08/28/2024
Improving your mental health is about optimizing the incredible tool that is the human mind and body. It is an act of great respect, sacred reverence and humble gratitude for the incredible machinery that carries us through our lives.
Each of us is a consciousness inhabiting a brain that is connected to a nervous system, which in turn controls an incredibly complex physical body.
We enter this world without knowing how to use this brain or this body. As infants, we can't focus our eyes, control our drooling, or manage basic bodily functions. In the beginning, it's as if we’re piloting an alien spaceship, unsure of how to operate the various levers, dials, and buttons we've never encountered before. A baby's consciousness is like being in a dark room, fumbling with objects, trying to figure out how to control bodily functions and movements.
Unfortunately, many people go through life without much light in that room, unaware of how much choice and power they have over their own actions and inner world. This lack of understanding can prevent them from finding a path to wellness, happiness, and fulfillment.
Personal growth—encompassing self-reflection, psychological and emotional education, the courage to change, belief in oneself, and self-love—is the only logical path forward for any intelligent being, whether organic or artificial. The instinct to improve and advance is deeply ingrained in us, driving evolution toward more complex, beautiful, and conscious forms of life. Our greatest fears about AI is that it would continuously improve itself...why is it that many people don't benefit from that same quality?
Seeking personal growth and healing is the most honest, clear, and rational pursuit one can have. It’s the opposite of escapism or denial; it rejects victim mentality, complacency, and apathy. It’s a radically anti-cynical approach, rooted in the belief that with intelligent and sustained effort, almost anything is possible.
There are many reasons why someone might not pursue personal growth and healing. This isn't a matter for judgment. While we share a common humanity, our life experiences can be radically different, creating unique "overlays" that shape our perceptions and actions. As just two examples, some people see life as a dramatic soap opera, while others feel driven by a higher purpose. These different overlays create powerful barriers to communication and understanding.
These overlays act like blueprints for how we think, what we believe, and what we feel. Each of us is a unique combination of these factors, which steer our thought processes. What seems logical or rational to one person may not to another when our overlays differ significantly.
Effective communication comes down to sharing first-person emotional experiences and clarifying values and priorities. By understanding each other's overlays, we can develop compassion and work together to meet each other's needs. When this happens, trust is built, leading to a level of intimacy that’s difficult to describe unless you've experienced it.
Communicating at the level of our overlays allows us to see that we are more alike than different. We all suffer from overlays we didn’t choose, shaped by traumas, societal conditioning, and the beliefs of those who influenced us growing up.
In reality, none of us think clearly, but the more personal growth work we do, the more we dissolve these overlays, revealing the pure, unobstructed consciousness that is our true identity, setting us up for lives, and a world, of greater peace, harmony, and well-being.
