Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
I.
Introduction
A.
December 12, 1972: Nando Parrado, Roberto Canessa, and Antonio
Vizintin departed from the wreckage of the Fairchild.
1.
Goal: climb over the mountain peak and descend into the valleys
of Chile to summon rescuers
2.
8th expedition to set out across the Andes
B.
Mountain had not been named, so Parrado (first to reach the summit)
named it Mount Seler after his father
1.
Serious mountain peak for which experienced climbers would have
trained, planned, and thoroughly equipped themselves
2.
Climbing can still be fatal for even experienced mountain climbers
with proper equipment. None of the 3 expeditionaries had ever even
climbed a mountain before
3.
They tried to physically prepare for the trek as best they could, but
they weren’t exactly in prime shape for mountain climbing. Additionally,
they lacked the proper equipment.
a)
“They were little more than three teenagers in tennis shoes
setting out to cross the Andes.” (page 150)
C.
A picture of difficulty
1.
Parrado accounts that simply turning his head to speak to Roberto
left him gasping for breath
2.
Additionally, the high altitude accelerated their heart rates,
thickened their blood, and brought them near to hyperventilation. The dry
air quickly dehydrated them.
3.
In order to keep from freezing to death at night, they crammed into
one sleeping bag; as uncomfortable as it was, it was necessary to combine
body heat and avoid hypothermia
D.
Their only ally was their minds: ritual can harness the mind’s power to
endure.
a)
While Parrado and Canessa discovered this on their
journey, it is something Tibetan monks have known for centuries.
II.
The Ritual Training of Attention
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
A.
Herbert Benson- associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical
School: In the mid 1980s traveled to the Himalayas to study Tibetan monks’
meditation practices
1.
Found that monks were “camping out” in overnight temperatures
that dropped to near 0° F, dressed only in woolen or cotton shawls: Didn’t
huddle together, shiver, or show any signs of discomfort associated with
cold weather.
B.
The monks practiced a form of yogic meditation called Tummo, during
which their body temperature (measured at the extremities) would increase by as
much as 17°.
C.
At the heart of any ritual is the focusing of attention.
1.
By making something a ritual, the attention is focused on the act
itself, where the act is the end (rather than simply a means to an end).
a)
Example: By washing in a certain way, ritual washing
signals respect for the object itself, not the importance of
cleanliness.
b)
Example: the 3-shot rifle volley at a military funeral:
signals respect for the dead
2.
Ritual is effective in sending messages of respect and reverence
because it takes what are normally automatic, thoughtless, end-guided
actions and forces attention on their execution, thereby making them
deliberate, controlled, thoughtful, and meaningful.
D.
By forcing attention on the details of action, ritual can fill our conscious
awareness, which prevents us from attending to irrelevant or threatening
signals/thoughts.
1.
Why athletes use ritual so often
a)
Example: Adrian Dantely, a star forward in the NBA had a
strict foul-line ritual: he would bounce the ball 3 times, bring it to
the chest while looking at the rim, recite “over the front of the rim,
backspin, follow through,” and then he would shoot
(1)
This ritual forced him to focus on the specifics of
the free throw, while also directing his attention away from
opposing fans and negative thoughts or emotions
E.
The ritualized practices associated with meditation are very likely the
oldest techniques for training attention.
1.
2 general categories of meditative practices:
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
a)
concentration- train your attention by deliberately focusing
on some object, image, process, or phrase
b)
mindfulness- uses focusing of attention on a single point to
begin developing present-moment nonjudgmental awareness
2.
A common starting point for both categories of meditation is the
simple monitoring of breathing.
a)
The breathing process if often connected to positive
thoughts (so one breathes in peace and exhales light)
3.
If one’s attention is momentarily distracted from the breathing
process, you’re supposed to note the disruption without becoming
emotionally involved with it, and then simply return to the monitoring of
the breathing
4.
Such simple beginnings can lead to the amazing acts of attentional
control shown by the Tibetan monks
III.
Attentional Expertise
A.
Research has found that advanced meditators are able to engage in great
accomplishments of attention, as well.
1.
Example: Binocular rivalry
B.
Attentional blink- the degraded ability or inability to perceive the 2nd of
two sequentially presented visual patterns.
1.
Though this was also thought to be involuntary, three months of
intense mindfulness training was found to significantly reduce attentional
blink.
C.
Meditation has also been found to improve attentional vigilance- the
ability to sustain attention over time and to respond appropriately to randomly
presented signals
1.
