DISTINCTIONS DUE TO EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

"It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents." (Eric Hoffer)

Depending on the different needs of life we encounter, that create adequate mental notions and emotions in us, there is a corresponding activation of different hormones which set in motion the abilities adequate to the response to these needs. Our mental condition, which is a result of certain stressful circumstances, causes adequate hormonal reactions. For instance, awareness of the danger instantly increases the level of certain hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) which enable us to stand up to the source of danger more effectively (characteristic of male gender) or to flee from it (characteristic of female gender). An exception circumstance will activate the responses we are not normally prone to in normal circumstances. A male rat is naturally disinterested in his young, but if he notices that they are without their mother, a strong parental instinct is activated in him, and he takes over the responsibility of custody over them instead of their mother. A multitude of examples in the entire living world reveals the mechanism of locking and unlocking genes which activate or suspend the abilities adequate to the concrete needs of life. The mental notion about these needs and emotions adequate to reality are the key factors of activation of those psychophysical abilities needed for fulfillment of these needs. Nevertheless, instead of responding to life’s needs with our abilities, we have a natural inclination to use our abilities to respond to the unquenchable requirements of our huge Ego, which makes our hormonal activity inadequate to the actual needs of life, but rather the irrational urges of our inner discontent and the self-destructive mechanisms of our guilty conscience as well.

DESTRUCTIVE REACTION OF MOTIVATION TO THE STRESSFUL CIRCUMSTANCES

If we were by nature incorrupt, various life circumstances would develop in us abilities which would contribute to our successful existence from early childhood onwards. Any kind of stress would naturally shape us. Unpleasant emotions would arouse meekness and humility in a child, and the pleasant ones – gratitude. Even as children we would demonstrate evolutionary progress in development as opposed to other living beings. However, it seems that nature did not enable us to purposefully respond to stress in life; unpleasant emotions make children prone to depression, whereas pleasant emotions make them pampered, egocentric and selfish.

Human organism is, while still in the prenatal stage of development, particularly affected by the psychophysical condition of the mother. Her inadequate nutrition or immature reaction to stress might leave permanent consequences on the development of her child. Intense and long-term mental stress at the early age of a child may also have a negative influence on the psycho-physiology of the child’s development.

External influences can be divided on the basis of whether they have affected a person at the time of their development – when they were not responsible for their reactions and therefore incapable of resisting their negative effect, and the time of their maturity – when they are responsible for their actions and capable of responding to any external influence in a mature way, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. During the development stage negative external influences naturally degrade a person, but, with the maturity of their will, they may shape them or degrade them even further, depending upon their own choice.

One of the external influences is an attempt to affect a child through disciplining, and later a grown adult through repressive measures of civil law by means of certain cultural values.

Nevertheless, no matter how deep the cultural values are rooted, they alone will not be able to change one’s essential motives. For instance, if three people were disciplined and taught to cherish the same cultural values under the same external influence, or to be more precise, if they were taught that they should stand up and let an older person sit down in a bus, they will probably do so. A superficial psychologist or sociologist, absorbed with the modern age ideology – which states that the circumstances are to blame and are decisive in all affairs - would find in this case a "proof" that external factors are decisive over genetic inheritance and represent the way to achieve love and peace between people. Yet, a thorough analysis would reveal that one person let the older one sit down out of their own vanity (pride), the other out of their selfish sentiment, and the third out of guilt. The social factor succeeded in creating a certain behavior, but the essential motives which depend on their genetic inheritance remained unchanged. A superficial psychologist or sociologist will say that the motives are of no importance and that the goal was achieved, the goal being – a noble behavior. However, a thorough analysis would also show that, no matter how sublime these cultural values are declaratively, they will be of no use in the actual stressful situations. The person who out of vanity adopted the cultural value of polite and tolerant behavior towards the people belonging to a different race, nation, religion or political orientation can act in complete accordance with the adopted values for a long period of time. But, as soon as real tests of life arrive, at the time of stress where their Ego gets wounded, they will naturally get vainly offended and expose their hatred and therefore openly breach their culturally adopted declarative values. The person who adopted the cultural values out of guilt will tend to transgress the values in a stressful situation under the influence of suspicion and fear from external and internal enemies. The person who was moved to fulfill their cultural values by a selfish sentiment will show a cowardly tendency to renounce the values in case their selfish motives are endangered.

