The Neurodivergent Professor chris burcher

Do you ever think about your comfort zone? I’m sure most people are at least aware of the concept.
To me, our comfort zone is like an invisible egg that surrounds our physical body. Near the center, we are, well, comfortable. As we near the edges we become less comfortable. 
Our comfort zone is like a sixth sense. It is more a bodily feeling or awareness than an identifiable sensation. Approaching our comfort zone is unlike hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, or seeing.
Why do we experience these comfort zone sensations?
The purpose of our comfort zone is to alert us when our environment changes. Likely, there are several evolutionary adaptations for being aware of these changes. When our comfort zone is triggered, we become alerted. Sometimes the changes are mild, irritating, or uncomfortable. Other signals may protect us from real danger.
Our mortality depends on a degree of comfort and a lack of danger. The fortunate and privileged among us spend more time in comfort, and less in danger. Our environmental, emotional, and physical needs are met and we have nothing to be concerned with. Our lives are not threatened and we are, well, comfortable. As situations change, our “spidey senses” begin to tingle. We may become aware that something has shifted, but we do not always know what the danger is. 
One of the key protections of our comfort zone is for us to avoid real danger. Some call this intuition, a sixth sense, or ‘spidey senses’. These are critical but not what I am writing about here. The function of our comfort zone I am writing about here is more ambiguous.
Most often, our comfort zones act as a simple signal that we are encountering non-routine experiences. 
To know about our comfort zone we have to be self-aware.
I know I sound like a broken record, but everything begins with self-awareness because without it we have no agency. Once we are self-aware, we can direct our attention with intent toward our comfort zone. In this way, we are paying attention. I believe that self-awareness is selected for in evolution and will talk about this in an upcoming episode. 
Once self-aware, we can learn to discriminate among the various signals provided by our comfort zone. These signals can be benign and boring, moderate, or warnings about danger. For growth, we are interested in moderate information. The goldiloxian feelings are not too intense nor too uninteresting. 
Signals from our comfort zones are growth opportunities. By paying attention to our sixth sense, we can identify our fears. With practice and courage, we can push beyond our comfort to better understand the source of these fears. 
The era of maximizing comfort is over.
 Human persistence (non-extinction) requires discomfort. 
Growth. Risk. Bravery.The industrial revolution and capitalism introduced an unprecedented degree of human comfort. While many of these comforts have been incredible, there are downsides. Privileged humans have become complacent, lulled to a waking sleep by immense comfort. 
In a world that constantly changes, however, complacency is maladaptive. To continue our evolutionary path our comfort zones need to be confronted. We need to get comfortable with discomfort again. To move forward we have to take a few steps back. It’s time to trade in our privilege for the next frontier. 
Links:
YouTube video: 
https://youtu.be/JvGkio3Zt8z
Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way”
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Does science play a role in your life? 
Do you value hard data and evidence? Do you think humans are good at proving things? Or maybe you defer to religion or culture to decide what is real?
I talk a lot about how science is over or undervalued. Some folks think science proves reality. Others think scientists are full of crap.
Regardless of how you feel about science, the scientific method is regarded as one of the best tools we have to help us answer questions. One of my favorite questions is,
“Is there a better way to live?”

My work focuses on understanding how humans can suffer less. 
Most of my interest lies somewhere in this personal and communal growth space, and much of my research falls outside the realm of hard science as we know it. But what if we took a more organized approach? What are we really trying to understand?
Briefly, science is a way to formalize how we ask questions and how we interpret the answers. We conduct experiments that convert the real world into numerical data, analyze the data using low-bias mathematical techniques, then convert the numerical results back into real-world terms. We ask a question, form a hypothesis, conduct experiments, and interpret results. 
So, is there a better way to live?
Let’s convert that to a hypothesis:
Ha: If we nurture our individual and collective self-awareness, then this will trickle up to solve the world’s problems because self-awareness, or lack thereof, is the cause of human suffering.

Ho: If we nurture our individual and collective self-awareness, there will be no effect on human suffering because the two are unrelated.

