Out of Sight, Out of Mind

One of Satan's primary tactics is to try and get you to forget about your Border Patrol activities.  He works tirelessly to get you to forget your PWR goals, your drills, and to mark your calendar.  He works to get you to forget why you fight, what you value, and who you truly are.  Because this is a primary tactic of your adversary, creating reminder systems will be crucial to your long-term success.

Many people initially set reminders on their phones for their different Border Patrol activities and other things they need to remember in order to win.  I've discovered that for most people this works well for about three days to seven days. After that, many warriors will begin to ignore these digital reminders.  When used correctly, digital reminders can be quite powerful, when used incorrectly they become easily ignored.

There are four tools that I know of that improve how effective digital reminders are. The first is to choose a time for the alarm or notification to go off that you will most likely not be busy with something you can’t immediately abandon in order to do your drill or Border Patrol activity. The second tool is to choose an alarm or notification sound that you will pay attention to. For me, I intentionally choose annoying sounds that are hard for me to ignore. For others that I talk to, they choose songs or sounds that they really enjoy so that they will pay attention to the reminder. Tool number three is to practice never ignoring it, and being very intentional with accomplishing your drill or Border Patrol activity every time your reminder goes off.  Ignoring your reminder even once can easily sabotage your reminder system and make it much easier to forget or ignore your Border Patrol.  The last tool that I recommend for increasing the efficiency of digital reminders is to periodically change the time when your reminder goes off as well as the song or tone attached to it.  This will make it easier to pay attention to and act on, especially if you find that your reminders lose their potency after three days to a week.

For some, digital reminders will always be less effective than physical reminders.  Physical reminders can come in many forms.  I used to place a large rock in the middle of my bedroom floor to remind me to pray. After my brother stubbed his toes on it three or four times I decided to switch it to a tripwire. I figured that since I woke up earlier than he did it would hurt him less. I also figured that if I forgot to pray then feeling the rope against my ankles would remind me. If I forgot about the rope and tripped then I could pray while I was down on the floor. That plan worked well for me (and let my brother's toes heal). Other physical reminders that work well are bracelets, hanging a string from a doorway at eye level, notes on pillows or bathroom mirrors, or similar things.  I heard of one young man who replaced his bedroom door with a sheet and set the rule that any time he touched that sheet he had to freeze and say a prayer.  It worked very well for him and he found that on his more forgetful mornings, he would be saying six or more prayers before leaving for school.

Another effective reminder system is to associate Border Patrol activities with things you already do every day. For example, for as long as I can remember my father has read his scriptures while he was eating his breakfast. By associating those two things he almost never forgets or neglects his personal study of the scriptures.

A similar but different way to help yourself remember is to create a specific time every day when you will do your Border Patrol activity. I have vivid memories for much of my life of my mother waking up before my siblings and I started getting ready for school so that she could have some quiet time she could communicate with God and study her scriptures. I have many memories of seeing her in the living room early in the morning reading from her scriptures, already filled with red underlines from the years of study she has done.

There are many forms that your personal reminder system can take.  However you do it, it is an essential part of your long-term success that you develop a method of reminding yourself to accomplish your Border Patrol activities.

If you'd like me to be your coach and help you put these principles into action, click this link to schedule a time to meet. onidah.youcanbook.me

Biochemical Warfare

In the articles about Level 1 of the Chemical Scale and the article on the Satanic Spin I have talked some about the role that biochemicals play in Spiritual Warfare.  We naturally have these chemicals within our bodies, and they serve important functions.  Some examples of these chemicals are the good feelings that most people get after a good work out, long bike ride, or a decent run.  Another example is the rush of adrenaline that fills your body just after you are startled, preparing your body to do what is necessary to keep it safe.  There are many chemicals in your body, and they serve many purposes.  As we discussed in the article on the Satanic Spin, Satan has discovered how he can flash certain thoughts at you that will cause some of these chemicals to spill.

Here’s an example of how a flash causes chemical reactions in your body.  You’re driving down the freeway in a good mood.  The traffic is fairly light, your favorite song is on the radio, and things are going your way.  Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see flashing lights in your rearview mirror.  Your eyes jump to the mirror and confirm there is indeed a highway patrol car behind you with its lights on.  Your eyes immediately fly to the speedometer where you see you are going just two miles an hour over the speed limit.  You begin to pull over and the patrol car zips past you headed to some other destination.

