The human brain is a fascinating thing. I had already learned a good deal about it just in personal reading, but when I went through my graduate program to get my counseling psych degree, I got a lot more up-to-date information. For example, I learned about the triune brain—the idea that we have the reptilian brain (the basal ganglia, the most primitive part of the brain), the paleomammalian brain (the limbic system) and the neomammalian brain (the neocortex). What I also learned is that this model is overly simplistic, that it doesn’t correspond as neatly to actual reptile and various mammal brains as is popularly assumed. Also, some non-mammalian species exhibit levels of intelligence and behavior that rival neocortical capacities, without an actual neocortex in the brain. And all mammals have some neocortical development, just not to the degree of humans. So, in short, the triune brain model has fallen out of favor due to its flaws.
Still, as very brief shorthand, the “reptile”, “old mammal” and “new mammal” models of the different sections of the human brain work if you keep its limitations in mind. It’s a good set of mnenomics to remember that the oldest portion of the brain (“reptile”) is that which is associated with primitive territorial and aggressive/defensive actions, the next part (“old mammal”) has diversified into more complex behaviors surrounding the care and feeding of young and other family as well as the first development of emotions, and the newest portion (“new mammal”) has even more complex social and communication skills, as well as planning and foresight.
By Peter Maas, care of http://bit.ly/sTxNLM
My interest in it here is as a model for self-reflective meditation. Even as highly developed as we humans are, our brains often get the better of us, particularly the more primitive portions. We still can fall prey to uncontrolled and unexamined anger, territoriality (literal and symbolic), fear, and other such impulses. We fear the Shadow-self and often try to excise it. And the more primitive self sometimes manifests as unnecessary violence that too often gets justified in the name of religion and other ideologies. Wars are massive groups of “reptiles” in territorial conflict.
So much of spirituality and religion seems to be aimed at quelling or rising above what we perceive as the most animal parts of ourselves, whether that’s sex or violence or desire and need. Sometimes mortification of the body is used; other times, we receive punishment for exhibiting “base” behaviors”. Look at the concepts of sin and uncleanliness when applied to perfectly normal, harmless human behaviors like consensual sexuality. Or we try to escape the body and the physical needs through meditation and projection, and many of us are taught to idealize an afterlife where the gross weight of the body is left behind and we are made “perfect”. In any case, the animal self is all too often demonized and shunned.
Yet the answer is not to further distance ourselves from these parts of who we are as human animals, but instead to reconnect with them. Our increasingly (perceived) detachment from ourselves as animals, the idea that we are “above” or “better than” animals, doesn’t take away the fact that we are animals still, including in our brains. No amount of rationalization or distancing will remove that, nor will any level of supposed transcendence. As long as we are human animals in human animal bodies, we are responsible for our human animal selves, motivations, and actions.
By Alannis, care of http://bit.ly/tDaQI8
We don’t, of course, need to swing all the way in the other direction and let our ids go wild in order to “be animals”. Yes, we are attracted on a certain level to the idea of unfettered fighting and fucking and competing relentlessly for resources to maximize the likelihood our genes will be passed on. But let’s not break out the blood sacrifices and wild orgies just yet. If we are to give honor to the evolution that has brought us to where we are, let’s not forget the compassion and humane treatment of ourselves and others that we have developed to a high degree (though we are not the only species to possess them). After all, we have seen the atrocities that have occurred when people display little to no control over their more primitive instincts at all. That’s where we get war, assault, selfish hoarding of precious resources, etc.
I propose, instead, a middle ground, one that allows us to aspire to the best of the uniquely human traits we’ve developed as a species, and also the more primitive foundations that we are built on. The goal is to first be able to identify what parts of the brain/self are active at different points, particularly those seen as negative; and second, instead of pushing them away, observing and knowing the impulses and feelings for what they are and thereby letting them have a place while keeping them in check.
And we’re going to do this by looking to our ancestors and our much-extended family for their experience and wisdom. In the second part of this series, I’m going to show you a guided meditation that you can use to contact animal totems that correspond with the various layers of your brain as a way to begin this reclaiming of yourself as a human animal.