Instead of reforming our motives and thus proving ourselves mature enough to stand up to life’s temptations, we tend to seek protection from the state in order to keep us away from the temptations which would unveil the false nature of our cultural values. Such a transfer of responsibility from ourselves to the state, forms a totalitarian state which, using political and ideological means, creates false peace and security among its populace. Led by the same principles, the forces of the New World Order are attempting to establish peace among people on the global level.

As we can see, external factors act solely from the outside. Neither imposing of cultural values nor a firm role of the state can compensate for the sphere of our personal responsibility, our voluntary and honest repentance for the motives which overpowered our will.

MATURITY

Unlike the period of our development, in the period of our maturity negative external influences cannot be used an excuse for our inadequate reaction, because we are endowed with abilities to govern ourselves and the world around us in accordance with our common sense, conscience and free will. Those who have come of age are considered responsible for their actions and therefore answerable for their incorrect behavior before the court, whereas children and the mentally ill are not held responsible. The destructive motives which overpowered us during our early development can change their quality at the time of our maturity and go in a desired direction, based upon our willingness to do so.

Depending on our choice, one and the same stressful situation at the time of our maturity may bring out entirely different motives in ourselves. The stress that causes pleasant sensual experiences, elevated mental notions and pleasant emotions can arouse either love and gratitude, or ingratitude, sensuality, pride and selfishness. The stress which causes negative experiences can bring out good motives in us (courage, decisiveness, meekness, humility and due care), or destructive motives (cowardice, hatred and anxiety), which also depends upon our own choice. The meaning of positive or negative influence of external circumstances on our spirit is in our hands.

ENLIGHTENING INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Yet, although the external factors cannot compensate the significance of our free will, they can help our positive choice become easier and freer. Correct parental upbringing will not tend to free a child of the responsibility for its behavior (which is a philosophy of a modern age), or to manipulate its natural weaknesses: pride, guilt and selfishness, just to make it obey parents' values or the cultural values of the society they live in. Through the correct upbringing, a child will be led to conquer its weaknesses (pride, selfishness, sensuality, etc.) from an early childhood by fulfilling the responsibilities a parent assigns to it according to its abilities. According to the famous pedagogist Dr Benjamin Spock, such kind of upbringing begins very early:

"A baby of 9 months shouldn't be allowed to get the impression that it's all right to pull his mother's hair or bite her cheek but that he owes her respect. Between 1 and 2 years he shouldn't be allowed deliberately to break his own possessions nor to make a deliberate mess with them. By 2 he can be expected to go through the motions of helping his mother pick up his play-things. By 3 he should have such small chores as helping to set the table or empty the wastebaskets, even though they don't save his mother much work. By 7 or 8 he should be carrying out genuinely useful jobs each day. In family conversations children should hear their parents' concern about problems of the community, the nation, the world. They should see that their parents are contributing directly to the solutions - by participating in the work of churches and welfare committees, for instance, belong to concerned groups, making sizable contributions of money. In school children should be studying not only the great accomplishments of their nation but its deficiencies and mistakes ... I think that more of our children would grow up happier and more stable if they were acquiring a conviction, all through childhood, that the most important and the most fulfilling thing that human beings can do is to serve humanity in some fashion and live by their ideals." (Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care, pg 12, 18-19)

If a child was not bred properly in the early stages of their development, subsequent disciplinary measures might incite the wrong use of will in the child, so they will tend to suppress their weaknesses only in terms of their demonstration, instead of genuinely rejecting them. This can be recognized by a child’s reaction who, after receiving disciplinary advice or reprimand, does not feel relieved and joyful but depressed and downhearted. A proper role of female parent – the mother, will develop in a child a character of cautiousness, compassion and meekness, but without a sentimental weakness, whereas a proper role of male parent – the father, will develop in them a character of courage and righteousness, but without crudeness and cruelty. Such a child will let an older person sit down in a bus because they have decided to love and respect people, not because their pride, guilt or sentiment forced them to do so. Even a subsequent enlightening awakening of awareness of a grown adult’s personal responsibility for their motives and actions will give them greater liberty to substantially change themselves more easily, and rise up above the negative influences which have affected them up to that moment, whether from the outside, or from their own self.