As you read that brief story, could you remember what you felt last time that happened to you?  Could you feel something similar as you read it?  The sudden anxiety, stress, and other experiences you initially felt were chemical drips within your body.  You didn’t have to see the whole patrol car to have that experience, just the glance of the flash from red and blue lights from the corner of your eye was enough to begin the chemical spill.  Satan has found many things that work like the flashing lights from our story that will begin to drip chemicals into your body, setting you up for failure.

Another important principle can be pulled from our story on the freeway.  After the patrol car passed you, how long did it take before your body relaxed?  How long did it take you to get back to that almost blissful mood you had been in before you saw the flashing lights?  The influence of chemicals lingers for a long time.  Especially when Satan continues to leak them into your body like an IV drip of moonshine.  Slowly, subtly, he will get you more and more drunk until you reach the point that you would be willing to do something against your value system.

How do we fight this sneaky chemical warfare that is going on within our own bodies?  I am reminded of the wise but grumpy character known as Uncle from the TV show “Jackie Chan’s Adventures” that aired during my childhood.  Often times, when the good guys were brainstorming how to stop the bad guys Uncle would have to remind them, “Magic must defeat magic.”  That principle applies here.  Chemicals must defeat chemicals.  Fortunately, God has provided us with a chemical so powerful that it will neutralize most any unedifying experience we are having.

It may be more accurate to say that this is a set of two chemicals that we have given the same name.  They offer very different experiences, but both help you to “Zero Out” or to return to Level 0 on the Chemical Scale where you are in full control and are having communication with the Holy Ghost.  The book Like Dragons Did They Fight calls these biochemicals Warrior Chemistry.  Among the people who teach about Warrior Chemistry there are different names for the two types you can experience.  Some prefer the terms “push and pull,” others like to describe them as “hard and soft.” I prefer the terms “Creative and Destructive” and will explain more about why I prefer those terms later.

The experience that first gained the title of Warrior Chemistry, and the one that is still described in Like Dragons Did They Fight is difficult to describe, but fairly easy to recognize when you feel it.  Imagine the following scenario, or something like unto it.  Really put yourself into the story and you should be able to feel Warrior Chemistry.

It’s Friday afternoon when you hear from your favorite person in the world that they have made arrangements for it to be just the two of you together for the weekend.  You decide to go to the store and pick up some favorite treats for the two of you.  As you return home and pull into the driveway you notice two things.  The first thing you notice, with a little giddy excitement, is that your favorite person’s car is already in the driveway.  The second thing you notice is that the front door is already open several inches.  That’s odd.

As you are approaching the door you hear some crashing and a scream coming from inside.  You rush in and a tall, muscular, gorilla-man dressed in black with a mask has thrown your beloved to the floor.  They glance at you, make eye contact, and laugh.  With one hand they reach down and grab your beloved around the throat, the other hand raises up, clenched in a fist.  The one you love is laying there, terror written all over their face as they look at you with pleading eyes.  They need you.  They need you now!  What will you do?

Hopefully as you read that, you felt something.  An intense ferocity, a need to protect, love and compassion for the one you love pinned to the floor, and the willingness to destroy the masked man about to pummel them.  Righteous anger and protective anger are sometimes used to describe this experience, but they are just not adequate.  This is Warrior Chemistry.

Specifically, this is what some refer to as “Pushing” or “Hard” Warrior Chemistry, as opposed to “Pulling” or “Soft” Warrior Chemistry.  I find those terms are too abstract, they don’t make things clearer and don’t really describe what you are feeling at all.  That is why I prefer the term “Destructive Warrior Chemistry.”  When I use the word “destructive” I mean it in a Divinely Approved way.  This kind of destruction is similar to God’s willingness to destroy, with a flood, all the inhabitants of the Earth He created so that His unborn spirit children could have a better chance to live in righteousness and be able to return to Him.  This kind of destruction is similar to our Savior’s willingness to make a whip and use that whip to chase money changers from the temple, flipping tables and scattering coins as he went.  This is the Divinely Approved destruction spoken of twice in Alma chapter 43.  First in verse 14, “...thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their brethren, even unto bloodshed.”  Interestingly, “obliged” here means “bound in duty or in law, compelled, constrained” (see Webster 1828 dictionary). This verse didn’t say they wanted to shed blood, it says they had to.  But was God really okay with it?  Alma 43:47, “And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed.”  God’s not only okay with it, He commands it.  Someone who does not defend their family may even be under condemnation.  Ponder on that for a second, the most loving and compassionate being in all creation has mercifully given you an emotional and chemical experience that makes it easier for you to destroy what threatens the well-being of those you love.  It is not only okay to feel Destructive Warrior Chemistry, you should feel Destructive Warrior Chemistry.

