monomer/program_peace · Datasets at Hugging Face

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biochemistry In mammals social defeat routinely leads to social withdrawal lethargy
reduced exploratory behavior anhedonia decreased sexual drive and reduced levels of
testosterone in males and females In humans it is linked to low selfesteem feelings of
depression avoidance anxiety and increased levels of stressrelated hormones One of the
most dramatic changes is the attenuation of the breath You may have noticed that after a soul
crushing defeat the most notable change is that it sucks the wind right out of you
There is good evidence that social defeat in humans leads to poor health and goes hand
inhand with sympathetic upregulation Low social status is a robust predictor of death and
disease in humans Several largescale public health studies have found that low
socioeconomic status is strongly related to illness disease and mortality The lower a
persons status the more likely they are to have cardiovascular gastrointestinal
musculoskeletal neoplastic pulmonary renal or other diseases This association between
disease and social status cannot be explained away by related factors such as age income
health behavior race sex or access to healthcare and is thought to be a direct effect of
stress In places where everyone is poor the effect is nowhere near as strong It is the
inequality that affects health and it seems that social stress is the real culprit as socially
isolated people and those who receive less social care and inclusion have a greater risk of dying
from any cause
Experiences of social defeat cause us to become preoccupied with matters of status Male
chimps are obsessed with it They organize most of their lives around issues of rank allowing
social struggles to consume their time energy and mental lives Chimps use intimidation
bluffs isolation tactics and obtrusive social maneuvers to challenge and undermine others and
dethrone the leader Similarly human gloryseeking behaviors personal vendettas crimes
and even largescale political conflicts almost always involve efforts by individuals to improve
their rank Innate tendencies to resist social defeat form the basis of human egotism hubris
false pride and insecurity The primate ego is the source of much of our existential suffering
Our egos reflect the place in the pecking order in which we imagine ourselves This is why
the ego plays such a pivotal role in our mental lives The ego is a neurological mechanism
designed to help us navigate the primate social hierarchy while avoiding defeat It causes us to
compulsively compare our attributes to those of others and to use these comparisons to guide
our use of dominance and subordination displays After using the exercises in this book to
rehabilitate your breathing and other bodily functions hope you feel divested of your
submissive inclinations and with them your susceptibility to defeat When this happens you
should feel that your ego expands to include others rather than exclude them
We want to develop egalitarian relationships in which there is no vying for dominion Dont
bother subjecting yourself to the neverending backandforth game of status displays Rise
above them To do this you must respond to other peoples aggressive and submissive displays
toward you without feeling compelled to respond with those of your own Doing so involves
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
subduing four central mammalian instincts This means that whether they play submissive or
aggressive you choose not to respond with either aggression or submission You will find that
virtually anything else you respond with will be perfect
Trauma Devalues Us
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat
so that we can know who we are Maya Angelou
This books premise is that due to our molecular heritage and primate ancestors
preoccupation with social competition we are highly susceptible to becoming stress adapted
This causes us to hold various lesions in modules throughout the body It poisons our minds and
causes our behavior to be desperate combative and vindictive It causes us to perceive threat
when it is not intended and appraise real threat as more dire than it really is The resulting
tendencies cause unnecessary negativity that significantly impedes humanitys cultural and
intellectual progress
Stephen Hawking once argued that the human race is equivalent to chemical scum ona
moderatesized planet used to think that we were scum in both senses of the world
grotesque biological waste and miserable immoral miscreants Now think it is the
symptoms and physical stigmata of stress that cause us to act reprehensibly For that reason
think that they make us scum In my mind however if we can transcend our physical
afflictions we can transcend our propensity for evil In doing so we would also rise above our
lowly biological origins
Dominant Animals Are the Least Aggressive
What happens to an animal that reaches the top Does an ape that becomes an alpha
individual in their group become more aggressive or less aggressive What is your guess Many
people tacitly assume that dominant individuals are more aggressive than subordinate ones
The opposite is true When an ape or monkey is accepted as the alpha of its group its violent
tendencies evaporate They are the most assertive while also being the least aggressive There
is no need for either violence or threat displays except under unusual circumstances as when
a rival challenges the alpha This is true of both males and females It is therefore
counterproductive for a human to act aggressively in an attempt to appear dominant What
they appear as instead is impetuous and foolhardy According to primatologists Richard
Wrangham and Dale Peterson
The male chimpanzee behaves as if he is quite driven to reach the top of the community
heap However once he has been accepted as alpha in other words once his authority
is established to the point where it is no longer challenged his tendency for violence
falls dramatically Personality differences and differences in the number skills and
effectiveness of his challengers produce variation in how completely he relaxes
However once males have reached the top they can become benign leaders as easily as
they earlier became irritated challengers What most male chimpanzees strive for is
being on top the one position where they will never have to grovel The difficulty of
getting there induces aggression
Chapter Persistent Adaptation to Chronic Stress
Scientific observations like this document for us that acting aggressive is a sign of weakness
and selfperceived inferiority believe that the main reason dominant primates are not
aggressive is that their own subordination signals no longer haunt them As with apes so also
with humans we are kept controlled by our egos and obsessed with issues of pride because we
want desperately to stop having to submit know this was the case for me My nonverbals
were so submissive that was embarrassed by them didnt want to appear weak so would
instead get angry angry enough to cross ethical boundaries Deep down we know that
submissive behavior is the source of much of our physical and emotional pain so we are always
seeking ways to feel confident in leaving submission behind But the necessary confidence is
elusive
In the last chapter we discussed how once we stop sending submissive displays we no
longer have to choose between assertion and aggression because being assertive without being
aggressive will become second nature How is this so Imagine you were always blushing
always sneering and that you always looked like you were about to cry Imagine how
frustrating and difficult it would be to come across as assertive To be assertive you would
almost have to be passiveaggressive Right Chapter will show you that the tension we hold
in the muscles surrounding our cheeks and eyes keeps us continually on the verge of blushing
sneering and crying
Releasing the tension responsible for such displays will allow you to reach true equanimity
and present you with a different option At this point you will have to choose between being a

