@Diacre

Awakening My Sacred Masculine – The Hunter Gatherer

The Role of the Automobile

I felt that this section really covered a specific issue that is covered by many of the others quite well. While it makes some good points, I think our love of the automobile has been taught to us by some pretty expensive commercials.

Hunting and Hiking

Hunting should be pure, but modern hunting rarely resembles ancient hunting in any way. Hunters find most of their food at the store and if they don’t succeed in hunting it doesn’t keep them from eating. Technology favors the hunter nowadays. I’m not going to say that hunting still isn’t dangerous or difficult but things have gotten much easier from the days of hunter gathering tribes. For some though, hunting isn’t about the kill. For some hunting and fishing are excuses for getting closer to nature in an acceptable activity. How many people do you know who spend whole days fishing, don’t catch anything and come home happier than before. That is why the author connected hunting with hiking. Hiking is another way that one can get closer to nature, enjoy solitude or camaraderie as they choose and enjoy the sounds, smells, sights and more of the world around them.

Business

In the modern world business is more clearly hunter gatherer energy than sports and hunting combined ( technically they are anyway ). These people use the energy and skills of a hunter gatherer to find customers, partners, advertisers and they do make an impact in their community. Because of this we recognize them for what they provide the community. We must ask if it is alway justified. In shadow energy of business that is pure greed they have learned to use our hunter gatherer instincts against us – or rather for themselves. The word need no longer means necessity and instead means it will give you status in the community and thus is collapsed with want. It is not to say that the hunt for stuff we want does not have its place, but we must make sure it is not just an addiction to stuff.
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Addiction

Addiction shows off the pure form of hunter gatherer shadow energy. We have already discussed in sports how some people become addicted to winning. But addiction is almost reverse hunter gatherer energy. The addicted are actually hunted by their addictions. Try as they might they must constantly be on guard against their addiction which always seems to find them. Consider a drug addict who both hides their addiction ( at least at first ) and gets their fix despite the odds. Are they the hunter or the prey and who is the victor. Luckily, any addictions I might have both don’t seem very strong or very destructive – but that doesn’t give me much experience to write from. Also, I haven’t had to deal with addictions from the people in my life so that is a bonus as well.

Hunters For Justice: Spiritual Warriors

I’ve made a couple references to Ralph Nader in this post. From my vantage point and during my lifetime he is a true hunter for justice. The quote from earlier about shame and spiritual warriors, “…is it not true that authentic prophets risk shame? They too risk being expelled from the community, literally or figuratively…” made me think of him the first and subsequent times I read it. Others might see Gandhi, Jesus, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. They were all mentioned in the book and rightly so. These people weren’t looking to belong to the world as it was, they already belonged to the world as it should be. In that space they felt no shame in being who they had to be to make people look at the injustices around them.

Another important distinction is the distinction between a warrior and a soldier. That distinction will be made clearer as I discuss the next metaphor which is all about spiritual warriors. Warriors go into battle, while soldiers are sent. Warriors fight because they love and soldiers fight because they are told to. How can we raise more spiritual warriors? Perhaps this will become clear during the discussion of the next metaphor.

Tags: Gender Studies, Masculinity, Ontology, sociology