People on the Bus
Imagine you are on a long trip with many of your relatives. You are driving the SUV with a goal of where you want to arrive. The kids are always asking you "Are we there yet?" Aunt Betty always has to pee. Grandpa Aims is snoring away. Cousin Charlie wants to stop at every rock and rodent zoo to site see. Baby Almirah is always crying, she is not happy to be in the car. Your cousin Teresa is constantly texting her boyfriend. You are trying to pay attention to the road and not get lost. At the end of the day, you are totally exhausted. At times you wished that you had a barrier between you and the people in the back of the SUV. What is going on inside your head is very similar to this scenario.
Our minds are like a bus with 36 people on it. There is a barrier between the 36 people and the bus driver. The bus driver cannot hear and is not aware of any activity going on in the back of the bus. He thinks he is the sole person on the bus, and he is making all of the choices on where to go. There is a slot in the barrier and every so often, a note comes out telling the bus driver when to turn, when to stop, when to speed up, and it also tells you when to pee. The driver thinks he is making these decisions, all on his own, but he is being directed by the people in the back of the bus. The people in the back of the bus are constantly arguing and fighting about where to go, and what the bus will do next. When they come to an agreement, then the note is passed to the driver with directions.
Most people do not hear the argument going on in the back of their brains, even though everyone is going through this process. At times people get a small glimpse of the back of the bus during their REM sleep when they are dreaming. You only live twice: once in your life and once in your dreams. A schizophrenic (which means dual breath or two lives) they are hearing this argument constantly. They think they are hearing voices, which is true, they are hearing voices. A normal person has a barrier that prevents them from hearing the argument in the back of the bus. Schizophrenics, hear different voices from the different people in the back of the bus. The only difference between them and everyone else is everyone else doesn’t hear the argument. Schizophrenics only hear the argument that is telling them where to go next.
Everyone on the left side of the bus is the female or left brain which involves material things, logic, and language. Everyone on the right side of the bus is men or the right brain which involves abstracts, emotion, and creativity. In a male, the females are muted or given less voice, so the decisions that are made are more masculine. In a woman, the males are muted or are given less voice, so the decisions are usually more feminine. Almost every person has a left and right side of their brain. You can live and function with just one side of your brain removed, but not as well as if you have both sides.
The people in the back of the bus are a part of the lizard brain, which deals with the three Fs. The three F’s are fear, food, and procreation. The first two in the back of the bus are always having sex or thinking about it. The next two are always hungry or deciding what to eat. The next two are always afraid of not having enough sex or food. Every thought that goes through our head passes through the Lizard Brain first. This allows us to make decisions quicker and faster when there is a possible danger, food, or procreation available to us. These decisions can be made quicker and with less thought in the Lizard Brain. Imagine that you are standing on a road and a car is coming toward you. You pull out a calculator and a sextant to measure the speed of the car, your position, and when, and if it will hit you. Sorry too late! The Lizard Brain would instantly react to the danger and jump out of the way. It could have missed you by a quarter inch, but are you willing to risk this?
The next row of people have crystal balls, and they can see into the future. They also have a laptop connected to a drone-quadricopter that is flying several miles above the bus. They know what is going to happen next. This is the thalamus, which is connected to your future self, and knows what is going to happen seconds before it occurs. This gives you your increased reaction time and gives the people on the bus a chance to debate the next course of action before it occurs.
We have people who have microphones outside the bus listening to what is happening and making judgments. We have people that have windows to see out of the bus, and they are telling everybody what it looks like outside the bus. Then we have a group of people who are feeling how smooth the road is and balancing the bus. Next, there is a group of intellectuals who are debating knowledge past and present and making decisions on how this will direct the bus in the future.
We also have a group of people that create a fantasy world that we live in. We have another group of people that are reality checkers. They put both of these stories together and come up with a combined story of what the world really is. When only the fantasy creators are working you will end up in a mental hospital not being able to deal with reality. Some people who have had strokes and cannot walk will be convinced that they have the ability to walk. When asked by their friends to go for a walk, they find excuses like "I am tired today." "I don't feel like walking." "Let's just do this tomorrow." You may find the same thing happening with your friends on occasion. You may want to do something and they will always come up with lame excuses of why they can't. It's just that they really don't want to do it, but that they do not wish to be honest (real) with you. Individuals that have had a stroke and the fantasy creator no longer become incredibly depressed and want to leave this world. In order to have a balanced life, you need to have the fantasy creator working with the reality checker.
Constantly, all of these people are arguing and putting their two cents in on what to do next. Whichever part of your brain you allow to dominate, or rule the bus, will become your personality or Ego in life. You can change this through meditation and also with the people that you associate with. You can reinforce some behaviors and quelch others. People with no Ego usually are put in mental hospitals where they take on the Ego of someone else… Napoleon, Jesus Christ, or some other famous person that other people admire. They do this because they have no Ego of their own. There is nothing wrong with having an Ego (or definition of who you are), but what is this Ego? Is it kind, loving, or considerate? Is it selfish, greedy, and wanting to dominate others? Are you happy with your Ego? You can change it.