When due to immature reactions to everyday temptations our inner discontent overpowers us, a perversion of our different human abilities also occurs. These abilities then cease to be an instrument of human existence and become an instrument of suffocation of our inner discontent, which results in neglect and endangerment of our existence. Also, the inner discontent can make us displeased with our place under the sun which is provided by our real sexual, age-dependent, adaptive and specific abilities we were endowed with by nature, and to seek satisfaction in activation of those abilities and characteristics which are not our primary ones, and which are only a passing phase in the development of our personality.

There are psychophysiological differences between masculine and feminine sex which perfectly correspond to the union between both sexes in their formation of family, living and raising children, as well corresponding to its general social role. However, inner discontent of spirit makes members of both sexes abuse the abilities they have at their disposal. As emotions are more important to a woman than to a man because of her role in the family, she becomes more selfish than a man through emotional abuse. A man, due to his role in society, cares more about the mental notions about global significance and value of his work, so he tends to become more proud than a woman does. For the selfishness, a woman cares more than a man, while a man is more easily insulted due to his pride. Unlike women, who depend on men in a certain degree, men seem to be more independent, so women’s dependence can turn into their authoritarian need to let someone else think and decide for them, whereas men’s independence can turn into an irrational one, being an end in itself – arrogance. A woman is by nature more empathic than a man, which in her case can be perverted into sentimental weakness and narrow-minded interest solely in people she is close to. Men are focused on the issues of global social significance, which can be perverted into evasion of actual life’s responsibilities and into impractical philosophizing on political and other issues of generic significance. Women are naturally more easily scared than men are, because they do not possess the ability for a physical encounter with the enemy of the family, which can pervert this adaptive characteristic into cowardice, suspicion and burden with guilt. Men are by nature more righteous than women, which can be turned into pride and cruelty. Men also have a natural responsibility to be a source of security and physical protection for their wife and family due to their power and influence, which can turn into desire for power, and inclination towards violence and aggressiveness. That is why criminal activities are far more frequent among men than among women.

One of the classifications of astrological signs was made upon the basis of the extent of “masculine” or “feminine” characteristics of a sign. As such a classification best depicts the origin of the characteristics of different signs, we will hold to these classifications in our psychological and anthropological analyses.

Zodiac signs with expressive masculine attributes are Libra, Sagittarius, Aries and Leo. In them, we can notice a certain perversion of various masculine attributes which would otherwise have a useful function, while under the influence of spiritual discontent they become destructive.

A masculine ability of abstract thinking, which is characterized by the capability to re-evaluate the value and general significance of their own behavior, perverts into vain occupation with the mental notions about their imagined worth and grandeur in all the masculine signs, which in its “purest” form can be found within the psychological type of Libra. Man’s self-sufficiency and independence transform into arrogance in the psychological type of Sagittarius. Within the same type, the gift of hunting transforms into adventurousness. Man’s authority, dignity and righteousness pervert into arrogance and short temper in the psychological type of Aries. In the psychological type of Leo, man’s influence and power which were meant for management of social relationships (leader’s gift), as well as for the satisfaction of needs and protection of his own family, transform into desire for power and predisposition towards violence.

Some astrologers include Gemini into the masculine signs, while others consider Gemini neutral. Actually, Gemini represents a very moderate combination of various masculine and feminine traits. Emphasized feminine communicativeness and talkativeness, whose purpose is to teach children how to speak, in this sign (as well as in Sagittarius) turn into a tendency to babble in order to alleviate mental tension. Woman’s devotion to her children and family transforms into egoistic narcissism that is careless of other people’s needs and in combination with masculine reasonableness transforms into exploitation.

Zodiac signs with the expressive feminine attributes are Cancer, Pisces and Virgo. These signs also illustrate a perversion of natural feminine characteristics under the influence of spiritual discontent.

