Do Guardian Angels Exist?
Sermon By John Kennison
September 18, 2022
Several years ago, when I was driving down a country road, I noticed that a car driving toward me from the opposite direction had started to cross over into my lane. I don't usually pray that much and I don't know if this counts as a prayer, but I said to myself, "Oh my God, what should I do?" I realized I didn't have time for another appeal to God because I had to quickly figure out how to avoid a head-on collision. Suddenly, my car, seemingly of its own accord, moved left into the lane that the other car had abandoned.
If I had a different kind of religious belief I might have thought I had a Guardian Angel pushing my car out of harm's way. I realized it wasn't a guardian angel or even a very strong and heroic person when I noticed that my hands were on the steering wheel, turning it to the left. But that was almost as mystifying as a guardian angel would have been because my hands were acting entirely of their own accord to steer me away from trouble. I was grateful they did, but it was kind of scary to think that my hands can do things without any conscious decision from me.
I asked a psych professor how my hands could have acted before I had figured out what needed to be done. The professor told me that we are not aware of what our unconscious brain does, but sometimes it can make and carry out decisions. In Leonard Mlodinow's book Subliminal, I found an account (on page 40) of an experiment that indicates how this actually happens. Here is an abridged version of that account:
A subject referred to as "TN" had strokes that left him completely blind.
"[The experimenters asked him] to walk down a cluttered corridor without his cane. [ At first, TN refused to do this, but eventually, he changed his mind.] To the amazement of everyone, including himself, TN zigged and zagged his way perfectly down the corridor. [Despite being blind], he didn't stumble once or even collide with any of the objects. [He had no idea how he managed to do this.]"
Now what was the point of the experiment and what did it prove? It had been observed that when you are walking and suddenly see that you are about to trip over something, you react instantly, apparently more quickly than your conscious brain can think. You don't consciously ponder strategies for stepping out of the way, you just do it. So the scientists wondered if it is your unconscious mind that figures out how to avoid obstacles. Much of our unconscious brain is the brain we inherited from our evolutionary reptilian ancestors millions of years ago. The newer parts of the brain are built on top of this "reptilian brain". The experiment indicates that it is the fast acting reptilian brain that helps us avoid obstacles and deal with emergencies.
Both the old unconscious parts and the newer conscious parts of the brain receive visual input from our eyes. But the conscious part receives these inputs only after they have been refined.
In the case of TN, his strokes destroyed the part of the brain that refines the raw visual images and, as a result, his conscious mind could no longer see anything. But his reptilian brain receives the raw images and, when necessary, it can control his body so that it avoids obstacles. Even for people with normal vision, the unconscious mind can immediately perceive possible dangers and act more quickly than the slow-moving conscious mind.
So, is the reptilian brain a kind of guardian angel that takes over when we are in danger? And, if so, would it be a worthy guardian? Even though we are not aware of its workings, our decisions can be negatively affected by what the unconscious mind does. For example, suppose we want to be more compassionate, more appreciative of those who are different from us, and better able to connect and cooperate with others. But our inner reptile is fiercely trying to protect us from all sorts of dangers and it might insist that we maintain sturdy defenses to be protected from others.
What happens when our reptilian brain is in conflict with our conscious brain? Can we simply override what our inner reptile is saying? We often can, but sometimes the conflict can exhaust us. There is an example of this in an article about social tree-climbing (which means climbing trees with a group of people) by Billy Baker in the Boston Globe on August 20-th of this year. Here is a slightly paraphrased excerpt from the article:
We all have a so-called reptilian brain that is our basic life preservation in dangerous situations. When climbing trees, every human being has a ceiling height beyond which the reptilian brain does not want us to go. One moment we are fine then the next moment there is nothing that will convince us to climb even one inch higher. The author of the article, heard this warning about a ceiling but was still surprised when, while climbing a tree, he reached an invisible ceiling. It felt exactly like he was hitting his head against a hard surface. Suddenly he was seeing stars, wondering if he might black out. He was also looking for a nice place to lie down which was a problem since he was dangling 30 feet above the ground. So a climber will probably not venture beyond what the inner reptile deems to be a safe height. The good news is that the reptilian brain can be persuaded to gradually set a higher ceiling.
