Unleashing the Next Level Human Within
Discover the Philosophy and Purpose Behind Becoming a Next Level Human
Why should we want to be a Next Level Human anyway? What does that really mean, and why is it important to move from base-level and culture-level ways of being to next-level human behavior?
This is an important question. To help answer it, I want to share the philosophical underpinnings of the three types of humans and why striving to be Next Level is not just a path to our own personal fulfillment, but also the only way to enhance, expand, and evolve the human collective as well.
Let’s start with a few simple questions. What makes humans different? What sets us apart from all other animals? Why are we here on this planet to begin with? And what purpose, if any, do we serve? Is our existence mere random chance, or is there some kind of organized intelligence at work? These, and questions just like them, have been asked in philosophical inquiries since antiquity.
The most important question, in my opinion—the one that could provide clues to all those speculations—is the first one. What makes humans different?
Some have said it’s because we are aware of our own existence; we are conscious. But is being aware of one’s existence really unique to humans? Are animals not aware of their existence? Do they not navigate the world as individuals and strive for survival too? Is that striving not centered around some kind of understanding, no matter how instinctual, of their independent existence?
Others have said it is our ability to reason that sets us apart. We are great thinkers, the argument goes. But put a monkey, bird, or rat in a laboratory setting and then force them to think through an elaborate set of obstacles in order to procure food. Or an example closer to home, try to keep a squirrel out of your bird feeder by booby-trapping it, protecting it, isolating it, or hanging it in the middle of nowhere. Guess what happens? That squirrel inevitably solves the riddle. Watching animals learn, adjust, and adapt will leave you questioning the idea that humans are the only ones who can think.
Animals definitely have intelligence and aptitude. While they may not be as advanced as humans, they can reason.
What about creativity? Surely that is unique to humans? But what about dogs at play, a bird’s nest, a beaver's dam? Aren’t all of these different forms of creative expression?
Maybe it is free will? Humans can choose their own way. But are animals without choice? Are they not free to decide and suffer the rewards or consequences of those decisions? A lion waiting in the grass, stalking its prey is deciding which gazelle is closest, weakest, slowest, or youngest. Then it attacks. That choice has consequences of survival, same as ours.
Maybe it is emotions? Take a baby monkey away from its mother, and you will see the sadness. Watch a cow being led to slaughter, and you will feel anxiety and fear. Animals likely have some of the same emotional survival software as we do.
So what is it then? What makes humans special? Here’s my theory. None of those things just mentioned set humans apart, but rather all of them do, plus more.
Humans display all of those attributes, but importantly, they are able to integrate them. They combine reason, creativity, and free will in a synergistic way. Humans are conscious, rational, and creative. But when these properties are combined, they give rise to much more. We integrate these elements to become aware of reality and aware of possibilities. We can imagine new realities. We can learn from the past, plan for the future, and adjust our behavior as needed in the present.
What sets us apart is the fact that we humans are time travelers. Not in the literal sense. We obviously are not physically transporting ourselves backward or forward in time. I mean this figuratively. We travel through time mentally.
We propel ourselves backward in time, recalling events, ideas, insights, and occurrences. Our past informs and instructs. It provides lessons we can apply in the present moment. Past successes, failures, fears, and hurts are stored in our memory banks. They are then called up instantly, and mostly unconsciously, into the present to inform conscious, rational, and creative decisions.
That’s not all. Humans also teleport forward in time. We envision new realities and opportunities. We see impossibilities and improbabilities and then bend reality to manifest something new. This is where invention comes from. What other animal can think up a thing that has never existed in nature and then will it into existence?
Not only can humans dream up new things for themselves, but they can also do it for others too. We are able to consider how our pursuit of future goals will impact, not just ourselves, but others as well.
And we, more often than not, seem to want to take that into account. Not only do we have the capacity to consider other people, but we can also relate to all living things in this same way. We can be holistic and inclusive in our imaginative creative endeavors.
It’s as if we humans are floating down the universal river in a canoe. We then lean back, draping our arms over the boat's edge. Our arms become saturated with the current. We then use them like rudders to shape our path. When we do this, we know we are not just changing our own direction, but we are altering the trajectory for others as well.
So, we are aware of ourselves, and we are aware of others. We can choose and act for us and them. We can create for ourselves and have the ability, and often the desire, to share with others. We influence the world around us in deliberate ways, considering fellow humans and the world at large.
It’s an integration of the rational, creative, and conscious potentials into something more powerful than any of those elements alone. A synergy that makes humans entirely different than any other living, conscious, rational, or creative animal.
There is even more to being human. We seem driven towards completion. We have a loneliness that permeates us. The need to become more whole, the desire to bring something of ourselves to life and leave something of ourselves in death.
We have a sense of being influenced by something larger than us. As we develop more power and maturity, we want to expand ourselves. We also look to impact others. We want to influence the world at large. We seek to alter the world in some small way only we are capable of. We want to carve “I was here” into the universe.
To imagine a more complete self and to integrate into the greater whole simultaneously, that is what seems to be unique and different about humans. The ability to be aware of self, considerate of others, part of the world, and also separate from it. To be compelled to influence the future in a way that transcends our own existence. We seek to explore our passions, find sources of meaning, and choose a purpose that generates something bigger and more lasting than our own existence and outlasts our lifetime.
Humans want to matter and make a difference beyond themselves. We are “conscious influencers.” Once we understand that, the question is: will our influence be destructive or enhancing? Will we grow, help others be better, and contribute to the positive evolution of the world? Or will we choose the destructive path, negatively impacting others and leaving a degraded world in our wake?
You may say other animals consciously influence. The lead bird in a flock. A mama bear teaching her cub how to survive. A Silverback Gorilla protecting and leading.
