Nice long interview in Key 64:
MG: Both Leary and Wilson felt that the bottom circuits imprinted at acute, random moments in early childhood and adolescence, but I do not see the biological basis for such small windows of imprinting. Certainly birth is the primary C1 imprinting process and a universal human event, but I suspect it only accounts for roughly 30 to 80% of the C1 imprint depending on the individual and the circumstances of birth. It seems that C1 imprinting starts in the womb and continues well into the first several months of life. I suspect that C4 imprinting occurs over a period as long as several years and I find it hard to agree with Wilson’s assertion that the entire C4 imprint is taken on at the moment of first orgasm. How do you feel about these early childhood imprints?
AA: My experiences parallel Wilson’s and Leary’s here regarding the early childhood imprints of the first four circuits. Once imprinted, however, there are years and decades of affirmative conditioning that fortify and maintain those imprints, habits that can run throughout the rest of our lives and can run or rule the rest of our lives. Though C-1 imprinting does start with the infant dependency event with the mother, or surrogate mother, I think circuits two through four (especially C-4) can remain “un-imprinted” for years to come differing, of course, with each person and their circumstances.
As for the entire circuit four imprint occurring with the first orgasm, this sounds ridiculous to me. If only it were that simple and easy yet circuit four has proven to be anything but easy and simple. It’s not just me; look at the world, look at our human history of warfare, genocide and social tragedy. Other equally complex imprints such as religious upbringing, courtship rituals, woman and manhood rites of passage, pregnancy, and parenting also inhabit the web of fourth circuit realities.
Don’t forget: Antero Alli will be doing a presentation on the 8 circuit model at Esozone: the Other Tomorrow this October in Portland. Buy your pre-sale ticket now for only $40 (prices go up Sunday night at midnight).
April 12, 2008 at 2:54 am
Is individual human (specifics) behavior not at all, partially, or entirely biological?
Is human behavior (averages) not at all, partially, or entirely biological?
April 13, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Behavior happens through biology, but I don’t know if biology is the boss of it all, just an agent of the process, or somewhere in between.
When I asked about the biological basis of imprinting, what I meant is that the human nervous system goes through two long, distinct phases of growth, development, and maturation – from conception to roughly five years of age (C1-3), and again during puberty (C4).
I can see where the vulnerability of these developmental growth phases allows for deep imprints to take hold, but the durations involved suggests long windows of imprint vulnerability rather than random, acute moments in time.