Have you ever felt like you’re living in a world that doesn’t quite fit? Like the rules and expectations handed down to us from generations past are holding us back from truly understanding ourselves and each other? You’re not alone. In fact, you might be onto something profound about the nature of human consciousness and society.
I’m Roach, Mark Roach. Welcome to Transcendent, my YouTube channel about a perspective formed from a journey around the world, through life, crossing a wide spectrum of human experience, from high to low, as most people in American society define them. This channel is all about inspiring common people to find their power and place their uniqueness in their lives.
Our brains are incredible organs, capable of processing vast amounts of information and constructing our perception of reality. But recent research in psychology and neuroscience has revealed something fascinating: our perception of reality isn’t as objective as we might think. Instead, it’s a complex interplay between the sensory information we receive and the predictions our brains make based on our past experiences and expectations.
Imagine you’re walking down a busy street. Your eyes are taking in countless details, your ears are picking up a cacophony of sounds, and your skin is registering changes in temperature and air movement. But your conscious experience isn’t just a raw dump of all this sensory data. Instead, your brain is actively constructing your perception, filling in gaps and making predictions about what you’re likely to encounter next.
This process, known as predictive coding, allows us to navigate our complex world efficiently. It’s why we can recognize a friend’s face in a crowd or understand speech in a noisy environment. But it also means that our perception of reality is, to some extent, a construction based on our prior experiences and expectations.
Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, have given us fascinating insights into this process. Researchers have found that our brains generate predictions about sensory inputs before they even arrive. These predictions can sometimes override actual sensory information, as demonstrated by various visual illusions that trick our brains into seeing things that aren’t really there.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. This constructive nature of perception doesn’t just apply to our moment-to-moment experiences. It also shapes our understanding of more abstract concepts, like our sense of self, our relationships with others, and our place in society.
Think about it. The way we perceive ourselves and others isn’t just based on objective facts. It’s influenced by our cultural background, our personal experiences, and the expectations placed on us by society. And just like our brains fill in gaps in sensory information, we also fill in gaps in our understanding of the world with assumptions and beliefs that we’ve picked up along the way.
This brings us to a crucial point: the language and concepts we use to describe our experiences and relationships often lag behind our evolving understanding of human nature. The words and ideas that served our ancestors well two thousand years ago may not be adequate to describe the complexity of modern human experience.
Consider how we talk about gender and sexuality, for example. Traditional binary concepts of male and female, straight and gay, don’t capture the full spectrum of human identity and experience that we now recognize. Yet these outdated categories persist in our language and social norms, creating tension and conflict between those who adhere to traditional views and those who embrace more fluid understandings of identity.
This tension isn’t just a matter of semantics. It has real consequences for how we treat each other and organize our societies. When our language and social norms don’t keep pace with our evolving understanding of human nature, it can lead to discrimination, misunderstanding, and unnecessary suffering.
But here’s the exciting part: as we become more aware of how our brains construct our perception of reality, we have the opportunity to consciously reshape our understanding of ourselves and each other. We can challenge our assumptions, question our biases, and open ourselves to new ways of thinking and being.
This isn’t always easy. Our brains are wired to seek certainty and stability. It’s a survival mechanism that served our ancestors well in a world full of physical dangers. But in our complex modern society, this same mechanism can lead us to cling to outdated ideas and resist change, even when presented with new evidence.
That’s why it’s so important to cultivate qualities like curiosity, empathy, and open-mindedness. These traits allow us to navigate the uncertainty of a rapidly changing world and connect with others who may have very different experiences and perspectives from our own.
Consider how this applies to our understanding of spirituality and civic engagement. Traditional religious participation may be declining in many parts of the world, but research shows that spirituality continues to play a crucial role in shaping individuals’ involvement in their communities and broader society.
A groundbreaking national survey by the Fetzer Institute revealed that spirituality is not only widespread but also a significant factor in civic engagement. This challenges the traditional view that organized religion is the primary driver of civic participation and philanthropic action.
The research distinguishes between two types of influence that spirituality has on civic engagement. There’s discursive influence, which refers to the explicit ways individuals perceive spirituality as motivating their civic actions. And then there’s practical influence, which encompasses the measurable impact of spirituality on civic engagement, as observed through analytical models.
Both forms of influence were found to be significant, suggesting that spirituality operates on multiple levels to shape individuals’ involvement in their communities. This highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of how spirituality functions in our lives and societies.
Interestingly, the research found that specific spiritual practices, such as yoga and small group participation, had independent effects on philanthropic behavior. In some cases, these practices showed stronger associations with giving and volunteering than traditional measures of religious behavior, like worship attendance.
