{"id":34283,"date":"2013-08-10T21:27:32","date_gmt":"2013-08-10T21:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=34283"},"modified":"2025-02-19T11:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T19:46:07","slug":"knoll","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=34283","title":{"rendered":"Laying Down the Burden"},"content":{"rendered":"

(James L. Knoll, IV, M.D.<\/strong>\u00a0is Associate Professor & Director of Forensic Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University & the Forensic Fellowship training program at the Central New York Psychiatric Center. He has worked as a forensic evaluator for the courts, corrections, and the private sector. He is the author of over 90 articles and book chapters relating to both psychiatry and forensic psychiatry, and is the Editor-in-Chief of\u00a0<\/i>The Psychiatric Times.<\/i><\/p>\n

(Dr. Knoll is also a frequent contributor to\u00a0<\/i>the jonestown report. His previous articles are\u00a0here<\/a>. He may be reached at\u00a0knollj@upstate.edu<\/a>.)<\/i><\/p>\n

I’m gonna lay down my burden. Down by the riverside.<\/i>
\n– Jim Jones (The Death Tape)<\/p>\n

Gonna lay down my burden,
\nDown by the riverside
\nGoing to lay down my sword and shield
\nDown by the riverside
\nAin’t going to study war no more<\/i>
\n– Folk Spiritual song[1] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

The death tape is rolling, and it is recording all of us, although we may wish to deny death to varying degrees Hence my undying fascination with the Jonestown death tape, which I believe contains the synecdoche of Jim Jones and Jonestown in so many fragments of preserved dialogue.[2] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0In this article, I focus primarily on a singular statement in an effort to discern the broad from something seemingly narrow. I seek to understand the whole through the focus on one of its parts.<\/p>\n

It is my contention that Jones\u2019 phrase \u2013\u00a0I’m gonna lay down my burden\u00a0<\/i>\u2013 can best be understood in the context of the theme of resistance. Jones\u2019 use of this powerful spiritual aphorism about surrender and acceptance represented its complete reversal: oppose and reject. Finally, I argue that one of Jones\u2019 strong motivations was revenge. Because revenge represents an uncompromising, forceful attempt to communicate a profound grievance, it is the very antithesis of surrender, acceptance and a genuine laying down of one\u2019s burden, in the sense that this spiritual proverb was meant.<\/p>\n

Truth as Bait<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Falsehood is never so successful as when she baits her hook with truth, and no opinions so fatally mislead us as those that are not wholly wrong, as no watches so effectually deceive the wearer as those that are sometimes right.<\/i>
\n– Charles Caleb Colton<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 final words, bidding others to join him in \u201claying down\u201d their \u201cburdens,\u201d have long remained stuck in my consciousness \u2013 but in an unnerving and exposing way. Anxious and confused \u2013 the same way a child must feel upon hearing something from a trusted adult that should not have been uttered. But in those final moments, Jones did utter these captivating words, which seemed to coalesce all the final drama into a single phrase that flowed effortlessly out of the skilled orator\u2019s compendium of riveting sermons.<\/p>\n

It was a vivid example of how Jones could expertly tap into the authority and influence of spiritual guideposts, yet not go beyond them towards the truth to which they point. Instead, he used them to do the opposite. He wielded them in the service of the ego. And because he was so highly skilled at this, the suffering he produced was great. The concept of ego, as used here, subsumes the concepts of self-esteem, narcissism, the innate sense of an \u201cI,\u201d as well as Freud\u2019s conception of an observing, controlling function.[3] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The birth of the ego allowed for symbolic events (as opposed physical events), such as humiliations, to pose threats equal to or even greater than threats to physical survival.[4] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Remarking on Jones\u2019 use of the famous Santayana quote, \u201cThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,\u201d[5] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Reston points out how it was used out of context, and the fact that Jones had a penchant for using powerful quotes: \u201cLike so many other sayings, he picked the Santayana quotation up as if it were a bauble, in the rough of intellectual thought. It was as if the world\u2019s wisdom was reducible to a book of quotations, from which one could select gems and arrange a resplendent mosaic of his own magnificence.\u201d[6] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0I would push Reston\u2019s observation further.<\/p>\n

