The Four Survival Circuits
This post’s audio recording features the faintest crackle of rain and some snores from my dog Tessie. Please enjoy! (15:10)
In the 8-circuit model of consciousness, each circuit is a dynamic expression of a type of intelligence that humans can experience throughout our lifetimes. In Timothy Leary’s original model, the circuits were split into four lower survival circuits and four higher post-survival circuits, but I have to confess I’m not a fan of that lower vs. higher characterization, especially in a culture so steeped in spiritual materialism.
Spiritual Materialism and Higher vs. Lower Circuits
In a series of talks he delivered while opening the Karma Dzong meditation center in Boulder, Colorado, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche warned his audience of predominantly American meditators interpreting Buddhist philosophies and practices through the lens of colonizer culture about spiritual materialism: a desire to escape suffering through egoic identification with spiritual practice and awakening. He called attention to the temptation to collect spiritual experiences like notches on a belt—or artifacts in a museum. But, for the ego to value something as better, more evolved, and more interesting does not necessarily make it more wholesome and important, even in the realm of spiritual practice.
So, turning our gaze back towards the 8-circuit model, I cannot help but feel that dividing the circuits into higher and lower is perhaps just another example of spiritual materialism, or even of reskinning sin and righteousness as low or high vibrational behavior. The four survival circuits are rich with meaningful exploration in their own right. Each imprints on us at a specific time in our lives, and imprints cause lasting impacts on our attitudes about our abilities to leverage its circuit to effectively meet our needs. We can learn so much about ourselves and our possible life trajectories ahead through investigating how each of these circuits was imprinted on us in life, how we feel about those imprints, and how those beliefs and patterns of thought continue to impact our lives and choices today.
What’s more, feeling secure in each one is vital to exploring the four expansive post-survival circuits without risking disconnecting from the human experience. Antero Alli offers that they are our anchors in our spiritual explorations in his book the 8-Circuit Brain, which catalyzed my own personal work with reinterpreting the 8-Circuit model in the first place. Plus, we’ve all met someone pretentious about their own enlightenment—let them be your mirror if you find yourself tempted to discount the survival circuits.
The Four Survival Circuits of the 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness
To give us some structure in the rest of this exploration, we can identify the following for each of the four survival circuits:
What is the intelligence gained in this circuit?
Why do we need it? What do we use it for? What does it anchor?
When & how it imprints
The nature of the negative imprint
What it looks like pursuing it for its own sake
What it looks like when vertically connected to its corresponding expansive circuit
Circuit One: Physio-Biological Intelligence. The Anchor of Security.
What is this intelligence? Physio-Biological intelligence is about recognizing what is safe, whether our needs are met, and how to ensure they will stay met. At a deeper level, it gives us the ability to commit with integrity—to ourselves first, but then more broadly, too. This is the foundation of self-trust.
Why do we need it? What do we use it for? It is our anchor of security. We use it to get our basic needs for safety, security, food, and shelter met, and to successfully seek a sense of comfort. At a deeper level, this intelligence allows us to feel our bodies deeply.
When & how it imprints: Infancy. Adequate care results in a positive imprint, inadequate or poorly attuned care results in a negative imprint.
The nature of a negative imprint: Viewing the world as inherently unsafe, or operating from a sense of fear, inadequate energy, and insatiability.
Pursuing for its own sake results in: Addictions or materialism motivated by an ever growing need for comfort (not a need for elevated status, though—that would be circuit 2.) If we don’t consciously do things to meet our body’s need to be felt deeply (exercise, dance, sex, stretching..), we may end up meeting our need for sensation in less mindful ways.
When integrated to circuit 5 above it: Experiencing mutuality between bodily safety and somatic rapture. Fulfillment of physical survival needs serves as a foundation for pursuing incentives of more leisure time, personal happiness—whatever gets us feelin’ high! What’s more, engaging in circuit 1 care tasks with full commitment can result in circuit 5 feelings of rapture and bliss.
Key words: Safety, comfort, enough, security, nurture, commitment, integrity, self-trust, understanding somatic communication. Fear, insatiability, addiction.
Circuit Two: Emotional-Hierarchical Intelligence. The Anchor of Power.
What is this intelligence? Emotional-Hierarchical intelligence helps us understand who has power and influence by reading their emotions. In the process, our ego and our own emotional honesty also develops. This is the foundation of self worth.
Why do we need it? What do we use it for? It is our anchor of power, and we use it to meet our needs for control, status, emotional honesty, personal territory. We use it to navigate social hierarchies, establish our position within them, and gain a sense of control and influence over others. It might happen unconsciously most of the time, but through this circuit, we shape reality—ours and others’—through emotion.
When & how it imprints: In early childhood through observing and internalizing the social hierarchies and power dynamics within the family, school, and community.
The nature of the negative imprint: Could manifest as an exaggerated need for control, drive toward manipulation of others, sense of entitlement, or disregard for needs and feelings of others. It also can manifest as people pleasing or otherwise being overly concerned with others’ needs and feelings, obscuring ones true feelings in order to be liked in a subtle form of manipulation.
