Most of us, at some point in our lives, experience a quiet but persistent sense that something is wrong – not just with the world, but within ourselves. We feel disconnected, defensive, sometimes ashamed. We strive to be kind, thoughtful, and calm – yet find ourselves reacting in ways that contradict those intentions. Why?
In my work as a coach and mindfulness teacher, I’ve found that many people carry an undercurrent of guilt or unease about their own deepest self. We tend to assume that these uncomfortable feelings are the result of individual shortcomings or past trauma. But what if they point to something deeper – something shared by all of humanity?
A Bold Biological Perspective
One of the more intriguing answers to this question comes from Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, the founder of the World Transformation Movement. Griffith has spent decades developing a theory that aims to explain the psychological foundations of human behaviour. He suggests that what we often think of as “emotional baggage” is in fact a species-wide condition – the result of an ancient internal conflict that arose with the emergence of consciousness itself millions of years ago.
Griffith calls this conflict the human condition. In essence, he proposes that our conscious minds evolved in opposition to our older, instinctive drives. While instincts are rigid and fixed, consciousness introduced the ability to reason, question, and choose. This created tension. As we increasingly attempted to manage our lives from a conscious basis, our actions began to defy those ingrained instincts, leading to confusion, defensiveness, and a profound sense of guilt.
Importantly, Griffith argues that this clash between instinct and intellect that lies at the root of all forms of psychological distress. While personal experiences of trauma, anxiety, or dysfunction may differ widely, they are, at base, expressions of this same fundamental conflict. Emotional pain, in its many forms, is the downstream effect of our species’ unresolved inner tension – and until we address this original rift, the symptoms will persist.
Griffith’s ideas have attracted significant praise from prominent thinkers. Professor Harry Prosen, a former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, called Griffith’s book FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition “the 11th hour breakthrough” in understanding human psychology. Others, such as psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Professor Scott Churchill, have described the theory as a potential paradigm shift in how we understand ourselves.
Whether or not one agrees with every aspect of Griffith’s work, his theory provides a fascinating lens through which to examine the roots of self-rejection – and a potential path toward self-acceptance.
Understanding as a Path to Emotional Liberation
According to Griffith, this inner guilt is not evidence of human failings, but of human courage. He argues that our ancestors didn’t “fall” from grace – they embarked on a difficult but necessary journey to understand themselves and the world. In doing so, they had to override instinctive programming, which inevitably generated psychological stress.
If true, this would mean that the destructive behaviours we often associate with human nature – anger, selfishness, egocentricity – are not signs of innate flaws, but symptoms of a misunderstood internal struggle.
And that struggle, Griffith maintains, is not just one source of distress among many – it is the source. While abuse, trauma, or disconnection all shape our experiences, they do so in the shadow of this core evolutionary clash. Everything from insecurity to depression can be traced back, in some form, to this unresolved tension between the instincts we inherited and the consciousness that defines us.
The hopeful part? Griffith believes that now, with a scientific understanding of this struggle, we can begin to heal it. Once we know why we behave the way we do – not just from a behavioural or neurological standpoint, but from a meaning-driven, existential perspective – we’re free to stop judging ourselves. Understanding replaces shame. Insight replaces self-criticism.
As Professor Prosen put it, “the beauty of Griffith’s treatise is that the healing starts at the macro level of the universal human condition… It brings the greater context and love to all human psychosis and suffering, and then, from under the umbrella of that safe position, everyone can gradually work inwards to their particular experience.” In this view, self-acceptance isn’t about denial – it’s about finally seeing the full picture.
Beyond Self-Help: Toward Collective Healing
At MindOwl, we focus on psychological tools for personal growth – mindfulness, cognitive techniques, emotional regulation. What Griffith brings to the table is a complementary, macro-level perspective. He reminds us that inner work isn’t just a personal journey – it’s part of a much larger human story.
He also offers a vocabulary that many people find empowering. For example, the idea that we are “upset” by nature – not in a pejorative sense, but in the sense of being psychologically wounded – can help reduce the harshness of our internal dialogue. We’re not broken. We’re not bad. We’re hurt – and trying to make sense of it.
And significantly, if the origin of that hurt lies in the instinct vs intellect clash that has shaped the whole of human history, then our personal struggles are not isolating – they are unifying. We are all dealing with different versions of the same internal wound.
That shift in framing can be powerful. It invites us to move from blame to compassion, both for ourselves and others.
A Conversation Worth Having
To be clear, I’m not presenting Jeremy Griffith’s theory as the answer. It’s one perspective among many – and like all big ideas, it invites scrutiny. But I do believe it’s a conversation worth having.
In a time when mental health issues are surging and social trust is breaking down, we need more than coping strategies. We need root-cause thinking. Griffith’s work attempts to go there – to the psychological foundation beneath all the surface symptoms. Whether it’s ultimately correct or not, his theory challenges us to take a deeper look at ourselves, not with judgment, but with empathy and curiosity.
That, in my view, is the essence of any authentic journey toward self-acceptance.
MindOwl Founder – My own struggles in life have led me to this path of understanding the human condition. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy before completing a master’s degree in psychology at Regent’s University London. I then completed a postgraduate diploma in philosophical counselling before being trained in ACT (Acceptance and commitment therapy).
I’ve spent the last eight years studying the encounter of meditative practices with modern psychology.