In this address, Aaron reintroduces us to Monsters - whose personification - or rather "monster-fication" is Fear.
Helen's reading leads us into Monsters: "The truth is this: every monster you have ever met...was once a human being with a soul that was once as soft as silk. Someone stole that silk from their soul and turned them into this. So when you see a monster next, always remember this: Do not fear the thing before you, fear the thing that created it instead".
After Pauline led us in meditation, Aaron soon reveals that, with a little editing by Pauline, it was composed by a "new-ish" monster - one which we now call "AI" (but one that must draw from the well-spring of human wisdoms) Aaron sees our darker and lighter sides as analogous to two wolves: one of darkness; one of light - each vying for dominance. The one we fear is the one that grows. There is wisdom in identifying the dark wolf in ourselves. Aaron's address is about facing our fears: Embracing, accepting and integrating them!
Expanding Horizons
Monsters
In this address, Aaron reintroduces us to Monsters - whose personification - or rather "monster-fication" is Fear.Helen's reading leads us into Monsters: "The truth is this: every monster you have ever met...was once a human being with a soul that was once as soft as silk. Someone stole that silk from their soul and turned them into this. So when you see a monster next, always remember this: Do not fear the thing before you, fear the thing that created it instead".After Pauline led us in meditation, Aaron soon reveals that, with a little editing by Pauline, it was composed by a "new-ish" monster - one which we now call "AI" (but one that must draw from the well-spring of human wisdoms) Aaron sees our darker and lighter sides as analogous to two wolves: one of darkness; one of light - each vying for dominance. The one we fear is the one that grows. There is wisdom in identifying the dark wolf in ourselves. Aaron's address is about facing our fears: Embracing, accepting and integrating them!
- Duration:
- 30m
- Broadcast on:
- 09 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
[Music] You're listening to Expanding Horizons, the podcast of the Unitarian Church of South Australia, a home of progressive spirituality and free religious thought and action since 1854. The views expressed in these podcasts are those of the speaker and are not intended to represent the position of the church itself or of the worldwide Unitarian Universalist movement. For more information visit unitariansa.org.au [Music] No matter who or what you are, you are welcome here. Let's be clear. Here we welcome goblins and ghouls, saints and sinners, angels and devils, zombies and werewolves, vampires and witches. We welcome princesses and princes, paupers and farmhands, aliens and astronauts, robots and cyborgs, firefighters and police officers, nurses and doctors, cowboys, cowgirls, cow folk of all varieties. We welcome Superman, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Batman, Spiderman, Black Widow and Thor. Indeed we welcome both superheroes and superstars. In short we welcome people, monsters and all other manner of creatures. Here we welcome you and all of who and what you are. These words by Reverend Christian Smith of Newark, Delaware. Good morning to you all. Welcome to our service of worship. This is a service because it aims to serve you and this is worship originating from worship because it serves you by raising to wear things that matter. My name is Aaron Poe's, a member of this congregation and I am leading this service today while our minister Chris is on leave in Prague. I welcome you here on behalf of the generations of Unitarians who have worshiped in similar gatherings on Karna and Paramount land since 1854. We are a spiritual community that encourages and supports all who come to find, to fashion and most importantly to follow their own spiritual path, any path that helps you to see more clearly love more abundantly and work toward a better world for all. We welcome you to join with us after the service for coffee, tea and conversation. This poem is entitled The Truth About Monsters by Nikita Gill. The truth is this, every monster you have ever met or will meet was once a human being with a soul that was as soft as silk. Someone stole that silk from their soul and turned them into this. So when you see a monster next, always remember this. Do not fear the thing before you. Fear the thing that created it instead. If you're comfortable, close your eyes gently, sit quietly and breathe deeply going within. In this meditation space, bravery is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to embrace it without letting us define us. We embody calmness, cultivating a serene oasis within, where turmoil gives way to tranquility. Here amidst the storm of our thoughts, we find stillness, a sanctuary from which clarity and strength arise. In facing our demons with bravery and calm, we reclaim our power, we discover