Pursuing for its own sake results in: Compensating for losses or perceived lack of power through overt or covert emotional manipulation, compulsions for control, aggression, loss of humor, exaggerated sense of self-importance, people pleasing. All this can ultimately lead to conflict, isolation, and lack of authentic connection with others.
When integrated to circuit 6 above it: Emotional intelligence rooted steadily in self-worth and self-awareness are powerful tools in navigating the rapidly changing landscape of personal experience that circuit 6 awakens. On the other hand, emotional connections and intimate relationships can be a catalyst for opening up circuit 6. Circuit 6 experience also allows for rewriting our negative imprints from circuit 2 or any other survival circuit.
Key words: Self concept, self worth. Emotional honesty and authentic expression. Status, control, hierarchy, power, influence, competition, dominance, aggression, manipulation, inauthenticity, narcissism and echoism.
Circuit Three: Symbolic-Conceptual Intelligence. The Anchor of Clarity.
What is this intelligence? This intelligence is concerned with many of the things traditionally associated with the word “intelligence.” It includes critical thinking, problem solving, and making meaning of the world through models and symbols like language, scientific theory, and mathematics. It is the foundation of understanding.
Why do we need it? What do we use it for? It is our anchor of clarity. We use it to make sense of the world around us, understand complex concepts and systems, and communicate our ideas to others.
When & how it imprints: During childhood through both exposure and attitudes to language, symbols, and concepts within the family, school, and culture. Either an overly critical attitude about mistakes or an overly complimentary view about a child’s genius can trigger a negative imprint. A negative imprint can also be triggered by a lack of cognitive engagement at this time in life.
The nature of the negative imprint: Can manifest as an inability to think critically or question assumptions, vulnerability to conspiracy, rigid adherence to established beliefs and ways of knowing, lack of imagination, or a sense of either inferiority or elitism regarding one's intelligence.
Pursuing for its own sake results in: An overemphasis on rationality and logic at the expense of intuition, emotion, and spirituality can result in reductionism. It also can cause not only a lack of appreciation for the complexities of the world, but also a lack of access to post-survival circuits of intelligence. An overly literal outlook may lead to overthinking, anxiety, and a loss of imagination. Intellectualizing can be an escape from connection or emotional experience.
When integrated with circuit 7 above it: Circuit 7 activations create a profound sense of connection to something greater than oneself. The experience of shared mythic meaning and a sense of belonging to a cosmic community sparks curiosity, creating a playground for circuit 3 skills. Logic and reason are unlocked in the service of more deeply understanding the universe in these new ways. And, this perspective can fuel efforts to dismantle negative circuit 3 imprints.
Key words: Language, symbols, concepts, logic, reason, communication, creativity, imagination, learning, critical thinking. Intellectual elitism or inferiority, conspiracy.
Circuit Four: Societal-Social Intelligence. The Anchor of Belonging.
What is this intelligence? This intelligence is about understanding social expectations in forms like cultural norms, community identity, morals and ethics, and other broadly agreed upon roles. It is the foundation of acceptance.
Why do we need it? What do we use it for? It is our anchor of belonging. Understanding social expectations offers a path to connection with others and a sense of belonging. Through this, we meet our needs for friendship, love, sexual identity, community, and ethics.
When & how it imprints: In early adolescence through exposure to cultural norms, morals, values, and expectations through our family, peers, and communities.
The nature of the negative imprint: Can manifest as a fear of rejection or abandonment, conformity to societal expectations at the expense of individuality, and a lack of empathy and understanding for those who are different.
Pursuing for its own sake results in: Using gossip and drama to distract from personal reflection, blind conformity to societal norms and expectations, a lack of self-expression and individuality, and a fear of being seen as different or standing out, or perfectionism (as a sort of denial of difference or potential inferiority in order to maximize opportunities for acceptance—a sibling to Brené Brown’s definition of perfectionism). All of this can lead to a lack of authenticity and a sense of disconnection from oneself and others, or even to persecuting others for existing outside of cultural norms.
When integrated to circuit 8 above it: Circuit 8 activations create a deep understanding of the impermanence and interconnectedness of all things. This leads to a sense of compassion and equanimity in the face of suffering and death. The integration of body, mind, and spirit allows for a holistic approach to life and a recognition of the inherent value in all beings. This perspective shifts how a person relates to community and often results in bringing more compassion, empathy, and understanding to their community, or provides fuel towards efforts to dismantle negative circuit 4 imprints.
Key words: Belonging, community, norms, values, identity, conformity, empathy, individuality. Perfectionism, inauthenticity, disconnection, persecution.
With so much material to explore, there’s absolutely no way these four foundational circuits can be called lower. A supportive and dynamic balance requires moving consistently through, rooting into each survival intelligence to rise to different corners of the perspectives offered in the four expansive circuits.
To learn more about the 8-circuit model of consciousness, check out the 8-Circuit Model 101 primer for a briefer summary of each of the circuits, learn more about chapel perilous and how it fits into working with the circuits, or check out some musings on its relationship to the concepts of separateness and intraconnectedness.
If you’re hoping for a more personal take on how to better understand your own life through this model, I’d love to work with you—check out my offerings and get in touch with me whenever you’re ready.
