Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature

Mankind has long suffered—innocently, unknowingly—from a mistaken belief that runs so contrary to human nature that it obliterates the natural trajectory of human life. It's the belief that humans must live in mass societies ruled by institutions. Thus, modern human life unfolds, not directed by feelings that arise from our innate wisdom, but according to the dictates of an artificial social order. Because we live this way, we discount our instincts as mere remnants of an animal past. And we ignore the awful results—endemic anxiety, loneliness, and "lives of quiet desperation."

Shupe authored "REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF HUMAN NATURE"—How Civilization Destroys Happiness, in hopes it will inspire a reawakening to our inborn wisdom—Nature's map of life, which civilized life ignores, to our grave detriment. Regaining our natural sense of order, purpose, and belonging cannot be forced. It will result from our recognition that our only access to the wisdom of our souls is the feelings we experience, considering our present circumstances. Feelings inspired by our concerns about the imagined future, on the other hand, dissociate us from the wisdom of our souls, the souls of those around us, and, most ominously, from the experience of being alive to the moment. When forced, by prescribed laws, to repress our feelings of the moment, out of concern for our future wellbeing, we are not living. We are marking time. The result of this spiritual alienation is pain. To manage it, we modern humans' "space" ourselves out on beliefs, ideologies, drugs, hope, dreams—and even the promise of science. When those fail to quell the pain, people turn to suicide—the only option left. Shupe's answer is to return to the natural "spiritual homes" in which Homo sapiens once thrived. But people cannot establish a spiritual home, merely by design or intent. Spiritual homes will eventually form naturally: When enough people become disillusioned with the false promises of modern life, they will acquire an entirely new perspective on what life is about—one that is virtually the opposite of what civilization teaches. Among spiritually awakened people, a real home is organic. Indeed, for humans to experience a natural sense of belonging and contentment, a spiritual home—one that is maintained by our emotional intelligence—is the only option that exists.

As a whistle-blower to the world, Chet Shupe speaks with urgency about the need for people to rediscover their connections with their own nature, if we are ever again to experience the contentment of sisterhood and brotherhood that is our natural heritage. Chet Shupe is an electronics engineer who suffered from severe Attention Deficit Disorder, for much of his life. When he was 43, his condition was finally diagnosed, and he began treatment with Ritalin. Suddenly, life made sense. As a result of that extraordinary experience, he began writing on brain dysfunction to provide a conceptual framework for medically treating the brain. As a result of that effort—combined with his professional knowledge of system control theory—Shupe's subject soon changed from brain dysfunction to cultural dysfunction. He realized that the brain cannot find lasting contentment, nor can it produce behavior that serves its species, when functioning in a reality that, emotionally, it does not comprehend.