If the game rules have changed today, you cannot come and play the same way. Even if you were a winner yesterday
Have you heard about the Universe 25 experiment? The experimenters created the conditions for a well-fed and comfortable life for the mouse society. The result of the experiment was the appearance of "beautiful mice", a drop in the birth rate, cannibalism, and as a result, complete extinction. Although there was enough food. On the contrary, the abundance of food and comfort eliminated the need for survival, which caused a scenario of self-destruction. The same scenario was repeated 25 times.
If we compare the conditions of modern human society and this terrible experiment, then in some manifestations we can find similarities, which is a little scary. Now we also have a surplus of food, and we no longer need to survive. But fortunately, a person has much more opportunities than a small mouse.
Technologies are growing up, people are not keeping up. Primal instincts continue to live inside a person. At the same time, too much comfort reduces our productivity. Humanity is now moving roughly along this principle.
We have science, technological progress, access to a huge amount of information, and comfortable life. But is this really a problem? No, this is the good for which humanity has striven throughout history. Problems begin when a person ignores the spiritual component, and comfortable technologies become the pinnacle of evolution.
Comfort Is a Progress Killer?
You have probably heard more than once the calls of the authors of popular books and personal growth coaches - to get out of the comfort zone…
Comfort entered human life so quickly that we did not have time to switch from survival mode to well-being mode. Therefore, sometimes we need to create uncomfortable conditions to force ourselves to be more effective.
If earlier a wooden bed was a luxury available only to the king and his entourage, today everything has changed. Living conditions have become more comfortable, but less natural for humans. As it turned out, we do not know how to live in new conditions. We are still learning, like young people who recently left their parental home and are now on their own.
How to Survive in the Comfort Zone?
To understand what is happening, you should pay attention to the books in demand today. Authors of popular books promise their readers to teach them how to eat right, how to sleep, when to wake up, how to lose weight, how to shop, how to breathe healthier, how to win every argument, how to manage finances, how to manage other people, how to control your brain, how to stop worries and start living finally…
It may sound ridiculous, but it's true! We must develop moving from level to level, using all available tools for development. Continuous learning determines the progress not only of each individual but of all mankind as a whole.
We learn, but over time our views change and we learn again. It's okay too. If development stops, then degradation begins.
Among all aspects of development, spirituality has a special meaning. Spiritual development has no boundaries, but unlike other types of development, spiritual development is determined by the highest virtues, which set a positive direction and allow a person to fully reveal his potential.
Dramatic Survival of Emotions
Imagine: you were criticized at work, or someone was rude to you in the supermarket, and you already feel that your blood is boiling. Your pulse quickens, it gets hot, your muscles are tense and ready to fight back. Everything happened so quickly and the brain did not have time to react, the brain is also in cahoots. But you catch yourself thinking that there are cameras around…
Emotions affect the release of hormones, and hormones affect our mood, well-being, and even our decision-making. That is the problem. If there was a release of norepinephrine, we do not realize it, but we go back to work and continue to make decisions. And when we calm down we ask ourselves - why did I say/did this?
The fight or flight system is not as relevant today as it was in the days of the caveman. Although this system is still effective. Conquering space, science, technology, a person in his consciousness rushes to the stars, and in his body, a person retains the same primitive hormones, thanks to which our ancestors survived.
But we no longer need to fight against saber-toothed tigers. We need to learn to live in a world without sharp fangs but with sharp tongues, and on this path we need something more than science as a guide.
Spiritual Growth is a Victory for Humanity and Kindness
The beauty of spiritual development as a guide is that we should not over-focus on the emotions that have arisen due to stress or other negative manifestations and think about how to deal with them. Excessive concern, an attempt to suppress oneself, may add even more weight to negative experiences.
We must just be focusing on our development, and over time this will lead us to harmony inside, elimination of problems from the outside. We must focus on the positive, not the negative.
Mother Teresa said:
I will never join the anti-war movement. Call me when the peace movement appears.
Spiritual development is an eminently positive force to which we must strive throughout our lives. This landmark in life has a positive effect on all levels and manifestations, such as solving problems in communicating with people, finding balance within oneself, searching for purpose, truth, love, and goodness.
The desire for spiritual development is part of human nature, and it favorably sets us apart from animals. The question "Who are we and where are we going?", philosophers asked thousands of years ago. Many people have found answers in religions and spiritual practices. The answers offered by the world's religions are relevant today, perhaps more than ever.
After all, with the rapid pace of development, not only more opportunities have appeared, but also more temptations. In search of spiritual ideals, religion and philosophy go hand in hand, complementing each other, and at the same time acting as a counterbalance to each other.
The Role of Philosophy for the Path of the Spiritual Seeker
Philosophy plays an important role in this game or even the battle for the minds and souls of people. Philosophy teaches us to distinguish truth from untruth and leads to an understanding of religious and spiritual teachings.
On the path of spiritual development, philosophy is not an end in itself. It is a tool that makes us wiser, more empathetic, more human. Philosophy is a weapon against deception, delusion, and stupidity.
Many modern people, for various reasons, ignore philosophy or religion. But this underestimation does not diminish their strength at all. The influence of philosophy and religion is so vast and fundamental that it is not always noticeable. Like all-pervading air, moral principles become part of us, our culture, customs, and laws. Even if a person is too busy to pay attention to his spiritual, he or she still lives in a society with certain moral values. The formation of these values was influenced by religion and philosophy.
In a fast-paced world where values are shifted and the pursuit of success is taking place, it is possible to lose a sense of happiness and balance in life, not to mention spirituality.
That is why, more than ever, we need spiritual development to be truly happy people, comprehensively developed, with a progressive civilization, and not just with progressive technology.
Not by Bread Alone …
The Bible says that spiritual food is true food. You can saturate your belly, your body. And there is nothing wrong with that. This is normal and completely human. As well as completely humanly saturating yourself culturally, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.
If a person does not saturate himself spiritually, a person feels an emptiness and tries to fill it somehow — with relationships, travel, movies, social media, and even food. When we eat, are we always hungry? Don't we eat to feel better when we're stressed, or to get affordable pleasure when we're bored?
Material and cultural benefits, like various small pleasures, make our life more complete. But there is also a spiritual need that cannot be satisfied with any goodies or impressions. This can only distract you for a short time.
The greatness of spiritual development does not exclude everyday needs. As the highest good, it includes all previous levels of development. Seeking your destiny, the highest truth, asking questions about being, discovering talents, loving, believing in spite of everything, reaching new levels of awareness - that's what I mean by spiritual development.
Inside each of us still live a caveman, ready to attack or run away to survive. But inside everyone, there is also Prometheus with a spark of unlimited potential on a universal scale. Be great!