Why we have lost “sacred”; thoughts by Annimac

In summary — Why have we lost Sacred ?:

• The modern world has focused on material gain rather than the deeper human values of a healthy society (in contrast to most first nations’ cultures, which understand that human relationships based on respect, dignity and truth are far more important than material anything)
• The focus on materialism has resulted in the loss of opportunities/rituals for the young to learn their sought-after deeper values as our traditional powerful institutions of Education, Health, Justice, and Government fail to maintain these values
• A vacuum of need is created
• Technology has filled the vacuum for the younger generations with unlimited opportunities for social engagement, which usually is the prime mechanism for learning and experiencing sacred values, but
• The level of human social experience possible through social media is too shallow to allow deep rituals to develop, be explored, or even be discussed, i.e., no development nor sharing of our previously sacred values
• The values established through social media are predominantly based on the external judgement of strangers, i.e., those not living together in the real world, who have no other experience to judge on except superficial external characteristics of the people involved, such as who says what, wears what, is seen where, appears to know the right people, and is seen by how many others (hits) etc., all of which occur and change at the whim of insubstantive leaders of that social group; their leadership is ephemeral (brief), based on the immediate gratification of members’ needs that can never be fully satisfied in these groups, so their leadership holds a kind of desperation against non-members’ influence
• The social groups often become the “tribe” wielding inordinate and unilateral influence over most of its members, non-adherents being summarily excommunicated without recourse
• The learnings through social media predominantly focus only on shallow values, the leaders being either unable or unwilling to delve deeper
• There is nothing sacred within social media, yet it has become the most powerful institution in our society, today and tomorrow….

Expanded response: Why Have We Lost Sacred:

Sacred is one of the highest & therefore, most powerful values held by human beings. It’s right up there with hope.

We learn sacred through rituals and ritualistic behaviours. Learning starts at birth (some say at conception), with the strongest, deepest learning generally achieved by early teens in the developed world. Family, therefore, has the greatest influence in teaching sacred.

Society’s institutions individually define sacred values within their own domains, to support their own reasons for existence, and therefore their own power structures, to reinforce their status quo as an institution within the existing society.

There is usually a considerable number of shared sacred beliefs across all institutions within a society because they are part of one defined entity, be it a nation, a culture, a language group, or an industry. Also, societal institutions usually share a common interest to maintain all their positions of power — if one changes, that has a destabilising influence on all. Institutions must be predominantly anti-change. Institutions include Education, Health, Religion, Legal System, Governments, and increasingly Professions/Industries.

When any institution’s power base significantly alters, it loses control over its sacred values, usually for the following two reasons.

1. Members of the institution adopt different sacred values from more powerful forces from outside the control of that institution, such as is now occurring with social media relationships.
2. The institution does not modify its sacred values to maintain relevance to its members, who may remain members of the institution, but they show less adherence to the institutions’ sacred values, such as is occurring within most Western democracies toward the most traditionally powerful institutions — Religion, Education, Government.
3. All established institutions around the world are losing their dominating power of defining social values to what is now a greater value-defining force: the Virtual world through electronic technologies.
4. The most powerful institution now formulating its preferred operation in the world is the newest, the Technology Industry. ( This industry is superior at achieving materialistic goals while espousing the benefits for humanity. Perhaps our greatest Irony. )
5. The degree of power shift away from all traditional institutions appears to reflect the degree of individual freedom lived by the members of each society. i.e., the societies maintaining the greatest amount of control over their members seem to be those with the most fundamental, ism-oriented sacred beliefs, such as fundamental Islam, far-right Westerners, and fundamental Catholicism in poorer nations.
6. Cults are apparently increasing, probably because relevant sacred rituals are simultaneously declining in the lives of those under 40.
7. Wealthier societies seem to be showing the greatest loss of traditional sacred beliefs, likely because of the rapidly changing lifestyles offamily members and workplace cultures.

How many families genuinely share a daily meal with the opportunity for face-to-face discussions? How many families spend quality time together in non-structured activities, such as tossing a ball around, going on a picnic, or making music together? How many parents truly know what their children are experiencing and learning through the virtual world?

How many parents or caregivers even care, with so many of them desperately struggling to maintain the economic demands of their lifestyles? In the stressful lives of most parents, lifestyle-maintaining income generation has far greater demand on their attention and stress levels than the psycho/social needs of their children. This is basic survival mode in a world without sacred values.

Our Education system at all levels struggles to understand and provide for the rapidly changing needs of its clients: today’s students and tomorrow’s society. Teachers are caught up in the anti-change forces of the Education Institution and the demands for change from students, abdicating parents, and popularity-focused governments. As with all traditional institutions in the developed world, the “staff” within those institutions are increasingly treated badly, with a lack of professional respect and impossible workloads filled with administrative rather than people-based tasks.

Religious institutions ignore the changing reality of their members’ life demands, expecting the congregation to no longer maintain useful rules and rituals. Some of their ‘staff’ operate abusive relationships based on the old power standard of being beyond reproach. A sign of the diminishing power of these institutions is the degree to which their members are demanding changes in behaviour and attitudes both inside and outside the institutions, a previously unheard-of challenge to authority. Religion is Big Business.

The Justice system is failing to meet the needs of our changing society, incarcerating more people for lesser crimes while the incidence of violence and major crime, particularly within the institutions themselves, is increasing. Fairness has always been a hallmark of the Western legal systems; this is no longer true. Citizens no longer expect fairness nor hold respect for the legal system & most of its practitioners. Justice now seems to meet no one’s needs.

The Health institution is losing respect as the pharmaceutical industry’s power gains paramount influence over accepted practices, with profit increasingly being the main driver for everyone in the middle and upper echelons of the health institution. Health is Big Business. Society members are losing respect and trust that the institution is there for the greater benefit of the common weal.

The same is true for Governments at all levels, with the shift being witnessed where the lawmakers and highest authorities of the nation no longer seem to have society’s general well being and healthy development as a priority over narrow special interests including the employees own financial gain and status. Government is now Big Business.

A quote I admire: to adjust well to a sick society is not a sign of health.

Am I saddened by the loss of sacred values? Yes.

Am I despairing over the loss of sacred values? No. While so many people are harmed and diminished by the loss of sacred, I remain an optimistic futurist who believes that the inherent deeper human need for sacred values will overcome the current disintegration of positive rituals. The higher human spirit will prevail. The sacred is being looked for and found, even if rather tentatively and with strong opposition.

Evidence is occurring if we look for it, particularly among the growing number of people on the spectrum of extraordinary mental abilities who have an innate wisdom that pursuing materialism isn’t the greatest goal for a healthy society. Or for happiness.

Also, first-nation societies around the world are being seen and understood for the first time by the dominant societies; we are seeing, hearing, and feeling a different way of living and understanding our full world, both organically and spiritually.

Unlike in the formative years for most Baby Boomers, Gen X, and half of Gen Y, i.e., those over 40, we can now witness a better set of values based on respect, dignity, and honesty — those wondrous deep sacred ones: respect for our planet and people, honest relationships always expressed with dignity.

The ultimate proof for my optimism: We are not alone in having this discussion. A growing number of people planet-wide are quietly manifesting a functioning world based on those three values. They actively care and share.

Social media Influencers are losing their power to influence.

Thx for the opportunity to add my thoughts to the discussion.

Bestest

Annimac