Basically, do the ‘data’ we observe in the real world support or refute the idea that there might be a better way to live?
My work suggests that self-awareness as an upstream cause of human suffering. 
Mostly, when we experience suffering we look nearby for causes and solutions. If we bleed we get a band-aid. But often the ultimate causes of our discomfort are farther away and more upstream.
For example, if we are always anxious in social situations, maybe we need to understand the trauma we experienced in childhood.
Personally, as I have pieced together my anxiety, I see that the causes are much more upstream than I ever imagined. Real solutions are often much farther away from the problem than we think. Scientific investigation is a tool designed to help clarify these relationships.
Moving forward, I can look for evidence that supports or refutes my hypothesis. 
Eventually, I will have ‘enough’ evidence to either abandon the idea (fail to reject my null hypothesis) or continue to pursue this line of reasoning.
The beauty of science is not that it proves anything. Rather, science helps us understand our realities by guiding us toward more likely causes. These relationships, in turn, help us understand ourselves and each other. 
The more we understand the links between self-awareness, attention, mindfulness, and connectedness the more likely we are to reduce personal and collective suffering. 
Our ancestors paved the way for our amazing individual lives. The least we can do is make the most of it. Do wars, anxiety, and suicide sound like making the most of it to you? 
There is a better way. Together, we are learning what it is. 
For more about what science really is see here, and here, and here. 
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Do other people ever make you angry?
I’d be worried about you if you said no. Or assume you are the Dalai Lama. 
Many of us struggle to find connections to people we disagree with. Or people who act out, are annoying, or mean.
I preach a lot about how we are all connected, and how we need to love one another and participate in our communities. But it is so very hard, sometimes, to love everyone or to want to connect.
If you struggle with truly feeling connected to people, this article is for you.
Have you ever considered reincarnation? 
I never used to think about it. I don’t know why. It just wasn’t a concept I considered. Recently, however, I had an epiphany. I struggle to tolerate people and am often annoyed by human behavior. While considering a particularly annoying person in a loud truck I thought about reincarnation.
What if we were all at very different stages of some much longer lifespan? What if our Consciousness, Self, or Spirit gets multiple ‘laps’, or chances to live a good life? 
What if reincarnation is a thing?
This explanation made me feel much closer to my fellow humans — even the ones that annoy the crap out of me. 
Somehow, believing we are all at different stages — perhaps vastly disparate stages — made it easier for me to find tolerance for others. 
This sudden thought of having multiple lives led me where other ideas could not. If reincarnation is ‘real’ I can understand how people can be so incredibly different. It explains a level of diversity that goes beyond a human lifetime. 
What if our Consciousness, Self, or Spirit lives longer than a human lifespan? 
What if we ‘come back’ to Earth and continue to live somehow? What if part of life is about the growth we can accomplish over multiple lifespans?
This idea shifts my focus from personal growth from a single life to a much longer period. Rather than spending thirty or forty years trying to be a ‘better person’, ‘reaching enlightenment’, or ‘growing up’ what if we have hundreds or thousands of years to accomplish these goals?
I know, I know. This is crazy talk. And maybe it is. But I can’t deny how much this has opened me up.
Considering that reincarnation is real made me more tolerant. 
When I consider that another person might only be on lap two or three it makes it easier for me to find compassion for their journey. At the same time, I do not consider myself ‘advanced’ or ‘better’ than them for potentially being on a higher lap. Rather, I see that I was them and they will be me. The idea that we all might be blessed with multiple lives fills me with joy.
Reincarnation checks all the boxes.
If you have seen my work you will know that I preach diversity in all things. Reincarnation extends our capacity for diversity by extending the growth period. I have spent almost fifteen years learning to live better and frustrated by the slow pace. Sometimes it feels like I haven’t made much progress. But if we get more chances to grow I am somehow less frustrated. 
Similarly, the idea of reincarnation makes it easier for me to tolerate others’ behavior. When I am frustrated by another person’s behavior I can remember that I was once where they are. I am them and they are me. That we are on different levels of the same playing field connects us. 
Any idea that makes it easier to feel connected is ok in my book. 


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Have you ever wondered how any two people can have a conversation and walk away feeling both like they were heard and believing they heard the other person?
It blows my mind how limiting conversation can be. As magical as language is, it leaves so much room for error. Words mean different things to different people. We hear one thing when they mean another. Context matters. We have different life experiences. There are so many layers that make it easy to misunderstand.
Language, like any technology, is wrought with at least as many restrictions as benefits. Yes, we can be more complex in our descriptions and needs. But that same level of complexity increases the potential for error!
Being a good communicator is incredibly difficult. 
But it is also a luxury because it takes time, skill, and most of all, awareness. Self-awareness is a huge luxury. Not everyone can afford to pay attention. We are all at a different place evolutionarily and these different perspectives further complicate communication.
Despite the incredible variation that occurs between any two communicators, I think all conversations can be described as having fairly discrete outcomes. Either two people (or more, this is a simplification) agree, or they disagree. We can behave as isolated individuals or as part of a connected partnership. When two people disagree, the results are therefore limited:
Result 1) Person A gets their needs met, and Person B does not. The outcome is A, BResult 2) Person B gets their needs met, and Person A does not. The outcome is B, A. The same result reversedResult 3) Person B and Person A both compromise to reveal a third outcome of C, C

How many conversations have you been in that have the above result?
The first two outcomes require concession by one party. This concession is often characterized as ‘giving in’, ‘people pleasing’, or having ‘weak boundaries’. Not advocating for your needs is considered unhealthy.
Of course, the ‘winning’ party in the first two scenarios is often described as being ‘assertive’, ‘confident’, or ‘narcissistic’. 
The most interesting outcome is the last one which represents a compromise or partnership. When both parties alter their needs to allow for the other we approach an equitable condition. This, I argue, is more evolutionarily ‘fit’ in the long run.


Compromise, of course, requires good communication. Which we suck at. The pathway to compromise and partnership — to truly realize that we are all connected — is the practice. The practice helps us take an observer’s perspective, witness nonduality, and make peace with the dissonance.


