Understanding War & Conflict - Part 1

"Day and night cannot dwell together." - Chief Seattle

• Understanding War and Conflict - Part 1 : Leo begins by addressing the existential root of war and conflict, stressing the importance of a meta-perspective that encompasses all conflicts throughout time, not just current ones. He challenges the simplistic good versus evil narrative, inviting viewers to contemplate the deeper metaphysical and spiritual roots of war and conflict.
• Broadened Definition of Conflict : Leo expands the idea of war to include a wide spectrum of conflicts, such as personal disputes, business battles, legal issues, cyber warfare, as well as internal conflicts within individuals, demonstrating the ubiquitous nature of conflict across various facets of life.
• Conflict Due to Finitude : Highlighting the existential reason for conflict's existence, Leo explains that it arises because of the finitude of life, where the finite world of ordinary human existence collides with the infinite realm of spiritual consciousness. He asserts that division, which leads to form, is crucial to the creation of the physical world and is inherently the source of conflict.
• Infinite Consciousness vs. Finite Forms : The lecture points out the contrast between infinite consciousness or spirituality and the finite world where humans survive. The finite forms, or divisions within the infinite consciousness, manifest as boundaries and differences, leading to the myriad conflicts observable in life and nature.
• Existential Nature of Finitude and Form : Leo elucidates that forms, by nature, encapsulate difference; a form exists because it is not another. This foundational aspect of existence is presented as the existential basis of all conflicts, since different forms inherently clash due to their distinctive characteristics.
• Conflict as Part of Existence and Daily Life : By referencing ordinary disagreements, business disputes, intellectual debates online, and even neurological conditions, Leo illustrates that conflict pervades both the macro and micro aspects of life, entwined with the essence of existence itself.
• Conflict and Infinite Love : War and conflict raise profound questions about the nature of God and divine creation, prompting inquiries into why a loving deity would allow for such strife. Leo implies that understanding the spiritual underpinnings behind conflict can lead to greater peace within ourselves concerning the seeming paradoxes of existence.
• Finite Nature of Existence : All existence is composed of finite parts that conflict when they come into contact due to their innate differences and finite boundaries.
• Division and Conflict : Division within the holistic oneness of existence creates conflicts, as every entity competes for survival, maintaining its distinct form and identity.
• Existential Trade-off of Being : For one form to exist, it must not be something else. This existential trade-off defines the form by what it's not, making each form interrelated and finite.
• Deterioration of Forms : Every finite form, whether living or inanimate, degrades over time, struggling to maintain its distinct boundaries before eventually dissolving back into oneness.
• Inherently Conflicted Survival : All organisms, including plants and seemingly harmonious entities, engage in conflicts, such as competing for sunlight or breaking through concrete with their roots, to ensure their survival.
• Compatibility and Harmony : Conflict arises when different parts of reality lack harmony and coherence, leading to incompatibilities where one part extracts energy from another to thrive.
• Existential Nature of God's Neutrality : God, embodying infinite love and oneness, cannot exhibit bias or preference towards any form, leading to a reality where every part must struggle equally without divine intervention.
• The Struggle of Finite Forms for Power : Finite forms inherently have strengths and weaknesses, preventing any single form from dominating all others completely, consistent with the design of a non-biased, infinite God.
• Human Preference for Monopolization : People naturally seek to advance their personal interests, wanting their country, company, or family to be superior to others. Equality and fair distribution of resources are not typically desired, particularly by those in affluent parts of the world who may prefer to maintain their wealth rather than redistributing it to those less fortunate.
• Finite Resources and Choice : The limited nature of resources dictates that allocation according to one's preferences inevitably negates the possibility of fulfilling others' needs. For instance, using money for charity in one region means not being able to use it for another worthy cause, highlighting the difficult existential choices that come with finite wealth.
• Conservation of Energy and Finite Existence : The principle of conservation of energy isn't just a physical law but also a metaphor for the nature of existence itself. Subdividing oneness into forms creates interdependent parts: duality. Finite resources and finite existence imply limitations on what and how much can be achieved or given, even by the wealthiest individuals.
• The Illusion of Monopolizing Resources : Even seemingly insatiable entities, like corporations or black holes, cannot fully monopolize their surroundings. As corporations become larger, they lose agility and the capability for innovation, often leading to collapse. Similarly, black holes, despite their immense gravitational pull, also emit radiation and don't consume everything, reflecting the impossibility of total monopolization even in the universe.
