spiritual development and the brain
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1
Spiritual Development & The Brain
Eric Thompson
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© Copyright 2010-2011 Eric Thompson. All Rights Reserved.
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2
Contents
Introduction
1. Spiritual Development Defined - 5
2. The Neural Correlates of the Ego - 8
3. Ego Development, Neural Integration and the Resolution of
Opposites - 11
4. Hemispheric Dialectics and the Stages of Development – 17
5. The Neural Substrates of Obfuscation – 32
6. The Neurological Origins of the Personal Unconscious – 35
7. The Way Out – 37
References - 44
3
Introduction
In the interest of better understanding how the
brain mediates (rather than causes) spiritual development, this
book explores neural processes and their relationship to
personal growth. How do different levels of spiritual
development affect the brain and vice versa? What brain
processes are involved
in the inhibition of
spiritual
development, and
which processes
facilitate spiritual
awakening? The
intention in
answering these
questions is to open
up a greater context in
which we can allow a
deeper source to come forth, and with it a larger sense of
purpose, meaning and integration.
After first defining spiritual development, this book introduces
developmental psychologist Susanne Cook-Greuter’s model of
ego development, and uses this model as a means of
investigating the neural correlates of each stage of development.
It is theorized that a dialectical, or argumentative, process
between right and left modes of perception comprises a vital part
4
of the developmental process, and that this process determines
in large measure the level of motivation at which the limbic
system operates within the brain at any given stage.
Throughout this book I use the term “modes of perception.” This
term refers not to lateralization (which mistakenly assumes that
one hemisphere is more active in certain perceptual tasks than
the other), but instead to the scientifically validated notion that
specific areas in the left and right hemispheres play important
roles in facilitating certain modes of perception. Left modes of
perception are here defined as modes in which left hemispheric
processes tend to play more of a key role than right hemispheric
processes. Right modes of perception, likewise, denote modes in
which right hemispheric processes tend to play a key role in
perception.
The neural processes by which the transpersonal domain of
spiritual experience is obfuscated are also theorized, as are those
which facilitate both gradual and sudden awakenings. Finally, it
is suggested that right hemispheric modes of present-moment
awareness, in the highest stages of development, transcend and
include left hemispheric modes of discursive thought.
5
CHAPTER 1:
Spiritual DevelopmentDefined
Spiritual development can be defined in at least four ways, all of
which will be collectively inferred when using the term
throughout this book. In general, spiritual development refers
to:
1. The higher reaches of human development, wherein
individuals awaken to inherent transpersonal values
(Fuller, 2008, p. 127).
2. One’s general view and experience of God or the
universe.
3. The degree to which one feels empathically connected
to one’s experienced self, society and the world, and
therefore the degree to which one is able to express care
and compassion
4. The degree to which one is limited to identification
with the body and the discursive and conceptual mind as
the loci of the self.
6
The developmental models used in this investigation, drawn
from both Eastern and Western sources, tend to agree that
development—in its full expression—emerges initially as a fusion
state, then moves first toward higher levels of autonomy and
individuality, and finally toward greater and more complex
levels of social integration.
Social integration is here defined as the extent to which one’s
overall life vision, aspiration and expression takes into account
the greater systemic influences of the world and cosmos, so that,
as much as is
possible, the totality
of existence is taken
into account in
relationship to one’s
actions and pursuits.
The general direction
of movement in these
models is such that
personal
identification evolves from the gross to the subtle, and still
further to the very subtle (Wilber, 2000, p. 6). This direction
expresses a progressive movement away from fundamental
narcissism toward naked, conscious awareness as the ground of
being.
7
Susanne Cook-Greuter’s developmental model is a good starting
point for this investigation, as it meets the Western emphasis on
third-person, scientific validation by way of having been
empirically verified in at least 5,000 cross-cultural subjects
(Cook-Greuter, 2006).
8
CHAPTER 2:
The Neural Correlatesof the Ego
Cook-Greuter’s model (2004),
based extensively on the
developmental theory of Jane
Loevinger, envisions the human
ego as potentially progressing
through an arc beginning at
primary identification with the
body, followed by identification
with the mind at various levels (e.g., emotionally and
conceptually), and eventual identification with pure
consciousness as
ultimate context, in
which the content of
mind, body and cosmos
are fully contained. Her
approach to defining and
examining the ego
revolves around three
functions: being,
thinking and doing (Coo
k-Greuter, 2004).
