Dear young peace scholars,

Today, we are writing to you about conflict, and the fact that we often don’t do the right thing for other people. It is as if we have two parts to our brain. One part is civilized, rational, compassionate. The other part has more basic needs, and tends to think about itself first.

Some people talk about this as having both a human and a chimpanzee in your head! The chimpanzee is much quicker and stronger than the human. You can’t control that bit of you by willpower alone. That is why you sometimes do things that you know are not right. You have sometimes acted before you have thought through the consequences. The chimpanzee bit of your brain (called the amygdala) evolved a very long time ago. It evolved before the cerebral cortex (the bit that can reason and solve problems).

The amygdala is just like a real life chimpanzee. It is constantly scanning for danger and looking for creature comforts. The chimpanzee in you wants food, rest, sex, and admiration. It loves its own tribe, and sees others as a threat. It is also insecure and sees danger everywhere.

The cerebral cortex takes longer to think things through. It is able to reflect and take a wider view of what is happening. It can solve problems and plan wisely for the future. It is better able to make good decisions, and to form stonger and more meaningful relationships.

You need both parts of your brain to be truly you, however. You need to know how you can balance these two very different ways of thinking and feeling. Sometimes it is simply a matter of counting to ten. Sometimes walking away, or taking more time to make a decision can help.

One thing is for sure; we can’t simply eject the chimpanzee from our mind! We actually wouldn’t want to. It contains a lot of joy, power, motivation and drive. Peace can be found within us if we harmonise these different bits of our brain. It's important to accept them both, and not to allow the chimp to behave badly or hurt other people. If you can learn to manage all the different parts of yourself, you will be happy and live in peace with others too.

Wishing you the happy resolution of your conflicts, and inner and outer peace.

Love

The POP Team