You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. ― Jesus of Nazareth
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. ― Albert Einstein
This post continues the theme of: Jesus Unpalatable Truth About Our Human Behavior? And takes up the self-knowledge and self awareness challenge in both Albert Einstein and Jesus of Nazareth's comments. By exploring the simple truth of humanity's semiconscious reality, by confessing the simple truth that I cannot explain "how" I think, talk, & walk, as an adult human being. How about you? Like me, can you consciously explain "what it is" you are doing while thinking, talking, & walking? Yet, just like me, are you unaware of the subconsciously orchestrated reality of this quintessentially human behavior?
While in the context of Jesus' "you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free," and Albert Einstein's “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” If we talked face to face, would we agree that our human form of consciousness, involves the conscious & subconscious nature of experience? And if we admitted to each other that we simply cannot explain the subconscious nature of "how" we perform the experience of being human? Would this simple truth lead us to a self-experienced understanding of Jesus' spiritual diagnosis of our semiconscious reality? As the oldest truth about our reality, known to humanity?
As explored in the post: The Felt & Unfelt Reality of Our Human Existence? And would this simple and oldest truth about our human reality, inspire you to reimagine the historical purpose & intention of the Jesus story? And why the natural philosophers of an Axial-age period in human history, developed their parables of awakening? And in the context of both Einstein & Jesus comments about the truth of our human understanding of our own reality. I ask the Google AI this question: "did the natural philosophers of an Axial-age period in human history, develop parables of awakening?" And I insert the intro to the AI response & footnote 1 for your intellect's consideration and your body-wise contemplation.
"Yes, the natural philosophers and spiritual thinkers of the Axial Age (roughly 8th to 3rd centuries BCE) developed profound parables and allegories of awakening. During this period of immense intellectual and cognitive shifts, thinkers across Eurasia began moving away from relying strictly on myths, ritual sacrifices, and localized tribal gods. Instead, they focused on individual consciousness, self-transcendence, and personal awakening." Please see the full footnote.
A Second Coming of Mind: Awakening?
for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
In context of the historical purpose & intention of the Jesus story, as good news that could be preached in whole world? And the entwined subconscious and conscious nature of our human experience of consciousness? Is the Jesus' story of resurrection based on the historical development of parable sayings and stories about the human experience? Sayings & stories intuitively created for their "subconscious" effect on our human behavior? And did the ancient saying "know thyself" inspire resurrected hero stories about the personal experience of awakening to our semiconscious reality?
Subconscious storytelling tropes are the hidden, universal narrative patterns that reflect our collective psychology rather than deliberate plot devices. They function as a "narrative GPS", tapping directly into the human experience and fulfilling our psychological needs for growth, closure, and symbolic understanding.
The subconscious motivation of biologically conceived creatures, who's bodies are immersed in reality, while our biologically conceived mind's become immersed in linguistic recursion? As the age-old problem of our body-mind consciousness? A problem arguably delt with, in subconscious storytelling tropes about Jesus' conception, birth, life, transfiguration, crucifixion, resurrection, & ascension? And do these tropes use the simultaneously describing & disguising power of language, to gift to human history, a timeless understanding of our semiconscious reality & the experience of self-transcendence?
Is the actual experience of self-transcendence, the whole point of the Jesus story? With the melodramatic climax to the story, cryptically smuggling the very method of self-transcendence into history, for anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear? Like the original ending to the gospel of Mark, for example, as interpreted on websites like BiblicalArcheology.org And can reading the original ending with eyes to see, so to speak, lead you towards the actual experience of self-transcendence, and an embodied understanding the historical purpose of the narrative? Please consider:
(The original ending of the Gospel of Mark concludes abruptly at Mark 16:8 with the women fleeing the empty tomb in terror. The final line reads: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
Scholarly consensus indicates that the famous "Longer Ending" (Mark 16:9–20)—which features post-resurrection appearances, the Great Commission, and the handling of serpents—was added later by copyists to provide a more conventional resolution.
The original, abrupt 16:8 ending serves as a literary "cliffhanger." Many biblical scholars believe Mark intended this abrupt finish deliberately. By ending on a note of fear and silence, the author actively forces the reader to confront the reality of the resurrection and make their own choice about whether to believe and share the news.) A Google AI Overview
And in the existential context of our semiconscious reality and self-transcendence, please read the original narrative:
"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid, (Mark 16: 1-8).
And please consider with your intellect and body-wise contemplation, whether this abrupt ending to the first gospel account of the Jesus story to be written. Is actually a cryptic retelling of the oldest truth about your own reality, known to humanity? And whether what you read in the excerpt above is about your body's "immersion" in reality, and your mind's immersion in linguistic recursion? Whether the words: "Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
Are actually cryptic allusions to an embodied experience of your body's immersion in cosmic reality? Like cryptic allusions to the actual method of self-transcendence, in the words: “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” As allusions to the constant rolling in space-time, of this 3rd rock from the Sun, and the oldest primordial illusion known to all humanity? As the visual illusion of the Sun "appearing" to rise above a horizon, during the birth of each new period of daylight daytime? The embodied experience of which, is arguably the oldest known method of self-transcendence, known to humanity?
And is this undeniable visual illusion of the cosmic reality our bodies are immersed within, further compounded by the consensus-reality word; Sunrise? Was this the cryptic wisdom intention of the words: "Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise?" Is it possible that the story of Jesus, the Christ, has always been about self-transcendence and the natural cosmic reality we are all immersed within?
