Last night when I was in bed (where I do my best and least-interrupted thinking and meditation), I was thinking about how we humans differ from other animals, and why. Only here only now is the answer I came up with.
Because other animals “make their living” by eating and make their dying by being eaten, they (and we) developed amygdalas, the Red Alert system in our various brains that is constantly aware of our immediate surroundings.
Alertness/real time awareness keeps wild animals apprised of potential dangers and opportunities in their immediate suroundings, so an amygdala (for the dicey/dangerous times) is a mighty handy thing to have! And we used ours back in the day for the same reason: to avoid being attacked or eaten.
Wild animals — and most domesticated and pet animals, too — have retained their “Only Here Only Now” mindsets. They are still keenly aware of what goes on in their immediate vicinities second-to-second and minute-to-minute.
When there is nothing to worry about, they worry about nothing. They play, laze, gambol, court, communicate, mate, and do everything else they do in between meals and escaping becoming meals. (Apex predators like wolves, big cats, and great whites don’t ever need to worry about being eaten.) Their amygdalas are keenly designed (as ours is) to elicit a “fight, flee or freeze” response in service of changing conditions in their immediate surroundings.
Then There’s Us …
Most humans have long since gathered in sufficient concentrations (cities/villages/townships) to relieve us of the need for the same degree of constant awareness and vigilance. But our onboard amygdala has not noticed this. Its job is “to explore, forewarn, and forearm” against potential dangers and opportunities.
And when we were largely hunters and gatherers and (later) agricutural workers, we still needed a similar degree of awareness, for beyond our villages and while we were out-and-about hunting and gathering, our environments (weather, predators, snares, other tribes, and additional potentially crippling or fatal pitfalls) were our lot. We had to be aware of our surroundings because they both supported and could kill us.
Fast forward to where most of us live, love, learn and work now.
Let’s face it. Our various cultures are designed to keep us “in line.” That’s a fact.
So, the powers-that-be (media, lawmakers, politicians, parents, teachers, and other significant humans during our lifetimes) ring our amygdalas as often as they can to keep us in a state of almost-constant vigilance and obedience to their worldviews. So much so that anxiety and depression disorders are rampant right now. (Undomesticated humans cannot afford constant anxiety or chronic depression. They are antithetical to life!)
So, last night I was witnessing myself thinking. And I found myself as often as not imagining and marinating in worst case scenarios for friends, family, and loved ones. And then I would “self-soothe” by returning to my breath and the fact that there were, in each of those moments, no predators or any other kind of dangers in my bedroom. As a result, my amygdala would quiet and I would become amazingly peaceful.
Back and forth, on and off like that, is how my brain was operating: looking for the danger, and then self-soothing when I realized I was just imagining worst case scenarios, not actually conjuring them up and setting them in stone.
So, I used as my mantra, “Only here only now…” which I edited at some point to “Here, Now” and was able to stave off the intrusive worst-scenario thoughts enough to be able to fall asleep and fully rest without my amygdala carrying my worries into dreamland with me.
Only Here Only Now
I think what we humans need to do is to keep returning our thoughts from the past (regrets, resentments, losses, etc.) which is unchangeable, and from the future (climate change, debt ceiling standoffs, money concerns, relationship snags, etc.) frequently enough that we re-set our amydgalas at least several times a day. Unless we do, anxiety, anger, and depression can become nasty roommates, keeping us stirred up and ready to fight, flee, or freeze.
Our imaginations are imagining. Our anxious and fearful thoughts about what might happen tomorrow are mere thoughts, not prophecies cast in concrete.
By spending an adequate amount of our conscious time “Only Here Only Now” we can desensitize ourselves and give our brains — especially our amydalas — the much needed rest and recovery time it requires to keep us healthy, whole, and able to tackle each new challenge and opportunity as it comes. And when we can address things from a healthier, well-rested state of mind, the result will be a lot healthier, too.
What do you think?