The author, Billy Baker, wanted to climb trees and to reach heights of more than 30 feet above the ground. But the author's inner reptile didn't think it was safe to go that high. How should this conflict be resolved? Most of the books I read simply say let your conscious mind overrule your inner reptile. Sometimes it might be better to challenge your inner reptile gradually. For example, if you are dangling 30 feet above the ground and are a bit disoriented, it might be best to slide down the rope and try again on another day. If you keep trying, day after day, the inner reptile will gradually let you climb higher.
The booklet "Crocodile in the Cockpit" by Scott Peterson, refers to the "Crocodile Brain" because "Crocodilians are the smartest reptiles". The crocodile is said to be "in the cockpit" because it is like the copilot of an airplane who can "take over in an emergency". Scott Peterson writes: Be the boss of your crocodile and make the world a better place. That's the real secret [of] happiness."
Louis Cozolino writes in his book Why Therapy Works that:
The only chance we have of getting over a fear is to do what my grandfather suggested to me as a child. "Get back on the horse that threw you." This folk wisdom embodies the knowledge that fear becomes reinforced by avoidance but is dissipated by confrontation.
One area where we may often need to confront our inner reptile concerns our spiritual goals. Our inner reptile tends to favor the false goals of seeking social prestige, material goods and ego enhancement. But the deepest happiness comes from reaching the goal of really helping others. Believing that the best goal is to treat others with compassion is relatively easy. But actually living your life to be compassionate is challenging. Your inner reptile is not only advocating false goals, it also gets to be heard first because it is much faster than your conscious mind. Our reptilian brain can make us angry and thoughtless and put is in an awkward position. Tony Robbins gives an example on a You Tube video (called Understand and Take Control of the Subconscious Mind). Tony Robbins writes that:
Consider an argument with your partner. When in a heated exchange with a loved one, you often lose track of the disagreement itself and focus on being heard – on getting the last word, on winning. You stop watching your tone and being gentle with your partner and begin treating your partner like an adversary. That’s a quick way to escalate the argument into something much worse.
Instead, stop yourself and ask, “Why am I arguing in the first place?” You aren’t fighting a fight; you are disagreeing about something and want a resolution. When you are distracted by winning, you lose track of the actual problem. Once you remember that, you can shift your focus back to resolving the original problem, effectively reprogramming your brain to use its resources and produce that outcome in that moment.
How can we achieve the wonderful perspective that this example illustrates? I think most of us know from experience that it's not always easy. It helps if we have a clear idea of our ultimate goals so we can avoid getting into awkward situations in the first place. It helps if we remember that the inner reptile gets to be heard first --before our better selves get a chance to remind us of what is most important. And it helps to remember that the inner reptile does not respond very well to a logical argument or even to a detailed theology. The reptile inside us only responds to action, or to refraining from ill-conceived action. As Unitarian-Universalists, we have the chance to work out our own religious beliefs. And working them out has to be more than an intellectual process in order to succeed. And that's why it's often thought of as a journey, because a journey requires action.
And as we make progress in our journey, we learn how to do a better job of living according to our values rather than living to avoid our fears. Recall that practice makes perfect. For example, we can learn to climb higher by practicing our climbing day after day.
Also, by being with like-minded people, who are also on journeys, we get the energy we need to continue our own journey. Here at this church, we practice listening to each other, even when we disagree and thereby helping others to make their journeys
As we welcome one another to this new church year, let us prepare to strengthen our spiritual lives, and to gain courage and wisdom as we worship and journey together to find the best that life has to offer. And in so doing, may we be like guardian angels to one another.
