Mentatul

Tag: empathy

  • Corporations, Corrupt Governments, Militaries and Lots of Empathy

    Corporations, Corrupt Governments, Militaries and Lots of Empathy

    Given all that’s happening in the world (wars, social injustice, brainwashing via mass-media and entertainment) it’s tempting to say we need a revolution. The heritage of this word is a bloody one. It is clear we need change. But let us embrace the concept of evolution.

    The very idea of revolution implies a return to a previous state. It is circular and repetitive in nature, just like our violent history. Evolution means breaking this vicious circle. Due to the upcoming technological advances, which will make nuclear weapons look like wet firecrackers, we are forced to evolve rather than revolve. I believe one of the keys of the next evolutionary step (if not the key) is generalized empathy.

    Social entities are people too

    Humans are social creatures. We’re organized in various groups that, naturally, tend to behave just like humans do. Humans compete. At least partially, the urge to compete is powered by the survival instinct.

    A corporation, for example, is a social entity that competes economically within the market ecosystem. It has a survival instinct that expresses itself through the decisions of the people leading it. And the people leading it must act in the interest of the organization, otherwise it will perish. Due to the high stakes involved, these individuals often end up disconnecting from their humanity in order to become the brain of this abstract creature – the often-ruthless corporation.

    This is only one of the empathic explanations for the reckless and sometimes outright criminal behavior of corporate leaders. Not only does this explanation make sense (if you are empathic), but is also one that relieves us from the debilitating pressure that builds up while being in a state of permanent anger and dissatisfaction. Blame is how we hide from solving problems within our society and relationships.

    The survival instinct factor can’t be stressed enough. In all people – some less than others – there is a very deeply rooted instinct to gather more of everything (thus ensuring one’s future). Even though we know right from wrong (depending on education), maintaining an ethically-correct behavior – while having this biological need to accumulate always throbbing in the back of one’s mind – requires a great deal of free will discipline.

    An empathic case can also be made for corrupt governments. Lord Acton once said that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The greater the power, the greater the disconnect from one’s roots as an innocent human being. And isn’t corruption really just a symptom of this unfortunate disconnection? Just like corporate leaders, corrupt government officials separate themselves from the people they should have in their care. So, it is not surprising to see many of them fall prey to the “gather more of everything” impulse.

    Crime as flexible concept

    As ethics often shows, whether an act is a crime or not can be highly debatable. Law establishes certain boundaries, but law is almost always one step behind social change. If we apply what I’d call future-law (as opposed to the current judicial system which will probably be deemed as barbaric in some time from now), the greatest criminals often go unpunished. This is part due to human cunning, and part due to a judicial branch that doesn’t yet factor in some of the most serious crimes such as social irresponsibility.

    For example, those that knowingly set up and contribute to an educational system that produces broken individuals will eventually be seen just as bad (if not worse) as the individuals who were advertising tobacco and other poisonous substances in the past. Allowing the existence of an educational system that is damaging minds is a serious mistake. I can agree that most of the participants to this are victims of the same perpetuating system, but this educational cycle needs to be broken as well.

    By building an improper foundation for society, it is not surprising that we often end up voting in tyrants and sociopaths. Easily manipulatable citizens become facilitators for human disasters.

    Of course, some would argue that the entire point of this lack of education is to allow crooked governments to stay in power. But that was never a good long-term solution. The history book shows how many times this way of abusing citizens blew up in the face of the oppressors. Democracy without healthy education leads to dangerous, unpredictable situations.

    Often, that’s when armies come in. Finding justifications for the existence of the military is ethically challenging. The unfortunate soldiers become murderers while those that escape killing their own kind are facilitators and accomplices. Sure, the murder becomes “following orders” and even the orders have all sorts of geo-political motivations.

    It is exactly these motivations which make crime a highly relative term. More often than not, it’s not even naturally relative but rather a human-manipulated relativity. “History is written by the winners” and so are the rules that later decide what was crime and what was not.

    In this jungle of complexity, there is one behavior that can simplify and clarify the way forward towards a healthier, happier society.

    Generalized empathy and the science of empathy

    Humans are capable of great empathy. Through conscious action, empathy can be extended to complex human social structures (cultures, ethnic groups, social entities), to different species, towards the planet itself and the list goes on. This is generalized empathy, a wise and constructive conscious behavior. When (not if) this will predominate in our society, we will enter an age of amazing social transformation.