A feminine ability of experiencing reality emotionally, with has the purpose of recognizing the needs of people with whom a woman is in a close and direct contact, perverts into a selfish sentimentality in all feminine signs, especially in the psychological type of Cancer. Woman’s need for stability provided by a man is turned into a need for an authority that will think and make decisions for her, which is also characteristic of Cancer, Pisces and Virgo. In the psychological type of Cancer, strong maternal feelings turn into a selfish slavish bondage to children. Adaptive capacity to cold climate – gatherer’s gift, perverts into an emphasized possessiveness towards things and beings both in Cancer and in Virgo. Virgo has a reduced level of hormones, so is emotionally cold (lower level of female hormones), with no tendency towards philosophizing over the higher meaning of their own actions (lower level of male hormones). Virgos abuse the adaptive need for making supplies, which makes them quite stingy. The psychological type of Pisces is similar to the Cancer type, but without the attributes of adaption to the cold climate – gatherer’s instinct to make supplies, and also without the strong maternal instinct, but they have highly developed imagination, that is, their right part of the brain (the centre of artistic tendencies) plays a more significant role, which makes them similar to Sagittarius. Disposition for empathy in the psychological type of Pisces is turned into sentimental weakness and works as the defense mechanism of self-pity, due to which this type represents itself as miserable and thus denies the responsibility for their actions. Astrologers classify Scorpio into the feminine signs, even though it shows specific masculine and feminine sexual characteristics in both sexes, and their psyche is characterized by strong sensuality. Excessive male hormone testosterone makes a person more courageous, which can be perverted into reckless and fanatic bravery of those anthropological signs which have excessive male hormones, while a lower level of male hormones naturally makes a person more easily scared, which can also be perverted into cowardice and suspicion.

AGE DIFFERENCES

People show different kind and level of their psychophysical abilities depending on their stage of life. During the early stage of childhood, child’s abilities are focused on its basic existential needs - taking food and relieving itself. Satisfaction or lack of satisfaction of these needs causes corresponding pleasant or unpleasant sensations, mental notions on security or insecurity and appropriate pleasant or unpleasant feelings. In this way, a child becomes aware of its need and can then attract the parents’ attention in order to make them satisfy its need.

However, same as adults, a child can come into temptation to let itself be controlled by inner discontent (called “libido” by some psychologists), which will in this case “feed” on child’s pleasant or unpleasant experiences. Discontent perverts the function of child’s sensational, mental and emotional experiences and makes it respond to pleasant life experiences with selfishness (by recognizing the source of satisfaction which suffocates the inner discontent), and to the unpleasant ones with destructiveness (by recognizing the reason for “mental release" through destructive manifestation of its inner discontent).

Without influence of inner discontent a child would have a feeling of insecurity as long as it experiences an objective stress which causes a corresponding feeling of insecurity. By satisfying its need for security, its feeling of insecurity would be replaced with appropriate feeling of security. Nevertheless, if the feeling of insecurity was a temptation for a child to become overpowered by inner discontent, parents could get confused when they notice that their child is still discontent and depressive, in spite of the fact that its real needs have been satisfied. Discontent that overpowers a child during its early childhood can last for its whole life. In such a case, its need stays unquenchable in spite of being completely objectively and emotionally satisfied. Inner discontent sets back child’s spiritual development due to the child attaching to the source of experiences that are the response not to the actual need of life, but to the irrational motives of its “libido”. Such attachment psychologists refer to as a concept of fixation:

"Spiritual development of a child happens gradually through separate stages. At every new, more advanced and, conditionally speaking, more mature period, the obstructions and strongholds from the previous stage more or less remain and are strengthened (fixated). The extent of the delay and fixation of the development on this level depends on the biological attributes, but also on child’s experiences in the interaction with its surroundings. Under the pressure of bad experiences and deep frustrations, child faces an intense fear and anxiety and it "hesitates" to expose itself to new, painful and frustrating experiences. It feels more secure in the already taken position, “the ambush”. As if it does not want to "go any further", to "grow" and "develop", because these new experiences in relationships could be unbearably painful. At that point real attachments and fixations of instinctive energy in certain developmental stages begin " (Nevenka Tadić, Psychiatry in Childhood and Adolescence, pg 69).

