Spend More Time in the 3D World

“A person who thinks all the time, has nothing to think about except thoughts” — Alan Watts.[^1]

Our brain is only 2 percent of body weight but consumes 20 percent of the body’s energy.[^2] Although there is value in thinking, most human beings have become so stuck in their heads that the body is treated merely as a transportation vehicle for the mind. We have lost touch with the somatic wisdom that other mammals still possess. This psychosomatic imbalance causes severe disruption not only for ourselves but for life on the entire planet. The destruction of nature and the enslavement of humans to their minds are connected. When this shift happened is up for debate, but whether it was 200 or 20000 years ago, it’s all relatively short compared to Earth’s history. We need to consciously choose to spend time in the 3D world, so we can develop our kinesthetic intelligence. This does not only have the ability to heal ourselves, but our environment as well.

We are not faster than the cheetah, stronger than the bull, keener in eyesight than the eagle, or can sing more beautifully than the nightingale. Reason is often the thing praised in humans, and deemed to be the edge from which we have ‘conquered’ the world. Yet, it is the misuse of this same faculty that is pushing us too far, and disconnects us from our body and with that the real world. While the GDP, which has grown exponentially (2-dimensional numbers), actual species and fauna are going extinct exponentially (3-dimensional life). We are inherently creatures of symbols because of our big brains compared to our little bodies. Being human is not, per se, an easy endeavor, so we shouldn’t condemn our gift of the mind. But to learn this power wisely is our responsibility. The mind needs to be firmly placed in reality, and constantly reminding ourselves to spend time in the real world is the only way to cure this imbalance. It starts with understanding the predicament we now find ourselves in.

2d world

The mind has created a tremendous variety of 2D products that, in turn, perpetuate our tendency to spend time in the 2D world. Computers, phones, books, tv’s, whiteboards, these are taking most of our time every single day. Many spend 30 hours per week on their phone alone, but less than three hours with their friends in person. Artificial intelligence is pursued at all costs, while organic intelligence is decaying. This tendency should not be blamed on modern business alone. In school, we spend 7 hours a day sitting, perhaps balanced by one hour of exercise, if at all. This is all to say that symbols are dictating our time and, in turn, crushing, molding, and changing our bodies to a state of deep imbalance.

While 2D objects serve their purpose, it is clear that collectively the Mind-Matter connection disproportionally outweighs the Mind-Body connection. One might say: “But human age span has increased drastically in the past century”, so has chronic bodily pain. “We are richer than ever”, but poorer in physical experience. “Our cognitive intelligence is peaking because of education”, but at the cost of our kinesthetic intelligence. Even what we deem as the study of medicine has become almost entirely identified with matter, i.e., physical operations, radiation, pills, journal articles, and hospital buildings. None of these things is bad: they are simply out of balance. What we desperately need is to invest in the Body.

The idealization of the 2D world is hard to change on a collective scale. These are primarily being driven by schools, universities, modern religion, politics, and business. On an individual level, extreme discipline is therefore required in order to come even remotely close to a natural state. This entails moving, sleeping, eating, resting, and spending time in nature, the way we have done for tens of thousands of years. We need to start sitting around the fire instead of the television, walking instead of taking the car, singing instead of playing music on a machine, and making love instead of watching other people on the screen do so. This is not something we have to teach. In fact, the opposite is true: we have to unlearn many of our unnatural societal behaviors. The first step in this process is to become aware.

Senses

We have five major senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Other senses are proprioception: awareness of the body in space, interoception: awareness of internal body states, thermoception: sense of temperature, and perhaps there are more. The 2D objects we’ve created target primarily our sight, and secondarily sound. Smell, taste, touch, proprioception, interoception, and thermoception are greatly underdeveloped. The latter are harder to commodify, even though efforts have been made, such as 4D-movie experiences and wearable gaming gear. But these have never taken off in the market. Amusement parks is the closest artificial product that we’ve created that touches multiple senses, but this too doesn’t satisfy us for very long.

The conclusion is quite simple. It is not that we are lacking in cleverness or technological capabilities; these things are limited forms of expression that only target specific aspects of our being. We don’t need to artificiaise everything, but only recognize that the Body Area exists. The easiest way to do this is to spend time in the 3D world, which for modern humans entails minimizing time on 2D objects. In present times, this is by no means an easy endeavor. It requires a deep analysis of our modern environment. Some understanding of human psychology and habit formation is required if we wish to make disciplined choices that ensure the Body area gets enough attention.