9
Being refers to the ego’s immediate experience, level of
awareness, perceptual selectivity and emotional intelligence
(Cook-Greuter, 2004). The neural correlates of this ego aspect
(in a right-handed person) are theorized in this essay to be the
same neural processes found in previous studies to mediate
affect and awareness, as well as their optimal integration: the left
prefrontal cortex, middle prefrontal areas (Siegel, 2007, p. 42),
right hemisphere (Pinel, 2003, p. 444), anterior cingulate cortex
(Newberg, 2009, p. 126) and the amygdale (Pinel, 2003, p. 443).
Thinking includes cognitive structures which facilitate
worldview, narrative interpretations of experience, logic,
conceptual thinking and discursive knowledge (Cook-Greuter,
2004). This ego aspect (in a right-handed person) is most likely
correlated with neural development in the frontal cortex,
especially the prefrontal lobes (Waller, 2007, p. 90) and the left
hemisphere of the cerebral cortex (Siegel, 2007, p. 45). As
such, thinking represents the cognitive framework that
organizes all meaning-making and interpretation.
10
Doing is the operative aspect of the ego, the sense of overarching
purpose and need which inform motivation and action
(Cook-Greuter, 2004). The primary neural correlates of this ego
function are postulated in this essay to be the limbic system
(Waller, 2007, p. 48), the dopamine-cingulate cortex feedback
system (Hansen & Mendius, 2009, p. 37-8), and the bliss
chemical system, which includes endogenous opioids, oxytocin
and norepinephrine (Hansen & Mendius, 2009, p. 38). And
because this function is associated with motivation, it is
implicitly included in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Fuller, 2008.
p. 132).
11
CHAPTER 3:
Ego Development,Neural Integration andthe Resolution ofOpposites
A compelling pattern
emerges when these three
ego functions are
matched with their
proposedS neural
correlates: being/right
mode perception
+ thinking/left mode
perception= doing/limbic
-neurochemical
motivation (L-N-M) system activation (see Figure 1). In other
words, the degree of neural integration within the evolutionarily
recent neocortex influences and tempers the evolutionarily
primitive L-N-M system, and therefore behavior, to the same
degree. More specifically, this neural integration refers to the
degree to which right modes of direct experience and left modes
of interpreting those experiences are harmoniously consolidated.
The resulting motivation reflects the level of global neural
integration (or lack thereof) within the brain. Levels of ego–and,
consequently, spiritual—development reflect correlating levels of
12
neural integration
(Siegel, 2007, p. 40),
and therefore the
degree to which one
is in harmonious
relationship with
oneself and others
(Siegel, 2007, p. 39).
In essence, this
pattern reflects a
dialectical
relationship between the right and left cerebral hemispheres and
their correlated ego functions (being and thinking, respectively),
so that the predominant motivation (i.e., the doing ego function)
of each level of ego development represents a resolution of
opposites which were unresolved at the previous level of
development. As the present stage of development gives rise to a
new value system, the new value system’s apparent
opposites—arising from previously unconscious, conditioned
beliefs—emerge in order to be recognized, gently confronted and
consciously resolved (Hawkins, 2006b, p. 337). As the opposites
specific to a level of ego development are resolved, identification
decreases with that level and increases with the next, higher level
(Hawkins, 2006b, p. 337).
This book also theorizes that the L-N-M system then reflects the
resolution of those previous opposites via a more complex
motivational structure inherent to the new level of
development. At this new stage, a new value system and its
13
more subtle set of opposites then arise, with each successive
stage exhibiting progressively deeper and more elusive sets of
opposites, until eventually all opposites are transcended and
dissolved.
Because each level of development represents a distinct and
somewhat stable value system, each of which acts as a subtle
ordering structure to help guide
neural functioning (Schwartz &
Allen, 2007), McIntosh (2007)
theorizes that each set of values
requires its own
discomfort-producing antithesis to
act as an impetus for incurring
movement to the next, more complex
level of meaning-making (p. 35).
14
Philosopher Georg Hegel’s (1979) basic premise, in fact, was that
the tension arising out of such conflict potentially gives rise to
ever higher expressions of life (p. 231-2).
