In the animal kingdom, safety is largely arranged by instinct, though some of the more intelligent species do seem to engage in some tutoring of the young. In truly sentient beings, the role of instinct is seemingly performed by a complex and often contradictory and conflicting collection of beliefs, some of which the individual is aware of consciously, and many they are not. Can Creator comment on the similarity of belief to instinct, as well as the critical differences when it comes to feeling and arranging safety for oneself and others?

In sentient beings, there is a base instinct level that is independent of thought and pertains to the state of being as an animal in a physical body. These are natural tendencies and built-in reactions like a response to pain, whether physical or emotional, the yearning and need for nurturing and love, and the reaction to mistreatment that cuts love short or gets in the way. Particularly when it is done deliberately and in a malicious fashion, there will be a strong instinctive reaction and a desire to escape the situation through either fight or flight. So that response to stress is a powerful motivator and designed to be protective and life-prolonging and will run on autopilot. This is why it is hard to block by force of will alone. In a sense, it has a life of its own because it is an inherent aspect of the physical being and operates according to its own rules when in a circumstance that triggers an instinctive response of some kind. The great majority of the regulatory mechanisms, in dealing with life and things beyond the self especially, become more and more complex starting from birth onward. It does not take long before there are hundreds, and then thousands of specific beliefs about all manner of circumstances that have been experienced and absorbed as a life lesson into the being with the creation of a corresponding belief, or set of beliefs if warranted, that thenceforth will govern thoughts and feelings and behavior when in a similar situation and a belief is triggered. The inner self, on a deep subconscious level, will honor that belief and almost unerringly follow its guidance as a mandate. Beliefs are quite powerful and they are automatic, they are not a matter of choice but, in a sense, are the hardwiring, the actual programming of a person to define much about their makeup and how they will act and react in a given life circumstance. When the beliefs are proportional and accurately representing reality, this will add strength and capability, and wherewithal to the being to make them an effective individual in all they do. But when the beliefs become unnecessarily negative or exaggerated as a consequence of mistreatment, especially when there is significant pain and suffering involved, beliefs that are quite dark are easily cultivated, and then can begin to dominate and rule the life of the person to restrict them many times from further growth and become quite life-limiting because every time they want to do something, their subconscious may say "no" and overrule it by stirring up very strong negative emotion, and this creates an automatic reaction so a person will develop an aversion to being in certain circumstances that resemble prior times of trauma from being neglected or abused in some way. This reaches a pinnacle in the agoraphobic individual who may well not be able to leave their own home because their fear is so great of venturing forth they cannot handle it and become overwhelmed from the stress. There are many gradations in how people experience negative reactions and emotional consequences from all sorts of situations, circumstances, and encounters. Almost always it is the resurrecting of prior trauma automatically because beliefs are being triggered, and then emotions resembling a prior difficulty will be generated, and this will cause a person to want to back away and withdraw. It takes the fun out of life and can be quite a hindrance to the point where people cannot engage socially with others. They may not be able to attend school or work with others in a setting where they must perform alongside other people, but will never feel comfortable around them, and in a state of heightened anxiety, may not think well, and may not be able to tolerate it for even the length of a workday when the feelings are too extreme. So this takes a heavy toll when the beliefs become exaggerated and so plentiful in a negative form that a person becomes highly constrained and limited in what they can tolerate.