on happiness

and the genes we need to perpetuate to maximize our species success

raw, unfiltered thoughts from my brain

I just cant get over this idea. That the soul impulse and the animal impulse are both IMPULSES. By “impulse” I mean an understanding of something that precedes pre-frontal cortex analysis. Before “you” even “think” about it, “you” already know the answer. I mean we all already know this. This is literally the devil and angel on your shoulder.

The “devil” is the animal impulse. Warmth. Connection. Food. Survive. My friend George likes to say “we don’t have fur”. A bear doesn’t need other bears to survive because it has fur. We don’t (well, most of us). So we need other people. This impulse ensured our survival. It was mother natures way of guiding us out of the trees and to where we are today. I strongly believe that this impulse is harming us now that we don’t fight for our survival every day.

The angel is our “soul”.

Side note: the word soul is overused and misunderstood. We need a different word if were gonna think about this differently. That’s just how humans work. Theres meaning attached to language and the meaning of soul causes it not to be taken as seriously as we need to.

This is the feeling of alignment. Where we do what makes us truly happy. Choose a partner from genuine joy and not from fear of not being accepted. Where we choose a career that fulfills us. Friends that inspire us.

Side note: you get double ostracized if you make choices from alignment over fitting in cause not only are you not choosing conventional paths but the ACT of choosing an unconventional path ostracizes you because you become a mirror to the road others didn’t take.

I really want to keep these writings citing/research free.

Side note: You can find research that proves and denies every hypothesis. That’s the nature of science. It’s a controlled experiment and PURPOSEFULLY does not represent the full picture of reality. That is by design. Controlled environments, assumptions, and simplifications are the foundation of the scientific method. Without it, we couldn’t design useful things. The greatest computer chip we will ever build is nothing but hot metal in a hot enough environment.

We all see how our world feeds into these negative temptations and how that creates unhappiness. It separates us. It satiates our ego and not our soul. And when were feeling down? Were just told to double down on this system by consuming more.

Side note: This is what drives me nuts about the health/wellness space. You can claim your supplement will make me better but you’re operating within the very system that will never allow someone to achieve true happiness. as long as your solution to a better life is to buy something and not to align yourself, you’re not helping anyone. Sorry. Actually not sorry.

I think of this in terms of evolution. In terms of the “strong” genes that will survive and perpetuate humans. If people following their animal impulses are in unhappy marriages and generally dissatisfied, what kind of offspring will they raise? Will they become the “fit” gene? Or will those who are at peace create wiser, happier children that eventually dominate our gene pool?

Also interesting to think that acting within alignment can be part of our DNA. And therefore something that becomes more and more pronounced and easier to do as we evolve. Basically we would keep the need for reproduction but ditch all the ego shit.

Its also possible that this gene never evolves and the pull towards ego is too strong. As social media and technology gets better its possible ego wins out. But if that’s the case I do not have high hopes for the long term success of our species.

We need connection. We need to rethink our systems. To love everyone as our own. To dissolve the boundaries between us. To think with more nuance. To open our hearts. I know all this sounds lame but it truly is the solution to so many of our problems. Our egos pulled us together to survive and now they’re pushing us apart. The way back together is through the soul.

bisous