Anamnesis

Anamnesis in America. It seems that this process is convoluted and complicated purposefully by contemporary culture. From an early age we internalize societal values and strive to identify with peers and elders. This unnaturally tears us from our mythological roots and forces people to intrinsically trust values which often rend myth from reality. Is this recollection simply a vivid awakening to the world in which we live? Something like being unplugged from "The Matrix"? The choice must certainly be more complex than either taking the blue or red pill in order to receive enlightenment. I think the decision rather involves a rethinking of all the norms and values imbued in us from the start. A sort of donning of tinted sunglasses to perceive the world in an entirely different, and for many, new vantage.

"In one way or another recollecting implies having forgotten, and...is equivalent to ignorance, slavery (captivity), and death." (Myth and Reality, 119) For many of the ancient cultures, remembering oneself was not the extent of self-actualization. The memory was required to be strong enough to persist through periods of amnesia and even death. This notion seems especially important in our society where there are numerous artificial designs to cause people to lose sight of themselves. Examples might include excessive alcohol consumption or drug abuse to forget or anesthetize. Others might be as simple as the persuasive television commercials or advertisements in magazines and newspapers. 99% of all people who used Hair-X reported a perceived growth in hair.

How then, is a person to balance their personal identity and anamnesis, with socialization in the prescribed framework of our culture? This is perhaps a question that cannot be answered readily.