Santa’s Shamanic Origins

[[Note: this originally appeared on the Discover the Practive website]]

Some people know that the modern Santa concept (heavy male, white hair, red suit, et cetera) was created by the Coca-Cola company as part of a marketing campaign; Coca-Cola wanted to get children as a market but were forbidden by law from directly marketing to them. Their solution was to create a character that benefitted children (gave gifts) and the children in return would reward this giftgiver with a bottle of Coke. So we weren’t marketing to children, but if those kiddies wanted to get gifts…

Coca-Cola's Santa

The nearest “historic” Santa was the 19th century Bokkerijders, a group of Belgian laborers who performed Robin Hood like acts. The church denounced their activities as Satanic although the poor appreciated waking to gifts of food and money on their doorsteps. Prior to that, a St. Nicholas myth comes from the Slavic countries. There, St. Nicholas had a “Dark Helper” who was dressed in black, had horns and pointed ears, all based on Santa’s shamanic origins.
Continue reading “Santa’s Shamanic Origins”

The Gloves, They Go Boom!

Who could predict this? We did, actually…


Or maybe he would. Who knows.


Continue reading “The Gloves, They Go Boom!”

Today I was asked “Don’t Trump supporters know they’re wrong?”

Yesterday I saw a tweet “If someone doesn’t value logic, what logical argument would you invoke to prove they should value logic?”
I would determine what type of argument they most value and invoke that type of argument to their detriment, offering logical discourse as an alternative.

“Don’t Trump supporters know they’re wrong?”

The question is invalid.

‘Wrong’ implies a morality. Any question of ‘right and wrong’ requires a concept of a godhead, obeisance to some authority capable of inviolate decisions. Telling someone they’re ‘wrong’ requires them to understand guilt and shame. That’s the province of religion and we’re suppose to keep church and state separate in America.

Questions of morality require a recognition of a higher authority, of something superior to one’s self.

I think what you’re after is ‘error’. What most Trump supporters can’t do is admit they made a mistake. This has nothing to do with Trump specifically. Western society especially has made it a point of honor – saving face – not to admit a mistake. Admitting a mistake causes two things immediately; it recognizes responsibility and it requires change.
Continue reading “Today I was asked “Don’t Trump supporters know they’re wrong?””

Groundhog Day – Pull a Bill Murray


Bill Murray betters himselfAnd that simple little movie, Groundhog Day, became iconic of personal change, self-recognition and the will to be better.

But most people focus on the repeating of a hellish day, not that Bill Murray worked to make it better and worth living.

So how about today and just for today, you work to make yourself better so that your day can be better.

Blind Idiots

In a world where alternative facts are de rigueur, it’s worth noting a slight mistake made in a BBC documentary entitled “Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial” (it’s a brilliant documentary. Let’s hope we never repeat the reason for its making).

Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
There’s a line close to the beginning about Hitler and Goering; “…together they destroyed German democracy.”

Sorry, that can’t be correct. Unless they were the only ones doing anything at the time. History says otherwise. There were lots of people in Germany, lots of people in Europe, lots of people in the world at the time. Still are.

To say that two people brought down a country…wow…that’s pretty much stating that the rest of the country, continent and world were idiots.
Continue reading “Blind Idiots”