Do We Feel Safe In A Group?

A group may be family, friends, political associates, work colleagues, spiritual members, or just people with the same interests as us, where we use the same language. We feel safe in a group as it offers support.

Is that true? It may feel true, but we’re actually supporting the group’s ethos. When we rely on a group, we’re not independent thinkers anymore, as we observe certain individuals dominating the group and the rest either following, or allowing it and sitting back to be entertained.

Outside the group, we’re free – but do we want to be free? Can we deal with freedom? Freedom means taking responsibility for our life. From birth, we’re bound to groups, and even if we rebel against one group, we usually end up joining another.

We’re herd-orientated. 🙂

If we live vicariously through groupthink, we develop grouptalk. This isn’t being negative about groups; it’s just being aware of their effect. Living through a group requires a loss of critical thinking in order to keep the peace. In fact, we’re being controlled, and we can’t function outside that group.

Groupthink occurs when we desire comfort and conformity inside a box. It’s understandable, but we surrender something – a voice – and just accept and keep quiet. The illusion of agreement is that everyone nods along, creating a false impression that the entire group is completely unanimous.

There is direct pressure on dissenters. Anyone who questions the status quo is subtly or overtly pressured to fall back into line. There’s a collective belief that the group’s decisions are flawless and cannot possibly fail. On spiritual paths, this should never happen, but it does.

Problems arise because people have different experiences, and different understandings of the meanings of words. Words are either literal or expedient, and this is where we divide.

For the literal person, instructions require exact, word-for-word obedience. They focus on the method and leave no room for interpretation. For the expedient person, instructions focus on achieving the desired outcome quickly and effectively. They allow the person executing them to adapt to the immediate situation.

The Buddha famously compared his teachings to a raft. The raft is not the shore (the ultimate truth); it is simply an expedient tool used to cross the river. Once we reach the other side, we leave the raft behind. In this view, most language used in spiritual teachings is expedient rather than literal.