Human nature is a mysterious phenomenon that has intrigued philosophers, scientists, and spiritual seekers since the beginning of time. There are 12 distinct characteristics that make up human nature.
What is human nature? Human nature consists of 12 fundamental characteristics that define the inherent natural state of a person. It includes traits that the average person experiences throughout the life cycle. The 12 qualities combined clearly separate human beings from the animal kingdom.
There are many supporting attributes that fall under these 12 specific categories of human nature. This list also explains how humans are different from animals.
1) The Human Body
Human nature includes the fundamental form that makes up a person’s physical presence on Earth. Every person enters the world in the specific bipedal shape of a human being. This includes the general anatomy and physiology of a person as we know it today.
The general form and function of the human remains constant. However, there are subdivisions of the human body that appear in various ways:
- Different races
- Different genders
- Different shapes and sizes
- Different colors
- Different personalities
Despite the above differences, it’s important to realize that they all fall into the main category of a human body. A fundamental aspect of human nature is to emphasize that we are humans as a category, not the subdivisions listed above.
The Human Body’s Defining Point in Time
One unique quality of every human body is an associated date of birth. The designation of a birthday is something that’s recorded and known by every person. This is one area that markedly separates the human from the animal. Animals are not known to record and keep track of their birthdays. Humans are. It’s a significant defining feature of human nature.
2) Material Possessions and Money
A dominant characteristic within human nature is the tendency to collect material possessions and money. Most people tend to acquire physical items of various sorts and store them in a safe place. This can range from money itself to owning things the person considers valuable.
Currency
Since ancient times, humans have been known to utilize a system of exchange and trade. This has taken the form of coins, notes, merchandise, and even virtual digital numbers in a bank account. Currency is known to have a generally agreed upon universal value for a specific time and location. Today we call this money.
Money is a deep-rooted component of human nature.
Material Possessions
It is human nature to own things. Even in historic times, when people had less, they still collected material items. You can see remnants of this in archaeological digs where they found spoons, cups, musical instruments, tapestries, weapons, and books in the ruins of ancient civilizations. It’s a universal phenomenon that people tend to seek out and collect stuff.
Homeless people are a perfect example of the natural tendency to collect a bunch of stuff. Most homeless people have a cart or place where they store their material possessions.
No one would argue that the world today is full of materialism. This section doesn’t need much explanation. We all witness how society is basically set up around money and material-driven motives.
Material possessions that human nature consistently values:
- Artistic and beautiful things (e.g., paintings, decorations)
- Food (especially gourmet)
- Gold, diamonds, and valuable gems
- A means of transportation (e.g., car)
- Flowers
- Clothing
- Pleasant scents (e.g., perfume, incense)
3) Communication Skills
A significant part of human nature is the ability to communicate in a variety of complex ways. People are known to communicate in forms that are uniquely different from the animal kingdom.
The primary purpose of communication is to deliver a message from one point to another. The message always occurs between a minimum of 2 points. A message is sent from point A to point B. Systems of communication can take many different forms:
- Speaking: This is direct verbal communication of a message from one mouth to another person’s ears.
- Music: Music is one of the most popular and cherished forms of communication today. It’s a part of human nature that all cultures embrace. Music has the ability to deliver a powerful message.
- Reading and Writing: This aspect of human nature has been around since ancient times. It’s the communication of a written symbolic message that delivers meaning to the reader.
- Listening: This type of communication is on the receiving end of a message moving from point A to point B. It is human nature to listen.
- Media: The media today is one of the primary means of communication in the modern world. This includes the delivery of news, entertainment, and information to the user.
- The Internet: This system links up a system of digital communication that connects people instantaneously to many points around the world.
- The Phone: Human nature tends to turn to the phone for communication in society today.
- Snail Mail and Email: For those who prefer written communication, these methods of delivering messages serve to fulfill a natural desire in human nature.
- Body Language: Even though nothing is said, a majority of communication between humans occurs through body language.
4) The Home Environment
It’s considered a foundational aspect of human nature to have a designated place to store possessions, to relax, to be nurtured, and to sleep. Regardless of being elaborate or humble, the home environment is a common element we all relate to.
There are many things that make up the home environment:
- Protection – This is probably the most primal reason for a home. It serves as a protective barrier from the beating sun, wind, rain, snow, insects, dangerous animals, and even human attack. The home provides safety.
- Comfort – It’s human nature to seek comfort. The home environment supports this through safety and relaxation. A cozy bed, warm fire, delicious food, and a hot shower all support the basic needs of a human being. Everyone seeks comfort and rest.
