Please note, links to all the Freedom Essays are included at the end of this essay. Open any essay to read, print, download, share or listen to it (as a podcast).
This is Freedom Essay 3
THE EXPLANATION of the human condition
By Jeremy Griffith, 2016-2018
In this short 14-minute video, biologist Jeremy Griffith outlines his all-important, human-race-transforming, world-saving breakthrough explanation of the human condition!
So, if you haven’t already watched this introduction to the explanation of the human condition, we urge you to watch it now:
Make and see comments here
This video also appears as Video 3 in the Introductory Series of videos at the top of our homepage at www.humancondition.com.
The Transcript of this video
Introduction
I’m Jeremy Griffith. For the last 40 years I have dedicated my career as a biologist to understanding and explaining the human condition. Our very physiology has been driving our behaviour, which ranges from incredible acts of love to unimaginable violence and horror. But we can finally provide the scientific explanation for why this is, and through that understanding of the human condition we can free ourselves of all the guilt and uncertainty, and in turn transform ourselves and the world.
In this short video I’ll present the core explanation of the human condition and explain why up until now others have failed to offer true solutions. I will help prepare you for the confronting realities and resulting transformation that will, most wonderfully, end all the suffering and conflict in the world.
Part 1 The Cave
The great philosopher Plato was among the first to explore the human condition, and over 2,000 years later his writings are still relevant. Plato put forward the idea that all of humankind lives in a cave, hiding from the truth that is the human condition. In his analogy, the fire that blocks the exit of the cave is the searing painful light of truth—a light we naturally fear because it makes the unbearable imperfections of human life visible. So we hide deeper and deeper within the darkness of the cave.
This analogy is a perfect representation of the human condition. It shows truth can only exist outside the cave, but since our entire existence has been spent sheltered within, everywhere you look you will find nothing but a great mountain of lies—determined efforts to deny and evade the existence of the human condition. Instead of truth, false biological excuses (such as that we are victims of savage animal instincts within us) and unfounded, feel-good explanations have been pushed, each with its own ulterior motive. [For more about Plato’s cave analogy, see Video/F. Essay 11; or chapter 1:4 of FREEDOM.]
Part 2 Adam Stork
So what is the human condition and how are we to truthfully explain and solve it?
Basically, when we humans developed a conscious mind some 2 million years ago, a battle unavoidably developed between it and our already established instincts. The result of this conflict between our instinct and intellect was that we became psychologically defensive, angry, alienated and egocentric—the upset state we refer to as the human condition. But now that we can explain and understand this conflict, all those insecure, defensive behaviours are obsoleted, brought to an end, and we free ourselves from the human condition.
The easiest way to understand this tragic conflict within us and its solution is to apply our situation to another species.
Imagine a stork: we’ll call him Adam. Each Summer, Adam instinctually migrates North with the other storks to breed. Since he has no conscious mind he doesn’t think about or question his behaviour, he just follows what his instincts tell him to do.
But what if we give Adam a large brain capable of conscious thought? He will start to think for himself, but many of his new ideas will not be consistent with his instincts. For instance, while migrating North with the other storks Adam notices an island full of apple trees. He makes a conscious decision to divert from his migratory path and explore the island. It’s his first grand experiment in self-adjustment/self-management.
Drawings by Jeremy Griffith © 1991-2016 Fedmex Pty Ltd
But when Adam’s instincts realise he has strayed they criticise his deprogrammed behaviour and dogmatically try to pull him back on his original course. In effect, they condemn him as being bad.
Imagine the turmoil Adam will experience: he can’t go back to simply following his instincts; his instinctive orientations to the migratory flight path were acquired over thousands of generations of natural selection, but those orientations are not understandings. Since his conscious mind requires understanding through experimentation, inevitably a war breaks out with his instincts.
Ideally at this point, Adam’s conscious mind would sit down and explain to his instincts why he’s defying them. He would explain that the gene-based, natural selection process only gives species instinctive orientations to the world, whereas his nerve-based, conscious mind, which is able to make sense of cause and effect, needs understanding of the world to operate.
But Adam doesn’t have this self-understanding. He’s only just begun his search for knowledge. In fact, he’s not even aware of what the problem actually is. He’s simply started to feel that he’s bad, even evil.
So, tragically, while searching for understanding, three things unavoidably happened. Adam defensively retaliates against the criticism, he tries to deny it and block it out of his mind, and he desperately seeks any reinforcement he can find to relieve himself of the negative feelings. He has become angry, alienated and egocentric, a psychologically upset state we call the human condition.
Adam’s intellect or ‘ego’ (which is just another word for the intellect since the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘ego’ as ‘the conscious thinking self’ (5th edn, 1964)) became ‘centred’ or focused on the need to justify itself—Adam became ego-centric, selfishly preoccupied aggressively competing for opportunities to prove he is good and not bad, to validate his worth, to get a ‘win’; to essentially eke out any positive reinforcement that would bring him some relief from criticism and some sense of worth. He unavoidably became self-preoccupied or selfish, and aggressive and competitive.
Basically suffering psychological upset was the price we conscious humans had to pay for our heroic search for understanding. In the words from the song The Impossible Dream from the musical the Man of La Mancha, we had to be prepared to ‘march into hell for a heavenly cause’ [lyrics by Joe Darion, 1965]. We had to lose ourselves to find ourselves; we had to suffer becoming angry, alienated and egocentric until we found sufficient knowledge to explain ourselves.
The Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden accurately describes the primary situation involved in our human condition of the psychologically upsetting battle that emerged between our instincts and our conscious intellect’s search for knowledge. It says Adam and Eve/we took the ‘fruit’ (Genesis 3:3) ‘from the tree of knowledge’ (Gen. 2:9, 17) and were ‘disobedient’ (the term widely used in descriptions of Gen. 3). In other words, we developed a conscious mind and free will. But in that pre-scientific story it says Adam and Eve then became perpetrators of ‘sin’ (Gen. 4:7) and as a result were ‘banished…from the Garden of Eden’ (Gen. 3:23) state of our species’ original innocence for having become ‘evil’ (Gen. 3:22), whereas this scientific presentation says, ‘No, no, that story got it wrong’.
Adam and Eve
by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1526)
Adam and Eve cast out of Paradise, from Old Testament Stories
pub. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London (c.1880)
Adam and Eve are actually the heroes of the whole story of life on Earth because surely the conscious mind is nature’s greatest invention and to be given the task of searching for understanding while the whole world’s condemning you was the hardest and toughest of tasks—because that condemnation was universal. All the other innocent storks are condemning the search for knowledge, and since all of nature, the rain, the clouds, the trees, other animals, are all associated with our original instinctive self, the whole world, in effect, ganged up on Adam and Eve/i.e. us humans—and yet all the time we were good and not bad but we couldn’t explain why, but now at last we can.
Our species has lived with the human condition for some 2 million years—the probable time we have been conscious—and it’s taken tremendous courage to withstand the relentless criticism from our instincts. But finally the knowledge that science has given us of the difference between instinctive orientations and conscious understandings allows us to explain that we didn’t deserve this criticism—that we conscious humans are good and not bad after all.
And significantly, now that we are able to understand from scientific first principles that upset is not an ‘evil’, worthless, bad state, but an immensely heroic state, we can know that while, inevitably, all humans are variously upset from their different encounters with, and degrees of engagement in, humanity’s epic search to find knowledge, ultimately for self-knowledge, understanding of the human condition, ALL HUMANS ARE EQUALLY GOOD. Everyone is variously angry, egocentric and alienated, but everyone is good, and not just good but a hero of the story of life on Earth! So no longer do we have to rely on dogmatic assertions that ‘all men are created equal’ purely on the basis that it is a ‘self-evident’ truth, as the United States’ Declaration of Independence asserts, because we can now explain, understand and know that the equality of goodness of all humans is a fundamental truth. We can now understand why everyone is equally worthy, and that no one is superior or inferior. Indeed, through this understanding, the whole concept of good and bad disappears from our conceptualisation of ourselves.
Yes, and best of all, through this clarifying insight all our psychologically defensive angry, alienated and egocentric behaviour—which has been destroying both ourselves and our world—IS obsoleted, made redundant. We are redeemed. The great burden of guilt has been lifted from the human race, and that old insecure, upset life that went with it is over—which means we go from living with the trauma of the human condition to living free of it. You could say that—in the nick of time—we humans have won the race between self-destruction and self-understanding!
I want to mention that there have been many thinkers throughout history who have, like Moses in his Garden of Eden story, recognised that our psychologically upset human condition is a result of us humans becoming conscious and at odds with our species’ particular cooperative and loving, Edenic, moral instincts, but, as I said, it wasn’t until science revealed the difference between instinctive orientations and conscious understandings that we were finally in a position to explain that humans are actually good and not bad. The instinct vs conscious intellect explanation of the human condition is actually very obvious, and it shows just how wrong and absurd the old excuse is that ‘we are competitive and aggressive because we have savage animal instincts’! I present a short history of the many thinkers who have recognised the true ‘instinct vs intellect’ elements involved in the human condition in the next Video/F. Essay 4. Also, you can read a detailed explanation of what instincts and consciousness actually are in paragraphs 247–248 of FREEDOM.
Part 3 Coping
As you work through this material, expect to find some extremely confronting revelations. There will be times where you may feel it’s easier to go back to denying the human condition rather than facing it. As a species, we have been hiding in Plato’s dark cave of denial and evasion for so long that when the blinds are suddenly drawn and we see the liberating explanation of our condition, that revealing light can be overpowering as the dishonesty and horrible truths of humankind are exposed all at once.
But there is an immensely relieving and easy way of coping with the arrival of this liberating understanding. As emphasised, once we know that our angry, alienated and egocentric condition is finally explained and defended, there’s no longer any need to continue perpetuating it. In fact, with this knowledge in place it would be irresponsible to continue along that old road. There is an unburdened life waiting for all of us outside the cave in the warm, relieving sunlight, free of the human condition. [Read more about how everyone’s lives can be immediately transformed in F. Essay 15.]
Part 4 Freedom
Now that you have a slightly better understanding of the human condition and what to expect, I urge you to continue with your digestion of this explanation. Everything you need to know is in my book FREEDOM and its condensation, Transform Your Life And Save The World, both of which you can download for free from this website (www.humancondition.com), or purchase from bookstores such as Amazon. We have also set up the World Transformation Movement, a non-profit organisation offering free support, context and community for everyone. The human condition has caused unmentionable suffering, and held us back as a species for millions of years. It’s time to take our power back and start living to our species’ fabulous real potential—and transform our world.
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For further reading on the biological explanation of the human condition, we recommend you read Part 2 of Transform Your Life And Save The World, or chapter 3 of FREEDOM.
Also, F. Essay 53: The instinct vs intellect is the obvious and real explanation of the human condition, as all these great thinkers evidence (a condensation of which appears next in Video/F. Essay 4) demonstrates how readily apparent the instinct vs intellect elements of the human condition are when someone is prepared to think honestly and truthfully about the subject.
Also, the ability to acknowledge in a non-judgmental, not-condemning-of-upset, non-prejudiced way the differences in upset between individuals, genders, ages, generations, races (ethnic groups), countries, civilisations and cultures because we can now understand that upset is not a bad, inferior, unworthy state but an immensely heroic one, is fully explained and described in F. Essay 28 and in chapter 8:16E of FREEDOM.
Discussion or comment on this essay is welcomed—see below.
Please Note, if you are online you can read, print, download or listen to (as a podcast) THE Interview or any of the following Freedom Essays by clicking on them, or you can find them all at www.humancondition.com.