Evidence in the field of nonlinear thermodynamics has revealed
that far-from-equilibrium states comprise a vital part of the
context out of which more heterogeneous forms of life can
emerge (Prigogine, 1984, p. 140). It has also been theorized that,
in much the same way that higher states of equilibrium act as
attractors toward which order is directed out of chaos
(Prigogine, 1984, p. 121-2), higher—more harmonious—stages of
development likewise act as attractors toward which turbulent
expressions of consciousness evolve (Howard, 2005, p. 448). In
this manner, each higher stage of development serves as an
attractor which draws or evolves a resolution out of the midst of
subjective and neurological conflict. Consciousness itself can be
seen as the ultimate attractor with which the mind progressively
aligns (Combs, 2002, p. 8), with each stage of alignment
representing positions along an
evolutionary learning curve
(Hawkins, 2001, p. 307-17).
The resulting synthesis of each
stage of resolution may imply
the growing influence of right
modes of perception (in a
right-handed person), since the
right mode of perception is
believed to be predominantly
involved in focused attention
15
(Nataraja, 2008, p. 96). Such attention is required for attending
to any conflict—without the interference of left mode
analysis—and eventually dissolving it via nonverbal, holistic
awareness and discernment of the greater context in which the
seeming conflict arises (Nataraja, 2008, p.
96). Re-contextualization is the primary route through which
such resolution emerges (Hawkins, 2006-a, p. 207), possibly
mediated by the cross-modal wiring that has been postulated to
exist within the right hemisphere, otherwise lacking in the left
hemisphere
(Siegel, 2007,
p. 45).
An increase in
right mode
dominance
has also been
linked to the
emergence of
spiritual
endeavor
(Hawkins,
2005, p. 62-3), religious experience (Mathew, 2002, p. 11),
intuition, present-moment awareness and optimism (Taylor,
2006, p. 18, 146), all of which involve varying degrees of
mindfulness. Mindful attention, then, can be seen as an escape
from the egocentric pull of ingrained left-mode interpretation
and a gateway into right mode, present-moment, holistic
awareness (Nataraja, 2008, p. 96).
16
It has been asserted by various theorists that as many as 66
percent (Fehmi, 2007, p. 131) to 92 percent (Taylor, 2006, p. 28)
of humanity operates predominantly in left modes of expression.
Cook-Greuter estimates that 85 percent of the world population
resides in the conventional levels of development (Cook-Greuter,
2004), which, along with other evidence, would seem to indicate
a predominance of left mode meaning-making at those levels.
Subsequent sections of this essay will present a more succinct
picture of how the alternating dominance of left and right modes
of perception relates to spiritual development; but for now, it is
sufficient to theorize that neural integration between the left and
right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex in fact embodies the
dialectical process comprising spiritual development.
17
CHAPTER 4:
Hemispheric Dialecticsand the Stages ofDevelopment
Reflecting the left-right, alternating and dialectical neurological
process previously theorized, Cook-Greuter’s successive stages of
development progress along the arc, alternating between
individualism and integration (2004). Neurologically speaking,
this alternating cycle correlates with left and right modes of
expression, respectively. Additionally, this alternation
represents a continual cycling between the yang (masculine
individualism) and yin (feminine communal orientation) of
Taoist philosophy.
18
The arc of this developmental schema—on the macro level—is
such that the first half of the arc represents a primarily
knowledge-oriented, linguistically constructed basis for
meaning-making, and the second half of the arc represents a
gradual increase in intuitive, nonverbal, wisdom-oriented
expressions of life (Cook-Greuter, 2004). Right modes of
operation have also been associated with the capacity for
nonlinear, nondual forms of knowledge (Hawkins, 2008, p. 79).
As this book theorizes, the modes of meaning along the first half
of the arc exemplify increasing left modes of interpretation, and
those of the second half represent right modes of being and
direct experience (see Figure 2). The first half of the arc
experiences life in a dualistic manner, whereas the latter half of
the arc epitomizes the progression of more receptive, nondual
ways of knowing and being.
More specifically, the first two or three years of life are
dominated by right brain processes (Geschwind & Galaburda,
1987;Godwin, 2004, p. 112). As such, this essay asserts that the
arc of development begins with right mode dominance,
increasing in left mode dominance at the top of the arc, and
moving back to right mode integration near the end of the arc, so
that left modes of rational thought become situated within the
greater context of right modes of supra-rational being (see
Figure 3).
19
The schema is such that both the beginning and ending of the arc
appear to be very similar, since both levels of development
involve a predominance of right mode operation. However, in
keeping with Wilber’s (2000) notion of the pre/trans fallacy (p.
