Skáldskapr: Freedom of thought.

Today I would like to discuss the idea of thinking for ourselves. To fully engage in this conversation we must dig deep into our psyche to discover how our thoughts and morals are constructed. We must venture beyond Pavlov, beyond all the philosophers before him, to fully understand the necessity of belonging. The basic human nature to be accepted within a group or community. Whether by birth, by employment, or some socio-economic class, we (as humans) seek to be accepted, and some even have a desire to be admired. This basic human condition of acceptance began even before humans became bi-pedal. In the earliest evolution of the smaller framed apes, and early humans. These earlier needs were driven by three major factors:

1. Safety in numbers. By having others who could trade off on security details, more rest could be acquired, better restoring the bodies,
2. Production in force. By having larger hunting parties, more success could be acquired. Stronger homes and shelters could be constructed. This also produced more hands to find natural foods that grew.
3. Larger dating scene. Yep, by bringing clans together, tribes began to acquire more individuals in which to propagate the species. Granted, at this point, it was probably still alpha male driven, so the strongest male usually procreated with many different females.

This brings us some understanding as to how our need to be accepted came to be a part of the wiring package which became the human mind. Biologically speaking, at about the same time the evolution reached the anatomically modern humans (about 300 kya), the human brain was undergoing its own evolution. With the recent expansion of the skull cavity and the introduction of some critical proteins, the human brain was in synapses creation overdrive. This increase in synapses led to more cognitive thought, which ultimately led us to where we are today. While these new parts of the brain were being created, the need for group inclusion became hard-wired into our brains.

Now, there are many gifts of moral values passed from our ancestry. What is meant here, is that many of our authoritative figures have strived to teach was is right or wrong. While they have sworn to be “without belief in the Gods”, they have still impressed our young minds a value system based on these monotheistic practices. These are the moral values I am referencing here. They have adopted, like the many who were forced before them, to accept the value statements based on some preconceived notion of what is good, and right, versus evil or bad.

To further examine our position, we must fully understand the influence of modern brainwashing. Whether we highlight social media or the church itself, the underlying values have been embedded in modern cultures all over the world. This societal brainwashing has occurred over centuries, and forced us to base our own belief systems on what those European ancestors forced upon the world.

Teaching: one must be free of thought to experience the world around them. I am reminded of those who traveled across the steps of Eurasia as humans came into knowing the mysterious knowledge of our world. As they migrated east with the herds they must have experienced things that were very different than anything they had known before. Seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and felt as never before in all of existence. Talking about gaining the understanding of why, or how, the birds can stay away from the ground. Why they avoided being out in open ground when lightning struck the earth.