Reptiles can be rather more emotional and sophisticated than you might expect. “Life in Cold Blood” is worth watching — especially in the third episode, where a shingleback skink spends hours unmistakably mourning a lost mate. Many reptiles have more going on than you’d expect — remember that cladistically speaking, birds are members of this group too. It’s not only territoriality and aggression whose roots go back to these scaly ancestors.
*nods* Yeah, that’s one of my reasons for the disclaimer that that as a neurophysiological model, the triune brain has been discredited other than for a very general shorthand with not-quite-accurate labels. I used to have ball pythons, and they definitely had personality and feeling, even if it wasn’t the same sort of expression as, say, dogs and cats.
Thank you for this. I very much agree that we need to relearn healthy ways of incorporating our reptilian brain aspects into our lives. The damage caused by rejecting these parts of ourselves is so incredibly damaging, personally and socially. Rejecting them means that the only way they will then manifest is as a disowned shadow expression.
I recently read an awesome book called War and the Soul, about how to heal returning soldiers from the trauma by reintegrating warriorship (not just spiritual warriorship, but real, physical warriorship) into our society – recreating a warrior class, supporting the process of becoming a warrior (being initiated by war), and truly honoring them and their experiences as an integral part of the community.
I feel that, as a society, we have made much progress healing our relationship with sexuality (although we still have a ways to go!), but I think we have yet to make any real progress when it comes to violence and war.
Good points, and I really like your example of warriorship; it’s one way in which we can give a constructive voice to aggression. I also hope that it would cause us to value those people more, and be less likely to throw them into dangerous situations for no good reason.
Will you be addressing ‘Warriorship’ at all in future posts?
It’s not something I feel I have a voice for, though I bet someone over at Warriors and Kin at http://military.pagannewswirecollective.com/ could have better things to say about it. Maybe inquire with the writers there?
“Wars are massive groups of “reptiles” in territorial conflict.”
All of a sudden I want to convince an artist to create a representation of a mass of Popes lifting their legs on an old world map…
I’m imagining it being done with a bunch of taxidermy lizards dressed up in little costumes
Thank you for this. I am in a clinical mental health counseling program and have been really interested in the triune brain idea and its links to spiritual practice. I look forward to the next installment!
Thank you! I’d be really interested in your take on all this.
As a veteran [US Army, 1963-66] I found this article, and especially some of the comments, very interesting. I know this will -sound- condescending even though it’s not meant that way -at- =all=, but part of me is sitting here thinking, “Reptile brain this and reptile brain that? Oooh, if you [third-person plural, generic] only =KNEW= .. but should be -so- grateful you don’t!”
I, also, look forward to more installments.
No, I get it, at least as much as I can–not condescending at all! Thank you for your input, and I hope you enjoy the rest as much.
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
Fascinating to see how the seasons have changed over time, isn’t it?
“some non-mammalian species exhibit levels of intelligence and behavior that rival neocortical capacities, without an actual neocortex in the brain.”
It is not about intelligence, it is about emotion and having that reinforce behaviour. Then further on the complexity of communication combined with emotion to reinforce behaviour. Which is directly pointed out later on in your post.
Reptiles are certainly not dumb as you mentioned, they are just absent of emotion outside the basic aggressive, territorial, and flight responses.
I love how you examine the suppression of our animal selves and emphasis that still doesn’t make us any less an animal. *YAYS*
Also love the line, “But let’s not break out the blood sacrifices and wild orgies just yet.” heehee ^_^
Am on board with the middle ground approach of self examination and mastery of these parts of ourselves. *Thumbs Up*
Totally digging your methods fellow animal, looking forward to seeing more.
Read early responses referencing Life in Cold Blood, and the mourning plus motherly care. I agree, not denying that. Was trying to say that their emotions are not as complex or reinforcing of behaviour as later brain development.
*nods* It’s a very rough model and not at all fully accurate, especially in light of more modern research, so it really ought to be taken with a great deal of salt for the reasons you outline above!
Thank you, co-critter