Instincts.

[Darrell]

This will be written in short story form, as to show my thought process as it evolved with age.

When I was around 6-7 years old I remember posing the question to my mother "Why are cats afraid of us?". She basically said because humans have been known to be mean to them. I said "But how would a kitten know that? Why are they scared?" She basically said it's just in their instincts to be afraid from the experience animals have had with humans.

I thought about that for a long time, wondering "What are these instincts? ". I wondered where they came from, what caused them. How would an animal just know something? Naturally, this led me to examining myself, and other humans. We have instincts as well. There are things we're naturally scared of and things we just seem to know. I also noticed these instincts vary from person to person. Some are universal. But some are very unique and individual.

It didn't take me long to decide that instincts were nothing more than information that was deeply engraved into our being. This would explain the individuality, and cultural differences as well. Once satisfied with this answer of mine, I tried to explain it to my friends and family. They gave me the usual humoring, but mostly didn't seem to think much of it. But I was satisfied with my answer for the time being, so I left it alone at that, until much later.

In my teens, I revisited the subject of instincts when I was getting into biology and genetics. As we discussed how genetics were handed down from generation to generation, I again tried to explain my theory on instincts, to no avail. But the topic of genetics peeked a new interest in this subject for me because it was explained to us that genetics are basically concrete core code that you receive from your family line, which you can do nothing about. So, I wondered, if this were true, does this void my instincts theory?

Well, I obviously had to re-evaluate my theory on instincts. So I thought, start with assuming my theory was true. If genetics are concrete code received, then how do you receive unique instincts? Would it not be included in your genetic makeup? It seemed to me it would be. So you can't have something that is changeable included with something that is not changeable. I was far too satisfied with my original analysis of instincts to believe that they were unchangeable. I knew instincts were changeable for a fact as I had changed them within myself. With this knowledge, I realized if that has to be true, the what they told us was false; Genetics are not concrete.

So began my theory on genetics, mostly worked on when I was around about 12-13 years old maybe. (So hard to remember precisely. Could have been as old as 15, probably no younger than 12.) I decided genetics were completely changeable, and that hereditary was a myth. I believe that genetics can be altered like instincts, and passed down anew to the next generation. This is why you see natural evolution of behaviors among people in the world.

This theory is being accepted by the mainstream scientists and it is believed by most now that you can change your genetics with simple mental and physical training. They have shown that it changes your very DNA. Which, it should. We are an evolving, living organism. Change happens from the inside out. It has to come from within first. For that to be true, our DNA must be ever-changing, and adapting to our mental, physical and most likely spiritual growth.

In closing, I believe instincts are pieces of information that over time have been determined to be important to the individual, to the point that it is no longer though of, rather it is just known or felt. They are changeable. You can acquire new ones, and get rid of old ones depending on how you feel about them.