Morsel conflicts activate endodermal tissues governed by the brainstem. These tissues respond with cell increase during conflict activity to enhance the organism’s ability to metaphorically “take in,” “digest,” or “get rid of” a morsel.

After resolution of the conflict, fungi or mycobacteria assist in breaking down the excess tissue formed during the conflict-active phase.

At the most fundamental level, an organism lives or dies based on its ability to take in what it needs and expel what it doesn’t. The brainstem – the most ancient part of the brain – evolved to manage this, and the endodermal tissues it relays (digestive tract, respiratory tract, liver, pancreas, lungs, inner ear, irises of the eye, thyroid, and other tissues developed from the ancestral “gullet” and “gills” structures) are the biological instruments of morsel management.

A morsel conflict arises when the individual unconsciously makes a meaning that a vital morsel is unavailable or unattainable, or that a previously-attained morsel is “stuck.”

This may be literal – the organism unconsciously believes it cannot get enough food, cannot breathe, cannot drink, cannot pass an indigestible morsel – or, more commonly in modern life, metaphorical:

• an individual loses their “daily bread” – their job – suffers a starvation conflict and produces a tumour in their liver
• a child misses the ice cream truck, because he didn’t hear the sound because he was distracted playing a video game. To better “insalivate the sound morsel,” he develops a tiny tumour in the inner ear which is broken down as an ear infection once he attains the “sound morsel” he wanted
• an individual is overloaded with work and just has to “power through” – an indigestible anger conflict which affects the large intestine and produces constipation during the active conflict and diarrhea during the healing phase
• a retired widow doesn’t get her house for sale on the market quickly enough before the real estate market crashes. She creates a thyroid program because she was not fast enough to get rid of the “house morsel.”

The response to a morsel conflict is tissue growth in the affected endodermal organ. It’s an evolutionary adaptation to increase absorptive or digestive capacity. The type and location of growth is specific to the type of morsel and the direction of the conflict (can’t get the morsel in vs. can’t get it out).

The most profound morsel conflict – and the conflict that is present to some degree in all other biological conflicts – is the existential conflict. This conflict is the isolation, abandonment, refugee, or existence conflict, and it involves the digestive tissues of the kidney collecting tubules. These tubules will undergo cell proliferation, causing water retention, conservation of proteins, increased thirst, and low urine output during the conflict-active phase.

At conflictolysis,the tumour instantly stops growing and, if available, fungi and mycobacteria break down the additional tissue developed during the healing phase.