Longing for Connection

Our thoughts and desires are shaped by layers of conscious and unconscious conditioning.  

Each layer of conditioning is the outcome of the combined effect on our body, brain, mind and emotions of our experiences, our interactions with others, and our pains, comforts and pleasures.

A child is born with a few simple layers of conditioning - shaped by experiences within the womb, the experience of birth, and genetic factors.

As a child grows, it's inner being is shaped by increasingly more complex experiences. With time the number of layers of conditioning increases. Also the complexity of interactions between those layers increases even more. More and more experiences are created from our own minds and emotions - as our "world model" evolves within our inner selves - almost seeming to take on a life of it's own ...

Some layers of conditioning are left to sink into the unconscious.

Some are consciously held in the light of the conscious mind.

Some are forced out of conscious thought - sometimes successfully, sometimes with struggle.

The basic drives that determine how these layers fit together are grasping and aversion.

The shape of our conditioned mind is determined by the ways that grasping and aversion affect experiential memory along the timeline of our lives.

Our basic drives - grasping and aversion - dominate our mental and emotional consciousness and unconscious.

These primitive drives - rooted in the cells of our bodies -  are transformed through complex plays between our layers of conditioning.

With this increase  in complexity, primitive drives transform into such drives/emotions/behaviors as ambition, complex forms of love, tribal emotions, fear, hate, rage, violence, greed, lust.

Everyone is unique in terms of how their particular timeline of experiences and biological growth have affected their network of conditioning.

Other more subtle impulses are usually lost in the noise of our minds and emotions.

These subtle impulses include:- our spirit of exploration and a longing for a sense of connection.

We're not usually aware of our potential for developing new senses. New senses can detect subtle threads of connectivity between ourselves, all life forms, nature, the universe, spiritual energies, and maybe even the Great Spirit, the source of all.

By getting in touch with your deep inner quiet longing to explore, and for a sense of connectedness, you create opportunities to discover how this universe is put together, and make new discoveries of how we are connected.

This type of exploration demands a change of heart. We need to learn how the negative effects of our inner conditioning lead to self-sustaining stress, which in turn leads to health problems in the body, mind and emotions. We need to learn how to see all this within ourselves.

We need to remove the numbness of our inner senses and feelings - so that we can see how we are hurting ourselves.

One of the root causes of violence and destructiveness is that we unconsciously blame the numbness of our inner senses and feelings on others - and we become hostile to them - although the conscious reasoning behind our hostility is generally a fabrication or rationalization - designed to hide the realities of our inner troubles.

By exploring this inner numbness we are exploring the roots of all human conflict.

We are also exploring the ways that we can sense our inner selves, our conditioning, how we relate to others and ultimately how we are connected to the life force of the universe.

To nurture this spirit of exploration within ourselves and others is a noble goal. To bring out and inspire this longing for connection is a sacred endeavor. To study the ways of nurturing exploration and sense of connection is to integrate the divine with science.

Learning how to deal with conflict is an essential step in all of this. At some point in our journeys of spiritual exploration, we will be faced with acts of violence from others, and maybe even a desire to act violently in response to someone else's acts of aggression.

The type of creativity and understanding required to subdue violent emotions and actions also needs to be part of your study.

As a guide, understand the power of our inner healing forces - kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, sharing, compassion, generosity, humbleness - to create situations that help put to rest people's hostilities.

Consider making this your goal in all conflicts:- to use whatever powers, talents, creativity you have to put to rest a people's hostilities - and creating opportunities for them to solve their differences.

The majority of people seek an end to hostility. It is only a few broken and lost souls who seek to escalate and manipulate hostility.

In a world of hostility, have faith that most people  want an end to conflict.

While conflict persists, seek ways to intertwine opposing sides - engage them in working together - making this possible by creating opportunities in which their fears and angers are put to rest - or by presenting opportunities that help to direct their greed and lust for power to more noble and gentle causes.

Help people understand that prosperity and peace for their enemies will bring prosperity and peace to themselves. But acts of violence against others will bring violence back to yourself. As you sow, so shall you reap.

Appeal to people's longing for connection. This longing exists in all people. It sometimes appears in stripped-down, narrow-minded ways. For example, our bonding and tribal feelings represent a stripped-down version of this longing for connection. So too does the religious desire to know God, to belong to a religious faith. Study this for yourself - and help others look within to see where these bonding desires come from....