that beneath the beneath of the near of darkness lies a reservoir of resilience and wisdom waiting to be tapped. This journey is not about banquishing our shadows, but integrating them into the mosaic of our being, finding wholeness in the acceptance of our own imperfections. As the meditation deepens, we realise that courage is not a singular act, but a continuous practice of self-discovery and self-compassion. It is the daily commitment to face our inner landscapes with kindness and fortitude, knowing that in our vulnerability lies our greatest strength. In the quiet moments of reflection, we emerge renewed, a testament to the transformation of the power of courage and calm. We carry forth this newfound clarity into the world, embodying the essence of resilience and authenticity. For in facing our demons, we unveil the truest expression of ourselves. A beacon of light admits the shadows, guarded by the unwavering certainty that we are stronger than our fears. Just breathe deeply and come back to the room with us. Sharp are the horns and claws of the demon, bright red skin, a perfusion of teeth, perhaps some scales and intense eyes. These are the symbols of a demon or of Satan himself. One of the original monsters most likely predating the Abrahamic religions, which use it so heavily. It's also widely used in other faraway religions, and the concepts appear in very old phase, though the name is likely a near translation, such as the adversary, from which the word Satan appears. In some ways, adversary sums up what a monster truly represents, and seems particularly true for popular media where monsters magical, metaphorical and physical usually hold an opponent or enemy role, though there are several trope breakers in this mix too. Of course, much of our popular media still mirrors Christian values, so that's not too surprising. One wonders what it would be like if we diverged from that kind of adversarial thinking. The idea we must always fight something, dominate something, and win. Many humans hold an internal monster role, which is their internal adversary, an aspect of their selves which they fight, sometimes throughout their entire lives. A whole host of monsters beside our familiar horny fight will as exist, the vampire, Frankenstein, Daleks, and of course, as our global touch explores other cultures, their cultural monsters also take root. The kelpie of Scotland seeks to lure people into a swamp with cries like that of a drowning person. I'm sure you can guess what before these poor souls. Fortunately, the Australian kelpie is a little friendlier, but not so the banhippo drop bear. I personally find it hilarious we've taken a world symbol of cuteness and added a malicious reimagination, yet the actual koala is neither the cute nor vicious concept so widely held. It is, after all, simply an animal driven by its own behaviours. The Dicky Dicky of Japan is a little more modern born of an urban legend. Dicky Dicky is a ghost of a young schoolgirl who is said to have fallen onto a railway line where her body was cut in half by a train. She is vengeful and travels with a scythe on either her hands or elbows, dragging her up a torso and making a scratching Dicky Dicky like sound. She will chase you and slice you in half of the torso, making her own demise. The meditation this morning was presented by Pauline, but not written by Pauline, although it was edited by Pauline. It was written, so much to my surprise, by a very new kind of monster, AI, artificial intelligence, to some a god, to others evil itself, to me a construct in its infancy with future potential. But what if we look a little more carefully, a little more closely, but not for very much longer? The commonality between all these monsters is fear. Monsters really are constructs of fear. The adversary drives us into fear. The symbology of sharpness relates to fear of bodily damage. The red skin relates to anger and blood. The intense eyes relate to threatening but very human stances. Similar with vampires, Dicky Dicky and so on, fear of harm, fear of unknown, fear of other, and any of the dizzying array of exciting fears we terrify little humans have nightmared up and we're very good at it. Sometimes we prefer to fear a monster than that which is real and so much more terrifying. That's why many traumatized kids love horror. The Addams family are a well-known TV family of horror monsters. Gomez and Morticia show a deep, genuine kind of love, mutual respect and compliments and pleasure in each other's company. Gomez not only has time for his children, he actively cares for them and gets involved and keep in mind this was in an era when that was very much not done. I would also suggest that Morticia is better for feminism than Samantha of Beewitched. There may be much beauty focus but it's clear that she's the true brains and Gomez is more the resourcefulness. There was no need to make Gomez less to make Morticia appear strong. A family of acceptance and they