• Empires and the Limitations of Power : Historical examples of empires, from the Roman Empire to Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire, demonstrate that no single entity can control everything indefinitely. The inherent limitations of being finite lead to eventual decline and collapse, indicating that struggle for domination is inherently self-limiting.
• Unity vs Division in the Flow of Existence : The dynamic of unity and division is a natural flow within existence. Attempts at unification often trigger division as entities seek to maintain autonomy, showing that existence includes a continual process of differentiating and reunifying, often leading to conflict.
• Design of God or Reality for Diversity : The inherent structure of reality, or God's design, is such that it ensures a flow and a never-static state, fostering diversity. This design prevents any one part from dominating the whole, maximizing love and inclusiveness by allowing infinite diversity to exist.
• Motion and Conflict : Motion, even at the molecular level, represents conflict. If all conflict ceased, motion would stop, having extreme implications like the "heat death of the universe" where all activity and difference cease, leading to a state of absolute unity or undifferentiated consciousness.
• Heat Death of the Universe : The entropic process where all motion and heat dissipate, leading to a state of complete freeze, symbolizes ultimate peace or formlessness—the 'Godhead' or consciousness in undifferentiated repose, an idea that challenges our attachment to the formed universe.
• Paradox of Unity : True unity must encompass division; absolute unity would mean the inclusion of all divisions, leading to a cycle where unity leads to division and division leads to unity in a fractal and infinite manner.
• Division and Unity in Reality's Design : Reality's continuous cycle of differentiation and reunification—from quarks to complex organisms, and cultural languages—is a natural but conflict-laden process as divisions are reduced back to unity.
• Unification as a Struggle : Unification can be perceived as violent or ugly, primarily because humans, who are divided in numerous ways, are terrified of absolute unity, equating it with the erasure of their identity and therefore with death.
• Conflicts in Geopolitics and Culture : Examples of struggles for unification include Putin's Russia with Ukraine, China with Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the EU's ongoing challenges. Each entity's perspective on merger and identity leads to conflicts, culture wars, and resistance.
• Unification in Languages and Races : The globalizing world faces the loss of cultural distinctness and language death but also witnesses the potential for a universal language and mixed-race society, which creates conflicts yet tends in the direction of unification.
• Empires, Kings, and Unification Efforts : Historical attempts, such as ancient empires and kingdoms, to unify diverse peoples often led to unification at the point of conflict, asserting the difficulty and inherent violence in efforts to bring diverse groups together.
• Autonomy and Communion in Conflict : An intrinsic human conflict arises from the desire for both autonomy and communal life—individuals aim to be self-sufficient but also seek relationships, producing a tug-of-war between being a master and part of a collective.
• Autonomy vs. Communion Predicament : God represents total power and oneness but desires communion despite not needing anything else. This paradox is present in human relationships, where individuals oscillate between longing for connection and autonomy, leading to an inherent tug-of-war.
• Contradictory Human Agendas : The pursuit of individual autonomy creates conflict when multiple parties with personal agendas and desires for sovereignty clash. Simultaneously, humans have an intrinsic need for connection, which can lead to conflict when paths cross.
• Human Existential Predicament : People seek both autonomy and connection, but these desires are inherently contradictory, resulting in persistent conflict. Each being, biased towards its own agenda, finds it challenging to yield to another's will, leading to clashes.
• Metaphysical Equation of Division and Conflict : Division equates to conflict and struggle, while peace is synonymous with absolute selflessness or formlessness. This concept is exemplified by the harmony and interdependence of the different organs within the human body.
• Body Harmony as a Model for Society : The human body harmonizes the needs of millions of individual cells into a functioning organism, unlike society, which struggles with conflict. Societies can learn from this natural coherence and harmony.
• Conflict as a Function of Self-Preservation : Conflict is an inherent part of reality because each part tries to preserve itself, even at the cost of others. The entirety of this process, including both peaceful and violent aspects, is seen as a necessary unfolding of God or the infinite fractal of reality.
• Proportionality of Conflict to Need : Conflict arises when survival is uncertain or needs are unmet, and its intensity is proportional to the necessity of those needs for survival. Not just physical survival is at stake, but also conceptual survival, like worldviews and identities.
• Understanding War and Conflict : Gaining true appreciation for war and conflict can be difficult from a place of comfort and peace, as well as when directly caught in the middle of it. Genuine understanding comes from contemplating and seeing beyond survival instincts.
• Practical Steps for Addressing Conflict : Observing conflict in its various forms is the starting point for understanding its nature. Recognizing commonalities between personal disputes and large-scale wars can help identify interventions for de-escalation and harmony.
