EXTRACTS FROM SOUL & SURVIVAL

The Survival Instinct
Rejection
Traditional roles
The forces of motion
The soul and the survival instinct
More energy equals less stress
Under stress
Illness and pathology
Immunity and defence
Stress and communication
The face

The Survival Instinct

The survival instinct clings on to anything that works; it never lets any successful characteristic pass it by. As a result the traits, skills and personal attributes that helped our ancestors flourish and prosper remain as an unconscious reaction to be utilised again when circumstances require.

Nervous adrenalin or consistently poor energy can arise from a variety of causes, not just famine or attack, but the survival instinct does not understand the difference. Under stress we will either become agitated and nervous or tired and run down, both of which make the survival instinct dominant. Once this state occurs, the actions and manner of our survival mode come to the fore and move beyond our conscious control. We behave as if we are in danger and fighting for our lives in the only way we know how. The survival instinct is provided by nature to suspend the conscious thought of the soul in preference for instantaneous reaction. Nature has decided on this course because conscious thought takes time and contemplation. It is a process of acquired wisdom where the individual learns as they go along. A dangerous situation is not the time or place for contemplation because threat requires an immediate response.

Over time the survival instinct has amassed an array of time-tested responses specifically dedicated to getting us out of trouble. Instinct can only assume that the most common dangers of the past will be the most common dangers of the present. The modern world with its modern safety nets has not existed for long enough in comparison to the danger of animals, war and famine. Our survival instinct cannot tell the difference.

The survival instinct is filled with memories from the past, and while at the moment times are good, the instinct is driven by the cycle of boom and bust and it ‘knows’ that bad times are just around the corner. Stability is an impermanent state because conditions always change. The survival instinct is aware we cannot rest on our laurels; we must have more than we need to safeguard the future. Too much today can mean barely enough tomorrow, stockpiles and reserves are paramount. ‘Live for today for tomorrow we die,’ to the survival instinct should read, ‘If we just live for today we will definitely die tomorrow – and I can’t let that happen.’

As energy condenses into matter, the survival instinct exists at the last stage before actual matter forms; its role it to animate and to protect. It is too refined for the eye to see but too gross to fall under the influence of non-material law. It stores experience to use as instinct when the need arises.

In a human being the survival instinct manifests as an animate life force that connects events and circumstances, with emotions and outcomes to form patterns. This creates an instinctive response that comes into play when a person feels stressed.

Matter in all its forms both organic and inorganic, including human beings, has a survival instinct specific to its needs. Every creature strives to stay alive and the will to live is the same.
The survival instinct is protective by nature; its only concern is you. It is a program provided by nature to secure your physical future and longevity, to help you and your offspring survive. It is not concerned with happiness or contentment and whether you enjoy your life or not is not of consideration. Breathing is more important than happiness and food and shelter are primary issues.

To the soul the primary concern is learning, love and experience, but these experiences can never take place while the survival instinct is dominant. The survival instinct makes us fight for the last piece of food or the last breath of air, it makes us do whatever it takes, to whomever it is necessary just so we can live another day. If the survival instinct cared about love and compassion, it would compromise its objective by limiting its function. Longevity at any cost is the function of the survival instinct.

Whenever there is tension, tiredness or stress, the survival instinct automatically becomes dominant, which forces us to compete or cooperate. If the survival instinct is dominant for too long, those we love become our worst competitors and we project our inner turmoil on to them.

Rejection

Deep in the unconscious survival instinct lies the universal terror of rejection. The need to be accepted is embedded within all of us because survival depends on the consent of others. We cannot survive if we are left on our own which is why rejection is our primary social fear.

Many people enjoy living on their own, they cope well and relish their privacy but this is not the same as rejection. To be rejected is to be banished, pushed aside and cast-out. There is no communication with anyone in the group and the person rejected must fend for themselves. In tribal times there was no social security, no shops, no plumbing and no medicine. To be alone was to die; it was just a matter of time.

The survival instinct is programmed to respond to energy levels and the experience of stress is the most influential factor. Instinct is not governed by rational thought nor is it managed by conscious control. We may be consciously aware of the way we are behaving but that is not the same as having enough conscious control to stop that behaviour. Willpower is implemented by the soul to try to regain control over the survival instinct. This is a Catch 22 situation because it takes vast amounts of energy to control the survival instinct. The more energy that is used the more the survival instinct is dominant and soon the willpower of the soul becomes inadequate and the survival instinct again takes control. In everyday situations this is the breaking of a resolution or the slipping back into old habits. Willpower or soul does not have enough energy to control the survival instinct indefinitely. What is required is a lifestyle change that takes the survival instinct away from the belief that it is under threat.

