Part Three: 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.
This will be the last post in this series. If you missed the previous two posts:
Part One: The People We Meet – Jordan Peterson
Part Two: The People We Meet – Jordan Peterson
Here’s a little of what unfolded at each location and some of the invaluable insights gained:
The story of Cain and Abel
Found in the Book of Genesis in the Bible is an archetypal narrative that explores themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and the consequences of sin. It’s a foundational myth that has influenced countless stories and cultural interpretations throughout history. In the biblical narrative, Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve, the first human beings created by God. Abel is depicted as a shepherd who sacrifices his best livestock to God, while Cain is a farmer who offers produce from his fields. God accepts Abel’s sacrifice but rejects Cain’s. In a fit of jealousy and anger, Cain murders his brother Abel.
The story of Cain and Abel is archetypal in several ways:
Sibling Rivalry: The rivalry between Cain and Abel is a universal theme that resonates with audiences. It reflects the complexities of family relationships and the tensions between siblings, particularly when one perceives the other as receiving favor or attention.
Jealousy and Envy: Cain’s jealousy of Abel’s favor with God leads to tragic consequences. His inability to control his emotions and feelings of inadequacy drive him to commit the ultimate act of violence, illustrating the destructive power of envy.
The Consequences of Sin: The story of Cain and Abel highlights the consequences of sin and disobedience. Cain’s murder of Abel brings about a curse upon him, and he is condemned to wandering and exile. This theme underscores the biblical concept of moral responsibility and the idea that actions have consequences.
The Nature of Sacrifice: The offerings made by Cain and Abel symbolize the concept of sacrifice and devotion to God. Abel’s sacrifice is accepted because it reflects his genuine reverence and devotion, while Cain’s offering is rejected due to his lack of sincerity and purity of heart. This theme explores the importance of genuine faith and spiritual integrity.
The Human Condition: The story of Cain and Abel speaks to the universal human experience of grappling with sin, guilt, and redemption. It portrays the struggle between good and evil within the human heart and the enduring consequences of moral failure. It’s as if we invited the evil spirit in and let it have its way with us. Peterson remarks this is how school shooters come to fruition – through thousands of hours of brooding and inviting evil to manifest within them.
Overall, the story of Cain and Abel serves as a timeless and archetypal narrative that explores fundamental aspects of human nature and the complexities of morality, justice, and divine judgment. Its themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and the consequences of sin continue to resonate with audiences across cultures and generations, making it a powerful and enduring myth.
The Crucifixion
The story of Christ is a meta tragedy. And how the crucifixion is the absolute worst thing that could happen to a human being. Most people think that dying is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. But that’s not true. When most of us die, which we will all do one day, we are taken care of, often by family members and healthcare providers.
The way Jesus died isn’t just a death. Instead, it’s the death of an innocent man, betrayed by his best friend, canceled, thrown to the mob, unjustly prosecuted and sentenced for a crime he didn’t commit, then scourged in front of his friends, in front of his mother, laughed at all the while. Then, he was nailed to a cross, which is one of the worst ways to die. The victim was tied or nailed to a wooden beam—or cross. Nails were pierced through the bones below the wrists to bear the weight of the person. It was a “brilliant” placement because no major blood vessels were hit—only the median nerve, which would cause the fingers to seize and the hands to flex down in an excruciating contracture. The feet were nailed to the vertical part of the cross, and once the legs weakened, the arms had to hold up the body, resulting in the shoulders being pulled from their sockets. The elbows and wrists would soon follow, with the arms now several inches longer. At this point, the chest had to bear the body’s weight, triggering respiratory problems and eventual suffocation. I grabbed this piece from Time Capsule Tales on X, you can find it here.
Moses and the Staff
The story that touched me the most was the archetypical story of God sending the snakes to bite the ankles of the Israelites. Then Moses asked God to do something about the snakes since they were killing the people. God didn’t immediately take away the snakes. Instead, he made them stronger. He taught them that exposure to a bit of poison can make you resilient. This struck me as a doctor, and this is the basis of a phenomenon called hormesis. Hormesis is a phenomenon in which a small dose of something stressful to the body makes it more resistant to further stress. The simplest example is exercise. When a runner performs short sprints above their threshold or VO2 max, the body does things to adapt and handle the stress or exercise, in this case, better.
Another example is fasting. When a person fasts and keeps the blood sugar levels down, the brain becomes more resilient to further exposure to low blood sugar; thus, the person does not become agitated due to low blood sugar. Finally, in the example of snake bites, there is some truth to what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. It’s well known among snake handlers that small doses of venom will make the body more resilient to future venom injections. However, if the dose is too big, the person will die. Thus, hormesis has many applications.
What I found most interesting is that this archetypical story explains why the two snakes and the staff represent healers. The staff is also the symbol of many medical associations.
Meeting Jordan Peterson
Peterson’s interactions with the audience were profound. During the Q&A sessions, he sought to connect personally with each person he met, he has a genuine interest in their lives and challenges. This personal touch was valuable to the whole experience, making the theoretical discussions more relatable and impactful. My wife and I stayed for the question-and-answer session. Seeing how he desired to know a little about each person he met was impressive. His photographer lectured us on not asking questions or having him sign something to keep the line of photographs going. His energy was impressive because he’d just given a two-hour lecture on stage.
During a small group Q&A session, I had the chance to engage directly with Peterson. We discussed a range of topics, including the therapeutic uses of psychedelics like ketamine, which I explore in detail in my book, The Revolutionary Ketamine. His openness and thoughtful responses were enlightening, particularly his insights into integrating therapy with psychedelic treatments. This was an off question for him as he did not rattle off any pre-determined answers. He admitted that ketamine is on the rise and can help treat patients with suicidal ideation as well as depression. And he acknowledged that other psychedelics are helpful in the same sense. Finally, therapy, along with psychedelics, is a requirement, not an option. He wished me the best in this challenging line of work.
I write about Dr. Peterson’s journey with ketamine in chapter 8 of my book, The Revolutionary Ketamine. That excerpt was published here.
An interesting question came from a young man who, a successful businessman, was iterating how even though he was successful, he couldn’t find wholeness or a sense of accomplishment despite being a millionaire at a young age. Peterson came back at him with, “You don’t know yourself.” Peterson has a long history of working with executives and their emotional needs. He highlighted that this young man is probably so busy that he has no time to sit down and honestly talk to someone. He is too busy putting out fires all day long. Peterson advised him to take the time to find someone he could talk to and sort out his issues. Even though this may take an hour from this person, which he doesn’t have, it will save him time and misery in the long run. His message was that he ought to invest in hiring a therapist who can work with him or not do this at his peril.
Finally, at night’s end, I walked up to Dr. Peterson and gave him my book. He took it and said thank you. I have no idea if he will read it, but we’ll see. A guy like him has a tremendous workload.
Conclusion
Attending Jordan Peterson’s events was a profoundly enriching experience that gave me new perspectives on writing, storytelling, and personal development. His ability to connect ancient wisdom with modern challenges offers valuable lessons for anyone interested in personal and spiritual growth. Whether you’re familiar with his work or new to his ideas, Peterson’s insights into human nature and morality are both challenging and rewarding.
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.