About
• Explores how wetiko covertly operates both out in the world and within our minds and how it underlies every form of self-destruction, both individual and collective
• Reveals how wetiko's power lies in our blindness to it and examines how people across the ages have symbolized wetiko to help see it and heal it
• Examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian Kahuna shamanism, mystical Christianity, and the work of C. G. Jung
In its Native American meaning, wetiko is an evil cannibalistic spirit that can take over people's minds, leading to selfshness, insatiable greed, and consumption as an end in itself, destructively turning our intrinsic creative genius against our own humanity. Revealing the presence of wetiko in our modern world behind every form of destruction our species is carrying out, both individual and collective, Paul Levy shows how this mind-virus is so embedded in our psyches that it is almost undetectable--and it is our blindness to it that gives wetiko its power. Yet, as Levy reveals in striking detail, by recognizing this highly contagious mind parasite, by seeing wetiko, we can break free from its hold and realize the vast creative powers of the human mind.
Levy explores how artists, philosophers, and spiritual traditions across the ages have been creatively symbolizing this deadly pathogen of the psyche so as to help us see it and heal it. He examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian kahuna shamanism, Buddhism, and mystical Christianity and through esoteric concepts like egregores, demons, counterfeiting spirits, and psychic vampires. He reveals how visionary thinkers such as C. G. Jung, Sri Aurobindo, Philip K. Dick, Colin Wilson, Nicolas Berdyaev, and Rene Girard each point to wetiko in their own unique and creative way. He explores how the projection of the shadow self--scapegoating --is the underlying psychological mechanism fueling wetiko and examines wetiko in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that we can reframe the pandemic so as to receive the lessons and opportunities embedded in it.
Revealing how the power of imagination can cure the wetiko mind-virus, Levy underscores how important it is for each of us to bring forth the creative spirit within us, which helps shed the light of consciousness on wetiko, taking away its power over us while simultaneously empowering ourselves. Paul Levy is a pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence and a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner for more than 35 years. He is the founder of the Awakening in the Dream Community in Portland, Oregon, and the author of several books, including Dispelling Wetiko. He lives in Portland, Oregon. From the Introduction
I imagine that one thing that everyone--on any side of the aisle--can agree on is that there is a genuine form of madness that is being acted out in our world. The origin of madness, we should remind ourselves, is to be found within the human psyche. In essence, the seemingly crazy and far out thing that I am saying is that the source, as well as the solution, of the seemingly endless crises in our world are to be found nowhere other than within the psyche.1 Upon close inspection, this is a no-brainer, it could not be more obvious - how could it be otherwise? What distinguishes our age from all others is that modern-day humanity can no longer deny the overwhelming might of the psyche. Our culture is being forced to acknowledge the force and power of the psychic undercurrents that inform events in our world. The roots of human behavior are not located in the material world but are to be found within the psyche.
Because of the human psyche's ability to inform and give shape to world events, Jung calls it "the World Power that vastly exceeds all other powers on earth."2 The greatest danger to humanity comes from our own psyche, which unfortunately is the part of the empirical world we know
• Reveals how wetiko's power lies in our blindness to it and examines how people across the ages have symbolized wetiko to help see it and heal it
• Examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian Kahuna shamanism, mystical Christianity, and the work of C. G. Jung
In its Native American meaning, wetiko is an evil cannibalistic spirit that can take over people's minds, leading to selfshness, insatiable greed, and consumption as an end in itself, destructively turning our intrinsic creative genius against our own humanity. Revealing the presence of wetiko in our modern world behind every form of destruction our species is carrying out, both individual and collective, Paul Levy shows how this mind-virus is so embedded in our psyches that it is almost undetectable--and it is our blindness to it that gives wetiko its power. Yet, as Levy reveals in striking detail, by recognizing this highly contagious mind parasite, by seeing wetiko, we can break free from its hold and realize the vast creative powers of the human mind.
Levy explores how artists, philosophers, and spiritual traditions across the ages have been creatively symbolizing this deadly pathogen of the psyche so as to help us see it and heal it. He examines the concept of wetiko as it appears in the teachings of the Kabbalah, Hawaiian kahuna shamanism, Buddhism, and mystical Christianity and through esoteric concepts like egregores, demons, counterfeiting spirits, and psychic vampires. He reveals how visionary thinkers such as C. G. Jung, Sri Aurobindo, Philip K. Dick, Colin Wilson, Nicolas Berdyaev, and Rene Girard each point to wetiko in their own unique and creative way. He explores how the projection of the shadow self--scapegoating --is the underlying psychological mechanism fueling wetiko and examines wetiko in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that we can reframe the pandemic so as to receive the lessons and opportunities embedded in it.
Revealing how the power of imagination can cure the wetiko mind-virus, Levy underscores how important it is for each of us to bring forth the creative spirit within us, which helps shed the light of consciousness on wetiko, taking away its power over us while simultaneously empowering ourselves. Paul Levy is a pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence and a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner for more than 35 years. He is the founder of the Awakening in the Dream Community in Portland, Oregon, and the author of several books, including Dispelling Wetiko. He lives in Portland, Oregon. From the Introduction
I imagine that one thing that everyone--on any side of the aisle--can agree on is that there is a genuine form of madness that is being acted out in our world. The origin of madness, we should remind ourselves, is to be found within the human psyche. In essence, the seemingly crazy and far out thing that I am saying is that the source, as well as the solution, of the seemingly endless crises in our world are to be found nowhere other than within the psyche.1 Upon close inspection, this is a no-brainer, it could not be more obvious - how could it be otherwise? What distinguishes our age from all others is that modern-day humanity can no longer deny the overwhelming might of the psyche. Our culture is being forced to acknowledge the force and power of the psychic undercurrents that inform events in our world. The roots of human behavior are not located in the material world but are to be found within the psyche.
Because of the human psyche's ability to inform and give shape to world events, Jung calls it "the World Power that vastly exceeds all other powers on earth."2 The greatest danger to humanity comes from our own psyche, which unfortunately is the part of the empirical world we know