MAY IT BE SO
Sermon By John Kennison
September 18, 2022
Several years ago, when I was driving down a country road, I noticed that a car driving toward me from the opposite direction had started to cross over into my lane. I don't usually pray that much and I don't know if this counts as a prayer, but I said to myself, "Oh my God, what should I do?" I realized I didn't have time for another appeal to God because I had to quickly figure out how to avoid a head-on collision. Suddenly, my car, seemingly of its own accord, moved left into the lane that the other car had abandoned.
If I had a different kind of religious belief I might have thought I had a Guardian Angel pushing my car out of harm's way. I realized it wasn't a guardian angel or even a very strong and heroic person when I noticed that my hands were on the steering wheel, turning it to the left. But that was almost as mystifying as a guardian angel would have been because my hands were acting entirely of their own accord to steer me away from trouble. I was grateful they did, but it was kind of scary to think that my hands can do things without any conscious decision from me.
I asked a psych professor how my hands could have acted before I had figured out what needed to be done. The professor told me that we are not aware of what our unconscious brain does, but sometimes it can make and carry out decisions. In Leonard Mlodinow's book Subliminal, I found an account (on page 40) of an experiment that indicates how this actually happens. Here is an abridged version of that account:
A subject referred to as "TN" had strokes that left him completely blind.
"[The experimenters asked him] to walk down a cluttered corridor without his cane. [ At first, TN refused to do this, but eventually, he changed his mind.] To the amazement of everyone, including himself, TN zigged and zagged his way perfectly down the corridor. [Despite being blind], he didn't stumble once or even collide with any of the objects. [He had no idea how he managed to do this.]"
Now what was the point of the experiment and what did it prove? It had been observed that when you are walking and suddenly see that you are about to trip over something, you react instantly, apparently more quickly than your conscious brain can think. You don't consciously ponder strategies for stepping out of the way, you just do it. So the scientists wondered if it is your unconscious mind that figures out how to avoid obstacles. Much of our unconscious brain is the brain we inherited from our evolutionary reptilian ancestors millions of years ago. The newer parts of the brain are built on top of this "reptilian brain". The experiment indicates that it is the fast acting reptilian brain that helps us avoid obstacles and deal with emergencies.
Both the old unconscious parts and the newer conscious parts of the brain receive visual input from our eyes. But the conscious part receives these inputs only after they have been refined.
In the case of TN, his strokes destroyed the part of the brain that refines the raw visual images and, as a result, his conscious mind could no longer see anything. But his reptilian brain receives the raw images and, when necessary, it can control his body so that it avoids obstacles. Even for people with normal vision, the unconscious mind can immediately perceive possible dangers and act more quickly than the slow-moving conscious mind.
So, is the reptilian brain a kind of guardian angel that takes over when we are in danger? And, if so, would it be a worthy guardian? Even though we are not aware of its workings, our decisions can be negatively affected by what the unconscious mind does. For example, suppose we want to be more compassionate, more appreciative of those who are different from us, and better able to connect and cooperate with others. But our inner reptile is fiercely trying to protect us from all sorts of dangers and it might insist that we maintain sturdy defenses to be protected from others.
What happens when our reptilian brain is in conflict with our conscious brain? Can we simply override what our inner reptile is saying? We often can, but sometimes the conflict can exhaust us. There is an example of this in an article about social tree-climbing (which means climbing trees with a group of people) by Billy Baker in the Boston Globe on August 20-th of this year. Here is a slightly paraphrased excerpt from the article:
We all have a so-called reptilian brain that is our basic life preservation in dangerous situations. When climbing trees, every human being has a ceiling height beyond which the reptilian brain does not want us to go. One moment we are fine then the next moment there is nothing that will convince us to climb even one inch higher. The author of the article, heard this warning about a ceiling but was still surprised when, while climbing a tree, he reached an invisible ceiling. It felt exactly like he was hitting his head against a hard surface. Suddenly he was seeing stars, wondering if he might black out. He was also looking for a nice place to lie down which was a problem since he was dangling 30 feet above the ground. So a climber will probably not venture beyond what the inner reptile deems to be a safe height. The good news is that the reptilian brain can be persuaded to gradually set a higher ceiling.
