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.
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