Primitive Emotions, and Liberation

It’s a humbling thing to admit, when our society seems so advanced, that our emotions are largely no more developed than loincloth-wearing, spear-chucking hunters/gatherers of millennia past. Fear, aggression, hatred, or paranoia, are all indications of our mostly unenlightened state. We defend our ego, but there is no need. We war with our brothers, but there is no need. We fear death, but there is no need. Let’s just imagine that there are foreign societies millions of years more advanced than us; what must those societies be like? It seems likely to me that they would already be past the “common sense” level of evolution and into something more like “unity consciousness.” We still divide the field into right and wrong, and us versus them, all based around morality that we can’t prove, nor understand in many cases. it’s all because the human being wants to be right. We want to have solidity in our minds. We think if we have truth, things are going to get easier, but the truth is: the universe is what it is.

We may be beginning to enter into the common sense phase of consciousness here on earth, but there are millions of us who are not on board. This is not a political statement. This is a statement about developing awareness and acceptance of the world as it is. We don’t get to choose what the world is. We do get to choose how we live in it, and that’s our only real choice. Do we choose division, war, and frustration? Or, do we choose peace, kindness, and the love of the wisest teachers we’ve had? I saw a quote on social media, supposedly from the Dalai Lama, that said, “my philosophy is peace, my practice is kindness, and my religion is love.“ To me, that is the essence of the message. Likewise, we’re lucky to live in a democratic society. If we have problems with politics, we have the right to vote. We don’t have to shout each other down on social media, or the news. We need to realize that the tricks that one side is using to manipulate the masses is being used by both sides to manipulate the masses. Sensationalism, misdirection, and outright lies are common in most areas of politics. (That was a political statement). This is just an example of a more realistic view of society. It’s messed up. So what are we gonna do about it?

One thing I keep going back to is something I encountered early on, which was, “we wake up one person at a time until there are no violent souls left.“ The Buddha teaches that the noble eightfold path is the way into awakening. Awakening is liberation. The noble eightfold path is; right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, and right mindfulness (these could be reframed as wise view, wise thought, etc.). Further study into Thich Nhàt Hanh’s Buddhism, particularly from the mindfulness perspective, will help us to understand, further, the essence of this teaching. We could fill a whole book on this topic so I’m just gonna leave it up to you to do your research but suffice it to say, this is the essence of buddhist thought. I can add, “except things how they are, and don’t fear change.”

I’m not a trained therapist, but my observations of people that I know in my little world lead me to believe that we are still so underdeveloped emotionally. I think a lot of psychologists and neuroscientists would agree with this. Some of us are afraid of everything. Some of us flog ourselves with shame. Some of us are so proud that we can’t see the harm we cause. Some of us are stuck in our heads, hoping desperately to get out. What are we supposed to do about this? This is where meditation comes into play. This practice balances us and allows us to see more clearly. The science of mindfulness is well established nowadays, and the more we get on board the more we’re going to grow as a society. If we want advanced emotion regulation, we have to do the inner work necessary to achieve it. Silence, stillness, breath. These are all worth our time. Refer back to “a worthy path“ or “Zen and a meditation“ if you want to know how to meditate. This is how our society is going to awaken. This is the end of primitivity.

More to come…