Why be Connectful? It’s in our DNA…

Most of us today still view the world through a moralistic lens. Yet we were born with an instinct to connect. If you are interested in how we evolved to be collaborative, check out the details below.

For now, lets just consider how we had to be taught as children to judge ourselves and our choices from a right/wrong standpoint, to argue, to see others as wrong and our own way as right. So prevalent is this consciousness throughout society, that we are led to see individuals who dont cast judgements on others, Gandhi, MLK, Maya Angelou, Joan Baez and the ones on your own street and down the ages, as exceptional, unrealistic. We ignore the knowing deep within us, the instinctive sense that the way we behave towards ourself and others is uncomfortable, it drains our capacity to be who we want to be in the world.

Despite the tension within us when how we act pushes us apart, we see no alternative and settle for less.

The evolution of collaboration & how it has been hijacked (up until now).

As hunter gatherers, co-operation between individuals was essential. We didnt have the teeth and claws of other mammals but the honed instinct for collaboration enabled Homo sapiens to outpace other neanderthal species. For 800,000 years it was an effective strategy and those who were best at co-operating thrived, passing down this skill in their DNA. Then just 8000 years ago, a mere blip in the time of human existence, the binary concept of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ sneaked into society. As people began to settle into pastoralisation, research now suggests certain leaders were viewed as ‘closer to the gods.’ As individuals chose a leader to follow, the notion of certain behaviours being good became of value in distinguishing my group from yours., in authenticating my choices to keep you out. The idea of labelling others who behaved differently as ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ grew to be a useful tool, and moralistic judgement entered human society.

The right/wrong mindset was powerful, effective for control and separation. Viewing the world through this lens became the accepted strategy to satisfy our universal human need for safety and for connection. Our natural instinct for collaboration rapidly got submerged, overwritten by a mindset that evaluated behaviour in terms of right/wrong, good/bad, and of punishment and reward, replacing collaboration as the main driver of human behaviour. This new right/wrong consciousness had a downside however. This mindset reduced autonomy. Individuals listened less to their instincts and more to the views of others, coming to view their safety and wellbeing as being in the hands of their leaders.

The Connectience Project invites individuals to re-engage with their instinctive ability to connect and collaborate.