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Suffering = Motivation

by John Love

I once heard a saying that all of life is suffering. At first this may seem like a bummer but let’s explore this on a different level. A simple level. We all know that if we touch a hot surface the body will recoil immediately. The higher the heat the faster the reaction. The motivation to recoil being the sensation of pain, yet there was no thought in this action, just immediate action, natural action. And at this point there has been a download into the system motivating it to use caution when encountering the object or similar ones. Pain seems a barometer in avoidance of situations that cause it, yet is this really true? Would a mother, with the knowledge that thorns hurt, (being injured by them in a past event) avoid going through them to save her baby? Absolutely nothing is going to stop her. Maybe the pre-conceived pain of loss of the child overrides the danger of the thorn and ensuring lineage survival. Again, this is nature at play, plain and simple. The brain is designed to look for what’s wrong. In scientific lingo it’s called the negativity bias. Again to keep this simple, the brain is a survival mechanism. One could try to stop breathing. Even if one’s will was so strong as to pass out trying, the body would breathe on its own upon losing consciousness. The body needs water so the brain sends the feeling of thirst to it. The body has to eat, and if it does not for three days or so you would feel edgy, sleep less and an alert clarity would come into your consciousness helping you to find food. If no food is found, the body will eat on itself giving it time to find food again. Simply nature doing its thing to keep you alive, avoiding pain - seeking pleasure . You get the picture. We are intrinsically tied to nature no matter what we might think.

And thinking of thinking let’s look at how this default protection plan (brains negativity bias), works; and how the implications of modern life and its concepts are affected by it. The amygdala is a brain organ located low in the center of your head. It is the main emotional processing center and is directly connected to your memory organ which connects to your higher brain centers (prefrontal cortex). Now, remember the hot stove? When that happened it was emotional. What emotion? Fear. Fear of great bodily harm. It’s a good system. Imagine living as a nomadic person with large predators, or a myriad of venomous creatures, or harsh climate changes, one would need to be aware of what could injure you or worse. Note that back then people stayed in a range and generationally knew the animals and any dangers in the area. Now transpose this system (lymbic) on to modern life, with all its comfort and convenience, as well as long hours spent to pay for it, social rules demographics etc. Transpose this system on to the conceptual self as a personality or the many parts one might have to play at work, as a mother or father, the hero or villain, etc. How does this system work on the multiple likes, dislikes, concepts, opinions, and personal biases? The same as it does on tigers and snakes. Then add a heap of social media one upping each other, of news, war, economic fluctuations, information add infinitum. Sometimes one might not even know what motivates them, or try to stamp out suffering with a quick distraction, drug, drink, or “legal prescription, “ affair, new thing, bigger job. But pretty soon these bandaids will lose thier luster due to the fact of polarity. What goes up will come down and there are two sides to one coin. So, what is there to do?

Becoming aware of the brains negative bias is the first step at recovery from undo suffering in life. Simply looking at nature again we can find a solution. Suffering and motivation are not ” in” nature. Does an ant complain about the constant work of building the nest, finding food and caring for the queen? Does a tree in the dead of winter fight winter or just take a long nap like a bear. Will a seed bemoan the splitting of its sides in its transformation to a full fledged plant? Does it know what a full fledged plant is? No, nature does not suffer or have need for motivation, for it only strives, remember that, STRIVES. And in the right conditions, proliferates, leaving aside what is unnecessary and taking in what serves it to be the best form of what it is, never comparing or compromising its own well being. In humans, this is different because we have left nature behind, forgetting the body is nature itself, and taken to living a conceptual life. Notice motivational effort in humans can lead to all kinds of suffering. Such as trading most of our time to work so we can pursue pleasures that do not fulfill. Look at what is on the rise. Imagine the impact 30 years ago of mass shootings. Now it seems a common occurrence. All these are on the rise as well; hypertension, depression, suicide, anxiety and a myriad of bodily ailments. Our natural body is being overwhelmed by the negativity bias built into the brain to protect us in the wild. But it’s a different jungle now, a conceptual one built of opinion, beliefs and personal biases. What is the way out of these sufferings? I would say a return to the wisdom of nature. Remember, the brains negative bias has been transposed to our modern mental concepts of personality, societal position and relationship. Look it up, social cognition problems, PTSD, anxiety, depression and panic disorder patients are found to have an enlarged overactive amygdala! Yoga brings us back to the body, which you live in and is a piece of nature! Yoga brings you back to now, here, the place where life is actually lived! Usually people are motivated to do yoga because of health concerns or preservation of health. I think this is good as the effects of yoga create a suppleness in the body, and a clarity of mind, that can override the brain’s tendency towards the negative. Yoga has proven itself to increase blood supply to the prefrontal cortex and decrease blood to the limbic system thus sizing it down a bit. Also, we are communal beings and striving together in unison has always made motivated effort easier. We move in unison yet yoga practice is always directing one inwards and a little suffering, (striving) which may include sweating, trembling in a difficult but doable balance pose with others at your side doing the same. It sucks to suffer, oops, I mean strive, alone. Meeting new people with like mind, striving for well being together and building trust goes a long way in healing what ails us both physically and emotionally. Yoga will develop an inner stamina and stillness that enables us to see difficulties from a new vantage point. It reunites one to one’s life as it’s happening, now. Yoga is focused and was derived from nature. Cats and cows and fishes and trees, pigeons and moons and camels on knees! Getting healthy again may be strenuous at times but fun too! And as far as suffering and it’s motivating factors, once seen for what it is, we can drop it and see what is really happening, and what is conceptually going on, in a balanced way. It reminds me of what a wise teacher told me once when I could not see the light at the end of my self made conceptual tunnel. “Are you experiencing suffering, or, are you suffering your experience?”