The analogy of a \u201cbauble\u201d and mosaic of magnificence approaches, but does not fully capture the effects of Jones\u2019 use of powerful maxims. Using a different metaphor, I would characterize Jones\u2019 powerful quotations as the \u201clure\u201d with which he \u201cbaited\u201d his thought-controlling \u201chook.\u201d The quotes he used were no ordinary sayings; rather, they were intellectual and spiritual guideposts that contained the power to tap quickly into one\u2019s emotions and inner experience. In this sense, they penetrated the depths of the psyche with pointed efficiency. Once there, the sacred proverbs often have the effect of inducing a momentary state of wonderment and\u00a0awe<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Were the receivers of the powerful quotes simply let alone, to\u00a0be<\/i>\u00a0in a state of reverence, all may be likely well and good. Indeed, a state of awe seems to be one of the most pure, honest cognitions one can have. It is a state of absolute, limitless wonder and reverie \u2013 the mind of a child. In this sense, it is one of the most sacred of mental states. It is exceedingly difficult to maintain, but it is likely only here, on the razor\u2019s edge of awe, that we have the most freedom, depth and genuine connection to the un-knowable.<\/p>\n

Awe and the unknowable are intimately associated with uncertainty, and these mental states are typically aspired to for the cultivation of one\u2019s inner life and spiritual pursuits. In contrast, certainty leads to a falling away from awe, and towards mental and spiritual inertia. Jones had to appearcertain<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 even to the extent that he claimed he could foresee the future. To leave his followers in a state of personal awe and honest uncertainty was far too threatening to his ego. He was incredibly discerning, and as soon has he perceived that an aphorism had resonated with a follower\u2019s psyche in an awe inspiring way, it was time to sink the hook deeper, and reel the follower closer into his sphere of ego control.<\/p>\n

In sum, my view is that Jones used powerful aphorisms instrumentally and in the following progression: 1) instill a sense of awe, 2) seize the vulnerable moment, 3) control and manipulate. His use of language to this end was not in accord with a\u00a0healthy, functioning spirituality which involves the \u201ctranscendence beyond the individual\u2019s instrumental interests,\u201d and \u201cmaterial human limitation.\u201d[7] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Rather, by the time he arrived in Jonestown (and arguably before), he appeared to be operating continually on the brink of \u201cpotential regression into a paranoid polarity,\u201d and deprived the spiritual tenets \u201cof their profound meaning.\u201d[8] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0As the \u201cfinal stand\u201d approached, Jones\u2019 mindset moved even farther from spiritual serenity and closer to rebellion against life itself.<\/p>\n

Rebellion vs. Acceptance<\/b><\/p>\n

What I’m talking about now is the dispensation of judgment.\u201d<\/i>
\n– Jim Jones (The Death Tape)<\/p>\n

The moving spiritual folk song \u201cDown by the Riverside,\u201d likely has its origins in the biblical passage of Matthew 11:28: \u201cCome to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\u201d This pinnacle teaching of Christ was meant to signify that the mysteries of grace, peace, and salvation are to be ventured by hope and faith. Here, recall Christine Miller\u2019s plea to Jones:\u00a0\u201cI feel like that–as long as there’s life, there’s hope. That’s my faith.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0To which Jones responded with:\u00a0\u201cWell—everybody dies. Some place that hope runs out\u2026. I’m tired of being tormented to hell.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

