July 23, 2006
Oh Dear, Another Sign from The Universe
Almost forgot to publish what I nearly stepped on last Sunday morning. This photo is as I originally saw it. I included my toe for size perspective ( painted with month-old, Sally Hansen Opalescent, "a multidimentional pearl formulation").
Of course, I took it as a sign. The reptile rests on top of the hologram, whose foundation is shadow, darkness, unconscious. Haven't we just been talking about this? Isn't it a metaphor for the state of of the world?
My further interpretation -- if you can bear it. The lizard, known for its strange beauty, rather than its intellect, represents the amygdala, a primitive brain structure, that gathers sensory information, and decides whether or not any particular external situation is ordinary or dangerous. If ordinariness prevails, the amygdala compiles incoming sensory signals into a complete experience, and sends the compiled information to other brain structures for cognitive polishing, finding words for the experience, filing it appropriately for retrieval, having feelings about what happened, and folding all of that into the crevices of the brain as an experience that might be remembered or not. In an emergency, the amygdala skips all that and signals the adrenals instantly, thus producing a quick shot of adrenalin. Cognition, compilation and storage functions are overridden, and the body shifts into fight, flight or freeze mode.
The amygdala is the reptilian brain. It is primitive. It is responsible for survival under dangerous circumstances. Very handy in the olden days when predators wanted to eat you for dinner. The amygdala doesn't think, it acts, and it acts to flee from, fake out, or destroy a perceived threat. Acting solely from signals from the amygdala, unmitigated by the higher brain functions of thought or empathy, causes wars, cruelty and abuse in "civilized" society.
The black bat covered with holographic paper represents the more complex part of our brains. A bat, considered spooky in our culture, is, in fact, a most helpful, benign animal. The sizeable black area of this bat represents the unconscious mind, the part of ourselves which we have not brought to the light. It's substantial , and underlies everything. More often than not it holds information gleaned directly from the amygdala, which is raw, difficult to examine in oneself, and painful to contain. There are some, nay many, who prefer to project all that they hold in their unconscious onto others. Mentioning names at this point would only be projection on my part.
The holographic paper, covering the bat represents the complexity of the frontal cortex, it's many layers and interactions - what we know in many dimensions -our conscious cognitive process. Comparatively, it's pretty thin.
To summarize the message (you may think I'm making a little too much of this, but I shan't let that deter me). Right now many of the horrors of the world are caused by the unthinking actions of the reptilian brain. Underlying, and supporting the actions of the reptilian brain, is the darkness of the unexamined unconscious. When denied parts of self are projected onto others, others are perceived as dangerous.
The holographic paper is our multidimensional cognitive awareness -- a very thin layer indeed.
For heaven's sake, tell those children to keep better track of their toys. We don't want to be subjected to many more of these sign-from-the-universe entries.
Photo note: Not a particularly pretty picture.
Addendum: Some thoughts from the enlightened Wiliam Sloane Coffin, who is an exemplar for mutlitdimensional cognitive awareness.
. Evil is the lack of imaginative sympathy for others
. Nothing is more dangerous than the misunderstanding of evil as something outside yourself.
. Self righteousness destroys our ability for self criticism.
. We need to recognize our complicity in the things we abhor.
. We get so caught up in defense that we lose the things that are worth defending
. The United States is not a melting pot, it's a pressure cooker
. Bush is popular because people prefer certainty to truth
. People want the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought
. Some people need enemies to tell them who they are
. Biblical mandate is to pursue justice and search for peace
. When religion and politics are mixed the questions is, "Who is the god that tells them who they are?".
. People are drawn to decisiveness, but it's more important to have the right decision
. Faith is not believing without truth
. Faith is defined by rigid doctrine which is often erroneous and can divide, love can only unite
. Hell is truth seen too late