Primal Primer 21 (Mentality)
Meditation in some form has been practiced by humans for thousands of years, even before formalized religions or spiritual systems developed. While early Homo sapiens may not have engaged in meditation as we define it today, forms of mental focus, introspection, and awareness helped them survive and evolve.
Origins Of Meditation
Prehistoric Roots – Meditation likely began as a natural extension of early human’s need for mental focus and awareness in their environment. Sitting in stillness, reflecting, and focusing on breath or sensory experience, helps Homo sapiens maintain alertness, manage stress, and improve decision making.
Shamanistic Practices – Some of the earliest forms of meditation may have been tied to shamanic rituals, where altered states of consciousness were induced through repetitive actions (like drumming or dancing) or through the use of natural consciousness altering substances. These practices may have allowed early humans to develop deeper connections to their environment, social group, or cosmos, providing meaning and guidance for survival.
Physiological & Cognitive Benefits Of Meditation
Stress Reduction – One primary effect of mediation is stress reduction. Reducing stress helps regulate the fight and flight response, conserving energy, and preventing burnout from constant states of high alertness.
Improved Focus & Awareness – Meditation sharpens attention and focus, which are essential for hunting, gathering, and detecting dangers. By practicing mindful awareness, early Homo sapiens could better attune to their surroundings, improving abilities to detect prey, avoid predators, or navigate complex social interactions.
Emotional Regulation – Our species thrives by distinct abilities to think abstractly and solve problems. Meditation fosters mental clarity and leads to insightful solutions to complex issues. Clear thinking without turbid colors of emotion are critical in developing tools, planning hunting strategies, or navigating social hierarchies within tribes.
Empathy & Compassion – Meditation is shown to increase one’s ability to cultivate empathy & compassion; all being important when sharing resources or caring for others in times of need. This ability to form strong social connections is critical to our species success.
Coping With Existential Anxiety – Meditation helps humans deal with existential fears such as death, illness, and the unknown. By engaging in reflective practices, meaning creation, purpose, and resilience are cultivated; sharp psychological tools essential for navigating hardship.
Exploration of Consciousness – Some forms of meditation may allow Homo sapiens the ability to explore different states of consciousness. This internal journeying engenders creativity and imagination, both being critical in the development of new tools, technologies, and social structures.
Meditation Is Intentional Consideration
Meditation is an ancient practice done innumerably in variation, providing similarly wide ranges of effects. Paradoxically deep in consideration while not in thought, meditation can be defined as structured forms of concentration with purposeful presence. When the brain is quiet, focused on nothing but breath or step, the Sapien shifts into a different gear of consciousness. Seek out time to breathe and quiet the mind. Similar to fasting, meditation is a fast of the ego and the processing it seeks. Clarity of mind, calmness of soul, and overall down regulation of the autonomic nervous system are powerful levers to pull for anyone looking to increase quality of life, relationships, and prowess of mind body.
~Cave Implementation~
Meditation takes on many forms, modalities, and time investments. Like any skill, practice leads to progress, with results being accumulative. Yoga, Kundilini, Wim Hoff, and any breath work where silencing of brain is intent, are powerful entry ways into the ancient technology of meditative practice.
When The Brain Is Quiet, Focused On Nothing But Breath Or Step, The Sapien Shifts Into A Different Gear.