There does seem to be differences between how men and women experience this Destructive Warrior Chemistry.  Once, in order to help a group of young women understand the concept, I had them picture a scenario where they are a new mother walking their precious baby in a park when a man in a mask appeared from nowhere, body-checked her to the ground, and then sprinted away with the stroller holding their child.  The reaction in the room was intense.  One teenage girl said that she would chase, catch, and then repeatedly stab that man with a ballpoint pen.  Because of this kind of intensity and other subtle differences, we will often refer to Destructive Warrior Chemistry in women as “Mama Bear Chemistry.”  Any intelligent human being knows you do not mess with Mama Bear or, especially, her cubs.

When trying to use Destructive Warrior Chemistry to intensely flush any unedifying chemicals from your system, there are some things you can do that will make it easier.  Chief among these is using your body.  I have never successfully activated Destructive Warrior Chemistry when I was laying down.  It is immensely difficult to do while seated.  Destructive Warrior Chemistry is rooted in action.  Something that makes it easier to activate this kind of Warrior Chemistry is to sprint to your Flagpole while imagining that someone you love is at that location and desperately needs your protection.  Also, stating aloud your reasons for fighting while doing something physically strenuous often helps.

Newton spoke about how for every action there is an equal, and opposite, reaction.  This is true in spiritual, as well as temporal, things.  Lehi communicated something very similar when he said there is opposition in all things (2 Nephi 2:11). Equal and opposite to Destructive Warrior Chemistry is the experience others call "pulling" or "soft" chemistry. I prefer the term Creative Warrior Chemistry. This cleansing experience is found in human connection and the act of creation.

Soul-to-soul connection is a sacred and sanctifying thing.  It naturally restores someone to Level Zero on the Chemical Scale but does so much more.  Truly connecting with someone is a healing experience.  For example, many research studies have found that the one thing that is more beneficial than any other part of attending therapy is the healthy relationship that is developed with the therapist.  Phrased in a different way, the relationship between client and therapist heals far more than anything that is said or done in that room.

This kind of soul-to-soul connection doesn’t require years of training, it just requires that two people be open and present with each other.  Think of the most meaningful connecting experiences you have had.  I’d be willing to bet that in those special moments, phones were put away, books were closed, and you knew that the other person’s whole attention was centered on you and what you were saying.  And when they spoke, you were entirely focused on them.  You heard their words, and likely felt some of what they were feeling.

These kinds of healing human relationships don’t have to happen on a couch with a box of tissues nearby.  I believe this may be one of the reasons that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were inspired to include “wholesome recreational activities” in The Family: A Proclamation to the World as part of the list of things that successful marriages and families are built on.  Healthy, wholesome play will bring people together, help them “Zero Out” their chemicals, and help to heal wounds of the heart.

Another way that you will experience Creative Warrior Chemistry is in the act of creating.  In a talk to women entitled, “Happiness, Your Heritage” Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talks about how, “the desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul” and that all of us have “an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.”  When we create something, we tap into the divine spark God has placed within each of us.  It may take time and a lot of effort to find the things you enjoy to create but doing so brings a deep sense of joy.  This is the feeling of a job well done.  This is when you, like God, can look at the things you have created and see that it is good.

When you are spiraling down the Satanic Spin, a very effective way to win is to go connect with someone or to begin creating something.  When you are in the midst of a battle, go minister to someone in a meaningful way and it will raise your chemistry closer to Level 0.  Go create the kind of thing that brings you joy, whether that is cakes, horseshoes, origami cranes, or a hand-carved wooden bowl.  Immerse yourself in the process, feel the light that comes when you tap into the divinely given ability to form something new.

Satan will work to sabotage your efforts to experience both kinds of Warrior Chemistry.  He will work to undermine your attempts to connect meaningfully with other people.  He will try to rob you of the joy that is part of creating.  When you need the intense fire of Destructive Warrior Chemistry to burn away deviant chemicals, Satan will work  desperately to persuade you that you don’t really want to go to that much effort, that you don’t need to do all that Warrior Chemistry stuff.  For that reason it is essential to drill the experience of awakening both kinds of Warrior Chemistry within you while you are not under attack.  Regularly drilling the actions necessary to invoke Warrior Chemistry will make it easier to call upon in times of battle and make it significantly easier to win.

