Posted by dj on January 9, 2000, at 11:10:36
In reply to To: dj, posted by Renee N on January 9, 2000, at 2:30:28
Thanks, Renee, I appreciate the acknowledgement. As you would see if you noted some of my comments to Phil Marx above, I am not always successful at keeping an even tone. However if I work at it, it becomes more of a habit as long as I stay mindful of my tone.
In one of my posts (either above or below) I noted to Janice that I recently purchased a book called "The Owner's Manual to the Brain" (2ndEd) by Pierce J. Howard who reviews a lot of brain/mind research and comments on it's applications. Big book, which I read in small bites. One of those I noted after last night's posting is the following from his section on 'Being in Control: Emotions, Motivation, Stress & Burnout', (pg. 378), which relates to our exchange:
"Generally, motivation is described as goal-oriented behaviour...Research is pointing to mounting evidence of a molecular, or biological, basis for goal-oriented behaviour. It is important to remember that in all probablility, 50 percent of our variance in motivation can be accounted for by our genetic inheritance. Therefore, our levels of testosterone, cortisol, guanosine, monophosphate, and other "molecules of emotion" (Pert, 1997); the constitution of our endorphin gene; the distribution of the various kinds of immune cell in our system; and our hemispheric dominance - all of which affect our motivation, or level of action - are essentially set from conception. The research is that we primarily influence these levels downward. This means for example, that the pursuit of hardiness allows us to fully utilize our genetic endowment of natural killer cells but probably does not increase our normal level. On the other hand, allowing stress, pessimism, and negative feelings to dominate our minds can actually lower our motivational resources...We can't change our physical makeup without resorting to pharmaceuticals, surgery or genetic engineering...If we choose not to tamper with nature, we can at least maximize what we've got by ensuring that our nurture is as good as it can be."
Lots more written on this sort of thing and what to do about it, like the Candace Pert book cited above, a couple of books I cited to Janice below and/or many others such as: "Love & Survival : 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health" by Dean Ornish.
The challenge is what to do with it all, and that requires mindfulness, thoughtfullness and discipline as well as lots of compassionate support both from oneself and others. Cheers!
> I appreciate the way you state your opinions without belittling others' ideas. I am continually amazed at the level of intelligence and kindness on this board compared to others I've seen. Best wishes to you, too.
poster:dj
thread:17918
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000101/msgs/18474.html