The Confusion of Reality

Mornin’ All You All,

The days are getting cooler, or at least it’s cooled off a bit ... here in New Jersey. I’m preparing for my move down south (and west) and the packers are packing as I’m sitting here writing ... so it will in fact be happening. That makes it damned hard to get all the things done that are a’looming on the horizon of my attention and calling to me. But I’ve have decided to remain faithful and write my blog anyway, a kind of sequential monogamy with the keyboard ... for now.

It’s been an interesting week around the world as well, in yesterday’s blog I shared some of my thoughts on the “reality” of the Israeli move out of Gaza – I know I open more questions than suggested any kind of answers. Then today I see that the pope has decided to go to a synagogue in Germany as part of his trip there. And, of course he’s been “installed” now as the new pope of the Catholic Church – the Holy Roman Catholic Church – birthplace of my own religious indoctrination. You’ll want to check out BBC’s sidebar on the “Symbols of Power” associated with the new pope, use this link:

Benedict XVI is installed as Pope: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4477769.stm

This is exactly what I’m takin’bout! The symbols of power, little has changed in the installation process of a pope in the Catholic Church in centuries, it’s one of the world’s oldest rituals, including the symbols of power I reference from the BBC article on-line above. These are the products of social ontology, of a reality coming into being as a result of “declaration” - someone declaring something to be true and as a result that which has been declared becoming the agreed upon reality. This reality goes beyond just the surface structure of agreement, beyond the “speech act” to a real investment into constructed reality. The Pope now has “powers” that go beyond those available to him just days ago, and much, much further than what was available to him months ago – simply by the power of this declaration ... and it’s attendant agreements. What this Pope now says becomes law for millions of Catholics around the world, and while some will not be paying much attention to this, others will treat it as Divine Law. This will be especially true for many, many ordained priests and nuns who serve in the Catholic Church. The word of this man will be seen by many, many of these people as now having the power of G-d invested in what he says. This is an amazing transmogrification, from person to priest to personage of G-d.

Now whether you are a true believer or not, you can agree that the power of the mass agreement and the movement of the masses created by such declarations, especially when they are shared by as many as will participate in this one around the installation of a new Pope in the Catholic Church. This is the basis for fanaticism and a reason to fear the masses ... or be thrilled with the prospect of the power to shift the course of history. The question is what you believe those who hold such power of declaration will do with this power.

I’ve received some questions and have had some raise concerns about what I’m writing here with regard to the very idea of a “social ontology.” What these questions and concerns share in common is a fear that this idea I’m presenting (as though I’ve created it or that I’m promoting it) is not something we should be toying with ... and the fact that I’m being so lucid about it and around it should give rise to the same questions and concerns about about me as the author of such thoughts. In other words, this “social ontology” stuff is scary because it suggests that people are not running their own minds and others may have influence, even significant influence, over what they think and therefore act upon. Well ... DUH!!!

Allow me a quote: “The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race of his holy cause.” Now THAT’S SCARY!

How about one more for the road: “It is the true believer’s ability to shut his eyes and stop his ears to facts which in his own mind deserve never to be seen nor heard which is the source of his unequalled fortitude and consistency.” How’s that for SCARY?!!?!?

These are not my quotes, nor are they new ideas, they are those of the twentieth century social philosopher Eric Hoffer. His work is a treatise on social ontology, the creation of reality and the structure of mass thinking and beliefs. Yet people in general don’t read this stuff and even when they do they tend to think - “Oh, he’s talking about them.” You know “them” the ‘other people’ the one’s ‘over there’ not me. This is exactly what those who understand the power of social ontology depend on, that those they are speaking to, delivering information to, influencing and persuading will think that it’s not them. Then the result will be that before they’ve heard anything they will have become the “them” - a unified thought-field moving in unison to a drummer beating out a march to be followed without question.

One more from Hoffer: “Fear and Freedom are mutually exclusive.”

