Narrative Sorcery: Transforming Seduction into Self-Mastery via Chaos Collaboration
Start reading to enter this story simulation and find out how you do!
Artwork: © 2024 Rebecka Eggers
Some stories seduce to deliver as a man looking for a wife seduces to build a life. He plans on producing something of value TOGETHER.
And other stories …
Imagine a sensation that feels like the event horizon of a black hole pulling you towards itself. It feels inevitable. It feels like destiny.
You are intrigued, captivated even. You are palpably aware of your desire coursing through your veins.
Finally, you will have it all, you tell yourself in the heat of the seduction!
Exhilaration clouds your judgment. You are intoxicated from all the adrenalin and the heady rush of dopamine.
If you could slow down, you would realize you are also unsettled. Very unsettled! You are only vaguely aware of the truth:
Somehow, in a way you cannot name, you are not in control.
Later, if you succumb to this seduction, that nearly imperceptible sense of danger will be all you think about.
Eventually, the truth will drop from the sky like the Sword of Damocles. You will realize that you have been here before. Or perhaps you will suddenly see a vulnerability you didn’t know you had.
If you don’t succumb?
You will have mastered yourself sooner rather than later.
Let’s back up…
A classic confidence game involves, above all else, greed (or need) on the part of the mark and an all-encompassing narrative crafted by the con artist.
Our susceptibility can arise from our hunger for money, power, security, belonging, or meaning — to name a few of the myriad sources.
It can manifest as a predilection for confirmation bias or confirmation of identity!
Ideology is a very useful vulnerability in the hands of one whose interests have nothing in common with ours.
With the aid of our, often unconscious, motivations, the con artist spins the tale, weaves the false universe, and bids us, the marks, to enter like a spider seducing a fly.
Speaking of spiders and flies …
My father used to read me a famous poem by Mary Howitt that regales the story of the foolish fly seduced by the spider. It’s tempting to feel sorry for the little fly. The spider seems so skillful in his weaving. But upon closer examination, the fly knew better the whole time.
So, what trapped the fly?
She kept talking to the spider!
She wanted something more than she wanted to live.
Little by little, the spider found a weakness that he could exploit.
The fly was susceptible to flattery.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple–there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"
Like the fly, you too can become ensnared withIN stories that tap into your deepest desires and fears.
What are your hooks?
If you don’t know, you had better find out!
In today's world, we are constantly bombarded by narratives that vie for our attention. These stories can shape our identities and dictate our choices, often without our conscious awareness. Many seem to offer comfort and calm amid an endless sea of chaos.
All these narratives create dastardly distractions from the work at hand: find solutions for …
… the author gestures broadly.
From the media to the boardroom, and even the bedroom, you will encounter people spinning tales designed to entice you, mold you into the character that best serves the creators' intentions, and cast you in roles you would not otherwise have chosen.
That is to say, manipulative stories have been cast like nets and are waiting to entice you with a narrative landscape constructed of your vulnerabilities and other people’s interests. If you take the bait, you are but a pawn.
Don’t despair. A pawn can sometimes become the Queen.
In the web spun by a malignant master storyteller, you become like the fly trying to know herself and her beauty through the eyes of the spider.
The best solution?
Don’t become a part of this vast wasteland of word webs.
Return now to the sensation of the black hole pulling you toward the event horizon. Can you see that it isn’t one black hole, it’s many?
Stand still in the tension of these various gravitational forces. Linger in the chaos instead of searching for release. Identify the sensations.
What is familiar?
The pull of the familiar is the enemy of change.
It might also be the enemy of safety depending upon your personal history with danger.
What is unknown?
The unknown is the place where new things can be discovered.
But which new things?
What quickens your desire, stokes your fear, or makes you feel alive?
What validates your sense of your own importance?
How about your identity?
Once you have answered these questions, STOP!
Do not make a move. You are missing a critical piece of information that will illuminate the truth.
In the meantime, another lesson on the power of storytelling …
The stories we believe become a part of us in the most intimate way imaginable. They physically change our brains via a fascinating process called “neural coupling” or “mirroring.”
Stories, repeated often enough, bolstered by our blindspots and cravings, eventually become an internal system of confirmation bias that begins to dictate outcomes and choices. But stories also begin to dictate our sense of ourselves.
Through storytelling, we penetrate one another at the most fundamental level.
Settled science tells us something critical: neurons that fire together wire together. In short, until you become the master of yourself withIN the vast narrative universe, you will be shaped by things you don’t fully understand.
With this truth in mind, ask yourself where the stories forming all around you will lead.
Then go farther.
Also, ask who you are becoming when you interact with these stories. I hope interacting with this one makes you sense your own power and vulnerability.
Finally, assess who is penetrating you, word by word, to change who you are.
To alter your destiny!
To alter OUR collective destiny also!
