Categories
Human Mind Reptilian Mind

Silent Behaviors

The Differences among Automaticity, Solemn Rituals, Spiritual Rituals, and Awe Recent posts have described incidents of unusually silent behaviors of people: Sacred Spaciousness in a Physically Tiny Montreal Restaurant suggested that a Human mentality was dominant in the vignette presented, while Automaticity: Humans Behaving Like Machines described examples of speechlessness when a reptilian mind was dominant. In this post […]

Categories
Psychology Reptilian Mind

Automaticity: Humans Behaving Like Machines

(Including Driving, Meals, Sex, and Work)   automaton n.1. a machine that simulates human functions (e.g., a mechanized installation device on a conveyor belt) via preprogramed coded instructions. 2. a human acting in an autonomous and routine manner, seemingly without an external driving force. APA Dictionary of Psychology. automaticity n. the quality of a behavior or mental process that can be carried […]

Categories
Personal Spirituality

Sacred Spaciousness in a Physically Tiny Montreal Restaurant

It was like stepping into a tiny 1960s London police box and finding myself in Dr. Who’s TARDIS, suddenly unconstrained by the stifling dimensions of space and time. From the outside the restaurant looked physically tiny and claustrophobically crowded. Inside, the dimensions seemed infinitely spacious. But instead of being swept into Dr. Who’s divided universe of […]

Categories
Contemporary Issues Psychology Spirituality

Stampede Greed and Desperate Need

(Or, What the Sackler family and the Haitian refugees have in common) What do the Sackler family and the Haitian refugees have in common? They are both using every resource they have to survive. The Sackler family has armies of highly-paid lawyers and tax specialists, unenlightened elitist judges, ubiquitous myth-manufacturing media, money-oriented medical professionals, and lobbied subservient politicians to […]

Categories
Brain Foundational Philosophy Psychology

Quadrune Mind and the Triune Brain in Evolution

Resources for this Post MacLean, P. D. (1990). The triune brain in evolution: Role in paleocerebral functions. New York: Plenum Press. The quadrune mind model of consciousness blog and Study Guide. Purpose of this Post My general purpose for this post is to provide the interested reader statements directly from Paul D. MacLean’s magnum opus, The triune brain in evolution: […]

Categories
Contemporary Issues

Dinosaurs, Billionaires, and Mass Extinctions

Dinosaurs became rulers of the world about 201 million years ago after a mass extinction eliminated their major survival competitors. About 66 million years ago the dinosaurs, themselves, ceased to exist along with three-quarters of all life on earth because of another mass extinction. Dinosaurs had been the most powerfully successful creatures in history before their sudden exit. The […]

Categories
Human Mind Pre-Human Minds Religion Spirituality

Quadrune Mind: A Secular Spirituality for the 21st Century

Introduction To define religion and spirituality is difficult to do. Yet, it is important that we have some understanding of what these words mean for the quadrune mind model of spirituality and this blog. The best definitions of “religion” and “spirituality” for the quadrune mind model come from Bowling Green State University. Spirituality is defined as “the […]

Categories
Personal Philosophy Religion Spirituality

Green Burials: Recycling Matter and Spirit

Recently I was talking with some friends and as we are all of a certain age, the conversation came around to funeral service options. For various personal and religious reasons, several different preferences were expressed. Choices included cremation, a launch to sea on a small boat, donation to a medical school, and my offering, a […]

Categories
Contemporary Issues Psychology

How Entertainment and Art become Propaganda through the Loss of Aesthetic Distance

Introduction Aesthetic distance is the ability to consciously remember that the murder scene in a performance we are watching is not “real” even though we are emotionally caught up in the drama. That way, we don’t yell “Watch out!” when our favorite character is about to be shot in the back. Our emotions do not […]

Categories
Contemporary Issues Personal

Suffering, Indifference, and a Dead Deer on the Side of the Road

“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them.”—George Bernard Shaw I was driving home when I saw a dead deer lying in the grass on the side of the road. Oklahoma City covers a lot of ground with enough room to be the “home” of […]