- The Mother – Every person has a direct connection to the mother that gave birth to them. The mother is usually found in the home environment. The mother is known to provide comfort. She is the necessary carrier of the human fetus. Her womb is a home environment for the baby, in a microcosmic sense. Most babies are then brought to the physical home after birth, in a macrocosmic sense.
- Nurture – It is human nature to provide nurture in the home setting. This includes feeding, tucking into bed, cleaning, hugging, washing, helping, guiding, and stroking.
5) Children
Having children is in the heart of human nature. It stems from an evolutionary force that supports growth and change. The human race as we know it could not exist without the ever-present and necessary component of children.
The presence of children requires these supporting factors:
- The Father – Children cannot exist without the donation of a sperm cell from the father. He provides the active force required to find and penetrate the egg cell. It is human nature to have a father.
- An Evolving Force – There is an unseen force that causes a fertilized egg to evolve into an embryo. It’s the same force that transforms the embryo into a fetus. These progressive changes in growth and maturation are part of human nature. The evolutionary force continues throughout the life cycle, leading to adolescence, adulthood, and death. The effects of the force can be measured and observed.
6) Health and Disease
A person’s health is an important subject in today’s world. Staying healthy is a top priority for many people, realizing the negative consequences of disease and injury.
It’s human nature to be vulnerable to disease and injury.
There are multiple factors that support the overall health of a person:
- Diet – The food that a person eats can make a big difference in overall health. There are some foods that are healthier than others.
- Physical Activity – There are many studies that show how physical activity supports overall good health. People who sit at a desk all day feel much better when they get up and move throughout the day. Regular activity improves focus and productivity.
- Mental Health – “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he” – Proverbs 23:7. What a person thinks can affect physical health. It’s important to cut stress out of life and transform thoughts from negative to positive. If thoughts are always dark and negative, the body can get sick. We empower and create what we focus on. Why not focus on our dreams, peace, gratitude, and joy? Thoughts are a choice.
- Cleanliness – Disease is sometimes caused from being unsanitary. It’s important to make sure we keep our food refrigerated with expiration dates checked. We should wash our hands with soap and water to help prevent disease. It’s also good to wash the body and clothes to remove smell and bacteria. Oil pulling is an excellent way to clean the mouth and remove plaque. It’s the dirtiest part of the body!
- Injury – Injury is a big obstacle to optimal health.
- Diseases – The acquisition and elimination of disease has been a common aspect of human nature for thousands of years.
- Enemies – The presence of negative people can contribute to poor mental health, possibly even poor physical health.
- Debt – If a person is drowning in debt, the stress can take a toll on both physical and mental health. Clean up debt as soon as possible. It’s a form of cleanliness and purification of negativity.
7) Love and Relationships
It’s human nature to gravitate towards love and relationships. All people desire love in one form or another. It might be the most powerful force on the planet!
This category of human nature includes the following:
- Romantic Love – This is the most intoxicating natural force on Earth.
- Marriage – Marriage has been a fundamental aspect of human nature since the beginning of time.
- Business Partnerships – Not all relationships are romantic. Business partners also fall into this category.
- Attraction – The force of cohesion supports this category from a structural level. Here, a natural force creates a bond between two objects or bodies that are attracted to one another. This force promotes a state of balance, harmony, and stability.
8) Unfortunate Events, Death, and Destruction
It’s very well known that all people encounter tough times at one point or another in life. It’s a normal part of human nature. Death is a force that all people understand and relate to.
Here’s a list of some examples in this category of human nature:
- Death – A predictable part of the life cycle is death. It’s something no one likes to deal with, but we know it’s just part of life’s natural rhythm.
- Destruction – Destructive forces are a necessary part of the life cycle. We can’t build a new building unless we destroy the old one first. Destruction of something can make way for the creation of something new. At first, most people are devastated by this force that often strikes unexpectedly. However, over time, life turns the corner to shine a light towards the end of the tunnel. There’s hope at the end.
- Obstacles – Things that get in the way of your goals and dreams are all a part of the human experience. It’s how we deal with them that matters. Will you remain defeated or find a way to rise above?
- Delays – We all experience delays in life. This is a normal and annoying part of the journey. It’s a great time to practice patience!
- Unfortunate Events – It’s part of human nature to go through ups and downs. If we don’t have darkness, how can we know light? Hard times give us a point of reference by which we can measure our progress. They also help us live more in gratitude once we overcome the difficulty and look back.
- Transformation – When something in life is destroyed through unfortunate circumstances, there’s only UP to go once we hit rock bottom. This process is the spark that leads to total transformation. A caterpillar must break out of its cocoon before it can fly away to freedom. Transformation has been a key element of humanity throughout the rising and falling of past civilizations.
