INTRODUCTION
This article is about how the physique, and in particular, the use of that physique, of we humans in the modern world, has developed or deteriorated from that of our ancestors. In short, has the modern human being lost its naturalness?
Without going into what could only be a personal opinion of our evolution over millions of years, I would refer the reader to the vast amount of scientific literature on the subject. After studying in great detail – for some 40 years – how the body functions as a mechanism, I would say there is no doubt that we have lost the natural physique and coordinated use of the body.
There is no need to go into a lengthy explanation here, as I have written extensively about this subject in my other books
So, before going into an exposition of naturalness, we have to consider the process of human evolution.
HUMAN EVOLUTION
While studying some modern scientific literature on the process of evolution, I was surprised to find there were several different species of humans from which the modern human may have evolved. All scientists do not agree on how the different species of humans developed or interacted with each other, but it appears that they do agree on one point, i.e that the species who eventually became the modern human being was Homo Sapiens, about 200,000 years ago. There is a lot of interesting scientific writing on the internet.
Dr.Rick Potts in his video on the internet says:
“Evolution involves change over time.”
He also says about the process of evolution:
”Evolution does not change any single individual. Instead, it changes the inherited means of growth and development that typify a population. Parents pass adaptive genetic changes to their offspring and ultimately these changes become common throughout a population.”
He makes no mention of the role played by the mind of the developing human being in this evolutionary process. Neither do the other scientific writings on the internet. Many scientists agree with this version that the parents pass adaptive genetic changes to their offspring. But is it really all done by the genes? Obviously, all species of human beings must have been able to think. They were creative and used their minds to make primitive tools and weapons. Does this not show that this mind was the main driving creative force in evolutionary progress? And if this mind was able to fashion tools was it not the conscious power that made the body, including the genes? And does not reincarnation suggest there is a conscious mind that is the thread connecting the link from rebirth to rebirth over millions of years and creating a new body each time?
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Paul Brunton, the great sage, has written the following about the role of the conscious mind in the creation of the body:
“ The intelligence in the deeper human mind manufactures the bodily organs it requires for experience or development. In this way it has built the entire body itself.”
“Notebooks, Vol.13, pt.3, ch.1, no.64”
He has also written:
“How is it that the formation of a thought takes place with such unbelievable swiftness?” We can only reply that originally it must have been a slow and conscious act which in the course of evolution through countless centuries was imperceptibly transformed by the individual and the race into an instantaneous and unconscious one. Familiar and frequently recurring experiences have rendered it easy for the mind to create its images practically instantaneously. The complex and complete act of seeing the object really occupies a number of successive steps, but they flash by with such unimaginable and incredible rapidity as practically to fuse into a single instantaneous operation. This rapid working is partly the result of the existing background of past sense-experience into which new sensations immediately merge, and partly the result of the mind’s innate power.”
“ The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga,” Rider & Co. 1969 Edition, page 226.
Does this conscious mind carry the individual’s karma – the law of recompense – with it through countless lifetimes? Are our characters the results of what we have said and done, our way of being, in past lifetimes?
Of this P.B wrote:
“Karma is the precise result of of what a person thinks and does. Your reaction to events and situations is the precise result of what you are, your stage in evolution. Therefore, lesser reactions and hence better fortune can come only when you elevate your evolutionary status.”
“WHAT IS KARMA”, page 105.
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Martinus, another great philosopher, wrote the following about the conscious mind:
“All creation, all that is at all accessible to common sense perception, that is all that we see as moving and motionless, all that we call matter or substance, solid, liquid, gaseous and radiating, all that we call mountains and valleys, all that we call town and country, all that we call human beings, animals and plants, all that we call writing and speech etc., all that constitutes a kind or form of movement, either it apparently is movement or stagnation. All substance or matter, from the most solid to the most liquid, as well the gaseous and the radiating, are thus combinations of movements. Likewise, the substances of which the living beings’ organisms are built-up are combinations of different kinds of movement. In reality only the ‘I’ and this movement exist. The many created things are only varied combinations of movements. It is only in the living beings’ sensory fields that the movements by virtue of the perspective principle are perceived or experienced as created things, made of substance or matter. The construction or adjustment of movement is what is called creation, since besides creation only the creator exists, and this creator is the ‘I’, then we see that all creation, all movements and adjustment of movements can exist only within an ‘I’ as its originator. And a single living being’s ‘I’ together with all other living beings’ ‘I’s thus form the ‘I’ of the Godhead. They are each a fellow-creator in the structure of movement or creation of the universe. Consequently, no movement whatsoever, can come into existence by itself, but must, as indicated, originate from an ‘I’.
