Part One: The People We Meet – Jordan Peterson
Recently, I attended Jordan Peterson’s “We Who Wrestle With God Tour” in Florida. I went to the Estero, Orlando, and Jacksonville events. Each event was unique and offered a distinct experience with varying topics.
Here’s a little of what unfolded at each location and some of the invaluable insights gained:
Writing as a Reflection of Thought
Writing is thinking. That’s the purpose of writing. It embodies the most profound form of consciousness. The words you chose, the sentences they contain, and how the paragraphs are organized embody your thoughts and, ultimately, your consciousness. It’s how you play out your thoughts in your head so in a sense your bad ideas “can die” before you do. You need to plot your ideas logically and let the bad ones die off instead of going out and trying each one in real life. Peterson emphasized the profound connection between writing and thinking. His advice - “Just write the damn thing down,” highlighting that writing is not just about recording thoughts but also about shaping and solidifying them. Writing it down when something looms large or becomes overwhelming transforms it from an abstract worry into something tangible and manageable. This process clarifies thoughts and allows you to address them more effectively. Write it down when something is “bigger in your head” or more than you think you can handle. If you are worried about something, write it down. Why? Once you write it down, it becomes real. You can touch it. That’s how you solidify things from your consciousness to being true to life. And you can do something about things that are real and concrete. And you can then do the exercise of identifying the vulnerabilities of this thing. Dr. Peterson’s online programs, selfauthoring.com and understandmyself.com, help people inquire deeply into the structure of their personalities, develop a vision for their future, and sort out the details of their pasts. For example, I used understandmyself.com before I made the decision to quit corporate anesthesia and diversify my medical practice into what is has become today. I never would have imagined that I would be starting my PhD at the University of Paris - more to come about that.
Introducing Children to the Concept of God
Peterson delved into the importance of routines and storytelling in children’s spiritual education. Stories are how we engage and transfer information to each other. Children inherently know how to listen to stories, even better than adults. He illustrated this through the story of Jonah, using it as a vehicle to teach lessons about obedience and the consequences of defiance. Or Job, the story of someone sticking to his beliefs no matter what’s thrown at him and not “taking revenge against life.” His approach underlined the power of narrative to foster understanding and moral development in young minds. By telling the story, we can convey the importance of following what God tells you and what might happen if you don’t.
Your children need to know them, one way or another. These stories provide the skeleton upon which the entire edifice of knowledge exists. For example, there’s a story behind why we celebrate Christmas trees, and you need to know the basic narrative structure. Another relevant example in movie theaters today is the abstract idea of the hero myth—all that comes from ancient stories.
The Logos is the Truth Spoken in the Spirit of Love
The Logos concept, as Jordan Peterson discussed, is deeply rooted in philosophical and theological traditions. Logos is a term often translated from ancient Greek as “word,” “reason,” or “plan,” and spans various philosophical and religious texts, including pre-Socratic philosophy, Stoicism, and early Christian writings. The Logos transcends mere rationality or speech; it embodies the conveyance of truth through the intent and action of love, suggesting a harmonious blend of truthfulness and benevolence in communication. This notion of Logos invites a thoughtful integration of ethics in dialogue, where the truth is not just a matter of factual accuracy but also moral urgency and kindness.
The Logos and its relationship for you and your children is that they see that reflected in the foundation for their stability and hope. You portray the Logos every day in your interactions with them. The Logos manifests in your provision of your maternal security and the offering of your paternal encouragement, and so that’s acting out the core religious stories, and they see you sacrificing as a consequence of your love for them.
“And all of that’s the same thing; the more of it, the better.” Peterson remarks that one of the things he’s learned from the many successful people he’s interviewed was that these people are of the type who were successful within the confines of their own lives but also whose success was of clear benefit to the broader community. And almost invariably, they had two highly sacrificial parents. Who provisioned for them, encouraged them, attended to them, and gave them the foundation that enabled them to dare to do great things. That’s the purpose of the maternal sacrifice, which is a tremendous sacrifice, so that’s how you introduce your children to going live in the spirit of the Logos.
Find what you’re afraid of. Well, it already found you, didn’t it? Now that you have identified it, voluntarily confront it. When you voluntarily confront it, it becomes a challenge, not a threat. And you don’t become less afraid. You become brave.
I’m often surprised when I bring up the topic of Jordan Peterson; many people have never heard of him. A little background on Dr. Jordan Peterson: He’s a best-selling author, psychologist, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, and co-founder of Peterson Academy. He taught some of the most highly regarded courses at Harvard and the University of Toronto for twenty years while publishing more than a hundred scientific papers with his students and co-authors. His podcast frequently tops the charts in the Education category. He’s written three books: Maps of Meaning, an academic work presenting a new scientifically grounded theory of religious and political belief, and the bestselling 12 Rules for Life and Beyond Order. Peterson provides insight into the structure of mythology and narrative to hundreds of thousands of people. If you are new to Jordan Peterson and want to learn more, the links above or his interviews on the Joe Rogan podcast are a great place to start. This interview is the most popular.