Battling the Brainstem

     Hola amigos, and thank you for joining me again. Recently we've entered into the process of looking at relationships between our consciously thinking selves and everything else that is out there in the "system" (see "Looking at Layers"). "Precision" seems to be the underlying characteristic of any activity we perceive as done "well" (see "Precisely: What I was Thinking"). So then, the idea is to use "the learning lens" (See "Clumsiness and Climbing castles) to help foster increasingly precise relationships with the various levels of that system, including our 'selves' and others. In my previous post, I made an attempt to bring attention to something I refer to as "ego". Today I would like to more thoroughly explore the topic so it will be easier to see how it relates as we continue to move out through the other layers of the system that lay increasingly farther from our relative points of perception. Also, I know my posts have been getting longer as of late so I will attempt keep them more directed and precise.

     Before getting into today's topic, I feel as though I need to make my intentions as clear as possible so as to not offend anyone reading this and other similar articles in the future. These posts are intended to help individuals notice the extremely subtle nature of a phenomena in people called ego. It's something that is very hard to notice because it exists on a layer of our being underneath our actively conscious mind. It should be noted that it is a phenomena that exists in all people naturally so this post IS NOT meant to be a judgement or attack of any kind in regards to individuals. If one feels damage to their pride for any reason, please understand it was unintentional on my part. However, it may be good to note that it is the thing inside us, the part that gets offended and/or prideful, to which I'm trying to bring our attention. This topic must be expanded upon because it is an essential piece of the puzzle for anyone attempting to pursue precision on any or all levels of his or her existence.

     So one of the most seemingly important questions may be the following: If we all have an ego, where does it come from? There, of course, is no clear answer to that (such is the problem with all 'origin' type questions) but ego is probably the most direct way that we experience what we call 'instinct' in other creatures. It likely originates from "lower" parts of the brain, including the stem that is responsible for our autonomic systems and survival tendencies. It influences what we do as we grow up, and our experiences and actions help to shape the neural pathways in the higher regions of the brain. This leaves a neural impression of our lower desires on the higher regions of our brain which in turns strengthens the voice of our ego. Obviously it is far more complex than that but this is sufficient for the current conversation. Historically speaking and into the present day, ego/instinct is the thing that has kept us alive and propagating the species. It has played a critical role in bringing us to the present and will continue to do so as long as we exist. However, now that survival is quite a bit simpler compared to previous eras, letting our ego/instinct guide our lives can be dangerous and destructive to ourselves and others. It also gets in the way of us behaving precisely.

     Physically speaking, one of the critical distinguishing characteristics of humans from other mobile beings on this planet (i. e. animals) is that the part of our brain called the neocortex is very large. It represents around 80% of our total brain mass and is the outer, grey, wrinkly layer that we generally think of when we picture a brain. This is the portion the brain where complex cognitive thinking takes place (which allows us to figure out how to manipulate tools and other aspects of life). It is also is largely in control of 'voluntary movement', and 'voluntary thinking' as well. We are greatly influenced by our instinctual nature, but because of this large control center that allows us to voluntarily decide how we act, we are not simply victims of following urges of our survival consciousness.

     The fact that we have organized into "society" is one of the clearest examples of how humans, collectively, have decided against letting our natural tendencies determine our existence. What I mean is there are laws of nature. Living things need an energy source, food, and also water in order to survive. In nature, if one being has (or is) food, there is nothing stopping another being from taking that food by any means including cunning, brutality and even killing. Society however has many 'extra' rules, so to speak. We often call them "laws" but essentially they are rules to limit behaviors that are otherwise allowed in nature, that we perceive as contrary to how we want to live. In the terms of this blog, I may say that laws are generally rules that encourage us to live with each other more precisely. For example, there are speed limits and traffic lights because if all traffic flows at an even rate and people take turns, everyone collectively can move about more efficiently or "precisely". When individuals don't follow the rules, running lights, speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, it causes wrecks, stop and go sections and a general slow down, usually for everyone else. All of those inconveniences I would call examples of "clumsiness" in a traffic setting.

     So this is probably enough for today. I like the idea of keeping entries short and to the point. Often times my longer posts are a result of me getting too impatient, giving into my ego, and as a result creating entries that are less precise than I hope for. I will return to this subject in the near future to explore how ego manifests itself on a more individual level, ways to notice it, and how that detracts from acting precisely in one's own life. Thank you very much for joining me and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.