The tragic irony of Jones\u2019 statement is that Christ\u2019s encouragement to lay down one\u2019s burden was quite the opposite of what Jones was suggesting. In contrast to a \u201crevolutionary\u201d opposition by enforcing death, the more accurate meaning of the scripture involves obtaining peace of conscience, ease of mind and tranquility of soul. This necessarily requires surrender\u00a0<\/b>andacceptance of what is<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 a true laying down of one\u2019s heavy egoic burden. A rebellious march into death is antithetical to this notion. The word revolution comes from the Latin\u00a0revolutio<\/i>, which means \u201ca turn around,\u201d or a sudden, often violent change. Revolution implies an aggressive overthrow of a ruling force \u2013 a persistent opposition to some governing influence. Finally, a \u201crally\u201d to death is neither the end of conflict, nor a crusade towards peace, as it creates an extension of suffering into the future for other humans.<\/p>\n

It is by now quite clear that the Jonestown tragedy was not a mass suicide, but a mass murder followed by the suicide of Jones and a relatively small number of individuals in his inner circle. It has been observed that some (if not many), suicides are far from passive acts of giving up the will to live. Such suicides may involve a complex combination of the following forces: 1) anger or sadism turned inward, 2) an act of rebellion, and 3) a desperate attempt to coerce guilt or forgiveness.[9] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Note that none of these entails a peaceful surrender of the egoic burden. The ego\u2019s vision of escape into death is an illusory \u201cdream of death,\u201d whereas true peace involves freedom from self-imposed \u201cmerciless and unrelenting orders\u201d issued by an ego determined to strengthen itself.[10] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The unrelenting nature of egoic opposition to life circumstances can be clearly seen in a document obtained via the Freedom of Information Act[11] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>, and written by Carolyn Layton (\u201cchief administrative officer\u201d of Jonestown, and a top member of Jones\u2019 \u201cadministrative triumvirate\u201d). In this document to Jones, Layton writes: \u201cA final stand<\/i>\u00a0if decided on [\u2026]How will you have the knowledge to know now is the time to go ahead and do it? [emphasis added<\/i>]\u201d The words \u201cfinal stand\u201d suggest aggressive rebellion, and summon images of an embattled troop, ready to fight to the death. In addition, it should be noted that she is looking to Jones for the \u201ccertainty\u201d of precisely when this rebellion must take place. The palpable sentiment Layton seems to express involves a need for certainty, and question of hostile rebellion. Thus, let us now turn to a brief psychological analysis on the relatedness of suffering and uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Transformation via Suffering & Unknowing<\/b><\/p>\n

Thou hast turned cruelly against me\u2026. Have I the strength to wait? What end have I to expect, that I should be patient?<\/i>
\n–\u00a0Job 30:20 \u2013 6:11<\/p>\n

In focusing on the experience of psychological and spiritual transformation, let us invoke another biblical cannon and timeless Hebrew poem. The\u00a0Book of Job<\/i>\u00a0deals squarely with the incomprehensible, unrelenting suffering of a faithful believer. It sets forth a profound and inspired sequence of events for our consideration: \u201cdeprivation, unknowing, and transformed awareness.\u201d[12] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0This sequence of human experience describes a \u201cpath to the profoundest transformations of religious awareness for those who choose the contemplative or mystical traditions\u2026 [as well as] the transforming workings of psychoanalysis.\u201d[13] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Job could be considered a primer for what mistakes to avoid in ministering to a fellow being who is suffering. In it we see the \u201cconvictions and certainties of well-meaning men destroying their attachments to a suffering friend, as well as their ability to learn or to minister to him.\u201d11<\/sup>How is this so? Each of Job\u2019s would be counselors approach him with great certainty about what has caused Job\u2019s ordeal of suffering. Yet all Job\u2019s advisors fail miserably, as it is the case that the \u201cmind plagued by uncertainty clashes with minds glutted with certainty,\u201d and \u201ca mind seeking transformation clashes with minds seeking its appropriation.\u201d11<\/sup><\/p>\n

One of the most profound teachings of Job is that genuine transformation only follows the uncomfortable \u201cordeal of unknowing.\u201d11<\/sup>In fact, through his suffering and ordeal of uncertainty, Job even becomes a catalyst for the transformation of his deficient counselors as per God\u2019s concluding instruction that they look to Job for their own transformation. It could be said that through his own suffering and surrender to the unknowable, Job finally \u201cbecomes the means for others to find their own transformed awareness.\u201d11<\/sup><\/p>\n