245), this essay agrees that the beginning right mode is one of
fusion rather than holistic integration. As Godwin (2004) has
shown, the nonverbal functioning of the right brain at this stage
has no means of labeling and distinguishing between various
objects, states and experiences (p. 112), and therefore has no
means of recognizing novelty and uniqueness. As a result, all
experience is fused together as a heap rather than an integrated
whole (Wilber, 2000, p. 280).
This book further theorizes that, as left modes become
increasingly available, they eventually dominate perception,
resulting in the growing experience of differentiation and
separation. With further development, then, a reemergence of
20
right modes of experience brings with it an awakening to the
direct experience of connection, unity and freedom. The
phenomenological difference between the so-called end and
beginning stages is that, with the end stage, left modes of
differentiation, while being situated within the larger context of
right mode perception, allow for a simultaneous recognition of
the uniqueness of all beingsas well as the underlying unity out of
which they emerge, with the latter recognition comprising one’s
deepest sense of reality.
Remarkably, Cook-Greuter’s model fits very well with the Vedic
psychology of the three gunas—the three qualities of
nature: tamas, rajas and sattva. Applying the gunas to
Cook-Greuter’s model, the arc clearly begins at tamas—the
operating principle of ignorance and inertia (Ghose, 2001, p.
417)—and reaches an apex at rajas—the energizing principle of
desire and action (Ghose, 2001, p. 414), with all the stages falling
21
between these two qualities representing various combinations
of the two influences. Near the end of the arc rests sattva, the
principle of harmony and equilibrium (Ghose, 2001, p. 415). The
consecutive stages arising between rajas and sattva represent
increasing levels of peace and happiness. And, of course, beyond
the three gunas is moksha, utter release from primary
identification with the mind and body as the loci of the self (see
Figure 4).
PRECONVENTIONAL STAGES
Presocial Symbiotic Beginnings
As the name suggests, this stage implies that all individuals are
uniformly embedded in the world when they arrive,
undifferentiated from the surrounding world (Cook-Greuter,
2004). Basic survival needs represent the greatest priority at
these stages, and therefore correlate mainly with
the physiological level of Maslow’s needs hierarchy (Ewen,
2003, p. 220).
22
Because brain plasticity—and its capacity to be molded by
experience—is so dynamic at this stage, development at this
point can have lasting effects throughout the lifespan.
Stage 1: Impulsive
Here, the sense of
self is rudimentary,
and others are seen
primarily as a
means for getting
needs met. As such,
others are judged to
be good or bad by
whether or not they
meet these
elementary,
impulsive needs.
Primary
identification, at
this stage, is with
the body, and the
primary motivation
is the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain
(Cook-Greuter, 2004). The predominant brain structures in play
include the right hemisphere (Siegel, 2007, p. 45) and limbic
system (Joseph, 1982; Waller, 2007, p. 35), between which at
this time extensive neural circuitry already exists (Tucker, 1981,
1992).
23
Additionally, because pleasure seeking and the avoidance of pain
are strong motivations at this stage, it is reasonable to say that
the neuromodulators and neuropeptides associated with
pleasure seeking and the avoidance of pain are also in play.
These include dopamine, endogenous opioids, oxytocin,
norepinephrine and cortisol (Hansen & Mendius, 2009, p. 36-7).
Of all these structures, the amygdale, situated on either side of
the limbic system deep within the center of the brain, are easily
the most active. And because they share a fast track to the
thalamus (Goleman, 1995, p. 18), they mediate the perception of
negative information within the brain much faster than positive
information (Jiang & He, 2006; Vaish, Grossmann, &
Woodward, 2008; Yang, Zald, & Blake, 2007). Based on
additional evidence for prevalent limbic influence on the
personality (Baumeister, et al, 2001; Peeters & Czapinski, 1990),
Waller theorizes that this negativity bias generates negative
emotional experiences in response to unmet emotional needs,
which then leave their indelible imprint upon the limbic system
(Waller, 2007, p.80).
24
These
imprints are
theorized to
act as
attractors (a
term used in
nonlinear
dynamics to
denote
systemic
patterns
toward which physical systems tend to evolve), around which the
chaotic energy of the limbic system forms, thereby deeply
embedding those negative experiences into the L-N-M system’s
neural circuitry (Godwin, 2004, p. 112; Schore, 2003, p. 4).