University of Kentucky biologist Bruce O’Hara conducted a study
to determine if meditation could improve performance on vigilance tasks
and/or reverse sleep-related declines in performance.
a)
He had his subjects perform a vigilance task after a nap,
concentration meditation, or a control activity
b)
He found significantly better performance in the meditation
condition, compared to the other two conditions. Meditators also
suffered significantly less performance decline after losing a night
of sleep.
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
2.
Neuroscience evidence directly links meditation with attentional
control.
a)
In a study conducted by researchers at the University of
Wisconsin, brain activity was monitored in highly practiced
meditators, moderately practiced meditators, and novice
meditators, while they engaged in concentration meditation.
(1)
It was found that highly practiced meditators had
the least activation of all in the attention network, while the
modestly practiced meditators showed significantly more
activation in this network than either the novices or the
highly practiced meditators.
(2)
These results indicate:
(a)
Meditation activates attentional systems.
(b)
As one gains more experience in meditation,
the efficiency of the attentional system increases so
less brain effort is required to exert control of
attention.
D.
Attentional expertise is behind the monks’ ability to endure what would be
considered intolerable discomfort for the rest of us.
1.
Normally, pain is a signal of tissue damage and it tells us that we
need to do something in order to reduce harm to our bodies that might
threaten our survival. However, chronic, nonlethal pain can be torture. The
redirection of attention through meditation can be an effective way of
relieving this pain.
IV.
A Long, Grueling Ritual
A.
It took 3 days to reach the summit of Mount Seler. From there, realized
that there were no green valleys of Chile below or any sign of civilization.
B.
Parrado and Canessa had to use another uniquely human survival weapon
on this journey: ritual of mind over death
C.
In ritual, the action is not a means to an end; it is the end; the emphasis is
on the present, which prevents us from lingering on extraneous thoughts that
could be debilitating.
D.
To cope with this difficult task of climbing the mountain, Parrado forced
himself to stay in the present by reducing the mountain to the current step, then
the next, and so on and so forth.
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
V.
Attending to the Elemental Gestures
A.
Ritual forces attention to the lowest level gestures and those gestures
become the goal.
B.
Parrado: as he walked, his entire consciousness narrowed to nothing but
his breathing and the rhythmic crunch of his feet in the snow
1.
Went into a trancelike state where he became like an observer to
his suffering; may have achieved walking meditation
VI.
Attentional Redirection
A.
There will inevitably be shifts in attention without realizing it. When this
happens, the meditator is instructed to take note of this shift, without engaging in
it emotionally or chastising himself, and then return to monitoring breathing.
B.
As they continued to march on, Canessa’s fatigue got the better of him and
he would plead with Parrado to stop.
C.
Canessa’s attentional redirection would take different forms: window
shopping in Montevideo or engaging in a continuous dialogue with God,
addressing God as a friend
D.
Meditative practices are known to have positive health benefits
1.
A meta-analysis comparing spiritual and secular meditation found
that these effects tended to occur more frequently with spiritual meditation
2.
Amy Wachholtz and Ken Pargament study
E.
Social interactions are among the most mentally and attentionally
demanding activities in which humans engage. If Canessa had not believed he
was having a “real” social interaction, it might not have worked as a coping
strategy to redirect his mind from the torture of climbing the mountain.
F.
Social factors are ultimately the most responsible for the attentional
capabilities of Homo sapiens.
VII.
Evolution of Attentional Control
A.
Attention- the ability to direct mental resources on a particular signal
B.
At least 3 different brain systems and processes are involved in attention:
1.
Alerting- achieving an active mental state in which attention can be
directed and sustained
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
2.
Orienting- focusing mental energy on a selected signal or process
while filtering out competing or irrelevant signals or processes
3.
Executive control- resolving conflicts among competing signals or
processes
VIII.
Predators and Prey
A.
The proper allocation of attentional resources is a widespread challenge
across the animal world. Successful foragers must find a way of allocating
attention so as to maximize resource intake, called the “attentive prey” model of
attention
1.
Energy acquired from the prey – energy resources necessary to
detect and acquire prey = net energy required
2.
Animal’s task is to maximize net energy acquired.
B.
We would expect predators that feed on cryptic prey to have a greater
capacity for focusing and sustaining attention on a single object or event
C.
Evidence also shows that when more demands are made on attention,
more attentional resources are required.
D.
We should expect the greatest selection pressure on attentional capacity
under the following circumstances:
1.
Greatest for those creatures that must regularly balance 2 important
atttentional tasks (ex: creatures that are both predator and prey- survival
requires striking the right balance) between finding food and not becoming
food)
2.
We would expect more selection pressure when these creatures’
prey are cryptic.
E.
About 4 million years ago- our ancestors were smallish bipedal apes called
australopiths.
1.