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPLANATION & RESOLUTION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION: THE Interview: How We Can Finally End All The Turmoil & Suffering In The World! | Freedom Essay 1 Your block to the most wonderful of all gifts | 2 The false ‘savage instincts’ excuse | 3 THE EXPLANATION of the human condition | 4 The ‘instinct vs intellect’ explanation is obvious – short | 5 The transformation of the human race | 6 Wonderfully illuminating discussion | 7 Praise from Prof. Prosen | 8 “How this liberated me from racism” | 9 “This is the real liberation of women” | 10 What exactly is the human condition? | 11 The difficulty of reading FREEDOM and the solution | 12 One hour summarising talk | 13 The WTM Deaf Effect Course | 14 Savage instincts excuse leads to human extinction | 15 How your life can immediately be transformed | 16 WTM Centres opening everywhere | THE BOOKS: 17 Commendations | 18 FREEDOM chapter synopses | 19 FREEDOM’s significance by Prof. Prosen | 20 The genius of Transform Your Life | THE OTHER KEY BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: 21 How did we humans acquire our altruistic moral conscience? | 22 Fossil discoveries evidence our nurtured origins | 23 Integrative Meaning or ‘God’ | 24 How did consciousness emerge in humans? | 25 The truthful biology of life | • Survey seeking feedback | MEN & WOMEN RECONCILED: 26 Men and women reconciled | 27 Human sex and relationships explained | THE END OF RACISM: 28 The end of racism | 29 Can conflict ever end? | RESIGNATION: 30 Resignation | 31 Wordsworth’s all-revealing great poem | MORE ON THE TRANSFORMATION: 32 More on the Transformation | 33 Jeremy on how to become transformed | THE END OF POLITICS: 34 This understanding ends the polarised world of politics | 35 Left-wing politics leads to death of the human race | 36 Saving Western civilisation from left-wing dogma | 37 The meaning of superhero and disaster films | RELIGION DECIPHERED: 38 Noah’s Ark explained | 39 Christ explained | 40 Judgment Day finally explained | 41 Science’s scorn of religion | MEANING OF ART & CULTURE: 42 Cave paintings | 43 Ceremonial masks explained | 44 Art makes the invisible visible | • Second survey seeking feedback | 45 Prophetic songs | 46 Anne Frank’s faith in human goodness fulfilled | 47 Humour and swearing explained | 48 R.D. Laing’s fearless honesty | ABOUT BIOLOGIST JEREMY GRIFFITH: 49 Jeremy’s biography | 50 Australia’s role | 51 Sir Laurens van der Post’s fabulous vision | 52 Jeremy’s children’s book A Perfect Life | 53 The ‘instinct vs intellect’ explanation is obvious – long | 54 The accusation of hubris | DO WE FAIL OR DO WE MAKE IT? 55 Endgame for the human race | 56 Why there have been ferocious attacks on the WTM | 57 Magnificence of the Transformed State – video 1 | 58 Magnificence of the Transformed State – video 2 | MARKETING: 59 Shouldn’t the WTM’s website be toned down? | 60 The crime of ‘ships at sea’ ‘pocketing the win’ | GENERAL DISCUSSIONS BY JEREMY: 61 General Discussion by Jeremy Aug. 2018 | 62 Jeremy’s Masterpiece Presentation Feb. 2019 | HEALTH & HEALING: 63 Pseudo therapy/healing | 64 Real therapy/healing | From here on are Transformation Affirmations and More Good Info Emails
These essays were created in 2017-2021 by Jeremy Griffith, Damon Isherwood, Fiona
Cullen-Ward, Brony FitzGerald & Lee Jones of the Sydney WTM Centre. All filming and
editing of the videos was carried out by Sydney WTM members James Press & Tess Watson
during 2017-2021. Other members of the Sydney WTM Centre are responsible for the
distribution and marketing of the videos/essays, and for providing subscriber support.
LEAVE A COMMENT
It is time humans stood back to let other species flourish , humans have passed the point where the earth can recover in its present form.
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John, it looks more and more to me like you have the truth, but how?
This is the all-important email. Allow yourself time to absorb what it says, because not only is it completely rational and accountable, it is literally the most important piece of information on the planet.
So gratitude to received and to oportunity to listen this ” joyas” ( diamante .., precious stones.)
a miliards thanks.
I will dedicate time to read and really enjoid them.
don.t words for this WORK .
Have a Lovely day.
Marialoreto
The book is lengthy and at times a bit repetitive but I must tell you that I am up to the male female connection, sex and the ‘human condition’ in that sector and it amazing. It personally answers so many questions for me, the avoidance and denial I suffered through so long, the anger suppressed. I am at this moment wondering with a few hundred pages left what more can I learn at my ripe older age.
My mother is 86 and yesterday and went into the stages of man consciousness from 2 million years back and I could see her dear mind ticking away.
The truth and simplicity of it is great.
I am making contact with the SA section of the movement and am hoping to get fully involved and the good news is that my oldest daughter this morning opened a door right up for me when she began asking some questions and I did my best to offer the book. She too is now excited, so when will there be an Israeli office or section? Would be great. If there is one please let us know.
This simple story really does explain SO much once you really absorb it. To truly explain our dark side, and to bring meaning to all the terrible suffering, and bring such love to us all, no matter who we are, is just beyond special. Just beyond. Go WTM!!
Before I found this site, I always wondered why Adam and Eve where thrown out of Paradise. God made man in his image and gave them free will. But free will means to be able to choose, so in my mind God wanted Adam and eve to eat from the tree of knowledge! Choosing can only be done when you are conscious and aware that there is a choice! Given man the free will, implies giving them consciousness, awareness that choices can be made, whether they are wrong (harmful) or good (beneficial). So indeed, Adam nor eve did not “sin”, they obeyed “Gods” will, searching for the holy grail which will set humans free.
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This is a very well written comment, to the piont, and kind of putting it al together in few phrases… Thanks!!
And what do you do with those that will not be transformed like religious fanatics and sociopaths and racists?
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I’ve read somewhere that they will once a critical mass is reached.
First things first. The most important thing is to get this new understanding out there. Once we solve the main problem then we can think about everything else.
I regret the below note on declining comments that you feel are not relevant or inappropriate, of course pure malice or rudeness is not acceptable, but it’s relative what’s constructive or not. The declination of comments which you may not find “constructive” sounds a bit like a censorship which will only welcome comments that agree with what you state.
Any position which is true and based on the truth should not be afraid of comments even that go against it, because truth is above all misbelief and people who don’t believe it can be enlightened by those who know better.
I have been studying human condition all my life in several disciplines and would like to say that I believe human condition, with all its drawbacks and problems, is not a biological condition, in the sense that it’s not a physical problem, but it is rather a spiritual problem (beyond the body) and it is not easily transformed and resolved. Thus, it is very difficult to change the world as you intend to do.
While the earth remains a world of intermediate development, where less developed spirits exist in abundance, while developed spirits are less, it will be difficult to change. Progress must be made in developing the spirits of the persons, so they can have full mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual consciousness and thus make choices which are not dictated by materialism but by higher spiritual principles and demands. One of the problems are that also often the people that rise to positions of power, use that power for their selfish needs and not for the progress and wellbeing of all, in fact they usually don’t care about those “below” them and rather exploit them and don’t mind to destroy their lives, as long as they materialistically profit from it…
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Teresa, I thought it was important to clarify that there are comments on the WTM’s website that express disagreement, even negativity towards the theories being put forward, as these comments can be constructive. The WTM is a completely open organisation that takes into account everybody’s points of view but it is of no benefit to post irrelevant, inappropriate or malicious comments. Yes, the human condition is very difficult to change, which is why care needs to be taken, but the WTM is dedicated to the difficult task of bringing this vitally important understanding to our deeply troubled world and I hope you will continue to take an interest in it.
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I have to agree with Teresa regarding the cause of the “so-called” human condition. It is spiritual not biological. Spirit affects biology, not the other was around. The true history of this planet is not known to the majority of people living on Earth today. You are right in saying that humans are loving and good fundamentally for they are made in the image of God which is light and all good. It is only fear which created all the problems from the beginning. And beings who thrive on fear and negativity. Et races from outside our system. Consciousness yes is biologic but is animated by spirit. Animals are of a lower order than humans and are working in conjunction with the human kingdom. Humans were once able to communicate with all life forms including animals. At some point in the not too distant future they will again.
Love the story of the stork. Still trying to come to grips with it all but am finding this very interesting. nice work : )
Peace
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I do too Kris! The stork story is just SO amazing in what it explains. Keep following your nose with this stuff, it’s an amazing journey of logical discovery. In fact I’ve found it not only endlessly fascinating and completely demystifying of everything around me and within me, but completely redeeming and liberating as well! All the best to you
The most brilliant, beautiful and hopeful concept, astonishing in its simplicity/complexity. Profound! 😊 Thank you so much! ❤️💋
Interesting exploration of the human condition, with some very relevant points. Humans are indeed complex and conflicted. Our violence is a biological necessity, we are required to eat, provide for our families, protect, gain resources, keep order, enforce social rules, and then there are the two prime directives of sex and power. This coupled with our requirement to cooperate, love, nurture, communicate and socially interact. The core issue resides in our rational brain and social conditioning being in conflict with our instinctual imperatives. For us to not be in his position we would have to transcend our natural state. We are not bad, we are simply caught within our own condition. We did not make the rules but are forced to live by them.
Interesting, but where is God in all this? And the ultimate fates of the human race ? And the Earth.
And most of all, where is Jesus, the Christ and the Man?
As a Christian theologian – a federal Christian constantly searching for Truth – I’ll have a look, because the philosophy is well meant. Sounds great, but just who and what may be hiding behind it . . . ? 76 years in the said human condition has left me guarded and cynical about Religion – a term I try to avoid – but still a firm believer in the basic goodness of human kind and the truths revealed in God’s Word. I believe in the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection and the joint humanity and Divinity of Christ. Plus the divinity of Creation and Evolution.
Love to all Creation.
Cheers.
Pete
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As you will discover Peter as you absorb Jeremy Griffith’s ideas, now that we can biologically understand and resolve the underlying issue in all of human life of the human condition (as this Essay makes clear) it finally becomes possible to explain and demystify religion and all mythology, including the contents of the Bible, for instance Noah’s Ark (see Freedom essay 38) and Christ himself which is the subject of essay 39. To quote, ‘one of the most interesting and important demystifications of the contents of the Bible would be that of the prophets whose words created that most famous and revered of all books, and indeed, what is explained in FREEDOM does allow us to fully understand the prophets in the Bible, including the greatest of prophets, Abraham, Moses and Christ.’ The integrative meaning of existence and its personification as ‘God’ is the subject of essay 23. You may also be interested in reading FAQ 6.3 (https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-does-this-undermine-religion/) where it discusses the fact that religions are not being threatened by the arrival of the dignifying scientific understanding of the human condition — they are being fulfilled.
I have been aware of this pressure of denial all my life…as a child I had experiences of a better place where everything is connected and conscous of itself being aware of all of alll…no barriers, all is working together as One.
I am aware it is time to awaken. And activate into full conscous awareness…yet I find myself resisting transformation…as home sick as I am for tbis better place…I desire to bring those I love which are unaware
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Hi Juanita, When I read your comment I immediately was reminded of William Wordsworth’s beautiful 1807 poem ‘Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood’ which is the subject of Freedom essay 31 (https://www.humancondition.com/freedom-essays/wordsworths-majestic-poem/). As it says there, ‘[Wordsworth’s poem is] surely one of, if not the most, beautiful ever written [description] — of our species’ fabulous past state of innocent cooperation, love and togetherness, and of our subsequent unspeakably tragic departure from that state.’ I just think you will devour that Essay! And I think you will also devour essay 51 which is on the vision of Sir Laurens van der Post, especially this quote (which you can see in full in the Essay), ‘ All on earth and in the universe were still members and family of the early race seeking comfort and warmth through the long, cold night before the dawning of individual consciousness in a togetherness which still gnaws like an unappeasable homesickness at the base of the human heart.’ As you keep digesting this information what you will discover is that it biologically explains why we departed from that original instinctive loving state in the first place and have become such an upset species, and why it actually was an incredibly important journey. What is so amazing about this biological explanation is that it explains the root cause of all the problems on Earth which is the human condition, it answers the age-old question of how can we be so selfish, angry and destructive when the ideals are to be loving and selfless? Understanding that is the key to humanity’s freedom, the whole of humanity can finally and legitimately enter a whole new liberated, free-of-the-human-condition ‘together’ existence and you wouldn’t want to miss out on the start of that for quids!