Waller (2007) further theorizes that, because the limbic system
is almost fully wired by age five (p. 35), many years before the
higher order cognitive processes of the frontal and prefrontal
lobes come online, and because limbic generated emotion has
been shown to be involved in all intentional behavior (Freeman,
2000), these imprints play a large role in motivation throughout
life (Waller, 2007, p. 50), though the emergence of greater
awareness in later development—afforded by the increasing
influence of the frontal lobes—can facilitate the release of such
limitations, paving the way for deeper, more authentic levels of
motivation.
At this stage, both the degree to which the primary caregiver is
resonantly attuned to the child’s inner state and the degree to
25
which the child feels felt by the caregiver, set the foundation—or
the lack thereof—for the kind of neural integration that can
facilitate healthy development (Siegel, 2007, p. 39). With the
immediacy of the impulses at this stage, the more sublime needs
of aesthetics and spiritual meaning are not yet perceived (Ewen,
2003, p. 220).
Stage 2: The Opportunist (Self-Protective)
A defining characteristic of this self-protective stage of
development is that the ego is still largely inexperienced at
peering deeply into its true motivations (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
From this perspective the ego experiences most interpersonal
encounters as potential win-lose situations, where only one party
can come away truly satisfied from the encounter. As a
consequence of this fear-based, dualistic view, the ego views
most situations in terms of its own desires and needs, and very
little awareness of the other is possible (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
Because socially-oriented prefrontal activity is not yet
predominant at this stage, the L-N-M and endocrine gland
systems are leading the show (Waller, 2007, p. 35), which means
that self-serving opportunism, backed by the energy of rajas, is
the order of the day. While this stage exhibits a new awareness of
others as having their own desires, it is also the beginning of
seeing the world as separate from oneself. At this juncture, the
parietal lobes, which together mediate the experience of a
self/other boundary separated by space (Nataraja, 2008, p. 85),
are mediating the first emergence of social awareness.
26
CONVENTIONAL STAGES
Cook-Greuter estimates that 80 percent of the global adult
population falls within the range of the conventional stages of
development, the majority of which tend to shift from the Expert
stage to the Conscientious stage (Cook-Greuter, 2004). At this
point, the next three need-levels of Maslow’s hierarchy begin to
surface: safety, belonging and esteem (Ewen, 2003, p. 220-2).
Stage 3: The Diplomat
(Conformist)
The need for social
acceptance and approval
becomes apparent here,
along with a tendency toward
the shunning of anyone who
does not belong to one’s
family, social group or
nation. Correlating with
both safety needs and
27
belonging needs in Maslow’s hierarchy, the Diplomat introjects
cultural expectations and conforms to them, in order to optimize
safety and belongingness at the expense of authentic autonomy
and self-expression (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
The abilities to look at oneself and prefer socially desirable
behavior imply the emergence of activity in both the prefrontal
lobes, which mediate introspection (Goldberg, et al, 2006), as
well as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is involved in
social behavior (Pujol, et al, 2002), though these activations are
still inchoate.
Stage 4: The Expert (Self-Conscious)
Introspection becomes
more pronounced here,
though still to only an
elementary degree. The left
hemisphere now begins to
mediate higher levels of
both rationality and
individuality, bringing with
it a need to distinguish
oneself from family members. Abstract concepts start to appear,
along with judgments about whether or not others meet personal
standards. Maslow’s esteem needs begin to come into play here,
as the ego can now start to declare the needs it once repressed
(Cook-Greuter, 2004).
28
Stage 5: The Achiever (Conscientious)
As the full ego-equivalent of Maslow’s esteem-needs level of
motivation, the Achiever stage of development sets goals, makes
plans, expects results, and prefers as friends those who hold
similar values. Rationality—mediated, no doubt, by increased
prefrontal and left modes of functioning—is considered to be the
highest form of expression here, and most of reality is seen in
terms of linear causality, with a ‘this’ causing a ‘that.’ With a
strong belief in scientific objectivity, the Achiever stage views
empirical science as the ultimate path to truth (Cook-Greuter,
2004).
POSTCONVENTIONAL STAGES
With the emergence of the postconventional stages, the ego is
now becoming progressively able to integrate multiple
perspectives into a systemic frame of reference, in which the self
is experienced as a part of a bigger whole (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
Therefore, these stages represent the spectrum of development
ranging from the very beginning of
Maslow’s self-actualization stage to his later
postulated self-transcendence stage, mediated in large part by
the increasing integration of right modes of holistic and direct
experience.