Strengthening (fixation) becomes greater as a child is getting more frustrated in its aspirations and needs, but also in case it is being overindulged:

"Over satisfactions and frustrations make the strengthening easier because a child, due to its excessive susceptibility, is not prepared to endure even relatively mild frustrations." (Ibid, pg 70)

There are different stages of personality development whose purpose is to prepare us for to turn from ourselves and toward other people and to ensure our mature functioning in marriage, family and society. Nevertheless, all those developmental stages can become an object of our abuse, certain fixations and their extension to the rest of our life, and thus disable the onset of our maturity. Based on the activities “libido” is focused on, psychologists made a classification of different stages of child development. Oral stage begins on birth and approximately lasts to the second year of life, anal stage – from the second to the third year, early genital stage – from the third to the fifth year, and the stage of stagnancy, when they learn how to control the intellectual activities – lasts from the fifth to the eighth year.

“Temporally observed, sexual formation of an individual consists of several periods: in the first, an individual deals with their own personality as an object of their own eroticism (autoerotic period), then gets interested in another person later on (aloerotic period), at first of the same sex (homoerotic period), and then of the opposite sex (heteroerotic period).” (Dr Aleksandar Kostić, Sexual Knowing – III, pg 80)

At first, the unconquered focus on their own self, and then the focus on another person but of the same sex, can also become the source of one’s inner discontent, and therefore the cause of stagnation of that person’s psychophysical development and perverted function of their sexuality, so they will be prone to masturbation and homosexuality. It is therefore very dangerous to arouse sexual interest with the youth as a source of their satisfaction before the completed psychophysical maturity, before their mature readiness to live for another person of the opposite sex.

In puberty we have a natural need for being self-sufficient, independent from parental authority and responsible for our own actions, which, in case of immaturity, can turn into perversion of pride and rebellion towards authority of any kind.

Intense sensuality during puberty represents one’s temptation to seek satisfaction in sensual pleasure (food and sexuality). If the inner discontent directed towards indulgence in food (voracity) is not beaten, it will force us to take excessive quantities of food even when our sudden physical development is completed and we no longer require these quantities of food. In simple words – healthy sensuality and a healthy need for being independent can be perverted into hedonism and rebellious heroism. Unless we beat the temptation of his inner discontent, we will clutch to different sources of satisfaction as “a drowning man will clutch at a straw”, which will lead us into actions inappropriate for the actual needs of our lives, and the lives of other people around us. Puberty is the period of intensive development of personality, thus any immature activation and prolonging of abilities that are not responses to life’s actual needs lead to disorders in human development, which consequences may last throughout one’s lifetime.

Seeking satisfaction in sensual experiences may lead to neglect and deterioration of both female and male types of intelligence, as well as hindrance of the final onset of a maturity. Unbeaten inner discontent that is directed at us seeking and conquering a spouse may delay the conclusion of the search for a spouse even after the start of our marital relationship, and thus make us promiscuous. Unbeaten sensuality is often a cause of family break-ups and the break-up of the very civilization which promotes hedonism.

“The ultimate goal of sexual education in the nubilite* period – and one of the most important – is to acquire and support intention and will to start a marriage and family, and to aid the development of responsibility. At the same time it implies suppression of anti-marital mood, which is most often a consequence of the desire to lead a lewd, egotistic life, free of any commitment and feeling towards the other. To suppress submission to personal comfort and pleasures, to suppress the interests of own personality before the duties towards the other, to come to the belief that the highest personal happiness is reached in marriage as a good spouse and parent, which means that only in a fruitful marriage one can find a true meaning of life, and be aware that we are not here in this world for ourselves, but for our offspring and the future of humankind – here are the main directive lines of the education in the nubilite period." (Dr Aleksandar Kostić, Sexual Knowing – III, pg 101-102)

While at the beginning of puberty the male hormone of testosterone particularly accentuated sexual interests and abilities, about the age of thirty, the same hormone no longer activates heightened sexual interests, as much as it activates interests and abilities for matters of general social significance.

While the perversion of sexual interest previously turned into sexual preoccupation, the interest in general social issues now perverts into over sensitive male pride, tendency towards being easily insulted, rough and aggressive. Namely, in mature age there is a maximum expression of the characteristic of male gender in their need to make everything they do valuable and significant, so if the notion of their value is perverted into a need which is the end in itself, it makes us proud and therefore sensitive, aggressive and prone to taking offense.

