“The faith in the future of the human is rooted in an understanding of the direction of history that began with our hominid ancestors.” (Silo, Letter to my friends p.45, 1995)

Caring for others is rooted in human structure
Many don’t realize that Nonviolence comes from ancient times. It was formalized in Ahimsa 2,500 years ago. In this blog we will explore the attitude of “caring for others and look after others”. This “caring for others” attitude was fundamental for the first human community survival.  The “caring for others” is linked to nonviolent gesture and action that has accompanied the step of our ancestors at the beginning of our time.
Nonviolence attitude comes from much further back maybe 100,000 years ago. It’s part of the “mental and psychosocial fabric” of the human species but hasn’t yet been able to take shape. Silo, “Universal Roots Myths” author and founder of the humanist movement, explains that perhaps nonviolence attitude was already lodged in the hominid consciousness very long ago. This nonviolence attitude emerged at the beginning of human being, then vanished more than 10,000 years ago.
Karen Rohn, explored the “attitude” for taking care of others in “The rupture Reflections on a text in a personal letter from Silo”. In that work she explained her interpretation of a letter that Silo wrote to her in 2004. In a short text, Silo, moves within a temporal arc of the last 300,000 years of human process.
Rohn explained how Silo treats these themes and concepts in a distant descriptive perspective with a deeper and intimate connection helping comprehension of these processes. “The unique style of Silo, “simultaneously observing from afar while being within”, helps one “fall down the rabbit-hole”. He establishes historical moments and the determining situational factors which formed the original spiritual, mental and psychosocial human tendency that continues moving within the depths of our personal and collective landscape.
Rohn investigated the letter by searching the meaning of the word “tendency”. The definition of “tendency”, in the classic English dictionaries explained that it’s “to move or be inclined to move in a certain direction”. By using this word Silo is saying that in a particular moment in time within the human its original movement or inclination was born in a defined direction and character.
Rohn exposes others’ definition of the word tendency, which is to “care for or look after, give one’s attention to” and it can be interpreted as a particular attitude. Rohn studies ancient divinity, sacred Mothers and Goddesses in various cultures.  In the work “Energetical Roots of Fundamental Experience South India”, she developed the central qualities of Goddess which are: their unique act of reproducing, birthing, nurturing and protecting life, both human and animal life.
“..the different historical actors from the Neolithic era appeared which also allowed for writing, the domestication of animals and plants and the first urban settlements in the Indus Valley, China, Mesopotamia and Eastern Mediterranean (including the civilizations of Crete, Anatolia, Egypt and North Africa). All of this came to life thanks to the most basic technology of the oven (and of course the conservation and production of fire) and the matriarchal social structure.” (Karen Rohn, Energetical Roots of Fundamental Experience South India)
But then, a rupture happened, little by little myths went changing and the Mothers and Goddess were replaced by Fathers, male gods and the patriarchal society and new life belonged to the lineage of the father.
According to Rohn this has enormous consequences in our evolution as a species, in our aspirations as a species, in our mental and spiritual happiness or suffering. Because it seems like at that moment, human beings have created a “species discrimination” which generated in suffering.
“We have created suffering” at a species level and from there the discrimination hasn’t stopped inventing form. Discrimination against minorities, against religion, against skin color, against poor, against various human and cultural characteristics.
“If evolution depends on the free energy in a species and the health of its environment we are more or less detained in our evolution and things are complicated. All of us are detained, not just the unfavored half, because we all relate and live together. The deep changes that discrimination creates changes all the relations because as a species we are one structure. Can we imagine another species where half of the population is considered as “less,” how would we consider the possibilities of this situation? We have forgotten that the rules of the game are that we are One species, with one tendency, one mold and one direction. Our basic human tendency is that of community, of an innate inclination to make things better, to be caring.” (Karen Rohn, Energetical Roots of Fundamental Experience South India)

These mental and social virtues were part of the sensibility and direction of a collective lifestyle for all members of a tribe or community with its shared experiences, ideals, attitudes and procedures and here our essential tendency was determined, it was not divided has male and female, it was part of a whole, a species called human being.

Our collective situation changed and today we live within a more or less global landscape where the feminine has lost value and is considered as less than the masculine. In the last era, the sacred feminine which was previously undoubted, slowly became denied and eliminated as a presence in our landscape. The rupture in our shared collective tendency weakens and halts the evolution of our species.

Imagine one day if we visit another planet and meet a species that would have denied half of their potential, and denied diversity of human we would probably think “that’s crazy” and would say “this condition is totally unacceptable”. We would probably explain to them that this condition has enormous consequences in their evolution and reduce their future and full potential as a species.