    This breakthrough can be accelerated through guidance. An education in empathy is necessary not only from the immediate family, but also throughout one’s journey as a student. Empathy should be a mandatory subject, a must-know science. An empathic population does not find it acceptable to commit crimes and will almost certainly not tolerate primitive manifestations of tribalism such as war.

    The upcoming educational paradigm shift will have to dispose of the disastrous mentality of “an eye for an eye”. Generalized empathy will lead to generalized forgiveness, which in turn will ease the psychological burden of our bloody history. I believe there is only a matter of time before this happens because I believe in the evolution of our collective intelligence. Given the weapons we wield and the upcoming technological advances, generalized empathy is our insurance policy for the future.

     

    This article bridges The “Art of Peace” Trilogy^ with The “Science of Peace” Trilogy (currently only Part 1 was published: The Survival Instinct and the Rules of the Human Game^).

     

    “An eye for an eye will only make this world go blind
    Another lie for a lie, we’ll be wiping out mankind”

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/02506-CorporationsGovernmentsMilitariesEmpathy-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/02506-CorporationsGovernmentsMilitariesEmpathy-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Corporations, Corrupt Governments, Militaries and Lots of Empathy’ desc=’One of the keys of the next evolutionary step is generalized empathy.’]

  • Man Who Makes Friends within Ku Klux Klan Is a True Role Model

    Man Who Makes Friends within Ku Klux Klan Is a True Role Model

    By providing an inspiring real life story of how empathy can change the world, this man has become a living embodiment of what society can achieve when it doesn’t fall prey to fear and hate:

    http://ijr.com/the-declaration/2017/08/948022-man-spent-decades-befriending-kkk-members-hundreds-left-group^

    When he started making friends among the KKK, Daryl embraced “the enemy” because deep inside he knew that there is no enemy. People make mistakes; they sometimes end up on a path that leads to suffering because they had few alternatives. That doesn’t make them any less human than the ones on the “other side”. But one important fact is that we’re all in the same boat. It’s up to us – to all of us – to grow each other up and to make sure that the boat we’re on becomes a party boat towards a beautiful land, not a dirge heading for the cemetery.

    White supremacists, Islamic extremists, corporate crooks and whatever “villains” you can think of, they all begin as innocent, harmless babies. It’s the society that people live in that turns them into something that they themselves probably would have hated as children to hear that they could become. No baby is born with a desire to do harm. Yes, we do have an instinct for survival which demands that some basic physical needs are met. But in most (unfortunately not all) societies on Earth there’s quite a stretch until a human will kill another human for food.

    I can name at least one Nobel Peace Prize winner who doesn’t deserve that honor as much as Daryl. It takes not only courage but also love to make one go there, on the front lines, facing those that would do one harm. I wish more people will soon think and do as Daryl and make friends within the groups they despise most. It is something I also have been doing, which is why Daryl’s much more meaningful work has a special meaning to me as I am championing the same cause. Communication is a prime ingredient of peace. I believe that such actions are essential if we wish to take our next evolutionary step forward not only as a society but also as a species.

    Empathy saves!

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/02405-ManWhoMakesFriendsWithinKKKDarylDavis-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Man Who Makes Friends within Ku Klux Klan Is a True Role Model’ desc=’By providing an inspiring real life story of how empathy can change the world, this man has become a living embodiment of what society can achieve when it doesn't fall prey to fear and hate.’]

  • The “Art of Peace” Trilogy

    The “Art of Peace” Trilogy

    Peace is something most people yearn for. Yet sometimes it seems like it’s slipping away rather than becoming wide-spread. There probably is a parallel between a lack of peace in people’s private life and the lack of peace between many countries, societies or cultures.

    We live in a day and age when individualism has become a new religion and when the survival instinct hasn’t yet caught up with the comforts of modern life. Science has given us so much that many people have fallen into it, making it the sole focus of their life, often forgetting about other equally important aspects of existence. They seek in science the solution to any problem. But looking at our evolution, I would say that our science is still primitive. It’s definitely not something we should have blind faith in, yet this is exactly the ego trap that some people fall for.

    Emotion ended up being seen as the behavioral manifestation of a biological machine. Perhaps it is, but this approach lacks imagination; its artistic dimension is missing. As the union between emotion and free will, art is a pillar of life.

    Let’s go beyond the simple textbook definition of peace and above the few sentences we could think of in a rush. Peace as a life-permeating and world-changing emotion is something that we need to dig at. It is something that requires introspection, research and application.

