The human limbic brain is very similar to that of the animals - the basic instincts of animals and humans are almost identical. What makes the human brain different is it's capacity for complexity - which gives us the potential to be far more creative, imaginative, analytical and explorative than our animal relatives.
There are six layers of the neocortex that make mammals different from the other animals. The human brain has far greater neural complexity than all the other mammals. The human brain also has far more integrative processes than other animals - leading to novel kinds of intelligence. The human mind has been given an inner spaciousness in which new ideas and new kinds of awareness and imagination can be created and explored.
During human evolution the interconnections between the animal brain and the spacious mind have also grown in complexity. The inner animal is highly intertwined with the intelligence, imagination and creativity of the spacious mind. These are two-way connections - for example imagination can raise the fight-flight instincts, memories are shaped by emotions, and nurturing instincts can fuel the imagination. This web of connection has added to the differences between animal and human nature.
The directions we take in our lives are still shaped by our inner animal - by our instincts. Even though we have the most advanced analytical and planning skills of all species, we are driven by our inner animal - every decision we make is mostly influenced by emotional and instinctive forces.
The unnatural stresses and threats of modern day living - all rooted in fear, greed and hate - push our inner animal to extremes, fueling it's confusion and thereby leading to the loss of our sense of direction.
Meditation is a way of bringing your heart, mind and inner animal to states of deep silence. In these states we encounter many kinds of positive emotional and spiritual forces that heal the scars of the destructive emotions of fear, hate and greed.
We experience these scars as our habits of thought and emotion - habits that imprison our minds and hearts in narrow mindedness. Habits that drive us to find comfort in belief, turning belief into an addiction. Directed by this dependency on belief, we become increasingly hooked on an increasingly narrowing set of beliefs. Many of humankind's problems are rooted in our addiction to belief - whether it's religious or political, tribal or personal. It is fear, hate and greed that fuel these addictions.
When these scars dominate our lives, they lead to even more destructive emotions. Out of fear, hate and greed comes all conflict, oppression, the abuses of power, lust for wealth, control and domination - these are the things that are breaking our world and our inner being. They prevent us from communing with the spiritual intelligence that comes when our minds and hearts are saturated with the vibrant silence of meditation.
All the powerful instincts of our inner animal and the human mind find release from their sufferings in this peace of meditation - the inner lion and the inner lamb find friendship and cooperation within this peace.