16. Materialism is the opium of modern people

January 17, 2018 Sticky Thoughts No Comments

Materialism nowadays resembles a religion in many aspects. People ‘believe’ in it not just in a superficial way. They ‘believe’ in it in a very deep, semi-religious way. In addition to this, present-day materialism often leaves aside rationalism and in doing so, goes back to magic.

◊◊◊

Of course, nothing seems more real than something that is ‘materially real’. There is no problem with this. The problem starts when one only takes into account things that can be talked about as material, to the detriment of and even discarding things that may be equally real and important, but not so obviously material. This is an unrealistic view of the world, while of course the whole reality is real, not only the part that one wants to see.

◊◊◊

Concrete things, like talismans of all sorts and kinds, have always been important assets in magic. This is not because of what they are, but because they are. The fact-of-being-material, the concreteness on itself, has ‘meaning’ for the human subconscious. This is not the result of rational thinking. It’s the result of a human weak spot.

◊◊◊

New in our present age is the fact that concreteness is now also seen as the epigone of rationalism. This goes much further than ever before, inappropriately lending to the underlying ‘magic’ a very strong hold on our very science, our thinking, etc. This is not OK at all.

◊◊◊

For instance in medicine, it leads to a flood of suffering. Patients and doctors alike are hooked on the ‘concrete explanation’. Something material has to be found. Otherwise it’s not ‘real’ and therefore ‘imagined’ or even a downright ‘fake’.

◊◊◊

‘One is not really ill if no material proof can be found.’ So starts the quest for concrete proof. So starts the forgetting that the psyche of a person is very important for his health and well-being in all aspects, at all levels.

◊◊◊

Materialism has become the ‘opium’ of modern people. It keeps people away from using their own inner strength and possibilities. This is then taken advantage of for the purpose of power and money by people and organizations that happen to be in the right ‘niche’, as in the case of religion.

◊◊◊

They say: ‘history repeats itself.’

◊◊◊

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

50. Placebo: I will please… whom?

Let’s journey a bit on the well-known placebo-effect: getting better from medication until you discover it’s a sugar pill or otherwise doesn’t work in itself. You have probably heard of it. But do you think it’s far from you sickbed? Think again! There’s no medication coming on the market unless it’s been scientifically compared to Read the full article…

20. The subconscious: dustbin or city of angels?

There are two very opposing views on matters of the subconscious. As the title of this text suggests, one is rather negative and the other, well, altogether more positive. ◊◊◊ Freud is exemplar for looking at the subconscious as mainly a kind of dustbin for repressed emotions and things that in one way or another Read the full article…

41. Emptiness!

Dear reader, let me take you on a journey to Emptiness. No, I have not suddenly become a fan of nothingness or nihilism. Neither did I invent/discover the concept of Emptiness. I’m too late for that. It was already invented/discovered some 1800 years ago by an Indian guy called Nagaryuna. Thanks to him, it became Read the full article…

Translate »