Not sure about this theory.
The human condition is painful, not because we are conscious, but because we have trauma. And we have trauma not because we are conscious (all animals are conscious) but because we are capable of abstract or divergent thought, which gives us the ability to construct a false persona based on ideas rather than reality.
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Hi Michaela, You may be interested to read this FAQ on the WTM’s website where it states that Jeremy Griffith defines consciousness as ‘being sufficiently aware of how experiences are related to attempt to manage change from a basis of understanding’ (see FAQ https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-what-is-consciousness/). It is also outlined there what has prevented other animal species from developing consciousness. Another insightful piece is Freedom essay 53 (or it’s shortened version essay 4) where it discusses that Jeremy Griffith is not the first person to identify the elements of instinct/conscience and intellect/conscious elements of the human condition. To quote from that Essay, ‘there have been many thinkers throughout history who have recognised that the answer to our troubled human condition lay in understanding a clash that must have occurred between our already established instincts and newly emerged conscious mind.’ I found both these pieces very enlightening. It is certainly a journey to absorb these ideas given our historic fear of the subject but I really hope you continue to Michaela, as the reward is quite incredible. Over time you see that the great trauma and upset we all experience in this life of ours is finally made sense of and ultimately ameliorated through this biological understanding of our psychologically troubled human condition.
Never has anyone ever before explained in such minutest detail reasons for our various upsets and the way out of them. i have had a lot of resistence or alternate ways to argue. But gradually I began to experience that some.ideas have helped me precisely to see how I am.entrapped and so a way to get out. Even one or two experiential.clues were enough to.pursue and read all of the Book. I am happy i got through. in fact grateful i did it. Thank you all. Now once in a while as the mails come it certainly refreshes my effort. I womder at the enormous capacity we have to hold on to trash….just because we lacked clarity.
Well stated, easy to understand and apply to one’s life and struggles. Makes me say Ah!
I’m curious to learn more. : )
Interested
Loved your talk, look forward to reading the book
I would very much like to get hold of your book. It’s been incomprehensible för me to fathom the unbelievable behavior of humans. Such extreme cruelty we’re inflicting upon other animals, other humans and why the persistent vindictive victimizing of Wolves, for example? Such a fantastic animal and all do many
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Hi Prish, In case you are not aware, the very short booklet ‘Transform Your Life and Save The World’, which is a summary of Jeremy Griffith’s definitive presentation, ‘FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition’ are both freely available to download from our homepage and hard copies can be purchased through Amazon.com.
Learning is always good
This a very interesting way of explaining how humans behave and the reasons behind it! I will download it and recommend to a very good friend I have whom will also be very interested in this subject. I thank you for all your research and to be able to share it with us.
At age 90 I find people seem to need too many words to explain, or understand this situation. To me it is simply a choice between greed and love. And love becomes limited by jealousy and desires. And to limit this, we accepted the concept of monogamy and the ideas of Moses 10 commandments. And clearly while using marriage as a solution to promote a social behaviour, it has only been a partial solution. And many younger people recognize this and have drifted away from marriage, recognising that it has limitations. I myself have abided by my marriage vows, but recognise that many do not, as a solution to their frustrations with these limits on love and response. Polygamy has worked for some, but it is not easily accepted within our current perspectives. And is in fact frowned upon by many. Have no doubt that I love my wife. But the idea that I cannot feel love for other women has always been foreign to me.
That which the world needs most to know is: Men are the sons of God, and by faith they can actually realize, and daily experience, this ennobling truth. 1 = ∞ brings God to man and man to God. We are sons and daughters of the God of Thought and Love and we are free will creatures having the freedom to choose between Good and Evil. Everything’s a matter of free will choice and you get just what you choose. We have all evolved from fighting animal ancestry which we can rise above and become increasingly perfect every day by slowing down our reactions and responses and return good for evil, truth for error and positive quality thought and words and deeds. The will of God is living love and truth. He is an Absolute, Infinite, Eternal and Universal Personality who is the only Uncaused Cause in Infinity: GOD!
Very well presented..👏..Carlton from Cape Town.. South Africa..
“Entrai pela porta estreita, porque larga é a porta, e espaçoso, o caminho que conduz à perdição, e muitos são os que entram por ela; e porque estreita é a porta, e apertado, o caminho que leva à vida, e poucos há que a encontrem”. (Mateus 7.13-14)
Thank you for this. Its fascinating ti think in a simple debate on FB……you picked up someone could benefit from your synopsis. Yep I did. Thanks for that. Thanks for careing about where humanity finds itself…..a very informative and inspiratiinal read.
Thankyou I’m ready I’m buying the book. This resonates with me big time.
excellent!
I much appreciate what I listened to and read. Honestly recently, aging towards 80, i thought about the strange development of human beings. So you gave me a very interesting and useful help to think ti further over. Thanks a lot.
I will read this tomorrow fully w hen I have Had some sleep. Lol but I am intrigued so thanks
A cognitive understanding of the origins of the ego (even if it is an accurate understanding) is not sufficient to transform the ego. This is the mistake made by the author of the article below. It is an understandable mistake for someone who has spent his life using his intellect in the study of science, as this author has. However, it is necessary to point out that intellect alone is insufficient for ego transformation. This author appears to be unaware of this important truth. He implies that just understanding the facts is enough for personal. transformation. This is completely untrue. It appears that the author has not extended his research much beyond his chosen field of biology. For example, the author appears to be unaware of findings in psychology and spirituality that emphatically demonstrate the necessity of an identity shift as the basis for ego transformation. An identity shift requires more than merely “thinking”. It requires an experience that is prior to any thought process and which cannot be contained within any thought process. This author gets top marks for trying to help. But his conclusion is false and not helpful because he is sowing delusion. The following post explains what is missing from this author’s understanding: https://sqi.co/ego-and-soul/
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The first point to make is that leaving our ego behind has not been legitimate while the battle to find understanding of the human condition was yet to be won. As is explained in Freedom Essays 34 and 35, doing that was fundamentally irresponsible because we were abandoning the search for knowledge which we needed to pursue until we found understanding for why we had become upset sufferers of the angry, egocentric and alienated human condition.
However, the essay above shows that this all-redeeming understanding has now been found, and all the retaliatory, defensive and insecure upset anger, egocentricity and alienation can subside and heal! Completely healing humanity though, as is explained in Freedom Essay 17 which is about the Transformation that is now possible, will take a number of generations. In the meantime however, ‘every human can immediately know that he or she is fundamentally good and not bad, and that this knowledge puts each of us in a very powerful position because it means we can legitimately decide not to live in accordance with the upset within us.’
So the transformation is on, and it is legitimate. As it says in Freedom para 1178, ‘…our species’ transformation is being achieved through what is ultimately the only real and lasting and fundamentally responsible way it could be—through satisfying our conscious thinking mind with first-principle-based, biological understanding of why humans are wholly worthwhile and meaningful beings.’ As to the criticism raised in the this post, that ‘intellect alone is insufficient for ego transformation’, that is true to the extent that the egocentric mind, ‘resigned’ as it is to a life pursuing reinforcement, can not change itself. But that is not what is being proposed. In Freedom Essay 33 Jeremy Griffith explains that, ‘What happens is you don’t actually try to get this understanding of the human condition to mesh with your power and glory way of living….what you do is you actually leave that whole wrestling match completely and go to another place that’s free of that wrestling match.’ And a bit further on, ‘Everyone can be immediately free of the human condition by leaving it finished with. Just put it in a suitcase and leave it and then get on with supporting the new world.’
So there is a lot of content and explanation on this website about the Transformation: about how it is now legitimate; and how it is now possible, and that content all needs careful consideration.
A very realistic approach and very meaningful, the duality within us. Great.
i HAVE FIND VERY INTERESTING ALL WHAT YOU WROTE,
i LIKE IT VERY MUCH
Julio Azancot Franco
A lot of reading I’ll get into this summer… All that research on the interesting subjects.
I am almost finished my own explanation of how us humans can achieve greater peace and happiness. It too has to do with gaining greater consciousness and therefore a greater (higher) conscience etc. I see that living with good conscience is El Camino…
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Breda, DON’T WAIT read a little everyday because it will take awhile to understand and except it because of the deaf affect. I kept falling asleep in the middle of the video’s I guess this was how the deaf effect affected me but I kept at it. And haven’t finished yet.
💜😀💜
I want to have a full knowledge on this subject
Just curious about it
Thank you. I can’t wait to read your book
Look that little sidewinder stork bending of to Playa Chinguarime’s caves of enlightenment 😎😂😁😘
Denying the human condition is :
To my point of view as an 72 year old women I am not biologist but I have experience in life, and I do not see it as complicated in a mind kind of psicólogy-way but observation of everything of my live living in Europe and Norteamérica + well traveled to many parts of this world of us and arriving at certain conclusions too:
-We are in a world that we are living 2 kinds of human beings
feminine and masculine kinds
– the problem start that reality is only one part of that wold is represented in power: man
– So the other half it is denied: women
– We women are deny to exprés and to have in put in power and the decisions that rule the world
– And the few woman they are around in power are acting like man kind
– I do think that man have a problem that never has been studied just because there is a masculinazed world and they would never admit the problem I think it is: testosterone’s !
– Not all of them produce the same amount and neither is a balance; but for to many they have a testosterone over produce problem but of course this is a difficult to admit
– So just here is the biggest problem of it all
– Then we women produce man and women
– When a fetus develops biologically (you must know better than me)as a feminine from starts then have the “trouble” to have to develope as a masculine and born masculine, all that already it must be a trouble to adaptation to masculine…
– It always seems it had been more difficult for a mother to grow up the masculin sex for whatever reason it is, to distinguish some things for start they usually cry more at nite, they have less control into potting, and they usually more energetic hectic and jumpy let’s say so mother’s needs more patience with them…it does not meant that there are also girls they do to but not as usually…
– Usually mothers have little support or none to grow up children then ad to all that a job outside
– Also the “ modern profesional-ladys”today has double jobs since man invented the” pill” to “liberate women” sexually and be as “free” as a man are…
– We ended up doing more work as we never have been doing ever before:
– we ended being a “superwoman”
– We have not even time to think! We are the more stressed humans lately
– If you look at the world today is very easy to see how badly man govern by them self’s not doing to many things strait
– They love to bit each other and do wars
– Is a complete masculine world where the 52% of the population can’t say their opinion even because the voice of a women into a man’s world always meant:0, cero
– It is very sad the world is ruled by just by the 48% man’s view of the world
– The feminine side so much needed in this world is no yet even listened
– But I can tell you that much until this feminine voice is not listened and it’s given the power it deserves and belongs to them; the world is going to go nuts
– We do need so urgently less egocentric ego man and extra produce of testosterone in power and the 52% more women in it
– And then the most important: great knowledge teachers in schools promoting knowledge and goodness
– Over all education, education, education for all.
– Together we can make a great place to live in peace in that magnificent planet that don’t forget belongs to us all ….
That’s my humild and own opinion, or also resum of life conclusion…..
We all we have different lives and produce different opinions not being more or less bad or good than others…just are opinions of a thought of how to make a better wold and I like very much there are good man and woman tha think in ways on how to make a better world
that’s why I dedicated this valued time for me to it
❤️🌎❤️🌍❤️🌏❤️👍🏻😊
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Hi Carm, What has become so apparent to me since coming across Jeremy Griffith’s breakthrough understanding of the human condition, is that we suffer from a psychological condition, and it has deeply affected the relationship between men and women (and has nothing to do with physical hormones). There has been a vitally important battle going on on Earth to find knowledge, and the responsibility of it fell to men. As a woman myself, the ramifications of this and the ignorant soul-sympathetic position of women generally is one of the most amazing topics that Jeremy covers in Freedom and I urge you to read Chapter 8.11B. The way to bring about the peaceful world you, and we all, so desire, is through understanding ourselves, not dogmatic insistence of the ideals which is where most women (including myself) initially and naturally come from. These are some helpful FAQs on the WTM website that I’ve read lately on the real reconciliation of men and women that is now available with this understanding:
https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-how-do-you-explain-sex-and-beauty/
https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-how-does-this-reconcile-the-sexes/
Thank you for this much needed information of understanding myself and the world,as im lost ,sometimes broken ,not knowing my purpose,seeking powerful knowledge of transforming myself to be the best i can be ,therefore helping our world become a better world.
