides a sense of mastery of life over death. The denial of death and the displacment of anxiety by imaginery symbols is the primary motivation (force of growth) for humanity. This irrational motive lies behind science, economics, art, technology, politics, philosophy and culture. Even the behavior of rationality has an irrational motive behind it.


I read your good attempt ( grinn) to give a whole new perspective to worsip.

I picked the conclusion and copied it.
I will say in my own words what I understand. Ok?


The irrational motive is the denial of death and whoever or whatever we do is motivated by that force of growth. The one who, or the what that we look up to is the object to be worshipped. It is our hero ( collective as in culture and social realms) Or my hero ( personal and subjective)

Do I understand it right?

Zjenny

Hey Zjenn! I'm not familiar with the site. But, I'll check it out.


All the Best

Zjenny.....

You got it. The sublimation of the fear of death into the unconscious is what drives people. Or, more accurately, the development of symbolic strategies of protection keeps it bay. Its difficult to for people to understand because most people have successfully adopted cultural symbols that staves
off the feelings. But, the feelings are acted out when the symbols are threatened by other mutually exclusive symbols.

The paradox is, that we absolutely need to develop some "healthy" anxiety displacements to develop self esteem and confidence in growing up. However, when the displacements become rigidly absolute, people will become very aggressive in defending them. There seems to be a healthy arc of development.

1) Identfication with parental heros and development of self esteem by successful negotiation of the social rules they present.

2) Differentiation from the parents by successfully negotiating cultural rules or societal expectations.

3) Getting a sense of approval and belonginess from subcultures that are relatively more aligned to broader accepted cultural values. Choosing heros, beliefs, activities and groups that allow some sense of security, direction, personal expression and sense of worth and significance.

4) Realization that they are many ways in which can get a sense of approval, belonginess, direction and that your way is not absolute. Finally seperating imaginery symbols from the actual biological requirements of social life.

There may be brain structures whose particular development make it very difficult to access the right feeling/percieving part of the brain. Fundamentalists seem to get caught on number 3, but many old people naturally become more tolerant after experiencing lifes complexities - this is wisdom. Ultimately, a combination of disposition, social conditioning, need for differentiation and specialness, particular experiences puts on us on different paths to the realization that we are not the symbols to which we attach.

I am a trained NLP-er.

I experienced and saw old people go from stage 3 to the experience of the right hemisphere brain in 3 days.

So maybe NLP is one of the methods to go from worship to the experience of I AM?

From tribal identification to Oneness?

Zjenny

Anything that helps the very scary feeling of letting ones protective symbols drop away will work I think. It takes alot of courage to confront those feelings. No wonder fundamentalists, careerists, hang glider pilots are so passionate about their beliefs and activities - these strategies are what worked. A persons social situation has to get very bad before there is enough impetus to confront the things that have worked to a point.

jenny ...

where (who) did you receive your NLP training?

Hi zjenny!

Worship is anything that you do to praise, show adoration, and love. It can come in many forms. You can breathe in the spring air and thank God that the winter is over and the air is fresh and warm. You can thank Jesus for showing His love for you and for caring for you every moment. You can love God by being a loving soul to others. You can sing a song of praise to the Lord -knowing that He holds you in His arms and loves you deeply.

There are so many ways that we can worship!

Worship is something that you can do alone or with others. The great thing is that when we are holding God close to us through His Holy Spirit, we are worshipping Him already even before we speak a word!

zjen---For me, worship is giving every part of my being to God: my heart, soul, spirit, mind, and strength; just the same way that I love Him. It is an attitude that remains constant.

Worship is serving Him, having constant fellowship with Him, and sharing His love with others.

When I was very young, I thought worship was something we did on Sundays during worship services. As I grew in my walk with the Lord, I realized worship can happen anytime and anywhere because it is constant.

It's still fantastic to go to church and worship God collectively, in fellowship and praise, but it doesn't end when we leave the assembling of ourselves together.

One of my favorite places to worship God is in nature, particularly in the mountains, or at the ocean, or looking up at the stars at night, or in my backyard next to the trees, or looking up at clouds. I'm not worshipping the nature, just surrounded by God's beautiful handiwork as I worship Him. I love to sing songs to Him and make up songs from scripture.

Having a relationship with God that is based on love, trust, worship, and service to Him has completely quenched that thirst, that spiritual longing in my heart which all of us have.

Blessings to you,

purposeinu

PS zjen---I enjoyed reading another post of yours and some of your customs. Do you live in the Netherlands? On a vacation a while back, we visited nine countries in five weeks. Amsterdam and Brussels were beautiful. I especially enjoyed seeing the countries of my ancestors: Switzerland and Scotland.

Yes, it is all part of their identity.
And when you are attached uncosiuosly to all the " things" and thoughts and emotions that make up your Identity , it would destroy your identity and that is setting you up for a psychosis...or worse.

Zjen.

recognize the energy... respect the energy...be thankful it is there...leave it the hell alone and continue the human experience.

Hi Realager,

I got my training with Paul Liekens, in Belgium.
He is a shaman as well...went to Peru and more places in South-America to get his training and ia aknowledged by his Elders to call himself a shaman. But Paul seldom calls himself a shaman. He just lives his life. grinn.
The organization who issues the certificates is; New York Training Institue For NLP; founded by Anne Linden.
She is one of the oldest student of Bandler .
I had the opportunity to work with Anne Linden in my class. Amazing woman!
She just wrote a book on Boundaries in human relations.
google it if you like.

Zjen