Why Do We Revere Ancient Practices?

[Princess Arabia]

We will be ancient to other civilizations in the future. 5000+ years from now our present time will also be considered ancient; yet we look up to ancient practices as something special. We revere what ancient civilizations did in their time, their ethics, way of living and being. Ancient Greeks and the Romans are revered. The Egyptians, Persians, Aztecs, Incas, Mayans, Mesopotamians and Babylonians, to name a few. 

In 5000+ years will the Americans or the Australians be revered for their current practices. Will the people from Third World countries or Asia or Britain? Who were around before the ones we consider ancient. Why do we look upon ourselves as being dumb and stupid but the ancient wise. Will we be the dumb and stupid "new ancients". Why are we trying to eat like them and calling their diet Primal and adopting their rituals. Will our present diet be called Primal 5000 yrs from now? Why are we knocking our own technologies saying they are harmful. Will they still be harmful 5,000 years from now when they become ancient and are sitting in a museum for display and worth millions. The ancient were wise but the modern is dumb. How and why is that.

Just food for thought.

Edited March 8 by Princess Arabia

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, Princess Arabia said:

The ancient were wise

Don't over-romanticism the ancients. They were plenty dumb.

[Fabio]

Interesting topic. Id say its not black and white. Our modern medicine I think is much more capable of handling things that previously would have been a death sentence. As far as diet, we have more food now than ever but the nutritional value is considered often lesser than the organic fruits/ vegetables and natural organic meat back then. Todays food has more GMO's and hormone fed meat that is the cheapest and most common today. There were no plastics that we're getting into food. But everything is a trade off. To get similar to ancient meat quality , you'd have to purposefully cultivate animals to be organic , grass fed, etc and now we pay a premium for that, where back then there weren't many other options. But we also have more sanitary practices of food storage and commonly have better refrigeration than back then , making our food safer. Its all a trade off. I think its easy to revere those times because there is many mythical stories of gods, and a mystique about it that we like to observe. There's only hints and artifacts of the past and we have to piece things together which is fun.  I don't think its a better life as far as comfort, but its interesting. As far as future generations, they will probably laugh at certain things and admire certain things just like we do in the past. Can't deny we have come along way from the caveman days where I can type to you on a computer. In another 1000 years, I could probably write you this in a split second using just my mind. Might not even be that long. As I finish writing this, I see leo replied... how interesting. Anyway, that's my thoughts. 

[Princess Arabia]

51 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Don't over-romanticism the ancients. They were plenty dumb.

I wasn't actually calling them wise nor dumb. I was just stating how they seem to be portrayed.

[Quader]

I think similar to a eulogy, we Revere the ancients as a respect and honor for the dead, as if we can be more harmonious with our ancestors in order to manifest their continuation today.

We cherry pick history (nothing else left to pick frankly it's all dust) to tell the most epic story imaginable. It's so long ago and that provides more artistic freedom for us to define history/tell stories about it in a way that is far more a caricature, a fantasy story. And who's to discredit these stories as exaggeration or misunderstood? It's just more fun and interesting to deify things that are mysterious

 

[Princess Arabia]

53 minutes ago, Fabio said:

Can't deny we have come along way from the caveman days where I can type to you on a computer

Can you answer me this. You said in another 1,000yrs we might be using our minds to communicate. We say there's no beginning and there's no end, why does it seem our era is moving so rapidly with technology, why wasn't it introduced a long time ago way before our time and how far can or will this advancement go. I mean will advancements just go on forever.

[Princess Arabia]

3 minutes ago, Quader said:

I think similar to a eulogy, we Revere the ancients as a respect and honor for the dead, as if we can be more harmonious with our ancestors in order to manifest their continuation today.

We cherry pick history (nothing else left to pick frankly it's all dust) to tell the most epic story imaginable. It's so long ago and that provides more artistic freedom for us to define history/tell stories about it in a way that is far more a caricature, a fantasy story. And who's to discredit these stories as exaggeration or misunderstood? It's just more fun and interesting to deify things that are mysterious

 

Interesting pov. Just remember, though, people die everyday why respect one over the other just because they died a very long time ago. 

