I've just finished reading Ruby Wax's book Sane New World, which shares her experiences and knowledge about depression, the brain and mindfulness. I was drawn to the book because, like Ruby, I am fascinated by the mind and, in particular, how advances in neuroscience are helping us understand mental well-being, which is becoming increasingly urgent in our world. She talks about it in terms of being the next phase of human evolution and I think I agree. At the very least, it is a concept I am fascinated by.
Thinking about it in terms of evolution, our brain has come a long way from a single-celled amoeba, but it is still evolving and it still carries centuries of evolutionary progress with it, which is both helpful and maladaptive. Essentially it is primed for survival and some of those mechanisms have not yet adapted to environmental changes. In fact, our three brains sometimes contradict each other: the reptilian (oldest) brain primed for survival through mating, killing, eating; our limbic brain, developed to bond and nurture and co-operate; and our neocortex (executive) brain, which fine-tuned self-control, consciousness, language, self-regulation, as well as rational, strategic, logical thought. While these brains have developed in compliment to each other, they have also not yet totally aligned with each other or fully adapted to the changing environment. Survival today (for most of us living in the the developed world, a term I dislike but use here for simplicity's sake) means something different from survival thousands of years ago. Something in our brain which once ensured our survival (fight or flight) is now, in a modern environment, leaving us in a constant state of anxiety and stress and depleting us if we don't learn to self-regulate.
The brain is complicated and we are only just beginning to understand some of the ways it works. But what we have learnt in the last twenty years, could, I think, have exciting implications for where we go next as a species. In particular, our 'reality' and experience of the world is a direct result of how we use our minds. At the same time our brains are malleable and plastic and can continue to be shaped and re-shaped throughout our lives. This presents enormous potential, if we learn to exercise our minds as we exercise our bodies. Quoting the final line of her book, perhaps the next part of human evolution will shift from survival of the fittest to survival of the wisest.
I like this idea. She, and I, believe mindfulness has a huge part to play in this evolutionary step.
Thinking about it in terms of evolution, our brain has come a long way from a single-celled amoeba, but it is still evolving and it still carries centuries of evolutionary progress with it, which is both helpful and maladaptive. Essentially it is primed for survival and some of those mechanisms have not yet adapted to environmental changes. In fact, our three brains sometimes contradict each other: the reptilian (oldest) brain primed for survival through mating, killing, eating; our limbic brain, developed to bond and nurture and co-operate; and our neocortex (executive) brain, which fine-tuned self-control, consciousness, language, self-regulation, as well as rational, strategic, logical thought. While these brains have developed in compliment to each other, they have also not yet totally aligned with each other or fully adapted to the changing environment. Survival today (for most of us living in the the developed world, a term I dislike but use here for simplicity's sake) means something different from survival thousands of years ago. Something in our brain which once ensured our survival (fight or flight) is now, in a modern environment, leaving us in a constant state of anxiety and stress and depleting us if we don't learn to self-regulate.
The brain is complicated and we are only just beginning to understand some of the ways it works. But what we have learnt in the last twenty years, could, I think, have exciting implications for where we go next as a species. In particular, our 'reality' and experience of the world is a direct result of how we use our minds. At the same time our brains are malleable and plastic and can continue to be shaped and re-shaped throughout our lives. This presents enormous potential, if we learn to exercise our minds as we exercise our bodies. Quoting the final line of her book, perhaps the next part of human evolution will shift from survival of the fittest to survival of the wisest.
I like this idea. She, and I, believe mindfulness has a huge part to play in this evolutionary step.