The sequence (deprivation, unknowing, transformed awareness) can be seen not only in spiritual transformation, but also in psychological transformation. Here it is important to recall that \u201cthe play of uncertainty and transformed awareness against conviction and refusal to learn was\u2026 what Freud made the heart of his instructions about psychoanalysis:\u2019[\u2026]if he follows his expectations he is in danger of never finding anything but what he already knows; and if he follows his inclinations he will certainly falsify what he may perceive.\u2019<\/i>\u201d11<\/sup><\/p>\n

The transformational point of unknowing in the midst of great suffering was presented dramatically to Jones, particularly after the Congressman Ryan visit. Burdened with his heavy, crippling ego, Jones was unable to accept the circumstances as they were. The actual circumstances versus the story his ego had created so conflicted that he could not accept the reality \u2013 the\u00a0is-ness<\/i>\u00a0of his situation. Jones\u2019 own egoic story involved obtaining his \u201crightful place in history\u201d \u2013 which he then perceived as unjustly stolen. This caused Jones to grow \u201cdespondent and say that all was lost.\u201d[14] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

When talk of \u201cwinning\u201d or \u201closing\u201d arise, it is a high probability sign that the ego is in control. Being and reality are then related to in terms of net gain or loss, a continual struggle which often precludes acceptance of uncertainty and transformed awareness. Striving to \u201cwin\u201d and avoid \u201closs\u201d in Jones\u2019 situation amounted to being consumed with the certainty of his predicament and potential outcomes. For example, consider Jones\u2019 statement:\u00a0\u201cA person’s a fool who continues to say that they’re winning when you’re losing.\u201d[15] <\/span><\/sup><\/a> By the time Ryan began leaving Jonestown, it seems clear that Jones viewed \u201cRyan\u2019s departure with Jonestown residents as the dramatic symbol of Peoples Temple\u2019s \u2018defeat.\u2019\u201d[16] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Defeat in this scenario was Jones\u2019 egoic mental construction \u2013 both certain and utterly unacceptable.\u00a0This is to be contrasted with the actions of other religious, spiritual and political leaders such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela who \u201ctransformed their personal painful experience into a quest for social justice.\u201d[17] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Most spiritual teachings contain the theme of the individual \u201cfinding God,\u201d and therefore peace, through surrender. That is, through total acceptance of\u00a0what is<\/i>, which they had been forced into by their suffering. Even at the time that the death tape began rolling, there remained the\u00a0possibility<\/i>of transformation. Everything in his life had brought Jones to this very point. Before him was the opportunity to truly lay down his burden, and thus be transformed. Indeed, \u201cAll must reach this point, and go beyond it [\u2026]For from this lowest point will learning lead to heights of happiness, in which you see the purpose of the lesson shining clear.\u201d[18] <\/span><\/sup><\/a> Suffering is hereby distinguished from surrender. Suffering brings one to the point of surrender, and the possibility of transformation. Returning to the example of Christ: \u201cThe way of the cross is a complete reversal. It means that the worst thing in your life, your cross, turns into the best thing that ever happened to you, by forcing you into surrender\u2026\u201d[19] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Surrender means freedom, but also a corresponding diminution of ego. Rebellion against such opportunities leads to a strengthening of one\u2019s sense of self (i.e., ego). The transformation that takes place in this instance is complete identification with egoic demands, which obscures and annihilates reality. Ultimately, this results in a pervasive unawareness, particularly with one\u2019s connectedness with the whole of life.[20] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Neither reverence in the face of the unknowable, nor transformed awareness was accessible to Jones. As a result, thoughts of revenge were cultivated from his perception of being in an unfair, persecuted and \u201cdefeated\u201d position.<\/p>\n

Revenge & Ego Survival<\/b><\/p>\n

So they’ll pay for this. They brought this upon us. And they’ll pay for that.<\/i>
\n– Jim Jones (The Death Tape)<\/p>\n

