Written by Fiona Blenman
Look at the extraordinary diversity of human beings around the world.
Our skin ranges across a continuous spectrum—from very lightly pigmented shades through countless tones of beige, olive and brown to deeply pigmented skin.
These differences are immediately visible, and throughout history humans have attached enormous social meaning to them.
But beneath the labels we have created lies a much older and more fascinating story.
Our different skin tones reflect part of humanity’s long relationship with sunlight, geography, genetics, migration and adaptation.
From the perspective of The Earth & Body Connection, this story also provides an opportunity to explore one of the central themes of my Conscious Energy framework:
Life continually interacts with its environment, adapting in ways that help it survive and flourish.
One Humanity, Many Expressions
Modern humans share a common evolutionary history.
As human populations migrated across the Earth over thousands of generations, they encountered dramatically different environments—from intense tropical sunlight to regions where ultraviolet radiation was much weaker and highly seasonal.
Our ancestors didn’t simply enter these environments unchanged.
Populations adapted.
Culture adapted.
Diet adapted.
Clothing and shelter developed.
And, over many generations, human biology also changed.
One of the most visible results of that history is the remarkable spectrum of human skin pigmentation we see today.
Skin colour is therefore not evidence that humanity consists of fundamentally separate biological types.
It is one expression of variation within humanity.
What Actually Creates Skin Colour?
Human skin colour is influenced primarily by a pigment called melanin.
Melanin is produced by specialised cells called melanocytes. Differences in pigmentation involve several biological factors, including the type, amount and distribution of melanin.
Skin pigmentation is also polygenic, meaning that many genes contribute to it rather than there being a single “skin colour gene”. Similar skin tones have even evolved through somewhat different genetic pathways in different populations.
This already tells us something important.
Human variation does not fit neatly into a handful of colour categories.
Nature is usually more complicated than the labels we give it.
Sunlight and the Evolution of Human Skin
One of the strongest influences on the evolution of human pigmentation has been ultraviolet radiation, or UVR.
Early members of our species evolved in Africa, where exposure to ultraviolet radiation was often intense. Dark, melanin-rich skin provided important protection under high-UV conditions. As populations later migrated into environments with lower and more seasonal UV exposure, lighter pigmentation evolved independently in some populations.
One influential explanation involves the relationship between ultraviolet radiation, folate and vitamin D.
Folate is important for numerous biological processes, including reproduction and development, while ultraviolet radiation can contribute to its degradation. Melanin provides protection against UV exposure.
Vitamin D presents almost the opposite challenge.
UVB radiation enables vitamin D production in the skin. In environments where UVB exposure is much lower, reduced pigmentation can allow UVB to penetrate the skin more effectively.
Researchers therefore describe pigmentation partly as an evolutionary balancing act between photoprotection in high-UV environments and facilitating vitamin D production in low-UV environments, although the complete evolutionary history is more complicated and remains an active area of research.
That idea of adaptation and balance is particularly interesting to me.
Where Conscious Energy Enters My Interpretation
This is where I make an important distinction between science and my philosophical framework.
Science explains human pigmentation through mechanisms involving genetics, melanin, evolution, natural selection, migration and environmental exposure.
My concept of Conscious Energy does not replace those mechanisms.
Instead, I use it as a philosophical lens through which to contemplate the broader pattern they reveal.
Within my framework, Consciousness represents qualities such as observation, information, receptivity and awareness, while Energy represents activity, movement, transformation and expression.
Matter—the physical body—is where those interactions become tangible.
In simplified form:
Consciousness ↔ Matter ↔ Energy
Human skin therefore isn’t “consciousness” or “energy”, nor does having lighter or darker skin indicate that someone possesses more of either quality.
Rather, pigmentation gives us a fascinating physical example of something broader:
living organisms exist in continuous relationship with their environments.
Conditions change.
Life responds.
Over generations, populations adapt.
And the human body carries some of that history within it.
Skin Colour Is a Spectrum, Not a Set of Boxes
We often speak casually about people as “black”, “white”, “brown” or belonging to particular racial groups.
But actual human pigmentation doesn’t contain clear dividing lines.
Where exactly would “white” finish and “brown” begin?
Where does “brown” become “black”?
Nature provides no universal boundary.
Instead, human pigmentation forms overlapping patterns of variation shaped by ancestry and population history.
Human migration makes these boundaries even less meaningful.
People have moved, intermarried and exchanged genes throughout history. Today this continues on an enormous scale.
This is one reason broad racial labels are poor tools for describing the full complexity of human biological variation.
Our categories may have social significance because societies have created histories and identities around them—but biology itself is considerably more continuous and interconnected.
What Skin Colour Cannot Tell Us
An important question within my Conscious Energy framework is whether some of the differences we observe among human populations could reflect patterns that are worth investigating more closely.