All of the decisions that we make in life are made by a group of others who live in our heads each one with a specific job or task to accomplish. When presented with new information your brain makes decisions at the lowest level, which is passed through billions of neurons until a decision of choice is made. Then the note is passed to the driver. If you want to change your thinking, you are going to have to influence each of the 36 people on the bus.
How does the driver on the bus control and affect the people in the back of the bus? If you are not careful the passengers will hijack the bus and take it to Cuba. How do you control the passengers? You will need to have a balance of everybody on the bus or the decisions will become lopsided. You will become less effective in life. You will either hide under a rock or you will be throwing rocks at people. You will become a conspiracy theorist, or you will overlook a conspiracy against you.
Let's address the Lizard Brain First. If a car salesman wants to sell you a new car, they will set a seductive person next to it. This stimulates the Lizard Brain to associate the car with procreation. They will show you a wealthy person driving the car. They will show someone driving fast. And we all know that when you drive a car fast, you become a winner, and a pretty girl will kiss you. Since we all want to be a winner and the glory that goes with it, we will buy the fast car. To avoid this, you need to prepare beforehand. You will need to understand the basic desires that the Lizard Brain has. You will need to sit and think about the cost and the expense it will take to purchase this new car. It is nice to have the pretty girl kiss us when we win. Can you afford the house payment, the hospital bills, the new clothes, the endless hours taking care of the children, losing your home, and everything that you own in the divorce? Have you thought everything through? Have you made a plan?
The Lizard Brain only benefits us when we have to make fast, quick, snap judgments. This is why offers usually come with a limited time or a last chance to buy. This will activate the Lizard Brain to make a choice without extensive thought. The Lizard Brain makes choices about procreation, but unlike lizards, our procreation involves a lifelong investment. If marriage is not in the works, then child support will be. When we are shown food the decision to eat or not is made by the Lizard Brain. High-calorie foods are more attractive to the Lizard Brain as they will provide more energy with less effort. Are we thinking about our food choices or are we grabbing whatever comes in front of us? You will need to carefully examine your choices. When we make poor choices, we end up in bankruptcy, divorce court, with the car wrapped around the tree, obese, and with poor health.
The best way to move out of the Lizard Brain is to understand actions and thoughts that occur in the more advanced Human Brain. The frontal lobe deals with time, the future, and complex calculations. The parietal lobe deals with feelings, body position, and being a nice guy. The temporal lobe deals with judgment and hearing. The occipital lobe deals with vision, roller coasters, and having fun.
If you want to get out of your Lizard Brain and into your Human Brain there are very simple things to do. You can stand up and put your arms over your head in a V, which is the Victory Pose, this will fool your brain into thinking that you are being victorious. You can also breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, which activates your frontal lobe. When your frontal lobe becomes more active the thoughts leave the Lizard Brain and enter into the Human Brain. Another thing that you can do is think about the future. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that deals with future plans and calculations. The Lizard Brain has no concept of time and if you have thoughts about the future, the Lizard Brain doesn't understand them. If thoughts are forced into the frontal lobe. Thinking about future plans about what is being presented to you will get you out of the Lizard Brain.
Before you buy the car consider if you can afford the payments for the next seven years. Will my present job last for seven more years? Will the car last for seven more years? Will they have a better version with better gas mileage and a more powerful engine next year? Do you really want the girl standing next to the car? Does she really want you? Is the salesman being honest? Are you just hungry? Is Will eating a sandwich quelch your desire to buy a car?
It has been suggested to never go shopping for anything (food, cars, shoes, significant others) when you are hungry. Always eat first before any shopping or choices are made. Make sure that you are relaxed, and have had plenty of sleep. Never impulse buy. If it's a good deal today, it will be a good deal tomorrow, or the next year. It is best to contemplate, meditate, and ask for help from others before making any decisions.
If we eat the correct amount of protein, amino acids, and vitamins in our diet these different parts of our brain (people on the bus) will receive adequate nutrition. When each person is well fed, they will be able to put in the proper amount of input into the decisions being made. Dr. Eric Braverman has written several books on how to provide proper nutrition to different parts of your brain. Dr. Daniel Amen also has written numerous books on brain balance and nutrition. He also encourages PET scans which will show which part of your brain is more or less active. We also need to exercise or give information to different parts of the brain. The parietal lobe and the cerebellum will be stimulated by balancing, dancing, and coordinated movements of the body. The frontal lobe requires deep and reflexive thinking. It needs puzzles to solve and future plans to make. The temporal lobe needs calming sounds and judgments or decisions to make. The occipital lobe needs beautiful sceneries, wonders of nature, roller coasters, and social connections.
If any of the parts of the brain are deprived of nutrition or activities they will either shut down or act like a screaming crying baby until they get the proper attention given to them. They can also get out of their seat and rush to the front of the bus and take total control over where you are going. Not allowing any input from any other people on the bus. If they become dormant, they will not be able to participate in the discussion going on and decisions can be made without their valuable input.