From the book “THE ETERNAL WORLD PICTURE” by MARTINUS,
page 108 in section 4.
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In his book, “FUNDAMENTALS OF YOGA” – Chapter 4, “LAWS OF THE MIND,” Rammurti S. Mishra M.D. has written the following about the conscious mind:
“The conscious mind has limitless power, hence it performs every action.” (Law 11, page 53)
“The conscious mind is the leading power and leader of all states and all minds.”(Law 14, page 54)
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Frederick Matthias Alexander, the man who rediscovered Naturalness, has also written about conscious evolution in his books.
In his book, “Man’s Supreme Inheritance,” page 31, he writes:
“Indeed, any one who has followed my argument to this point must have inferred the trend of my purpose, namely, that as the intellectual powers of man extend, we progress in the direction of conscious control. The gradual control of evolution by the child of its productions pointed always to this end, and by this means, and by this alone, can the human race continue in the full enjoyment of its physical powers without forfeiting a fraction of its progressive intellectual ideal.”
Page 40: “And it appears to me that all we know of the evolution or development of life goes to show that it has progressed, and will continue to progress in the direction of self-consciousness. if we grant the unity of life and the tendency of its evolution, it follows that all the manifestations of what we have called the ‘subconscious self’ are functions of the vital essence or life-force, and that these functions are passing from automatic or unconscious to reasoning or conscious control.”
Page 41…..”I maintain that man may in time obtain complete conscious control of every function of the body without, as is implied by the word ‘conscious,’ going into any trance induced by hypnotic means, and without paraphernalia of making reiterated assertions or statements of belief.”
Page 56…..”and I claim further that by the application of this principle of conscious control there may in time be evolved a complete mastery over the body, which will result in the elimination of all physical defects”
In his book, “CONSTRUCTIVE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OF THE INDIVIDUAL,” Alexander also writes on page 10:
“Satisfactory evolutionary progress commands a continuous advancement, in individual psycho-physical activity, from stage to stage of cultivation and development. The primary desire or need in this connection is that individual desire or need which is the stimulus to the development of those psycho-physical potentialities which enable the creature to meet satisfactorily the demands of the processes essential to the satisfaction of the need. The adequate development of these potentialities connotes a satisfactory standard of the co-ordinated use of the organism.”
“It is obvious that a person who is satisfied with his present position on the evolutionary plane, with his present ideas, opinions, ways of life, etc., will not have the desire or feel the need for changing conditions which, consciously or subconsciously, he deems to be satisfactory. All advancement, however, is associated with the discovery and acceptance of ideas, principles, ways of living etc., which are new to the individual. Anyone who has a desire to live on, influenced only by past psycho-physical experiences, and who refuses to seek consciously for and to acquire new experiences, cannot expect any real advancement on the evolutionary plane.”
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INSTRUCTIVE EXPERIENCE OF THE BODY AND THE GIFT OF A CONSCIOUS MIND
Each individual has evolved from a formless ego to become a so-called body. This has been achieved through a co-creative process initiated by the World-Mind and continued and developed by the individual mind. The awesome power of the World-Mind to create anything it wishes is to be marvelled at, but the creative power of the individual mind must not be underestimated and undervalued. This lack of appreciation of the power of the individual conscious mind pervades the vast majority of humankind and prevents us from realising our full psycho-physical-emotional-spiritual potential in each incarnation.
Considering the evolutionary stage humanity is now at, where we have not only forgotten our origin, but also that long process of building a body; a process lasting aeons of time involving staggering repetition by the conscious mind of repeatedly recognising a need and then using its incredible powers of creativity to fulfil that need. The need could have been an organ, a limb, a desire and so on. As each need was fulfilled, it was committed to memory and its vast store is what we now curiously call the subconscious mind.
It is worth considering three – among many – different approaches and attitudes to the body. The first one – and this one is in the vast majority – is the person who goes through life never considering the body and its needs and is almost completely unaware of it until it becomes ill. The beauty, grace and power of the body are usually missed by these people and it is doubtful if they have ever considered how they ever came to be one. This type of person does not deliberately ignore the body; he or she simply has no deep appreciation of it whatsoever.