Today if it seems, the only way we can evolve would be together as a species. Together acknowledge our tendency about the “we,” about caring for others and paying attention to others, caring for the environment, caring for our planet. Because if we go on dividing ourselves, dividing nature, dividing countries, dividing families and dividing our life, signs are within us and all around us demonstrating that we are moving down the wrong track.

According to Rohn, to be in contact with the whole potential of our tendency and species needs to live and move on common ground. Silo, refers to this interesting metaphor in “Universal Roots Myths” the human beings, as a whole, as a species, have the equipment to fly very far.

But in these moments of great acceleration and changes what should we do? I believe we can only be guided by what’s right for ourselves and for others, “to take care of others” which is the basic attitude of active nonviolence. But obviously, to do the right thing it’s not enough to change the direction of the events.

What about the direction of the events today?
Everyone realizes that the time of pragmatism is now gone, and look what it has left us with, the reborn of “fascism and intolerance”.  As the situation changes it’s getting much more dangerous and out of control, more incertitude are add is added to this scenario such as climate change and migration crisis, pandemics, wars and massive weapons of destruction on every continent (nuclear weapons) which in few months could easily be in the hands of any “fascist government” or “terrorists groups”. In history we have seen many ideologies have disappeared and didn’t adapt to the environment, and to new circumstances.
It seems like we are entering a zone of strong turbulence, and it may be messy. So how do you prepare for an emergency situation ? You need to jump !
I believe the time to jump and prepare ourselves and our society is now, because when the big crisis will hit, there will be no time to think or to choose our common destiny, in emergency the “dangerous” situation will choose us. When that moment appears people will act rapidly and will choose safety. If we aren’t prepared it will be the perfect opportunity for the raising of an authoritarian and violent worldwide organization.

Social change and Active Nonviolence

I believe we need to prepare ourselves by setting the proper conditions at the level of our species for a change in the human mental and psychosocial structure. This kind of change would be linked to an experience of reconciliation with our species. We still have this tendency from within it’s a “seed dormancy process”. The potential of this tendency can grow rapidly in the world if proper conditions are set in motion.

Because we live in a moment of planetarization, I believe that Active Nonviolence as a strategic methodology based on well-timed action and can produce change in the direction of our life and in society.

Active Nonviolence too timid to generate conditions for social change?

Over the years I participated in Active Nonviolence projects I encountered many people that were saying “but Active Nonviolence is too timid to generate conditions for social change, you are losing your time launching projects on Active Nonviolence and new humanism.”

Then I realize they didn’t make any difference between the timid, who retreat or become paralyzed when faced with any difficulty, and those who take action to surmount the difficulties, knowing that it is precisely by advancing that they will be able to get through the problems.

For several decades I practiced Active Nonviolence. I launched several projects with friends in Canada and friends in Europe. In Montreal we launched a neighborhood newspaper called “Visions Voisins”. The newspaper was published every month by humanist and nonviolent volunteers for more than 10 years.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, we organized several demonstrations to denounce war as a solution to stop terrorist attacks. Subsequently, I started an international nonviolence education program with humanist friends in England. I organize several training in Haiti, Morocco, Kenya.

In 2011, after the first World March for Peace and Nonviolence, I launched another Active Nonviolence program for the new generations. “Run This Way” school program which is promoting active nonviolence. More than 20,000 students across Quebec, France, Ireland participated in the program over 4 years.

Currently, I am working as a volunteer on new media projects related to nonviolence with the Pressenza News Agency. Pressenza is an active resources for activists and journalists across the world.

Many times through my experiences I advanced with a new project, sometimes I had to let go a project because, if I would go forward it could generate problems beyond my strength. The problem I was facing was so large that I had to retreat, however, I knew that the dynamic, and the relationship of forces would change, either because the influence of nonviolence grows or because the problem’s influence weakens.

Today I see changes in the dynamic, and the relationship of forces. I believe it’s time to disarm with Active Nonviolence the system that generated violence, discrimination and racism. I see this project as an aspirations for our species. Maybe it’s time to reconcile with our tendency of “caring for others” which was fundamental for the first human community survival.

“This species, which has worked and struggled over the course of millions of years to surmount pain and suffering, is not now going to yield to the absurd. This is why we need to understand processes that are more ample than simple immediate circumstances, and to support, even if we do not see immediate results, everything that goes in the direction of evolution.” (Silo, Letter to my friends p.45, 1995) 
This article was first published on the blogger Henri Oscar communication on oct0ber 2019.