Dear editor:
In my seven years as a Wal-Mart greeter, I made the most amazing discovery: I am living in a world over-populated with emotional 3-year-olds -- of all ages. I have been studying the human brain and am astounded with the many recent discoveries in the causes and effects of brain function. The recent discussions on yoga (correction: yoga is the practice, yogi the practitioner) reminded me of the functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC, the part of the brain just behind the forehead) which has been in the news the last few years because it is the last part of the brain to fully mature and whether delayed maturity can be used as an excuse or mitigating factor in those under 25 years of age.
One of the primary functions of the PFC is executive function -- those functions most commonly associated with being an adult. They include:
ā¢ Delayed gratification and impulse control: This skill counters "I want what I want and I want it now!" When mature, this function prevents drug-seeking behavior, robbery and crippling credit card debt.
ā¢ Emotional self-regulation: This one tells us to get back to work when life has just dealt us either a horrible or a wonderful hand. It also keeps us from making obscene gestures at someone who has really aggravated us and stays the fist that would put one in jail for domestic violence.
ā¢ Association of actions with consequences: Learning this starts in a childhood with "Don't touch! Hot! Hurt!" and continues with honest income tax filings keeping the IRS away. It is learned through the mistakes made in gaining the above talents.
ā¢ Planning and prioritizing: This is the skill of laying out one's needs and wants (and knowing the difference), considering the steps needed to achieve one's aims, and planning the steps needed to get there, including not letting less important things get in the way.
ā¢ Conscientiousness and focus: This means not losing track of what your aim is, and how one achieves excellence in any skill -- be it sports, music, business, even relationships.
Lack of these skills results in school dropout, poverty, joblessness and crime. Skill with them results in success in one's chosen endeavors and true self-esteem (not the false one where everyone gets a trophy).
This is the value of yoga, as well as of mindfulness meditation and the various martial arts. All of these practices involve the above skills; their practitioners exhibit more self-control and mature behavior.
Most teachers of these skills do not even mention their Eastern religious origins. What they do teach is discipline -- self-discipline. (Ponder that the words discipline and disciple have the same root.) And, please, don't tell me that prayer alone will suffice when way too many prayers ignore the reality that one of the 72 names of God is not Step-and-Fetch-It -- and are too often pleas to get God to do the work that we would do ourselves had we emotionally mature brains, created by a life of self-discipline and emotional maturity.
Pat King
Hot Springs
Editorial on 09/17/2014