The reason we can't stop global warming may be sitting right in front of you.
Beating the Reptilian Brain may be one of the best general-interest pieces I’ve come across regarding the operation of the
triune brain (reptilian complex, limbic brain and neocortex). Here are two ideas that occurred to me as a result of a quick reading:
First, about the reptilian brain:
The reptilian brain governs instinctual responses like aggression, status-seeking, dominance, submission, worship, mate-seeking, fear and greed. It is also very ritualistic, and if presented with the appropriate trigger will repeat past mistakes over and over, despite other parts of the brain knowing better. That sounds like a good description of the Shadow side of modern industrial civilization, yes?
Well the kicker is that the reptilian brain responds primarily to
images rather than feelings or thoughts. The consumptive shit-storm we’re in the middle of accelerated dramatically in about 1950. What else began to penetrate the global culture around 1950? Um, television…
Just in time to tap into our reptilian instincts in the service of growth: use more energy, gain more power and more status through conspicuous consumption – along with the establishment of planned obsolescence as a continuous driver of more consumption in the service of more status… All piped directly to our undiscerning, reflex-ridden reptilian brains by the magic of TV.
We sat down to watch “I Love Lucy” and Jack Benny, and were seized by a deep need to “keep up with the Joneses” by buying a better, faster, newer car than they had…
The second thought was about strengthening the role of the conscious mind, the neocortex. Without deliberate attention, its influence on our behaviour is minimal, and our responses tend to be ruled by unconscious emotional or reptilian reflexes. The article recommends a number of approaches to improve the odds of making conscious, rational decisions. They are sensible, reasonable actions that should help most people to some degree.
I would add two things to that list: meditation and facilitated deep self-exploration. The latter is harder to come by, because many of the groups that encourage it have their roots back in the est/human potential movements. As a result they may feel a little cultish to many people
I was part of one called The Inner Journey for a few years. It’s a modern update of the general idea that mixes basic Buddhism and Vipassana meditation with experiential depth psychology practices that draw on a lot of Jungian, humanist and cognitive psych approaches to self-awareness. It worked so well for me that I've been recommending it for the last half-dozen years as an essential prerequisite for coming to terms with the clusterfuck.
Oh, and I never, ever watch television any more...
PS: Has anyone ever seen a survey that correlates hours of TV watching with climate attitudes? I bet it would be interesting.
