Zombies, Meaning, and Ritual

Zombies are everywhere in our culture, in movies and shows, and even in real life (on zombie walks).  They’ve gone from being an object of horror to one of fascination, one that seems to reflect something back to us.  In “Zombies in Western Culture,” Ch. 2, Vervaeke et. al. discuss the change from aliens to zombies as the preeminent monster, and how this reflects the meaning crisis from the loss of the sacred canopy of Christianity.  Ian and I discuss the meaning of zombies as a symbol of mindlessness, and of solutions of meaning, community, and especially mindfulness.  We also discuss the false solutions of fanatical politics or religion, and of course consumerism or living life going through the motions.  Chapters:   00:00 Introduction: Zombies are a Metaphor for Our Meaning Crisis  02:00 Zombies are Us 05:19 Zombies are the Stranger in the Absence of Christian  Culture 11:00 Choosing to be Oblivious 15:50 Powering Through Life with a Singular Hunger 23:50 Incredible Life Meaning from Fanaticism 29:04 Mouth Feel and Roussean Virtue 32:30 99% of the Journey You’re not Pointing Straight 37:15 Meaning, “Fight Club,” and Initiation by Suffering 41:55 Initiation into Suffering 51:19 Initiation in Our Own Culture 54:09 Growing Mindful and Serious Play 1:01:15 Serious Play as Adults 1:05:58 Ritual is a Container with Space for Spirit 1:09:25 Meaning and Structure, the Zombie Antidote   Thank you for watching!  Please see below for more:   Vervaeke et. al.’s book:   “Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis,” by John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro, and Filip Miscevic: http://dx.doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0113   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad   About our guest: Ian Reclusado offers guidance services for those interested in facing and befriending their inner monsters:  https://thekindknife.substack.com/p/guidance-services   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.