[StarStruck]

Ancestor worship is stage purple. Pretty low consciousness imo. 

[Soul Flight]

The reason why is the same we go into the Amazon and other isolated places like islands and study indigenous people today. It is direct access to the human subconscious. Isolated people have not been indoctrinated with history of things like the Roman Empire or world war 2. Their minds are more clear of propoganda and world mono culture and assumptions. We can access the jungian archetypes and find TRUTH in their symbolism and myths and religions. We can harness them and the ancients as a mirror or portal into our own minds.

It is illegal to raise feral children or a feral village of people. But maybe in the future we can do this and see what myths they come up with springing directly from their untainted imagination. Maybe AI could run a simulation.

We look to the ancients because they more closely embody our inner drives and animal instincts.

We moved from the animal world or the garden of Eden to modern civilization. We are curious about ourselves before writing and language and recorded history.

Academic schools of history and anthropology reveal a lot of patterns. But they can also be used to mislead us.

We may be under a mass hypnosis that we are making progress. It may be technological progress but we may be losing our humanity or emotional intelligence. Maybe everyone was a Buddha 100,000 years ago. They were all awakened and we somehow all went to sleep.

Of course, time is an illusion and the past may all be a dream we are dreaming.

Very good question.

Edited March 9 by Soul Flight

[Applegarden8]

11 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Don't over-romanticism the ancients. They were plenty dumb.

Some individuals in the past were very very intelligent. Look at ancient Greek music theory or Hindu temples and lingas or craftsmanship of literally every culture in the world.

[Princess Arabia]

7 hours ago, StarStruck said:

Ancestor worship is stage purple. Pretty low consciousness imo. 

I guess you're pretty low consciousness then and stage purple.  

[Princess Arabia]

4 hours ago, Applegarden8 said:

Some individuals in the past were very very intelligent. Look at ancient Greek music theory or Hindu temples and lingas or craftsmanship of literally every culture in the world.

He didn't say all, he said some. I think he thought I was calling all ancients wise, that's why he made that comment.

Edited March 9 by Princess Arabia

[Princess Arabia]

@Soul FlightThank you for that, very informative. I guess what I forgot to remember (no pun intended) was that humans haven't been around forever so it's not as if ancient civilizations are plenty, and even though our era will become ancient someday, the times then will be so much different that some of our practices now will be considered valuable and be also referred to as ancient wisdom. 

That was really the point of my post. Our Era will become ancient at some time and i was wondering if it will also be revered for certain things that our now ancients knew nothing about.

[Soul Flight]

28 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

 That was really the point of my post. Our Era will become ancient at some time and i was wondering if it will also be revered for certain things that our now ancients knew nothing about.

Yes. I think so. We will always reach back to more innocent times. Maybe AI will reach back and I am not being funny or ironic. AI will have its own spirituality. Who knows?

[Princess Arabia]

10 minutes ago, Soul Flight said:

Yes. I think so. We will always reach back to more innocent times. Maybe AI will reach back and I am not being funny or ironic. AI will have its own spirituality. Who knows?

Great point. And also who knows, that's the beauty of life - it's mystery. Then again, who knows.

[BipolarGrowth]

If humans keep an idea, philosophy, mode of being, practice, teaching, or activity for thousands of years, humans probably find that thing valuable. 

[Soul Flight]

2 hours ago, BipolarGrowth said:

If humans keep an idea, philosophy, mode of being, practice, teaching, or activity for thousands of years, humans probably find that thing valuable. 

Great point. Time is a filter. The best myths survive to today. They deserve reverence… but it could be a runaway positive feedback loop. But let’s enjoy the ride!

[Yimpa]

“The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas, it’ll only take us back. You need America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future and what can and should be done.” -Joe Biden

[Leo Gura]

57 minutes ago, Yimpa said:

“The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas."

That's a brilliant quote and reframe.

The fundamental problem with conservatives is that they cling to outdated ideas.

Although hate and anger are not ideas. They are something more primordial.

Edited March 9 by Leo Gura

[StarStruck]

6 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

I guess you're pretty low consciousness then and stage purple.  

Sexual transmutation is SD tier 2. Non attachment to the animal orgasm. Very few people who can make that sacrifice.