The Loss of Innocence and the Birth of Civilization: Reclaiming Wholeness in a Fractured World

We are living through strange, confusing and challenging times. It almost feels like an unchecked entropic force is at play, pulling us apart.

In biological terms we are experiencing an existential loss of tolerance. Not only we are more polarized, angry, rigid and distrustful, also our own bodies have become more susceptible to physical and mental illness.

I believe that the rise in social isolation, polarization and the health decline of our society, although complex and multilayered have a common root cause in our distant past.

To say that the illusion of separation is the cause of disease and human suffering is nothing new. Most religious beliefs across many traditions speak of a time when humanity co-existed in a state of harmony and prosperity with nature and the divine.

We know of these times because of the stories of the Garden of Eden and the Golden Age which themes of sudden loss and the beginning of human suffering echo across many ancient traditions.

Are these stories just legends, fables that we invented to escape the existential dread of the human condition or is there more than just fiction to those universal myths?

Recent archeological findings in the Amazon’s Forest dating back over 30,000 years, challenge the notion that the farming revolution of 10,000 years ago was the culmination of a natural evolutionary process. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that these earlier societies had skills in land management and ecosystem engineering that make the farming methods from the Fertile Crescent seem rudimentary and primitive.

It seems to me that the Neolithic revolution, the event the marks the rise of modern civilization, was less about agriculture and urbanization and more about a deeper cultural shift from animistic, communal hunter-gatherers societies, to farmer-warrior hierarchies who regarded the natural world and other humans as resources to be controlled and exploited.

Is it possible that the transition from an animistic to an anthropocentric worldview was not, as the current narrative suggests, a spiritual pursuit and the result of natural cultural transitions, but rather the result of a near-extinction event? Could it be that the myths of our origins are not just legends but ancient chronicles, distorted by the lens of trauma and shaped by millennia of oral tradition?

If we accept this hypothesis, this transition becomes a critical inflection point that planted the seeds for modern human civilization and technological progress while also creating the biological conditions for the unprecedented unfolding of the environmental, social and health crisis of our times.

Biology and Trauma

Trauma is an overwhelming or life-threatening event in which survival stress responses take over. This triggers a cascade of biological, neurological, and cognitive processes aimed at ensuring immediate survival.

While these responses are meant to be temporary, their intensity, duration, or lack of resolution can lead to self-sustaining feedback loops affecting multiple body systems and cognitive functions.

For instance, current research shows how early life adversity can alter brain structure and development through epigenetic modifications, leading to lasting changes in behavior and health. This chronic dysregulation manifests as lasting distortions in physiology, behavior, perception, and identity, shaping how individuals and their progeny experience themselves and the world.

At a biological level these stress responses cause a shift of the organism towards a more reactive, defensive stance characterized by sympathetic activation and heightened inflammatory and metabolic responses. As these genetic changes are passed on to the next generations the carriers become more susceptible to infections and inflammatory conditions and to anxiety and mood disorders.

But trauma does not spread only through epigenetic changes. When trauma is internalized, its maladaptive effects are amplified and become more prevalent and normalized. These maladaptive dynamics can be found in communities affected by natural disasters, war and displacement and wherever oppression/submission dynamics are at play. Organized crime and terrorism are examples of the possible outcomes of these dynamics

 Avoidance behaviors are also common in trauma survivors. Victims of severe trauma may struggle with recollection and often experience emotional numbing. While these defense mechanisms are designed to ensure the best chance of short-term survival, their persistence amplifies the effects of the trauma leading to a diminished sense of self, to feelings of alienation and to anxiety and mood disorders. Avoidance behaviors are particularly insidious because they effectively bypass the memory of the trauma and its maladaptive nature but leave behind all the damage it has caused.

The effects of trauma on the sense of self are devastating. Trauma survivors often feel disconnected from their communities, they feel different and alienated while they struggle to understand why. In extreme cases patients may not recognize parts of their bodies as their own and develop dissociative identity disorders.

Victims of trauma are also more likely to experience increased vulnerability to additional stressors. This can set off a chain reaction that amplifies the biological and psychological effects of trauma leading to increased dysregulation and further fragmentation of the self.