The desire for revenge \u201cis a ubiquitous response to narcissistic injury.\u201d[21]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Fear and anger, in the form of the flight, freeze or fight response, are linked physiologically and psychologically. With the development of civilization acting to reduce daily threats to physical survival, threats to self-esteem assumed a more prominent role. Indeed, affronts to our ego, self-esteem or narcissism are responded to \u201cas though they were a threat to our survival.\u201d[22]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The end result, and current psychological predicament for over five thousand years, has been the mind\u2019s tendency to create the illusion that there exists a \u201cself\u201d or identity desiring to sustain itself, seek pleasure and avoid narcissistic injury just as zealously as one would attempt to avoid harm to the physical body.<\/p>\n

The ego survival instinct became \u201csublimated into striving for an enduring sense of self which is an object of value in a field of social meanings.\u201d[23]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Thus, violent revenge may be viewed as a \u201cfight response\u201d to a perceived threat to the sense of self. Vengeful rage fulfills a function in that it provides a sense of restored power (a pseudo-power) to combat intolerable and humiliating feelings of weakness. Ego threats may become so overwhelming that \u201cthe only thing that remains is to persist in the \u2018unremitting denunciation of injustice.\u2019\u201d[24]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0When Jones sacrificed his own and others\u2019 lives, he was in fact following a kind of logic \u2013 albeit perverse and ruthless: He\u00a0had<\/i>\u00a0to sustain his refusal to compromise \u2013\u00a0against all odds<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 lest his ego surrender to a reality he found utterly intolerable.<\/p>\n

In certain disturbed individuals, revenge fantasies may encompass rage at the self, leading to either suicide and\/or murder-suicide.[25] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The revenge fantasies may become inflexible and persistent due to the fact that they provide desperately needed emotional scaffolding, without which the individual\u2019s psyche would collapse. The vengeful person is able to regulate his mood and ward off ego threats with the power he feels by ruminating on, and planning out his vengeance. The fantasies allow him to experience some amount of pleasure, as well as pride at being on the side of some spiritual or cosmic primal justice. In essence, the revenge fantasy serves as a powerful, but temporary remedy to a humiliated ego, by providing an illusion of strength and a sense of restored control.<\/p>\n

In clarifying expressions of vengeful rage, Menninger has used the example of a child who suffers some type of pain.[26] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Immediately, the child \u201cwants to let others know about it\u2026 to know exactly how he or she hurts.\u201d The internal dialogue may be represented as: \u201cWhen I am hurt by you, I want you to hurt like I hurt; therefore if you hit me, I will hit you back.\u201d[27] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0But in the case of certain individuals who labor under a very forceful and sadistic ego, the drive for revenge cannot abide by the principle of functional symmetry. The type of severe narcissistic rage they experience demands excessive retaliation, and a transfer of a disproportionate amount of pain to others.<\/p>\n

In its dreadful finality, the revenge fantasy serves to obliterate the individual\u2019s intolerable reality and aversive self-awareness. The revenge taker not only denies his powerlessness, but from his perspective goes further, gaining \u201cvirtually limitless power. An eye for an eye soon gives way to a life for an eye.\u201d[28] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0In this way, revenge fleetingly restores the grandiose self and egoic primacy, allowing the ego\u2019s \u201comnipotence\u201d to rise triumphantly from the ashes of shame, loss and vulnerability. Yet note that this entire process is precisely the opposite of acceptance, peace and serenity of consciousness. The\u00a0reverse<\/i>\u00a0of \u201claying down one\u2019s burden,\u201d it is a desperate fight to the death (and beyond) to preserve the ego.<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 last death tape statement is undeniably a pure proclamation of revenge: \u201cSo they’ll pay for this. They brought this upon us. And they’ll pay for that.\u201d[29] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0There are two other notable elements contained in this statement. This powerful declaration reveals: 1) the presence of externalization of blame (\u201cThey brought this upon us\u201d), and 2) the need for a dramatic act to be recognized by others. The very public and arguably theatrical nature of mass murder would seem to speak clearly to the \u201cneed for recognition from an audience.\u201d[30] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Why go to such an extreme as the mass murder of over 900? Because the dramatic act of revenge functions to reestablish a connection with an \u201caudience\u201d to whom Jones wished to convey a message.<\/p>\n