This is totally in line with what is occurring in the world of health and healing today. Our orthodox medical viewpoint, is being challenged by alternative thoughts, particularly this of Nature Cure and Natural Hygiene, where our bodies innate ability to heal itself without the use of medication(poisons) is totally and irrefutably accepted. Thus freeing us from the fear which is generated by the belief in acute disease as a harmful and destructive process, instead of a basic natural process involved in the restoration of homeostasis(health)
All this reading Makes à lot of sense to me. Awakening serons to bé the right Word. I thank you for this. God Bless You.
Love this. Showing the ego as instinctual works for many people and showing the higher state of conciousness as the true self is great
Sorry, but I find the whole premise incoherent and unhelpful. There is a continuum between unconscious cognition and conscious cognition. You have failed to convince me that they are in conflict. Have you read David Livingstone Smith – “The Most Dangerous Animal” – comparing ourselves to the murderously xenophobic chimpanzees? Also see “Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others”? https://www.amazon.com/David-Livingstone-Smith/e/B001IODPY0 Smith has distanced himself somewhat from evolutionary psychology, but I am convinced, from studying it, that the roots of “the human condition” go way back before the emergence of what you call “full consciousness”, and can only be understood by taking our deep evolutionary past into account.
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I think you need to persevere with the ideas a bit longer Barry and this might also be clarifying for Jennifer below. Having studied this biological explanation of the human condition Jeremy Griffith is putting forward for some time now, the general ‘savage instincts’ excuse for our aggressive behaviour, such as Livingstone Smith is a proponent for, is outdated and obsolete. The evidence now for a cooperative social instinctive heritage in humans is overwhelming — see Freedom essay 21 for how we aquired these moral instincts (https://www.humancondition.com/freedom-essays/how-did-we-humans-acquire-our-altruistic-moral-conscience/). And I highly recommend everyone read chapters 2.9 – 2.11 of Jeremy’s book ‘FREEDOM’ (that expand on Freedom essay 2) which debunk the ‘savage instincts’ excuse for human behaviour (https://www.humancondition.com/freedom-social-darwinism/). In terms of not being able to see a conflict between our original instinctive self/ conscience and our intellectual/ conscious self, this further essay 53 is incredibly insightful. Titled “The ‘instinct vs intellect’ is the obvious and real explanation of our condition, as all these great thinkers evidence”, it’s a must read (https://www.humancondition.com/freedom-essays/the-instinct-vs-intellect-explanation-is-obvious/). Or there is a shortened version at essay 4 (https://www.humancondition.com/freedom-essays/the-instinct-vs-intellect-explanation-is-obvious-short/). We have lived within the constraints of the human condition and it’s great duress for a long time and it has necessarily narrowed our view but now this biological understanding exists, we no longer have to live under the psychological protection of such excuses and mechanistic science in general. This is a genuinely revolutionary holistic approach which requires an open mind ready for perseverance and patience to absorb.
Brilliant. That Ah-Ha moment when, it starts to make sense. I am in that place that Jeremy Griffin speaks of, and it can be a tough ride. There is no going back either. I was blind but, now i see. I have for a few years, increasingly looked upon the world with fresh eyes and the people in it…. i don’t like what i see often. But, as more and more of us are awakening and our conscience minds recognise our potential collectively and individually to bring about change in ourselves and thus, in others. we can… we will… we ARE transforming our world, one step at a time… and soon, one leap at a time. Patience and stay strong through the tough times and the good times ahead. There is light all around if you open your eyes and take that first leap of faith… We are the light of the world….. Be brave. Onwards.
AS JUST NOW I AM READING YUVAL NOAH HARARI -2 BOOKS -HOMO SAPIENS and HOMO DEUS I FIND VERY INTERESTING THE ESSAYS of PROF.JEREMY GRIFFITH &comp
Thank you so much for putting into words that I have never been able to explain to others.
This has got to be so liberating for a huge number of people. It has also allowed me to forgive others by understanding their behaviour with that much more clarification.
Thank you.
I am very interested in learning more regarding this philosophy. Currently, it appears we are coming to a critical point in the human experience. There are those in powerful positions wanting to maintain the status quo. Forces trying to move out of the cave are facing extreme backlash. I want to learn how to keep from being pulled back into the cave….
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For me Shirley, I’ve been on a journey of amazing discovery in the sense that I now see that, having been born in a time where there wasn’t understanding of ourselves, I took up denial to cope, or lived in Plato’s ‘cave’ to use that great analogy. And I’ve seen just how afraid of the human condition we are as a species, how deep down we are incredibly fearful that it isn’t possible to confront human nature, so I agree basically nearly everyone (including myself once) wants to maintain the ‘status quo’ of denial. And you are right that if you do move out of the ‘cave’ and say it’s safe to do so, extreme backlash occurs, and the WTM’s history is certainly testament to that. In terms of learning how to be free of the ‘cave’, continuing to absorb this biological explanation of the human condition is the answer. To be free of the human condition we had to truly biologically understand it, as Jeremy writes in Freedom (para 297) ‘for the truth to genuinely set us free, it had to be the full truth that explains why humans are all good and not bad’ and that’s exactly what Freedom presents. It’s an absolutely astonishingly crucial breakthrough! And from there, the best thing by a country mile is to get familiar with what the WTM term the Transformed State which Jeremy writes about it in Chapter 9 of his book Freedom. This is the beginning of that chapter, ‘This chapter describes how the instinct vs intellect explanation of the human condition is able to immediately transform all humans from their human-condition-afflicted, tortured existence to a fabulous life free of the human condition!’ Life out of the cave forever, true freedom, is honestly available to all humans right now!
There’s so much of what’s been said here, that’s parallel to my experience over the past 34 years. But the I see a problem with not identifying the, “cave”, as something different to inner stability, that we must always return to, to be at rest, and to be able to function with consciousness.
If the, “cave”, is the mentality, where instinct functions, then the problem is not instinct. It’s subconsciousness.
Mind in that state can seem to provide answers, as a computer can, without understanding. As such it can be assumed to be God, or Satan, or a spirit guide, and deceive and misguide conscious self, as it has no understanding, knows nothing, cannot be reasoned with.
The escape from it, seems to me to involve a return to inner stability, by which mind can be defended, simply by the presence of truth of inner stability
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As I understand it John, Plato’s ‘cave’ is not where instinct functions, it’s an analogy for the state of denial that we live in of our human condition, and the human condition is a state where we have blocked out or become alienated from our soulful instincts/ conscience. The way for humans to be able to leave Plato’s dark ‘cave’ is through understanding the human condition. It’s only this that will end all our insecurity and psychosis and suffering, and in fact liberate the human race.
nteresting
I am so glad this way of thinking is being explained so well. I will read more.
Just wanted to let you know that I have friends who say they don’t agree with me for having a faith in God. Now when i listen to the way Jerremy says things it is similiar to my belief in God for the very reason he speaks about the human condition. Thanks for sharing. New ways to help people with their thought processes is a great way to share with others of different views.
Reading some of the posts below is really interesting and to be honest, completely understandable both for and against, given our habitual tendency to not want to challenge our ‘conditioned’ beliefs, whether they are religious or not.
When I was first introduced to this information over 10 years ago, I read ‘A Species in Denial’ and concluded it was a poorly written book that made no sense. I couldn’t understand a word of what it was trying to say, so I put it down and left the topic alone for a whole year.
When I read it for a 2nd time, well OMG! it was like I was blind the first time and now I could see. It was clear, easy to read and made amazing sense. I’m sharing this experience because I think most adults will struggle with this topic the first time round so my advice. Put it down take a break and try again.
If you’re like me, you will almost be offended at the explanation of why we are the way. I.e. I was saying stuff like ‘I’m not like that. I’m not upset. I never resigned. I don’t have an ego. I havent been bad. I believe in God and I don’t like the thought of any other alternative, leave me alone etc. etc.’
But when I fought through the barrier of fear and uncertainty (in my case I trusted my brother who had already gone through that journey and made it through unscathed and absolutely joyously to the other side), I started to make sense of the information, one topic at a time.
I assure those of you who are sceptical, it’s OK. You wouldn’t be normal if you weren’t sceptical. We all suffer from the same condition in various degrees. Just keep reading and talking about it. Ask questions, seek answers, take your time.
It’s amazing. It’s incredible. All the answers to every question you have ever asked (or havent yet asked but will in future) are here. We are explained. We are defended. everyone (even those that commit not so good acts) is brave. We are all hero’s. I
It’s not about being man or woman, white or black, rich or poor, Christian or Muslim or aethiest. This is for all of humanity. We are all equal human beings. We are one species. All brothers and sisters.
We have the opportunity to change and save the world one person at a time. Shirley, Leslie and others well done for making it this far. You’re in the final straight of a 2 million year marathon. Let’s all make it to the finish line together.
I have just read through one essay .
The two things that come to mind are as follows .
When receiving confirmation instruction into Anglican Church at aged 13 , I asked specific questions about the holocaust, and was given no answer and basicly instructed to stop questioning and accept ?.
Subsequently I left this instruction class and too a simple course in Roman Catholicism , again question and no answer , I asked the Baptist minister who lived nearby. No answer .
I am now 73 have spent my life searching and working in social care. Latterly as a psychotherapist . I frequently used Plato s allegory of the cave as an understanding point .
It is pleasant to say the least to realise that others are on a similar search for understanding human nature .
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What were the questions you were asking, Polly?
It would be very helpful to know.
Oh thank you I can now make sense of why I’m experiencing and see this human condition
You may have saved my life
an illuminated and realistic reading! congratulations on your evolutionary status.
Thank you.Very interesting!!
Extremely enlightening and liberating ! I am very excited about exploring and learning more about the Human condition . I have a question . Does common sense originate from our instinctive or conscious mind ?
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Hi Connie, Thank you for your interest in the WTM. In regard to your question about ‘common sense’, I haven’t seen Jeremy deal with this directly but it makes sense to me (common sense!) that it is our conscious and instinctive mind working together, that it is logic guided by what is morally right. And the more access you have to your instinctive mind (which we obviously all share or have in ‘common’), the more common sense you will have to guide your conscious mind. When we suffer from the human condition we become ‘alienated’ from our instinctive self, and lose that ‘groundedness’, or instinctive guidance, and so it greatly reduces our ability to access common sense. However, now that we can move forward from the human condition because our conscious and instinctive mind have been reconciled, good common sense will prevail everywhere! What a wonderful world that will be. I hope you continue to absorb this breakthrough biological information that transforms and saves the world, it’s an incredible journey of discovery and transformation!
Wow!
Eye opener. We know a lot of these things but …….. The buts let us live a life of regrets …. Yesterday is gone and sometimes think that to-morrow will never come… etc Positive Thinking based on Positive Realities should be our Aim which should be based on the Goodness for All- i think?
This email is such a great little pocket guide in how to cope with the understanding of the HC.
It touches on how we humans have been living in such great denial of the existence of the HC, or to put it metaphorically, living deep underground in a cave of denial away from any sunlight that might bring the issue of the HC into focus. It goes onto scientifically explain the emergence of the HC between the conscious thinking self and the instinctive self and how it was never going to be possible for the conscious thinking mind to be controlled by our instincts and as a result a psychologically upsetting battle broke out between the two. It all just makes so much sense we just had to find understanding that is what our conscious mind was meant to do, to think and to experiment with self management.