• Conflict Observation : Leo emphasizes the importance of actively observing conflicts, whether they are personal (like disagreements with a roommate) or collective (like disputes between political parties), and understanding the underlying causes.
• Bias in Conflict : He points out the human tendency to become biased and take sides in conflicts, often failing to maintain a neutral, 'meta' perspective that could help in comprehending the broader dynamics at play.
• Lessening the Influence of Conflict : Leo recommends developing introspection to become aware of one's own tendencies to get sucked into conflicts and suggests that through mindfulness, one might prevent themselves from being overly influenced.
• Principles for Reducing Conflict : He introduces several principles for reducing conflict, including creating harmony and coherence, understanding the existential origins of conflict, raising individual consciousness, and studying selfishness and survival instincts.
• Reducing Conflict Through Multi-perspectivalism : Leo discusses the importance of embracing multiple perspectives to reduce conflict, including understanding the varying survival agendas of different nations, companies, or individuals.
• Understanding Survival Agendas : He stresses the need to understand both one's own survival agenda and that of others, noting that often within a single entity, there may be conflicting agendas that must be discerned and respected.
• Active Observation and Contemplation Over Time : Leo highlights the value of long-term engagement with conflict observation and introspection to garner a deeper understanding of conflict dynamics and to inform actions to de-escalate tensions.
• Understanding Relativity for Conflict Reduction : He encourages viewers to apply the principles of relativity to their perception of conflicts, striving to visualize multiple perspectives as part of an effort to reduce tensions.
• Reducing Conflict and Neediness Through Abundance : Leo notes that when resources are abundant and survival needs are met, there is less reason for conflict to arise, making abundance a key factor in conflict reduction.
• Understanding as a Tool to Reduce Conflict : He urges people to transcend their immediate suffering and to strive for a deeper understanding of the roots of the conflicts they encounter, as misunderstanding often leads to conflict escalation.
• Transcending Survival and Materialism to Reduce Conflict : The discussion touches on the necessity of transcending beyond survival instincts and material concerns by connecting with the spiritual or essential aspects of being to decrease conflict.
• Expanding Sense of Identity and Selflessness as Conflict Reducers : By expanding one's sense of identity and practicing selflessness, individuals can step away from conflict, fostering a more peace-oriented approach.
• Holistic Unification vs. Domineering Unification : Leo discusses the ideal approach to unification, which should honor the autonomy of sub-groups, and contrasts this with oppressive or forced unification tactics that often result in increased conflict.

• Deep Suffering and Love : He suggests that deep personal experiences of love and suffering can lead individuals to become more empathetic and reduce conflicts but highlights the conscious processing of these experiences as crucial for transformation.
• Meditating on Conflict and Suffering : Leo recommends deliberate contemplation on personal conflicts and suffering to gain perspective and reduce the overall level of conflict experienced.
• Challenges of Implementing Conflict Reduction Actions : He acknowledges the difficulty of implementing actions to reduce conflict and the reality that conflicts cannot be entirely eradicated, particularly when people are not willing to take on challenging solutions.
• Acceptance for the Nature of Conflict : Leo advises accepting conflict as an inherent part of existence rather than hating it, as this mindset can paradoxically perpetuate more conflict.
• Diet as an Example of Unavoidable Conflict : He illustrates how diet choices, such as choosing to be vegan, can exemplify conscious decision-making within unavoidable conflicts like the need to eat for survival.
• Points About Spiral Dynamics Stage Green : Leo critiques the naive outlook about conflict at this stage, emphasizing that an idealistic vision of peace without practical grounding can hinder actual conflict resolution.
• Practical Exercise for Reducing Conflict : He suggests that individuals work on reducing their personal conflicts, which would not only lessen tensions but also help establish principles for addressing larger societal or global conflicts.
• Understanding War and Conflict Is Crucial : Leo emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature of conflict to avoid inadvertently worsening it and to work towards authentic peace.
• Day and Night Coexist : He concludes with the idea that conflict and unity are part of a higher order within reality, and understanding this dual nature is key to accepting and addressing conflicts in a constructive manner.
• Extraordinary Responsibility : To reduce conflict, it's vital to take extraordinary responsibility instead of resorting to blame and casting oneself as a victim.
• Seeing Good in Others : Rather than demonizing, developing the capacity to see the good in others reduces conflict. This includes recognizing potential and positive traits they may not see in themselves.
• Forgiveness and Mercy : Qualities such as forgiveness and mercy are essential for reducing conflict and are regarded as divine attributes.
• Empathy and Genuine Care : Cultivating empathy helps to reduce conflict as it counters the demonizing of adversaries, which is common in scenarios like war.