From a broad perspective, that message might be translated and distilled as: \u201cThis version of life is abhorrent and unbearable. I shall expose this injustice on the world\u2019s stage where all will behold my virtue, and the other\u2019s depravity.\u201d\u00a0<\/i>Annihilation of unacceptable reality thereby has the aim \u201cof exposing the \u2018good\u2019 order\u201d of the avenger.[31] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Such hyperbolic and gratuitous acts of revenge do not \u201caim to bring justice but to annihilate\u201d unacceptable reality.\u00a0Because the vengeful individual \u201ccannot contain his painful experience\u201d resulting from life as it is \u2013 he must annihilate the external order \u2013 the is-ness of life itself.<\/p>\n

An inability to accept reality is transformed into a mandate to destroy reality. That which is unjust and must be destroyed is, de facto, one\u2019s mortal enemy. Making an enemy of life and resolving to destroy it serves to: 1) position oneself against reality, 2) transform reality into a mental projection of all that is unjust and persecutory, and 3) strengthen one\u2019s ego (eg., \u201cI\u201d am right and life is wrong).\u00a0It could be said that the ego strengthens itself in this way\u00a0by seeking a form of \u201creverse specialness.\u201d By becoming a lone, yet exceptional protestor against an \u201cunjust\u201d reality, one assumes a powerful victim role in which one can \u201cwin\u201d \u2013 even by losing: \u201cWe win when we go down.\u201d[32] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The battle is lost by the avenger; however, he \u201cshatters the monstrous [reality] for generations to come.\u201d[33] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a revolutionary suicide.<\/i>
\n– Jim Jones (The Death Tape)<\/p>\n

Living is the greatest revolution. Living has no pattern, but death has: the past or the future, the what has been or the Utopia. You are living for the Utopia, and so you are inviting death and not life<\/i>
\n–\u00a0Krishnamurti (Living Is the Greatest Revolution<\/i>)[34] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

There was never a \u201cproblem\u201d on November 18, 1978 that was not self-created, or otherwise a product of Jones\u2019 controlling and demanding ego. Even unto the moment he gathered Jonestown members in the pavilion, there was the opportunity to accept the circumstances as they were, and genuinely lay down his heavy egoic burden. This was also noted by Jones\u2019 advisors immediately after the Ryan departure with defectors. The option of acceptance was apparent to \u201cTemple attorney Charles Garry [who] advised Jim Jones to accept the departures gracefully.\u201d[35] <\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Garry later noted that even after Ryan\u2019s departure, the Jonestown \u201ccommunity could have endured the loss of a handful of defectors.\u201d[36] <\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Among Jones\u2019 options was accepting the circumstances of the moment, and allowing Ryan and others to leave unharmed. Of course there would be consequences to this particular choice, just as there would be for any choice. Governmental extradition to the U.S. to face various charges was quite a possibility. And this would have been a set of circumstances for him to accept and make decisions about. Yet his choice of mass murder-suicide was born of continued resistance and nonacceptance of his present circumstances. The result of his ego driven choice was continued, immeasurable suffering for survivors, family and society.<\/p>\n

Rebellion and revenge are aggressive, desperate attempts to strengthen the ego, as opposed to laying down the heaviness of an ego that is creating suffering. In the end, no burden was laid down, no suffering was transcended and spiritual transformation escaped Jones\u2019 grasp even as the opportunity was before him. This brings more poignant irony to\u00a0Annie Moore\u2019s final message, which was undoubtedly influenced by Jones: \u201cWe die because you would not let us live in peace.\u201d It was in fact their own minds that would not let them live in peace. The way to peace, alluded to by Jones\u2019 quote:\u00a0\u201cI’m gonna lay down my burden,\u201d\u00a0<\/i>was not through an imposed death, but through acceptance of uncertainty and transformed awareness.<\/p>\n