still function even in one of them vehemently and bitterly disagrees. This early trope breaker is also a positive and normalised one wonders who the real monsters are. I must first know myself as the Delphian inscription says to be curious about that which is not my concern. What I am still in ignorance of my own self would be ridiculous and therefore I bid farewell to all this. The common opinion is enough for me. For as I was saying, I want to know not about this but about myself. Am I a monster more complicated and swollen with passion than the serpent typho or a creature of a gentler and simple sword to whom nature has given a diviner and lonelier destiny and that was from Socrates? Socrates has a side legend of being monstrous and said so himself. There's considerable focus on his appearance which is generally quite unflattering but the truth of that detail is unclear. However, there's a wider story. You see, monsters are not just physically threatening, they're also cognitively threatening. Socrates' new monstrousness would put people outside their box of comfortable surety and encourage thinking. He might also have been a little more aware and honest about the shortcomings he had. Perhaps more pointedly to people of the day, someone throwing out such new ideas, ideas that violated their sense of the natural order of things was to them a strong cognitive threat. Little wonder then that reactions to philosophers and free thinkers over the ages have been to deem them ugly, a threat, a corruptor, sometimes to the point of encouraging the philosopher's murder. One wonders how many were snuffed out before their brilliance could get through the timeless ages to us all. He bothers me a lot that many of them would have been women and minorities. I want to emphasize what I mean with two female philosopher examples. Asphasia, born 470 B.C. in Militis, moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman paracles with whom she had a son named Paracles the Younger. The view of her is as a skilled teacher and retorition. Retorition was a good thing back then, not like now. Although Asphasia was one of the best attested women from the Grisio-Roman world and the most important woman in the history of fifth century Athens, almost nothing is certain about her life because the primary recordings of her were saw some old comedies and rather unkindly old comedies. She was portrayed as a prostitute and madam in the comedies, and it's unclear how much of this was truth or lie. What is clear is the attempt to sully her name and marginalize her works. In the current era, she represents something of a sexuality, sex worker and feminist icon. It's a loss that will never know who she truly was. Now Hypatia, a neo-Platonist philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, was one of the most important intellectuals of the Byzantine Empire in the fourth century, born around 355 when the Roman Empire had just split into eastern and western, leaving Alexandria in a disconnected state of religious and social unrest. Members of many religions, Christians, Jews and pagans, were now living together in perpetual strife. I very like Unitarian origins. Hypatia was not afraid to speak a mind in a landscape of religious separatism, conflict and fear. Because of this, and the fact she believed in paganism, many accused of worshiping satan. Christians, elites ripped her from her carriage and proceeded to tear her clothes, pulling her along by the hair through the streets of the city. Then dragged into a nearby church, where they stripped her completely, and then with roving tires and oyster shells, they tore her flesh from her body, skinning her alive in the name of Christ. Her remains were then ripped apart and burned at the altar. Then, not satisfied with her murder, they burnt the University of Alexandria, where she and her father, Theon, had taught to the ground. In the aftermath of her slaying, there was a mass exodus of intellectuals and artists who feared for their own safety. And very much cemented Christian authority in the city. What is interesting is just how much these two philosophers have been blatantly recast and used by various authors, playwrights and others to serve their own purposes. So, to explore yourself is very much the path of the monster, like Socrates, and a clear way to find new layers of truth, a very Unitarian path universally. Coming out as a gay man as I have done is an exploration and celebration of the self, and yet we know that many react to it with terror, fear, and sometimes revulsion, including me before I actually did it. I am, after all, a monster to some, even to this day. There is also the fake law story of the two wolves. You may know the one. There are two wolves, one of light, one of darkness inside of you vying for dominance, but the one new field is the one that grows. The older, more embracing view is to see your dark wolf, which I have spoken of before, embrace, accept, and integrate our darker sides, otherwise it will grow stronger and unruly. To integrate it is not to destroy it. Our dark cells are part of the binary system here, just as our light cells are. So the dark wolf is not so easily sidestepped, but it is wise to learn how to work constructively with it. