Understand and Overcome Prejudice
The Duality of Polarity of Prejudice
Understand to Overcome The Insidious Infection
According to the Hopi, there are red, yellow, purple, and white people. Synonymous with the colors of corn, each color is related to an element. Red people are the guardians of earth, yellow people are the guardians of air, purple people are the guardians of water, and white people are the guardians of fire.
The Hopi note that individuals of any color can potentially lose their way and become two-hearted. The term two-hearted comes from the Hopi concept that people originally have one heart and good nature. People who lose their way, who succumb to greed of an external ideology, who lose their conscious connection exist in permanent hunger having acquired a whole other heart to feed.
When it comes to the question of race, the only real differences are shades and hues. People are more similar than different. We are fundamentally the same, but appear slightly different. And while our cultures and traditions may differ, they are all human traditions after all. Our differences in fact reveal our kinship.
We are all human, different hues of man. Though we have have been subdivided, grouped and categorized into numerous nuanced divisive groupings. And each one proves our unity. For example human eyes all see the same colors in the same way. Bovine eyes, canine eyes see the world differently. Human eyes see things the same, biologically and esoterically.
Today prejudices are so nuanced that they perpetuate unconscious notions of ‘us and them’ in every direction. Prejudice reinforces polarity in the human mind, which has been trained to look for opposites…toward limitation not comprehension.
Good/Evil, Right/Wrong, Left/Right, Thesis/Antithesis, Us/Them
The very inquiry into the origins of human thinking and being is posed through what I call The Duality of Polarity, and yet it’s most often considered via a singular and limiting polarity.
Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature or nurture?
The debate of nature versus nurture is posed in a single distinct polarization, yet the best answer itself supersedes the mindset of the singular polarity. Traditionally, the question is viewed philosophically as a trinity of options – the thesis (nature), antithesis (nurture) and synthesis (both) of one and the other.
And yet, in its philosophical state, this mode of thinking is incomplete without the fourth part
Is it so?
Is it not so?
Is it both?
Or is it neither?
Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature? Or nurture? Or both? Or neither?
Using the question of the origins of human behavior as an example, it becomes apparent how limiting the polarized thesis/antithesis, nature/nurture type of thinking truly is. It excludes the potential of synthesis, and most importantly, of nullisis – the infinite potential that exists outside of defined theses and antitheses.
The Duality of Polarity is apparent in the universe, human tradition, philosophy and even our biological make-up. Most importantly, it is apparent in how people think. And by understanding the duality of polarity we are able to more clearly understand the totality of any situation or interaction. And when one understands the totality of a problem, one is better placed to actively fix it.
“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” ~ Albert Einstein
The Matrix of Four, The Duality of Polarity assists our understanding by providing a cross-reference system through which to examine the totality of a subject or object, even extremely complex ones, even those ingrained deep into our consciousness. Ideas can be completely explored through the four ever-present philosophical alternatives: the thesis (is it so?), antithesis (is it not so?), synthesis (is it both?) and nullisis (is it neither?). The fourth, commonly ignored ‘nullisis’ part of this thought-set represents the expanded and unlimited alternative.
Prejudice stems from the ongoing problem that has long plagued humanity, the problem from which all woes and wars originate; an undeveloped or lost consciousness, or as the Hopi would say, living with two-hearts. An individual with an undeveloped consciousness can be easily steered, manipulated by shadows and convinced that prejudiced, separatist thinking is somehow “right”, and even “righteous”. Yet at its core, prejudiced thinking stems from undeveloped consciousness, or worse un-consciousness.
It is in our human nature to question reality, to pose observation and ideas. But prejudice and pre-judgement are the antithesis of questioning and enquiry. Prejudice relies on pre-formed beliefs and assumptions to inform a situation, in place of genuine assessment, and fails to recognize that each human being is an individual. Prejudgment is not in our curious and intellectual nature. Prejudgment places an unreasonable level of certainty on factors that are actually ‘unknowns’, and such certainty is either the epitome of ignorance or the beginning of madness… or both.
No one is born prejudiced against one race, or religious group, or gender for that matter. The either/or mentality of separation is heavily reinforced in our partisan society. As infants we know no racial, ethnic, or religious boundaries. We learn such prejudice through tribal inheritance – we adopt the shared cultural bias of our community, both consciously and unconsciously. This mentality may be primordially rooted in disdain for wrongdoers of the tribal collective, nonetheless it is socially nurtured, conjuring suspicion of ‘outsiders’ who are perceived as a constant threat.