    Throughout the following three articles, I have silenced my inner scientist and tuned in to my emotions. I explored gratefulness, love and empathy in order to grasp at the foundations of peace.

    Part 1 – Because You Are Here^, exposes gratefulness as a key ingredient of a happier life. This emotion is a catalyst for the cultivation of inner peace and its outward manifestation as social peace.

    Part 2 – Interaction and the Spectrum of Love^, deals with relationships and how they generate love and grow from love. The emotion of love is not only a primordial force of life but also the strongest motivator for peace.

    Part 3 – Be and Let Be^, focuses on empathy and how this can release one’s life from the pressure of destructive competition (in opposition to natural, instinct-driven competition). Empathy is an instinctual means of connection and a transmitter of peace.

    Interlude – Corporations, Corrupt Governments, Militaries and Lots of Empathy^, bridges this trilogy with the upcoming “Science of Peace” trilogy.

     

    I wish you peace.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/02192-TheArtOfPeace-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The "Art of Peace" Trilogy’ desc=’Exploring gratefulness, love and empathy in order to grasp at the foundations of peace.’]

  • The Importance of Empathy

    The Importance of Empathy

    This wonderful video explains in no uncertain terms why empathy is important, how empathy should work and examples of proper empathetic behavior:

    http://lifehacker.com/the-importance-of-empathy-in-everyday-life-1791961488^

    The video can also be found below:

    https://www.facebook.com/lifehacker/videos/10154117508751356/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED^ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPMMSKfKZQ^

    Some people are empathy deficient while others have so much of it that it can become overwhelming under certain conditions. But empathy is a skill and like all skills it can be trained. Through practice, we can hone our empathy so that it aligns with our society’s natural tendency towards evolution and success through mutual support.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/02005-TheImportanceOfEmpathy-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Importance of Empathy’ desc=’This wonderful video explains in no uncertain terms why empathy is important.’]

  • Be and Let Be

    Be and Let Be

    Blog Entry: Unlike most articles on Mentatul, this post details an entirely subjective perspective, hence, it is posted underneath the Blog^ category.

     

    We’ve accumulated millennia of philosophy and principles, of dogmas and history. We’ve seen science clash with religion and gained an enormous amount of self-reflection through sometimes painful confrontation. We’ve been given commandments, laws, rules, methodologies and all manner of tools for self-improvement. And yet sometimes all is needed for peace is just four words.

    After years of philosophizing and ethical debates, the beautiful simplicity of these simple words hit me out of the blue one day. Hundreds of hours spent “debating life” crystalized into what I consider to be an easy to remember (and perhaps harder to follow) principle.

    These four simple words represent the very essence of peace. When this tolerant and empathic principle is applied, the result is a reduction in negative feelings and a strong movement towards friendship and understanding. My life became more positive since I started repeating these words in my head before getting upset on somebody, or when I realize I harbor any negative feelings towards somebody.

    Instinct and free will

    There will always be friction in society. This is a healthy, constructive process. But friction can also lead to excessive heat. Would it not be wonderful if, before it hurts, we can call upon a peaceful mantra? We can relish in the understanding that nobody is perfect so… just be and let be. It is this behavior that I strive to offer to those around me, and it is the same that I wish to receive.

    Does this mean that we should allow people who do not live by this mantra just step over us? Of course not, because that would not be something we’d do instinctually. The verb “be” is very much related to instinct. To be means exactly that. It goes beyond thought and down to the very core of our being. Life will defend itself if threatened. That is precisely why we are alive.

    But does this mean that we should live according to instinct only? Assuming we actually have free will (that’s a debate for another time), its gift is a certain freedom from instinct. To “be and let be” is a way to guide this freedom towards a peaceful and harmonious life. Humanity has made it this far because sometimes people have put their self aside and acted for the greater good. And assuming we don’t have free will (just self-awareness that makes us think we do), then this mantra of peace is even more meaningful. If we’re just creatures of instinct, then it’s important to understand that others are too. This realization will lead to a calmer life, without having to sacrifice our own well-being.

    The One

    Several schools of thought and traditions indicate that we all come from the same source. The current consensus in the science world is that this Universe has been born of a singularity of everything. Subsequently, the death of a star made our existence possible. Religions also speak of single sources of life and common destinations where life returns.

    Given the repeated motif of common ancestry, it is easy to see ourselves as parts of the same whole. In other words: we are one. We may play our individual roles for now, but at a certain level, we are one. Let’s take another leap of faith: if we are all one, then you are me and I am you. And then, however I act towards you, I in fact act towards myself. If at one point, we will all be one again then I want to act towards you in a way that is respectful and loving. And so we should act towards ourselves, because love starts in our insides and because we need to always keep into consideration our needs as well.