biochemistry In mammals social defeat routinely leads to social withdrawal lethargy

reduced exploratory behavior anhedonia decreased sexual drive and reduced levels of

testosterone in males and females In humans it is linked to low selfesteem feelings of

depression avoidance anxiety and increased levels of stressrelated hormones One of the

most dramatic changes is the attenuation of the breath You may have noticed that after a soul

crushing defeat the most notable change is that it sucks the wind right out of you

There is good evidence that social defeat in humans leads to poor health and goes hand

inhand with sympathetic upregulation Low social status is a robust predictor of death and

disease in humans Several largescale public health studies have found that low

socioeconomic status is strongly related to illness disease and mortality The lower a

persons status the more likely they are to have cardiovascular gastrointestinal

musculoskeletal neoplastic pulmonary renal or other diseases This association between

disease and social status cannot be explained away by related factors such as age income

health behavior race sex or access to healthcare and is thought to be a direct effect of

stress In places where everyone is poor the effect is nowhere near as strong It is the

inequality that affects health and it seems that social stress is the real culprit as socially

isolated people and those who receive less social care and inclusion have a greater risk of dying

from any cause

Experiences of social defeat cause us to become preoccupied with matters of status Male

chimps are obsessed with it They organize most of their lives around issues of rank allowing

social struggles to consume their time energy and mental lives Chimps use intimidation

bluffs isolation tactics and obtrusive social maneuvers to challenge and undermine others and

dethrone the leader Similarly human gloryseeking behaviors personal vendettas crimes

and even largescale political conflicts almost always involve efforts by individuals to improve

their rank Innate tendencies to resist social defeat form the basis of human egotism hubris

false pride and insecurity The primate ego is the source of much of our existential suffering