The level of hormones is reduced in later years, life functions and abilities wane, so if we have not beaten our sensual, proud and selfish desires, we lose the means for their satisfaction. The very discontent, if not confronted, still remains. Since the experience of a pleasure becomes weaker than guilt, the feeling of guilt prevails and the unbeaten desires are suppressed to sub-consciousness. This leads to formation of personality prone to authoritarianism, false moralizing, strictness and hypocritical condemnation of younger people, who are able to meet their desires.

Discontent of spirit cannot be erased by any change of hormonal activity. It can be eliminated neither by lack of passion, whether natural one that comes with the old age, or the artificial one, through the use of tranquilizers or meditation techniques, but only through our true repentance for the discontent of our spirit, which perverts our abilities into sinful and self-righteous behavioral motives.

DIVISION OF ZODIAC SIGNS BASED ON AGE

Maturity of our personality is often disrupted by our tendency, out of our own immature satisfaction, to prolong the locking of those abilities which we no longer need for existence, even when the life needs present us with other priorities that require activation of some other abilities. Astrologers claim that Scorpio is characterized by intense sensuality, accentuated sexual attributes, pimples and strong body scent, all of them being characteristics of puberty. Their temptation is to prolong the puberty elements for the rest of their lives due to the abuse of sensuality. A variation of Scorpio also prolongs the rebellious character, which is also a temptation of puberty. The psychological type of Virgo corresponds to older persons who have a reduced level of hormones, which may represent a temptation for false moralizing.

Human race distinctions resulting from their adaptation to different climate extremes can also lose their proper function under the influence of man’s inner discontent. As the Yellow race has the adaptive tendency towards making food supplies for the times of scarcity and frost, it may become an object of one’s satisfaction, which in this case is manifested as stinginess, possessiveness and a need to collect unnecessary things. Perhaps hence the need for some people to take interest in philately, numismatics, collection of serviettes, badges, stickers, etc. Since racial differences are somewhat followed by different levels of male and female hormones, we can recognize certain abused male and female attributes in the entire populations. In the races characterized by excessive male hormones we can observe a tendency towards violence, vanity, arrogance, pride and power in both sexes, whereas the races with excessive female hormones tend to show selfishness and authoritarian dependence on political and ideological authorities, which can also be observed in both sexes. The races with a reduced level of hormonal activity are emotionally cold, strict, formal and hypocritical, which are the traits of some people in later stages of life, and the races with excessive male and female hormones seek intense sensual pleasures, typical of the period of puberty.

The graph (on the right) shows the different crime rate based on racial origin. Yellow race has the lowest crime rate, which is in accordance with the anthropological findings that Yellow race has a lower level of male hormones and therefore more developed female attributes than all the other races:

"The Yellow race - in general - is more eurosomatic and “feminine” than the Black race.” (Božo Škerlj, General anthropology, pg 89)

"In the U.S., Blacks are less than 13% of the population but have 50% of all arrests for assault and murder and 67% of all arrests for robbery. Fifty percent of all crime victims also report their assailants are Black, so the arrest statistics cannot be due to police bias. Blacks make up a large share of those arrested for white-collar crimes. About 33% of persons arrested for fraud, forgery, counterfeiting, and receiving stolen property, and about 25% of those arrested for embezzlement are Black. Blacks are under-represented only in offenses, such as tax fraud and securities violations, that are committed by individuals in high status occupations. On the other hand, Orientals are under-represented in U.S. crime statistics. This has led some to argue that the Asian “ghetto” has protected members from harmful outside influences. For Blacks, however, the ghetto is said to foster crime, so purely cultural explanations are not enough. Female homicides tell the same story. In one study of female arrests, 75% were Black women. Only 13% were White women. No Asian women were arrested. The cultural explanation for the crime rate of Black men does not apply to Black women, who are not expected to engage in criminal behavior to the same extent. There is no “gangster” image among Black females. The same pattern is found in other countries. In London, England, Blacks make up 13% of the population, but account for 50% of the crime rate. A 1996 government commission in Ontario, Canada, reported that Blacks were five times more likely go to jail than Whites, and 10 times more likely than Orientals. In Brazil, there are 1.5 million Orientals, mostly Japanese whose ancestors went there as laborers in the 19th century, and who are the least represented in crime." (J. Philippe Rushton, Race, Evolution and Behavior, pg 31)