The author, Billy Baker, wanted to climb trees and to reach heights of more than 30 feet above the ground. But the author's inner reptile didn't think it was safe to go that high. How should this conflict be resolved? Most of the books I read simply say let your conscious mind overrule your inner reptile. Sometimes it might be better to challenge your inner reptile gradually. For example, if you are dangling 30 feet above the ground and are a bit disoriented, it might be best to slide down the rope and try again on another day. If you keep trying, day after day, the inner reptile will gradually let you climb higher.
The booklet "Crocodile in the Cockpit" by Scott Peterson, refers to the "Crocodile Brain" because "Crocodilians are the smartest reptiles". The crocodile is said to be "in the cockpit" because it is like the copilot of an airplane who can "take over in an emergency". Scott Peterson writes: Be the boss of your crocodile and make the world a better place. That's the real secret [of] happiness."
Louis Cozolino writes in his book Why Therapy Works that:
The only chance we have of getting over a fear is to do what my grandfather suggested to me as a child. "Get back on the horse that threw you." This folk wisdom embodies the knowledge that fear becomes reinforced by avoidance but is dissipated by confrontation.
One area where we may often need to confront our inner reptile concerns our spiritual goals. Our inner reptile tends to favor the false goals of seeking social prestige, material goods and ego enhancement. But the deepest happiness comes from reaching the goal of really helping others. Believing that the best goal is to treat others with compassion is relatively easy. But actually living your life to be compassionate is challenging. Your inner reptile is not only advocating false goals, it also gets to be heard first because it is much faster than your conscious mind. Our reptilian brain can make us angry and thoughtless and put is in an awkward position. Tony Robbins gives an example on a You Tube video (called Understand and Take Control of the Subconscious Mind). Tony Robbins writes that:
Consider an argument with your partner. When in a heated exchange with a loved one, you often lose track of the disagreement itself and focus on being heard – on getting the last word, on winning. You stop watching your tone and being gentle with your partner and begin treating your partner like an adversary. That’s a quick way to escalate the argument into something much worse.
Instead, stop yourself and ask, “Why am I arguing in the first place?” You aren’t fighting a fight; you are disagreeing about something and want a resolution. When you are distracted by winning, you lose track of the actual problem. Once you remember that, you can shift your focus back to resolving the original problem, effectively reprogramming your brain to use its resources and produce that outcome in that moment.
How can we achieve the wonderful perspective that this example illustrates? I think most of us know from experience that it's not always easy. It helps if we have a clear idea of our ultimate goals so we can avoid getting into awkward situations in the first place. It helps if we remember that the inner reptile gets to be heard first --before our better selves get a chance to remind us of what is most important. And it helps to remember that the inner reptile does not respond very well to a logical argument or even to a detailed theology. The reptile inside us only responds to action, or to refraining from ill-conceived action. As Unitarian-Universalists, we have the chance to work out our own religious beliefs. And working them out has to be more than an intellectual process in order to succeed. And that's why it's often thought of as a journey, because a journey requires action.
And as we make progress in our journey, we learn how to do a better job of living according to our values rather than living to avoid our fears. Recall that practice makes perfect. For example, we can learn to climb higher by practicing our climbing day after day.
Also, by being with like-minded people, who are also on journeys, we get the energy we need to continue our own journey. Here at this church, we practice listening to each other, even when we disagree and thereby helping others to make their journeys
As we welcome one another to this new church year, let us prepare to strengthen our spiritual lives, and to gain courage and wisdom as we worship and journey together to find the best that life has to offer. And in so doing, may we be like guardian angels to one another.
MAY IT BE SO