Is the Pursuit of Success a biological – or spiritual phenomenon?
This is going to be a bit off key from my normal posts (no video to start), but I wanted to write about something that I’ve tossed around in my mind for some time now, and that is on the actual NATURE of success – why we want it, and what is it inside of us that really ALLOWS us to create abundance, happiness, financial prosperity, balance – and peace in our lives.
One of the things that I’ve thought about, is the common phenomenon that I’ve noticed where success is looked at almost exclusively as a psychic, mental, or spiritual game, and almost no one ever talks about the biological components that are in play to help someone create greatness in their life.
A great example is the movie and book ‘The Secret’ where Rhonda Byrne (don’t know if that’s spelled right) and friends talk about success as if it’s completely and entirely a matter of beliefs, almost completely ignoring the role of both work and biology in the picture.
I’ve got a great question to ponder on – WHY do we seek success in the first place?
You see, I’m a bit of an oddball – as my good pal Dave Lovette says, I’m ‘A bubble off’ from the rest of society – and here’s what I think about why people seek success, as odd as it might sound.
You ready?
You see – whether you believe in God, and that human beings were created out of the dust of the earth, you believe we evolved from a primordial soup of amino acids mixed with a tinge of genius, or that we were a mad experiment by non-benevolent extra-terrestrials – at some point in the history of human beings, we were in ‘natural state’ – what I mean by that, is a state where we were in harmony with our purpose, our evolution, our design of being – or our creation.
Quite to the contrary of public school and our absolutely ludicrous society – we weren’t evolved in a cubicle, with the ‘innermost desire’ to serve the whims of a boss who likes to have power trips and control our pay – we were created in a state that was in a natural balance and harmony with the forces around us.
One of the things that set us, as humans apart – was our absolutely (almost incomprehensible) ability to form the environment around us to the way that we wanted to live – rather than molding our lives to the environment as every other species on planet earth does.
About 5,000 years ago, agriculture was discovered by (probably a woman – after all, those kittens aren’t just gorgeous – they’re smarter than us, too) and our whole way of being went through a dynamic shift – where the way in which we existed was no longer connected to the rhythm of our biology.
The theory that women were the first to discover agriculture comes from the common historical belief that men were primarily responsible for hunting, and women were primarily responsible for gathering plants to support the needs of a nomadic, wandering food supply – I think that some genius, (probably gorgeous) woman named ‘Eve’ happened to discover that if she took an orange seed, and instead of spitting it, saved it – she could start an orange tree colony and pick fruit freely – rather than moving when the tree-candy ran out.
From that, sprang an entirely new form of existence for Man – the ‘fall’ from our biological connection, ‘spiritual grace’, and balance with the world, and the start of a world where we formulate and control the society – not based on the available supply of local abundance, but according to our will and desire.
Now – instead of being hailed as glorious hunters, Men were taking from their prestigious positions as ‘protectors’ and ‘warriors’ and were assigned menial tasks of planting, turning ground, and harvesting crops – all while grumbling…
“Goddamnit – isn’t this a woman’s job?” Thus Adam unknowingly, and full of resentment was ‘deceived’ from abiding in the Garden of Eden – fallen from his grace, and for thousands of years he let women know it – by enslaving them, beating them, keeping them in ‘submission’ in the name of God, and otherwise finding ways of treating our mothers, sisters, wives, and lovers in a way that reflected our resentment due to the departure of our status from the glorious heroes of the tribe.
But there’s more – along with a dynamic shift in the way we exist – from being connected and balanced with the forces of nature – a state that our entire biological AND mental makeup is comprised to support – we now, instead of being free to live, connected to our family’s and nature, were forced to abide in a world that was un-balanced, material, and driven by a trade economy rather than hunting and gathering, and our diets shifted from wild meats, raw fruits and vegetables, fish, and anything else we could capture, kill, or find – to being based in grains, sugars, weak, disease ridden ‘grain fed’ beef, and to hide our disdain and natural repulsion of the taste of this food supply, we started to manipulate the tastes with spices, and hide the decay of our rotten food through all manner of rituals, fermenting, cooking, smoking, and otherwise being inventive with our glorious, oversized brains.
