Psychological Freedom

 

We see the one in the many

The many in the one

And the one itself.

 

     The following is a psychologism, which I employ as a psychological overview of societal phenomena, using religion in general and the Bible specifically as examples, with an emphasis on psychological freedom. The title of this psychologism is O Religion, and there are two subtitles: The Conspiracy of Evil, and The Psychological Manipulation Hypothesis. I’ll start with a couple of rhetorical Q&As…

     Q: What is not psychological manipulation?

     A: A recipe for banana cream pie. Yummy!

     Q: What is psychological manipulation?

     A: Original Sin.

     In order to be psychologically free, one must comprehend psychological manipulation. Now, to the psychologism…

 

O Religion

 

     My appetite for psychological manipulation is vast. You, O Religion, are as a grain of salt onto my feast. Advised by the Wisdom of Ages, accompanied by conceptualizations, I journey this realm of wonders seeking evermore knowledge with which to enlighten myself and others. There is a learned, if not instinctual, understanding of forces before which all people are in awe and helplessness, so to speak: earth, air, fire, water—the seasons; the sun, moon, and stars—the Universe.

     Hence, the pre-science worship of contrived gods and devils representing such forces in various cultures. Yet, is DNA worshipped? Are stem cells worshipped? These ever present forces in our lives are not worshipped because they are relatively modern discoveries in a world that uses scientific methods to know and use such forces. Perhaps the contrivance of gods and devils was meant as a means to ensure loyalty and instill a moral conscience in pre-science cultures, among other more devious reasons. Who can say?

     The Holy Bible, for example, contains much wisdom accumulated through the Ages. However, it can be accounted for as wisdom drawn from the experience of living and observing the natural phenomena of the human condition (love, empathy, family, childhood, the thought process itself) and spinning them into religious dogma. Furthermore, biblical rhetoric attempts to psychologically dominate those who would have such wisdom into adhering to its dogmas. The Bible states my eternal soul is in great peril should I not believe and do as it commands. Practically translated, this says to me, “If you do not do as we have commanded, you will suffer and die, but that will be only the beginning of your Torment!”

     Today, modern society is well aware of its capacity to be psychologically manipulated and uses said knowledge against its own citizens for little more than the Almighty Dollar…

     To sum up, looking upon the various conceptualizations I’ve encountered and formed, I visualize myself within the sphere of this psychologism. As such, I envision myself as even less than the grain of salt unto the feast of another.

     (An alternative to ‘The Bible states my eternal soul…’ GENESIS 2:17 “Of the tree of knowledge…you shall not eat.” Practically translated, this says to me, “Stay ignorant, so we can manipulate you.”)

 

The Conspiracy of Evil

 

     In my youth, I sought out ‘evil’, in part, because biblical rhetoric informed me it was an enemy. As I grew into adulthood, however, I came to see evil as nothing more than a concept of psychological manipulation—simply a dramatization of the petty things people sometimes do to one another. Evil is a propagandistic term of psychological manipulation. Its conceptualization is propagated through religion, government, and media. A few examples:

• Original Sin; Hell; Satan

• Some presidential quotes: President Reagan referred to Russia as an “Empire of Evil”; President Bush called a few of Israeli’s neighbors the “Axis of Evil”; President Obama, speaking generally, said, “For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world.”

• Movies, novels, and so on that portray evil as a force unto itself (a living entity), which takes over human behavior.

• [Any standard dictionary definition of evil]

     That definition, nor any other, changes the factual assertions of this position. Evil does not exist in anything other than the fantasy realm. In the real world, when people are tried in the courts of the United States, among other modern societies, they are not tried for being evil. They are tried for the crimes they have been accused. Is the propagandization of the concept of evil part of an epic conspiracy spanning millennia? Perhaps it is not so much a conspiracy as it is a learned, if not instinctual, understanding that psychological manipulation works.

 

The Psychological Manipulation Hypothesis

 

     I recognize manipulation to be a natural phenomenon, which in humans has evolved to be called psychological. Other life forms use such manipulation to varying degrees: apes bash around branches and pound their chests, kittens puff and hiss, fake eyes on insects, the Venus flytrap, the angler fish, the ‘broken wing’ decoy act of certain birds, the hooded cobra’s hypnotic sway, and so forth…

     Among the various reasons psychological manipulation works so well in humans is the survival/fight, flight, or freeze instinct. However, humans have the ability to recognize and subvert such impulses (within the laws of physics, of course) in whatever ways they so choose. Throughout history, individuals and groups have attempted to keep people psychologically manipulated, dominated, and distracted. I, for one, refuse to be manipulated, dominated, or distracted! How about you?

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Consider the following passage from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible…

Matthew 15:24-26 By Jesus’ own words, he “was not sent except to the lost sheep of Israel.” And anyone who was not of Israel was a “little dog.”

 

Q: GENESIS 3:1-5 Why did Lord God not warn Adam and Eve of the cunning serpent’s forked tongue?

A: (Hint: Refer back to The Conspiracy of Evil.) Psychological manipulation is the core issue.

 

     We have just this one life, this fleshly existence, in which to know God—or it’s too late? I don’t buy it! The greatest force I see at work in the Holy Bible is the human imagination. In the Bible, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes are a sign of God's Wrath. God killed all those people because He was 'mad'. That is simply not true. Natural disasters are the result of the seasons of the Earth. Such things have been happening since the Earth has been here and will continue to happen until the Earth is no longer here. Furthermore, Jesus represents the embodiment of God's Love in the Holy Bible. Love, like fear and hate, is used to manipulate. People wanted the Indisputable Authority, Power, and Knowing of God, so in the vast realms of the imagination, they devised various religions to transfer it unto themselves. From the point of view of psychological manipulation, Jesus was sent to save the lost sheep of Israel from a metaphor…the metaphor being people putting themselves in God’s place using a propaganda technique known as transference.

     In conclusion, the very building blocks of life itself—Atoms—vibrate. They are being manipulated. There is nothing we have ever done or that has ever been done to us that is not manipulation. Manipulation is simply a fact of existence. In the realm of psychological manipulation, good and evil, love and fear, virtue and malice, peace and war are all conceptualizations to be exploited in whatever ways we so choose. Whether we know it or not, we are all master manipulators! Feel free to use any of the concepts you have learned here in any form that furthers the cause of Freedom.