    The hall of mirrors

    The paradox of existence lies in duality. Existence can be incredibly simple: just be. Yet, within life lies infinite complexity, forever unfolding for as long as we adventure inside the hall of mirrors. And that’s as it should be. Otherwise we’d be bored to death. But sometimes it’s good to go back to the core, to center ourselves and find peace.

    Perhaps even the question of having free will is a paradox of duality. Is there any free will? Perhaps it’s a matter of our own free will to decide if we have free will or not. But maybe the discussion about free will should simply be left well enough alone. Just be and let be. Less philosophical struggle and more enjoying of what is.

    Back to simplicity

    “Be and just be” is a savior of time and energy. There are fewer rules required, there’s less thinking and less keeping track of personal score boards. It’s not surprising at all: being is simple. But it’s even simpler to let others be as well.

    We are born with an endless supply of tolerance and love. What our society needs in order to progress to a whole new level is a style of education based on empathy and understanding. This should integrate and reinforce our natural-born constructive tendencies. The light-motif should be: try to see things from the other’s perspective and if things don’t make sense: dig deeper.

    Especially in this fast-moving world where we scavenge every second and ounce of energy, being more efficient is a life savior. Help and ask for help, relish in the support society gives. Combine this with the ability to let negative feelings pass over and disappear back into nothingness. Even better, as we analyze negative feelings and the effect they had on us, we gain the ability to extract understanding from these feelings and turn this into a source of energy for progress.

    I am grateful that you were here.

    I love the minutes you’ve given me.

    I will strive to be and let be.

     

    This article is the third part of The “Art of Peace” Trilogy^.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/02068-BeAndLetBe-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/02068-BeAndLetBe-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Be and Let Be’ desc=’These four simple words represent the very essence of peace.’]

  • Boys Need Extra Empathy Lessons

    Boys Need Extra Empathy Lessons

    The fact that empathy is a career-enhancing skill should give parents enough reason to instill it in their children. The fact that empathy can also stimulate a social group’s technological progress through increased collaboration and innovation should give governments enough reason to implement it throughout the educational system.

    Here’s an article that explains exactly why empathy is so important, complete with the necessary explanations to drive the point home:

    https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/25/why-its-imperative-to-teach-empathy-to-boys/^

    Even though we evolved emotionally quite a bit in the past centuries our society continues to often exhibit a severe lack of empathy, especially when it comes to the male demographic. Perhaps it’s time for governments to realize that empathic men are more useful than those whose emotions were twisted in order to condition them to become obedient soldiers, ready to slaughter each other to fill somebody’s coffers. Perhaps that made sense last century, but we’re past the point where we can survive a third world war, so any investment in that sort of competition is a recipe for social bankruptcy.

    I insist on the government aspect because it is the fastest and most efficient way to implement such changes. Government controls standardized education. Education is what forms not only our children, but future parents as well. It is of critical importance that future parents are empathic, so that the children to come develop in a proper environment both at home and at school.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/01861-WhyBoysNeedEmpathyEducation-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Boys Need Extra Empathy Lessons’ desc=’The fact that empathy is a career-enhancing skill should give parents enough reason to instill it in their children.’]

  • What It Means to Be Holding Space for Someone

    What It Means to Be Holding Space for Someone

    Many of us have problems dealing with friends who are dealing with grief or are acutely or chronically depressed. This wonderful article provides some seriously useful information on the topic.

    http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/what-it-really-means-to-hold-space-for-someone/^

    I try to keep a rather neutral tone on the website, or at least try to be open ended about everything I write about. I am also aware that I may be wrong with everything I think about (ahem, ahem, elections USA 2016?^). But in this case, I’m going to seriously ask you to read the article I linked. Come on, you made it this far, go and some extract some invaluable information out of that text.

    You don’t even have to read it word for word! It’s good enough if you read most of it. Enjoy! Oh, and if you ever want to thank me, share this post with somebody (couldn’t help it, sorry. Writers have to become popular if they want any sort of chance in life and besides, this is information worth sharing).

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/01522-HoldingSpace-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’What It Means to Be Holding Space for Someone’ desc=’Many of us have problems dealing with friends who are dealing with grief or are acutely or chronically depressed. This wonderful article provides some seriously useful information on the topic.’]