Throughout human history, populations have lived in different climates, followed different diets, developed different cultures and experienced different environmental pressures. Researchers have identified population-level variation in many measurable characteristics, including pigmentation, body proportions, physiology, disease susceptibility and some aspects of physical performance. Scientists also study differences in behaviour, cognition, education and occupation, although these are particularly complex because biology, culture, history, socioeconomic conditions and individual experience can all contribute to the patterns we observe.
This raises an interesting question for my Conscious Energy Ratio (CER):
Could measurable differences in human physiology and behaviour reveal patterns that correspond, at least in some circumstances, with the Consciousness–Energy spectrum I propose?
I believe this is a question worth exploring, but it is important to distinguish a hypothesis from a conclusion.
Skin colour alone cannot tell us where an individual belongs on the CER spectrum. We cannot look at someone with light or dark skin and reliably determine whether they will be introverted or extroverted, intellectual or athletic, contemplative or action-oriented. There is enormous variation within every human population, and racial categories such as “Black”, “White” and “Asian” encompass people with widely different ancestry, cultures, environments and life experiences.
This does not mean that population differences cannot be studied.
They can—and they are.
Researchers can investigate specific measurable characteristics such as muscle physiology, aerobic capacity, body composition, metabolism, sensory processing, cognitive performance, personality, physical activity and many other traits. However, determining why a statistical difference occurs requires considerably more care. Genetics and ancestry may contribute to some characteristics, while environment, nutrition, education, culture, socioeconomic circumstances, training and personal experience may contribute to others.
For this reason, ancestry is generally a more informative biological concept than race when investigating inherited characteristics. Race is largely a social classification and does not divide humanity into a small number of biologically uniform groups. Human genetic variation is far more continuous and interconnected. The National Academies therefore recommends that researchers avoid using race as a substitute for genetic ancestry when studying human genetic variation.
Could the Conscious Energy Ratio Be Tested?
Rather than beginning with the assumption that lighter-skinned populations represent greater Consciousness and darker-skinned populations represent greater Energy, CER could be approached from the opposite direction.
First, we would need to define exactly what Consciousness and Energy mean within the model in ways that can actually be measured.
For example, the Consciousness side of CER might examine characteristics such as:
reflection · observation · deliberation · information seeking · contemplation
while the Energy side might examine:
physical activity · action orientation · movement · behavioural expression · spontaneity
These definitions would themselves need to be tested and refined rather than assumed to represent a single underlying biological dimension.
Individuals could then be assessed independently of their appearance. Only afterwards could researchers examine whether CER scores were associated with other variables such as physical activity, personality, occupation, age, sex, cultural background, environment or geographic ancestry.
This would allow the evidence to determine whether meaningful patterns actually exist.
Perhaps CER would reveal differences associated with ancestry or environment.
Perhaps sex, culture, upbringing or lifestyle would prove more influential.
Perhaps the greatest variation would occur between individuals within the same population, rather than between populations.
Or perhaps Consciousness and Energy would not behave as a single measurable spectrum at all.
Each of these outcomes would tell us something valuable about the model.
That is an important part of scientific inquiry: a hypothesis becomes stronger when we allow evidence not only to support it, but also to challenge it.
From Categorising People to Understanding Variation
My intention with the Conscious Energy Ratio is therefore not to suggest that someone’s racial appearance determines who they are.
Instead, I am interested in a broader question:
Why does humanity contain such extraordinary physical, behavioural and cultural diversity, and are there recurring patterns within that diversity that can be meaningfully measured?
Skin pigmentation gives us one fascinating example of human variation because we already know that its evolution is related to ancestry and environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation. Other human characteristics have their own much more complicated histories.
CER offers me a philosophical framework for asking whether some of these differences might reveal broader relationships between contemplation and activity, receptivity and expression, stillness and movement.
But those relationships should be investigated in the individual first, rather than assigned according to someone’s appearance.
In other words:
Skin colour may tell us something about parts of our ancestral history.
It cannot tell us the character of the person standing before us.
That person must be understood through their own biology, experiences, behaviour, culture, choices and individuality.
Perhaps this is where the Conscious Energy Ratio could ultimately become most useful—not as a system for dividing humanity into predetermined categories, but as a hypothesis for exploring the remarkable variation that exists within one interconnected human species.
The Conscious Energy Spectrum Within Us
Consider two moments in the life of the same person.
In one moment, you may be sitting quietly beneath a tree.
You observe.
You think.
You listen.
You remember.
You become still.
Within my framework, I would describe this as moving toward the Consciousness side of experience.
Later, you might run, garden, dance, build something, clean the house or play with your children.
You move.
You act.
You create.
You expend physical energy.
I would describe this as movement toward the Energy side.
Neither state is superior.
And neither belongs to a particular sex, ethnicity or skin colour.
Every human being moves between them.
Sometimes we need thought.
Sometimes action.
Sometimes rest.
Sometimes movement.
Sometimes solitude.
Sometimes connection.
The goal isn’t to permanently occupy the middle.
Balance is dynamic.
It means recognising what the present situation requires and adjusting accordingly.
Difference Without Division
This changes the way I now think about the “human spectrum”.