This is how we change the world.
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“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
― Charles Bukowski


Do you ever think about this? Can you think of an example from your life?
Sometimes, it seems we’re surrounded by idiots. 
And they’re loud.  We worship confidence, arrogance, and status. Why are we surprised when the greedy become gluttonous?
Why do we not honor traits like kindness, empathy, and connection? A lot of this is fear. We worry about what might happen if we interrupt, disagree, or speak our minds. 
The system is oppressive

 The system requires non-leaders to be complicit, to elect these leaders, and to value the characteristics that make them so bad at leading. These power differential relationships are not only common, but they also dominate. In one way, we are simply playing our role in the governance systems of human society. From another viewpoint, if we do not reject the undeservedly arrogant, we are complicit in their remaining in power. The good news is, that these authoritarians have no power if we can stop enabling.
Taking the bone away from the pit bull
It makes perfect sense that the oppressors are drunk with power. We expect our oppressors to oppress. This power is just too much. Like heroin or iPhones, it is impossible to resist once you’ve had a taste. Once a person who values power, status, and money gains access to these things, it becomes a runaway train. The first step is taking away their power. But how do we do that?
What are the alternatives?
Our current societies are governed by the wrong values. We admire those who seek and master power, status, and money.  It is time we choose a more cooperative and less competitive approach. There are too few winners under our current competition models. What is voting if not a competition? A solution I propose frequently is simply not to elect anyone who wants to be in government.  To change anything, we must first take the bone away from the pit bull. Power is addictive and no one who has it is going to give it up willingly. Unfortunately, the system makes it nearly impossible for us enablers to do anything about it because we have no power. It isn’t easy to leave an abusive relationship. It’s a trap.  But we must take the power away. Ending the enabling slays the dragon. 
Help ourselves, help each other
The first step is for those of us more fortunate to help ourselves. I preach about a practice that facilitates healing and includes journaling, therapy, meditation, mindfulness, and healthy living. These journeys are unique to each of us and, in my opinion, our responsibility. The next step is for those more able to help those less able. Some of us suffer less from oppression. The global north, for example, has gained all the benefits of using fossil fuels. This leg up can be used to help leverage smaller countries to build the necessary infrastructure to be able to care about things like government. Those of us not in abusive relationships can connect with centers designed to help abused spouses leave unhealthy relationships. We can help adults learn to read.  We help ourselves, then we can help each other. This nurtures connectivity and cooperation. It forms the foundation of a bottom-up takeover and redistribution of power.
In my perfect world, all voices will be heard with equanimity. 
The one-dimensional, self-serving, obnoxious voices will be ignored by most rather than supported. We can get there by cooperating.
It’s the hardest thing we do because it is overthrowing the system designed to keep us complicit. 
This ain’t gonna be easy.
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What went right?
Do you ever wonder how we got here? Do you ever think about what has changed over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution?
The past few decades have seen exponential growth in technology. Smartphones. Passenger trips to space. Electric vehicles. Lots of crazy new tech. In most of our lifetimes, technological advances have dominated the changes we experience.
Science changed the world. Medical advances like germ theory and surgical techniques have arguably improved our lives. 
Fossil fuel use has underwritten most of our ‘advances’ in making things easier to do. Imagine having to walk to the store to get groceries.
What went wrong?
Despite all of these increases in knowledge and efficiency, we are surrounded by problems associated with these advances. We are addicted to our smartphones. We drive too much. The speed with which we live our lives has become dangerously fast. We struggle with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Wars are fought over the increasing limitations in the fossil fuels that provided all of these comforts.
It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature
I can’t help but think about the lack of systems thinking that got us here. Arguably, the ‘advanced thinking’ that got us to the point where we have ‘godlike technology’ has caused at least as many problems as it has solved. 
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.”
― Edward O. Wilson
Our creative abilities have outpaced our nature. We abandoned the understanding that all things are interconnected, depend on each other, and work together in a natural system. We thought we could out-do evolution.
Natural selection wins
Despite our ability to outpace selection, the natural world will select the traits that work. I can’t see how arrogance and competition are going to ‘win’ over empathy and cooperation. If we consult the natural world, we will see how this plays out.
Yes, competition exists and even regulates some animals in some populations. Sure, being aggressive, mean, and arrogant has led to world domination by some cultures. Yes, if we allow and tolerate excessive inequality it will persist.
But does that make it right? In a world that is intimately interconnected and interdependent, do we think that is going to work in the long run?
The oversimplification of the world will be our demise
Until we accept that Natural Law governs all things, including arrogant humans, our extinction will continue. I firmly believe Homo sapiens is being selected against. Our inability to consider the long-term consequences of our short-term gains, our insistence on ‘privatizing the gains and socializing the losses’, and our valuation of competition over cooperation are driving nails in our collective coffin.
I say this not as a doomer. I have faith that humans will, eventually, see the errors of our ways. I think I am a small part of a growing movement that is ‘coming to Jesus’ about where we goofed up. I am confident we will get it right. I’m just getting impatient and it is hard to watch.


More like this on Medium, and The Neurodivergent Professor podcast.
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