Is it possible that we humans suffer from the self-deceptive nature, of the surface-level impressions of reality, received by the biological reality of our eyes? And that we compound the visual nature of self-deception, with the cognitive illusions of "knowing" inherent in the communication tool of language? Slipping so easily into confusing the experience of communication, with reality comprehension? Because of the subconsciously orchestrated and functionally "automatic" nature of our "adult" human behaviors?
Is this why Jesus' spiritual diagnosis of the semiconscious nature of our typically adult reality, includes talk about children? Please consider:
(Jesus highly valued children, using them as symbols of humility and faith. He famously welcomed them, stating that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. He taught that adults must adopt a child's humble, trusting nature to enter heaven, and fiercely warned against causing children to stumble.
Jesus' primary teachings on children include:
Welcoming and Blessing: In the gospels, Jesus rebuked his disciples for keeping children away from him. He said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these". He then took them in his arms and blessed them.
Faith and Humility: When the disciples asked who was the greatest in heaven, Jesus placed a child among them as an example. He declared that unless adults "change and become like little children," they will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Severe Warnings Against Causing Harm: In Matthew 18:6, Jesus warns that anyone who causes one of these "little ones" who believe in him to stumble would be better off having a heavy millstone hung around their neck and drowned in the sea.
Valuing the Vulnerable: Jesus taught that whoever welcomes a child in his name welcomes Him. He also noted in Matthew 18:10 that their angels in heaven continually look upon the face of God, emphasizing the spiritual importance of children.) A Google AI Overview
And as I finish this post, continuing this series theme of good news that can be preached to the whole world. About the cryptically wise meaning of the words "and then the end will come?" Through a conscious realization about the deceiving power of the word. That enables an increasingly urgent need to balance our biologically receptive & psychologically projective, experience of consciousness.
I can only hope that I've provided some useful food for thought about the universal reality of being human. And why historical figures like Buddha & Jesus, are also known as enlightened, realized beings? Please let me know what you feel and think about this blog post, in the historical context of truth, goodness, & beauty.
Best wishes,
David Bates.
Footnotes:
1. (Yes, the natural philosophers and spiritual thinkers of the Axial Age (roughly 8th to 3rd centuries BCE) developed profound parables and allegories of awakening. During this period of immense intellectual and cognitive shifts, thinkers across Eurasia began moving away from relying strictly on myths, ritual sacrifices, and localized tribal gods. Instead, they focused on individual consciousness, self-transcendence, and personal awakening. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- Ancient China (Taoism): Thinkers like Zhuangzi employed fantastical allegories and parables to describe transcending rigid societal rules. His famous "Butterfly Dream"—where he questions whether he is a man dreaming he is a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he is a man—serves as a core Taoist metaphor for awakening from illusion and seeing the fluid, subjective nature of reality. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Ancient India (Vedic/Upanishadic): The sages of the Upanishads (circa 800–500 BCE) viewed material reality and everyday suffering as a state of ignorance or sleep. They frequently used parables—such as the Ruler of Death explaining the "chariot of the body" or the famous story of two birds perched on the same tree—to illustrate the moment an individual awakens to the true, unchanging nature of the Self (the Atman). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- Ancient Greece (Presocratics and Platonism): Early natural philosophers and thinkers like Heraclitus and Parmenides spoke of moving from darkness to light. Later, Plato would famously build upon these early inquiries to formulate the Allegory of the Cave, arguably the ultimate Western parable of awakening, which describes the journey of freeing oneself from the shadows of perception to perceive ultimate Truth. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- Read more about the Taoist approach to understanding reality and illusion in this analysis of Zhangzi's (Chuang-tzu's) Butterfly Dream Parable.
- Discover how these stories function as practical guides in The Upanishads for Awakening.
- Explore the broader historical and psychological shifts during this epoch through the Axial Age Thought - The Human Journey overview.) A Google AI Overview
2. (Subconscious storytelling tropes are the hidden, universal narrative patterns that reflect our collective psychology rather than deliberate plot devices. They function as a "narrative GPS", tapping directly into the human experience and fulfilling our psychological needs for growth, closure, and symbolic understanding.
These deep psychological conventions operate in the background of almost every genre and medium. The most prevalent include:
1. The Shadow Self
The Trope: The antagonist isn't just an external threat, but a physical or psychological manifestation of the protagonist's repressed flaws, fears, or unacknowledged desires. Why it works: It visually maps internal conflict, forcing characters to confront their own subconscious to achieve growth.
2. The Recurring Nightmare or Vision
The Trope: The character experiences the same symbolic dream or vision, which evolves as their waking mind processes a deeper emotional truth. Why it works: It functions as a private story within the story, slowly revealing psychological realities long before the conscious plot catches up.
3. Symbolic Environmental Mirroring
The Trope: The external setting—whether it is a contained, claustrophobic room or a vast, isolating landscape—directly mirrors the protagonist's internal mental state. Why it works: It grounds an abstract emotional state in a physical reality, allowing the audience to "feel" the subconscious mood without explicit exposition.
4. The Unconscious Mentor
The Trope: A child, an eccentric animal companion, or a seemingly random bystander acts as a guide, unknowingly offering the protagonist the exact wisdom they need. Why it works: It represents the protagonist's own suppressed intuition speaking through a seemingly naïve external voice.
5. The Fatal Flaw Manifestation
The Trope: The protagonist's personal defect (e.g., arrogance, fear of abandonment) physically dictates their external journey, leading them into specific, recurring traps. Why it works: It externalizes subconscious self-sabotage, teaching the character that their greatest obstacle is their own mind, not the world.
Subverting or leaning into these familiar patterns can drastically alter a narrative's emotional resonance. Understanding these subconscious conventions enables a deeper grasp of how an audience decodes characters and conflicts.) A Google AI Overview
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