Is there animalistic behavior in humans? How do you embrace your inner animal so you can live in the moment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In The Wisdom of Insecurity<\/em>, Alan Watts argues that according to Eastern religions, you have to give up your thinking self’s attachment to security and embrace your animal self’s capacity for living in the moment. He further discusses his advice for doing so and explores the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out how to find your inner animal and stay in the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Watts explains that the thinking self and the animal self each have their uses\u2014for example, the thinking self enables you to communicate with others, while an example of animalistic behavior in humans is to alert them to internal cues like pleasure and pain. However, he says that presently, society is tilted heavily in favor of the thinking self<\/strong>\u2014evidenced by our overreliance on human concepts like religion, for example, to guide our decision-making<\/a> (as opposed to also listening to bodily cues like the sensations that accompany feelings of guilt or comfort). Since you aren\u2019t living in tune with your animal self, you\u2019re anxious\u2014you need time to just experience life, rather than always thinking and talking about life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: Psychologists agree that in modern society, many factors contribute to identification with the mind over the body\u2014these include a historical tendency to believe the mind is more important than the body<\/a>, distractions like technology<\/a>, and traumas that impair your ability to listen to your body<\/a>. To help you overcome these issues, somatic therapists can teach you embodiment <\/em>practices<\/a> like dance, yoga, and singing\u2014techniques that help you sense, fully feel, and move through physical sensations that are tied to your emotions. Mindfulness (the Buddhist practice of living in the present) may be another solution, since it enables you to savor your bodily experiences<\/a> and therefore contributes to greater peace of mind.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watts says that the solution to this problem is to integrate your thinking and animal selves. <\/strong>This means living in the moment according to your body\u2019s wisdom like an animal would do\u2014eating, sleeping, and doing other activities when your body tells you it\u2019s time to do so, rather than relying on an imposed schedule or dogma to guide your choices. As you do so, your thinking self should be focused on the present, not the past or the future. Watts explains that this is the true purpose of your thinking self\u2014to help you more fully comprehend, or at least appreciate, the present moment. He also says that nobody can teach you how <\/em>to do this\u2014you\u2019re already doing it, even if you don\u2019t believe you are, so all you have to do is continue and not let your thinking self get in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: If you\u2019re struggling to integrate your thinking and animal selves, psychologists offer some tips to help you listen to your body<\/a>: First, make a regular, conscious effort to check in with yourself and determine how you\u2019re feeling. Then choose to trust those feelings. One way to practice this is with intuitive eating<\/em>\u2014a method of listening to your body\u2019s hunger cues and responding accordingly<\/a>\u2014which experts Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch explain in detail in their book, Intuitive Eating<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Other experts note that you can enhance your bodily awareness through mindfulness and meditation practices<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Integrating your animal and thinking selves transforms pain. <\/strong>Watts says when your thinking self is in charge, you try to escape pain by distracting yourself from the experience with thoughts of the past or future. But this is futile because you can\u2019t escape the present\u2014recall that you are <\/em>your present experience. Distracting yourself from the present only disrupts your ability to understand and accept it, which is necessary if you\u2019re going to move through it. Therefore, distracting yourself from pain only prolongs pain. When you embrace your animal self, you deal with pain like animals do: You\u2019re able to endure the pain as it\u2019s happening, and when it\u2019s over, you move on. Your thinking self focuses on your present experience instead of avoiding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: While Watts advocates embracing your pain, other experts are divided as to whether this is an effective pain management approach. Some studies suggest that mindfulness meditation<\/a> (which focuses your attention on your present experience) can make pain easier to endure<\/a> by helping you separate the physical sensation of pain from the negative judgments you attach to that sensation; similarly, some studies suggest engaging with emotional pain helps you accept and move on from it<\/a>. However, other studies suggest that distracting yourself is better for reducing physical pain<\/a> and, in some cases, emotional pain<\/a>. The idea is that since your attention is limited, focusing on something else stops you from perceiving or being consumed by pain.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Embracing your animal self also helps you more fully enjoy pleasure and avoid causing yourself <\/strong>unnecessary <\/em><\/strong>pain. <\/strong>This is because, as discussed, focusing your awareness on the present (instead of the past or future) allows you to get the most out of each moment\u2014for example, you\u2019re going to enjoy the act of gardening more if you\u2019re focused on the sensation of working with plants and dirt than if you\u2019re focused on whether your flowers will bloom in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: In his book Flow<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi argues that getting full enjoyment out of an experience requires more than merely living in the moment<\/a> (or, in Watts\u2019s terminology, embracing your animal self). Often, other criteria must be satisfied, which include pursuing a clear goal, feeling capable of achieving that goal, and receiving immediate feedback that suggests you\u2019re making progress. With regard to the gardening example above, your clear goal could be removing weeds, your capability may be tied to the tools and know-how you have on hand, and immediate feedback could involve seeing the weeds disappear from your garden as you work.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watts says that embracing your animal self also prevents you from getting trapped in the painful, anxiety-producing cycle of consumerism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: Other experts agree that living in the moment helps you escape the cycle of consumerism<\/a>\u2014they say that by increasing your awareness of the relationship between your thoughts and behaviors, mindfulness can interrupt the impulse to consume, giving you the opportunity to make a different choice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Watts, integrating your thinking and animal selves also gives you a deep, bodily understanding\u2014rather than an abstract idea\u2014that everything that exists is part of an integrated whole. This will enable you to experience true freedom. <\/strong>(Shortform note: It\u2019s not clear what Watts means by \u201cbodily understanding,\u201d but some experts say that understanding always <\/em>begins with the body, not the mind,<\/a> since to know anything requires perception of physical stimuli.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watts argues that when you understand yourself<\/a> as an individual thinking self, you tend to conceive of freedom as your ability to influence the world. But when you see yourself as part of the whole, you understand freedom as the ability to be part of existence\u2014you can do anything that\u2019s possible because you\u2019re already part of the world of possibilities, and you\u2019ll listen to your bodily cues instead of being restricted by human abstractions like schedules and religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watts says once you have a bodily understanding of essential unity, you\u2019ll stop making decisions based on the unnatural pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain\u2014you\u2019ll simply be going with the flow<\/a> from moment to moment. <\/strong>In his view, most immoral actions are the result of pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain\u2014prioritizing the thinking self\u2019s desire for permanence over your true momentary needs. Moral actions, on the other hand, are the result of being united with all of existence\u2014which Watts argues is the equivalent of love, since love brings things together. He explains that the combination of living in the present and acting in a loving way is key to a more peaceful, united world.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Go With the Flow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Embracing Your Animal Self Makes You Happier<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n