Evolution & Inner Awareness

What creates more of who we are – our genes, or our conditioning? There is an age old question of nature vs. nurture. Which one wins? Or is it even about either one of them winning? Some people are under the somewhat bizarre belief that certain people simply cannot do certain things. I do not believe this is true. In fact, it could be said that I believe the opposite is true. With enough time and energy, anyone can do anything. The limits simply are not there, and the evidence points to this idea. The evidence that the subconscious mind can process 20,000 bits of information simultaneously. The evidence that the capabilities of a neural network of 100 billion neurons, with approximately 100 trillion synapses exists when a human being is born. Human beings, by both their original nature and what they choose to do with the basis of their origins, are capable of powerful feats.

What I would like people to understand is that genetics do play a powerful role in who we are, but they are not who we are as a whole. Genetics can shift, make mistakes, and overall it can be a faulty process. When we think about how powerful the human body is, and what a tremendously powerful machine it has become throughout its evolutionary history, we begin to understand that it is astonishing that the gene pool of every human being can be so flawed. To try and understand why something like cancer can happen so easily in such a near-perfect creation is baffling to me. And what is cancer? Really, cancer is malfunctioning cell replication and cell growth, but for the most part – it is faulty cell growth. A cancer cell is a cell that continues to grow as long as it is permitted to. In a body, this is what makes clusters of cancer cells so insanely dangerous and fatal. While cancer does not often regress naturally, it has before.

I am under the personal belief that conditioning and the mental state in which we find ourselves is more than 70% of what composes who we are. I am under the impression that even appearance is influenced by things like intention, purpose, visualization. Many people as children probably have an image of what they will look like as they age, and over time many people end up fulfilling those predictions. And what I am talking about here is not just the genetic influences that determine hair color, eye color, facial features – there’s definitely a subconscious part of us that is going to determine what clothes we buy, and what will happen with the development of our personality.

More and more evidence these days seems to point to the concept of biology being directly influenced by consciousness. And it has already been proven that extended periods of stress and/or emotional disturbance can cause actual physical illness. I think it’s perfectly possible that many people do not realize the significance of this idea. Your consciousness influences your physical body, and in a way that will affect your appearance, your health, your choices, and virtually everything else. Many of the frequent readers of this blog and really just the blogosphere in general can probably predict what I will reference to here – the Law of Attraction. Of course, the Law of Attraction isn’t everything, because even while all of this might be explaining a few things if it is fully correct, humankind has still not understood why. Why are we here? Why do things do what they do?

All of it eventually comes down to purpose, and purpose is at the foundation of everything. Whether you’re talking about your personal choices, your gene pool, or anything along the homo sapien evolutionary timeline. When genes are dominant or recessive over or under each other, they are carrying out a particular purpose. When your DNA is only active in particular portions across different areas of your body, everything is fulfilling a particular purpose. When you wake up in the morning and you are about to carry out the course of your day, you are likely thinking about what it is you are doing and all the while knowing why you are doing whatever it is you are doing.

There is still so much that simply cannot be explained, not just for the why or reason of particular elements in the genetic as well as general biological aspects of evolution, but even the how cannot be determined. The mystery of it, to me, is probably the most important part. For instance, in addition to certain mysteries about the history of some species, like the sudden vanishing of neanderthal, there is the mysteries in how the body’s systems are interrelated to one another. I’ve heard stories of people getting heart transplants and, with their brain, they seemed to be experiencing certain memories from the person that had the heart prior. Since when is the heart responsible for memories? Or for instance, we could simply take the general concept of the placebo effect and ask: how does the brain have the ability to solve problems on such a tiny cellular level?

The human brain is both highly powerful, virtually unlimited in its ability and capacity, while at the same time it has numerous limits placed on it. A person who loses just a tiny portion of their brain could end up either dying or being mentally retarded. The brain will function differently for each and every single individual based on highly variable factors, from blood flow to certain areas, to electrical activity in certain regions. I’ve already said that the human brain starts with 100 million neurons – and that there are probably 100 trillion or so combinations for synaptic connections. With that much variety, that much complexity, it is astonishing that we are able to communicate with anyone, or hold intimate relationships that have deep meaning and commonality within them. Even the mere act of our coordination has been said to be incredible – even the simply activity of walking and chewing gum at the same time(The Science of Star Wars).

But again, the question – what creates us more? Is it genetics? Or is it environmental conditioning? For the most part, I can tell you with confidence, it is the environmental conditioning. A prime example over what is possible with the proper tools and education for raising children would be Gregory Robert Smith, who graduated high school at age 10, completed his first college degree at age 13, and then another degree was given to him after completing it at age 16. This was only possible from the amount of information that Greg was exposed to so fluently from very early on. Much of the time parents take it easy on their kids in terms of information exposure because they think that a child “can’t handle it” or “wouldn’t understand.” The truth is, a lot of the time children will understand more than you would think, and even if they cannot understand everything entirely, it is the simple act of making the exposure that allows them to really prosper.