Self Improvement
Things To Think About
- Education or Indoctrination,
- Which do we have?Has the education system in the US failed in its mission?
What's Up With Ming
"Did you ever feel like an alien who somehow became stranded on a planet called Earth where nothing seemed to make any sense?" A quote from "Ming The Merciless"
Civilization Rehab
Recovering from civilization can be brutal but neccessary if we are to become truly free from it's influence. Kick the civilization habit here!
Being Human
The Condition Of Our ConditionArticles on the Human condition and how we might improve it.
The Condition Our Condition Is In By R.E. Darby
A look at our species performance track record to date, that provides a big picture view of our world and the condition of the Human species, and this will hopefully help us change our perceptions in such a way that will tend to alter our attitudes about ourselves and our fellow Humans.
A History of Ignorance
Considering the length of time the Human species have been present on this world, what have we actually accomplished? If we look back across the landscape of our species history, what contributions have we made to life and the world that hosts life in this star system. Can we even truly consider ourselves an intelligent form of life, with a hundred and fifty thousand years of a history defined by conflict rather than understanding? Ignorance rather than knowledge? Fear rather than courage? And a single minded focus on our own self interests with a concurrent total disregard for the environment that created and sustains ours and all the other life forms on this world?
At this point we usually attempt to distract ourselves from such concerns by focusing on the accomplishments of science and technology, however, these accomplishments are only about the Human capacity to be smart and cleaver, which can easily be dangerous in the hands of a species that has not yet developed real intelligence or personal and social maturity.
This forces us to ask some tough questions. For example; what have we been doing for the last hundred and fifty thousand years? Why have we failed to develop our abilities and realize our potential? And then of course, what can we do about this condition?
It might be helpful if we looked at the history of Human life on this world from the perspective of quality of perception and the resulting levels of awareness. In the case of early Humans, they were faced with an entirely different environment to deal with, while at the same time, though the capabilities and size of their brains had all the potential that later Humans possessed, those capabilities and that potential was not yet as developed as it would later become, at least according to current beliefs. But from the moment we created language and the ability to write and record information, we had the critical ability to pass on knowledge gained and lessons learned. Why then have we not taken advantage of this power? Or is it perhaps that some have, and others haven't? And that would create a condition of haves and have nots.
Learning Caring and Courage
The point here is that the general population of Humans, at some point, either didn't learn the importance of achieving understanding by acquiring knowledge through the process of learning, or for some reason, turned from the courage to care in the first place. This may have been the consequence of allowing ourselves to become slaves to an economic system that demanded the sacrifice of most of our waking hours in order to survive. This then creates an environment of helplessness, in which fear and ignorance can grow and become a powerful influences in a Humans life. This influence has the power to strip an individual almost entirely of their quality of life or what is left of itafter the demands of an inappropriate economic system.
Consequences
When the vast majority of the general population of a species no longer has the ambition to perceive reality as it truly is and takes refuge in fear and ignorance, decay has surely long begun. Look at us! We go through life with a level of awareness that reflects minimal consciousness. We idolize an economic system to the point that we actually sacrifice Human life to it. We are afraid to say goodbye to our adolescents and embrace adulthood and become responsible global citizens. We fear the truth that lives in our hearts. We dedicate our lives to acquiring wealth and comfort, only to realize that they breed indifference and complacency. We devote ourselves to the gratification of our every whim and desire, the defining characteristics of the adolescent stage of development.
So, our report card sucks. Our condition is not so good. Do we just give up and say the hell with it? Join one of the organized religions that are selling the 'end of days'? Are we going to go down without a fight? Is the most powerful adaptation of life ever to appear on this or any world that we know of, just going to wimp out?
Oh hell no! Not this sorry excuse for a Human life form. I will bloody my knuckles until my last dying raggedy breath of life. I will learn and grow. I will go down every and any scary road of self improvement and self realization necessary to get past the adolescent stage of natural development and wake up and grow up. And then I will begin the journey of developing my abilities in the areas of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual awareness. I will have the courage to desire, and commit to, the achievement of real intelligence and a higher state of consciousness to guide that intelligence.
Finally, I will reach out with my heart and whisper a message to my fellow Humans around the world, "come, join me in the greatest challenge of all time, to finally discover what the Human form of life is really all about, what do we have to lose, that is not already lost?"
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