Category Archives: Ritual and Tradition

When We Die We Say We’ll Catch Some Blackbird’s Wing

Posted on 12 December, 2020 by alfin2101

Gulf Coast Highway was written by Nanci Griffith, James Hooker, and Danny Flowers. It was made most famous by Emmy Lou Harris and Willie Nelson. It is a short sweet song of a life of hard work, tender love, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Ritual and Tradition, Uncategorized | Comments Off on When We Die We Say We’ll Catch Some Blackbird’s Wing

Maximum Impact: How One Man Could Change the World

Posted on 27 March, 2018 by alfin2101

Global Change via Religion/Philosophy Looking at Moses, Jesus, the Buddha, Mohamed, and the Hindu legacies, one sees many long-term impacts of a global and quasi-global nature. Religion represents a deep and archetypal philosophy, which acts on multiple layers of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Jordan Peterson, Philosophy, Politics, Ritual and Tradition | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Who Stole Our Rites of Passage?

Posted on 7 February, 2014 by alfin2101

Is Decay of Society Directly Linked to Lack of Meaningful Rites of Passage? In traditional societies, life is full of rites of passage — public affirmations of a person’s movement through life. Some spare remnants of traditional passage rites continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Education, Ritual and Tradition | Comments Off on Who Stole Our Rites of Passage?

Monsters in the Pencil Box

Posted on 2 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Dr. Harris did an experiment where children imagined a monster in the box instead of pencils. They still said that the monster wasn’t real, but when the experimenter left the room, they moved away from the box—just in case… _ … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Knowledge, Ritual and Tradition | Comments Off on Monsters in the Pencil Box

We Are Marching to Utopia: We Will Soon Be There — Special Christmas Reprise

Posted on 25 December, 2013 by alfin2101

A classic Al Fin article, originally published on Al Fin, and since re-published multiple times on various Al Fin blogs, for special occasions. …optimists and idealists — with their ignorance about the truths of human nature and human society, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Pram, Ritual and Tradition | Tagged | Comments Off on We Are Marching to Utopia: We Will Soon Be There — Special Christmas Reprise

Should Psychedelic Drugs Be Given to Children?

Posted on 2 October, 2013 by alfin2101

At the Al Fin Institute for the Dangerous Child, we are famous for our use of induced precocity in the shaping of strong, independent, competent, broadly skilled, self-directing and self-supporting young people. We are liberal practitioners of the “rite of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Human Brain, Ritual and Tradition, Sensitive and Critical Periods of Development | Comments Off on Should Psychedelic Drugs Be Given to Children?

Human Ritual; Don’t Throw Out the Baby with the Bath Water

Posted on 5 February, 2013 by alfin2101

Modern societies are discarding past human rituals at an accelerating — perhaps a reckless — rate.  But there is much human wisdom embedded in past ritual.  We should be careful not to throw out essential wisdoms in our frantic attempts … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Enlightenment, Philosophy, Ritual and Tradition | 1 Comment

We Are Marching to Utopia . . . We Will Soon Be There!

Posted on 3 February, 2013 by alfin2101

Originally published on Al Fin …optimists and idealists — with their ignorance about the truths of human nature and human society, and their naive hopes about what can be changed — have wrought havoc for centuries….instead of utopian efforts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Enlightenment, Everything You Think You Know Just Ain't So, Philosophy, Pram, Ritual and Tradition | Comments Off on We Are Marching to Utopia . . . We Will Soon Be There!