Even if the conscious mind can bypass a traumatic experience, the body remembers. Trauma and chronic stress sufferers are at much higher risk for chronic, autoimmune, degenerative and metabolic disorders and experience worse outcomes from these conditions than the general population.

Recent data from paleogenetics and paleoanthropology raises the possibility that similar epigenetic shifts in immune and neurological pathways consistent with heightened and pro-inflammatory responses may have occurred at the dawn of modern human civilization. Furthermore, remains from our ancestors of the early Neolithic period show signs of widespread poor health, stunted growth, malnutrition and high childhood mortality. It is during the same period that we also find the first evidence for war and systemic violence.

These findings challenge the traditional narrative that modern human civilization started out as a natural adaptive response; an evolution from a savage, primitive state. As the evidence keep piling up about the detrimental effects of the agricultural revolution on human society and human health, it seems easier for us to believe that we suffer from a fundamental flaw rather than consider the possibility that we changed because, like many victims of trauma today, we could not remember a life before everything changed.

Why does this matter?

Somehow we have convinced ourselves that our species alone is independent from the ecosystem, each of us contained and self sustained within the boundaries of our skin. But this is not true. All lifeforms exist in a variety of symbiotic, collaborative relationships that shape the entire ecosystem.

In the same way, our health is highly dependent on our environment. For example, the microbiome, the billions of microorganisms that populate every part of our bodies and that constantly change with our lifestyle, diet and environment, plays a critical role in our physical and mental health and on our higher cognitive functions.

Does this mean that the microbiome contributes to our sense of self? And if it does, then what is the boundary of our identity?

All biological systems function optimally in homeostatic conditions; a state characterized by a highly adaptive non-hierarchical exchanges and processes. In the animal kingdom this condition is defined as of “rest/digest” where parasympathetic processes are prevalent. In contrast, stressful and traumatic conditions induce a switch from this ideal state into highly simplified, hierarchical processes designed to ensure short term survival. This state is called “fight/flight”. Here sympathetic processes become prevalent leading to high energy expenditure, resource depletion and the adoption of often maladaptive survival strategies which take a significant toll on every organ and system. If these responses become sustained, as we see in chronic stress disorders, the health impact on those affected is significant.

There is little debate on the fact that our civilization has developed through an excess of sympathetic function and that the stress this causes is a main cause of human disease. However, if we consider the possibility that this is not just because of human nature, but because of a functional error, this is no longer an inevitability, a component of human suffering, but rather a disorder that can be treated and possibly cured.

The Leap of Faith

To contemplate the possibility that many of the foundational principles of our shared heritage and culture may be the result of an ancestral post-traumatic disorder seems preposterous, almost heretic.

At a personal level I feel almost reluctant to share this, even though I truly believe it is a hypothesis worth considering. For me it resonates true, maybe because of my own experience with my own wounded perspective.

Through the lens of trauma, so much of the contradictory nature of humanity, all of our biases, dogmas and fears suddenly begin to make a lot of sense.

The otherwise inexplicable rise of chronic and mental health disorders of the last 40 years becomes part of a pattern of how our progressive emancipation from nature and from each other, may be creating the conditions for our suffering.

This is not meant as a criticism of progress or of human civilization. Looking at our collective history through the lens of trauma, we can be proud of how far we have come, for how much beauty we have created and how much knowledge we have acquired in spite of our sickness, of the pain that we endure and inflict on others.

If we achieved so much while broken, just imagine what we would be capable of if we became whole again; if we could restore balance in our organisms and finally heal the illusion that has kept us trapped for so long.

But how can we heal a wound so deep and so ancient?

It is easy to become distracted by the systemic dysfunction of our society, to believe that change is impossible unless we dismantle the misguided infrastructures and belief systems that we have created in our quest for safety and freedom.

But I believe that this would be the wrong approach. Cultural norms, socioeconomic systems or the industrial military complex are not the problem. Although they appear to sustain and amplify our struggles; to make things worse and not better, they are just man-made things, neutral objects, tools that channel our intentions. They only exist because we have willed them. They only have power because we give it to them.