This opens up exciting possibilities for fostering civic engagement and social cohesion in our increasingly diverse societies. By recognizing and nurturing the spiritual dimensions of human experience, we may be able to create more inclusive and effective approaches to community building and social change.
But it also raises important questions. How do we define and measure spirituality in a diverse, pluralistic society? How can we ensure that efforts to promote spirituality and civic engagement are inclusive and respectful of all belief systems? What are the potential drawbacks or limitations of relying on spirituality as a driver of civic engagement?
These are complex questions without easy answers. But grappling with them is crucial if we want to create societies that can adapt to our evolving understanding of human nature and experience.
Let’s return to the idea of how our brains construct our perception of reality. This understanding has profound implications for how we approach issues of identity, relationships, and social norms.
If our perception of reality is largely constructed based on our prior experiences and expectations, then it follows that our sense of self and our understanding of others is also, to some extent, a construction. This doesn’t mean that our identities aren’t real or meaningful. But it does suggest that they’re more fluid and context-dependent than we often assume.
This perspective aligns with the findings of researchers studying the neurobiology of social influence. A recent review published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews explored the role of the serotonin system in social adaptation.
The researchers found that various computational, neurobiological, and neurochemical processes are involved in distinct mechanisms underlying social adaptation. This includes the multisensory process of social information integration that is crucial for forming self-representation and representations of social norms.
In other words, our sense of self and our understanding of social norms aren’t fixed or innate. They’re constantly being shaped and reshaped through our interactions with others and our environment.
This has important implications for how we think about human development and social change. It suggests that we have more capacity for growth and adaptation than we often give ourselves credit for. But it also highlights the importance of the social and cultural contexts in which we develop.
Consider how this applies to early childhood development. Research in developmental psychology has long recognized the profound impact that early experiences can have on our later behavior and worldview. Attachment theory, for example, suggests that our early relationships form templates for future interactions.
But the constructive nature of perception adds another layer to this understanding. It suggests that these early experiences don’t just shape our behavior in a straightforward, cause-and-effect manner. Instead, they influence the very way we perceive and interpret the world around us.
This has profound implications for how we approach education, parenting, and social policy. If we want to create more just and inclusive societies, we need to pay attention not just to the explicit messages we’re sending, but also to the implicit assumptions and expectations that shape how people perceive themselves and others.
It also highlights the importance of diversity and exposure to different perspectives. If our perception of reality is shaped by our prior experiences, then encountering diverse viewpoints and ways of being can literally expand our understanding of what’s possible.
This brings us back to the question of language and social norms. If our perception of reality is so heavily influenced by our prior experiences and expectations, then the language we use and the social norms we adhere to play a crucial role in shaping our collective reality.
When our language and social norms don’t keep pace with our evolving understanding of human nature, it can create a kind of cognitive dissonance. We may struggle to articulate or even recognize experiences that don’t fit neatly into established categories.
This is particularly evident in discussions around gender and sexuality. Traditional binary concepts often fail to capture the full spectrum of human experience. But because these concepts are so deeply ingrained in our language and social structures, people who don’t fit neatly into these categories may struggle to understand and express their own experiences.
This isn’t just a matter of personal identity. It has real consequences for how we organize our societies and distribute resources and opportunities. When our language and social norms are based on outdated or overly simplistic understandings of human nature, it can lead to discrimination and exclusion.
But here’s the exciting part: as we become more aware of how our brains construct our perception of reality, we have the opportunity to consciously reshape our collective understanding. We can challenge outdated assumptions, create new language to describe our experiences, and build more inclusive social structures.
This is where the idea of human evolution comes in. Not in a biological sense, but in terms of our collective consciousness and social organization. As we expand our understanding of human nature and experience, we have the opportunity to create societies that are more adaptable, more inclusive, and more aligned with the full spectrum of human potential.
This isn’t about rejecting all traditional values or social norms. Many of these have served important functions in human societies for thousands of years. But it is about being willing to examine these norms critically, to update them when they no longer serve us, and to create new ways of understanding and organizing ourselves that better reflect our evolving knowledge and experience.
It’s also about recognizing that this process of evolution isn’t always smooth or easy. Change can be uncomfortable, even frightening. When our fundamental assumptions about reality are challenged, it can feel like the ground is shifting beneath our feet.
This is why it’s so important to approach these issues with compassion and understanding. People who cling to traditional views aren’t necessarily close-minded or resistant to change. They may simply be struggling to make sense of a rapidly changing world using the conceptual tools they’ve inherited.