Stress is the enemy of willpower because it draws on so much energy. The survival instinct is a program that is not designed to think, only to respond. Danger and stress are interchangeable states because they both have the same effect on energy levels. In this context, stress is any situation or circumstance that causes a rise in nervous energy or a continuous depletion of vitality. Because the outcome is exactly the same, the survival instinct reacts as if it is the same events causing the response. Whenever nervous energy rises, the survival instinct interprets that rise as a sign of attack, when energy remains at a chronically low point, it behaves as if it is in a famine situation.

To the survival instinct, all stress is the same stress and it reacts accordingly. The survival instinct has no idea whether our blood pressure has gone up due to an argument, trouble with a partner or because of being chased, and the reaction is always fight or flight. When energy levels remain consistently poor for whatever reason; late nights, being overweight or excessive workload, all drain the body of its vital energy and the survival instinct acts as if famine is present.

Traditional roles

Inside the brain of every human being is the ability to learn and adapt and combined with this capability are the survival tactics gained through repeated experience. When we are born a large part of our brain is ready for the experiences new life will bring, but there also exists an even larger part with remembered reactions to the past. Here, neurons are already assembled to make responses and talents instinctive.

The more we practise a topic or activity the more intrinsic that activity becomes. In time if we practise enough we can perform even complex actions automatically with a limited amount of concentration.

The human brain is wired to learn. However like everything material, its capacity is finite. While the brain has billions of cells, it also has billions of activities and thoughts to process. When we focus on something continuously, the brain begins to re-channel itself, creating deeper and stronger pathways. The brain is like every other system in the body; the more we use it the stronger it becomes.

When we focus on the same task consistently, it is equivalent to exercising the same muscles every day. The brain is governed by the same rules as the body; both are transformed by routine.

The forces of motion

Every developing group or society relied on the functioning of the seven traditional roles. Each role performed a vital task upon which everyone else in the group relied. Each traditional role has existed in some form for thousands of generations. The skills, traits and dangers faced by each traditional role, have been engrafted into the survival instinct. These traits can be employed in a variety of different ways. What profession a person chooses is not as important as the skills they employ. Skills are what the survival instinct passes on, not the ‘know-how’ of an actual profession.

Knowing the differences between the survival instincts of each colour group helps make sense of how people behave, by understanding what is at work deep in their unconscious. This understanding helps us comprehend why people react differently in similar stressful situations. It also explains why a situation that barely affects one individual can be totally devastating to another.

The soul and the survival instinct

Human beings are both soul and survival instinct, and the balance of the two is difficult to achieve. If we do not acknowledge the survival instinct as a valid part of our nature, we will always be at war with ourselves. We are both angels and devils; neither one nor the other. Human beings are capable of acts of great sacrifice, benevolence, kindness and love, but we are also capable of wickedness, selfishness, cruelty and pain. Human beings are both a soul searching for elevation as well as a survival instinct ready to sacrifice everyone and everything for one more breath.

Keeping the soul in balance with the survival instinct is life’s primary challenge. Becoming the person we want to be depends on understanding the interaction of these two sides competing inside us continually. The survival instinct can never be switched off and the soul can never be our single dominant force. Balance is the best objective we can aim for and to find it we must have self-understanding.

More energy equals less stress

When we say, ‘I must try to be less angry, more communicative, demonstrative, stronger or happier’, what we are really saying is, ‘I need to be less stressed’. The emotional responses we try and change are the survival instinct’s natural reaction. The survival instinct is using aggression, compliance, or a closed-off demeanour as a way of protection against attack or expulsion, because our current energy levels are mimicking the conditions of danger or famine.

Rather than trying to change the survival instinct, it is easier to boost energy levels and lower the danger response. Changing a program that is firmly set in the brain takes time and is often arduous. Raising energy levels is considerably easier and even if not a complete replacement, is often a valuable addition. Increased energy calms the survival instinct because it no longer believes it is in danger.