We created those things to protect ourselves, to feel a sense of control or else we would face chaos. Therefore, change needs to start from the individual; from the realization that change is possible. That it is never too late.

Many people believe that to heal is to return to an unspoiled state, but I do not believe that is possible. Trauma cannot be forgotten, suppressed or locked away. On the contrary, it must be accepted as part of our humanity.

Trauma must be known, understood and integrated so that it becomes a positive force; something that furthers our resilience and adaptability and gives us a greater sense of purpose.

Traumatic experiences cause a distortion of the self across all body systems. They rewire us and establish mechanisms to avoid the same injury in the future. This sometimes also involves the avoidance or removal of potential triggers and memories.

Trauma, when overwhelming, can also cause profound dissociative experiences. Victims can feel emotionally numb to the point of denial or overwhelmed but unable to express their feelings.

While both disassociation and avoidance mechanisms can lead to the adoption of maladaptive strategies, I find that avoidance mechanisms are the most toxic. When disassociation does not lead to a fracture of the self, it is a highly adaptive process that allows us to experience an event from the prospective of the witness as well as the participant. It is a cognitive device that gives us access to a wider array of information and a greater sense of clarity.

The attainment of a dissociative state induces experiences that can be perceived as dream-like, ecstatic or transcendent and therefore they are often associated with different forms of spiritual practice such as prayer, chant or meditation.

The intentional and controlled induction of a dissociative states through spiritual practice, hypnosis, mindfulness, or shamanic and energetic medicine, are also powerful healing tools. They can re-orient physiological and psychological processes towards homeostasis by reducing stress, inflammation and hypervigilance.

The renewed interest in the use of psychedelics for PTSD, depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders is generating a substantial body of research showing the transformational potential of these substances beyond traditional symptom control and validating millennia of traditional and ceremonial practices.

One key effect of these substances is to allow for the Default Mode Network (DMN) which is responsible for ego, self-referential thinking, and habitual thought loops, to be silenced and bypassed, enabling a process of reintegration and neurogenesis that continues to unfold over months or even years.

As well as showing great potential in neuropsychiatric indications, psychedelics show profound effects on the immune system, metabolism and the microbiome and I believe that they offer great potential for the treatment of chronic disease as much as mental health disorders.

While the physiological and neurological effects of psychedelic therapy are rapid and dramatic, they are not different in essence from those of deep meditation, spiritual practice, energetic medicine, shamanism and other forms of natural medicine. They all show the potential for neuroplasticity and restoration of homeostasis and are associated with a healthier sense of self, a greater general well-being and better quality of life.

In traditional use these practices create a sense of “wholeness”, an awareness that we are part of something greater. They reveal a finer fabric to reality and the futility of our hubris and misplaced attachments.

Data from the so called “blue zones”; areas where populations enjoy longer, healthier lives, show that central to all these communities is a sense of deep trust, of connection to the natural environment and to their communities. It is not just about a healthy diet and physical activity. Faith, kindness and hope are the common thread connecting the wealthy Seventh-Day Adventist community of Loma Linda to a fishing community in Okinawa.

The solution is not only treatment but rehabilitation—the introduction of habits and practices that, over time, dismantle avoidance mechanisms and reshape our physiology toward an optimal state, returning the DMN to its original function as an adaptive bridge between self-identity and the ecosystem, rather than a rigid barrier that traps us into isolation and a fear mindset.

Final Thoughts

While it is tempting to blame our innate fallacy, human nature or nefarious architectures beyond our control, the process of restoring wholeness in our lives and with our ecosystem must begin with each of us, but it doesn’t end there. While we finally recognize and start curing our own wounds, we can start remembering our true place in the world. In this way we can not only restore our own balance but create a vision for a world where connection, trust, and resilience become the foundation of health and culture once more. We possess all the knowledge and the tools we need to achieve this. While the path to wholeness may be as ancient as our species, our progress and technology make it more accessible than it has ever been. But only if we dare to accept the necessity for change.