We lose our humanity in prejudice and prejudgment, for one must not only lose compassion for their brothers, but also lose (or give up) the ability to question reality in its complexity, independently toward truth. For prejudice to exist, one must adopt unquestioning acceptance of a racially-based absolutist thesis, giving no consideration that an antithesis, synthesis or nullisis may even exist.
Those who defend concepts of limited thinking may suggest that humans are born with an innate capacity to pre-judge. And to an extent, such a response may be part of our unconscious lower thinking. But by pre-judging people and situations in our lives, we fail to truly assess the situation in its full, complicated reality – and fail to realize our potential.
We tend to think in polarity, so the 'us and them' mentality of prejudice is easily instituted. While humanity is adapting to its new emerging consciousness, the mind is easily fooled by persuasive yet limited thinking – as is clearly evident in the continuing politics of institutional war. But prejudiced thinking is not a natural inclination… unless one considers lost consciousness a natural state. Prejudiced thinking comes from detachment from the moment, from lost consciousness, from becoming two-hearted.
Judgment based on the physical exterior reflects an inability or unwillingness to question, learn, and experience each situation or person individually, as they are. The specifics of prejudice vary wildly, however through The Matrix of Four we can perceive four cardinal forms of prejudice amidst the many particular directions which it may be aimed, all flawed preconceptions.
The four main categories of human prejudice are racial, religious, institutional/national and cultural/historical. Often prejudice is simply based on the color of one’s skin, or other inherited features, but sometimes it is much more nuanced and complicated than that, particularly where a history of conflict exists. And while human prejudice is typically based on these four distinctions, the specifics of each are near limitless. By observing the particulars of, racial, religious, national and cultural prejudices it all can be dissected and understood.
In considering The Duality of Polarity of prejudice, there is one obvious and common polarity, and there is a second pair of opposites that is less obvious and seldom considered. Essentially, prejudice results in acting for or against others because of perceived differences or similarities.
The most common type of prejudice is to judge and act against others because they are different.
The equally common type of prejudice, the contrast of the first type, is to judge and act for others because they are similar.
A less common and often overlooked type of prejudice is acting for others because they are different.
And the last and equally uncommon part is acting against others because they are similar.
“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.” ~ Francois Fenelon
One of the grandest challenges on earth today is overcoming prejudiced, limited, and institutionally-corrupted thinking. The ‘us and them’ mentality we encounter in others is often unconscious and it can be a challenge for many to even realize such thinking, much less change it.
When a problem is understood, it begins to unravel. Such is the case with confronting the root cause of prejudice – the loss of consciousness and connection. By extrapolating and dissecting any situation by applying The Matrix of Four you have the tool to rationally confront prejudice where it manifests — the mind — in ourselves as well as others.
“When the Earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come onto the Earth of many colors, creeds and classes, and by their actions and deeds shall make the Earth green again. They shall be known as the warriors of the rainbow.” ~ Hopi Prophecy
Recognition of our differences in appearance is natural. Our uniqueness and distinct beauty is there to be seen. How we choose to perceive those physical difference is up to us. The Hopi conceived four different colors of people, represented by the four different colors of corn – red, yellow, purple, and white – yet they imagined people united as equal brothers, as one quad-colored corncob.
Prejudice is the deceit lazy mind, and shows its ignorance in a scientifically verifiable way, for only the human eye sees colors as humans do. Certainly, only the human mind draws conclusions of value based upon the color of another member of its species as well. Such prejudice belies our natural relationship with each other, the unity of humanity. As we come to terms with our true nature, as part of the same conscious whole, we must understand now more than ever that, no matter our hue, no matter our eye color, our religious beliefs, our nationality or our history, we are more alike than we are different.
“Polarity, or action and reaction, we meet in every part of nature; in darkness and light, in heat and cold, in the ebb and flow of waters, in male and female, in the inspiration and expiration of plants and animals; in the equation of quantity and quality in the fluids of the animal body; in the systole and diasystole of the human heart; in the centrifugal and centripetal gravity; in electricity, galvanism and chemical affinity.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Extracted from The Matrix of Four
Understand to Overcome The Insidious Infection
According to the Hopi, there are red, yellow, purple, and white people. Synonymous with the colors of corn, each color is related to an element. Red people are the guardians of earth, yellow people are the guardians of air, purple people are the guardians of water, and white people are the guardians of fire.
