The mind of the beast: how to become as stress-resistant as the beast?

By volitional effort, we are able to change the state of our consciousness.

WHAT IS THE "CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE BEAST"?

Neuroscientists today are seriously discussing the existence of certain forms of consciousness in mammals. And even octopuses. The townsfolk, however, often have no doubts about this. We are sure that our smaller brothers have consciousness, although not in such a developed form. And what is interesting to us is that they are much more stress-resistant than we are. And perhaps happier. We would like to understand how they look at the world, and what in this view provides them with the ability to enjoy the present moment, enjoying life, and not turning it into an endless stream of problems.

Of course, we can argue that it's all about the extraordinary complexity of our psyche. And the more complex the device is, the more easily it breaks down. This is true. But it is also true that any device can be optimized to increase its efficiency.

DEVELOPMENT OF STRESS-RESISTANT

Have you ever cultivated your sense of balance? The ability to maintain the stability of your psyche is very similar to the ability to maintain a balance of the body. The stimuli of the outside world lead to a loss of balance, but we, through volitional efforts, try to resist. To do this we need the following tools:

1. Neutral attention
2. Composure
3. Optimistic attitude

NEUTRAL ATTENTION is the ability to concentrate without going completely into the world of your thoughts. Assessment of what is happening is a thought that generates a new one. And now we are no longer present "here and now", but are hovering in our worlds.

COMPOSURE is presence in your body, an active proprioceptive connection that provides a high level of self-control. The self-control center (volitional center) is responsible not only for controlling emotions, but also body movements.

OPTIMISM is the ability to look to the future with a positive expectation of reward. This state determines the "hunter's" enthusiasm and encourages him to take personal initiative. Take a look at your dog: he is always ready to act.

Each of these three mental tools is amenable to training and therefore development. The "Hunter" method offers a simple thinking algorithm that allows you to improve your resistance to stress by developing these facets of the "animal consciousness". And we will definitely analyze this algorithm in subsequent articles.