are we not all, regardless of race, in fact 'earth people'? are we not, all of us, 'of the earth, earthy'?
Alexander Lowen
Civilization has been a progressive effort to raise man above the animal level. This effort has produced man's incomparable ego; it has liberated his radiant spirit; it has enlarged and expanded his consciousness. Man's body has become refined; its sensitivities have become sharper; and its versatility has increased.
However, in this very process, the body as the representative of the animal has been denigrated. But the realm of the animal includes the passions and lusts, the joys and pains upon which the healthy, spontaneous motility of the organism depends. The infant is born an animal. If, in the process of becoming civilized and acquiring knowledge, he rejects the animal aspect of his being, he becomes a desperate individual with a schizoid personality. Ego and body form a unity. We cannot reject one in favor of the other. We cannot be human and not animal too.
Man is primarily an animal by virtue of birth. He is fundamentally an animal by virtue of his dependence upon the animal functions of his body. In his normal relations, however, he finds it extremely difficult to bear in mind that primarily and fundamentally he is an animal. This is understandable in a culture dominated by ego values and organized on the basis of cause-and-effect relationships. Yet if he loses sight of his animal nature, he becomes an automaton. If he denies his animal nature, he becomes a disembodied spirit. If he subverts his animal nature, he becomes a demon.
The roots of a man go deep into the animal kingdom. To understand him, we must relate his present to his past, his ego to his body, and his body to his animal nature. He does not function only on the basis of causality. The community of the primitive and the unity of the animal are also part of his personality. He can deny these realities only at the peril of his sanity. If his ego is uprooted from its base in his body, he becomes a schizoid individual. He will feel ashamed of his body and guilty about its feelings. He will lose the feeling of identity.
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[from Joyce Meyers magazine. Don Colbert M.D. from Oral Roberts University] The "love" chemicals produced by our endocrine system can act like an addictive drug. Phenylethylamine (PEA) is one of the main stimulants of the nervous system, and is released during times of sexual excitement or arousal. In turn, phenylethylamine (PEA) triggers endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, which also produce feelings which have been described as euphoric, pleasurable, "mellow." PEA also supercharges the actions of dopamine, the brain's primary neurotransmitter involved in sexual arousal. |