The Hopi note that individuals of any color can potentially lose their way and become two-hearted. The term two-hearted comes from the Hopi concept that people originally have one heart and good nature. People who lose their way, who succumb to greed of an external ideology, who lose their conscious connection exist in permanent hunger having acquired a whole other heart to feed.
When it comes to the question of race, the only real differences are shades and hues. People are more similar than different. We are fundamentally the same, but appear slightly different. And while our cultures and traditions may differ, they are all human traditions after all. Our differences in fact reveal our kinship.
We are all human, different hues of man. Though we have have been subdivided, grouped and categorized into numerous nuanced divisive groupings. And each one proves our unity. For example human eyes all see the same colors in the same way. Bovine eyes, canine eyes see the world differently. Human eyes see things the same, biologically and esoterically.
Today prejudices are so nuanced that they perpetuate unconscious notions of ‘us and them’ in every direction. Prejudice reinforces polarity in the human mind, which has been trained to look for opposites…toward limitation not comprehension.
Good/Evil, Right/Wrong, Left/Right, Thesis/Antithesis, Us/Them
The very inquiry into the origins of human thinking and being is posed through what I call The Duality of Polarity, and yet it’s most often considered via a singular and limiting polarity.
Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature or nurture?
The debate of nature versus nurture is posed in a single distinct polarization, yet the best answer itself supersedes the mindset of the singular polarity. Traditionally, the question is viewed philosophically as a trinity of options – the thesis (nature), antithesis (nurture) and synthesis (both) of one and the other.
And yet, in its philosophical state, this mode of thinking is incomplete without the fourth part
Is it so?
Is it not so?
Is it both?
Or is it neither?
Why are we the way we are? Is it the result of nature? Or nurture? Or both? Or neither?
Using the question of the origins of human behavior as an example, it becomes apparent how limiting the polarized thesis/antithesis, nature/nurture type of thinking truly is. It excludes the potential of synthesis, and most importantly, of nullisis – the infinite potential that exists outside of defined theses and antitheses.
The Duality of Polarity is apparent in the universe, human tradition, philosophy and even our biological make-up. Most importantly, it is apparent in how people think. And by understanding the duality of polarity we are able to more clearly understand the totality of any situation or interaction. And when one understands the totality of a problem, one is better placed to actively fix it.
“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” ~ Albert Einstein
The Matrix of Four, The Duality of Polarity assists our understanding by providing a cross-reference system through which to examine the totality of a subject or object, even extremely complex ones, even those ingrained deep into our consciousness. Ideas can be completely explored through the four ever-present philosophical alternatives: the thesis (is it so?), antithesis (is it not so?), synthesis (is it both?) and nullisis (is it neither?). The fourth, commonly ignored ‘nullisis’ part of this thought-set represents the expanded and unlimited alternative.
Prejudice stems from the ongoing problem that has long plagued humanity, the problem from which all woes and wars originate; an undeveloped or lost consciousness, or as the Hopi would say, living with two-hearts. An individual with an undeveloped consciousness can be easily steered, manipulated by shadows and convinced that prejudiced, separatist thinking is somehow “right”, and even “righteous”. Yet at its core, prejudiced thinking stems from undeveloped consciousness, or worse un-consciousness.
It is in our human nature to question reality, to pose observation and ideas. But prejudice and pre-judgement are the antithesis of questioning and enquiry. Prejudice relies on pre-formed beliefs and assumptions to inform a situation, in place of genuine assessment, and fails to recognize that each human being is an individual. Prejudgment is not in our curious and intellectual nature. Prejudgment places an unreasonable level of certainty on factors that are actually ‘unknowns’, and such certainty is either the epitome of ignorance or the beginning of madness… or both.
No one is born prejudiced against one race, or religious group, or gender for that matter. The either/or mentality of separation is heavily reinforced in our partisan society. As infants we know no racial, ethnic, or religious boundaries. We learn such prejudice through tribal inheritance – we adopt the shared cultural bias of our community, both consciously and unconsciously. This mentality may be primordially rooted in disdain for wrongdoers of the tribal collective, nonetheless it is socially nurtured, conjuring suspicion of ‘outsiders’ who are perceived as a constant threat.