Now what Hoffer describes is a great, easy introduction to the thinking of mass movement, beliefs and the structure of social ontology – his books are most less than two hundred pages each and mostly filled with one or two line aphorisms. Yet he doesn’t go into how these structures perpetrate the minds of these “true believers” in regard to the technology used by the perpetrators. Specifically, I mean how they get the points across and into what becomes “common knowledge.” This is a fantastic point to begin from again.

The essential building blocks of the social form of reality, what it’s constructed from exists almost wholly in language. Now anyone considering this may say to me, “But Joseph there’s more to reality than words – there the reality of the actions themselves.” I would of course agree that this Reality exists as well, the actions themselves – but how do we know what these actions mean to us, how do we decide to make sense of these actions? I’m proposing that the words we attach to these actions, the “descriptions” of the acts become the reality we perceive ... in spite of the Reality. This is the unique power of declaration.

Declaration is the straightest and simplest path from Reality to reality. In the statement of “what is” it becomes so – ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PERSON SO SPEAKING IS INVESTED WITH THE POWER OF THE CROWD OR MASS. This is embedded in the history of humanity. A declaration can begin a war or put one to end – when it is spoken  by those who represent the masses who are committed to the power invested in them.

Yet the confusion that has begun to swirl in the minds of some people who’ve reached out to me directly and indirectly suggest that I must be up to something by sharing these consideration with you via this blog. That I am somehow manipulating their thinking because I am laying out the structure of social ontology so directly and openly. It demonstrates to them that I must be somehow a capable player in this domain of influence, persuasion and the general construction of opinion – maybe even theirs. They are wise to think this, as it is largely true that those who understand this structure will be likely to be most adept at using it as well. And the most effective way to use it is to point to it directly while using it indirectly – this is one of the great “tricks of the trade,” so to speak. Yet the training has been, “Don’t let people confuse you with that silly talk that you don’t run your own mind ... listen while I tell you what to think!” Then this training goes on to create the doubt about learning about such things as the structure and nature of influence and persuasion, even coercion.

This is the “man behind the curtain” effect. That the one talking must be a false god. That regardless of what’s being said it can’t be important if it disturbs what you already believe to be true. And of course the best way not to disturb what you believe to be true is to use it to link to what you don’t yet believe and will become true for you once it is so linked. This is the essential structure of reality creation. And, one of it’s most powerful tools is the use of declaration.

I’ll be running a training program in Florida in September, called, “Power and Language” about this very stuff. And it’s interesting because this is the first (and maybe the last) time I’ll be running it. I usually only teach this stuff in the way I will be, laying out the form and structure of the relationship between “Power” and “Language” with private clients who are already in leadership positions. I usually do that because these clients are already open to the message, i.e.: they already “get it” ... because they already do it to some extent and what they are looking for is a refinement in their ability to do it better – ie.: get even more an effect when they employ the devices of power through they use of their language and communication. I don’t have to convince them ... they’re already true believers (of course they also pay me handsome sums of money to be laying this out for them as well ;~>).

What’s powerful about this material is that when I present it to those who are most subject to the influence and persuasion being used “on” them they are the most resistant to receiving the information about it. This is the “test” program where I’ll put it all out there and find out how much those who attend are willing to take, then I’ll scale it back, rename it and put it out in a form that the ‘average’ program participant is ready for and willing to take. This will of course relieve them of the confusion of their constraints.

So I hope I’ve eased your mind and now put it back on track with regard to the intention I have in revealing this information to a somewhat unwilling, un-ready and resistant public ...

Best regards – go in peace,

Joseph

P.S. - If you are interested in and for information about the “Power and Language” program please write to me directly off-line, i.e.: not on this blog, at mail:jsriggio@josephriggio.com. This program will be extremely limited due to the constraints of the room where I’ll be presenting so please only contact me if you are interested in attending and just require the logistics and details, I am not interested in “selling” anyone into this session so please don’t expect me to respond personally to questions about what it is beyond providing the program details and the registration information – thank you.