CHAPTER FOUR

INTERMEDIATE SOCIALIZATION



Not in spite of, but by virtue of, the absence of self-discipline and the incognizance of self-divinity, we floundered into our “entry level” positions of relationship experiences, the whole of which would constitute our paths curriculum throughout the remainder of our physical incarnations. Having now examined some of the framework (from the eternal perspective), we can return once again to what is manifest and witness that each day brought a host of challenges for the newly settled former nomads to overcome, and since adaptation was the rule of thumb applied to lifestyle choices during these formative years, the reasons for doing anything one way or another weren’t so much conscious decisions as they were following the physical path of least resistance. In this manner, our behavior varied widely depending on our surroundings and availability of resources, especially food and shelter. It’s obvious that when people came together in locations where all the necessary supplies were not plentiful year around, they would learn to rely on their trade-ability with each other, and travelers passing through, to fill the larder with essentials not found locally. The inclination toward compromise––to adapt rather than aggrieve, to include instead of preclude––made the wannabe villagers the exception to that chaos the rest of humanity was struggling to survive. Case in point, those ancients who had advanced the characteristics that enabled tolerance, no doubt the most beneficial position––considering all the possible circumstances––at that time, were counted among the very few in a population whose normal level of civility was otherwise quite barbaric. The next “best” of us were still savages. Where vast “virgin” areas of the globe harbored an abundance of everything needed to thrive, the clan / tribe group populations could swell into the thousands before becoming so innumerable that a division of its members might be considered a reasonable solution logistically, if nothing else. The diversity of sheer numbers satisfied the ego identity that individuals sought by disassociating from the family size clan group. Not too surprisingly though, when groups did split––for whatever reason––whether obvious or underlying, trivial or paramount, such dispersals were often the result of personal differences anyhow, rather than a lack of natural resources. Subsequent and ongoing divergence fostered wide dispersion of common languages and practices into loosely knit and borderless nations of related people. This too was neither by design of mere mortals or accidental, but simply another path along which opportunities for The Truth would be realized. In the tribal scenario, and from the worldly view of it, the occasional divarication often seemed little more than a knee jerk reaction to a personal affront when actually, and naturally, ego’s independence was being exercised in those personalities who were growing comfortable with making decisions. Additionally, and as might be expected, the standouts among their peers had and would continue to gain a following of all who were practicing in the least resistance mode, creating the “leader / follower” niche that would evolve into something more resembling a team while moving away from the otherwise strictly adhered to pecking order. Groups large and small, in whatever guise, eventually discovered the opportunities and means to span continents, cross temporary land bridges and even venture into open water to populate every corner of our planet.

These two widely disparate means of defining mankind's future produced, or perhaps themselves were defined by, habits of thought or aspiration that a more complex society, imbued with the delusion to do so, might label logical and abstract. The first, as we’ve seen, were those who adapted, for all intents and purposes, to remaining in one place––settling down––and preferring the company of strangers (or at least grow comfortable with the efforts of making new relationships). They would by the nature of their behavior create positions that out of necessity evolved into structured layers of social classes. The simple lack of provision made trading the only long term choice “settlers” had. Practicing the required forethought and planning to organize communities, set these individuals on the road to logic. Imagine, if you can, some of the challenges confronting our ancestors as they struggled to give meaning to every action, so that at some point there might be a consistency in reaction, allowing for a growing reliability of expectations. Planning was critical, but without knowing what to expect, impossible. Consistency beget rules, rules beget all that has happened since, including rule makers and rule enforcers. The emerging mindset of settlers attempting to find common ground on which to agree regarding fair trade, as a precursor to commerce, was indeed the fount from which Divine Guidance engendered organized behavior and logic into what we would one day be so bold to classify as; civility. To reiterate, these planners and thinkers were in a minority and their proclivity to logic, while being the fertile ground from which so much of our culture would grow, had little or no immediate advantage over the tribal pecking order that flourished in areas where abundance allowed self-sufficiency and unlimited growth.

In addition to the prevailing resources, a tribes viability and proliferation was more or less secure in the safety of numbers. Not the least of their concerns were confrontations––raids against, or in defense––from other groups, related or not, setting the tone for much of what shaped our views about people who are different than we are. Remember that even before we were cognizant, small family clans needed to hold on to what ever they could collectively hunt or gather and viewed with suspicion any stranger that could pose a threat to the security those supplies represented. This wasn’t paranoia (yet), it was a well placed instinct, called survival. There will be much more about instinct, especially “the original one”, when our focus falls on yet another “now” of the time line.

The tribal mindset, perpetuated from misty origins, was both a product of and accountable to the oral record whose chronicling of experiences and knowledge of times past, was considered to be the foundation for and the judge of a belief system against which they would measure all manner of behavior. The elders were the keepers of the lore and in the absence of written language, verbally passed on tribal history from one generation to the next. They were consulted on every aspect of daily life and routine, in many cases hardly a decision was made without their guidance. They were the rule makers among savages, still, few if any questioned them. The source of the power they enjoyed over their peers manifested as imagination. Souls incarnate as elders were the same ones that started out millennia earlier recording daily life on cave walls. So, the individual who rose to the role of “elder” chronologically, was indeed experienced with spiritual advancement as well, and as an “old soul” had much to share with regards to the path their tribe was on. They were spiritual enough to know inspiration and physical enough to see it all around them. It took the abstract mind, with imagination, to see its place in nature. By applying habits of behavior observed in the natural world around them they acquired knowledge, beneficial and otherwise, such as the nutritional and medicinal properties of plants and minerals at hand, or the cyclical migrations of bodies as varied as locust and stars. Healing the sick and divining the future made them a tribes most valuable asset and assured their place of prominence second only to the chieftain who, not surprisingly, also relied heavily on their judgment. Seeing nature for what it truly was, (something to be a part of, instead of apart from, something to use, instead of abuse), these ancients, each time they returned to the physical to resume their quest, would set a course others found good reason to follow. Their observation and recounting of particular physical behaviors and experiences would provide specific enough details––along with chronicling the movement of heavenly bodies––to establish relationships between those recurring celestial patterns and the natural world around them. So much so, by Divine Design, that eventually these patterns of star groups were assigned familiar figures whose known behavior characteristics could be attributed to, or at least identified with, witnessed worldly experiences. In this way historical lore took on a familiarity we could relate to and thus more easily share with subsequent generations.