- Oppression – Throughout history, we’ve witnessed the troubling aspect of human nature to oppress and dominate others. We’ve seen slavery and cruelty since ancient times. Hopefully, we’re entering a time when the dark part of our nature will be extinguished.
9) Education and Spiritual Practices (Higher Knowledge)
Throughout history, it’s been human nature to seek higher knowledge and paths of wisdom. This has taken the form of universities, technical schools, churches, religions, sacred texts, and spiritual pursuits.
Human nature gravitates to the following things:
- Higher Education – Human beings naturally seek knowledge. They ask many questions and constantly strive to grow in wisdom. We see this even in children, who ask endless questions naturally.
- Professors and Teachers – In life, there’s always someone playing the role of the teacher. In order to learn, there must be someone to teach. This has been going on for thousands of years. It’s part of our built-in code. Human nature provides us with teachers.
- Spiritual Practices – Religion, rituals, meditation, Kriya Yoga, and spiritual practices are all based on higher knowledge that is traditionally passed down from a teacher to a student. This can take the form of a guru/disciple relationship, for example, as Jesus taught his disciples. It’s human nature to adopt some form of spiritual practice, as witnessed throughout ancient history and today.
- A Guru or Spiritual Leader – People with spiritual authority and knowledge fall into this category because they serve as the fundamental catalyst by which all spiritual practice is initiated.
10) Work and Career
It’s human nature to go to work. Most people eventually get a job of some kind. Work can be defined as what a person is known for in the world. It’s their accomplishments and achievements. It isn’t necessary to receive money for services in order to be considered work. A mother that stays at home is most definitely working hard. That’s her job.
Human nature gravitates towards the following:
- A Job, Career, or Profession – Most people take on a job of one kind or another. Work is in our DNA.
- Completed Works, Building Something – It’s human nature to complete a project, check off a task, or build something to show the world. Humans are known to create things out of nothing. This is a very special quality, indeed.
- Authority Figure in the Work Place or Government – In the work place, there’s always someone in charge. Since ancient times, it’s been human nature to have a leader or authority figure in any kind of work setting or government operation. We do better when we have a leader in one form or another. It’s a natural tendency that everyone seems to practice around the world.
- Manifesting an Idea – Humans are known to have the power to make an idea turn into reality. A skyscraper can go from a blueprint on paper to the real thing in the middle of a city. It’s human nature to make ideas come to life.
11) Organizations and Working Together for a Unified Purpose
It has always been human nature to work together in groups. Coming together for a common purpose has been a great advantage to the survival of humanity. A church can be built better and faster by many, as compared to a single person. No man is an island.
It’s human nature to:
- Form organizations
- Come together in groups
- Make group decisions
- Work together for a single purpose
- Have social functions
People benefit to a higher degree when people come together for a cause. There are greater gains and advantages when more than one person contributes. Unified effort can be much more powerful than individual effort. This concept is a dominant aspect of human nature.
12) Inner Experience and the Subconscious
One of the most profound aspects of human nature is the experience of the inner realm, subconscious mind, and dreams. This is the space that’s hidden from the view of the outside world. It’s entirely subjective, yet very real to each person.
This aspect of human nature includes:
- What a person does when no one is looking. It’s the quiet and private aspect of the self that is not shown to anyone. For example, someone may love to listen to binaural beats on headphones when they’re alone. They can have an experience that no one can duplicate or fully understand from an outside perspective.
- Dreams. We all know that Carl Jung was a master at understanding this aspect of the subconscious mind. Dreams are very real, yet they aren’t. Still, they’re a significant part of human nature. Most everyone dreams at one time or another. And no one will call you crazy for it.
- The tendency to want privacy. Occasionally, it’s human nature to want to get away from it all and be alone. This gives a person time for self reflection and an opportunity to get outside of the rat race.
- The astral light body. For thousands of years, yogis have known about the astral system of chakras that run along the human spine. They can be activated and cleared through meditative practices. Systematic methods have been created that run electromagnetic energy up and down the spine, leading to bliss and increased awareness. Kriya Yoga is a scientific method to achieve this state.
Human nature consists of many innate qualities. As a spider knows how to spin a web, so a human knows to spin their own reality. Indeed, we are advanced mammals in the animal kingdom, yet we continuously strive higher for the abstract and unseen realms of consciousness and divinity.
It’s clear that humanity is evolving at a rapid pace. Only time will tell where we all end up. Hopefully, it will be in a world of peace, enlightenment, and harmony.
Until then, the show must go on.
Carpe diem.
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