And reading on it outlines the awful predicament we humans have been placed in. Every time we tried to experiment with self management or tried to think effectively about our situation our instinctive orientations restricted us in doing so. They unrightfully criticized or tried to stop our search for knowledge, for self understanding. Just think about that, we’ve just become conscious and the moment we attempted any deviation from our instinctive path in order to learn, boom, we were criticized as our instincts attempted to pull us back in. It seemed like a near impossible task to achieve understanding of the HC and yet this email states that we have achieved it.
But what I love most about this email is the redeeming answer and solution it gives, that despite us humans being so psychologically upset we can now redeem ourselves with this proper understanding of the HC as put forward by Jeremy Griffith and is supported by this movement. That after having to endure such unjust criticism for so long not only from our instinctive selves but from the whole natural world around us must make us the absolute heroes of life on earth! And the way we can cope with the light being drawn on the HC and all the upset it reveals about us humans is just remarkable. With our conscious mind having now found the redeeming understanding all our upset and insecurity surrounding our sense of self worth can now end. This understanding essentially frees us from the HC because it ends it. As this email states ‘we go from living in a state of trauma of the HC to living free of it’ as there is no longer any need to perpetuate our upset cause there is now ‘an unburdened life waiting for all of us outside the cave in the warm relieving sunlight free of the HC’.
Amen to that I say!
And just for reference for any would be readers of this email, I have read TYL and save the world as is stated in part 4 of this email and this world they talk of, of life outside the cave of denial is as real as a chorus of birds singing above your head on a warm spring day.
Thank you very interested and very intelligent.
This is very great and very interesting program i thank you Jeremy for good video
This Essay3 vid showed up on my fb time line.We cannot give up our efforts to leave Plato’s Cave,so I will continue reading these teachings and hope for the best…thankyou.
While I haven’t yet finished the book so perhaps I am in no position to comment, I agree that the conflict between instinct and consciousness is a huge burden on humanity and I would go further to say that it is the construct of good and evil that has set us on this downward spiral to self-extermination. Fear of evil has been used for millennia to control human populations and once we are able to label things as “evil” we start to fear them and worse still we see our animal instincts as “evil” and we feel shame. In defense of this shame or ego injury we project this evilness on to others to rid ourselves, or at least momentarily reduce our feelings of shame. We see this happening in populations who magnify the good-evil split, such as the Covenanters in Scotland and the Puritans in the American Colonies both well known for their witch trials. If we can stop seeing people who cause harm as “evil” but rather see them as having a potentially mind destroying disease; a chronic autoimmune disease or trauma, addiction or unacknowledged shame not only do we lose our fear of them and ourselves for that matter but we open the door to possible healing for ourselves and for those who have harmed others. It is liberating and empowering at the same time. I look forward to finishing the book!
I JUST SARTED READING THIS BOOK CAN’T PUT IT DOWN HAVE A HAD TIME UNDERSTANDING THE BIG WORDS BUT DICTIONARY IS A HELPER LOL
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Good Morning Anna, Me too! Thank heavens for Google because it is essential I understand. My human condition, along with my deaf ears, fully understanding and loving others is at stake. Thank you for your bold printed words, a match to my thoughts. I found myself laughing at the perfection of your sentence. Sincerely Cam
Great ,this is rationably good.
Leonard kangwa mwansa
Until we, human species, come to the same understanding of the Australian Biologist, Philosopher, Jeremy Griffith, of the problem of “Human Condition”, we will continue to be psychologically afflicted, frustrated and mad, but not knowing exactly why? Instead, we will continue to feed on our whitewash garbage, false grand narratives bullshit, fake news and so on and so forth, till the end of times! Please be patient and have a read.
Australian Biologist, Philosopher Jeremy Griffith’s insight on “the human condition “ is the only worthwhile priority subject for intellectual contemplation, in my view, at this stage at least
I believe this is the way forward for humankind.
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Well said Sir, 100% agreement . The problem now of course is how to influence positive change in the human psyche. I once asked the head teacher of my child’s first school :
How would it be if children received only one academic lesson until the age of eleven years. This to be reading and writing. No other studies until the stated age. My premise was to teach how to develop confidence, courage, politeness, honesty and always search for the truth in all areas etc. At eleven the usual lessons to begin. These lessons would be better received by the still very young, even a degree of enthusiasm and therefore vastly improve a child’s young life and ability to learn. My head teacher associate agreed on the potential benefits through my proposal but stated that ”Unfortunately the academic establishment would never agree to this”
I now believe the reason why is contained in Mr Griffith’s essay.
Hi,i wants to thank you Jeremy for this great video of adam and Eve and people inside the cave
I appreciate the explanation ( human condition ) personally I believe the original Adam & Eve , they had no shame, they were happy & content , no needs or wants for anymore than what they were given by the ” Creator ” until ” Temptation appeared ~ hence disobedience & still yet, given freedom of Choice It’s a matter of human choice
I appreciate the explanation of ( human condition) Adam and Eve have both given that precious gift of mind but because of our involuntary and fast thinking human being was difficult to understanding it / before there was some clear signs by the religion to follow the 10 Commandment to have good life and there was the central meaning why was given to the human being /never mind the time is NOW to practice it and have our freedom
Thank you
It would be easy for me, following the few minutes needed to view Mr Jeremy Griffith’s video (3) to promote his brilliant explanation for the human condition which has so far held back human development since the beginning. Personally I cannot argue with anything I just now learned from this profoundly intelligent an experienced biologist. I strongly recommend all to make up their own minds by following the same action. Without exaggeration this is potentially a world changer!! Enjoy true enlightenment which has nothing to do with religion.
My immediate response is that ‘Nature is red in tooth and claw’ and our problem is not accepting that we are part of that, that is capable of aggression. Accepting that we are gods (conscious and loving) and men (that is, human, with all the animal instincts of that species) is compatible with your thesis. Thus, I will happily investigate further in case there is some new revelation to had.
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Griffith deals with the excuse that our aggressive behavior is due to animal instincts in the previous Video, and then really demolishes it in Video 14. No, the more you digest this explanation, the clearer it becomes that our selfish aggressive behavior is the result of a psychosis; it is psychological.
I am truly greatful that we as humans have attained contious knowledge in regards to our human condition over a period of approximately 2 million years as stated in the video that you have so kindly and humbly shared; and as for the afore mentioned I humbly do thank you.
How about telling me How To Fix It some positive stuff please advise
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Hi Val, Thank you for your interest in the WTM. Essentially, we are presenting Jeremy Griffith’s breakthrough instinct versus intellect explanation of the human condition (presented in the Video/Essay above) which finally provides the biological understanding for why we are the way we are — divisively rather than cooperatively behaved. With the dark side of our nature truthfully explained and defended we can begin to heal ourselves and our planet bringing about a new, transformed world, free of suffering, for everyone. We do encourage people to watch the first 4 videos as the key to understanding and solving everything and Video/Freedom Essay 5 introduces the transformation of the human race. You may also find these FAQ’s helpful, FAQ 1.4 ‘How can everyone’s lives be immediately transformed?’ and FAQ 1.5 ‘Why is understanding the human condition important to my life?’
The significance of the explanation of the human condition takes some time to absorb (as explained in Video/Freedom Essay 1) but the more you do absorb it, the more you realise just how all-redeeming, all-reconciling, all-liberating it is, so we do hope you persevere Val.
I am not, at this stage of trying to understand and assimilate the human condition as presented in Jeremy’s book, Freedom, able to make comments but reading the book and watching videos will bring me closer and closer to the full understanding of human condition.
When I reach the full understanding and able to present this compelling arguments to others, then I will be able to make comments relating to the subject. Right now, I am just enjoying the reading and hopefully, the full understanding will be instilled in my mind later.
I have no doubt that despite my age as an octagenarian, I will learn and gain the knowledge of full understanding of human condition.
WOW! It’s happening. I can’t believe it but since my initial post last year, I can’t believe the evolution of interest in the posts below. The deaf effect will erode when the wave is too large to stop. Keep reading everyone. Read everything. Open up your mind and let the truth enter. This information will save your life and help you save others.
It will bring you relief and excitement that is otherwise not possible. Let’s go!
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Ari I always knew in the deepest part of my being that we have a “Deaf Ear” effect, I always use to wonder why that happened to me so many times in my life, until I had a AH HA moment, where it hit me like a ton of bricks, so now I reoconise when i’m in the Deaf Ear mode, and I just stay present to it, because I know something valuable is going to unfold which will assist me in my life.
“The TRUTH will set us free.”
So far so good, thanks.
Have you thought about translating this article into Arabic?
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Hi Samah. Thank you for your interest in the WTM! We certainly intend to make Jeremy Griffith’s work available in many languages but we are a not-for-profit organisation helped by the efforts of volunteers, so at present we don’t have the resources to do that, and unfortunately nothing in Arabic yet. Our WTM Centres in Austria and Sweden have begun translating the material into their own language and we hope to have WTM Centres all over the world eventually with translations becoming available in time.
Until then you can go to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/TheWTMChannel to watch our videos using subtitles translated into your native language. You may be aware of this YouTube function but if you aren’t I have included instructions below. Even though the translation isn’t 100% accurate it does allow you to watch all our videos, especially our Homepage Video Series.
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For YouTube subtitles
Go to the WTM YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/TheWTMChannel
Select the video you wish to watch
At the bottom right of the video player there are 4 icons
Click on the ‘Subtitles/closed captions’ icon to turn the subtitles on
Then click on the ‘Settings’ icon and select ‘Subtitles/cc’, then ‘Auto-translate’ and then select the language-
Thanks for your reply. Personally speaking, my English is good. I am so interested in bringing this information to the war zone to start healing understanding. I am not sure what I might do at the moment to bring this information to schools, families, and community but I will keep you informed.
I might write something into Arabic and share it. In the war/conflict zones such understanding of human condition brings peace.
Thanks for opening the door
Regards
Samah
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And in other languages too?
Firstly let me say thankyou to Jeremy for being brave enough to bring his explanation to the world. I don’t want to stop reading and yet I must in order to reflect and it is at this point I may need a little guidance re the basics. As I understand it the human condition is a psychosis which developed out of the original conflict between our emerging intellect and our already established instinct. Thereby condemning the human race to what it is today. Having accepted this revelation surely the next step is to work towards reconciling both aspects of ourselves, something we couldn’t do at the emergence of our conscious self. Is this just too simplistic or this is the hump Jeremy refers to and we need to just leave it all behind because comparability will take many generations to achieve?
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Thank you for your interest in the WTM Glennys and for your supportive comments. Yes we suffer from a psychosis which developed out of the original conflict between our emerging intellect and our already established instinct. To flesh this out a bit more, the result of this conflict was an undeserved sense of guilt and insecurity that caused us to become psychologically defensive, angry, alienated and egocentric, the upset state we refer to as the human condition—a state we sought to alleviate through a competitive, selfish and aggressive bid for the reinforcement we could gain from winning power, fame, fortune and glory. But now that we can explain and understand this conflict our instincts and intellect are finally reconciled, we can have that conversation with ourselves and explain the whole amazing, heroic story. And all the guilt that conflict produced, all those insecure, defensive behaviours are obsoleted, brought to an end, and we free ourselves from the human condition. For humans to be completely free of upset it will naturally take a few generations.
Hi,
First of all I am 61 a Mother and grandmother and work helping Autistic people. I am not an intellectual but I am quite spiritual not in the fanatical religious sense.
Before finding out about the Human Condition I had not heard anything about this.
(They should teach you about this in school and not wait until University which not everyone can go to)
I have ,since I was a teenager, been in conflict with myself and always trying to keep the peace which has never come. We always say that it is a pity we had to grow up and now I know why.
I am very excited and pleased that you trying to explain this concept to everyone and having listen to all the video ‘s and now am a member, you are sending me emails with the video’s, I am listening to them again. I thought I understood them the first time but now I am listening for the second time my understanding of them is different, don’t ask me how because I don’t know, I just know, if that makes any sense to you.
I don’t have any questions as everything you are saying is reasonable to me and the honest, truthful, unpretentious and earnest way in which you deliver the message is refreshing to hear from such an intellectual person, so many times people of your standing get so bogged down in making themselves sound important and intelligent that they forget that we cannot understand and because of the delivery end up not wanting to understand.
