A lack of Self Consciousness

As with all things, there will always be an equal and opposite. Patience / Impatience; War / Peace; Happiness / Sadness etc.

So it is with self consciousness, the opposite of that being a lack of awareness.

Self consciousness, when overly stated leads to discomfort and embarrassment, which in turn lead to a state of defensiveness, which in turn leads to further conflict. Whether this conflict is externalised or remains an internal state matters not. Neither are healthy states to be in.

When we feel uncomfortable this is, essentially, because the body has produced certain chemicals which have cascaded through the body leaving us identifying with the feelings those chemical create. Our conditioning, which tells us that that which we experience internally belongs to us just creates more chemical associated with embarrassment or other discomfort.

The chemicals the body creates are a valid experience but not something that we should give more energy to, the more we associate with any feeling the more chemicals are produced, the more intense and uncomfortable the feeling becomes.

The same can be said for the other side of the fence. A lack of personal awareness. Not being aware of ho the body is feeling can, and often does, lead to imbalance in the health of the individual.

Both, sensitivity of the self and a lack of awareness around the self arise from, in my experience, a deeply buried state of insecurity.

The ‘sensitive’ type notices everything and takes it all personally. The one lacking in sensitivity is unaware of the effect this lack has upon those around them, creating more conflict, albeit on an unconscious level.

The type that lacks awareness will often identify with a religion, a country, a group of people that have similar traits. The tendency of such people is to lack any awareness out side of their ‘chosen’ support group. This is obvious when you look, objectively, at tourists in foreign lands. Their behaviour is just an extension of how they have been conditioned by the social group back home.

While any group continues to identify strongly with their conditioned self conflict with other groups is inevitable. This diversity is a natural part of living on a planet with such differing beliefs and is a part of the overall experience. In all of my travels I have enjoyed (for the most part) relating to the local culture. But an overly strong attachment to one’s conditioned ways can also lead to conflict. I appears that one group, consciously or unconsciously, is trying to impose their values on the host nation.

History tells us where such strong beliefs leads us, open or covert war.

Some, if not all, nations have a strong cultural identity. This unites groups, creating, obviously, the national identity.

When any group moves into the space of another group it is inevitable that they will take their conditioned personalities with them. To the degree, either ‘tourist’ or ‘local’ associate with nationalism, social groupings, religions or other sub groups will determine how well the different groups get on with each other.

A poorer nation, for example, will put up with a lot of abuse where substantial amounts, to them, of money is involved.

We cannot expect to live healthy lives if we continue to come from any deep seated insecurity, so deep for many that it is not recognised as such. Hiding behind national identity, a religion, a select group is not the answer to peaceful co-existence.

It seems as though we cannot control where or when we were born, born into a poor family in country A, or a rich family in country B, a wealthy nation or a poorer one. We will, inevitably be indoctrinated into the social conditions of those countries, social groupings.

This is to be expected, but to take that developed, inherited or acquired personality into another group, country without respecting the other group will lead to conflict. History again, if it is to be believed, has many such stories. One group imposing their beliefs on another, whether through force, threats, coercion, trade or subterfuge . Ideologies, religions, those seeking more land, more power, more control (to satisfy the deeply held insecurities!)

National identities rise and fall, like the tide, ebbs and flows. Power shifts, beliefs change.

Why?

Because while any remain attached to the past, that past will repeat itself and the attempts to impose one’s own values on others will continue to create conflict.

Does it always have to be this way?