As we departed from our natural harmony – so did our biology, psyche, social structures, breathing, posture, health, vitality, spirituality, connection to our families, fulfillment, AND…
…our neuro-chemical structure.
As we started eating over-cooked, manipulated food that our bodies were not designed/evolved/or created to support AND departed from our robust daily exercise routine that our bodies are built to support, all manner of disease and genetic degradation affected our species, including heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression, sadness, ADHD, bipolar disorder, ad infinitum manifested, in nature’s continuing attempt to pull us back into harmony and balance with creation.
Along with our physical discontent, our neurotransmitter balance became further disconnected from nature, our brains shrunk by more than 11% in just 10,000 years, (look at the fossil record and you’ll see it), our cognitive powers declined, and we started to pass the diseases we accumulated through a more toxic environment onto our children’s children.
In the attempt to recover our once pristine powers we possessed as the ‘gods’ or ‘stewards’ of the earth, we began to manipulate our experience of the world with drugs, psychoactive substances like caffeine and theobromine (in chocolate), alcohol, and began all manner of pleasure seeking nonsense in an attempt to fill the ‘void’ we all experience as a result with the disconnection that we all feel with the universe around us.
As a result, our delicate neurotransmitter balance was upset (now going on for thousands of years), and our brains didn’t have the fuel they needed to sustain happiness, balance, prosperity, focus, and well-being – we replaced DHA and EPA in fish needed to grow our brain tissue and send communication between nerve cells with hydrogenated vegetable oil that causes insulin sensitivity and obesity, we replaced our love for sweet fruits with hundreds of pounds of sugar over our lives – replacing the nutrition of the (among other things) raw water, vitamins, fiber, and minerals with a substance that wreaks havoc on our immune system and causes systemic fungus and insulin problems, we replaced green leafy vegetables with worthless vitamin supplements, and otherwise thought of every single way we could possibly destroy our harmony with life itself.
As a result, we now have generational disease created by the bad habits of our grandparents, more than 20% of college kids are now infertile, we’ve poisoned nearly every fish in the sea with industrial waste, poisoned our air with chemicals that cause brain defects, given ADHD to our children and created generational emotional weakness, and the very strength of our DNA is corrupted through generations of lies, misinformation, and abuse.
We are not meant to live in cubicles, we are not designed to watch TV all day, and our bodies are not adapted to the toxicity that we subject them to – combine that with generational genetic weakness that is now present in every industrialized culture in the world, and there’s no question why half the world dies of a heart attack, we have passions we can’t control, addictions that defy common sense, and a void in our hearts that is so great – that nothing can seem to fill it, and it’s been SO LONG since we were connected with who we really are, that we forget that the void that we feel was not there when it all began, and we are not supposed to feel it.
I believe that our relentless pursuit of success, and our dissatisfaction with the state of the world that ALL of us feel, is a result of that disconnection from nature that began 5,000 some odd years ago. We are no longer living in the way that we are built to live, and our whole lives we’re taught nonsense that has no connection with who we really are.
We never see our families, don’t have strong communities, have no emotional connection to our food (try hunting and trapping a deer with a spear, and compare the feeling with that steak you buy at Walmart), and also…
…we’re manipulated into living in a system that not only makes no sense to our biology – but makes no sense whatsoever when challenged or analyzed. Our lives and education are built on generational presuppositions that have no bearing on how things actually work. Let me give you some examples:
1. Go to school for 16-18 years, so you can work for a job 40 years, so you can retire and live your dreams! Who would ever, ever in their life if they were never exposed to such nonsense think that was a good idea? Think about it for a second – let’s say you were a native Hawaiian (beautiful people, by the way) who was eating fish, had a great family, stayed up at night with the village elders listening to stories, threw parties every 2-3 days, had hundreds of friends, only worked 4 hours a day collecting food and fishing – and ‘Captain America’ came up to you and said – “if you just sacrifice everything you love, work for a company you hate, learn a bunch of bull-shit that doesn’t matter, and live a meaningless life – in 40 years, you can live like you do right now again!”
Lol. THAT’S WHAT WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO DO!