The second is the person who undervalues and even denigrates the body because he or she is pursuing a spiritual quest, where the body is dismissed as a hindrance to spiritual advancement. One example is the mystic who considers the body and the world to be an illusion and wishes to remain constantly in the ecstatic states that are achieved during meditation. Such states are usually regarded as the highest ones of existence. Mother Nature, however, does not allow these blissful experiences to last very long and the mystic is forced back into the body and the world. The fact that the mystic is unable to remain in these ecstatic trances shows that he has to learn that the world may be an illusion, but it is also the real. This paradox is a hard fact of the human condition. The mystic has to learn that the body and the world cannot be spirited away at the behest of any individual and they are there to be experienced, studied and understood if psycho-physical-emotional-spiritual equilibration is to be achieved. It is a wise mystic who can balance spiritual experiences in the lofty spheres of meditation with a common sense practical approach to living in the body and accepting the instructive experience it provides.
Before considering the third type, it is worthwhile noting that the human being has evolved through the mineral, plant and animal stages to the human one. This is not the place to elaborate on this progression, as it would labour the point being made here. At the animal stage of its evolution the human being relied on what we curiously call ‘instinct.’ This term is used by many people even although they have no real idea of what it is. Phrases abound such as,
“Well, it’s something that we’re born with,” and,
”It’s something that you do without thinking about it.”
No consideration is given to the staggering repetition used by the ego to fulfil an evolutionary need in creating a body.
The third type, then, is the person who has come to realise that the way in which we use the body in our everyday activities has gone wrong. The vast majority of the human race has no clear idea or understanding of what is really taking place in the body as they are carrying out a movement. The conscious co-ordinated use of the body is completely unknown to them.
How did this state of misuse of the body come about? The answer is that evolution was a slow and conscious process that gradually speeded up as each new development was practised and mastered. Up to and including the animal stage, the individual was totally concerned with the building of the body in such a way that it could function optimally in its immediate environment and thus increase its chances of survival in very difficult conditions. The superb use of the body can be seen in any and every wild animal.
When the individual evolved into the human stage the sense of ‘I’ arose, followed by the ability to think abstractly. This abstract thinking, this expansion of the intellect, led to the invention of primitive tools right up to the amazing technology that exists today. Also, at the human stage, when we became cognisant of being the ‘I’, the ego could ruminate and ponder the question, “What am I?”
This amazing expansion of the intellect, however, had a very negative influence on our use of the body, because it now has to function in unnatural environments such as offices, factories etc. The individual no longer needs to function optimally to survive. Slumped torsos, twisted spines, narrowed chests causing inadequate breathing, shortened, rigid and flaccid muscles etc. etc., resulting in mental and physical debilitation, lethargy and ill-health, can be seen in all nations all over the world.
So the results of this global misuse – the supposed “evolution” from homo sapiens to the present day has brought about the modern man who has little, or no, awareness of the function of the body as a mechanism. He is probably the most uncoordinated, subconsciously controlled human being of all time:
homo misuseus
CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL BY THE INDIVIDUAL
Referring back to Dr. Rick Potts writings on evolution, where he states that, “Evolution does not change any single individual. Instead it changes the inherited means of growth and development that typify a population. Parents pass adaptive genetic changes to their offspring and ultimately these changes become common throughout a population.”
The later discoveries, however, in epigenetics have replaced Potts’ view, and according to Bruce Lipton, the spiritual scientist, “the genes no longer control our traits.” They can be changed by the environment and by the thoughts of each individual. Thoughts are produced by the mind and, as I wrote earlier, does this not show that this mind is the main, driving, creative force in the evolution of each individual?”
So how are we to obtain this naturalness discovered by F.M ?
Referring to the evolutionary process described earlier, we must relearn how to use the conscious mind and allow it to take the lead again as the great driving force and, by the hugely unappreciated power of thinking, take charge – as it did in the past – in our evolutionary development. Each individual can take responsibility for his or her conscious advancement. We must take the next evolutionary step and adopt constructive conscious control in the use of the self, which is humankind’s supreme inheritance. The use of the self – good or bad – is the universal constant in living. Through this process we can restore the body to its former glorious state of co-ordination, balance, grace, poise and dynamic power. Not only that, but in addition, we can reclaim the gift – our greatest gift – of a conscious, vibrant and quickened mind willing to take responsibility for its own destiny, a truly conscious and constructive
way of being. In our everyday interaction with people and things such constructive awareness is true mindfulness. I call it true mindfulness because the integrity of the head, neck, back relationship is given first priority no matter what you are doing and the body is used in mechanically appropriate ways. For example, if you ask a person during a mindfulness meditation to keep the back straight, he will pull himself up to what he considers to be his full height, but he simply adopts a posture that is a different kind of badly from his habitual slumped one. He cannot keep this new position for very long because his old habit is too strong and its influence irresistible. Another example: If you drop something on the floor and proceed to pick it up by bending your spine and keeping your legs straight, you are not being mindful of the mechanically appropriate way of using the body, which is to keep the back ‘straight’, and to articulate at the hip, knee, and ankle joints, as performed naturally by very young children. He needs lessons in constructive conscious control in the use of the self.
