{"id":30065,"date":"2023-01-12T18:16:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T02:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=30065"},"modified":"2023-01-12T18:16:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T02:16:08","slug":"choosing-corn-flakes-in-a-fruity-pebble-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/choosing-corn-flakes-in-a-fruity-pebble-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Corn Flakes in a Fruity Pebble World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the book, The Molecule of More<\/em>, the authors wrote about dopamine and its effect on different areas of our lives and on society as a whole. [1]<\/strong> According to WebMD, dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter made by our bodies. [2]<\/strong> Our nervous system uses dopamine to send messages between our nerve cells. [3]<\/strong> It is part of how we feel pleasure, think, plan, and focus. [4]<\/strong> Although the authors spoke about seven categories where dopamine influences the lives of people, for the sake of this post, I will concentrate on only a couple of them. First I would like to discuss drugs and dopamine. Then I will talk about progress and harmony as a singular topic.<\/p>\n

Drugs and Dopamine<\/strong><\/p>\n

In chapter two of the book, The Molecule of More<\/em>, the authors write about drugs and dopamine. [5] Included in the drugs that they touch on is alcohol. I know this sickness well. My father was an alcoholic. Once, when driving drunk in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, he went off the road and the gear shift of his pickup truck pierced his lung. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. Hours later, he awoke screaming in pain downstairs in the morgue, covered with a sheet. Yet he continued to drink and drive. I have many siblings, however, only one drinks the way that our dad did: a younger sister. She wakes drunk in the mornings, and begins her day with alcohol. She is a believer in Christ, but doesn’t see anything wrong with her drinking. About a year ago I told her I was praying God would take the taste for it away from her completely. She was offended, of course. I don’t think it was wrong to tell her though. It’s my belief that she has learned to deal with the ups and downs in her life with the initial\u00a0 euphoria she gets from being drunk, and then continues to drink for the numbness. [6]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Progress and Harmony<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For about five years, I lived in Kenya, East Africa. For my final year there I lived in a hut made of sticks and grasses with a mud and manure floor. All of my worldly possessions could be carried in my backpack, except for one bicycle and a run down 1979 Land Rover that kept catching on fire when I would drive it! I slept on a bed made of sticks with chickens and baby goats underneath at night, and lions roaring outside not far away. I bathed and drank with water straight out of the river nearby. I traded in the marketplace for weekly necessities just like everyone else. Life was pretty simple.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And then I got malaria for the 5th time, and yellow fever at the same time, and had to come back to the States for medical reasons. Life in the States is anything but simple. Just take a minute to look at the choices on the cereal aisle! The authors point out that there are always going to be “new and improved” products in stores that will get our attention. [7]<\/strong> It can be overwhelming to make a decision! Over the years, my life has become less and less “simple” and more dopamine-driven like the rest of the United States. Just like everyone else in the modern world, to live in harmony we each must learn to turn our backs on this dopamine-driven hunger for more. [8]<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0 Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/i>. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc.<\/p>\n

[2] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0 Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/i>. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 27-57.<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0 Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/i>. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 42.<\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0 Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/i>. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 205.<\/p>\n

[8]\u00a0 Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/i>. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 223.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction In the book, The Molecule of More, the authors wrote about dopamine and its effect on different areas of our lives and on society as a whole. [1] According to WebMD, dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter made by our bodies. [2] Our nervous system uses dopamine to send messages between our nerve cells. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[2508],"class_list":["post-30065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography-drama-history","tag-lieberman-and-long-the-molecule-of-more-alcoholism-kenya","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30089,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30065\/revisions\/30089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}