What It Means to Be Human

Illumination

The Dyadic orientation concurs with the symbolic interactionists who observe that humans are participatory symbol-generators.  Sensations go in, symbolic interactions go out.  A human symbolizes everything in their environment, which is to say that they imbue every item or collection of items in their perceptual field with some kind of meaning in relation to themselves, to other things, and even to the universe as a whole.  The human similarly ascribes meaning to themselves and their subjective experiences, and to what they imagine are the subjective experiences of other presumed symbol-generators.  Symbol-generation is the defining characteristic of human beings, the thing that every human automatically and inevitably does.  Humans possess an unprecedented capacity for recursive symbolic participation.

This quality of human beings means each of them constantly feels as though they participate in a web of meaning that starts from unfathomable depths within them and extends through their central nervous system, their body, and their immediate perceptual field, out into the vast Cosmos, and ultimately into a veritable infinity of other worlds.

This foundational, meaningful connectedness creates a suite of related experiences.

-Culture

Every human, by necessity, belongs to one or more relatively small,  local groups -- tribes, antropologically speaking -- that have each  condensed around some set of factors -- values, beliefs,  objectives,  etc. -- meaning the tribes are also cultures.  A culture may be more or less adaptive, more or less functional, more or less robust, more or less coherent.  Whatever the case, the individuals make the culture as the culture simultaneously makes the individual -- they give rise to and reinforce one another, with primacy afforded to neither.

Openness, even vulnerability, is an unchangeable element of human nature.  Trust is not optional if a human or group of humans hopes to be adaptive, functional, and robust.

-Spirit

Human beings routinely experience meaningful connection in ways that appear to transcend ordinary individuality. Different cultures interpret and formalize these experiences in different ways, yet remarkably similar themes appear throughout human history.

From a Dyadic perspective, spirituality emerges from humanity's capacity to participate meaningfully in realities larger than the immediately perceived self. Whether these realities are understood as symbolic, psychological, social, spiritual, metaphysical, or divine remains a matter of interpretation. The experiences themselves, however, appear nearly universal.

Meaningful connection generates several recurring classes of human experience.

--Consciousness Everywhere

Meaningful connection often inspires a sense of kinship with all things. Mountains, rivers, animals, forests, stars, communities, nations, and even ideas may come to feel alive with significance and presence. Some individuals understand this experience symbolically, while others regard it as evidence that consciousness or spirit permeates reality itself. Animistic traditions represent one of humanity's oldest and most widespread expressions of this experience.

--Worlds Beyond the Immediate World

Meaningful connection also expands the human capacity for imagination. Humans routinely participate in worlds beyond immediate perception: remembered pasts, anticipated futures, dreams, myths, stories, ideals, possibilities, and imagined realities. Some interpret these worlds as creations of mind, while others regard them as genuine domains of existence beyond ordinary perception. Shamanic traditions and visionary practices frequently emerge from such experiences.

--Many Selves Within the Self

Meaningful connection often reveals the complexity of human consciousness itself. People encounter remembered versions of themselves, imagined future selves, social roles, internal dialogues, loved ones who are absent, characters from stories, symbolic figures, and other persistent presences within conscious experience. Some interpret these phenomena psychologically, while others understand them as encounters with independent spiritual beings, ancestors, guides, or alternate identities. Throughout history, traditions involving possession, shape-shifting, spirit journeys, and similar experiences have emerged from this dimension of human life.

--Insight, Inspiration, and Sacred Gifts

Meaningful connection is also capable of producing profound insight into other people and the wider Cosmos. Humans regularly experience intuition, creativity, wisdom, humor, compassion, artistic inspiration, discovery, learning, encouragement, and moments of extraordinary understanding. Some regard these experiences as natural expressions of human potential, while others experience them as gifts from sources beyond themselves. Across cultures, such capacities are frequently regarded as sacred and are often associated with teachers, healers, artists, prophets, sages, and spiritual leaders.

The Dyadic orientation does not require any particular interpretation of these experiences. Rather, it recognizes that human beings repeatedly encounter them and build cultures, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and narratives around them. Whether one regards these experiences as symbolic, spiritual, psychological, metaphysical, or some combination thereof, they remain among the most profound and enduring aspects of human life.

-Shadow

Intentional, consistent, meaningful connection results from the work of the symbolizer, which, figuratively, releases along with its products a significant amount of light and heat.  In its most intensely generated form, this is experienced by the human as profound coherence.  It might be described as psychological flow, physiological ecstasy, spiritual serenity, delightful irony, or holistic bliss, to name a few.

But light is variable.  It is reflected, refracted, and absorbed.  Its intensity waxes and wanes.  And every so often, in the spaces around where the flames glow, the shadows emerge.  And the human has no option but to contend with concerns over isolation, impermanence, ignorance, and irrelevance.  These, by necessity, accompany an existence where the deeply private and personal give rise to the communal as the communal simultaneously gives rise to the personal.

There is purpose and beauty in disappointment, suffering, despair, and grief just as their is in satisfaction, contentment, joy, and peace.  It is all meaningful, and critically important in experiencing a full human life.

-Story

All of the above points to the reality that narratives become the substance of human life.  Stories create, sustain, enrich, empower, heal, and bond us.  We must create and share them with care.

The better we do, the longer our species' story will continue.

Conclusion

Human experience is the continual transformation of participation into meaning. Through shared symbolization, humans create culture, spirituality, identity, story, and meaning itself. Their greatest strengths and deepest sufferings arise from this same sublime capacity.