In order to defeat Satan’s chemical warfare tactics, we need to use some chemicals of our own.  A loving God has given us a set of biochemicals that serve divine purposes, chemicals that make it easier to provide (create), connect, and protect.  Not only has God given us this set of Warrior Chemicals, but He expects us to use them so that we may win our battles and be more able to administer to the needs of the people around us.

To hire me as your life coach where we can create a plan to put the above principles into practice for you, follow this link.  Fighting Like a Dragon - Life Coaching

A Second "Holy Ghost"

One of the roles of the Holy Ghost is to act as a guide.  He tells us what is right, what is wrong, what we should do, and what we shouldn't do.  He is careful to always honor our agency and to provide guidance when it is needed but will let us make decisions on our own.  There are many reasons for that, perhaps the biggest being that he trusts us to make wise decisions when his guidance isn't necessary.  Another reason may be that we already have the information we need to make a good choice.  Sometimes that information takes a different form than we might anticipate.

Interestingly, Satan can often accidentally be a kind of second "Holy Ghost" to help us know what we should and shouldn't do.  Basically, if he's telling you not to do something, then you should probably do it.  As you are going about your day, pay attention to your chemical and emotional reactions to the thought of doing certain tasks.  If you have the thought to do something, you know rationally that it would likely be a good thing to do, but emotionally you really don't feel like doing that good thing, that is a good sign that you should go and do that thing.

Again, it's a fairly simple concept.  The Holy Ghost tells you not to do things that will be bad for you or those around you.  Satan tells you not to do things that will be good for you or those around you.  So if the rational part of your brain knows it is a good thing to do, but emotionally you don't feel like it, throw a wrench in Satan's manipulative plans and go do that good thing.  It takes some practice, but catching Satan in the act is invigorating, and doing the good he is trying to keep you from sharing with the world is invigorating.

If you'd like me to be your coach and help you put these principles into action, click this link to schedule a time to meet. onidah.youcanbook.me

Satanic Spin

This article is a companion to the series on the Chemical Scale.

In other articles I have talked about how someone who is intelligent and normally self-disciplined can do something contrary to their value system. In a biological sense, we are describing how energy in the brain moves from the prefrontal cortex (where morals, values, and judgement skills are) to the midbrain or "animal brain" where only basic instincts matter. We describe that process with the Chemical Scale.  The Satanic Spin describes how Satan is able to move us from one level down to the next one.  We've used the analogy before of one of those coin donation funnels that you see in malls and museums. How deep the coin is inside the funnel is the Chemical Scale. The process of the coin rolling around the funnel is the Satanic Spin.

The Satanic Spin has several events that are repeated over and over until something stops it, usually you doing whatever it takes to win the battle. The first event in the Spin is called the "Flash."

The Flash is a brief thought or image that Satan quickly throws through your mind trying to initiate a biochemical shift. It normally isn't something big or even very contrary to your value system. He knows that when you are at Level 0 that any blunt temptation he offered you would be ignored. He has to be subtle. The Flash will probably start in a grey area, something that doesn't feel quite right but doesn't really seem wrong. Later the Flashes will become bolder and more obviously contrary to your values, but Satan needs to build some momentum first. Use our coin donation analogy, he is just trying to get the coin from your fingers to the ramp right now. The first Flashes are all about getting the coin into the funnel so he has some real influence.

Another analogy may be helpful. A thirteen-year-old boy is walking down the street when he notices an open can of paint sitting on your front porch. He thinks it would be great fun to run up and kick the paint can sending the paint all over your porch, lawn, and side of the house. But he notices the front door is open and doesn't want to be caught. So he reaches into his back pocket where he, like many thirteen-year-old boys, keeps his slingshot. He begins shooting pebbles at the can of paint. Some miss and some hit. The ones that do hit aren't big enough to knock over the whole can, but they do make a little paint splash out onto the porch and house. The more times he hits the can, the more paint splashes out. Eventually your porch, lawn, and house will look as if the boy had kicked the can over even though he never got anywhere near your doorstep.

In this analogy Satan is the boy. The house is your mind. The pebbles flying from the slingshot are the Flashes. There is enough going on inside the house that if the boy is careful, no one may notice the rocks he is shooting at your paint can. This is how Satan approaches messing with your head. He works subtly so that you don't see his hand until after the fact, if you see it at all. He'd much rather have you believe that the spilt paint was somehow your fault.