THE FORGOTTEN FUNDAMENTAL TO BE INCLUDED IN THE TRINITY
It has been recognised by many thinkers that there are three parallel lines of evolution that Nature demands the individual should pursue. These lines are inspired action, contemplation, and the proper use of intelligence. The human being who functions consciously traverses each incarnation using the faculties of thinking, feeling and doing. These faculties constitute a working trinity. He or she attempts to harmonise the reasoned thinking cultivated by means of the unstinting study of metaphysics, the intuitive feeling arising from the dedicated practice of mysticism, and the inspired action necessary in the staggering repetition of the daily doing performed by the mind-body complex. In short, the intellectual, the mystical and the practical must be cultivated equally and brought consciously into balance and harmony. If all these qualities are fused and equilibrated, they will allow the profound realisation of the essential quality of insight, which transcends them. This is not the place to elaborate on insight as the purpose of this essay is to bring attention to the Forgotten Fundamental. Suffice to say that within the individual there exists a hierarchy of insight, followed by intuition, followed by intellect.
Sharpened and quickened use of the intellect in the study of metaphysics and in the practical affairs of everyday life must be combined and balanced with the feeling of love of the Overself in mystical contemplation. The person cannot escape the dedicated work that needs to be done if the harmonious integration of these elements is to be achieved and insight unfolded. In short, the individual must make the Quest of the Overself into a practical pursuit in everyday life. But everyday actions must not be blind ones. This statement leads us into a consideration of the Forgotten Fundamental that must be included in the trinity. That fundamental is the use of the self.
Wise and altruistic action is, for the thinking, caring person, the would-be philosopher, a process of tireless working for the triumph of Good. But too often the altruist attempts to help others when he has not realised that the quality of his use of the self in his selfless actions has a profound influence on his own spiritual development. In other words, that Forgotten Fundamental of the use of the self is the missing link in his endeavours to balance his psycho-physical-emotional-spiritual development. Constructive conscious control in the use of the self is something that will inspire his moment-to-moment everyday existence.
Before explaining what constructive conscious control in the use of the self is, it will be clearer if we consider what subconscious misuse of the self is.
As I wrote in my book, ‘CONSTRUCTIVE Awareness’, Chapter 2, page 21:-
“As explained in the previous chapter, misuse of our thinking, resulting in misuse of the body, is a present-day malady. The modern person is a victim of generations of misuse caused by artificial living conditions in civilisation. These artificial, stressful conditions cause taut necks, rounded backs, stiff joints, inadequate breathing, stretched nerves, all kinds of neuroses, worried minds, and so on. Such is our unawareness of ourselves that these states can come to feel ‘normal,’ to be ‘us.’ In other words, we develop a habitual, devitalised way of being and doing. Our habits are us. This devitalised condition is usually considered to be an unavoidable part of life, something that is inevitable as we grow older, and we usually blame something or someone else for our situation.
Consider, though, how much of our way of being is of our own making, is our own responsibility. The environmental conditions into which one is born, or lives in, cannot be excluded from this consideration; indeed, extremely adverse situations play a large part in shaping our lives. If such conditions, however, are within reasonable limits, they can be ignored for the purpose of this illustration.
One of the strongest habits that we develop from early childhood is that of ‘end-gaining.’ This means a constant striving to get to the end of any task that we perform, without consideration of the co-ordinated ‘means‘ we should employ to gain the desired end. Education is geared to end-gaining. Children are encouraged to produce a good result at school without proper consideration of the ‘how‘ of achieving it without losing their psycho-physical equilibrium. This is true of so-called mental as well as physical activities. The best way to illustrate the difference between ‘end-gaining’ and ‘means‘ is to give a simple example, such as picking an object up from the floor. The vast majority react to the stimulus of the object falling on the floor by bending the torso forward at the lumbar spine by keeping the knees straight as we reach down with the hand. This movement continues until the knees have to be reluctantly bent to allow the hand to reach and grasp the object. The return journey usually starts with placing the hands on the knees and
pushing up with the arms because the back is not strong enough to perform this task easily. The breath is held throughout this activity – except for when a tired grunt of effort is forced from the body. This habitual way of bending the back can be extremely detrimental to the welfare of the lumbar spine. If done too often, it can lead to damage to the intervertebral discs in the form of distortion and even prolapse.
