Genetic Memory

Have you ever wondered how a baby bird knows how to build a nest without ever being taught? It is because they have a library of instructions hidden inside their tiny bodies from the moment they are born. These instructions come from all the birds that lived before them, passed down like a secret treasure map. It means you are never truly alone because the wisdom of your family is literally a part of your skin and bones. You know things because your ancestors lived through them first. It is the ultimate copy-paste for survival.

You know how to breathe deeply when scared without being told. That is not you. That is every ancestor who ever calmed themselves down, writing the instructions into your blood.

Genetic memory through epigenetics and behavioral genetics suggests complex behaviors and fears are encoded in the genome via DNA methylation and histone modification. Challenges the tabula rasa theory. The individual is a temporary vessel for a continuous stream of biological consciousness — the collective unconscious made molecular. Our most basic instincts are echoes of a thousand lifetimes refined into a single functional impulse.

SOUND: White noise of a rushing river that feels instantly calming.

SMELL: A pine forest that feels like home even if you have never been there.

TASTE: The bitter taste of some plants: your DNA saying do not eat this.

TOUCH: A soft blanket that feels like a mother's hug.

SIGHT: Looking at the stars and feeling a strange sense of direction.

BODY: A baby's hand automatically curling around your finger: the oldest handshake in the world.

Music: Dusty Road, So Kind by DeYarmond Edison

Music: Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise by The Avett Brothers

Music: Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Part of Animals & Instinct — NATURE — Education Revelation