{"id":30159,"date":"2023-01-14T17:40:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T01:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=30159"},"modified":"2023-01-14T17:47:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T01:47:14","slug":"desire-for-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/desire-for-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Desire for More"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I felt it early, even as a child. The bone deep desire for something more. <\/span><\/i>
\nDo the right thing. Get the good grades. Don\u2019t cause waves. <\/span><\/i>
\nControl is my addiction and approval my vice. I am chasing, always chasing. <\/span><\/i>
\nTrying. Yearning. Wanting. Numbing. <\/span><\/i>
\nI live in bondage…to myself. <\/span><\/i>
\nThe fatal flaw of humanity is a chasm of need I cannot fill. <\/span><\/i>
\nBut I try, oh how I try. <\/span><\/i>
\nMuch of the striving is good on the outside. <\/span><\/i>
\nIt is a mask. A charade. A sneaky thief. <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lose the weight. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Kick the habit.
\n<\/span><\/i>Get the job. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Buy the home. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Earn the money. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Seek the praise. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Have the child. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Be the best. <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In blindness and captivity, I try again and again and again. <\/span><\/i>
\nI am hostage to the illusion of my control, but it\u2019s never enough. <\/span><\/i>
\nMy health suffers, my mind twists, my soul withers dry. <\/span><\/i>
\nYet, I keep trying, insane to expect a different result.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Bondage <\/span><\/i>by Laura Fleetwood<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You are an addict. Not because your brain is waiting for the next hit of heroin, but because your brain is eagerly anticipating the next hit of <\/span>something<\/span><\/i>. <\/span> It\u2019s not your fault, this obsession of wanting more. According to Leiberman and Long, it\u2019s the natural result of a small but mighty chemical in your brain called dopamine. <\/span>1 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the book <\/span>The Molecule of More<\/span><\/i>, Leiberman and Long describe how neuroscientist John Douglas Pettigrew was the first person to find \u201cthat the brain manages the external world by dividing it into separate regions, the <\/span>peripersonal <\/span><\/i>and the <\/span>extrapersonal<\/span><\/i>\u2014basically, near and far.\u201d <\/span>2 <\/span>We can think of the peripersonal space as anything that is real and accessible right now. Extrapersonal space is everything else\u2014anything or possibility that you have to move beyond the present in order to experience.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span>The brain works differently in each of these spaces with different primary chemicals being engaged. When the brain is focusing on something in the distance, something that cannot be experienced in the here and now, dopamine is the primary chemical involved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


\nImplication of Dopamine Levels<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Leiberman and Long point out, the natural levels of dopamine in a person\u2019s brain have a significant impact on the amount of drive that person has to pursue everything from new experiences, creative pursuits and adventure in general. Some of this is hereditary and some is influenced by drugs, dopamine enhancing experiences like falling in love, surprises, and even the anticipation of \u201clikes\u201d on social media.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like other brain chemicals, levels of dopamine are constantly changing and are impacted by many factors. The greater the dopamine levels, the greater likelihood a person will have a natural desire to go after new experiences. On my maternal side of the family, my relatives are often described as go-getters. Within the family itself we have a different name for it\u2014\u201dBorhart overdrive.\u201d On the positive side, this overdrive has produced doctors, authors, successful entrepreneurs and several university professors. On the negative side, this overdrive also produced stress-induced breakdowns, depression and divorces. Until reading\u00a0The Molecule of More<\/em> I never thought about brain chemistry being part of this gift\/affliction, but I now recognize it may have quite a significant impact, indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nSpiritual Implications of Dopamine<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My family\u2019s propensity for \u201coverdrive\u201d has often prompted me to think of this quote from Augustine\u2019s Confessions, \u201ct<\/span>hou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its\u00a0<\/span>rest in thee<\/span>.’ <\/span>3 <\/span>I\u2019ve seen this truth play out over and over in my life as I\u2019ve strived for one thing or another, hoping that finally I would find peace. It\u2019s as though my very brain was working against me. The dopamine in my body drives me for more and more while God is calling me toward less and less. Perhaps that’s why I have the words, “Be Still,” tatooed on my wrist as a constant reminder that God does not need my striving to accomplish His will in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder that \u201cJesus told his disciples,\u00a0\u2018If anyone would come after me, let him\u00a0deny himself and\u00a0take up his cross and follow me.\u00a0For\u00a0whoever would save his life\u00a0will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.\u00a0For\u00a0what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or\u00a0what shall a man give in return for his soul?\u2019\u201d Matthew 16:24-26<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> For those of us with a tendancy toward striving, it’s a good reminder that what we strive toward is what truly matters.”<\/span><\/p>\n

So Now What?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Molecule of More\u00a0<\/em>left me asking this question, “so now what?” The book was super helpful in understanding how the chemical make-up of our brains impacts our drive or lack thereof and I appreciated the detailed description of the difference between the here and now chemicals and that of dopamine. However, I was left wondering about the impact of habits and whether or not habits can override our natural dopamine tendancies. From other books we’ve read, it would seem that they can. I would love to explore this more!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
1. Lieberman, Daniel Z. and Michael E. Long. \u201cThe Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race.\u201d Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc., 2019.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2. Lieberman, 8.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
3. <\/span>Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430. The Confessions of Saint Augustine.<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I felt it early, even as a child. The bone deep desire for something more. Do the right thing. Get the good grades. Don\u2019t cause waves. Control is my addiction and approval my vice. I am chasing, always chasing. Trying. Yearning. Wanting. Numbing. I live in bondage…to myself. The fatal flaw of humanity is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"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":[1],"tags":[2487,2156],"class_list":["post-30159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lieberman-long-dlgp01","tag-lieberman","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30159","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\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30159"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30164,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30159\/revisions\/30164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}