I’m having a conversation with a lizard. Nothing to be alarmed about, the lizard is only in my head – quite literally, in fact.
As Homo Sapiens developed over the long course of our evolution, the nature and function of the brain changed with us.
At the top of our spine resides the first proper brain we possessed, named the Limbic. It is a processor of signals; if you like – our first bio-computer.
The limbic brain dates back to when the life-vehicle that became a human being was a lizard… Amazingly and rather surprisingly, it has stayed with us, more or less intact. After the lizard brain, we developed a mammalian brain above it called the Cortex. The cortex takes up most of the dome of our head and is concerned with the social world we live in – which goes to show how important our social interaction with each other is.
The limbic – lizard brain – is concerned with survival and reaction. Survival is the ability to continue to live – and make the right decisions to ensure our best chance of doing so. The lizard in our heads is on constant watch for situations that might threaten us. It does not employ logical processing as the mammalian brain does. Instead it ‘knows’ when there is the need to be on high-alert.
In other words, it’s the seat of the instincts – response we did not consciously develop but which were part of us from birth.
When the lizard detects there is danger, the hairs might raise on the back of the neck; we might unexpectedly start to sweat; our breathing may quicken, and many more components of ‘danger-readiness’ may manifest. The detection of the danger state also gives the limbic brain access to vast stores of energy within us.
The lizard is concerned with ‘fight or flight’. Either will do. Its sole concern is to move us out of the zone of danger. We can ‘kill’ the other occupant(s) of that zone or run away. If we run away, our ‘legs’ will be empowered like they have never been before. If we need to fight, and can drill into the core lizard energy, we will become ‘demonic’ in our fighting purpose and intensity – even if only for a second or two.
Murders caused by anger and rage originate here… Although it may seem warped if we are a rational and controlled person, the murderer believes and feels that their existence is threatened…
Flight is more normally preferred…
So, given that the effect of threatened existence is so potent, we can see why a passing acquaintance with our lizard and their behaviour is desirable.
If we have made our conscious (higher-brained) lives into a journey of self-discovery, it’s vital to watch the lizard at work, because ‘his’ low-level responses of high energy pervade every aspect of our psychological life and its responses. There is a leakage of what constituted survival at the physical level into our vital concept of a psychological self. In other words, the essence of me…
When the me feel as threatened at my work or driving my car, then we have the dangerous and often volcanic uprising of defensive energy with a potentially murderous rage. We’ve all seen incidents on our roads and at football matches.
For the mystic, the lizard is a perpetual challenge. The sane response is, like it has been for millions of years, to trap it.
We can train our minds to notice that raising of the hairs on the neck; the arising of anger’s sweat in the skin and the pressure of blood in the head – the famous ‘red mist’. And then we can – and it will take thousands of repetitions – calm the slippery beast and thank it for its defensive energy – which we can now put to good use.
Good luck with your own lizard…
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax or created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to the deeper states of them-selves.
There is no charge to attend these meetings.
Guidance will be provided to each person joining the group in the form of conversation, questions and answers. In this way, understanding and companionship are deepened in a caring and sharing environment.
There is an optional extension of this work in the form of monthly studies into the nature and facets of our personalities, how to examine them and the finding of the keys of spiritual return in each of the jewel’s facets.
There are two blog streams:
(mystically-oriented writing)
and
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Contact: STEVETEMEQ@gmail.com
A fascinating discussion, Steve. I did smile though, I’ve never been compared to a lizard before.
A shared moniker, Robbie! 😀