Stage 6: The Individualist
29
Conscious of the
reality of relativism,
this stage—epitomized
by
postmodernism—can
sometimes take
relativism too far by
claiming that all truth,
in general, is relative,
not realizing the
self-contradicting nature of that statement. If indeed all truth is
relative, then even that statement must be relative, thereby
effectively canceling itself out. Awareness of interdependency
begins to emerge at this stage, making the way for an inchoate
comprehension of systems. Occasional tastes of
self-actualization are present here, and peak
experiences—though still somewhat sparse—become more
frequent as well (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
Stage 7: The Strategist (Autonomous)
Integrative systems-thinking becomes more prominent at this
stage, accompanied by the capacity to recognize long-term
systemic patterns. Because right modes of holistic awareness are
now becoming the context in which left modes of rational theory
are situated, the being-needs of Maslow’s self-actualization stage
of motivation now begin to emerge (Fuller, 2008, p. 140). In
addition, this stage has the capacity to face and accept many
disparate aspects of the self, including the shadow
(Cook-Greuter, 2004).
30
Stage 8: The Magician (Construct-Aware)
At this stage, language as a human construct becomes readily
apparent, as does the self/other construct. Paradox can be
comfortably contained, and an increasing ability to silently
witness one’s thoughts, feelings and mental phenomena has
emerged. As such, habitual judgments are now consciously
observed, with the recognition that they are largely results of an
attempt to avoid the dissolution of a solid sense of self perceived
to be the locus of identity (Cook-Greuter, 2004). Maslow’s
being-cognition (Fuller, 2008, p. 138-40) is now in play,
resulting in the ego’s capacity to benefit from nonrational—or
supra-rational—sources of knowledge (Cook-Greuter, 2004).
Stage 9: The Ironist (Unitive)A profound sense of belongingness
and connection has now become the predominant mode of
being. Regardless of their outer condition or appearance, others
can now be deeply welcomed and identified with. Multiple
perspectives are readily accepted, and being-needs represent the
most prevalent level of motivation. Empathetic connection and
31
acceptance are, at this stage, common experiences
(Cook-Greuter, 2004). Peak experiences have mostly subsided
and are replaced by plateau experiences, a unitive form of
experience wherein all of life—ranging from despair to
ecstasy—is fully embraced and valued as precious (Krippner,
1972, p. 113).
32
CHAPTER 5:
The Neural Substratesof Obfuscation
From an Eastern view, particularly one influenced by the Vedas,
the personality arises as the result of identifying with both
inherited karmic traits (genetic and psychological in nature) and
environmental conditioning (Waller, 2007, p. 140), both of
which deeply impact neural development (Mundkur, 2005;
Sarnot & Menkes, 2000). In this view, when such conditioning is
deeply identified with, it solidifies the experience of a solid self
and personality.
33
In the
early
stages of
develop
ment,
then, the
fledgling
limbic
system
becomes
imprinte
d with
the
experien
ces of
both met
and unmet emotional needs (Waller, 2007, p. 80), giving rise to
reactive and goal-oriented motifs that are eventually and
mistakenly identified as the self (Godwin, 2004, p. 122). From
this perspective, they are nothing more than culturally
conditioned neurological responses being animated by the life
force (Sadleir, 2003, p. 12). Also known as prana (Krishna, 1997,
p. 68), this life force is a somewhat superficial aspect of a deeper
creative power, referred to in yogic traditions as
the kundalini-shakti (Goswami, 2006, p. 237), which
unconsciously animates bodily processes, giving rise to the
mental and emotional content of the phenomenal mind
(Muktananda, 1978, p. 48), with which an aspect of the
underlying consciousness identifies.
34
The aforementioned limbic conditioning is theorized by Waller
(2007) to give rise to a dialogical self, the ever-active and
automatic self-talk activated by limbic attachments and
aversions (p. 65). By consistently recruiting other brain areas
into its employ, Waller speculates that this limbic-generated,
dialogical self regularly hijacks the frontal lobes and thereby
significantly biases perception (p. 50). Identification, in his view,
is seen as taking place by way of the prefrontal function
mistakenly identifying the dialogical self as the locus of the self,
since the prefrontal lobes do not fully develop until long after the
voice of the dialogical self
has become active (p. 73).
Waller further speculates
that various complexes of
limbic attractors—each
with correlated beliefs,
biases, attachments and
aversions—eventually
form sub-personalities (p.
