The idea of connection is very important. It’s through connections with others that we access our connection with the universal self. So part of the human condition is the desire to connect on a larger, broader scale than even the individual family. The idea to reach out beyond, to be even more inclusive, and to have better connections, we see this in teenagers and in people in their 20s. How they’re making extra family connections, they’re making friendships and partnerships, and other types of relationships. These parts are all part of our growth as humans, and they continue to be important: so isolated people probably are less healthy than those that are well connected also. Obviously people’s life spans are enhanced by strong connections.

So this is all the way it works on the outside. On the inside, as we’re living our lives in isolation. We tend to think in loops, in circular types of thinking. We have the same kinds of ideas. They may be stronger or weaker at different times, but it’s not until we start to connect or increase our connections and make new connections that the ideas and thoughts that our mind is revolving around can shift and be enhanced through that shifting. I suppose they could also be distracted or something like that, but you wouldn’t necessarily want to make strong connections with those that are not enhancing your thinking.

In a way, it’s like if you’re taking a vitamin or eating nutritious food. You should make friends with people who have healthy, similar ideas. That kind of connection would be good. Even just the kind that says “Hey, I support you, I’m here, I think you’re doing good.” Just some sort of encouragement is also helpful from the outside.

Now this is not the same as the self-affirming individual. You can still be a self-affirming individual and have connections that are also affirming, self-validating even. A self-validated individual be validated on the outside as well? It’s certainly feasible. One self is very similar to another.

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