When we are in survival mode, we automatically become materialists, defining reality with our senses: by what we can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. We also narrow our focus and put all our attention on matter—on our bodies existing in a particular space and time. The hormones of stress cause us to give all our attention to our outer world because that’s where the danger lurks. Back in the days of early humans, of course, this response was a good thing. It was adaptive. It kept us alive. And once we had focused our attention on the cause and then the danger had passed, the levels of all
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