We should feel close to every human being, the same way we feel close to a member of our community Have you ever felt this warmth in your heart when you realize you’re talking to someone who is part of your community, someone whose background is the same as yours or your family’s? What is this warmth? Is it a tribalist pleasure or relief? Why can we develop such feeling with the whole humanity? Maybe, from time immemorial, we have been chasing security. This implies we needed to create strong bonds between us and a small group of people to secure our survival. Generation after generation, we may have wire our brain to feel pleasure or love when we identify someone being part of our tribe. Through tribalism, we have survived. Yet, why should we still feel the same today as we no longer live in a isolated community? Can we feel this sensation of love and security when we meet a complete stranger, completely alien to our background? Probably not. Is there another way to connect and feel reassured with a foreigner? Yes, indeed. Even if some counties are racially-focused, others do accept the idea of racial-free bonds. There are indeed different ways to connect with someone which may not be as instantaneous as the ones which are tribally based. We all share a common humanity, this seems not to be enough to create strong – unfortunately – bonds between people. What other levers could we use to feel deeply connected and deeply reassured with someone? This may be contextual: In a group, we tend to look for what separates and reproaches us. So, depending on the group, we may create in our mind bonds which wouldn’t exist in other situations. For instance, two Spanishards of different regions may no feel particularly close to each other in Spain whereas both of them immersed in another country, they would believe themselves as instantaneously connect by their nationality. Should we wait for a alien invasion to create an instantaneous – and racial-free – link between humans? I wish we wouldn’t have to do so. Before such an event to occur, what could be done to abolish the ethnicity awareness and other borders that separate human beings? A tribe is essentially a group of people sharing the same cultural heritage. Thus, we could state that globalization is a process of cultural uniformization aiming to a global tribalism. To some extent, this works. However, why this is not working everywhere? Probably because not all culture become globalized, a few are actually globalizing. Could we possibly make a global culture a merging of all?

Who are the brave and the contemporary deserters? This age having disappeared, does it nevertheless exist today as an equivalent of this outcast of yesteryear that represented the deserter? We cannot generalize as there are always great differences in values ​​between countries – which is a good thing in my opinion -. However, we can observe a general tendency which proceeds from the often fantasized globalization. This movement of standardization – all in all relative by the very fact of its multiple influences – could be trivially summarized by a certain commodification or larger monetization of all spheres of our society. As such, we could even speak of a sort of desecration (/ desecration) on a large scale. Before this process is at work, however, there is a hard core of sacredness or at least a transfer from one sacred to another. What is it?

Should we make beauty the common thread of our life? The expression of beauty does not only present a plastic form, it is above all an intangible manifestation. Let’s analyze together its different manifestations: The plastic beauty: art and artistic expression (painting, sculpture etc.) The intellectual beauty (art access to the truth): The scientific beauty: the hard sciences, that is to say the art of being right a way mathematizable The literate beauty: the human sciences which allow to approach the truth from a conceptual point of view (philosophy) The spiritual and moral beauty: Cultivate the beauty of the soul Each individual is generally sensitive to the expression of one of the dimensions of beauty. Here, I am going to propose the following affirmation to which you will not all adhere: all the manifestations of beauty proceed from the beauty of the soul or moral.

The art of asking the right questions (2/2) The change of mentality is a fairly long process but if you start to reformulate your inner questions today, you will create a lasting and deep change in yourself. Be patient, you will see the results will be there. When you rephrase the right questions, you become proactive and you control the answers to the circumstances. Your mind is a garden, if you are not careful, weeds will grow which can make you miserable. However, when you get into the habit of answering powerful questions, you can sow the seeds of change to reap a bright future. The most miraculous in a way is that once you have suggested this new question in you, your mind is self-nourishing, creating a virtuous circle. It is as if you had an automatic watering, the only responsibility to plant the good seeds and you spirit will take care of transforming your enclosure into Garden of Eden . Why not try this little tip? It will allow you to take the height and keep your center of attention on what you want to attract in your life. This technique is part of a palette of tricks that you can deploy to tame your brain and reach a better level of achievement in your life. Choose the one that suits you best, it can be meditation, prayer, positive autosuggestion etc. Some will not please you, that is why it is necessary to explore them all until you discover the one that brings both serenity and accomplishment. Often an assortment of several techniques can be recommended in order to adopt the one that is best suited according to the time of day, mood or the ease with which you can use this technique.

Should we make beauty the common thread of our life? Beauty seems to play a role with regard to the moral education of the people and conversely. This has found a plural expression over time. First of all, beauty was considered to be a divine manifestation of which nature is the best expression. The idea of ​​beauty was built intimately with the idea of ​​harmony. Harmony brings a feeling of peace and well-being unlike disharmony. As evolution progressed, beauty became a human creation which took the form of arts. The idea of ​​perceived harmony of nature was found expressed in architecture, painting, sculpture, music, literature etc. Nevertheless, the injunction of harmony or beauty has recently disappeared from the artistic canons, perhaps due to the commodification of art.

The art of asking the right questions (1/2) Tap into the conscious and unconscious capacities of the brain to solve problems The possibilities of the brain are still poorly measured. There are many followers of the positive and I wanted to present another aspect of this thought to you. It is from the book Afformations by Noah St John. His idea is simple: the brain is constantly working to solve problems. The concern being that we give bad problems to solve given that we start from a postulate. Such bad starting points create a spiral of negativity that prevents you from seeing the end of the tunnel. So, if for example you do not receive a promotion at your work, do not try to understand why, because you are going to germinate in your mind this certainty and ultimately you will find yourself all the reasons not to deserve this promotion. Do the opposite, ask yourself why you will receive this promotion. By doing this , you will begin to see the glass half full and you will attract all the great opportunities on your way. You will work both your conscious and subconscious mind to solve this positive problem which will create much better beliefs.

What can we learn from the life of Edmond Dantès? Do the same, try to get closer to the spirits you want to be like whether through books or any other means. Keep hope even in the most difficult situations, these are there to warn you of the need to redouble your efforts in your search for a solution or in your professional improvement. The ideas that you germinate in your mind are treasures that you can discover and materialize afterwards. This is why it is important not to let yourself go to despair, seek the light like Edmond who will eventually escape from his jail while seizing a treasure. His success was only possible because he had changed his psychology and he was thus able to open every conceivable door, starting with that of his cell. Life gives us a thousand opportunities to reinvent ourselves. We are born with attributes in a socio-cultural context which may or may not be favorable. That said, the hardships that one encounters are as many chances to strengthen his character or to take off in order to become a person of greater stature. Be patient, change takes time, Edmond Dantes has taken 14 years to become the Count of Montecristo. Do not be afraid to see the days and years past if you are sure that what you build inside you is worth it.

What can we learn from the life of Edmond Dantès? What does this story tell us in this uncertain time? That revenge is always good? No, but that the vicissitudes of life can constitute a breeding ground favorable to the birth of a new being. Fallback periods can be taken advantage of for those who manage to make sense of it. Time is an egalitarian resource: it spoils the poor as well as the rich. The informed person is the one who manages to make the best possible use of this limited capital. The Count of Montecristo is an illustration of this virtuous use of time. Although Edmond Dantes appears both desperate and distraught at the time of his arrest and during the start of his imprisonment, his state of mind changes as soon as he meets Father Faria who brings him both hope and knowledge.