Some time ago I was in Florida where I took part in a seminar on Tai Chi. I was one of about twenty participants from all over the US, and we were all new to the discipline. We had nothing in common except a common interest, and we began by learning an involved series of intricate movements which is known as a form.
The master would demonstrate the form from an elevated platform - in this case, a park bench - and we would attempt to replicate his movements. Periodically the master would ask the group to perform the movements on their own so that he might gauge our progress. The fascinating thing was that when we did the movements without any instructor for us to follow, the entire group would get stuck at the same place.
We would then get a prompt from the master, proceed further into the form, and yet again the entire group would come to a dead stop at another point further on in the form. Intuitively, this does not make sense. With each of us learning the form directly from the master, how was it that twenty individuals could get stuck in the same place? This is the herd instinct at work. Consciously we perceive ourselves to be following the master, yet simultaneously, on a subconscious level, the strongest influence we experience is that of the group.
I give this example to show how even a group of strangers takes on a collective identity. For people who know each other well and regularly work together the influence will be stronger still, while among those who know us best it is almost overwhelming. The effect of group consensus must derive from our genetic programming, and all people are susceptible to this condition. With practice and stubbornness we may be able to resist it up to a point, but even those who exclude themselves from the group altogether are still defining themselves in relation to it, so one can never truly be free.
The benefits afforded by belonging to a group do not come for free. There is a price to pay and that price is not a small one. In addition, the more a person identifies with their tribe the less they function as an autonomous individual. Instead, they become an extension of the group. Inside a tribe the conversation is no longer betwixt individuals but rather between two appendages of one collective consciousness.
Tattoos, piercings, uniforms, even hairstyles, all signal our tribal affiliation to those outside as well as those within the tribe. In this regard, there is no difference between the grey pin-striped suit worn by the banker and the gang colors worn on the jacket of a member of a motorcycle club.
We identify with tribes on a subconscious level at all points in our day to day existence. Whenever we meet someone new we immediately assess them in terms of what they wear and how they speak for signs of their tribal affiliation. If we cannot place them, we red-flag them as out of the ordinary, and consign them to that tribe we call the eccentrics. From our understanding of their tribal loyalties we then go on to judge them before we really know them, deciding how we will react to them based on exterior appearance alone.
And so we objectify everyone around us, reducing them to their bare characteristics and capacities and viewing them through the tinted lenses of our tribal prejudices. At the same time, we are aware that they are treating us likewise: just as we objectify them, so they objectify us.
When we objectify other people in this way we are subconsciously treating ourselves as objects also. As a result we lose the ability to form relationships and act in a non-clinical way towards those around us. Our relationships become false, if not fraudulent, and this is the cost of our tribal lifestyle. Whether it is worth it is the question that remains for all of us to answer as we see fit. - 30535
The master would demonstrate the form from an elevated platform - in this case, a park bench - and we would attempt to replicate his movements. Periodically the master would ask the group to perform the movements on their own so that he might gauge our progress. The fascinating thing was that when we did the movements without any instructor for us to follow, the entire group would get stuck at the same place.
We would then get a prompt from the master, proceed further into the form, and yet again the entire group would come to a dead stop at another point further on in the form. Intuitively, this does not make sense. With each of us learning the form directly from the master, how was it that twenty individuals could get stuck in the same place? This is the herd instinct at work. Consciously we perceive ourselves to be following the master, yet simultaneously, on a subconscious level, the strongest influence we experience is that of the group.
I give this example to show how even a group of strangers takes on a collective identity. For people who know each other well and regularly work together the influence will be stronger still, while among those who know us best it is almost overwhelming. The effect of group consensus must derive from our genetic programming, and all people are susceptible to this condition. With practice and stubbornness we may be able to resist it up to a point, but even those who exclude themselves from the group altogether are still defining themselves in relation to it, so one can never truly be free.
The benefits afforded by belonging to a group do not come for free. There is a price to pay and that price is not a small one. In addition, the more a person identifies with their tribe the less they function as an autonomous individual. Instead, they become an extension of the group. Inside a tribe the conversation is no longer betwixt individuals but rather between two appendages of one collective consciousness.
Tattoos, piercings, uniforms, even hairstyles, all signal our tribal affiliation to those outside as well as those within the tribe. In this regard, there is no difference between the grey pin-striped suit worn by the banker and the gang colors worn on the jacket of a member of a motorcycle club.
We identify with tribes on a subconscious level at all points in our day to day existence. Whenever we meet someone new we immediately assess them in terms of what they wear and how they speak for signs of their tribal affiliation. If we cannot place them, we red-flag them as out of the ordinary, and consign them to that tribe we call the eccentrics. From our understanding of their tribal loyalties we then go on to judge them before we really know them, deciding how we will react to them based on exterior appearance alone.
And so we objectify everyone around us, reducing them to their bare characteristics and capacities and viewing them through the tinted lenses of our tribal prejudices. At the same time, we are aware that they are treating us likewise: just as we objectify them, so they objectify us.
When we objectify other people in this way we are subconsciously treating ourselves as objects also. As a result we lose the ability to form relationships and act in a non-clinical way towards those around us. Our relationships become false, if not fraudulent, and this is the cost of our tribal lifestyle. Whether it is worth it is the question that remains for all of us to answer as we see fit. - 30535
About the Author:
John Berling Hardy is dedicated to helping you to reclaim your life and revealing the tricks which are being used to manipulate you. For more of his writings please visit www.playingtheplayers.com