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning has been something of a driving force for me since I was very young. One path to this and one which I both advocate and have traveled the journey of is to let yourself be the monster, the racist, the sexist, the homophobe, the fascist. You heard it right. Let yourself be that kind of person. Do I mean turn into the world's braggiest bigot? No. However, as long as you refuse to be the sexist, the racist, etc., you will have every mental trick primed and ready to convince yourself you have never done any of those things. Very likely you have. Very likely I have. Unless you see it in you, you cannot own your mistakes. So I mean see the part of you that is already there and breathe it in, accept it. Only then when you fully own it together you can do something constructive about it. You can deal with the fear of driving it better. You can decide this is not who you want to remain as. I have used this process myself to wean out hatred of a long list of things, specifically including the military, Americans, women, animals that people eat, Muslims, Christians, and of course in a very rough crash course gaze. And you thought there was no confessional in this church. Now I'm not saying this transformation is one of adoring all those things or being blind to poor behaviors in them. But it broke the back so to speak of my blindness and unkindness in relation to who and what they really are. I allow myself the space to be what I was and decide if I wanted to be something different. I'm also not saying such behavior is a fully corrected, it's harder to correct this kind of programming than it is to pick it up. Only in that space of acceptance of what we are in that moment can we more readily embrace being different, better. Society badly needs this space, just as children need a safe space to be naughty, cry, rant, and be socially hideous. Let me expand on this a little. My country is the best country in the world. My city is so much better than other cities. My neighborhood is better. My family is the best. My kids and partner and better than yours and I and the best of them all. Isn't that lovely? Oh, but it's exactly from this loveliness that monsters are born, us and them disease. If you call the binary world I underlined in a previous service, this is it, the worst disease of humankind, not a virus like the Rona or some nasty pox, no fungus, not even something exotic like a pryon, but the basic idea that we are separate and better than others, monsters almost literally are the other. As this kind of comfortable permissiveness gets ingrained, the most heinous behavior becomes accepted and dismissive phrases like, we couldn't possibly, I can't imagine that she could ever. He was such a nice man. We shouldn't talk about such things. Monsters are grown from the manure of permissive, self-indulgent, niceness and comfort. The first of the seven principles holds a powerful counter to them and ask disease in remembering the other and in valuing them without bliddling yourself. Them and us come together as one. Agatha Christie's famed murder mystery novels use premium proper as a setting. The wealthy get together's silver service luxuries holidays and fresh roses, an excellent veil for a monster, which is after all the whole point of their stories. All the most respectable roles, the vicar, the lord and lady, the butler, the doctor showing to be villains in the end. A premium proper socially acceptable reputation is a frequent veil for monsters who are afraid of monsters. The many vile laws passed in the US lately, like a homegrown attempted religious discrimination act from Christians and conservatives afraid of gays and transgender people, of ladies clutching their purse a little closer as the black man passes them afraid of a thief. Of Christian and political leaders organising gaybashings afraid of the corruption of society, of upstanding German citizens afraid of Jewish wealth and refusal to convert to the superior religion. As we leave this place, may we take with us the piece of being one with the world and with all humanity, may we guard every contact as precious, every opportunity as unique, and move every moment as we would our last. These words by Daphne Trelor. We hope you've enjoyed this expanding Horizons podcast. These podcasts are the intellectual property of the presenter. They can be used only with the express permission and appropriate acknowledgement of the presenter. This permission can be obtained by emailing admin@unitariansa.org.au Please feel free to leave a comment or visit us on Facebook or Twitter by searching essay Unitarians or by visiting our website at unitariansa.org.au [Music] [Music]