God & Neuroscience, The Natural Self, Thermometers vs. Thermostats
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #44 // November 26, 2023.
Discipleship. Leadership. Mental Performance.
DISCIPLESHIP
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
Werner Heisenberg (Physicist)
“All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
This video is a clip from a podcast with Stanford Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman. He discusses God, our minds, and science in general.
I think you'll like it.
LEADERSHIP
"The natural man is truly God’s enemy, because the natural man will keep God’s precious children from true and everlasting happiness. Our full happiness requires our becoming the men and women of Christ."
Neal A. Maxwell
One of the hallmarks of President Nelson's ministry has been his efforts in bridge-building and peacemaking. He has taught, "My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! ... We can literally change the world—one person and one interaction at a time. How? By modeling how to manage honest differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue."
I came across a passage this week from historian/theologian Melissa Inouye in BYU Studies. Her full article gives some great advice on how to live out President Nelson's call for peacemaking. Below, I share just one paragraph where she talks about the natural self.
"Latter-day Saints have earned a popular reputation for self-discipline when it comes to food, drink, sleep, and sex. We must extend this reputation for self-discipline to civic conduct and interpersonal interaction. Sometimes in Sunday School, people mistakenly repeat King Benjamin’s warning about “the natural self” as if it were a warning against the desires of the flesh. As a matter of fact, Benjamin presents the natural self as the opposite of five qualities that have nothing to do with carnal desires and everything to do with how we behave in relationships with God and our fellow beings. Fighting the natural self means learning to be “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love” (Mosiah 3:19). The natural self threatens to have its way in the knee-jerk reaction, the impulse to dominate a discussion, or the exhilarating momentum of the online or in-person mob."
If fighting the natural self means learning to be submissive, meek, humble, patient, and full of love, then by implication, those attributes don’t come naturally to us. Actually, their opposing attributes—obstinance, jealousy, pride, anxiety, and fear—are our default state.
Here, we’re given a clear litmus test. We can know we are sliding back into our natural selves when we give in to our anxieties, fears, and pride. On the other hand, we can know we are embracing Christ’s vision for us when we fight those natural feelings and yield to the enticings of the Holy Ghost.
Working on this really matters, "because the natural man will keep God’s precious children from true and everlasting happiness. Our full happiness requires our becoming the men and women of Christ." - Neal A. Maxwell
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
"Be a thermostat, not a thermometer."
Jon Gordon
A thermometer tells the temperature in the room. A thermostat regulates the temperature in the room.
This idea of thermostats and thermometers gives a great analogy for a Book of Mormon teaching: "For there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon" (2 Nephi 2:14).
In regards to us, a "thermometer" is a person who is acted upon. Their moods, mindsets, attitudes, and demeanor are always determined by the temperature in the room. They don't act in alignment with themselves, they act in alignment with how they think others perceive them.
A thermostat, however, is an agent who acts. They live in alignment with their values and standards, regardless of the circumstances they are in or the people they are around. They set the tone. They lead out.
One of the best ways to get clarity on where you are on the agent vs. object spectrum is to self-reflect on this question from @BallIsPsych:
"If every player on your team/member of your family/member of any group you're in had your:
work ethic,
toughness,
leadership,
character,
mindset,
attitude,
energy,
communication,
habits,
& focus,
how good would your team be?"
Would your team be highly ranked? Would your group flourish?
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.