We lose our humanity in prejudice and prejudgment, for one must not only lose compassion for their brothers, but also lose (or give up) the ability to question reality in its complexity, independently toward truth. For prejudice to exist, one must adopt unquestioning acceptance of a racially-based absolutist thesis, giving no consideration that an antithesis, synthesis or nullisis may even exist.
Those who defend concepts of limited thinking may suggest that humans are born with an innate capacity to pre-judge. And to an extent, such a response may be part of our unconscious lower thinking. But by pre-judging people and situations in our lives, we fail to truly assess the situation in its full, complicated reality – and fail to realize our potential.
We tend to think in polarity, so the 'us and them' mentality of prejudice is easily instituted. While humanity is adapting to its new emerging consciousness, the mind is easily fooled by persuasive yet limited thinking – as is clearly evident in the continuing politics of institutional war. But prejudiced thinking is not a natural inclination… unless one considers lost consciousness a natural state. Prejudiced thinking comes from detachment from the moment, from lost consciousness, from becoming two-hearted.
Judgment based on the physical exterior reflects an inability or unwillingness to question, learn, and experience each situation or person individually, as they are. The specifics of prejudice vary wildly, however through The Matrix of Four we can perceive four cardinal forms of prejudice amidst the many particular directions which it may be aimed, all flawed preconceptions.
The four main categories of human prejudice are racial, religious, institutional/national and cultural/historical. Often prejudice is simply based on the color of one’s skin, or other inherited features, but sometimes it is much more nuanced and complicated than that, particularly where a history of conflict exists. And while human prejudice is typically based on these four distinctions, the specifics of each are near limitless. By observing the particulars of, racial, religious, national and cultural prejudices it all can be dissected and understood.
In considering The Duality of Polarity of prejudice, there is one obvious and common polarity, and there is a second pair of opposites that is less obvious and seldom considered. Essentially, prejudice results in acting for or against others because of perceived differences or similarities.
The most common type of prejudice is to judge and act against others because they are different.
The equally common type of prejudice, the contrast of the first type, is to judge and act for others because they are similar.
A less common and often overlooked type of prejudice is acting for others because they are different.
And the last and equally uncommon part is acting against others because they are similar.
“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.” ~ Francois Fenelon
One of the grandest challenges on earth today is overcoming prejudiced, limited, and institutionally-corrupted thinking. The ‘us and them’ mentality we encounter in others is often unconscious and it can be a challenge for many to even realize such thinking, much less change it.
When a problem is understood, it begins to unravel. Such is the case with confronting the root cause of prejudice – the loss of consciousness and connection. By extrapolating and dissecting any situation by applying The Matrix of Four you have the tool to rationally confront prejudice where it manifests — the mind — in ourselves as well as others.
“When the Earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come onto the Earth of many colors, creeds and classes, and by their actions and deeds shall make the Earth green again. They shall be known as the warriors of the rainbow.” ~ Hopi Prophecy
Recognition of our differences in appearance is natural. Our uniqueness and distinct beauty is there to be seen. How we choose to perceive those physical difference is up to us. The Hopi conceived four different colors of people, represented by the four different colors of corn – red, yellow, purple, and white – yet they imagined people united as equal brothers, as one quad-colored corncob.
Prejudice is the deceit lazy mind, and shows its ignorance in a scientifically verifiable way, for only the human eye sees colors as humans do. Certainly, only the human mind draws conclusions of value based upon the color of another member of its species as well. Such prejudice belies our natural relationship with each other, the unity of humanity. As we come to terms with our true nature, as part of the same conscious whole, we must understand now more than ever that, no matter our hue, no matter our eye color, our religious beliefs, our nationality or our history, we are more alike than we are different.
“Polarity, or action and reaction, we meet in every part of nature; in darkness and light, in heat and cold, in the ebb and flow of waters, in male and female, in the inspiration and expiration of plants and animals; in the equation of quantity and quality in the fluids of the animal body; in the systole and diasystole of the human heart; in the centrifugal and centripetal gravity; in electricity, galvanism and chemical affinity.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Extracted from The Matrix of Four