At the same time, we need to create space for those who are pushing the boundaries of our collective understanding. The people who are pioneering new ways of thinking about identity, relationships, and social organization aren’t just being rebellious or difficult. They’re often at the forefront of human evolution, exploring new possibilities for how we can understand ourselves and relate to each other.
This brings us back to the idea of spirituality and civic engagement. As our understanding of human nature evolves, so too does our understanding of spirituality. Many people are moving away from rigid, dogmatic forms of religion towards more fluid, experiential forms of spirituality.
This shift aligns with our evolving understanding of how the brain constructs reality. If our perception of reality is largely a construction based on our prior experiences and expectations, then spiritual practices that help us become more aware of this process and more intentional about shaping our perceptions can be incredibly powerful tools for personal and social transformation.
This isn’t about replacing science with spirituality, or vice versa. It’s about recognizing that both scientific inquiry and spiritual practice can be valuable tools for expanding our understanding of ourselves and our world.
As we move forward, the challenge is to create societies that can hold space for this complexity. We need social structures and institutions that are flexible enough to adapt to our evolving understanding of human nature, while still providing the stability and continuity that humans need to thrive.
This is no small task. It requires us to question deeply held assumptions, to be willing to sit with uncertainty, and to approach each other with curiosity and compassion. But the potential rewards are enormous. By expanding our understanding of human nature and experience, we open up new possibilities for personal growth, social harmony, and collective evolution.
In the end, this journey of exploration and evolution is what it means to be human. We are creatures of habit, yes, but we are also beings of incredible adaptability and creativity. Our ability to question, to imagine, and to reshape our understanding of reality is what has allowed us to create the complex societies we live in today.
And now, as we stand on the cusp of new breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain and human consciousness, we have the opportunity to take the next step in our collective evolution. By embracing the complexity of human experience, by creating more inclusive and adaptive social structures, and by nurturing our capacity for growth and transformation, we can create a world that more fully reflects the vast potential of human consciousness.
This isn’t about reaching some final, perfect state of understanding. It’s about embracing the ongoing process of growth and evolution. It’s about remaining open to new ideas and experiences, while also honoring the wisdom of the past. It’s about recognizing that each of us has a unique perspective to contribute to our collective understanding of what it means to be human.
So as we move forward, let’s approach these complex issues with curiosity, compassion, and a willingness to challenge our own assumptions. Let’s create spaces where diverse perspectives can be shared and explored. And let’s remember that our perception of reality is not fixed or absolute, but a dynamic, ongoing construction that we all participate in shaping.
By doing so, we can create societies that are more adaptable, more inclusive, and more aligned with the full spectrum of human potential. We can foster a sense of connection and shared purpose that transcends traditional boundaries. And we can continue to evolve, both as individuals and as a species, towards greater understanding, compassion, and fulfillment.
The journey won’t always be easy. There will be challenges and setbacks along the way. But by embracing this process of growth and evolution, we open ourselves to new possibilities and new ways of being. We create the potential for a future that is richer, more diverse, and more deeply fulfilling than anything we’ve experienced before.
So let’s embark on this journey together. Let’s question, explore, and grow. Let’s create a world that honors the full complexity of human experience and nurtures the vast potential within each of us. The future is not set in stone. It’s a reality we’re constructing together, moment by moment, through our perceptions, our actions, and our willingness to embrace change and growth.
Here’s a summary of the key points:
1. Our perception of reality is largely constructed by our brains based on limited sensory inputs and prior experiences.
2. The brain uses predictive coding to fill in gaps in sensory information, which allows for efficient processing but can also lead to biases and errors.
3. Traditional language and social norms often lag behind our evolving understanding of human nature, creating tension and conflict.
4. Spirituality continues to play a significant role in civic engagement, even as traditional religious participation declines.
5. Our sense of self and understanding of social norms are constantly shaped through our interactions with others and our environment.
6. Early childhood experiences profoundly impact our later behavior and worldview by influencing how we perceive and interpret the world.
7. Diversity and exposure to different perspectives can expand our understanding of what’s possible.
8. As we become more aware of how our brains construct reality, we have the opportunity to consciously reshape our collective understanding.
9. Creating inclusive and adaptive social structures can nurture our capacity for growth and transformation.
10. Embracing the ongoing process of growth and evolution allows us to create a world that more fully reflects the vast potential of human consciousness.
I’m Mark Roach. Wishing you all the best.
RoachCreative 