Image by Montse González from Pixabay
No, it is events that give rise to fear - when another has power over them or can prevent them, that person becomes able to inspire fear. How is the fortress destroyed? Not by iron or fire, but by judgements… here is where we must begin, and it is from this front that we must seize the fortress
and throw out the tyrants.”
Epictetus, Discourses, 4.1.85-86; 87a
Today is Friday the 13th, and apparently since the arrest of hundreds of Knights Templar in the Middle Ages, or the times of Joshua ben Josef’s famous Last Supper, or some other “meaningful” time we connect “bad” things to them happening on a Friday the 13th. It’s rather inescapable, as the Friday the 13th legend seems to have woven itself into Indo-European informed cultures all over the world.
But really, what’s happening on this day of "bad luck" is our ancestral inner-calendar giving us a place to put our fears, our concerns, and our irrationality, because at its core, the whole “Friday the 13th” mythos is nothing more than:
Superstition.
And it’s superstitions that create the space for “bad things” to happen, even though we know that when we’re riddled with inner fear, we can only see the “bad” things around us, therefore honing in on any negative things out in the world, and ultimately, weakening us from within. Weakening, in all truth, our souls.
The ancient Stoics believed that nothing could touch the soul except for the being to whom the soul “belongs”, and this is true. We see throughout history the horrific tortures and sufferings we inflict upon one another. Without even looking hard, we can easily find a trail of broken body after broken body left in the wake of injustice, prejudice and ignorance. We’ve also seen indomitable will and adamantine Courage coming from those very same broken bodies. Why? Because only you have access to your soul. Fear, the enemy of good sense and judgement, doesn’t pick locks or scale the walls of your inner fortress.
Which means: YOU allow entry to the enemy, fear.
When we surrender to ego’s desire to be fearful, we lose the ability to keep secure our soul, our inner fortress.
... that's because we’re the only ones with the keys.
(See y’all tomorrow)
But really, what’s happening on this day of "bad luck" is our ancestral inner-calendar giving us a place to put our fears, our concerns, and our irrationality, because at its core, the whole “Friday the 13th” mythos is nothing more than:
Superstition.
And it’s superstitions that create the space for “bad things” to happen, even though we know that when we’re riddled with inner fear, we can only see the “bad” things around us, therefore honing in on any negative things out in the world, and ultimately, weakening us from within. Weakening, in all truth, our souls.
The ancient Stoics believed that nothing could touch the soul except for the being to whom the soul “belongs”, and this is true. We see throughout history the horrific tortures and sufferings we inflict upon one another. Without even looking hard, we can easily find a trail of broken body after broken body left in the wake of injustice, prejudice and ignorance. We’ve also seen indomitable will and adamantine Courage coming from those very same broken bodies. Why? Because only you have access to your soul. Fear, the enemy of good sense and judgement, doesn’t pick locks or scale the walls of your inner fortress.
Which means: YOU allow entry to the enemy, fear.
When we surrender to ego’s desire to be fearful, we lose the ability to keep secure our soul, our inner fortress.
... that's because we’re the only ones with the keys.
(See y’all tomorrow)
RSS Feed