If you ask a person to describe in detail what she actually did with the different parts of the body in lifting up the object, she will be unable to do so. This is because the co-ordinated ‘means’ of performing the act are of little interest to her and occur beneath her awareness. She will have no more than a vague, hazy idea of the ‘how’ of her doing. This is classic, habitual ‘end-gaining.’
A more mechanically appropriate way of bending to the floor is to allow the back to remain ’straight’ and to bend the knees and hip joints as young children do.
The above explanation, however, does not go far enough as it gives the impression that we can change directly one method of doing something for a better one. This example is given simply to point out that a superior, mechanically appropriate method exists; but if this were as far as it goes, we would be dealing with nothing more than physical culture. The indirect process of constructive awareness is much more than mere physical culture: to learn it we ought to begin to use our minds and consider the ‘how’ of performing our everyday activities. We can learn how to constructively ‘think in activity,‘ how to attend to the co-ordinated ‘means‘ of doing something, no matter how trivial.
The first method of bending in the above example is a misuse of the body mechanism; it is not designed to do this. Numerous other examples could be given of the inappropriate, detrimental habits of use of the psycho-physical self.
Physical habits cause mental habits and vice-versa. Sects, cults and groups which recognise, and attempt to utilise, the power of the mind over the body are out of truth, and so out of balance, to the extent that they fail to recognise the power of the body over the mind. The way to change bad physical and mental habits is by inhibiting them. Inhibition in the sense meant here is the very basis of change.”
(The reader is asked to refer to ‘CONSTRUCTIVE Awareness’, Chapter 4, for an account of ‘Inhibition and Direction,’ which includes the importance of consciously attending to the integrity of the head-neck-back relationship.)
There is no need to add another element to the trinity, because constructive awareness is a fundamental part of the use of the intellect in which the conscious mind is quickened and expanded to attend to the use of the self. The intellect, however, cannot achieve a fundamental change in the use of the self without combining its endeavours with the cultivation of the kinaesthetic sense. The latter is unknown to the vast majority of people, so much so that we usually refer only to the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell when considering what they tell us of the world around us. If our awareness of the body and its interaction with the environment are to be complete, we must learn to include and appreciate the kinaesthetic sense as being of equal importance to the other five.
In the trinity, therefore, the kinaesthetic sense would come under the category of feeling; but it is not mystical or emotional feeling. It is the awareness of the relationship of one part of the body to another as the body interacts with its immediate environment. The body as a mechanism must be understood, but more importantly, the quality of the use of it must also be studied and understood.
Thinking aright is essential. Nebulous thoughts that float aimlessly through the mind are of no importance, but the habitual trend of thoughts is. Constantly recurring dynamic thoughts about improving the use of the self will allow the aspirant to positively influence his own contribution to his earthly experience. The more often we repeat the thoughts that will produce co-ordinated use of the self the quicker will we reach, not only a truly conscious way of living that will improve our general progress and well-being, but also make it easier to elevate ourselves to spiritual nobleness.
No matter what a person’s philosophy of life may be, if he, or she, is seeking authentic all-round development, it must include constructive conscious control of the individual – by the individual – the Forgotten Fundamental.
As Paul Brunton says:-
“The World-Idea is embodied in the world itself.”
As the human body is part of the world, the World-Idea is embodied also in the body. This means that, with the prevailing state of misuse of the body throughout the planet, the World-Idea is working to restore constructive conscious control of the individual – by the individual – to bring the body back to its natural state of co-ordination, dynamic balance, harmony, grace, and walking truly upright on the face of the Earth.
As F.M Alexander says in the last paragraph of his book, “The Use of the Self”:-
“If a technique which can be proved to do this for the individual were to be made the basis of an educational plan, so that the growing generation could acquire a more valid criterion for self-judgement than is now possible with the prevailing condition of sensory misdirection of use, might not this lead in time to the substitution of reasoning reactions for those instinctive reactions which are manifested as prejudice, racial and otherwise, herd instinct, undue “self-determination“ and rivalry, etc., which, as we all deplore, have so far brought to nought our efforts to realise good will to all men and peace upon earth?”