"Mid-brain Crisis"

I have noticed over the past few years that several of us middle age folks have experienced what I would call a 'mid-brain' crisis as opposed to the more common garden variety 'mid-life crisis'.

Modern science shows us that the body-mind connection is very powerful and active, especially in the middle age of human life. Jung called this crisis "an updraft from the unconscious" seeking some type of resolution in what he called the 3rd stage of life. Something stirs (growls) and we become irrationally motivated by the hidden mid-brain to seek a resolution to the mysteries that make us each unique. For some unknown reason these unresolved and hidden hauntings and abrasions that are uniquely part of our biology find a way to work themselves upward into our conscious awareness via the cortex. But then what?

Following quickly comes the pain, the infection, the discomfort, the crisis. I guess we are naturally wired as human beings to finally process (or not) this extreme body ache that accompanies our deep remembering (awakening). This invisible gravitational field that pulls us into unexpected and often unplanned orbits is not to be denied and you can see it in the very biology (body language) of the one so moved. It's as if the mid-brain is locked and loaded. I suppose its kind of like when an object in space gets too close to a gravitational force field and is sucked into a different orbit. There is no turning back.

Anyway, I don't know what I am talking about, but Jung did. The good news is that many of us don't deny the force field, but cooperate and go along for the ride, not knowing where it is taking us. We allow the neo-cortex (and our creative imaginations) to calm, collect and soothe the mid-brain during this jarring journey. The danger for some of us is that we impatiently get side-tracked into a mindlesss 'mid-life crisis' and allow the primitive brain to simply run wild like a naked two year old at the beach.

When we give ourselves and others permission to ride the currents of this updraft, the end result is often that we come home a changed person, more at peace, healed (somewhat), challenged (a lot), resurrected (unconscious brought to consciousness), and ready for life's next adventures.

The Chinese pictures for 'crisis' are two symbols - the first is the one for 'danger' and the second is one for 'opportunity'. Combined they tell the story of a person having a measured response (powerful words) to life's challenges and emerging from a cocoon environment to a rebirth. Amen!

I say well done to those who have been through this 'mid-brain crisis'. Nothing get easier in life, just our ability to be more fully present and accounted for. We may lose weight (and sleep) on this challenging journey, but actually become heavier. Space travel through strong gravitational fields has a way of adding mass while re-arranging our chemistry. We will never be the same......

Enjoy the Challenge,
O'