140). The L-N-M system
identity, therefore, is
viewed as virtually
enfolding itself around one’s true nature, obfuscating it. And
because the developmental groundwork for thought and emotion
have been laid in early development, the continued animation of
thoughts and emotions—generated through unconscious
energetic processes within existing neural networks—gives rise
to the conditioned mind (Sadleir, 2009, March 10).
35
CHAPTER 6:
The NeurologicalOrigins of the PersonalUnconscious
Based on findings in
attachment
psychology (Hofer,
1983; Scheflen, 1990)
and interpersonal
neurobiology
(Tomasello, 1993;
Trevarthen, 1993),
Schore (2003),
postulates that, in
early development,
the parent’s brain acts
as a complimentary
brain through which
the infant brain
downloads important survival programs (p. 13). As this
downloading continues, the infant brain resonantly connects
with the parent’s brain, thereby gaining the available circuitry by
which it can organize toward greater levels of complexity (p. 41).
The forming personality, therefore, is the product of this
interpersonal downloading process (p. 3).
36
Godwin (2004) theorizes that, because the right brain is
predominant during this crucial process, left modes of operation
are unavailable for labeling disturbing emotional experiences (p.
112), so that such experiences are unconsciously stored in the
extensive circuitry already developed between the right
hemisphere and the limbic system, making this system the
neural correlate of the personal unconscious (p. 112). This theory
might explain why the unconscious, in Jung’s psychology, is so
often associated with imagery (also associated with right
hemispheric function) and limbic-generated affect (Miller, 2004,
p. 25). The discovery that negative affect is most associated with
right hemispheric activity (Davidson, 1992) may possibly be
explained as the result of this right-originating personal
unconscious.
Therefore, the higher stages of development, wherein the
personal unconscious is more readily acknowledged and
integrated, may very well represent an integration of right modes
of perception. While this postulated neural correlate of Jung’s
personal unconscious has been criticized by others, due to the
fact that many unconscious processes involve much more than
right hemispheric and limbic processes, this criticism fails to
recognize that Jung’s description of the personal unconscious
includes almost exclusively processes involved with affect and
imagery (Miller, 2004, p. 25), at the exclusion of other
unconscious processes.
37
CHAPTER 7:
The Way Out
While numerous studies have produced substantial empirical
evidence for the hypothesis that contemplative practice can
significantly reduce the conditioned responses of the amygdale
and limbic system (Creswell, et al, 2007; Greeson, et al, 2001;
Jain, et al, 2007; Ramel, et al, 2004), contemplative traditions
have for ages acted as the laboratories in which such practices
have been developed. One such tradition, mystical Christianity,
has much to say about how the renewing of the mind (Romans
12:2, King James Version) can lead to a transformative
dis-identification with the old man of the flesh and a new
embodiment of the spirit (Romans 8:1, King James Version).
The “old man,” as Waller (2007) sees it, is the limbic-generated,
dialogical self (p. 83). Subsequently, he views deeper
identification with conscious awareness as the substrate of
experience—which he associates with increased prefrontal
function—as the means of renewing the mind (pp. 90-91).
The Narrow Gate
Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide
and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are
many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is
narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew
7:13-14, New American Standard Bible). He is also recorded as
having stated, “. . . the kingdom of heaven is within you” (Luke
38
17:21, New
International
Version).
Buddhist teaching
in the
Madhyamaka
tradition likewise
emphasizes the
potential for
enlightenment
(which can be seen as the Buddhist equivalent of the kingdom of
heaven) as being readily available (Lama, 1995, p. 29).Yet the
conditioned mind remains oblivious to the liberating reality of
its immediate proximity.
This book theorizes that the “wide gate” that leads to destruction
is the culturally and neurologically conditioned mind, which is
oblivious to the enlightened Buddha-nature. Inherent in this
conditioning are top-down processes—global neuronal
movements that entrain and therefore distort local processes
involved in perception (Engel, Fries, & Singer, 2001; Haken and
Stadler, 1990). Through this top-down process, certain neural
networks create persuasive attractor patterns (Hoffman, 1992),
some of which have been linked to various psychiatric disorders
(Li & Spiegel, 1992).
It is further theorized here that the narrow gate which leads to
life is nothing other than the mindful and conscious awareness of
the Buddha-nature—consciousness as presence—within;
i.e., meta-awareness—the awareness of awareness. This gate,
39
then, is narrow because it is mediated by both an enlightened
intention and an exclusive neural circuit involving the middle
prefrontal areas, which work to preclude the top-down neural
processes involved in the expectations of attachment and
aversion arising from the conditioned mind (Siegel, 2007, p. 82).
