Recent advances in neuroscience have
revealed astonishing facts about the human brain. A single brain contains more molecular-scale
switches than all the computers, routers, and internet connections ON THE ENTIRE
PLANET! According to Professor Stephen
Smith, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, the brain’s complexity is
staggering beyond anything he and his team of cellular and molecular
physiologists could have imagined. In
the cerebral cortex alone, every single neuron contains between 1000 and 10,000
synapses, which amount to approximately 125 trillion synapses, the equivalent
of how many stars it would take to fill 1500 Milky Way galaxies ! What’s more, glial cells, which account for
the speed of our brain, outnumber neurons by about 10 to one. The cortex alone contains over 100,000 miles
of nerve fibers. When you consider the
fact that the human brain evolves from a single microscopic cell, it is
impossible to believe that all this could have happened by chance.
The question each of us must ask
ourselves is: What do we do with this miraculous gift of a brain? As it turns out there are neural pathways
designed for specific use: memory, motor function, fear/flight response, sexuality,
etc. These pathways they are shaped in
subtle ways by our experience. When
neurons from separate pathways fire together, they fuse together. This has been well-documented and is referred
to as Hebb’s principle. For example,
when the pathways associated with sex fire at the same time as the pathway for
violence, they fuse and affect our future perceptions and reactions. According to Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a
psychiatrist at the University of California Irvine Medical Center, “When we
bring sex, aggression, and anxiety together in one act, we must prepare for the
mind as well as the body to accommodate that new reality. When this fusion happens, the brain gets
confused. And this is exactly what
happens when people experiment with sadomasochism. These distinct neural networks and brain maps
become fused according to Hebb’s principle.” This leads to clinical psychiatric problems
related to normal human sexual relations.
In light of this, it is easy to understand why sexual abuse and
pornography that glorifies aberrant sexual practices would affect people for
the rest of their lives. Dr. Kheriaty
cites two studies that link women who read Fifty
Shades of Gray with an increase in behaviors associated with abusive
relationships.
All this points to the fact that our
behaviors matter because we influence our brain and our body by our
actions. Do we want to be linking sex
and love, sex and fidelity, sex and trust, sex and commitment? Or do we want to be linking sex and
selfishness (e.g. pornography), sex and aggression, sex and fear? We shape our brain by our choices more than
we realize.
The gospel for the first Sunday in Lent
recounts the temptation of Jesus by the Devil.
The first temptation invited Jesus to put sensual pleasure at the center
of his life, measuring good and evil by what sensually satisfies him. The second temptation was to put his ego at
the center of his life, puffing up His pride and self-worth. The third temptation offered worldly power,
making the expansion of authority the central goal of life. Of course, Jesus overcomes all three
temptations, causing the Devil to depart empty handed. All of us face temptation frequently. The attraction of pleasure or hedonism is a
powerful temptation, and it is made to seem harmless with terms like ‘we’re
only human’ or describing pornography as ‘victimless.’ This is meant to deceive us, but when we give
in to temptation, our experience alters the way we think and how we react to
the world and to the people we interact with.
Gradually we come to believe we deserve happiness as defined by
pleasure, but in the process we begin to see others not for their inherent
dignity, but how they can be a source of satisfaction to us. Egoism is equally powerful and ultimately
self-destructive, but it is attractive to think we deserve things we may not
have earned, such as respect, or perhaps ‘income-equality.’ The desire and quest for power is easily
rationalized, even at the expense of integrity and the neglect of personal
relationships.
All of these temptations are conveyed
by means of lies and deceit. If we knew
the truth about the consequences of our choices, we would think twice before
taking such risks with our body, mind, and soul. When we succumb to these lies and temptations
we injure ourselves and others. When our
affections become disordered, the people we are most likely to hurt are those
closest to us. Instead of putting God
and our loved ones first, we measure happiness and goodness by how it satisfies
our selfish motives.
Whichever temptation is greatest, our
lives will not expand to greater depth and meaning as long as we are deceived
into thinking we will derive happiness from pleasure, ego-inflation, or
power. God created us for much
more. He created us in His image,
capable of love and loyalty, and to live in loving relationships. All the temptations cited above interfere
with this true calling.
Lent is the time of year we are called
to examine our values and our lifestyle.
The practice of disciplining our bodies and minds with fasting,
abstinence, and almsgiving, is meant to strengthen our self-control. It is also the time to prepare ourselves to
accept the saving grace of our salvation.
Despite our weakness in the face of temptation, Jesus Christ died for
our sins despite our unworthiness, and in doing so He reconciled us with God
our Father.
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