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The Essential Conflict in Humans is between
our Species Nature and our Consciousness
by: Clive Taylor
The two parts
of our beings:
One part of
our beings is our DNA-based species’ nature,
which includes the elements of our brain
activity and awareness that evolved to
contribute to our survival in the world and
especially, the survival of our unique
individual DNA, generation to generation.
The other part
is an “accidental” outcome of DNA’s survival
activities in the world – Consciousness.
The nature of
consciousness:
Consciousness
came about as an “emergent” property from
the individual organism’s need to be able to
make survival “decisions” moment-to-moment,
rather than generation-to-generation as it
was in simpler times, biologically speaking.
As the
complexity of the organ that evolved to make
those decisions, increased, a threshold was
reached where the new property of
consciousness appeared.
There are many
dynamics in nature that show this
“accidental” new emergent property appearing
out of simpler activities. The universe
itself is probably such an emergent
property.
The essential
conflict:
The conflict
comes from the fact that the needs of DNA
are different to the needs of self-aware
consciousness.
DNA has no
regard for the feelings or survival of the
organism other than those that further the
DNA’s propagation, whereas our conscious
selves want freedom from pain and suffering
and want choice over the experience of our
lives.
At times, this
choice goes directly against the needs of
DNA – such as when we choose not to have
children (the vehicles of DNA propagation).
A lot of the
strange behaviour of individuals (of any
species) can be shown to be an outcome of
the in-built, long-term survival need of the
relevant DNA.
(There is a
micro-organism - Toxoplasma - that has a
DNA-propagation cycle that needs cats and
mice: The organism can only breed in cats,
so it has evolved a situation where it gets
into cat faeces and then infects the mice
when they come in contact with it. The
micro-organism then gets into the mouse
brain and causes the mouse to seek out cats
and lose coordination. This allows a cat to
catch and eat the mouse, furthering the
breeding cycle.)
The resolution
of conflict:
We try to
suppress the pain and confusion caused by
this essential conflict by denying parts of
our being, by pretending it doesn’t affect
us.
We throw
ourselves into one side of our being or
another or we flip from one state to
another, in a desperate urge to find ease
from the dilemma, but the dilemma is real.
We have no
real choice but to find a way to come to
terms with it.
The way each
one of us resolves this essential conflict
is entirely up to us.
It is possible
that no particular way of resolving this
conflict that anyone has yet found, is of
any use to anyone else.
There may not
be any one way to do so, other than through
our becoming fully conscious around the
whole issue.
In life, there
may only be a choice between conscious
awareness of what actually is, or believing
and living what others tell us is true
and/or a reactive closing-down of our
awareness of what actually is.
It’s up to
each one of us which one we choose.
A suggestion,
is to put aside all ideas that we have about
life, about how to resolve the pain and
suffering of our core conflict, including
this article, and find out the true nature
of these things for ourselves.
It can be
immensely liberating.
Good luck with
your journey of personal liberation.
About The Author
Years of research into
consciousness, zero-point physics
theory, emergence theory, memes and many
other new understandings coming out of
mathematics and physics. Ongoing work as
relationship therapist is bringing deep
revelations about the nature of our
psyches. Author/illustrator children’s
books (e.g. I Wish My Dad Was A Pirate).
Music CD (The Nothing Booth).
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