When Satan sends a Flash that hits your "paint can" he successfully causes a little biochemical spill inside your brain. There are many biochemicals in your body, and which one spills depends on the kind of Flash Satan throws at you. It may be an image, thought, memory, or snippet of conversation that provokes certain responses in you. The biochemical will cause certain physical reactions in your body (ex: elevated heart rate, tenseness in shoulders, warm feeling in cheeks, shortness of breath, jitters, etc.) and will lead to the inklings of an emotion.

These inklings or partial emotions are the subtle shift in your feelings that, over time, will take you from a place where you are feeling edified and in control to a place where you are out of control and you no longer care about the consequences of your actions and lead you to do things against your value system.

These emotions lead to the "Filing Cabinet" of your memories where you think of times where you have felt similar things.  The human brain is fascinating because it can’t tell the difference between memories, fantasies, and reality.  It’s as if the brain is a Lego set with a limited number of bricks.  It will build a model, take a picture of the model, file the picture in its Filing Cabinet, then take the model apart to process something else.  When you remember something your brain pulls the picture out of the Filing Cabinet and rebuilds the model, sometimes making adjustments based on your current emotional, psychological, physical, social, or geographical context.  In other words, when you pull a memory from your Filing Cabinet that is similar to the partial emotions you are feeling your brain processes it as if it is your current reality.  That becomes a Flash that leads to gradually more and more intense chemicals, feelings, and memories.  Can you see how it is a repeating cycle, a whirlpool that gradually leads you further down and closer to acting against your value system?

This may become less abstract and easier to understand with an example.  A little personal context will make this example easier to follow.  As a teenager and young adult I participated very actively with the Boy Scouts of America.  I worked at a Scout Camp for eight summers.  Along the way I met some volunteers who amazed me as well as some Professional Scouters who really disappointed me.  One of these people who really disappointed me was a boss one year that I worked with at Scout Camp.  Throughout our professional relationship I felt manipulated, micromanaged, and things ended in a poor way.  Satan will often use memories of this relationship to pull me into a Spin.

Perhaps I am going about my day, minding my own business, when I suddenly get a Flash.  Perhaps Satan creates it, or maybe just takes advantage of it.  It may be something I see or maybe I overhear someone say the word “scouting” or something similar.  Because of my negative experiences associated with the Flash, my chemicals start to spill, I begin to feel the inklings of negative emotions, and I remember the previous employer who I feel those emotions towards.  I start to think about specific things he did that I didn’t like, conversations we had, or things I wish I had said to him.  Each of these memories has their own twirl around the Spin with their own chemicals and feelings that lead to more memories.  My feelings of resentment and similar emotions continue to grow and I get pulled further down the Chemical Scale.  If I don’t recognize what is happening and stop the process by redirecting my thoughts and feelings to something better, then I get more and more sucked in.

Once you understand the Satanic Spin, it is important to know how to combat it.  It is also important to know that you can’t prevent the Spin from ever occurring.  Sometimes Satan will start the Spin with a provoking Flash.  Other times he will be taking advantage of the crummy stuff that just happens.  Inevitably, the Satanic Spin will start for each of us; the key is to be able to disrupt and stop it early on.  For many people they won’t recognize that they are spinning down this vicious spiral until they have made several loops and the emotions begin to become intense.  With practice you can begin to recognize those feelings at earlier and more subtle stages.  Then, again with practice and discernment, you can begin to recognize what the chemical spill feels like.  Once you can catch the battle there, it is a lot easier to win.

Biochemicals can be felt, but not in the same way as most moods or emotions.  They can be physical sensations such as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, tenseness in the shoulders, or other similar things.  These kinds of experiences can be associated with either positive or negative events, so it will take practice to learn which ones are warning signs for the beginning of the Spin.  Other experiences that are chemical are things like just feeling a little off, feeling a little less motivated, not wanting to do the things that you know will benefit you.  With practice you will begin to recognize your own chemical experiences.

Your battles are much like the coin rolling around the donation funnel that we have talked about before.  As the coin rolls around the funnel, you experience brief images or thoughts that provoke chemical responses in your body.  Those chemicals lead to the inklings of emotions that remind you of past experiences or fantasies where you felt similar things.  Those memories provoke stronger chemicals, then stronger emotions, leading to more potent memories.  As the coin rolls around and around the funnel, it also moves deeper.  Unless something is done to snatch the coin back, to interrupt its momentum, it will continue down the funnel until it falls out of view and the battle is lost.

To hire me as your life coach where we can create a plan to put the above principles into practice for you, follow this link.  Fighting Like a Dragon - Life Coaching