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The Three Metamorphoses

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche, in discussing the Three Metamorphoses of the human spirit, points out that we are in a constant state of becoming. That is, we are evolving in consciousness, as individuals and as a species. Nietzsche’s three stages are: Camel, Lion and finally Child.

As Camels, we take on the social burdens placed externally upon us from parents, religion, society, and the like. As Lions, we become noble, vicious creatures thirsty for truth, destined to defeat our own internal dragons of “Thou Shalt.” And upon the successful vanquishing, we return to the innocence of the Child. This is the goal of our Journey, to begin a new life free of preconceptions and the “Thou Shalts” of the Ego.