The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
∞ The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt
A con artist weaves mythologies that are designed to obscure. They are meant to hide what the spider knows that has escaped your awareness.
The prepared table upon which the spider will feast is one variable. The other variable is the litany of things the con artist knows about you that you cannot see.
The con artist exploits your blind spots and unseen biases. Unbeknownst to you, your choices and actions are driven by them.
Therefore, stopping amid the tension and consciously considering what is pulling and seeking to influence you, is a key undertaking.
There is another, more important piece of information you also need. Certainly, knowing what kind of gravitational pull you are experiencing is at least half the battle. But there is more.
So stay in the tension a bit longer. Get very familiar with the magnetism all around you. Collaborate with the chaos instead of fleeing it.
These are truly remarkable times.
Manipulation moves at a lightning pace.
To thrive in this environment, you must become the MASTER of these treacherous narratives. You must learn to befriend the chaos of our world and become the stable core at the heart of the diffusion.
Authors flourish in this environment. Characters flounder (unless, of course, you author yourself as a character).
Lean in close now.
I will whisper a secret about stories and, gasp, sorcery:
Sorcery is the art of manipulating the seen (material) via the unseen.
Sorcery is irrevocably intertwined with stories.
The hidden hooks and invisible agendas wired into your brain interfere with the sorcery you might otherwise use to craft your life. They also cause your sorcery to go astray (to miss the mark). You author the wrong stories for yourself.
Similarly, if I can get you to adopt the stories I tell about you or your situation, I can move you in a particular direction (you, beautiful, sparkling fly). This is a kind of sorcery. You cede the weaving of stories to me. I author your narratives for you.
Going one step further, if I can embed certain dogmas in your mind via the stories you believe passively, you will direct your own life towards the outcomes I desire. You will choose based on the narratives you absorbed from joining your mind to mine. You will author your story according to my values and desires.
Furthermore, if I can capture your imagination, you will never dream bigger than the limits I set for you. And you will keep dreaming the dream I establish for you also.
How is this sorcery?
As explained above, sorcery uses the unseen to move the seen. Sorcery aims to bring something to pass.
That is exactly what stories do.
In light of that, the questions I have for you are simple:
Who will weave your story?
Will you be the spider or the fly?
Is there a different alternative?
If so, how will you access it?
Are there times when being the fly is beneficial?
The presence of the emerald green backdrop (in the image above) provides a tell-tale sign. It informs us that sometimes the spider’s seduction is precisely what we need to open a new chapter in our lives. It’s the diffusion that emanates from our stable core and our authorship. It is the chaos in the magic we unleashed.
Such a ruthless irony!
Considering all I have said, the stakes are high. Very high indeed.
In the first scenario …
… you are consumed and overcome. Other people’s narratives give them ownership of your outcomes.
You cease to determine your life and define yourself at the most basic, fundamental levels.
And during such perilous times!
The entire global system is hanging on by a thread (along with your life and the next generations’ lives).
On a more personal, immediate, visceral, mundane level, you are simply in danger of wasting what’s left of your life.
In the second scenario …
… you are immune to manipulation.
You are the Master of Your Narrative Universe because you are the master of yourself.
Naturally, self-mastery implies a journey of self-development rather than a miracle cure or guaranteed outcome. Thankfully, no two journeys are ever the same.
In this second scenario, you collaborate with chaos and stay still when extreme tension tempts you to act against your interests. Instead of seeking comfort, you seek the unknown doors that open the way to true power.
Your neXt move is simple enough:
And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.
∞ The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt
The hard part?
Knowing who the evil counselors are.
That’s the missing piece of this puzzle that will collapse all the tension into power.
I’ve got it under lock and key (as you might imagine).
Master of the Narrative Universe?
That kind of training is highly customized and surely isn’t free.
Did you honestly think it would be?
If it was, who would be the spider, and who would be the fly?
In any event, here’s how you get your hands on the master key:
Book Chaos Collaboration, a co-creative, improvised experience.
Full Terms of Use are available via the booking system. For now, suffice it to say there are no guarantees and no promised outcomes!
During this 3.5-hour VIP experience, you will:
Delve into all the tension and chaos you are trying to keep at bay and harvest their power;
Learn what your hooks are and how you fall prey to them in stupendous acts of self-sabotage;
Get the neXt puzzle piece to becoming Master of the Narrative Universe (hint: high tension, no promises);
Have an experience of extracting yourself from a malignant narrative that is exerting a huge amount of pressure; and
Experience your power as you spin a new narrative that puts you at the center of your life.
I offer no guarantees. I do not promise any outcomes. I offer only a co-creative, improvised experience.
During this experience, I will pay exquisite attention to everything you reveal and we will use it all to enhance your personal power of authorship during these tumultuous times.
Artwork © 2024 Rebecka Eggers
Well written, Rebecka.