The Nothing or the Invisible Human VIllain | Awarness

The Nothing is a powerful and enigmatic force depicted in "The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende. It serves as the main antagonist, representing the absence of imagination, hope, and dreams. In the story, the Nothing consumes the fantasy world of Fantasia, erasing everything in its path.

Metaphorically, the Nothing can be seen as a symbol of the lack of conscious creation in one's life. It represents the idea that without actively shaping our own reality, we risk being consumed by emptiness and despair. The Nothing reminds us of the importance of embracing our imagination, dreams, and desires, and actively working towards manifesting them into reality.

Just like the characters in "The Neverending Story" must confront the Nothing and fight against its destructive power, we too must take charge of our lives and become conscious creators. By embracing our creative potential and actively shaping our reality, we can overcome the influence of the Nothing and create a life filled with purpose, joy, and fulfillment.

In The NeverEnding Story, the boy Bastion who is reading the story starts to recognize that not only does his reading of the book contribute to creating the story, but in fact he is the hero of the story that he is reading. Without that realization, the Nothing will overwhelm and swallow up the world into non-existence. Only in his conscious state as the active creator who can name the child-like Empress does he participate in vanquishing this villain. 

Symptoms of this Villain: 

-Consciousness Wound

-Human Design: Undefined Head Center

-Enneagram 9

-Doesn't understand their creative power

-Will often spiritually bypass emotions, conflict, and difficulty

-Will often forget their purpose in life or find themselves continually seeking what their purpose in life is. 

-May choose drugs or other escapist tendencies

-Reluctant Humans

-Inner Magic: Peace/Creative Force

Stages:

Stage 0: Origin Villain

  • A parent who displays the Nothing

  • An experience of deep grief,

  • Addiction

  • Continual repression of the self is usually perpetuated by the agent of control (one of the other villains, particularly control)

Stage 1: Internalization

  • Negations: I am powerless, I am nothing, I am not worth the effort, I do not matter

  • “The world is painful, and difficult so I must learn to escape it”

Stage 2: Diversification

  • The Nothing is a persecutor villain but its persecution of others is usually accidental. Its main persecution is in the suppression of the self.

  • “We are alcoholics we don’t hurt others, we are content to just hurt ourselves.” - Where the Heart Beats

  • Combo Villain: This villain experiences a deep fear of showing up in the world and thus seeks to control their appearance by completely escaping.

Stage 3: Externalization

  • Addiction and Escapism

  • Feeling indeterminate of your ability to affect the world or the course of your world.

The Nothing in Film

An allegory for life: (Replace Story with Life)

Some key lessons I was reminded of from this childhood classic:
1.) When you find yourself in the swamp of sadness, you have to keep moving. The sadness will drown you when you let it.

2.) Know your worth. Doubting yourself at the last second can be deadly.
3.) Never be afraid to look at your true self.
4) The nothing like a cancer will come to some of the biggest rock steady character’s in your story and they may choose to let it take them.
5.) Do what you dream. Your story is so much bigger than you think.
6.) Even if all you have left is a grain of sand, you can rebuild.
7.) Never forget you can have as many dreams and wishes as you want.

Other Examples:

From Lundy’s “Why is He Like that”

10. Mentally Ill and Addicted Abusers

Drug addictions and mental illnesses do not necessarily create an abusive person but, they can increase the risk of intimate partner violence.

The abuser is often inconsistent with their medication causing affective and behavioural unpredictability. If he is not taking his medication as medically advised or is taking unprescribed medication, it is advised to be extra careful.