Heinlein’s Rules of Humanity
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
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Pay your damned traffic tickets. I didn’t, back in the early 80’s, and got picked up by the cops. On my @#$$ birthday. Went to jail, and had no money to bail myself out. I used my one phone call to call Dangerous Visions bookstore, and got the proprietor Art Cover on the phone. Bless his heart, he came over and bailed me out. I was crushed, humiliated, in total misery. I drove home with my heart boiling in stomach acid, in a dark, dark, depressive tunnel. Walked into my house and could barely meet my wife Toni’s eyes.
All I wanted to do was curl up and die. Then…the telephone rang. Toni picked it up. “Hello?”
I saw her jaw drop, and her eyes widen. Her hand look like it was shaking. Her mouth worked a couple of times and then she spoke. “Ah, Steve…it’s Robert Heinlein.”
He’d called to wish me happy birthday. One of the greatest moments of my life.
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I love finishing the basic live portion of THE SOULMATE PROCESS. Now I have to finish another couple of things, then circle back and see what’s necessary for people to really understand what this path is.
The core of it rests on the assumption of equality (with areas of complementarity) between men and women. I’ll START with equality, and very grudgingly admit differences if we have things like different reproductive patterns in the mix. That does change things on multiple levels, leading to different social customs to maximize those grandchildren, and people who try to pretend this isn’t true end up sounding pretty silly. But then…so do people who insist that we are doomed to the same social patterns as our paleolithic ancestors.
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I’m not certain I’ve ever met anyone who promoted the notion of their own superiority who was balanced in all three basic arenas. This is odd, because by my definitions, this is a superior path, so wouldn’t people who are rich, happily married and athletic feel superior..?
I can only figure that the effort to balance in all three arenas keeps them humble. They struggle with their own demons, and as a result have empathy for other people’s fauna. The process of forming and maintaining a bonded relationship forces them to remember they are NOT the center of the universe, that at least one other person has “inwardness”…which easily leads to the conclusion that others may as well.
So I see the process of “adulting”, which includes this bonded partnership for the majority of humans, to lead to awareness, and the path of awakening, which is nothing more than losing the illusions that block the light.
Having been in the science fiction community all my life, I know that Robert Heinlein was one of the “Big Three” core hard SF writers, along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. Having been blessed to have met all three (and actually having the honor of working with Mr. Heinlein in the Citizens Space Advisory Council meetings at Larry Niven’s house long ago…I was even written up in Pravda as their “token Negro.” Aww, shuck, ma’am. Warn’t nothin’ [toeing the ground bashfully])
And I have a couple of things to say about the experience of meeting all of them
- Mr. Heinlein was the least disappointing Icon I’ve ever met.
- Isaac Asimov’s basic position seemed to be “look how amazing my mind is.” Arthur C. Clarke’s attitude seemed to be “look at how amazing the universe is.” And Robert Heinlein’s attitude seemed to be “look how amazing YOU are. Come with me young man, young woman…and I will show you how to get the best from yourself.”
At the CSAC, every time he spoke the room went SILENT as we eagerly sipped every drop of his wisdom, or at the very least listened agog to his opinions. But what I found fascinating was that after he spoke, he seemed often to look at ME with approval, as if he really believed that I would have said that if he hadn’t. And when I spoke he gave me TOTAL attention. I’m sure he did that to everyone else, but it was a disorienting and magical experience.
I totally understand why so many SF fans love that quote. But approaching it is a different thing. And I would say that the path of approach is to simplify it into the three most basic aspects and focus on those until you have them nailed, only then adding more.
Your body is the sum total of decisions and actions you make on a daily basis.
Your finances are the sum total of decisions and actions you make on a daily basis
Your relationships are the sum total of the decisions and actions you make on a daily basis.
In all three arenas, one can be born with disadvantages: lack of capacity, lack of guidance. This is true. But guidance can be gained by seeking role models, which leaves capacity. Some of this is social: if you are poor, or otherwise disadvantaged, it can be harder to handle the stress and lack of resources, such that all three can be quite challenging. Look for the people who have succeeded despite your disadvantages. And…there will be cases where it is very, very difficult to do this, and beyond any doubt cases where it will be almost impossible.
But you’ll never know, if you don’t actually look at your behaviors. If you are Intermittent Fasting and doing Kettlebell Intervals four times a week and not losing weight — yeah, it’s probably your body. Worse still is if you simply cannot do those things.
If you are saving 10% per week and cannot get your finances together, that would be odd. More likely, your financial situation makes it impossible to do this. 5%? 1%? I’ve never met a person with a steady paycheck who didn’t have discretionary income. Not one. I’ll be talking about this at a friggin’ convention, people will say they don’t have the time or money to invest in themselves, and then fum-fah when I ask how they afforded the time and energy to come to the convention. Someone is lying.
If you say you don’t have the time to meditate to heal your heart, and I show you how you can reduce the initial investment to five minutes a day, you can then lie and say you don’t have the time…or admit that your demons are clawing your eyes out, that the fear and self-loathing are eating you alive, and you need help.
If you say you don’t have the time to write, but can’t find the time to write a sentence a day while you’re watching Robot Chicken every day…sorry, but what is stopping you is NOT lack of time. Your demons are alive and well.
And if you think Mr. Heinlein’s amazing list of attributes (well, actually it was a quote from a fictional character, Lazarus Long, who lived long enough to actually have all those skills) is ideal, but you haven’t handled even the basic three, what is going to happen?
Heinlein’s Rules are the goal! I am no where near them. Therefore I am not a “real human being.” Why even try, then? Better to stay in illusion, not expect real health and success, settle for a world of illusion. Never find out who I could have been, what I could have been, what I might have given to the world.
If I can’t be perfect, why bother trying?
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That’s a way to fail at everything you do, you know. Set your goals so high that you fail every time, thereby “proving” there was no hope at all. As opposed to focusing on the Big Three. And of the Big Three, it is entirely possible the most important is Mating. Why?
- Unless our partner shares our delusions, it forces us to be more awake.
- We can do things for others we cannot do for ourselves.
- If our partner has different skills and strengths, if we complement ourselves, we learn and grow and can be stronger than we are alone.
- More of life’s pleasures are contained within the circle of our home. It is easier to take a stand and block negative influences out and commit to GOING FOR IT.
- If you have children, that automatically creates greater wakefulness than the same people absent children, all other things being equal
- Most statistics suggest you will live longer, and better.
- You are forced to see the humanity in at least one other human being, which opens the door to wisdom.
So the “Soulmate Process” is an attempt to put people on the “Adulting” path, where they have a chance to experience the things that lead to knowledge, balanced experience, wisdom and joy. It is hooking the animal sex and survival drives to the heart and the head and ultimately to the spirit.
It works. And now, having created the basic foundation, I want to take a deep breath and see what we need to do to make this the most valuable gift to the world I can give. This has been a big one, maybe the biggest I’ve ever done. At any rate, I’m going to take it that seriously.
Namaste
Steve