Shamanism and gullibility

February 4th, 2024

Conditioning makes everything easier and palpable and bearable. The moment we are born, somebody or something will condition us to behave and respond in a particular way — either socially expected or mentally needed for participation and survival in life. I know I am conditioned to react to all things in a particular way and I only recently started asking questions if my responses are correct and are really mine. Changing conditioned behavior is extremely difficult and painful, even when (or rather especially when) a person is aware of doing things without truly knowing if they are correct or only expected things.

Still, it can be done with things we were conditioned to in our lifetime. What about all the subconscious conditioning of the human race that has been going on since the dawn of cultural and social relations hundreds of thousands of years ago? Can it be done? Seeing the world around me, I doubt it. Especially concerning the prevalent human gullibility that is on display in all aspects of our lives. We have been conditioned to believe some people and some of their words beyond any potential sliver of doubt and that conditioning started with the first attempts to explain the natural world and provide comfort from fear of the darkness of human life.

I am sure among the first shamans or holy men some truly believed that they could speak to the gods and influence their actions. But for the majority, it was a discovery that, through the gullibility of people and public shaming of the doubters, they can perpetuate the grift of religion. Through selective usage of spirituality, people can be conditioned to believe absurdities and kill and die for idiotic ramblings with conviction and a smile on their faces. Looking at all the populists on the rise in all corners of the globe and their supporters frothing in the mouth at their platitudes, the gullibility conditioning worked perfectly and is very useful for the upcoming downfall of all decency.