Filed under: ecology | Tags: awareness, illusion, insight, perception, random musings, society, wisdom
Source: Hermit Musings (author)
Scientific research discoveries often fascinate me; they can get me to meditating upon our world and how it came to be. It often leads me to speculation about the message. Of course, the species that the majority of scientific studies focus on, and is endlessly fascinating, is us: Homo sapient.
A recent example: the results of a British study identified a key region of our brain which encourages us to be adventurous creatures. It seems as if we humans are sometimes inclined to go after an unfamiliar option—rather than choose a habitual one—particularly when we sense the reward might be greater. Our life may sometimes seem as if we generally trudge the old, familiar path, day after day, following the same safe steps we’ve taken many times before. But if a new, unknown path presents itself one day, we can feel an urge to check it out.
The British researchers say that this propensity for taking a risk may have provided us with an evolutionary advantage over competing species. Those of our ancestors who were willing to take the chance to explore new territory may have been rewarded with a more beneficial environment or found a new and more nutritious food source. They prospered and passed those inquisitive genes on. (Of course, some made bad choices and perished, but we don’t know about them.)
Several million years ago, when our hominid ancestors were forced down out of the tropical trees by a changing climate (which killed off many of those trees), an adventurous spirit helped us to adapt better than our cousins who timidly clung to the few remaining trees. (Chimpanzees are still up there.) When living conditions in various parts of the pre-industrial world became wretched a couple of centuries ago, an adventurous few folks struggled to reach America. Many of them prospered. (And isn’t that what drives oppressed folks from Latin America to brave the hostile unknown and attempt to migrate to the US today?)
The British researchers found that when we choose the untried, take that risk, and find a prize awaiting us for our gamble, we are also rewarded by a release of pleasant neurotransmitters such as dopamine. This can create a feedback process that makes us desire even more. The scientists feel that this can explain why re-branding of familiar products keeps consumers coming back for more.
Evolutionary advantages, however, can sometimes be a double-edged sword. A particular trait that provides an advantage—in the way of making a species more fit—can sometimes lead to too much success. Locusts, finding a plentiful food supply, will exponentially increase their numbers until the source is gone and their population crashes. Has Homo sapient become so successful that we are overrunning the earth, crowding into every niche, bloating our numbers to the point that we’ve become unsustainable—and about to cause our own crash? Is our propensity for adventurousness gotten us into a dangerous runaway situation? Can we learn to find a balance between our dangerous adventurousness and stagnancy?
Filed under: ego problem | Tags: awareness, Bipolar, ego, healing, insight, perception, personality, psychology, therapy
PART ONE
There are many theories on the nature and cause of the bipolar personality…I would like to present a theory using the left/right brain metaphor as the core structure in explaining the dynamics of this unique personality process…I realize there are genetic and brain chemistry factors in the bipolar personality,but for the purposes of this blog,I will only focus on the socially conditioning factors…I am not an authority on bipolar personalty,but I do hope this blog will offer stimulation for further exploration and discussion.
I do believe the left brain is the major source of the problem…it is this part of the brain in which social conditioning plays a primary role…early in childhood the left brain appears designed to naturally learn an oral language…and this process seems to occur in a similar way as the downloading a program in a computer…and the process is gradually imprinted deep within the the left brain.
But at the same time we download another program in basically the same way but which is more significant and that is the assumption we have a separate self or ego.
The ego and its self image are socially assumed to be a separate entity in which we are responsible for our identity and behavior…but this illusion can be compared to a belief that a computer program can autonomously decide on how it will perform…the left brain’s primary function seems to be learning to adapt to a social environment by accepting its rules and customs…humans can’t depend simply on natural instincts to adapt but instead need to fabricate social tools in order to survive…this includes the belief that everyone is an autonomous self with a responsible ego…but this adaptive mechanism becomes a serious source of disharmony within its members and their social environment.
PART TWO
The young child at an early age begins to download an ego program deeply into its rather innocent left brain…and the process is largely influenced unconsciously by their immediate family particularly through their parents…however the nature of the downloaded program may be considered inadequate and dysfunctional…it is an event where the seeds of a disturbed child has been sown…if included in the program there is a demand to excel in their social identity and role playing,an extreme vulnerability has been added to the complications
The child soon becomes aware they are different and usually has difficulty integrating into the social environment…they may be encouraged to try harder to behave properly but this may only frustrate and make them more aware of their inability to conform to expected behavior…as they move into adolescence, peer pressures can add to their stress which may result in severe states of depression…it becomes clearer that their problems are not going to be outgrown and much more complicated than they first understood…when arriving into adulthood the stress often becomes intolerable and the energy by the problem solving left brain can be exhausted and drained…this can bring about further decline in the logical and rational processes…as can be clearly seen in the manic stage.
With the decreasing energy of the left brain’s logical processes,the right brain attempts to compensate by becoming more active…however such a change only complicates the situation largely because the right brain translates the left brain’s problems into symbols and metaphors in the same way as we do in our dreams when sleeping…everyone hallucinates when dreaming but if it continues when we are awake it is considered a deviation from the socially acceptable reality which in fact may simply be only the conventional dream or hallucination… no longer being fully in touch with this socially perceived environment can lead to feelings of isolation and alienation which may result in nightmarish images…those who are skilled in dream interpretation are probably the best equipped to understand the meaning of hallucinations.
When in these states there are many reports by those having deep spiritual experiences similar to persons who had a left brain stroke or a near death experience…on the positive side,the failure of the ego and logical processes are basic to the spiritual experience and as a result some bipolar persons may go through a deep healing transformation..the key to this healing (wholeness) process appears to be the total willingness of being at one with their bipolar symptoms in an act of complete surrender…it is at that point the ego finally collapses and can no longer take on the role of a tyrannical separate self.
PART THREE
It is a common assumption that the bipolar personalty is caused by a deficiency in brain chemistry which can be normalized by prescribed medication…however there is no conclusive evidence that the abnormal brain chemistry is not in fact a side effect rather than a cause…it is a convenient way to label the bipolar individual as a separate and unique problem from that of society without examining the social factors involved.
I would like to propose that the bipolar personality is a symptom of a social illusion…and that illusion is our common perception that the ego is at the center of importance in our identity and meaning in life…this belief establishes that the goal of our ego is to be successful consistent with the values and beliefs of society…and the bipolar disorder is often described as the inability to successfully integrate into the conventional social illusion…by not conforming to the social norm,the bipolar personality is frequently unrecognized as being more creative…it is ironic that some members of our society who have the most successful ego are also among the most unwholesome.
The first step in healing is to free our self from the assumptions that our ego is the basic source of a meaningful life…the ego is an essential adaptive social tool but beyond that point unessential…it requires serious concentration and efforts to cleanse away our longstanding and deeply rooted social values and expectations…only a profound letting go will bring about a healing experience….and then we will find that we are no longer a slave to social expectations which also allows the left brain to finally relax …even the thought processes are then freer to be more rational and objective.
With the relaxation of the left brain,there is more energy for the right brain to be active…unlike the left brain,the right brain is uncorrupted by social conditioning and remains with its fresh natural awareness we possessed in childhood… it is filled with curiosity,imagination,and creativity…and for those who are not interested in ego success,it offers an opportunity to live a creative lifestyle by pursuing one’s own unique interests…the passion of life we have known as children may be recovered…while the left brain sees reality through socially conditioned beliefs,the right brain is capable of seeing reality in its natural state…and it strongly expresses the feeling that this is our true home and identity.
