Our mammalian brains - ricknotesricknotes

There has been much written and discussed about the primitive, reptilian aspects of our human brains and how they create a variety of “instinctive” reactions. These include responses of: survival, dominance, territory, mating, and aggression. Understanding these aspects of ourselves is important in our journey to spirit. However I believe there is another, equally important aspect to our evolutionary inheritance that is often ignored – the influence of our mammalian brains. Despite our advances, we are still mammals and hold significant mammalian “programming” within us.

There are many aspects of this mammalian programming that could be explored, however I believe there are two fundamental aspects that are at work within us and our culture that have significant impacts upon us.

These factors can be examined from a masculine and feminine perspective ((Note: feminine and masculine in this context refers to the masculine and feminine aspects of ourselves, not attributed to women/men)).

Let’s look at the masculine aspect first – not in order of importance, but convenience of presentation.

From a masculine perspective the primary mammalian “program” that is of interest is: the drive to acquire. The focus of human acquisition is to satisfy the “hunger” of chakras 1, 2, and 3 for:

Food / shelter / tools / weapons / territory
Mates / sex
Power / social position (hierarchy) in community / tribe / pack – leadership

If we are unconscious of these hungers then they can dominate our existence. Indeed, the attributes of our “higher centers” (chakras 4, 5, 6, and 7) are misused to further our acquisitive nature. This describes the base aspect of the human psyche that we call greed. And this “inherent” greed leads us to be highly susceptible to cultural programming that tells us we need to acquire more and more. This seems to be the basis of consumer spending to acquire “stuff” being the engine of economic growth. However there are many other more subtle aspects of this cultural programming such as:

The cultural importance placed on being a good provider – acquire lots of stuff.
The role of competition and winning vs. loosing – constant comparisons regarding the amount of stuff or status / power with others in the ‘tribe’
The extension of ‘childhood’ dependency on parent’s acquisitions, and the child’s desire to maintain this so called standard of living – leading to entitlement and lack of individuation.
The consumption of all that is offered / available – short term satisfaction held as paramount
The growth of the human population and ecological “footprint” – human activities and acquisitions at the “expense” of other beings and the earth.
The promotion of the individual or family as the center of acquisition and the resultant lack of trust in, or caring about others outside this circle
And the dwindling lack of trust in spirit to provide
And perhaps most interesting to those on the spiritual path the current programming regarding the focus on “abundance” as a spiritual goal.

There are obviously aspects of our mammalian program to acquire that can be very “positive” and lead to benefits for families, communities, and the greater good. This is reflected in how these acquisition tendencies are woven into the fabric of some indigenous cultures.

The challenge seems to be how to harness this drive to acquire.

We might begin by developing some personal guideposts, such as:

Know what is sufficient – this requires being clear at the outset what is “needed” and being able to discern when the basic needs become distorted or extended by personal greed or cultural enticements.
Know how to be satisfied when sufficiency is reached.
Recognize that all acquisition is derived from the earth, and that unless we honor and limit our acquisition, other beings will suffer or be destroyed. For example the current extinction of species as a result of human activities.
Determine how to extend the benefits of our acquisition to others, both human and all sentient beings.
Recognize the slipperiness, trickiness and delusion inherent in the current new age focus on abundance and the way it is marketed to capitalize on our desire to acquire.

Now let’s look at the feminine aspects.

From a feminine perspective the primary mammalian “program” that is of interest is: the drive to nurture / protect. The focus of human nurturing / protection is also to satisfy the “hungers” of chakras 1, 2 and 3 for:

Nurturing and protection of self, mates, children and family
Health, growth, safety, security
Protection via position of power in a community / tribe / pack; OR protection by those in power

As with acquisition, our higher centers are made subservient to the lower chakras. The base aspect of the human psyche that “powers” this set of activities is fear. And our fear leads us to be highly susceptible to cultural programming that tells us we need to protect what we have, and that as change appears on the horizon, greater protection is required. There are many other more subtle aspects of this cultural programming such as:

The exploitation of fear through the “marketing” of possible threats / risks as a rationalization for the development of protection devices such as weapons and surveillance systems. And the associated promotion of the need for pre-emptive action to protect us from any possible threat whether it is from other animals, nature or other ‘peoples’. This often leads to a “bunker mentality”.
The exploitation of our desire to nurture ourselves and others through marketing the endless pursuit of comfort and convenience – often in the name of “self-care” (this desire is often linked to “acquire” programming).
Espousal of the need to protect or enhance personal, family, community or a country’s power base.
The preoccupation with safety in our culture, as reflected in the “over-protection” of people (especially children) to the point of stifling explorations, adventures, and the resulting loss of the development of self reliance, self responsibility, judgment and life lessons.
Politics that focus on promotion and protection of ideals, a philosophy, beliefs or set of values, and the consequent need to defend them.
Manipulation of religious beliefs and dogma in the name of “protecting the flock”.
One expression of protection on a personal level is a preoccupation with establishing our own “boundaries” as part of personal growth, without also working to respect other’s boundaries.
And of interest to those on the spiritual path, a pre-occupation with psychic or spiritual protection and protectors.

There are obviously aspects of our mammalian program to protect that can be very positive and lead to the healthy protection of ourselves, our children and families from real threats. It is important to note that a “healthy” fear response, as an effective warning of danger, is essential to our real safety and survival as biological organisms. One aspect of a “healthy” fear response is “danger consciousness”. This describes a psycho-spiritual response to a real threat that involves heightened awareness, alertness and often increased strength.

The challenge seems to be – how do we manage our mammalian protection programming so we develop an effective response to real threats, while recognizing our susceptibility to over-reacting to imagined fears.

We might begin by developing some personal guideposts such as:

Recognize the power of fear, and how it is being manipulated and used in our culture.
Acknowledge our essential humanity and mortality – we are going to die and no amount of protection will avoid this.
Acknowledge that life holds essential uncertainty and no amount of protection can make it certain or predictable – we can do our part, but the notion of being fully “in control” is a delusion.
Extend our willingness to protect those outside our family, tribe, and country – indeed protect all life, not just what benefits humans
Recognize the slipperiness and delusion inherent in much of what is marketed in personal growth and the new age relating to protection as the masked desire to be in control.

The programs of acquire and protect interact is many ways and awareness of their subtle and not so subtle influence on us is important if we wish to engage in spiritual transformation. The challenge is to know our personal susceptibility to the various aspects of acquire and protect and learn how they can distract us, consume us, and in many ways lead us far from our true spiritual aspirations.