Under stress

Human beings do not survive by strength and aggression alone because protection is just one aspect of survival. Acute senses are needed for hunting but so too is patience and solitude. Careful planning is required by the shepherd as well as a nurturing demeanour. The trader is astute and creates opportunity while the farmer has endurance and sees projects through. The priest is compassionate, creative and giving, while the craftsman is inventive and accurate. The warrior is structured, self-disciplined and protective and does what is necessary for others to flourish.

By contributing in different ways, individuals secure their position in the group by supplying the diversity of its needs. Temperament and traditional role go hand in hand and as a result each of us acts differently when stressed.

Illness and pathology

We gain energy and life from outside sources in the form of nutritious fresh food. Chronic exhaustion means operating under famine conditions. Either the survival instinct will borrow from future reserves or it will slow the body down to conserve energy.

If the survival instinct borrows from the future, daily energy levels are maintained by eating into reserves. There is enough personal energy to last to old age without signs and symptoms of disease, but when we are stressed we use large quantities of energy and begin to drain our reserves. By the time a stressed person reaches middle or old age, there is not enough life force to keep the body operating at an optimum and pain free level; now disease develops.

Weak areas of the body need extra energy to keep pace with normal functioning. If a person is born with a twenty percent deficiency in their liver, they need twenty percent more energy to supply the natural shortfall. Energy deficiency does not mean a specific pathology exists and this shortage is rarely recognised by conventional testing. When energy levels drop, the body is no longer able to supply the extra energy that weak areas or organs need. When the survival instinct is dominant, energy for bodily functions is rationed until the survival instinct returns to a balanced state. When our survival instinct perceives an immediate threat, whether real or imagined, energy is withdrawn from other areas to deal with the danger, and so maintaining extra function to a weaker area becomes a lower priority and that area misses out.

When danger threatens, the survival instinct takes what it needs. Day to day bodily functions must make do with the energy left over. However, if the body only receives sixty percent of its energy, compared to its usual one hundred, a weak organ that is already under-functioning can no longer remain healthy. If this state continues for an extended period, signs and symptoms of organ dysfunction manifest. If it continues indefinitely, pathology and organic breakdown occurs. Many people experience signs and symptoms before tests show pathology has begun.

Immunity and defence

Each of the primary forces has a defence system unique to its motion. The defence system’s only purpose is to secure and protect us from danger, prolonging longevity at any cost. Each part of the defence system has its own specific task. The immune system is designed to protect the body against invading germs and the nervous system heightens the senses to alert us to the presence of danger. The more acutely we can see and hear, the less chance of being taken by surprise. Emotions provide the stimulus the body needs to react, while the face sends messages to other human beings to display our feelings and intentions.

Emotions such as anger help us to fight and defend ourselves while fear helps us to run away faster. Envy drives us to compete with others, while avarice eradicates the danger of contentment. Contentment is good for the soul but it is the survival instincts worst enemy. Sadness draws us to others and guilt makes us contribute and work harder. Hormones convey these emotional messages so that every cell acts appropriately to the emotion. When energy is irregular and the survival instinct dominant, hormones go haywire, which is why many women suffer mood swings, sadness or tantrums during or before their menstrual period.

The face is there for others to see and is not designed to look at itself. Our face lets other people recognise the emotions we are feeling; whether someone is angry or friendly, sexually interested or disinterested, enthusiastic or bored. The face is linked to the emotions but not to the soul. The face does not display ambition, belief or what it is we are thinking. The face is part of the survival instinct and an integral link in our defence system. Emotions and the face are complementary to each other, so expression can be interpreted by others.

Stress and communication

By knowing the different survival needs of each colour group we can understand the differences that exist in those we love. When a partner or family member is stressed we do our best to console and counsel but sometimes our words not only fall on deaf ears, they can be more of a hindrance than a help. Often this is because the language we are speaking is different to that of the survival instinct of the person we are trying to communicate with.

The face

To make another person react emotionally, using the face is imperative. The survival instinct does not come up with solutions nor does it have good ideas. When we communicate verbally it is soul meeting soul. Emotion is the language of the survival instinct and the face is how we communicate that emotion.

The look that comes together to form your face is not an accident of birth. Faces are determined by the genetic information passed on by your parents, grandparents and other distant relatives. The face also provides information about the energetic forces within us.

These forces are the three primary motions – outward, circular and inward. All of these energies exist within us but when one or more of these energies is dominant it will shape our appearance and how we behave under stress.

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