References:<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See:\u00a0“STUDY WAR NO MORE”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0“Death Tape” Transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Epstein M:\u00a0Psychotherapy without the self<\/i>. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Leary M:\u00a0The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life<\/i>. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Santayana G:\u00a0The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress<\/i>.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Reston J:\u00a0Our Father Who Art in Hell: The Life and Death of Jim Jones<\/i><\/a>. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.com, Inc., 2000.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Kernberg O: \u201cThe Emergence of a Spiritual Realm.\u201d Ch. 17 In:\u00a0The Inseparable Nature of Love and Aggression: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives<\/i>. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2012<\/p>\n

[8]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Kernberg.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Fenichel O:\u00a0The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis<\/i>. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co., 1972; p. 400.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0A Course In Miracles<\/i>. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2007; pp. 755-757.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Document entitled \u201cAnalysis of Future Prospects\u201d prepared by Carolyn Layton available from the Alternative Considerations website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Andresen J:\u00a0Biblical Job: Changing the Helper\u2019s Mind. Contemporary Psychoanalysis<\/i>, 1991; 27(3): 454-481.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Andresen J.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Affidavit of Deborah Layton Blakey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0“Death Tape” Transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Hall J:\u00a0Gone from the Promised Land: Jonestown in American Cultural History<\/i>. 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0Edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2004.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Neuman Y: \u201cOn revenge.\u201d\u00a0Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society<\/i>, 2012; 17:1-15.<\/p>\n

[18]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0A Course In Miracles<\/i>. 755-757,<\/p>\n

[19]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Tolle E:\u00a0The Power of Now<\/i>. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2004.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Tolle E:\u00a0A New Earth: Awakening to your Life\u2019s Purpose<\/i>. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2005.<\/p>\n

[21]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Lafarge L: \u201cThe Wish for Revenge.\u201d\u00a0The Psychoanalytic Quarterly<\/i>, 2006; 75: 447-475.<\/p>\n

[22]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Menninger W: \u201cUncontained rage: A psychoanalytic perspective on violence.\u201d\u00a0Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic<\/i>, 2007; 71(20: 115-131).<\/p>\n

[23]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Leifer R:\u00a0Vinegar into Honey: Seven Steps To Understanding and Transforming Anger, Aggression, and Violence<\/i>. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.<\/p>\n

[24]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Zizek S:\u00a0Violence<\/i>. New York, NY: Picador, 2008.<\/p>\n

[25]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Horowitz M: \u201cUnderstanding and Ameliorating Revenge Fantasies in Psychotherapy.\u201d\u00a0Am J Psychiatry<\/i>, 2007; 164(1): 24-27<\/p>\n

[26]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Menninger W.<\/p>\n

[27]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Menninger W.<\/p>\n

[28]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Rosen I: \u201cRevenge \u2013 The Hate That Dare Not Speak Its Name: A Psychoanalytic Perspective.\u201d\u00a0J Am Psychoanal Assoc<\/i>, 2007; 55: 595-620.<\/p>\n

[29]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0“Death Tape” Transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[30]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Neuman Y.<\/p>\n

[31]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Neuman Y.<\/p>\n

[32]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0“Death Tape” Transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[33]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Neuman Y.<\/p>\n

[34]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Krishnamurti J:\u00a0The Book of Life<\/i>. R. E. Mark Lee, editor. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995.<\/p>\n

[35]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Hall J.<\/p>\n

[36]<\/span><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Hall J.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(James L. Knoll, IV, M.D.\u00a0is Associate Professor & Director of Forensic Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University & the Forensic Fellowship training program at the Central New York Psychiatric Center. He has worked as a forensic evaluator for the courts, corrections, and the private sector. He is the author of over 90 articles and book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":34356,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34283","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34283"}],"version-history":[{"count":118,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129638,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34283\/revisions\/129638"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}