I don’t usually express my opinions on social media but this is too important for the opportunity to go by.
I just Hope now I won’t be afraid to carry this concept through into the world.
Just simply Thank you for making it easier to grasp.
Jo
I think I understand the explanation in Adsm Stork and The Garden of Eden/Forbidden Fruit/Search For Knowledge stories of how the of the conscious mind evolved to being the cause of the Human Condition. I think I also understand that the difference of our human conscious mind and that of other animal species is that of genes and nerves. However, I still question why/how our instinctive mind evolved to that of our conscious one. Was it due to Divine Intervention as religions may tell us or was it due to evolution as Darwin may explain it? Thus far, it appears that WTM discounts anything being explained by Divine Intervention, but rather ( rightfully so ), by science. Given that I adhere to the latter of reason of Darwinism evolution, I have attempted to explain my theory of why/how our instinctive mind evolved to that of our conscious one as follows:
In the beginning, we had only an instinctive mind. Thus our earliest primates had a loving cooperative mind as the bonobo primates of the Congo currently exhibit. But in time, other more primitive species (lions, tigers, etc.) began to threaten our loving cooperative species. So, in order to protect the evolution of the species, about 2 million years ago our distant species began to gradually search for knowledge… the result being that the species through natural selection gravitated towards other individuals of the species who had similar inquisitive traits. Thus, in time, as the species gradually evolved, the genes and nerves of the species developed into a conscious mind.
However, in reading and thinking about my theory as presented above, I realize that it is not too different from the HC of trying to explain that our evolution is due to selfish animal self perpetuation instincts such as survival of the fittest. So, what am I missing or not understanding or what part of the above is right and what part wrong? Forgive me, it appears that I am in resignation and circling back to a Divine Intervention explanation.
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Yep this is all based on first principle science David. As Freedom says this explanation of the human condition actually represents the end of faith and dogma and the beginning of knowledge. it’s a wonder-filled landscape of logic and rationale and you just keep following your nose so to speak, and you soon realise that it’s the long-awaited manual to life no less, it’s brilliant! And I love that you’re obviously open to new ideas and wanting to understand this properly. In terms of understanding how and why our instinctive mind and conscious mind evolved, well what unbelievably fascinating subjects to understand! At the end of Chapter 7 in Freedom Jeremy summarises that ‘it was the process of nurturing love-indoctrination that not only gave our species its instinctive orientation to behaving cooperatively—our moral soul—it also liberated consciousness in our forebears.’ So the significance of nurturing is the big thing missing in your thinking. Apart from Freedom itself, the best place to go is essay 21 for how we go our loving instincts and essay 24 for how consciousness emerged. Happy reading David!
All my life l have had empathy for animals and humans alike. I have never wanted to hurt injure harm or belittle anyone. Even though some people have treated me very badly l have always forgiven them. My nature is to nurture and to respect all life forms and plant life. I feel destroyed inside when l see cruelty to people and animals.
I strongly believe in the afterlife and since birth l know that alien beings exist.
I believe that if every human being felt like this the world would be such a wonderful place to start our journey.
the world just broke open for me ,this is extraordinary! revelation city…
Amen
This information has been the most exciting discovery I have encountered while exploring the reasons why I hace felt the way I do – having been a very deeply feeling and deeply thinking person with countless conflicting thoughts and emotions. This is truly the answer to everything! I am very thankful at the same time that I have had the fortunate prior hard-fought insights of many of the ancients philosophers and analysts that this author has mentioned to help in my digesting of this material.
Thank you so much to the World Transformation Movement!
A real wow moment for me, for some reason tears welled up in me while watching the videos, would like to get more involved somehow, thank you Mr Griffith for all your hard work
I get the argument and concept between instinctive orientation and conscious understanding. That we are all good people is something else to agree with.. Presumably we all enter this world as innocent beings, but the conscious actions of those around us are able to influence our own thinking and actions and in doing so, this must surely tip the balance between the two concepts. I cannot therefore go with this notion, on the basis that people can and do turn towards evil acts to express an ego that has little or no basis in being a good To conclude, if conscious understanding evolves over time, then this can incliné towards the development of the collective consciousnesses, be it good or evil.
I would welcome readers’ views and comments on this.
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Hey Audrey. The more I watch this video the more simple the whole explanation is, altho to start with I couldn’t hear much which is normal as the first video goes thro. Big subject, and as we haven’t had any understanding of ourselves for eons it’s a scarey subject too! The counsel is it takes time n patience to re-watch stuff and work thro the fear underneath and that’s what I’ve found works and it’s ridiclous to discover how simple it all actually is! Honestly it’s revelation city! The best thing for me is that in each of our minds this clash between instinct n intellect exists and it explains why and how we actually all do ‘bad’, crazy, angry stuff when deep down we know what is good n right, so it explains we are all ‘upset’ but we are actually good n heroic, and having that knowledge really does change everything. Well it has for me and I see more n more it’s at the hub of all our problems big n small. It makes sense that if you live with lots of upset people compared to living in a very isolated place, that will influence and increase your own upset heaps, as an eg I’ve read somewhere on this site where Jeremy talks about when agriculture appeared in our history that’s exactly what happened. Anyway so glad you’re taking the time to look into this!
Thanking you.
Although its neigh as hard as you make it.
Please also consider our oh-foolish grasshopper.
Who stumbles upon such why’s and wonders; No world wide
web witches a wish which will waste watts away.
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Can’t agree with you there Gregory, what I see is that solving the HC is the biggest breakthu that could be n there’s a huge problem as most people live in denial of the whole subject. Even still this is the understanding road for us conscious humans to evolve into secure people be able to fix all the problems we see all round us, n I reckon in their way even the grasshoppers would agree with that!
How do I find the information I need to understand what you are talking about, I have watched a lot of your videos but I am still wondering what is the key to this understanding, thanks, Geoffrey Bourne
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Thank you for your interest in the WTM Geoffrey. The key to this information is Jeremy Griffith’s breakthrough instinct versus intellect explanation of the human condition (presented in the Video/Essay above) which finally provides the biological understanding for why we are the way we are — divisively rather than cooperatively behaved. With the dark side of our nature truthfully explained and defended we can begin to heal ourselves and our planet bringing about a new, transformed world, free of suffering, for everyone.
It does take a while to digest the great significance of this information. As Video/Freedom Essay 1 outlines, the very nature of the human condition means that people can have a great deal of difficulty initially accessing or ‘hearing’ the explanations because the issue of the human condition has been the most terrifying of subjects to face and we have lived in almost total denial of it. Our minds suffer from a ‘deaf effect’ to what is being presented, with the consequence being that we struggle to read and absorb the liberating and transforming explanation of ourselves. What initially happens when discussion of the human condition begins is that our mind goes into shock and our protective denials begin to kick in and block the words and their meaning from entering our conscious awareness. At a certain point the words just wash over us, there is no absorption of them, and our minds effectively become ‘deaf’ to any more discussion of the human condition. We suggest that with patient re-reading and re-watching the deaf effect can be overcome and I would recommend you watch/read Video/Freedom Essay 1 and also Video/Freedom Essay 11 which includes some very powerful quotes from people who have overcome their personal ‘deaf effect’. FAQ 1.16 is also very helpful answering the question ‘why can’t I understand what this is all about?’. -
The reason you cannot find the key is that the answer is unlocked by the morality key, which is the only mechanism by which instinct and intelligence have meaning.
I’m amazed at this insight…
I’m amazed at the simplistic efforts of scientists who try to explain the Human condition through speculation where there are not imperial evidence to sustain it. Philosophical no problem, science , not so much. It’s what people want to hear—we’re all good, it’s not our fault, no guilt, no God, no reason to feel bad because there are no rules. Superficial explanations fit our non-absolute thinking world ie anything you want it to be as long as there are no true spiritual realities of God conscienceness.
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There is a suggestion here that Griffith’s work is post-modern. It is anything but! It is defending, and so it is guilt removing as you suggest, BUT it is the most confronting, excoriating information I have ever encountered. You are right that post-modernism just gets rid of any absolutes, any differences at all, and that is a ‘cop-out’ if I can put it like that. But while Jeremy’s work does defend our upset state, it is anything but a post-modern white-wash. His work forces you to admit just how corrupt you are in the sense that we are no longer loving and cooperative. It is honest about all the differences between genders and races and ages and whatever else you can think of. And while his work brings demystifying scientific explanation to God and spirituality, he is not denying them, he is affirming them! As I have said elsewhere, this takes some time to appreciate, but the more you digest it, the more you do appreciate that important fact.
I’m afraid I would disagree with all you have said
My advice is to stick to biology and stay away from the ‘human condition” which you lack understanding of.
You would be well advised to leave this subject to those great minds, such as Thomas Aquinas – Fulton J Sheen – St Leo, to name but a few.
Chris
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I come from a mechanistic background, which from the sounds of your comment, is 180 degrees from where you are coming from, but in a way, I think I can relate to what you are saying. You think biology and science cant encompass the subjectivity or even spirituality of the human condition, and the two realms should be kept separate. What I would suggest though, is that the more you digest Griffith’s explanation of the human condition, the more you appreciate how it is possible for a scientific explanation to be in harmony with what these profound thinkers are saying and have experienced. That is my experience, but you have to be open to the possibility.
The more I understand about this explanation the more I love it. At first I just thought it was a brilliant explanation for why people are selfish, and then I started to realize just how deep it goes. How this war between these two elements within us have determined every part of life, every facet of human existence. And even how this explanation allows us to understand spirituality. And like PaulM says, not by denying it, but in a way that explains it, and affirms it. The more I look, the more I see.
Very interesting philosophy thoughts that I recognize so well. I have me own philosophy, where the importance of emotions in our comings and goings, plays a much larger role for the state among people!
I believe that the day we attribute their true meaning to our emotions and we understand how much they affect not only ourselves but also the people we interact with.
Emotions today, is a private matter, or a disease, not something you talk to others unless you have sought “help” in the form of therapy, or you have ended up in the psychiatric system.
I have many thoughts on how to get it implemented in schools, and at home in the family.
Just my thoughts on a solution to the human condition etc.
Sincerely
Stefan Christopher Enoch
It’s been a journey for me with these ideas Stefan but after verifying this logical information for myself, what I see very clearly now is that solving the human condition required finding the clarifying difference between the way the intellect and instincts work, and that is the great breakthrough that Jeremy Griffith has found. You might find essay 4 as confirming as I did as it goes through the other thinkers who have recognised the instinct and intellect elements involved in creating the human condition. Understanding the HC makes it clear why we’ve had to necessarily repressed our emotional state, which I agree is most unhealthy for ourselves and everyone around us. And not only that it allows us to now bring immense meaning to and reconciliation with both our upset/angry/resentful and loving emotional sides. As I’ve said the significance of the explanation of the human condition takes some time to absorb, but the more you do absorb it, the more you realise just how redeeming, reconciling, liberating it is for absolutely everyone!
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The reason I put this video out! Caused by a herd of baboons living in a herd of alpha males who controlled and ruled the monkey group who bitched and “raped” each other. When the group of males die after being infected with tuberculosis. Now the females take control with the group and do not let aggressive males into the group. They have lived in peace and harmony since the females took control.
How would you Jeremy Griffith explain this noticeable change in their behavior?
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This is my own take on this. First thing I would say is that the video conflates baboon behaviour with human behaviour which is a classic strategy to deny the human condition. As Griffith explains everywhere, “Humans have suffered not from the genetic-opportunism-based, non-psychological animal condition, but the conscious-mind-based, PSYCHOLOGICALLY troubled HUMAN CONDITION.”
So what the video is really trying to say is, ‘we males should stop being so competitive and aggressive.’ But trying to make everyone behave cooperatively without the explanation of the human condition is just imposing dogma, and as is explained in Essay 14 and elsewhere, humans needed understanding not dogma, because dogma just stops the search for knowledge and so it doesn’t represent a better future for the human race, it represents the psychological death of the human race.
