Many yogis look at our awake mind as a drunken monkey.

I see a Curious George-looking creature with a long, playful tail, hootin’, hollerin’ and flinging poo everywhere.

This emotional whirling dervish of a primate occupies the space of our human brains. Morphing our conscious mind from desire (pow!) to insecurity (smash!) to happiness (zap!) to sadness (crash!) all in a matter of seconds.

But the monkey mind visualization reminds us to have compassion for others, my meditation teacher, Annette, explained after a class. Perhaps we have a little more control over our internal drunken monkey, but others reacting in anger or fear (name any emotion here) have been taken hostage by that intoxicated, nonsensical animal.

It also helps us have empathy and understanding for ourselves as we struggle to recognize when we’re thinking rationally or when there’s been a monkey coup d’etat.

I didn’t see the little scamp in my brain until her explanation. But the monkey is cuter than the other critical creature that has occupied my mind: A giant, hairy Venus flytrap that looks like Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors.”

I refer to this out-of-control plant as my inner critic. It’s the raspy voice inside my head preying on my fears and insecurities.

I’d like to see a fight between the plant and drunken monkey. I’m not sure what that means in psychological or yogic terms, but it’d sure be amusing.

Or scary.