Skáldskapr: Generations of strength and independence.

In this episode I’d like to speak to the independence of our early ancestral Scandinavians that seems to have been lost throughout the hundreds of generations. The loss of this individuality and self-reliance throughout the generations that followed in many places throughout the world, which is particularly evident in larger metropolitan areas. We discuss the mindset necessary to change ones direction. Every day, as I speak to people throughout the world, there is discussion about the greatness of generations in the past, yet soon that conversation deteriorated to the hateful, vengeful generations that have come between then and now. Before we get too far into today’s discussion, let us invite our spiritual guide to grant us wisdom and eternal sight.

{Ódinn invocation chant}

Today, I’d like to expand our discussion to include the deterioration that has been chipping away at most of even the most honorable among us. While our discussion today will be primarily stereotyped, there have always been those who are outside the norm.

Any discussion that includes talk of character traits one must identify those among us who live without honor as a substantial influence into the fall of the righteous. As those without any form of honor have succeeded to accumulate a level of wealth, the injustice perceived by those who have honor, has incited a paradigm conflict at their very core. Many have surrendered to the temptation of this alternate ideology, forfeiting their honor in trade for material gain. This ideological trade has then been passed from generation, leading to elevating the levels of depravity necessity for achieving a perceived success. As this de-evolutionary process continued, so too did the general population transcendence into the abyss of darkness, ultimately leading to the establishment of societal expectations, and standards that now included these paradigm opposites to the virtuous lives our ancestors lived.

Many have brought forth the idea of being a slave to our financial needs. Where most are willing to sacrifice everything, honor included, to obtain financial gains or a perceived level of success. The influence of material needs has indeed led many down the path of this paradigm shift, and as long as their is a perceived societal demand for these material objects, the risk of the necessity for surrendering of ones virtues will remain constant.

This willingness to surrender everything for the sake of material gain is then passed from generation to generation, as well as from community to community. Throughout the hundreds of generations very little is left from what used to be an entire society structured around honor and integrity. The modern day generations attempt to force it with legislation or limited enrollment of individuals into groups who attempt to retain the original values, however the lure of the níðingar is very powerful in these modern times. However these limited groups have little impact onto the general population, as most don’t realize that they possess the intrinsic power to make the change within themselves. Subsequently, as each person is able to make the paradigm shift, future generations have the opportunity to plot honorable courses. As a former US President, Ronald Reagan stated “we are also three generations away from fully surrendering our freedom”, so too are we three generations away from surrendering our honor and integrity.

The hope that we all have is that, in much the same way we can lose it, we can reclaim it. It only take one generation to mentally make the paradigm shift, that those changes can begin to propagate through the future generations and turn the tide of losses. It takes but one generation. One person to demand of themselves that very standard they wish to propagate. To demand, from their following generations, the application of that standard.

Let’s talk about defining honor and integrity in today’s world of seediness and distrust. To properly implement our changes to the self, we need to clearly identify what “honor and integrity” really means. Let us break it down to define the two terms independently of each other:

• Honor. By definition, it is intrinsically linked to integrity and incorruptibility. Essentially using that definition is it defined as living by a higher moral and ethical code. Honor is built throughout one lifetime. However, we can strive to live honorably each day.
• Integrity (or Truth). This is, by the very definition of what makes men honorable, living through each micro event with the highest level of truth and honesty is what creates integrity, and ultimately honor. They have said from the dawn of time, that a man is only as good as his word.  If his words are filled with hate and venom, so too is his heart and deeds. Therefore it is up to each of us to strive to engage in every interaction with fairness and equality.

With that definition in our minds, we need to recognize the influence and attraction that we (as modern humans) have inherited from previous generations. Consider the lessons that we were taught by our parents, friends, or business associates. The power of Hel has no limits on the humans of Midgard, and each of us must face these challenges with the heart of purity and justice for us to truly find the honor of our ancestors.

“It’s not personal… it’s business” has permeated our current society as an excuse to take the population’s last dollar to secure one’s conquest of material things. The weak minded, willpower-less victims of this generational de-evolution of character traits. In a modern-day society where men and women are called out for being “Boy Scouts”, we find that some seek out the “bad boy” stereotype to ensure they are not associated with the first group. We constantly hear stories about the wildness and reckless abandon at which the pastor’s kids operate, almost as if rebelling against that which the society in which they find themselves. This has been going on, en-mass since the 1950s as (particularly) Americans returned from the Second World War. However, the problem with what came along with these rebellious paths, is the undermining of societal values that would ultimately lead society to where it is.

How does one change? How can we each decide to plot a new path through this physical lifetime? To force a change in ones life, one must have absolute conviction in the outcome. In an associated process, we must open ourselves to positive criticism, and be willing to swallow our pride for short bursts. As an example, if we have spent our whole lives as a liar and cheat, just because you’ve changed your mind, and even if your actions display the change, many around us may have been affected by our past, and therefore will need to be taught about the new you. These people whom we care for may need time to adjust to the new person who emerges from the darkness into the light. Now, there are some who were surrounding us during the darker times that may not tolerate a change of heart, however, we may need to consider disassociating with them as a price to pay for the desired outcome. How committed are you to this change? The burden of proof will rest solely on your shoulders as you transition from the old self to the new.

The idea of being honorable starts with the little things in our life. In many cases, by choosing to go to the other extreme and be insanely honest with every little thing, we can force ourselves to face the critics of this new self, head-on. Much like we’ve discussed in the past, elite athletes repeatedly practice, with precision, the necessary skills, so too must we practice the newly employed skill of the truth. Honor is a long-term achievement of truth and integrity. Integrity being the skill of being honest when no one really sees. In just as an important step, being honest with yourself is possibly even more important, than it is with others.

When considering this type of change, one will need to fixate on the third Nobel virtue, courage. The path to the redemption of of honor will be wrought with challenges that will force one to question the ultimate outcome, however, this is where the ninth virtue comes in, perseverance. One must possess the conviction to crush doubt, and remove the challenges that lay across the path to honor. Steeling ones mind the psychological obstacles that arise from the previous self will challenge the courage, but each victory creates another rung in the ladder of success, and the self confidence that comes with it.

Ultimately, to live an honorable life, one must want to lead an honorable life. No amount of convincing by others can sway the heart of a person, so in the spirit of wanting to live like our ancestors, one must really want to honorable.