Balanced exercise will increase blood flow, and help the digestion and overall health of the body. The healthier the body is, the easier it will be for it to provide proper nutrition to the brain. Exercise in itself will also stimulate different parts of the brain. A brain without input becomes insane. This is why in an economy that limits jobs or potential activities for people in society creates riots and havoc. By being limited there is not enough stimulation, society moves back into the Lizard Brain, it becomes afraid, confuses sex and violence, and is in constant fear of not having enough food. This is why people on the edge of poverty, and obesity becomes a problem.
If you want to stimulate your brain, you must stimulate your life. Yoga is about stimulating your life. If you learn how your breath works then you will be able to change your mind. If you are aware of how your body position works then you will be able to change your mind. If you are aware of yourself then you will be able to change your life. Yoga is about life. Yoga is life. The word yoga is related to the word "yuke" or to bind or yoke. This is what we are doing when we practice yoga. You are yoking yourself to the multiverse, the universe, our world, other people, your friends, your family, and your brain to your body. This all needs to be in balance. People that are insane are referred to as being "out of balance." It is much more profound than just a class, it is life. In school, you can have classes, but school or the classes are not life. They are preparing you for life. Yoga is about preparing you to be balanced in your life.
When a baby is crying you can do one of two things. You can calm it down with reassuring kisses and hugs, or by providing food. You can also distract it or stimulate it with some jingling keys or a rattle, or a squirrel (squirrel?). How do you take care of the crying people on the bus? How do you focus them so that little distractions are able to keep you from your dreams? You can calm them down with relaxing meditation where you go to a happy place. You can distract them with chanting meditation. You can give them problems to solve so that they are busy. You can educate yourself so you can tell them "Excuse me, you are full SHIT!" You will find that this will also need to be done with people in your life. It can be entertaining to listen to a person's story of fear and destruction. This will really be of no benefit to you. You do not need Chicken Little or Paul Revere to warn you that "The sky is falling!" or that all politicians are evil. This will only consume your time and energies that are better spent on your dreams and goals.
You can exercise the fantasy creator by reading books or watching movies that are total fantasy. You can make up stories of magical worlds and tell them to your friends. You can tell the fantasy creator isn't working well if you are depressed or the world looks gloomy. If you can see no evil and negative things in life. If you wonder why it is so easy for everyone to lie to you, and why they are always disappointing you, then your reality checker needs to be tuned up. You can stimulate the reality checker by learning about body language and the egos of others. The majority of people will be lying to you or rejecting you depending on your outward appearance. In the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" Reb Tevye was imagining how wonderful it would be if he became a wealthy man. He sang a song entitled "If I were a rich man" In this song he imagines everybody in the village coming to him for advice and counsel. And he mentioned that it wouldn't make any difference if he was right or wrong because he was a wealthy man. Why do we always think that wealthy people have all of the answers? People are constantly quoting Donald Trump or Warren Buffett as sources of wisdom. It makes no difference about their personal character or the love and compassion they may or may not have. This is the Lizard Brain at work. The person with the most crackers is who you gravitate to. This is The Human Condition. I hate to tell you this, but we have all of the crackers.
Most people will say that Michael Jackson was a fantastic dancer. He had 50 people on the stage with him that were better dancers than him. All of his moves were copied from other people who came before him. Because he was in front and drove up in the most expensive car and made the most money, the Lizard Brain gave him the most credit for his dance moves. Are you letting your Lizard Brain hijack your sense of reason and logic in the world? Are you allowing crackers to distract you from your goals or passions in life? Are you controlled by doggy treats, do you jump through hoops for pieces of meat? Are you inspired by your dreams or amazed by your own power? You need to stop and take inventory of what motivates you in life. Is it material possessions? Hoarding? Sexual pleasures? Food? Intellectual pursuits? Yoga will teach you that honesty should be foremost in your life. To thine own self be true and you cannot be false to any man.
What kind of books or entertainment are we allowing ourselves to be involved in? Are we reading about a dystopian future where we run out of food, water, and sex? Or are we reading about a utopian future where there is no lack and everything is perfect? This could be compared to looking at a glass of water and one person saying, "It is half full", while the other person will say that "it is half empty." A stoic will say "I have a glass! And there is water in it!" "Amazing!" An entrepreneur will steal the glass and sell it to someone else. An opportunist will grab the water and drink it down. Are you balanced in your view of the world?
In The Human Condition, the people on the bus will drive us anywhere from the Devil State to the Human State to the God State. Where do you want to be? Learning about these different people on the bus and how they are affected by input and your surroundings, you can learn to guide the bus to the proper state that you wish to be in.
In The Devil State, you will always be speeding up to be faster or first in line. You will also be throwing out spikes to slow or stop other traffic.
In The Human State, you will become a well-educated driver, have an excellently tuned car, and will be aware of the road and where you are going. You will have mapped the road out in advance and drive at a safe speed so that you don't have breakdowns during your trip.
In The God State, you will be driving a tow truck. You will carry tires for other cars, and extra gas to help other buses. You will have directions to multiple locations to help others reach their destination. You will care less about arriving somewhere than about helping others to reach their destination. Arriving is something that you did when you were born, and now you are traveling. The only other destination would be death. Are you rushing to get there? Are you enjoying the trip? Have a nice trip. See you next fall.