But putting that aside, to now look at the biology of how the females took over in the Keekorok troupe after the alpha males died (from tubuculosis), and how much ‘calmer’ the society was after that. What it demonstrates is just how strong the genetic imperative for males to compete for mating opportunities is. It is so strong, that even though it terrorizes eveyone in the troupe, the overwhelming rule across virtually the whole animal kingdom (except bonobos) is that alpha males do rule. In chapter 4.4 of Freedom Griffith explains how, “This situation where sexually reproducing individuals relentlessly compete for available resources is the situation, the condition, that almost all animals have to endure—it is the great, agonising ‘animal condition’.”
And so even though this disaster has resulted in the Keekorok troupe being so much calmer, it is inevitable that males will again take over from the females. Chapter 6.8 explains that without the love-indoctrination process (see Freedom Essay 21), it is impossible to select for genuine cooperation: “While it may appear persuasive to suggest that males could stop competing for mating opportunities once female coalitions formed—because aggression became more ‘dangerous and costly, and less beneficial’ than cooperation, or simply because ‘turning aside from violence’ is a ‘solution to conflicting [social] interests’—the biological reality is that, without love-indoctrination, genetic selfishness will see males continue to aggressively compete for any and all mating opportunities.”
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How actually we can transform our wild instincts when they are in inertia to our Peace of Mind and to achieving world wide Peace? Political forces and material race fail us in this direction! Academic research help us only to understand the issue, but how we could transform?
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Thank you very much for your interest in the WTM Nissim. Jeremy explains that humans’ selfish behaviour is not a product of unchangeable savage or ‘wild’ animal instincts within us, but the result of a psychosis, caused by the clash between our instinct and intellect, and a psychosis is changeable as it can be healed through understanding—a revelation that has the power to transform the human race. This is explained in the previous Video/Essay, Freedom Essay 2. For more information on how this revelation transforms the human race I would recommend FAQ 4.1 or Freedom Essay 15.
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And yet for all you say you are still in a fallen state which no amount of psycho dialogue can solve…..you still think wrong things, do wrong things etc. Hang on morality would need to exist for that to be true.
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Interesting , as I see it , most eople are trying to find their way out of the cave by taking drugs , which is not a good way . Will continue reading from your writings .
Interesting so far, but it does not seem new… In fact, so far this is all BASIC DIANETICS/SCIENTOLOGY 101, word for word, previously stated by L. Ron Hubbard through the 50’s and 60’s, and available in many of his hundreds of books.
I would be interested in the references for this data so far. Also, the “condition” recognized (by many) is great, but will there be practical “how to’s” coming soon? Nuts and bolts solutions are what people want and need. Hopefully I am just impatient and jumping the gun, and this is coning soon in future essays.
THANKS
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Thank you for your interest in the WTM Bill.
This isn’t at all like weird Scientology which is not grounded in biology at all, or another metaphysics-based religious system. It is rational, accountable first-principle biology which puts an end to dogma, superstition and faith, because it brings clarifying explanation to this underlying issue in all human affairs, of our human condition. It answers in first-principle biological terms the obvious question that has caused humans so much buried guilt and insecurity — how can we be so selfish, angry and destructive when the ideals are to be loving and selfless? Solving the human condition required finding the clarifying difference between the way the intellect and instincts work, and that is the great breakthrough that Jeremy Griffith has found which is presented in the above Video/Essay. Video/ Freedom Essay 4 reveals that there have been many thinkers throughout history—indeed many of the acknowledged great thinkers in history—who have recognised that the answer to our angry, egocentric and alienated human condition lay in understanding that a clash must have occurred between our already established instincts and more recently emerged conscious mind.
A big part of the nature of the human condition is that humans have had to cope, until we could solve it, by living in denial of it and even though there is obviously a lot that has resonated with you for you to spend time looking into our work, it typically takes some time to break through that denial and see the full significance of at last able being able to make sense of the great paradox of human life, how we humans are good when we appear to be the complete opposite. So continuing to explore and consider it is exactly what we recommend—especially watching Videos 1-5 & 14 of our Introductory Video Series.
With the dark side of our nature truthfully explained and defended and our fundamental goodness established we no longer have to behave insecurely and selfishly, we no longer have to prove our worth. We can now legitimately return to a selfless way of living and this is the rapidly transforming effect of being able to understand the human condition. Our conscious thinking brain finally has knowledge/ explanation/ insight into our seemingly horribly flawed human condition, and given time to absorb it, our psychologically troubled human condition can come to an end. To understand the transformation process more we would recommend Freedom Essay 15. A more comprehensive treatment is presented in chapter 9 of FREEDOM with sections 9:4 and 9:9 being particularly instructive.
And Pauli, thank you also for your interest. In answer to your comment, the WTM is not a new age movement or escape and on this you might find this FAQ 6.5 enlightening, https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-is-this-new-age/ -
Exactly…
Seems a bit like new age escapism to me
Nice argument, but I am still missing something, which may appear in the following videos, but I want to comment now in order not to forget. What is missing is our individuality versus our being part of a million year history of evolution. And the place of our death in this picture. Because our death brings us the key to our freedom tot choose our own direction of this path. Knowledge is not a sacret goal per se, not per definition better than instinct, although I totally agree it can be healing. We are absolutely free to choose for instinct as well, whether knowingly OR unknowingly so. Some strategic players may still choose the selfish path favoring their family interest. It depends on the environmental options they see.
Desire……
Intelligence, morals and the desire to do a thing all form components of the human condition.
People are not born good but they are born equal. Equal in the sense that each person starts from zero as a fresh sheet waiting to be written on.
Human nature is born in a fallen state regardless of IQ, location of birth and those around you. Tell me one human who has never done a wrong thing…and what is wrong…by who’s subjectiveness do we determine what is good and evil, what is moral or not, what is good or bad.
The commentator himself is not perfect, does thing contrary to so called morality ever day or does he? If the alignment between 2 million year old hard wired instinct and knowledge is not boxed in by morality what do you have? What relevance is the moral choice of Adam and Eve in the garden?
So the real question is what is morality and where does it come from. It must come from a state of humanity being naturally evil or else there would be no need for it. Therefore the combination of instinct and knowledge created immorality. You see instinct and knowledge can freely exist but morality need these two components to function, to set out and define them, to create a code of acceptable conduct.
If humans are all good, as prescribed then morality has no place…it is made irrelevant and of no consequence.
But morality and morality alone is the definition of acceptability within the framework of any community. And after all community exists based on instinct, normally to survive and knowledge to progress survival, it is only morality that dictates and regulates how that survival plays out, the terms by which it can function.
In closing, it seems to me that this methodology falls short at several levels in a way to sort of redefine existence into a type of feel good binary compromise between prove biology and morality, which seems to be the 3rd wheel in this concept of the goodness of humanity. Because a thing is not nice to acknowledge (evil) it must still be accepted.
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If I understand you correctly, you are arguing that we have selfish instincts – ‘human nature is born in a fallen state’ – and that our ‘morality’ is not instinctive, but rather it is more of a code of conduct that the conscious mind then adopts in order to manage those selfish instincts, and generally make its way through life.
Certainly humanity has learnt to manage life under the duress of the human condition, and every culture has a slightly different ‘code of conduct’ for this, but I think it is wrong to confuse these ‘rules for living’ with conscience or morality. As a start point, I would point you toward the evidence that Jeremy has gathered that we do have loving, selfless instincts. This begins with Darwin’s observation that, ‘The moral sense perhaps affords the best and highest distinction between man and the lower animals’. In addition, I think it worthwhile looking at Freedom Essay 21 on love indoctrination, which is the process by which we gained those selfless instincts, which includes evidence of that process from bonobos, as well as Freedom Essay 22 which is about the fossil evidence for our nurtured origins. And there is also evidence from other thinkers throughout history who have recognised our moral instincts in Freedom Essay 4.
So I think there is significant evidence to suggest that our morality is instinctive. And if that is the case, the question is then, ‘why are we not moral?’ The answer to that is obviously presented in this Freedom Essay 3, which explain how the conscious mind, when it went in search of knowledge, become angry, egocentric and alienated.
Of course, in the absence of this understanding, it has been necessary to come up with some excuse for our behaviour, and as Jeremy explains in the previous Essay (Freedom Essay 2), the main one used has been that we have savage instincts, which our conscious mind needs to manage, which I think is very similar to what you are arguing.
There is a section in the next Essay (Freedom Essay 4) about just how ashamed we must have been of destroying our innocent loving past without being able to explain why, and therefore just how desperate we must have been to come up with some excuse for it, and in particular how we came up with the savage instincts excuse, with our conscious mind as the moderator.
I think the case is made for humanity having loving instincts, and our conscience being the voice of that instinctive self, and that so-called ‘evil’ is the result of the conscious mind’s search for knowledge. It does represent a paradigm shift however, so I do recommend absorbing the points made in the various essays I have mentioned above.-
I will be very interested In trying to u understanding the human condition better. I have been going through a very bad space the last two years,especially after my sister was murdererad on her farm about 2 years ago. I am left with a lot of anger and hate and a sadness which I cannot even begin to explain. So hopefully,this book can help me to understand the human condition better and bring back some Peace of mind and maybe understanding.
I am a music teacher and pianist and my work and music as well as art bring some peace of mind. I struggle to find a way of forgiveness and understanding I have a lot of anger and unbelievable sadness in me. I know I must learn to forgive, but find it hard, Only through my playing music I find some solace and I can escape from this angry world and hateful surrounding I live in. Maybe this book can help and bring some peace of mind and understanding.
How can I get hold of a copy? Thank you. Wilhelm Joubert-
We are so very, very sorry to hear about your sister Wilhelm. I just don’t have the words to describe the shock and grief that you and your family must be going through. The human condition has caused such unthinkable pain and suffering, it really is almost too much to bare, and we are so glad to hear that you have at least had your music which gave you some solace from the incredible horror of it all.
We are so deeply thankful that you have stumbled across Jeremy’s understanding of the human condition Wilhelm and we hope it does bring you an understanding of why humans can be so cruel and hateful when the ideals are to be so loving and cooperative, and bring you some peace of mind that you so deserve. We do maintain that only this psychosis-addressing-and-solving, real explanation of the human condition can stop the destruction of our world and the disintegration of society that is happening everywhere we look.
We would encourage you to join our mailing list as the ‘Freedom Essay’ email series you will receive each week is an excellent way to introduce yourself to, and further familiarise yourself with, this information. These essays will guide you through much of the content of Jeremy Griffith’s definitive book FREEDOM: The End of The Human Condition in beautifully illustrated bite-size pieces and provide explanatory insight into the magnitude of these ideas, their explanatory power, and their ability to transform every human and thus the world. The short booklet Transform Your Life and Save The World (TYL) which is a summary of FREEDOM, is also an easy way to introduce yourself to this information. Both books are freely available to download from our homepage or you can purchase them on Amazon. (If you are purchasing TYL from Amazon please make sure you purchase the 2nd edition with the ISBN 9781741290486).
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Fascinating insight. I am an 79 year old man living in Cape Town, South Africa. Human Condition is deeply insightful and thought provoking. I shall continue studying your material. Thanks.
Gavin Fernie
I got your book and read it a few times just to make sure I want missing anything. Absolutely stunning by the way.
What is the remedy that is going to heal these condition. What we need is to start living like the original god wrote that man were created equal no man should rule anyone else and that we start by taking this fiat money out of the equation and come back to primitive times. where man wasn’t poisoned by all kinds of drugs medication poison sugar tobacco chem-trail spraying us as we are nothing more that a bug. You ever thought about what this is doing to our fragile nature beside Geo-engineering us.
You are doing well for the awareness of human being .
A human explanation of the human condition. Doesn’t cut it. You cannot leave your creator out of the equation. Jesus only can change the sinful human condition.
An absolutely fascinating perspective!
Yes. Radical circumstances, require radical Changes! What a great healthy mindset to live our lives with!
Thank You for what you’ve done🙏
An agreeable and sound description of the basic truth of the condition. Pitched at a level for universal understing even for the youngerg generation.