Our egos reflect the place in the pecking order in which we imagine ourselves This is why

the ego plays such a pivotal role in our mental lives The ego is a neurological mechanism

designed to help us navigate the primate social hierarchy while avoiding defeat It causes us to

compulsively compare our attributes to those of others and to use these comparisons to guide

our use of dominance and subordination displays After using the exercises in this book to

rehabilitate your breathing and other bodily functions hope you feel divested of your

submissive inclinations and with them your susceptibility to defeat When this happens you

should feel that your ego expands to include others rather than exclude them

We want to develop egalitarian relationships in which there is no vying for dominion Dont

bother subjecting yourself to the neverending backandforth game of status displays Rise

above them To do this you must respond to other peoples aggressive and submissive displays

toward you without feeling compelled to respond with those of your own Doing so involves

PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body

subduing four central mammalian instincts This means that whether they play submissive or

aggressive you choose not to respond with either aggression or submission You will find that

virtually anything else you respond with will be perfect

Trauma Devalues Us

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat

so that we can know who we are Maya Angelou

This books premise is that due to our molecular heritage and primate ancestors

preoccupation with social competition we are highly susceptible to becoming stress adapted

This causes us to hold various lesions in modules throughout the body It poisons our minds and

causes our behavior to be desperate combative and vindictive It causes us to perceive threat

when it is not intended and appraise real threat as more dire than it really is The resulting

tendencies cause unnecessary negativity that significantly impedes humanitys cultural and

intellectual progress

Stephen Hawking once argued that the human race is equivalent to chemical scum ona

moderatesized planet used to think that we were scum in both senses of the world

grotesque biological waste and miserable immoral miscreants Now think it is the

symptoms and physical stigmata of stress that cause us to act reprehensibly For that reason

think that they make us scum In my mind however if we can transcend our physical

afflictions we can transcend our propensity for evil In doing so we would also rise above our

lowly biological origins

Dominant Animals Are the Least Aggressive

What happens to an animal that reaches the top Does an ape that becomes an alpha

individual in their group become more aggressive or less aggressive What is your guess Many

people tacitly assume that dominant individuals are more aggressive than subordinate ones

The opposite is true When an ape or monkey is accepted as the alpha of its group its violent

tendencies evaporate They are the most assertive while also being the least aggressive There

is no need for either violence or threat displays except under unusual circumstances as when

a rival challenges the alpha This is true of both males and females It is therefore

counterproductive for a human to act aggressively in an attempt to appear dominant What

they appear as instead is impetuous and foolhardy According to primatologists Richard

Wrangham and Dale Peterson

The male chimpanzee behaves as if he is quite driven to reach the top of the community

heap However once he has been accepted as alpha in other words once his authority

is established to the point where it is no longer challenged his tendency for violence

falls dramatically Personality differences and differences in the number skills and

effectiveness of his challengers produce variation in how completely he relaxes

However once males have reached the top they can become benign leaders as easily as

they earlier became irritated challengers What most male chimpanzees strive for is

being on top the one position where they will never have to grovel The difficulty of

getting there induces aggression

Chapter Persistent Adaptation to Chronic Stress

Scientific observations like this document for us that acting aggressive is a sign of weakness

and selfperceived inferiority believe that the main reason dominant primates are not

aggressive is that their own subordination signals no longer haunt them As with apes so also

with humans we are kept controlled by our egos and obsessed with issues of pride because we

want desperately to stop having to submit know this was the case for me My nonverbals

were so submissive that was embarrassed by them didnt want to appear weak so would

instead get angry angry enough to cross ethical boundaries Deep down we know that

submissive behavior is the source of much of our physical and emotional pain so we are always

seeking ways to feel confident in leaving submission behind But the necessary confidence is

elusive

In the last chapter we discussed how once we stop sending submissive displays we no

longer have to choose between assertion and aggression because being assertive without being

aggressive will become second nature How is this so Imagine you were always blushing

always sneering and that you always looked like you were about to cry Imagine how

frustrating and difficult it would be to come across as assertive To be assertive you would

almost have to be passiveaggressive Right Chapter will show you that the tension we hold

in the muscles surrounding our cheeks and eyes keeps us continually on the verge of blushing

sneering and crying

Releasing the tension responsible for such displays will allow you to reach true equanimity

and present you with a different option At this point you will have to choose between being a