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In the ancestral environment—the living circumstances of our forebears a million years ago on the savanna of Africa—humans were focused on the day-to-day struggle for survival. With their focus on providing for their material needs, they coordinated their bodies, minds, and emotions with their community, the natural environment, and the spirit world. What we call “peak experience” was their normal state of mind.
In the twenty-first century, the relative ease of meeting our needs and the greater assortment of choices have not made us happier, but more indecisive and unfulfilled. Because of our genetic inheritance, we crave the close relationships and unity of purpose that our ancient predecessors possessed. We feel ashamed in our alienation and uncertainty, and our suspicions of others’ motives keep us isolated and frustrated.
Burning In: Emotional Regulation for the Twenty-First Century explores a way of being in the world that resonates more closely with the ways of our ancient forebearers—
inhabiting a space of awe and withholding judgment of the unknown, recognizing the desire for validation and good intent in each of us.