But do any of these animals think past the present moment? Can they project themselves into the future and imagine new possibilities for personal growth for themselves? Are they driven to create things to influence the lives of their pack, a neighboring pack, another species? The world at large? And if they did, would they have the right synergy of consciousness, rationality, and creativity to actually make it happen?
Do they have the imagination, the force of will, and the physiological tools to achieve their directives? Can they integrate all of these things in a way that considers self and other? Would they be able to see how everything fits holistically and know that every choice they make means beneficial and negative consequences? Would those animals then consciously push one of these outcomes or not and be able to adjust based on feedback from the world?
I think not. This is the job of humans. Only we are capable of creating or destroying for ourselves and others. Ours is an integrated, holistic, and imaginative consciousness that is driven by an unrelenting force of creative will.
So what do we call this unique multifactorial nature of human? “Imaginative will?” “Integrated consciousness?”. I think we already have the perfect word for it: Purpose.
A single human, in full control of their powers, can change the world for every living inhabitant on earth—not just now, but far into the future—and be fully aware they have done so. When this power is wielded intentionally, it becomes purpose.
The Power of Purpose
Purpose is the deliberate pursuit of a creative outcome for which we are uniquely suited. Consciousness, reason, imagination, choice, and action are the tools we use in that pursuit. The intentional integration of these attributes makes up our human superpower: purpose.
With this force, we humans become god-like. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Just because we have such potential does not mean every human wields it for good. We can choose to be gods and devils, angels and demons, creators or destroyers, lovers or haters. Each individual must decide. And that is sometimes easier said than done.
Because of our integrated consciousness, we are constantly synthesizing and sorting information from inside our minds and outside our bodies. We can influence and be influenced. The ability to find the signal in the noise inside and the message in the mess from outside is the key to powerfully stepping into purpose.
This is where base-level and culture-level instincts must be controlled. The base-level self is influenced by the desires for power and control. It wants safety. It wants to win. It needs to be right. It will choose the destruction of others for the preservation of self and be unaware that destroying that which is a part of you is destroying self.
The culture-level brain wants status and popularity. We are impacted by the wishes and whims of the world around us. Our culture, our historical time period, the environment, and more. Giving in to culture-level cravings is another path to self-destruction.
It is only through the harmonious integration of these two opposing forces, the world inside us and the world outside us, that Purpose can be derived. But how do we navigate this? How can we uniquely fit into the world around us to impact that world in our singular way? We must learn to integrate the base-level and culture-level selves in a way that accentuates our next-level potential.
When base-level power and culture-level popularity are in support of next-level purpose, we become more than influencers, we become inspirational role models for others seeking their purpose.
What makes a Next Level Human different is the urge to grow themselves along with the desire to positively evolve the world and enhance the life of others. This state of being means not only have they mastered their own purpose, but they have transcended self, climbed past ego, escaped groupthink, and found fulfillment.
Me, You, and Ume
There is the world we live inside our own minds, “ME things” (i.e., individual experiences, thoughts, and pursuits). There is also the world outside of ourselves, “YOU things” (other human beings, nature, etc.). Finally, there is the world generated when “ME things” interact with “YOU things” or “YOU/ME things.” I call this third category YOU/ME and give it the name UME because you can think of this as its own entity. If it is easier to conceptualize, you can also think of UME as “US things” or “universal things.”
UME represents the integration of ME (the individual) with YOU (other people and the universal collective). There is what we know we know (ME things), what we know we don’t know (YOU things), and what we don’t know we don’t know (UME things).
It is only by the incorporation of “YOU” and “ME” that new possibilities for being emerge for ourselves, others, and the world. Integration into UME is what constitutes universal knowledge, and with it, we become more powerfully human. It is also the only way to access Purpose.
In the UME state, we are able to dip our arms into the universal collective. There we can access what it has to teach from the past, and from there, we may be able to access what is possible in the future and therefore know exactly how to “be” in the present. This state of “being in the now,” and fully present with our purpose and power is what I mean when I talk about integration. I realize this is sounding a bit woo-woo and new age.
Think of it like this. Imagine a computer writing the code of the universe. Since you are part of the universe, you are contributing to this computer code whether you are conscious of it or not. The trick is to become conscious. To realize your Next Level Self, you need to gain access to that code. You need to understand how to read it so you can more consciously contribute to it.
When you are in the ME state, you are limited. It is analogous to being stuck in base-level, self-absorbed, and self-centered behavior. You are singularly focused only on your existing understanding, and you can’t learn and grow from this close-minded state. You can only access what you already know and therefore can understand little and contribute even less.
When you are in the YOU state, you are looking around for what you may not know. That’s a good start, but you have to be careful not to completely lose yourself. This is a way of conceptualizing the culture-level self where the focus is always on everyone and everything else. If you take the YOU state too far, you are at best copying other’s contributions to the code and again unable to contribute your own lines of code.
The goal is not for ME to dominate YOU or for YOU to complete ME, but for both states to grow each other and enhance their mutual understanding. The UME consciousness represents this magical connection and is the essence of the Next Level way of being. It integrates Self (ME) and Other (YOU) in a way that maintains the integrity of each and generates something wholly authentic from them. It’s like peanut butter mixing with jelly. They are both fine apart, but together they create something that can’t be replicated. The parts are synergistically enhanced in their combination. The UME state gives you access to code you never knew existed and teaches you how to be an expert programmer yourself. This is where the power of manifestation and purpose is born.
You must remain open-minded enough to take in information from others. You must be self-aware enough to know and own your uniqueness. You must be selfish enough to protect yourself and selfless enough to include others. You must be arrogant enough to know how amazingly powerful you are and humble enough to know you are nothing special. You must be able to bend extremes, flow with yin and yang, and blend black and white to gray. You must be an integrator.