• Radical Open-Mindedness : Open-mindedness decreases conflict. Being closed-minded prevents understanding perspectival differences, leading to more disagreements.
• Exploring Different Perspectives : By understanding a multitude of perspectives, conflict is less likely to arise as one appreciates the relativistic differences among individuals.
• Epistemic Humility : Admitting one does not know everything contributes to reducing conflict. Arrogance in one's knowledge can fuel disputes.
• Admitting Wrongness : Being able to concede when wrong prevents escalating confrontation, as stubbornness to admit mistakes can prolong battles.
• Being Non-Ideological : Avoiding strict ideological stances can minimize conflict as rigid ideologies often clash with diverse viewpoints.
• Improving Education : A quality education that incorporates subjects like epistemology and spirituality is imperative to reducing conflicts worldwide.
• Commitment to Truth and Integrity : Conflict often stems from falsehood and corruption; hence, a strong commitment to truth and integrity can combat conflict.
• Rejecting Shortcuts : Eliminating the urge to cheat or look for easy ways out and instead practicing hard work reduces conflicts arising from laziness and entitlement.
• Mindfulness over Emotions : Controlling one's negative emotions, such as anger and jealousy, is key to preventing conflicts.
• Letting Go : Learning the practice of letting go—of control, manipulation, and grievances—leads to a more harmonious existence with less conflict.
• Respect for Others : Demonstrating respect towards different nations, companies, religions, and individuals is fundamental for peace and conflict resolution.
• Concern for Fairness and Equality : Addressing systemic inequalities and advocating for a fair distribution of resources globally is vital to conflict reduction.
• Holistic Unification : Unification that respects the autonomy of subgroups without being oppressive is essential for lasting peace and reduced conflict.
• Leadership and Sensitivity to Needs : Effective unification requires leaders to be sensitive to the needs of the people, balancing orders from above with grassroots necessities.
• Marriage and Conflict : Leo discusses that an unwilling coerced marriage, like a hypothetical situation where a partner agrees out of fear, will not succeed due to the lack of harmony. For a good marriage, genuine mutual desire is essential.
• Experiencing Suffering and Love : Profound existential practices for reducing conflict include experiencing deep suffering mindfully and engaging in deep love consciously, which can increase empathy and the motivation to lessen conflicts.
• Suffering and Conflict Creation : Unconscious suffering, such as seeking revenge after a loved one is harmed, perpetuates and escalates conflict, often seen in blood feuds in tribal cultures without legal dispute resolution systems.
• Mindful Suffering for Conflict Reduction : The kind of suffering that reduces conflict is done mindfully within a spiritual context, without blame or lashing out at others, and by understanding and contextualizing the suffering.
• Love as the Greatest Teacher : Leo states that deep and conscious love is the greatest teacher, surpassing even suffering in its ability to transform a person and reduce conflicts.
• Executing Conflict Reduction Strategies : While implementing the discussed strategies can reduce conflict and increase peace, the difficulty lies in the complexity of those strategies, and even with perfect execution, it won't eliminate all conflict.
• Inevitability of Conflict : Conflict is existentially inevitable due to the finite and form-based nature of the world. Absolute peace might mean the end of form, equating to the end of the universe, or death.
• Acceptance and Understanding of Conflict : Reducing conflict involves stopping the hatred of conflict. Accepting and loving conflict as part of existence is essential, but this is not a justification for starting conflicts unnecessarily.
• Differentiating Between Avoidable and Unavoidable Conflicts : Most conflicts are avoidable and should be addressed, but some, like the need to eat which requires killing plants or animals, are unavoidable but can still be managed to reduce impact.
• Spiral Dynamics Stage Green's Naivety : Stage Green's naive outlook on conflict, seeing war as evil and overly idealistic about achieving peace, lacks the pragmatic realism needed for genuine conflict resolution.
• Observing Personal Conflicts : By studying conflicts at the micro level in personal life, one can learn principles applicable to larger societal conflicts and help teach others to reduce conflicts as well.
• Understanding War and Conflict : Proper understanding is crucial to prevent inadvertently contributing to more conflict. Awareness and comprehension help work towards genuine peace.
• Upcoming Part Two of Video Series : Leo teases part two, promising a more practical look at human societies' warfare, arms races, and social evolution, as well as the distinction between Game A and Game B dynamics.
• Day and Night Coexistence Metaphor : Finally, Leo reminds viewers that despite being opposites, day and night coexist within the larger unity of reality, representing the inherent unity within all conflicts.