Sometimes referred to as a bottom-up process (Siegel, 2007, p.
137), this narrow gate involves present-moment awareness,
attentive not only of mental and bodily processes (Kabat-Zinn,
2003, p. 441), but of conscious presence as well (Waller, 2007, p.
30). This anchoring of awareness in the present moment, as
such, acts to override the conditioned mind.
This book’s theory regarding the narrow gate is congruent with
the attention-gate theory, which states that attention acts like a
gate, recruiting neurological cooperation, thereby exerting
mental influence over the brain (Davidson & Neville, 2004).
Begley (2007) has documented an example of this gate-function
40
of attention, offered by scientist Helen Neville: if an individual
attentively reads a book while passively listening to music in the
background, the visual areas of the brain will be activated and
the areas associated with hearing will not. Conversely, if the
music is listened to attentively while passively looking at a book,
the areas associated with hearing will become active (p. 159).
By way of this gate-function, mindful awareness holds the
capacity not only for overriding the top-down processes of the
conditioned mind, but for recognizing the dialogical self for what
it truly is—a phantom arising from neurological conditioning
(Waller, 2007, p. 64). Waller (2007) has stated that
prefrontal-mediated witnessing of--rather than identifying
with—the voice of the dialogical self is the means by which
attachment to the ego is diminished (p. 77). The cultivation and
establishment of the narrow gate, therefore, down-regulates the
amygdale and limbic system (Creswell, et al, 2007), so that the
mosaic voice of the L-N-M system eventually subsides to varying
degrees, opening the possibility for the reverberating circuits of
meta-awareness to mediate the blissful realization
of sat-chit-ananda, a yogic term for the experience of one’s true
nature as being-consciousness-bliss (Ghose, 2001, p. 161).
Nataraja (2008) postulates this process as being neurologically
mediated first by activity in the attention association area within
the prefrontal lobes, the stabilization of which is followed by a
decrease of activity in the right parietal lobe, resulting in an
experience of spaciousness and wholeness (p. 85-87). This is
believed to trigger a response in the autonomic nervous system,
41
so that the parasympathetic nervous system comes online and
mediates a sense of peace and blissfulness (p. 89).
When the activity of the right parietal lobe stabilizes, its activity
eventually spills over into the left parietal lobe, helping to
mediate the dissolution of the self/other boundary (p. 89). Once
balanced, another autonomic response occurs, this time within
the sympathetic nervous system, giving rise to the experience of
clarity and insight (p. 89). During the simultaneous activation
and balancing of the yin (parasympathetic) and yang
(sympathetic) of the autonomic nervous system, both
penetrating insight and blissful presence emerge into conscious
experience (p. 95). The more this neurophenomenological
process is repeated (presumably within the later stages of
development), the more identification with that stage of
development loosens until such identification ceases altogether,
42
at which time identification with the next stage begins (Wilber,
2000, p. 197).
The Neuroscience of Wholeness
As previously mentioned, spiritual development is mediated in
large part by progressive integration of right brain and left brain
processes, especially when healthy right modes of being and
awareness become predominant over left analytical modes (see
Figure 5). In keeping with Lao Tzu’s dictum to “[k]now the
yang, but keep to the yin” (Towler & Cleare, 2005, p. 23), this
neurological theory of development states that balance between
the perceptual modes does not necessarily refer to equal
measures of activity in each mode. Rather, in this view, right
modes of being become increasingly dominant yet holistically
integrated with left modes, so that right modes of awareness
become the greater spiritual context in which left modes of
analysis and interpretation are formed (see Figure 6), with the
result being that rational modes of thought are transcended and
included by supra-rational modes of mindful presence.
In essence, the direction toward which this neurological process
is aimed is the eventual transcendence of the brain and
conditioned mind as the loci of the self, which comes with the
liberating realization that one does not necessarily have to be the
victim of one’s neurophysiology. At the same time, though the
brain and phenomenal mind are transcended, they are also
included as valuable tools for relating to others in the relative
world, with the distinction that they are now realized to be
ever-changing phenomena rather than the ground of being. As a
consequence, not only are certain aspects of behavior now
43
radically shifted, one’s personal narrative is, to quote Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin, that of “a spiritual being having a human
experience.”
44
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