The Psychology of Our Biology
bridging the gap
In our working model of the Utopian Mind, the psychology of the Monster is grounded in our negative early life experiences, personality trait neuroticism, and our thoughts and behaviors.
This is the inner subjective experience coloring the biological processes discussed in last week’s letter.
When we gain more control of our biology, we can move into the mind and soul realm.
This is working bottom-up to gain top-down control.
A quick recap of last week’s letter. 👇
We dove into the Master Cycle, which in relation to our biology, is our circadian rhythm or the 24-hour sleep-wake cycle we go through every day.
The biology of our primordial nature is comprised of 3 components:
The Psychology of the Monster
Let’s get into this week's topic of the Pyschology of the Monster. This is our final chapter of the Monster (our biology and drive behind desire and impulse decisions).
Psychology of the Monster
Understanding that our early childhood experiences play a vital role in how we experience life as adults are difficult but necessary.
A prime example of this is that the very neural circuits that develop in relation to our primary caregivers early in life are repurposed during puberty to relate to romantic partners.
This is the basis for what psychologists call “attachment theory.”
Another example is that trauma experienced early in life can predict later outcomes of depression, anxiety, and addiction, all of which are a narrowing of perception. This is an example of the untamed Monster.
Once we see the connection between our past and present, we can focus on the present through our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
In terms of emotions, we will use the personality trait neuroticism to seek understanding.
Neuroticism is our disposition towards negative feelings or mood states such as anger, sadness, and shame.
The more neurotic we are, the more likely we are to suffer from anxiety, depression, and addiction.
It should also be no surprise that adverse early life experiences increase our likelihood of being higher in neuroticism.
Finally, we have our thoughts and behaviors.
With our bodies highly activated, our master cycle unhinged, our past haunting us, and our emotions tilted towards the negative, it’s difficult to think clearly because our perception is so clouded.
This ultimately leads to the end result of maladaptive behaviors that cause a large part of the inner conflict and self-deception that holds us back from everything we want in life.
This is why we often feel powerless.
At the end of the day, this is why the Buddha declared desire as the root of all suffering, and it has taken us over 2,000 years to prove that he was correct scientifically.
Many other spiritual, religious, and philosophical thinkers have reached the same conclusion.
The more we fall prey to this vicious cycle of self-destruction, the more dangerous we become to ourselves and others.
When we look at the most extreme examples of humans harming other humans, it’s because their inner Monster is untamed.
The person becomes so narrow and self-absorbed, so animalistic and impulsive that they act out of their worst nature rather than their best.
The cost of an untamed Monster is treacherous beyond belief.
Last week we spoke about a tool called Circadian Priming to get our sleep/wake cycle in check so that we can become more clear in our decision-making.
Here are two more tools for breaking our maladaptive hardwiring followed by two tools for building the Monster (our drive) in a way that serves us moving forward!
1.) Primal Movement
The next tool to be used after circadian priming is “Primal Movement,” which is very broad.
The idea here is that we are intentionally setting aside time to use our will to move our bodies. Instead of thinking about it as “exercise,” think of it as “movement.”
Exercise is what humans invented when we stopped moving, movement is fundamental to who you are.
Break free from the sedentary life we have become so accustomed to. Go for a walk, dance, hike, ride a bike, and yes exercise!
The biggest thing is you take time daily to move your body and push the limits of what it is capable of.
Your mind will try to seek out rest, but the reality is you need to earn that rest. By doing this, you exert your will over the monster, which is a major key in taming it!
2.) Fire and Ice
The final breaking practice is heat and cold exposure.
It is very similar to the movement practice in that we again exert our will to tame our inner beast.
Remember, the monster wants to move away from pain and towards pleasure, so the more we do the opposite, the more control we gain.
Naturally, we experience a stress response or increase in our activating system when we are in extreme heat or cold.
For this practice, we intentionally expose ourselves to safe levels of extreme heat and cold for safe but uncomfortable amounts of time.
This forces us to use our minds to overpower our bodi’s natural reaction to run or fight which translates to when we need to overpower an unhealthy appetite or desire.
Tools for Building
Once we have broken down our inner Monster, we must rebuild or reintegrate it to drive us to massive positive action.
This is done through deliberate tools that allow us to gain greater conscious control of the Monster or tame it.
1.) Heaven and Hell Mapping
The first tool is called “heaven and hell mapping,” which is essentially putting down on paper an ideal future of ourselves if we tame our Monster (heaven) and a nightmare version of our future selves (hell) if we do not.
This creates a powerful road map for what we should be running from and what we should be running towards.
Most people, coaches, and programs focus on “goals” or the ideal future, heaven, to direct positive change, which is good but not great.
Research into goal setting and achievement tells us that focusing on the hell we are running away from is more powerful and longer lasting than setting goals.
By doing both, we create massive mental leverage to keep ourselves continually on track for self-transformation rather than self-destruction.
2.) Buddha Breath
The second tool for building is called “Buddha Breath,” which radically shifts the body and mind away from the activating system and into the rejuvenating system.
This breathing technique mimics a physiological sigh which calms the nervous system fast. Think about how a child starts to breathe after a tantrum.
They take two rapid inhales and a long exhale. That’s Buddha breathing.
As stress builds within our body, our breathing becomes more shallow, which builds up CO2 within the body and reduces oxygen.
This is the result of the activating system, and it also starts to decrease the function of our lungs by collapsing the air sacs within our lungs, called alveoli.
When we take a double inhale, we force air back into the collapsed air sacs of the lungs, increasing our ability to absorb oxygen.
We also expel a lot of the built-up CO2 with the long exhale, which has the added benefit of reducing our heart rate and turning on our rejuvenating system.
Using this technique, we can rapidly go from feeling extremely activated to extremely calm in as little as 6 breaths.
To put this into practice, you will want to take two rapid inhalations back to back. Ideally, the inhales will be done through the nose, but if that is not an option for you, your mouth will be sufficient.
The second step will be to exhale slowly through the mouth through pursed lips making a “whooshing” sound as you do it.
Your final step will be to focus your awareness on your heart rate and intentionally try to lower it.
A heart rate monitor can be a useful feedback tool initially but is not necessary.
Once we have started to tame the monster, we can start to focus our attention on training the Lion, our innate protector.
Just like the monster represents our desires and appetites, the lion is a metaphor for our passions and emotions.
The Lion is the part of us that is deeply connected to our social world, and it is also the connector between the monster and the human.
The lion is the keystone of the human spirit that weaves together the body (monster) and mind (human).
Our passions and emotions have the second greatest impact on our ability to either self-transform or self-destruct.
More on the Lio next week 🦁
Final Thoughts
The ancient philosophers placed a great emphasis on wisdom, viewing it as one of the most important virtues a person could possess.
It was something to be pursued with all of one's might.
They teach that a wise person can see through the facade of appearances and understand the true nature of things.
Developing our own wisdom allows us to make better choices, build stronger relationships, and create a more just and peaceful world.
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 | A guest post by
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Amazing letter, you two! So much of this is new to me, so I walk away from each part of this series gaining insights that will benefit myself and the people I serve in a powerful and beautiful way.
Thank you!
P.S. I love the breathing technique you shared as well! :))