{"id":32230,"date":"2023-04-06T10:08:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T17:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=32230"},"modified":"2023-04-06T10:12:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T17:12:50","slug":"bondye-se-plas-dous-mwen-creole-god-is-my-sweet-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/bondye-se-plas-dous-mwen-creole-god-is-my-sweet-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondye se plas dous mwen (Creole) – God is my \u201csweet spot\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bondye se plas dous mwen (Creole) or Dieu est mon “sweet spot”(French), God is my \u201csweet spot\u201d<\/p>\n

My thoughts on<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. God as my sweet spot.<\/li>\n
  2. God in my audience and on stage \u2013 my director.<\/li>\n
  3. My prayer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This week, two Haitian women appeared in both my weekly job training class AND my Intermediate Grammar class.\u00a0 Creole and French are their primary languages. So according to google translate, Dieu est mon \u201csweet spot.\u201d Or Bondye se plas dous mwen.<\/p>\n

    Recently, my wife said I was addicted to stress. I countered with the response that I am happiest when all my oars are in the water.\u00a0 For years, I have seen friends climb mountains, go bungee jumping and flex out in extreme sports. With a slight tinge of jealousy, I usually commented cynically that those fools were addicted to adrenaline.\u00a0 When I read Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/em>, Chapter 5,[1], I <\/a>gather I wasn\u2019t far from wrong.\u00a0 Duffy gives a good account of our sweet spot in chapter 5, as a flow of neurochemicals, dopamine and norepinephrine awash us in emotional highs and lows. Adrenaline is thrown in for good measure.\u00a0 I now have a mental image of those chemicals zooming around my prefrontal cortex.\u00a0 I can now understand why my chemically deprived brain stops functioning after teaching my Monday\/Wednesday night classes.<\/p>\n

    Covid taught me that I needed \u201cpeople\u201d in my life and the arousal of student\/teacher interaction is both a balm and a rush\u2026upon my social soul.\u00a0 Still after class, my brain slips into \u201cbasal ganglia mode.\u201d I mentally and literally shift into \u00a0\u201ccruise control\u201d for the half an hour on the ride home.\u00a0 My brain slips into a kind of Default Mode Network \u2013 a dull happy place. Or perhaps not so dull, \u201cThe default mode network (DMN) is a system of connected brain areas that show increased activity when a person is not focused on what is happening around them\u201d states a Psychology Today article.[2]<\/a> The article goes on to say that creativity abounds.\u00a0 Much like Newton resting under a tree, a violent encounter with an apple \u2013 producing the theory of GRAVITY.<\/p>\n

    God as my Sweet Spot<\/strong><\/p>\n

    However, in the charting of my neurochemical biorhythms, the only time I can really be creative (as in blogpost writings) is early in the morning around 4 am to 6 am. Sadly, this biorhythm high point conflicts with my prayer time.\u00a0 I am seeking amends to this dilemma.<\/p>\n

    Sweet spots were once reserved to describe that awesome place on a tennis racquet that returned the tennis ball with amazing power and accuracy. Now in my post tennis days I am confronted with \u201cWhy isn\u2019t God my sweet spot?\u201d Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.<\/p>\n

    How is the God of the universe, the creator of my body and spirit involved in my neurochemical brain bath? My dilemma, how do I make God my \u201csweet spot\u201d?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have an answer but would love to hear from the cohort collective.<\/p>\n

    God in my audience and on stage \u2013 my director<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In the wash of neurochemicals, David Rock\u2019s metaphor of the stage, provides strong visual imagery for the five roles of the prefrontal cortex.[3]<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Nathan Lozeron, on his Productivity website, does a great animated video that speaks to highlights of Rock\u2019s first 4 chapters.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MwUbLjdTYmA<\/a><\/p>\n

    He adds the visual imagery with his graphic depicting, 1. Understand, 2. Recall, 3. Memorize, 4. Inhibit, 5. Decide<\/p>\n

    Or U.R. M.IN.D. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Rock\u2019s \u00a0book review at Good Reads also provides a nice summary.,\u00a0 https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/54145336-your-brain-at-work-revised-and-updated<\/a><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Why our brains feel so taxed, and how to maximize our mental resources.<\/li>\n
    2. Why it’s so hard to focus, and how to better manage distractions.<\/li>\n
    3. How to maximize the chance of finding insights to solve seemingly insurmountable problems.<\/li>\n
    4. How to keep your cool in any situation, so that you can make the best decisions possible.<\/li>\n
    5. How to collaborate more effectively with others.<\/li>\n
    6. Why providing feedback is so difficult, and how to make it easier.<\/li>\n
    7. How to be more effective at changing other people’s behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Rock\u2019s \u201chow to section\u201d after each chapter helped me to summarize and act upon the many distractions to my \u201cin house\u201d stage.\u00a0 It also launched me off in the search for God in my mental mayhem.\u00a0 At first, I placed Him in my audience \u2013 a place where my walk with Christ were memories of relevant bible stories, verses, lessons, and spiritual experiences.\u00a0 These neurons were part of the spiritual map that my brain draws upon in my spiritual walk.\u00a0 Then, I saw God as center stage in the spotlight of my brain.\u00a0 It is what all Christians strive for, to have God in the center of their lives.\u00a0 Because of Rock, I began to move God to the \u201cdirectorship\u201d of my brain.\u00a0 Aligning my will to His, is a goal I am working on now.\u00a0 Letting Him direct my path, Proverbs 16:9, The mind of a person plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.<\/p>\n

      Perhaps over reaching,\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      My prayer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Heavenly Father, I ask that you be the \u201cdirector\u201d in my life.\u00a0 My own brain gets tired in the crush of the world.\u00a0 There is only one spotlight in my life and let me continue to shine it on you. \u00a0Let me rest in You and let me seek direction and motivation from you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

      P.S.<\/p>\n

      By the way, I get an additional daily dose of dopamine when I scratch my dog \u201cCopper\u201d behind his ears. I am told he gets his dopamine rush when I do that too (Harry Pettit, \u201cWhat Having a Dog Does to Your Brain and Body<\/em>,\u201d. [5]<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

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

       <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      [1]<\/a> David Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/em>, Revised and updated (New York, NY: Harper Business, an imrint of HarperColinsPublishers, 2020),79.<\/p>\n

      [2]<\/a> \u201cDefault Mode Network | Psychology Today,\u201d accessed April 6, 2023, https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/basics\/default-mode-network.<\/p>\n

      [3]<\/a> \u201cYOUR BRAIN AT WORK by David Rock | Animated Core Message – YouTube,\u201d accessed April 6, 2023, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/.<\/p>\n

      [4]<\/a> Rock, Your Brain at Work,49<\/em>.<\/p>\n

      [5]<\/a> Harry Pettit, \u201cWhat Having a Dog Does to Your Brain and Body,\u201d Mail Online, June 6, 2018, http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-5807069\/Dogs-trigger-release-dopamine-oxytocin-way-children.html.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Bondye se plas dous mwen (Creole) or Dieu est mon “sweet spot”(French), God is my \u201csweet spot\u201d My thoughts on God as my sweet spot. God in my audience and on stage \u2013 my director. My prayer. This week, two Haitian women appeared in both my weekly job training class AND my Intermediate Grammar class.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"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":[2741],"class_list":["post-32230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp-rock","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32230","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\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32230"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32237,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32230\/revisions\/32237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}