As humans, we have a problem. We grow up with the age-old belief that we are individual beings. Special, unique, independent. At some point in our childhood we were indoctrinated with that idea by our parents and society and we take for granted that it is so. Of course, we have a distinct body with a unique DNA, a distinct brain that records unique experiences we identify ourselves with and a distinct mind that operates based on the experiences and identification, but – and that’s very important to understand – these are distinct qualities, not divisive qualities.
One of the major issues we as humans face is that everywhere we look, we see conflict between human beings. And that’s been the case since time immemorial. The conflicts we see move from the inner (“I am this but I would like to be that”) – to the outer, where it grows from really small (conflict between partners) to really big (wars between countries). The underlying root of all conflict is always the same though: division.
Let us take a simple example. A woman has distinct qualities that a man does not. Their DNA is different, therefore their body shape is different, their hormone levels are different etc. So forever we were taught that women & men are different. But instead of taking these qualities as distinct qualities, over time we slowly made them into divisive qualities with which we identified ourselves. Therefore, a man is a man and a woman is a woman – two entirely different entities. And this division led to conflict between the two.
In recent years, we have tried to get rid of this conflict by loosening up the boundaries between women & men, by trying to identify with something else, something outside of this seemingly binary system. But not only did that not stop the conflict between man & woman, it even introduced more division in society which caused even more conflict.
If we were to see the differences purely as distinctive differences whilst still seeing the underlying common ground that is the human consciousness, we would be able to let men be men and women be women without the necessity to divide and in turn let conflict arise.
So what is the human consciousness? Here we have to think a little bit outside of the common understanding to fully grasp this important aspect: the human consciousness is its content. The content consists of aspects that every human carries to some degree. Things like greed, fear, desire, pleasure, the longing for experience, will, wanting to grow, the idea of an individual existence, the longing for something higher etc. These aspects all share a factor of time, because they all stem from the very thing that all humans share: thought.
It is thought that creates the American, the German or the Asian. It is thought that creates man who is different from woman who is different from a trans person. It is thought that creates the black and the white. It is thought that creates all the identifications we carry. It is the intellect as a tool of thought that points out the distinct different qualities and attributes. But intellect can only divide and through division, unity can not be achieved. Therefore intelligence is required to see the underlying common ground. When we see ourselves in the other person, that means seeing the reasons for their actions as our own, then we undergo a profound change. A sense of unity, understanding, humility & empathy arises, while conflict can stop.
So if you find yourself in a situation with another person, you can remind yourself of the fact that you and them have the same human consciousness and from there, you can listen to them differently. This way, the division between you and them comes to an end and you can actually resolve any existing conflict and not let any more conflict arise. You could even start journaling about this. Whenever you find yourself in a situation of conflict, you can later write down what part of the human consciousness in you and in the other person was responsible for the conflict to arise.
Surely, until the idea of individuality has not fully come to an end, division is maintained and conflict will happen from time to time, but the more common ground we find with each other, the better we can work together.
There’s an interesting analogy I recently heard:
The human body consists of trillions of distinct cells (around 36 trillion for adult males and 28 trillion for adult females). But each of these cells gives up their “individuality” and authority in order to work together with the rest of the cells. Imagine these cells were to identify themselves with their distinct qualities and in turn be divisive. The cells would start to turn on each other and make the system collapse.
Now you could argue that the human system does not collapse entirely, but we are far from being a harmonious organism of humans.
So, if you go back up, read the title of this post and make it a living reality, conflict comes to an end.