The movement towards the 2D world is largely a consequence of our striving for comfort. The irony is that in developing material comforts, we’ve necessarily exposed ourselves to discomfort in other areas. Again, signalling always the relation between the areas of our life LINK, and how energy investment in one area retracts from another. Our mind now needs to take up the slack and willingly choose discomfort. We have succeeded in acquiring material comfort, but have only been able to move discomfort from Matter to Body. Spending time in the real world necessarily involves discomfort; there is no way around it. The choice is whether we choose discomfort upfront or down the road.

Go outside

Now that we have a firm understanding of the tendency to spend time in the 2D world, we can understand and apply the core principle: to go outside every single day. Even on the hardest days: cold weather, no friends, negative mind spirals, concrete jungles, and other challenges modern environments present us with. There are small things we all can do, such as going to the market instead of ordering food. consciously parking the car further away, taking dance breaks, or going camping. It is best to consciously plan for activities that you could enjoy for the rest of your life.

Consistent reflection is your best friend, as the 2D world will continuously try to draw you in. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn an instrument, cultivate a garden, or travel somewhere. As you develop your kinesthetic awareness, it will become easier and easier to spend time in the 3D world. This is a process of increasing awareness, because the overuse of 2d-objects entails numbing yourself. The negative effects of technology on the posture of our bodies can be seen from one perspective as a trauma response. Quitting the habit of technology will usually involve facing sometimes uncomfortable feelings. Trauma is what we try to avoid, and our body always keeps the score.[^3]

3D activities

The following are a few categories with activities that involve the use of the body. Some are surprising, others not so. There are infinite ways to use your body, but the important thing is re-cultivating the value of 3D activities. Fixing something in your house, going to the beach with a friend, making a good fire, becomes then a goal in and of itself, rather than just ‘time of work’, or ‘leisure’ activities. These are just as valuable as doing anything in the 2D world. Besides your physical needs, there are many activities you can enjoy. Notice where the gap is for you:

Making:Cooking, woodworking, pottery, gardening, building fires, fixing things, and making music.

Movement:Walking, hiking, swimming, biking, martial arts, climbing, yoga, dancing, gym, and team sports.

Community:Sharing meals, conversations, camping, bathhouses, singing, caring for animals, and physical games.

Elements:Sitting under trees, lying in grass, watching sunsets, natural light, cold water, listening to the rain, and making a fire.

Balance either hobbies or career

In the EU, around 38,5% of people are knowledge workers.[^4] This means one thing: sitting, and perhaps a standing desk, which isn’t that much better. In order to balance this, a physical hobby is needed. And if you have a demanding physical job, then it’s good to balance it with symbolic work as well. Everyone will do well to carefully consider the effect of one’s career on the body. Physical jobs can be just as demanding as knowledge work. It’s good to reflect on where you stand and what the long-term consequences will be. Work fills most of our waking life. So the kind matters. Physical work demands symbolic rest. Symbolic work demands the use of the body.

It would be unwise to ignore Matter and civilization, which means earning a living. The trick is to balance it with the needs of our body. I personally write, coach, and organize my business from my laptop. This is why I’m also a bodyworker, in order to always have a craft I enjoy doing. The industrial revolution first automated physical labor, and now it seems that the automation of knowledge work has begun. Being able to do both is an important skill to develop. If you have the freedom to not need a fall-back option that could financially support you, all the better, but for many, this is not an option. Consider then either learning symbolic work, or more commonly, one physical activity that could earn you money besides your normal job.

Reality and symbols

We are symbolic creatures, and there is no need to shy away from that fact. Consciously developing our kinesthetic intelligence will enhance our symbolic skills as well. This is what Alan Watts meant when he said that a person who talks to himself inside their head all the times has nothing to think about except their own thoughts. The imbalance that the human mind and modern environment has created should be addressed sooner than later. The 2D and the 3D world can coexist together, but when the mind and it’s symbols start to dictate reality, it carries severe drawbacks. This is more than philosophical talk. Four hours a day on a screen, across a lifetime, is close to a decade. 10 years that could have been spent with family, in nature, or mastering a skill.