The early australopiths, such as Australopithecus anamensis and
Australopithecus afarensis, were vegetarians. Later species had more
varied diets: Australopithecus robustus also ate roots, tubers, and more
meat.
2.
Tubers, roots, and other USOs are a significant source of food
because they must be dug up from the ground, by hand or with digging
tools. Termites and other bugs often must be extracted from the ground, as
well.
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
3.
USOs, termites, and other bugs are cryptic prey that require more
attentional effort than simply picking fruits and berries.
4.
While later australopiths were searching the ground for cryptic
prey, they were also the target of predation.
a)
We can see evidence of this in the skull of the Taung child,
an immature A. africanus: sustained damage that is consistent with
an attack by a predatory bird
IX.
Tools and Attention
A.
Australopithecus robustus may have also been the first to construct stone
tools.
B.
As we’ve previously discussed, the earliest stone tools probably don’t
represent a substantial leap in cognitive abilities. But one aspect of stone tool
construction is relevant to the evolution of attentional capacity: the selection of
cores.
1.
Oldowan toolmakers were highly adept at selecting cores with the
right physical properties for producing sharp flakes, which were often
found near water sources frequented by large predators. Therefore,
attentional resources had to be allocated judiciously so as not to become
prey while doing so.
2.
Thus, given the length of time necessary to create a hand ax
compared to the time necessary to knock off an Oldowan flake, attentional
capacity very likely expanded with the emergence of the Acheulean
industry.
3.
Archaeological remains point to a significant leap in attentional
capacity about 400, 000 years ago.
a)
Boxgrove (England)- a member of Homo heidelbergensis
began removing flakes from a core stone; a debitage pile remained.
b)
It was noticed that larger, well-shaped flakes were missing
from the pile; it appears that the toolmaker shaped the core but also
managed to keep an eye out for well-shaped flakes that could
prove useful themselves. It seems he set these aside and brought
them with him when he finished.
4.
We can see that the maker of the hand ax kept 2 goals active in his
conscious awareness (multitasking).
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
a)
The ability to multitask and switch back and forth between
2 processes is a form of controlling attention that had not been seen
in earlier hominin species, suggesting that H. heidelbergensis had
more total attentional resources, compared to their predecessors.
X.
Becoming Human: Fire and Attention
A.
Among traditional societies, rituals around fireplace are common.
1.
Example: !Kung San of southern Africa hold healing dances about
every 2 weeks, where they chant and dance around a big fire while shaman
healers work themselves into a trance in which they lay their hands on
others in order to transfer healing power to them: considered essential to
the healthy and vitality of the !Kung community
2.
Commonplace nature of community ritual involving fire suggests
that fire played an important role in human cognitive evolution as a venue
for social activities.
a)
Archaeologist Allison Brooks: “It is really the beginning of
humans. When you have fire, you have people sitting around the
campfire together.”
B.
1.2 MYBP- first evidence of possible use of fire, found in the Swartkrans
Cave site in South Africa
1.
Evidence is indirect and controversial
2.
Consists mainly of remains of burned, butchered bone; there were
no hearths, no charcoal or other heat-altered sediments to support the
controlled use of fire as a means of cooking
C.
Wonderwerk Cave in southern Africa- burned bones and plant remains
were found in sediments dating to about 1 million years ago
D.
Gesher Benot Ya’aqov Cave in Israel- burned seeds and wood were
uncovered, indicating that fire may have been used there around 800, 000 YBP
1.
Found in conjunction with stone tools associated with Homo
erectus.
E.
A recent review of the European record puts the earliest credible evidence
of the controlled use of fire at around 400, 000 YBP, based on remains from
Schoningen (Germany) and Beeches Pit in England
F.
If stone-lined hearths are required indicators of controlled use of fire, then
the earliest evidence from caves in Africa and Eurasia dates to around 250, 000
YBP
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
G.
By the time that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were present (roughly
200, 000 YBP), fire was definitely being used, although likely used differently by
each group.
1.
Neanderthals used fire extensively but their use appears pragmatic
and relatively transient compared with that of Cro-Magnons.
a)
Abric Romani (a rock shelter near Barcelona, Spain, dating
to between 70, 000 and 40, 000 YBP): numerous hearths were
discovered, all indicating small, shallow, short-use, not-very-hot
fires; most are associated with domestic activity
b)
Kebara Cave in Isreal has evidence of a few, somewhat
larger and more substantial fires; but in general, Neanderthal fires
tended to be more like Abric Romani, as were most of the CroMagnons (but not all).
2.
Abri Pataud (rock shelter in southwestern France, dated to about
23, 000 YBP)- Cro-Magnons built large hearths and lined them with
stones gathered from a nearby river
3.
