Over the years i have noticed the power of a story and how it plays out so here is some of my thoughts on it
Stories are powerful,-Brian Whistler
Stories appear to be more powerful than knowledge. We are emotionally driven creatures and therefore an emotive story will capture our attention unlike data. Emotion holds more sway than logic. We seem hardwired to latch onto a story and dwell on the content until it matters little whether it is true; rather it becomes true simply because we think about it.
Example, notice how a movie can elicit tears, a book, reflection. Most movies and books are not based on a true story but we are wired to pay attention to them. Emotion is the driver, not facts. "Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t real, but they also know that books about unicorns are true books.”– Ursula K. Le Guin.
Take the story of Father Christmas on the sleigh delivering presents. We jingle bellishly purchase presents over the festive period as per the mythological santa claus cue. Take advertising, we are like marionettes on a string behaving according to the spin put on a product. At a different level quantum particles at the atomic level behave according to the observers’ expectation. We think therefore it is so.
Reverence
The Old Testament books are held in reverence because we are told that it is God’s word. When the ‘good book’ says ‘…do not kill’, it holds a reverence power in our human mind. Because we often reread the texts over and over whilst reflecting on it, it develops a power of its own. It is a story, like any story but with a reverence power to it.
Why is the Old and New Testament religion given such gravitas, any religion for that matter? It hasn’t proven to consistently solve society’s woes. Isn’t philosophy and phycology perhaps in a better position to come up with a better story to live life by? Surely reason has a better chance to resolve our societal issues?
Power in Prayer?
Perhaps a reason why philosophy hasn’t held sway could be that we don’t usually pray with logical humanistic ideas. Prayer appears to align our thoughts and keeps us on the righteous path.
So perhaps our childlike hardwired acceptances of stories are the reason for the longevity and success of current religions. To me it would seem appropriate to dissect the useful ingredients of religions to come up with a rational system or philosophy that balances and takes humanity forward.
For me if a humanistic philosophy were to start with ‘… and this is not the truth but a workable solution, he / she was not a god but a very wise man / woman…’ I would be willing to listen to the tenets. Surely it is very important to think and question everything in order to make a better world? …… ps. Thats why i am here at Mr Money Mustache, to get inspired and hopefully inspire others
