In my previous posts that were a part of the series, "The Evolution of My Teaching on the Neurological Basis of Hamartia," I established that Hamartia, "error, mistake, flaw, or malfunction" in Greek, as Paul described it in the New Testament is both biological and hereditary, that, as biological, because it deals with behavior it is neurological in nature, and that the best and most likely candidate for this distinctly human neurological error is an abnormally formed amygdala as compared with the amygdalas of other primates. I discussed how human morality developed this condition, how the ego or self-identity emerged from this condition, how the death of all current human beings might result from this condition, and the dysregulation of which potential gene might be at least partly at fault for this condition in pre-natal development of the human brain. In a following post, "The Evolution of My Understanding of Salvation," I discussed how the implications of this concept impacted the interpretation of Biblical texts regarding the idea of salvation through Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection, and how those events produced a method of neutralizing this malfunctioning human amygdala for those who might choose it.
In this post, I want to explore, as a kind of addendum to these previous posts, how the mystical and spiritual religious traditions also seem to affirm or confirm that it is the amygdala, or the limbic system of the brain in general, which is at fault in the obstruction of "spiritual" communication between the human soul and its Source or "Head" as has been previously described.
In most spiritual or mystical traditions, things like overeating and most sexual activity with very few exceptions are either highly regulated or prohibited altogether. Where sexual activity in particular is concerned, most of these traditions (with the exception of certain Hindu practices) will prohibit it outright for their monastics and religious orders, while those that permit it do so only under very strict guidelines, and generally only within the boundaries of a legally recognized marital or at least committed, stable relationship, and frequently with a distinct intention for procreation. Sexual activity for recreational purposes, and in particular sexual activity with multiple partners is strictly discouraged and prohibited. In the same way, though perhaps with less severity, overconsumption and overeating is discouraged and frequently prohibited as well. Who hasn't heard of the "sin of gluttony?" These things are of course in addition to the letting go of one's attachment to possessions, personal relationships, attitudes, ideas, and anything else which one might identify with to the point that fear or anger would be triggered if these things are seen as under threat. While I am thinking in particular of those proscriptions and conditions laid down in the New Testament and Christian religious orders, they are also encountered in the religious and monastic orders of other belief systems as well. The vows of "poverty, chastity, and obedience," or at least the idea of them, are not unique to Christian monastic tradition even though they may be couched in different language.
The goal of nearly every mystical or spiritual tradition is the experience of one's unity with the Divine. This is true whether one is discussing enlightenment and Nirvana (or cessation) with the Buddhist, or whether one is talking to a Hindu, a New Ager, a Shaman, or Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic monks and mystics. This experience is also reported by fairly ordinary, often non-spiritual or non-religious people who have Near Death Experiences as well. Crucially, in this last point regarding people with no mystical or spiritual practice training, those who experience NDEs have little to no brain activity when they do experience them which means the amygdala in these cases has been neutralized for the duration of their NDE.
What is important here though is the observation that all of these mystical and spiritual traditions independently developed nearly identical regulations and prohibitions for their practitioners to follow to foster their experience of this oneness with the Divine. With little contact with one another, and frequently very different, competing theologies, mythologies, and dogmas, they all came to the same conclusion that these things needed to be adhered to if one was going to make progress in their goal. What is also important is that all of these prohibitions and regulations directly relate to the survival responses which are regulated by the human amygdala and governed by the human hypothalamus: fight/flight/feeding/sex.
Consider this observation that, the reason why things like most sexual activity and overeating are routinely regulated and prohibited among nearly every spiritual or mystical tradition (with a few notable exceptions) is because these things, in addition to fear and anger responses to threats, are also governed by the limbic system, the hypothalamus in particular, and thus they activate the abnormal human amygdala. Nearly every spiritual or mystical tradition, whether they realize it or not, operates on the unspoken assumption that anything which activates the amygdala's fight/flight/feeding/sex response will obstruct or block communication with the Head/Logos/God/Source and thus will obstruct the experience of one's union with Him. This is the reason why sex in particular is so tightly regulated among the traditions, whether they know it or not, because that reproductive drive is so powerful, especially among men. It is also the reason why "gluttony" is discouraged and fasting is encouraged. The true objective is to keep from engaging the survival responses in order to not obstruct or break one's continuous communication with the God with whom they are one.
This might also extend to the overconsumption of alcohol and other intoxicants because they affect the brain and can directly or indirectly activate the amygdala's survival response system. Intoxicants obstruct this communication as well in various ways depending on which parts of the brain they target. Another point which should be noted is that this might also explain the dim view of homosexuality which is recorded in both the Christian Scriptures as well as the Scriptures of other belief systems and traditions. Like with the solicitation of prostitutes, adultery, incest, pederasty, and simple sexual activity outside of a legal marital relationship, it was seen as giving in to one's "animal passions," that is, submitting to or succumbing to the sex response demanded by the abnormal human amygdala which, as discussed, would of course obstruct one's soul's communication with God/Source because it would still be the amygdala which would be engaged rather than neutralized. Marital, heterosexual relationships were seen as approved because it was considered the couple's family duty to produce offspring which couldn't be done without having sex between an unrelated male and a female, regardless of one's sexual preferences. Whether one can pursue the continued and open communication of the human soul with its Source while engaged in a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship may simply depend on the individual in question in the same way having many possessions may or may not obstruct this communication depends on whether the fear or aggression response is triggered by them. In this, I am reminded of St. Augustine who recognized that he had to give up sleeping with his mistress, and sexual activity as a whole including the prospect of a marriage, in order to pursue a spiritual life. Paul himself raised his concerns about any marital relationship and being a disciple of Jesus Christ because those who were married had to be concerned with the needs and desires of their spouses, whereas those who weren't could be concerned with what pleased the Lord alone. But he also recognized that not everyone could maintain that kind of control over their sexual drive and responses. It was more compassionate and pragmatic to encourage a marital relationship for this latter group while encouraging an abandonment of sexuality altogether for those who could handle it. But the rule, whether the reason was understood or not, can be traced back universally to avoiding what may trigger one's fight/flight/feeding/sex responses, and it was recognized by the Apostle that this was different for different people and had to be handled as such.
All of the prohibitions and proscriptions in the New Testament in particular, and in mystical and spiritual traditions in general, can all be explained by this abnormal, malfunctioning human amygdala which I have described. They all aim to curb and minimize triggering the survival responses of fight/flight/feeding/sex which obstructs the communication of one's soul to its Source which is the God who is love.
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