Dolni Vestonice site in the Czech Republic (23, 000 YBP)- larger
hearths with deposits more than 1/3’ thick have been found; some of the
hearths are associated with the shattered remains of carved clay figurines
and pellets apparently made to explode when heated
a)
2 stone kilns have been found, both of which could
generate very hot fires
b)
The clay pellets and figurines were likely used in some
ceremony involving fire, possibly in a religious ritual that invokes
animal spirits.
XI.
Fires, Rituals, and Attention
A.
The social use of fire is relevant in 2 ways to the evolution of uniquely
human levels of attentional control.
B.
First, the use of fire as a venue for social activities occurs in conjunction
with other archaeological evidence of increased social complexity among our
Upper Paleolithic ancestors.
1.
Important because interacting more often with more people places
a greater demand on working memory and control of attention.
2.
Cro-Magnon campsites are generally larger, more commonly
found, more intensely used and occupied, and typically more spatially
structured than Neanderthal campsites.
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
3.
Many sites suggest evidence of seasonal aggregation, larger
population density, and other signs of social complexity and stratification.
4.
Neuro-imaging studies show that social reasoning involves broad
areas of the frontal lobe that are used in working memory and executive
control. Neuro-imaging studies of brain activity while constructing stone
tools failed to find activity in these same areas of the frontal lobe. This
supports the notion that social factors, more than technological factors,
were responsible for the emergence of uniquely human levels of working
memory and attention control.
C.
Second, fire became a venue for psychologically demanding communal
rituals.
1.
Rituals of initiation are fairly common among traditional societies,
which can be physically and mentally demanding (possibly involving
forced dancing, chanting, genital mutilation, scarring, and tooth
extraction); the shadowy figures induced by the light of the fire can
increase the drama, stress, and terror of these initiation ceremonies.
a)
To endure these rituals, the individuals being initiated had
to maintain their focus of attention on the ritual activity while
suppressing the natural fight or flight response.
2.
Rituals of shamanism were commonly performed around
campfires.
a)
The shaman’s function is to enter an altered state of
consciousness in which he or she connects with spiritual forces in
order to gain knowledge or cure illness.
b)
Along with important group-bonding functions, these
rituals also served as a community’s primary form of healthcare.
(1)
The individuals most able to focus their attention to
produce a health-enhancing, healing-inducing altered state
of mind were also most likely to survive injuries, chronic
pain disorders, bleeding, and the difficulty of childbirth.
(2)
In the past, the mind was our best defense against
sickness, injury, and pain; social rituals around the fire
were our primary means of mobilizing that defense.
XII.
Getting Into the Flow
A.
As he climbed, Parrado experienced a “loss of self” similar to what he had
described earlier about the rugby scrum.
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
1.
Never before had he felt so focused, driven, and fiercely alive with
all suffering ceased and life became a pure flow.
B.
Sometimes the altered state of consciousness associated with shamanistic
rituals reaches such an intense peak that the individual is “lost” in the ecstasy of
the moment. During this, he/she may engage in amazing feats of endurance and
pain tolerance.
C.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied the creative process. While
watching painters work, he discovered that when the work was going well, the
artists were oblivious to everything outside of the creative process.
D.
He termed this phenomenon “flow,” which has the following 5
characteristics:
1.
Intense, focused concentration on the activity and the present
moment
2.
A total merging of action and awareness, with a loss of reflective
self-awareness
3.
A sense of effortless control, in a context of just-manageable
challenge
4.
A distorted sense of time, where time is compressed
5.
A feeling of intrinsic reward arising from the activity itself
E.
Although flow is rarely a matter of life and death, it was for the
expeditionaries on the mountain.
F.
Parrado tells that as he climbed, he lost himself in the activity, that his
entire being seemed to merge with the physical act of climbing. His body was
simply a survival vehicle. In the midst of this awful ordeal, he would have
glorious, brief moments when his suffering stopped and he was more alive than he
had ever been before.
G.
Though there were several accounts of death on the mountain, Parrado’s
climb was a different confrontation with mortality. “It was a portrait of life
furiously ablaze as it stares at its limit.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Give two examples of ritual signaling respect for an object. Why is ritual effective
in sending these messages of respect?
2. What is attention? Describe three different brain processes involved in attention
that we discussed in class.
2. How is stone tool construction relevant to the evolution of attentional capacity?
Chapter 6: Ritual Defeats the Mountain
3. In what ways is the social use of fire relevant to the evolution of attentional
control?
4. What is “flow?” Discuss the 5 characteristics of flow. How does this relate to the
expeditionaries on the mountain?