Sacrifice?

[bruce]

Pondering this a lot, I stumbled on the idea that perhaps the reason our youth culture is obsessed with tattoos, piercing, death symbols, and now I hear cutting is the big thing, is because we have lost the idea of sacrifice as a cleansing ritual. So they inflict upon themselves not only for their ?sins? but the ?sins? of the world.

yes? no?

 

[kevin]

Bruce

I would agree.

Cutting piercing or marking by paint or tattoos is a very ancient practice so common it is almost universal in early societies.

Most often it was carried out ritually as a rite of passage into adulthood or marriage. But it also marked birth sometimes as in circumcision.

The practice is often painful and meant to be so. So for example in the early Polynesian societies men would be heavily tattooed without the use of their local drug (was it cava?) which would have deadened all of the pain. A tribe in guinea used heavy and repeated flogging of adolescent males by the older men as part of their ritual.

There is a link here. In our societies pathological self harm can involve cutting or other painful practices. The sufferers often say that physical pain is the only thing that can help them release the immense feelings of emotional pain and guilt... until next time. Their self inflictions are most often carried out in a ritualistic manner.

For them as for the examples above it is most definitely a cleansing ritual. One with elements of personal sacrifice.

--Kevin

 

[kevin]

It seems to me the concept of sacrifice is a complex many faceted thing.

I have enjoyed and see different truths in many of the posts above.

I have two more ideas which might be worth looking at.

Heres one:

Sacrifice is common and still extant in our society both in the example Bruce gave and in formal religion.

Sacrifice in the Christian religion is Jesus himself.

In Communion the priest/vicar/minister offers wine and bread quoting (something like) "This is my blood" and "This is my flesh".

Is this not a symbolic re-enactment of sacrifice?

The sacrifice of the one who said - "I die for the sins of the world"?

--Kevin

 

[pakua]

Now that the Piscean age is almost over, how does that kind of sacrifice hold up? Do you think it's still relevant?

 

[bruce]

Kevin, yes, a direct correlation. So was the scapegoat offering that the Israelites let out into the desert. Or the chosen one who was cast into the volcano, or beheaded upon the Aztec alter.

Hi Pakua. I believe it's relevant in any time period. I personally prefer a warm meditation shower to ceremonially cleanse my soul. Part of me dies, and another part is reborn. I think many people do this, enjoying the same results, even if they?re not consciously aware of it.

 

[cal val]

I didn't want to say it... yet again... but the reason I don't sacrifice is that sacrifice is antithetical to personal responsibility. So I found some good example on the net to say it for me. Anyway you cut it, sacrifice diverts responsibility from the self.

The following are excerpts from an article entitled EVASION...

Why are so many people afraid to face their emotions? Why do they evade, or deny, what is happening inside their minds?

It?s not emotions, by themselves, which frighten most people. It?s what they might have to do with the emotions once they confront them. It?s the responsibility implicit in examining one?s emotions that so many people cannot bring themselves to face.

Further complicating matters is the issue of self-sacrifice. The pervasive ideology of self-sacrifice and selflessness teaches us (at least implicitly) to be responsible for others, but to ignore or neglect responsibility for ourselves. This ideology sacrifices personal responsibility to "social" responsibility. It provides the perfect rationalization for those who don?t want to be self-responsible: "I?m not going to look inward at myself. That?s self-indulgent, selfish, and bad. I?m going to take care of others instead. It?s the right thing to do, after all." How convenient!

http://www.drhurd.com/newsletter/evasion-article.php

And another article: Normative Beliefs Regarding the Maintenance of Intimate Relationships Among Abused and Nonabused Women

This study examined the normative beliefs regarding how women act in maintaining intimate relationships. A convenience sample of 53 abused and 52 nonabused women completed self-report measures related to physical and emotional abuse by an intimate partner (Index of Spouse Abuse), normative beliefs regarding relationships (Silencing the Self), and their self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem). Results indicated that abused and nonabused women with low self-esteem tended to have higher levels of belief in societal norms and gender-specific socializations regarding how women should maintain relationships. Abused women exhibited significantly higher levels of externalized self-perception, self-sacrifice, silence, and disconnection in intimate relationships when compared to nonabused women.

http://jiv.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/5/479

Abuse, btw, includes verbal abuse.

There's more. But you've probably already stopped reading by now... *grin*

Love ya,

Val

 

[micheline]

Val, A woman sacrifices her love for oil painting for a husband who thinks it is silly and a waste of time. She fears his look of disdain and negative comments and doesnt want to make him mad.

Another woman sacrifices her need for her husband's approval to buy herself a set of oil paints

A mother sacrifices her favorite tuesday night out at the book club with her friends because her teenage daughter is nursing a heartbreak and mom suspects she could use a TV buddy.

A young man sacrifices his prized watch to a pawn shop because he loves his new wife so much and wants to buy her a gift he can't otherwise afford.

A young woman sacrifices her quarters everytime she shops at the supermarket stacking them up on the gumball machines so that little children will come along and believe in miracles.



A wise woman once told me: Never do what is good OF you. Do what is good FOR you. This makes all the difference.

 

[annietyme]

Micheline,

lovely lovely words! I wish all people would be so loving and kind.

~Annie