In reality it is Buddhist philosophy and i have been an adheren for five decades . Keep up the good work it can only benefit us as an universal population. Cheers Lee
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Awesome that you’ve found this stuff Lee!! love your description that it is ‘agreeable and sound’ and yeah kids will definitely be able to hear this, much better than adults actually as they are not in denial. As great a religion as Buddhism is, the wtm or it’s work is not religious at all. There’s no faith or dogma with this stuff, or worship or anything like that, it’s all based on knowledge and understading, on first principle biology. This faq explains more, https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-is-this-some-sort-of-religion/
Very interesting..I instinctively knew this..its taken me 70 yrs to understand.
I was wondering if the whole book could be downloaded. Thanks
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Yes Yvee, and it’s wonderful to have your interest! Both Jeremy Griffith’s definitive book, FREEDOM: The End of The Human Condition, and the short booklet Transform Your Life and Save The World, are freely available to download from our homepage or you can purchase them on Amazon.
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And they are completely FREE Yvee – you don’t even need to give your email address – you don’t see that anywhere else!
Thank you for explaining, what I have felt all my life, but could not reason my way through. This video and book now makes me see, what is basically wrong in our society. In all my 88 years of searching, studying and meditating things were never as clear as they are now. This is truly enlightening.
I learned from this essay that anyone comes out from instinctive orientations to conscious understanding within any situation/condition by asking WHY? When He/She gets answer, journey starts toward “FREEDOM”. Thanks Jeremy Griffith & WTM Team.
This is my first time of reading about WTM and very excited about the whole concept.
To overcome unhelpful emotional reactions to situations, I prefer to think of my ego as more of a tool-box which contains all the emotions. Emotions are important tools that enable us to negotiate the physical world. My conscious mind is separate, but connected to, the ego. With the conscious mind, I can determine the appropriate response to a situation, after carefully examining my emotional state at the time. This approach has led me from a chaotic, angry, frustrated, and cynical approach to Life, to a Life of peace, love, and freedom.
There have even been times when I have used my imagination to tenderly place my ego on a shelf (in my mind), in order to allow the Universe to work through me. With this practice, the most amazingly positive things have unfolded in my Life.
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Sounds like quite a journey Mary but imagine when u can actually understand the human condition! It took me a while to get my head round this stuff but the key for me is how much this explains, ‘dignifies’, brings love and compassion to our egocentric side. That’s what will stop the horror and change the world! This adam stork story brings our mind and soul together finally and brings meaning to us humans that I just would never have dreamt possible.
I believe you 100%
I have recently read “Freedom: The End of the Human Condition.” I found it a little repetitious.But probably necessary to instil understanding.However at the end I was still unsure how to start the process of relieving myself and then others from the human condition. I do suffer a from depression and guilt.I know I am not a bad person and have spent my life caring for those closest to me.But I have this underlying feeling that I am being punished for a few mistakes I have made. Are you able to clarify the steps I need to take here?
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Hi Mark. A big part of the nature of the human condition is that humans have had to cope with it, until we could bring understanding to it, by living in denial of it and even though there is obviously a lot that has resonated with you, it does typically takes some time to break through that denial and see the full significance of at last able being able to make sense of the great paradox of human life, how we humans are good when we appear to be the complete opposite. So continuing to explore and consider it is exactly what we recommend—especially THE Interview, described as ‘the most important interview of all time’ and is the ideal, very short, introductory summary to FREEDOM, and also Videos 1-5 of our Introductory Video Series. You may also find FAQ 1.16 helpful which answers among other questions Why is there so much apparent repetition?
What is so significant about this explanation of the human condition is we don’t have to be burdened anymore by the fundamental question we have all struggled with of whether we are good or bad because our fundamental goodness as individuals and as a species has been biologically established. Our conscious thinking brain finally has insight into our seemingly horribly flawed human condition, and given time to absorb it, our psychologically troubled human condition and all the symptoms that resulted such as depression and guilt can come to an end. We can now know that our psychological upset was the price humans had to pay for searching for knowledge and that the human story presents the greatest, most heroic story ever told. We are finally able to understand all the pain and horror and place it in this true and honest denial-free framework of knowledge and we can deeply know and absorb just how truly special, meaningful and beautiful it’s all actually been. This explanation of the human condition actually lifts the burden of guilt from the shoulders of the human race, it ends the condemnation that we humans have had to endure for so long. We do hope you persevere Mark, and to understand more about the Transformation process more we would recommend Freedom Essay 15 and also Part 3 of Transform Your Life.
I do understand that because I blocked my childhood until I was 33. Then spent years in counseling.Before the counseling I spent years not trusting most people. After finally getting the counseling I am a kind person. Unless I think someone or something is causeing danger! Thank you so much it explains even more than the counseling did!
Wow. What a tour de force. I’m about 2/3 of the way through “Freedom”; I’m pushing 70 and no stranger to paradigm shifts, and I had the feeling from when I first saw Jeremy Griffith’s work advertised that there was yet another one in store for me.
I was raised in a religious environment; fortunately at age 12 I had a spiritual epiphany which made it possible for me to separate dogma from truth and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. In fact during my adolescence I conducted a private study of the Bible to see what it had to say to me without any intermediary, and it has stayed with me all these years. Based on that, I would like to add a wrinkle to Griffith’s thinking which actually reinforces the major premise.
What Adam and Eve messed with when they ate the apple was no ordinary knowledge – it was the knowledge of good and evil – in other words, the capacity to exercise moral judgment. They were the first to suffer the consequences – they noticed their nakedness for the first time and felt shame, and they were expelled from the garden in order to “know” good and evil by experiencing it.
I would depart from Griffith’s idea only in this particular – that pure innocence doesn’t pass moral judgment. A toddler learning to walk has any number of “fall-down-go-boom” episodes, but it doesn’t occur to that child to blame the floor, or the table, for its distress. Blame and judgment comes later, learned through the upset of its parents and the outer world. Learning, though a good thing, can be painful, but we make it much more so by our judgment of ourselves and others.
A case in point: Many years ago, on the verge of leaving a destructive marriage, I vacillated until I found a metaphor that made it easy. I thought, what if I stopped judging my husband and simply accepted him as a force of nature, as if I were living under an active volcano? No amount of begging, fist-shaking, scolding would change that volcano, but if I stopped doing that, I could strategize an exit plan that would protect my and my children’s interests with minimal emotional distress. That worked – I was able to detach and move on.
In these comments I often see “What do we do about it?” I believe the primary work is inner work – giving up our judgments. The Bible repeatedly offers stern warnings about passing moral judgment, including that the person who judges suffers worst from the judgments he imposes on others. Even when we have to sequester people whose level of upset makes them a danger to others, this can be done without devaluing them. I believe that the instant we pass judgment, we cut ourselves off from our innocence, our soul.
It’s the hardest work there is. Just this morning I caught myself getting huffy about a trivial matter, and noticed how my attitude clouded my day. But this is the work.
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Great to read your story Kate and you’re right you’ve started the most incredible journey of discovery ever with this stuff! When you say pure innocence doesn’t pass moral judgement, I thought I’d point out that I think you are mistaking that our loving instincts will somehow be accommodating and even understanding of things like the emergence of our conscious mind and it’s need to search for knowledge. Jeremy points out that all instincts are by their nature totally dictatorial and rigid and unable to understand, they are ignorant and non-insightful. Our instincts are hardwired to be loving and cooperative but they are in effect completely intolerant of any behaviour outside that, they have no ability to be able to understand or be insightful about or be lenient or accommodating or anything like that, they are very ‘black and white’. It does take a while to deeply absorb this info, it really is the most huge of all paradigm shifts, and it really helped me to watch the videos a few times. The more you do the more you’ll see that Jeremy’s explanation of the human condition, understanding the difference and thus confict between our instinct and intellect does profoundly account for and end the upset that resulted in us such as blame and judgement. Have you seen ‘THE Interview’ yet? If not I highly recommend!
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I enjoyed this discussion immensely thank you Kate & Susy. I feel like the more I listen and read about this idea by Griffith I too will be able to discuss it and become more while like you both.
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If anyone wants to understand what the human condition is or what the World Transformation Movement is all about then they should sit down and watch THE Interview! And then they should watch it again and share it with everyone they know because this is what we all need to understand and digest, it’s utterly brilliant and beyond profound.
Although this ties in with recent research that evolution eventually always ends up favouring good over evil, I have a few problems with it: The rest of nature has not banned us from their presence for being evil. Humans have distanced themselves from it. Humans have always sought to put themselves on some kind of pedestal. The explanation may be different, (consciousness) but the result is the same. In my view, part of the current problems in the world is this artificial distance. Our species can only survive as part of the whole. Other creatures, be they conscious or not have every right to aim for the same things as humans: happiness, procreation, etc. Giving this scientific explanation for what we do is giving humans another excuse to carry on as they are. We do evil because we have consciousness! Moreover, current improved scientific research is also finding that several criteria for distinguishing humans from lesser beings are not holding water. Language. Dreams. Intelligence. One day we may find we are not the only ones with consciousness either. Who knows, perhaps we shall find that some whales are already there: Not separated from their environment, not pillaging it, living in harmony with it. Just good.
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Hey Jos! I just thought I’d put in my two bobs worth! Firstly if you haven’t I’d watch ‘The Interview’ which is new to the wtm’s homepage, https://www.humancondition.com/. It’s just super for understanding the basics of this groundbreaking information.
Also this understanding of the human condition, why we do the good stuff and the bad stuff, makes clear why we humans have suffered such upset and haven’t been able to be ‘part of the whole’ and that now we have understanding of ourselves we can be. Really importantly the info doesn’t approve of our upset behaviour, it makes sense of it, and through that our upset can fall away. I’ve been around this for some time now and that’s certainly what it’s done for me, so healing and reconciling. I love the FAQ sectn and this one is really good in understanding this vital point, https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-how-does-this-rehabilitate-evil/.
And lastly just on consciousness, it’s a big subject in itself, also covered here incl why other animals aren’t, https://www.humancondition.com/wtm-faq-what-is-consciousness/
The way humans learn is to understand new information through the lens of already stored knowledge so I am seeking to understand and process through the lens of a psychotherapist.
I understand the power of the superego which keeps us in check, keeps us in our habit and patterns and am familiar with the techniques it uses to do this; guilt, self loathing, denial, anger ,aggression etc. when ever we attempt to stray from our path. The I am also trained in Family Constellations which examines transgenerational trauma, the concious and unconscious ties of belonging, systemic regulation and loyalty
Absolutely in perfect alignment with the Evolution in act. I am living the personal transformation of my human reality to lead to the reconnection with my soul mission Here & Now.. It is both an extremely effort and an astonishing and universal Joy. Namaste ‘ 🙏
Thank you for providing the origin of our humble life until now. I have ordered the Freedom… book & looking forward to reading the book and understand in details our revolutionary Lives. The video created by Jeremy Griffit is very informative. Thank you.
We desperately need a book that provides insight and clarity for children and adolesents to understand the human condition as they mature and develop their instinctive and intellectual minds. It is a crucial time in a human life.
Most grateful for your dedication to revealing the truth of human behavior.
Not easily understandable.
Need further clarity
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As mentioned at the end of THE Interview our historic fear of the subject of the human condition often initially causes a ‘deaf effect’ when reading or hearing about the human condition. This is explained in our Introductory Video/Freedom Essay 1: ‘Your block to the most wonderful of all gifts’ and in this FAQ. As can be seen from the ecstastic responses to THE Interview this block can be overcome with patience and perseverance and the reward is the ultimate enlightenment — freedom from all the fears and horrors of the human condition. We certainly hope you persevere!
I feel so deeply moved by this video because it truly does explain what has been unexplainable. To know we do have cooperative instincts and that our aggression and selfishness is driven not by our genes but by the effects of becoming conscious and searching for knowledge is a game changer. I can understand the human journey! It is astonishing and so empoowering. As Jeremy says we can take our power back so get into this information because it alone can stop the madness and save the world.