2. Work 40 hours a week, pay your taxes on time, go on one vacation per year, and buy a nice home to live in. I shouldn’t even need to talk about this nonsense – but just look at it – it implies a life of misery to have short bouts of glory, hating Mondays and living for the weekends, the assumption that the government has a right to tax you for a kind of money that you have to work for, and do everything you hate to live like you love!
I don’t need to go on – but here’s my conclusion (without writing 10 pages longer)
We are DISCONNECTED and imbalanced chronically from the real meaning of life – and it is that MEANING and CONNECTION that solves the problem, not the word ‘success’. Success is meaningless without connection with our true natures, and is only a means to an end.
I believe that people have different issues that hold them back from success, that are mostly rooted in biology – brains that don’t quite work like they’re meant to, bodies that are riddled with the problems of society – and sometimes, we’ve got to have an extra bit of courage to cast off meaningless beliefs, find our personal meaning, and connect with our innate ability to live in abundance NOW.
That might be solving a neuro-chemical imbalance through meditation, saying affirmations that wake up your mind, increase your secretion of dopamine – and motivate you to MOVE your body enough to FEEL in such a way as to give you power to continue, or maybe going into work naked one day – just to see what your boss would do. **
**the previous suggestion isn’t applicable to porn stars – and other ‘nudity promoting’ jobs.
Maybe what you need to do is find your real motivation of what you REALLY want – and let me tell you something – it isn’t money, no matter what you think right now – it’s what money (as an ‘energy’ of trade) has the ability to manifest in your life that you seek, or maybe you’re trying to ignore your bio-spiritual void and instead fill it with ‘stuff’.
Anyways, I haven’t read what I just wrote, and don’t know if it makes sense – but let me end with this:
Our society is messed up in more ways than we can imagine – let’s re-invent our species. We might not be able to run through the jungle naked anymore chasing rabbits with a make-shift willow-spear, but certainly we don’t need to believe the bull-shit our parents told us (that their parents told them), and live a life of total nonsense until we’re too old to enjoy it…
…let’s re-connect with our ‘inner-selves’ in new, exciting ways, restore balance to the world through peace, prosperity, and knowledge, and use our chronic-entrepreneurialism to save the world from darkness.
It’s time for a newer, better way – and I’ll end with this, because…
…what we have now as a society SUCKS.
Lol.
David Wood
“Cave-Dwelling Internet Entrepreneur of Greatness”
and also…
…a guy who is just a ‘bubble off’
Comments
Samantha Green, August 6, 2011, 10:00
This is such a thought-provoking post, David. The idea that our pursuit of success is deeply rooted in our biology makes a lot of sense. I’ve always felt that there’s something more driving me, beyond just wanting financial gain. Thanks for sharing your insights!
John Parker, August 6, 2011, 10:45
I’ve never considered the biological aspect of success before. It’s fascinating to think that our ancestors’ survival instincts could still be influencing our modern-day drive for success. Do you think this connection is stronger in some people than others?
Emily Watson, August 6, 2011, 11:30
The way you blend spirituality and biology in explaining success is refreshing. It’s true that society often overlooks the importance of balance and connection with our true nature. How do you personally maintain this balance in your life?
Michael Brown, August 6, 2011, 12:15
This post really resonated with me. I’ve always felt out of sync with the traditional paths to success, and your perspective helps explain why. I’m curious, how do you think we can begin to reconnect with our true nature in today’s society?
Laura Mitchell, August 6, 2011, 13:00
I love how you challenge the conventional views of success. It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of material wealth, but your post is a great reminder that there’s so much more to life. What steps would you recommend for someone looking to align their success with their spiritual values?
David Thompson, August 6, 2011, 13:45
Your insights on the historical shift from natural living to our modern disconnected lives are spot on. It’s no wonder so many people feel unfulfilled despite achieving traditional success. How do you think we can create a new societal model that promotes both success and well-being?
Susan Bailey, August 6, 2011, 14:30
This post is exactly what I needed to read today. The connection between our biological needs and the drive for success really struck a chord with me. I’ve been struggling to find meaning in my work, and your perspective has given me a lot to think about.
James Carter, August 6, 2011, 15:15
I appreciate your honest and reflective approach to this topic. Success is often portrayed as a one-size-fits-all goal, but your post reminds us that it’s a deeply personal journey. What practices do you use to stay connected to your purpose?
