Denial appears to be the root cause of all human problems. Denial of truth and reality is the path to disaster, and humanity is walking that path.
Instructions: answer Y or N to each of the five statements:
1. Humans deny things.
2. The Earth revolves around the Sun (heliocentrism).
3. Humans evolved from primates (earlier animals).
4. Barack Obama is a better US President than George W. Bush.
5. Global Warming is occurring and will get much worse.
Then read the comments for the Denial Mitigation Steps
The Middle Way 
Denial Mitigation Steps
Every one of the above statements is true, yet humans will refuse to believe them because of underlying subconscious denial. Until the causes of the denial are rooted out (one by one), denial will continue to perpetuate/fester, pointing humanity towards disaster.
Instructions: for the first statement answered with a N, read the information below. Critically think about it. Repeat until your answer becomes a Y (congratulations). Move to the next statement answered with a N.
1. Denial is the basis of all human problems (i.e. greed, hatred, delusion which in turn lead to: wars, killing, inequality, injustice, environmental damage, over population, etc.). Humans will even deny that they deny.
Humans can overcome denial by addressing the root causes.
2. Over 470 years ago, Copernicus proposed that the Earth revolved around the Sun. 400 years ago, “Galileo defended heliocentrism, claiming it was not contrary to Scriptures. He took Augustine’s position on Scripture: not to take every passage literally when the scripture in question is a book of poetry and songs, not a book of instructions or history. The writers of the Scripture wrote from the perspective of the terrestrial world, and from that vantage point the sun does rise and set. In fact, it is the Earth’s rotation which gives the impression of the sun in motion across the sky.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism
Anyone who denies that the Earth revolves around the Sun is denying over 400 years of absolute scientific support and evidence. It should become clear that anyone denying heliocentrism will also subconsciously deny many more recent truths.
3. Darwin formulated the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection in 1859. In 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
Anyone who denies that humans evolved from primates (earlier animals) is denying over 150 years of absolute scientific support and evidence (including millions of fossils, genetics, DNA evidence, and even the existence of dinosaurs and dogs). For christians, it’s also worth knowing that Catholicism accepted evolution about 50 years ago. It should become clear that anyone denying evolution will also subconsciously deny many more recent truths.
4. This statement is not that different than “Ronald Reagan was a better US President than George W. Bush”. At Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States),
#1 Lincoln, #2 FDR, #3 Washington, #14 Obama, #17 Reagan, #22 HW Bush, #34 W Bush. Anyone denying Obama is a better US President than Bush will also subconsciously deny many more truths, like global warming.
5. Though initially proposed that the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere could heat up our planet in 1896 (Arrhenius), it wasn’t until the 1950s that scientists were able to more accurately measure and predict the effects of increasing CO2 levels. Over the past 60 years, there has been absolute scientific support and evidence that global warming is already occurring, that it is primarily due to humans burning fossil fuels, that it will get much worse IF we continue on our current path.
Starting in 1990, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published reports on what is known about Global Warming and Climate Change. The 2014 fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states with 95 percent confidence that humans are the primary cause of the current global warming.
It should become clear that anyone who denies any of the previous “denial statements” might not believe that global warming is occurring and will get much worse. Denial is being promoted by the fossil fuel industry (which profits in billions of dollars annually). The multitude of environmental spills and degradation makes it clear that the fossil fuel industry does not care about the consequences of their actions (more denial).
Even among those who believe that global warming is occurring and will get much worse, most don’t realize that we are projected to pass a 3.6degF limit in 2030, just 15 years away. Scientist believe that exceeding 3.6degF over pre-industrial times will cause feedback loops, taking global warming beyond any human control. If we let that occur, in the coming centuries, global temperatures will be 6-10degC (10-15degF) hotter, sea levels will rise 5-50 feet, and billions of people will die from starvation, lack of water, disease and wars… what many might call “Hell on Earth”. Anyone who doubts this can sit in a car on a sunny day with the windows rolled up as a demonstration of the greenhouse effect. We have a very short amount of time to pass a Carbon (Pollution) Tax, to prevent this from occurring. Please take 30 seconds to sign this Carbon Tax petition. https://www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-pass-a-carbon-tax-to-stop-global-warming-and-protect-earth
Thank you, I appreciate this post. Started on some medication today – facing my life sober for the first time calm (calm being a word I can settle for) in forever. Usually I experience panicking on a daily basis, unless I’m not sober. Something like sobering + medicating with mood stabilizers will definitely get a person to notice the extent to which they are swimming, just swimming in a pool of their own denial.
It’s surprising how as a being in a moment of accepting or observing my environment + the way I behave in it, it’s baffling the extent to which I am indeed / have indeed become “different”. Denial will set you apart from those who have enough consciousness to function functionally. If you are not minimally conscious, you are living on a different plane of existence. Isolation changes a person, even if it is say, a perceived isolation. It makes trust with yourself… Challenging.
Denial and trust. Interesting opposition, isn’t it? Denial and trust.
Reason to trust? Reason not to trust? Past experiences? Current reflections?
(Denial and skepticism, I should say.)
The five stages of grief, is a series of emotional stages experienced when faced with any tragedy. The five stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Denial is stage one and many never get past it. Only by going thru the stages can a person reach acceptance and move on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model
This comment has helped me allot since the reply – again, Thanks
Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science? This National Geographic article explains why, covering 4 of the 5 statements.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text
That’s a very funny post, with a unfitting title 😉 (“Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?”)
The unreality of America and the importance of facing facts http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/26/1439414/-The-unreality-of-America-and-the-importance-of-facing-facts
A global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions would prevent nearly 70,000 premature American deaths annually by the end of the century while sparing the country hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of economic losses, according to a major government study on the cost of climate change. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/22/inaction-on-climate-change-would-cost-billions-in-economic-losses-major-epa-sponsored-study-finds/