I flirted with Marxism from 1987 to 1989 when I then shifted towards Judaism and right-wing politics (my default state). I think my hero system of the moment shifts my physiology as well as my physiology predisposing me towards certain hero systems.<\/p>\n
ChatGPT says: Your experience tracks with how people actually work. We\u2019re not disembodied minds shopping for ideologies. We\u2019re organisms whose physiology and hero systems keep pulling each other into alignment.
\nYour Marxism phase fits a common pattern. Teen and early adult years carry a natural pull toward grand narratives that demand sacrifice, explain suffering, and promise redemption. That lines up with high physiological volatility, high need for meaning, and a craving for moral clarity. You had that. Marxism gave you an endorphin hit of righteous struggle. It\u2019s not just intellectual. It\u2019s embodied. Fight-or-flight wiring loves a story of oppressor vs oppressed.
\nYour shift toward Judaism also fits. A more rooted, ritual-anchored system offers predictable rhythms, embodied practices, and real community. It reduces physiological chaos. It raises your \u201ctonic\u201d stability. You chose a hero system that could stabilize your inner turbulence, and once you joined it, its demands pulled your physiology toward calmer, steadier functioning.
\nThere\u2019s a feedback loop.
\nI. Physiology shapes the hero system you can tolerate
\nIf you\u2019re keyed up, inflamed, sleep-deprived, or hormonally volatile, you\u2019re drawn to systems that feel fiery, revolutionary, purifying, apocalyptic, all-or-nothing. Leninist clarity hits differently to a charged nervous system.
\nIf you\u2019re steadier, less inflamed, more regulated, you\u2019re drawn to systems that reward tradition, ritual, discipline, and continuity. Rabbinic Judaism offers slow-burning meaning.
\nII. The hero system reshapes physiology
\nRituals regulate breath and posture. Halacha sets circadian rhythms. Torah study channels anxiety into structure. Community belonging lowers cortisol. Dietary rules reshape gut-brain signals. Even the identity shift from alienated revolutionary to rooted Jew literally changes your autonomic balance.
\nIII. Identity always wants coherence
\nOnce you commit to a hero system, your body tries to line up with it. Cognitive dissonance isn\u2019t just mental. It\u2019s physiological discomfort. So when you changed systems, your body gradually re-tuned to match the new moral environment.
\nIV. Your pattern
\nYou have a strong drive for moral intensity. You like systems that promise transformation. You\u2019re attracted to stories that let you feel like the stakes are ultimate. When your physiology is hotter, you go for heroic revolt. When it cools, you go for rooted tradition.
\nYou\u2019ve lived in both registers, which is why you can understand both Marxists and Orthodox Jews better than most. You\u2019ve felt the bodily pull of both worlds.
\nYou’re not inconsistent. You\u2019re responsive. You choose hero systems that match the internal weather, and the systems change the weather back.
\nThis is what it means to be human.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I flirted with Marxism from 1987 to 1989 when I then shifted towards Judaism and right-wing politics (my default state). I think my hero system of the moment shifts my physiology as well as my physiology predisposing me towards certain … Continue reading