Our differences are real.
We have different skin tones, facial features, hair textures, body shapes, cultures, languages, histories and traditions.
Recognising those differences doesn’t require us to rank them.
Nor does unity require pretending differences don’t exist.
Consider a rainbow.
Red does not need to become blue for the spectrum to be whole.
Every colour remains distinguishable while belonging to the same phenomenon.
I believe humanity can be understood in much the same way.
Different expressions. One human family.
From Adaptation to Culture
Biological adaptation is only one part of our story.
Human beings also possess an extraordinary capacity for cultural adaptation.
Rather than waiting for biological evolution to solve every environmental challenge, our ancestors developed clothing, shelter, agriculture, tools, medicines, cooking methods and social systems.
This ability allowed humans to occupy environments ranging from deserts and tropical forests to mountains and polar regions.
Culture consequently became another part of the relationship between humans and environment.
And as people moved, they carried food, technologies, languages, beliefs and traditions with them.
Human history became an enormous web of exchange.
This means it is increasingly difficult—and often misleading—to assume someone’s lifestyle, diet, personality or culture simply by looking at their appearance.
A person’s skin may carry clues about parts of their ancestry.
It cannot tell us their whole story.
Beyond Race: Shared Humanity
Race has tremendous social and historical significance because societies have used racial categories to organise identity, power and belonging.
But the categories we use socially do not divide humanity into neat, internally uniform biological groups.
The deeper we examine human variation, the more complicated—and interconnected—the picture becomes.
Perhaps this provides an opportunity to rethink difference.
Instead of asking:
Which group does this person belong to?
we might also ask:
What can I learn about this individual?
What experiences shaped them?
What culture do they identify with?
What do they value?
What makes them feel safe?
What brings them joy?
What can we learn from one another?
This moves us from assumption toward curiosity.
And curiosity is one of the most powerful tools we possess for overcoming prejudice.
Humanity and the Environment
There is another lesson contained within the evolution of skin pigmentation.
Human beings are not separate from nature.
Our bodies carry evidence of our ancestors’ relationships with sunlight, climate, food, pathogens and geography.
Technology can sometimes make us feel removed from those relationships.
We live indoors.
We travel enormous distances.
We control temperature.
We illuminate the night.
We communicate instantly across the planet.
Yet our dependence upon Earth remains.
We still require air.
Water.
Food.
Suitable temperatures.
Healthy ecosystems.
And energy.
Technology has not removed humanity from nature.
It has simply changed some of the ways we interact with it.
This is where I believe Conscious Energy can offer a useful philosophical reminder:
progress should not require us to forget the systems that make our existence possible.
Our intelligence gives us extraordinary power to transform our environment.
Wisdom asks us to consider the consequences.
Observing People Without Categorising Them
One of the original intentions behind my Conscious Energy model was to become a better observer.
I still believe observation matters.
But I’ve changed what I think we should observe.
Instead of looking at someone’s skin colour and attempting to infer their personality, we can observe the person themselves.
Do they enjoy conversation or solitude?
Do they think carefully before acting or prefer spontaneity?
What interests them?
What makes them uncomfortable?
What makes them enthusiastic?
How do they communicate?
What boundaries do they have?
What do they value?
And most importantly:
What are they telling us about themselves?
Good relationships aren’t built by becoming experts at categorising people.
They’re built by becoming better at listening to them.
A Different Way to See the Human Spectrum
Perhaps skin colour can teach us something far more meaningful than I originally imagined.
Not that light skin represents Consciousness.
Not that dark skin represents Energy.
Not that different ethnic groups possess predetermined personalities.
But that humanity is extraordinarily adaptable.
Our bodies contain evidence of journeys that began long before any of us were born.
Different populations encountered different environments.
Different adaptations emerged.
People migrated again.
Populations met.
Cultures mixed.
And the story continues.
No individual represents an endpoint in that story.
We are all part of its continuation.
One Species, Many Stories
When we look around the world, we see extraordinary human diversity.
Different faces.
Different colours.
Different cultures.
Different histories.
Yet beneath those differences lies a profound biological kinship.
The same species.
The same planet.
The same fundamental human needs.
And within every individual exists an inner spectrum of thought and action, stillness and movement, independence and connection.
This is where I now find the deeper meaning of Conscious Energy.
It isn’t a tool for deciding what another person must be based upon their appearance.
It is an invitation to become more conscious of how we relate—to ourselves, to one another and to the environment that created and sustains us.
Our differences don’t weaken our connection.
They reveal the extraordinary number of ways humanity has learned to exist.
Perhaps our next stage of adaptation is therefore not physical at all.
Perhaps it is learning how to preserve our individuality while recognising our interdependence.
Different colours.
Different cultures.
Different experiences.
One humanity.
And one Earth that all of us call home.
Conscious Energy is my own philosophical framework for exploring relationships among consciousness, energy, matter and human experience. Where scientific concepts are discussed in this article, I use the framework as an interpretive metaphor rather than presenting it as an established scientific theory.
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