The biggest challenge humans face is our mind’s self-limiting constructs, developed in the first third of life. Science has revealed the human brain only fully integrates at the age of 25, making us passive sponges of the prevailing cultural norms and values. Whether in the USA, China, Brazil, a hamlet in England, or an apartment block in Singapore, nuclear family pressure, organized religion conformity, and formal education competition, corrals each of us towards a homogeneous worldview. Unfortunately, our human tendency to take mental shortcuts results in stereotyping and generalizations, and before we know it, we are partnering with false ideas about ourselves and others. Messages like ‘Beware of those people’, or ‘This is how we do it in our family’ or ‘Don’t be a crybaby’ are taken to heart by our younger selves, as we depend on our primary caregivers for information on how the world works. The media tends to reinforce these beliefs (run as they are by equally conditioned individuals), as we seek information supporting our views, whilst discounting anything that does not. So, by the time we are young adults, we may think we are free and autonomous, when in fact we are programmed prisoners of our own minds. Hence, we are often at war with ourselves, each other, and our environment. We fail to learn from history because by the time we are making history, it’s already too late. The program of hate has been set, and it dictates our every move.
We were not born to hate, but to love. For thousands, if not millions of years, humans lived in highly collaborative communities, intimately connected with the natural world. The Khoisan (Bushmen) of the Kalahari, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer communities, give us a rare glimpse of how we used to be. There is a wonderful interdependence between them and their environment, in which all life is sacred. The peace, freedom, and joy within the Khoisan is pulpable, and appreciation and laughter pepper their every moment. Civilization, whilst delivering many benefits, has come at a heavy cost in terms of wellbeing, ours, and the environment. But we are at a point in earth history where we can and should learn from our checkered past. Whilst it appears we have been socialized and conditioned to hate, the fact that our inherent nature is loving gives us a fair chance to change course. And the most wonderful thing about being human is that we can change our minds! This is what differentiates us from all the other species we share the planet with – consciousness. We can think about our own thinking, and therefore change the way we think from how we have been initially programmed, to how we want to be.
Every human should be equipped to examine their own thinking, including what they believe, to continue the extraordinary evolutionary journey that put us here in the first place. Through learning to nurture your nature, you will have the keys to the kingdom, taking your place in the circle of life as a fully functioning, unlimited creature. Your inherent overcoming capacity, born of a million generations, will be at your disposal and shared with the world around you. If you want life to have meaning and purpose, then your being fully alive, switched on, and turned on, will certainly give it to you. When each one of us is living as we should be, the potential for conflict and war will greatly diminish. Yes, I know we appear to be an overpopulated planet, but when our inherent creativity, confidence, and clarity emerges within each of us, we will naturally solve the myriad problems and build a more equitable world. Hence, my life mission is to ensure that every child between the ages of 10 and 12 across the globe learns to nurture their nature. By the time puberty arrives, and the sex and growth hormones are racing, they will have the ability to navigate this demanding metamorphosis. They will be introduced to the Mansion of Being (Steve Biddulph – Fully Human), their four-story mansion for which they are responsible, consisting of their physical being (sensations), emotional being (feelings), cognitive being (thoughts), and spiritual being (sacredness). They will understand where they are in their own mansion, and what to do. Practices like conscious breathing, emotional regulation, mental flexibility, and meditation will keep them grounded in the present moment and growing towards the best versions of themselves. The outcome will be a cohort of creative, confident, and clear-thinking individuals who will steer future generations in the right direction, based upon abundance and love, not scarcity and hate.