All that we share

Despite our superficial differences, we all experience the same basic fears, needs, fragilities, pains, desires, hopes, and joys, also known as the human condition.

TheCone Model© is a recurring pattern that explains how and why, no matter who we are, we start with brilliant solutions to our problems and end up with destructive life systems that rob us of our freedoms, fail to address our problems, and create new ones.

A Glimpse into The Cone Model ©

We all have problems and needs

Our Core Certainties are the things we’re so sure of, we never doubt or question. They inform how we define our problems, and there’s never a shortage of those. It can be anything from our fear of dying to being bored out of our minds on a Saturday night.

Problems lead to needs, the basic one being “get rid of the problem.” However, we are influenced by a myriad of profiteers who warp our reality, manipulate us, manufacture, or augment our problems and needs, and then offer us their quick (and profitable) fixes.

From creative Solutions to controlling System

Once a solution becomes widespread and rooted in our daily lives, we develop structures to support its distribution, access, and delivery. As all systems go, the solution narrows into what we decide is “the right one” (usually it’s the right one for the profiteer). Having a solid answer means fewer new ideas and greater caution with new approaches. At this stage, we no longer ask too many troublesome questions about our solution, justify its use, or seek alternatives.

Dogma: the one true solution

Give the system more time in the hands of zealots and self-serving interests, and it becomes “The One Solution,” further narrowing our options. This is where the system becomes more important than the problems and needs it is meant to address.

The Cone is where dogma rules. It is where we lose our solution-related freedom of thought, speech, and action, whether or not we are aware of it. The upholders of “The One Solution” become our oppressors, and we, their willing or unwilling Subjects.

Surely not me!

You might be tempted to believe that only naïve people buy into an oppressive system and that you are immune to manipulation, but you will be wrong. It happens to all of us because we all experience the same basic vulnerabilities. We are all indoctrinated by our cultures, communities, educational systems, governments, and faith organizations, to name a few. We grow up inside many Cones that confine our thinking and manipulate our behaviour, and we are all vulnerable to unhealthy coping mechanisms and shrewd propaganda.

The good news

The Cone Model©, as discussed in my book, CONEtrolled, is easy to grasp because we all experience Cones in almost every area of our lives. On the bright side, once you understand how Cones work, you can no longer unsee them.

Understanding the inner workings of the Cone beast can help you seek alternative ways to go about the solutions you come up with and the systems you choose to embrace. Many have already stepped out of their Cones and chose better pathways. You can do the same.