Anthropocentrism And The Disconnection From The Rest Of The World

Anthropocentrism is the philosophical stance that puts human life above all other life on Earth. A lot of people follow this way of thinking without even realizing it. This way of thinking makes humans believe they can do whatever they want to the Earth and other living things, especially if they see them as less evolved.

If someone owns a piece of land, they might think they can do whatever they want with it and everything that lives on it. These people might make decisions based on what’s best and most convenient for them. For example, a person who owns a field whose sole purpose is to grow vegetables for production might use herbicides to produce only the exact species he wants while killing any other form of life. As a result, the whole ecosystem where life should flourish is kept at its lowest potential.

This concept of ownership can be harmful when people think they have absolute power over something. Having complete control without considering how we affect every other part of the system can be dangerous. Unfortunately, we’ve normalized this way of thinking that puts humans above everything else.

Other examples of anthropocentrism are commonly found in relationships between humans and pets. Many of us have difficulty recognizing the pet as a sentient being with its own physical and emotional needs, preferences, and feelings. It is hard to accept that any living being is unique and may be totally different from us. They won’t operate according to our schedule, could function differently, and have wants and needs that could be incredibly inconvenient. Unfortunately, we want a mini-me pet, and we want it to act how we want it to behave. We want it to be hungry when it is convenient for us. We want it to be quiet, shut its eyes, and only open them when we want to interact with it again.

Here are three steps to becoming more connected with the world around us:

1. Awareness: the Earth is a system, and all the things and beings that make up life on Earth, including us, are part of a large interconnecting network. As a result, every part of the system affects every other part of the system. If we act in the best interests of other parts of the system, we can help it thrive and grow.

And even though it would be great if all people naturally choose that connectedness and care about each other’s best interests, the reality is that most people do not.

We all have different stories about when we lost this sense of connection. But at some point in our early life, we lost it. It is a harrowing and traumatic experience to go through as a child and obscures how you view the world. It is as if we put on grey-colored glasses and perceive ourselves to be separate from the people and things around us. In essence, our heart was broken long ago and never healed because we never found a way to resolve that pain and have a different experience relative to connectedness. The good news is that we can heal our trauma, we can mend our wounds, and we can feel the ripple of oneness and interconnectenedeness.

So, it’s essential to become aware that when we perceive ourselves as separate, we no longer feel the ripple of oneness. We no longer feel the impact that we have on everything else and the impact that everything else has on us.

2. Attunement: most people need help understanding how everything is part of the same energy and is made of consciousness. And we must acknowledge that plants, animals, and objects have consciousness, even though it differs from human consciousness, including its preferences, desires, needs, and autonomy.

Did you know that many Native American tribes believed that everything had a unique role and mission? They called this belief system “animism.” This way of thinking is present in nearly all indigenous tribes worldwide. According to animistic views, things like rivers, stones, trees, animals, and people all have spirits, and we can work with, learn from, and honor these spirits. In essence, this belief system was born to thank and honor what these stones, trees, animals, and people have brought into their life and their tribe and environment.

Let’s be honest. All begins with us choosing to attune to something else. It is a choice. We must attune to perceive, understand and feel other beings, plants, animals, and lands. It is to become entirely open to perceive the reality, feelings, thoughts, experiences, and needs of something else. It is about being ’at one’ with something. But we need to be vulnerable and ready for negative emotions at times.

This is a real challenge for people. We have been conditioned to see emotions as if they are less evolved, and they, instead, should be suppressed and denied. But if we choose to attune, we must see and understand our relationship to emotions.

Do you resist emotions?

Why?

What bad thing would happen if we allowed ourselves to feel?

What would attune to other things mean?

What would be so bad about seeing, feeling, understanding, and perceiving their reality? The truth is that if we stay strong and rigid, we won’t be able to attune to anyone.

3. Willingness to understand: we should be open to understanding things outside our perceptual reality. Other beings think in ways that are both similar to and different from us. Unfortunately, we often only see things from our perspective and operate from a narcissistic bubble. But by being willing to understand others, we can create deeper connections, more compassionate relationships, and a healthier world.

Our responsibility is to face any resistance that prevents us from popping our egocentric bubble and finally connecting. The good news is that we can access and resolve the part of ourselves that holds this resistance. I can help you personally with a 1:1 session if this willingness is within you.

As custodians of the Earth, it is our unique privilege and responsibility to care for and nurture all forms of life on this planet. Yunkaporta emphasizes the importance of this role in Sand Talk, reminding us that our gifts and skills were meant to be used to improve the Earth and its inhabitants.

In all our interactions with the world around us, it is crucial to approach them with a mindset of contribution and alignment with the well-being of others. Whether interacting with a plant, animal, or person, we must ask ourselves: How can I support and enhance their health and happiness? This will not just improve their well-being but yours as well.

By constantly striving to align ourselves with the best interests of others, we can fulfill our role as stewards of the Earth and create a harmonious and thriving planet for all.

Let me share a personal experience with you. As I settled into my new home, I was struck by the garden’s beauty and abundance of trees. Upon closer inspection, I realized that some of these trees were struggling to thrive. My partner and I examined them and asked ourselves: Is this tree aligned with its best interests? In the case of the lemon tree, we determined that it needed more space and sunlight to flourish. So, we decided to give it a new home where it could thrive.

As integral parts of the Earth, our role is to nurture and preserve more harmony on our planet. Unfortunately, humanity has often acted as a destructive force, behaving like a parasitic entity rather than a symbiotic one. More like a cancer cell that has disconnected from the rest of the system and is doing its own thing. It is time for us to embrace radical accountability in our actions which can affect other beings and things. We form relationships with everything in existence even if we are aware of that or not. The more aware we are of that, the more power we have to cultivate better, healthier and healing relationships. It’s time to face why we may resist tuning our antennae to the world around us. By shifting our behaviors and breaking free from narcissistic tendencies, we can secure a bright future for ourselves and play a vital role in maintaining the health and vitality of the Earth.