It is common knowledge that research has been conducted with monkeys with the hopes of understanding Parkinson’s disease. For instance, one such study would squirt apple juice in the monkey’s mouths and observe a little surge in the dopamine neurons in their brains. After a few squirts, it was clearly noticeable that the dopamine neurons began to fire just before the juice arrived. Other experiments would sound a tone and then deliver the juice. After just a few rounds of tests, the monkeys quickly figured out that the tone preceded or came before the juice. In other words, their neurons began to fire at the sound of the tone and not with the delivery of the juice. The million dollar question and the point of this article is why didn’t the neurons simply respond to the actual reward (the juice)? Why didn’t the monkey’s wait before getting excited both emotionally and physically?

God created our mental systems to be geared more toward predicting rewards than the rewards themselves. Our minds create predictive models all day long. For example, the tone stated earlier led to the juice in the minds of the monkeys. When we model accurately in anticipation of reality – the mind experiences a measure or surge of reward along with a reassuring feeling of tranquility or should I say, peace! When our models contradict reality – tension, concern and a lack of peace will soon manifest.

I am convinced that a primary operation or function of the brain is dedicated to modeling. I realize that many may disagree and that’s okay. However, we must agree that we as human beings are continually constructing anticipatory patterns in our brain to help us predict the future. In other words, if I put my hand here, then this will happen. Or, if I smile, then the person passing by will smile. If our model meshes or connects with what actually happened, we experience a sweet and subtle drop of affirmation. If it doesn’t, then we experience a disconnect and a problem with the model and thus the brain has to learn what the glitch is and adjust the model.

Simply put, these brain functions are one of the fundamental elements and structure of “desire.” As we move through our days and experience life – the mind generates anticipatory patterns based on the models that we have experienced, constructed and have chosen to store inside our consciousness. Oftentimes, there is tension between the inner models and the outer world model. It is within these tensions that we attempt to come up with concepts that will help us understand the world and most importantly – the spiritual world beyond. We naturally move into behavior patterns that will help or assist us to live in harmony with the natural world or reality as well as the spiritual reality. It’s difficult for me at this point to express what’s in my spirit, but I will say that is within the tension between the inner world or reality and the outer world that the battle of the mind rages. We must be able to differentiate between the two for both demand a particular anticipation and faith.

Coming back to earth – when we grasp a particular situation, or master some task, there’s a surge of pleasure that arises in our minds. However, it’s not living in perpetual harmony or pleasure that produces the surge. If it were so, we’d be happy or content living on a sand beach all of our lives. The truth is that the beach would get old and even miserable after a certain amount of time. It’s the moment when a particular tension is erased or conquered within our minds that brings fullness to life. The abundant life has a recurring set of rhythms like a fine musical instrument and it moves from difficulty to harmony, difficulty to harmony, difficulty to harmony and difficulty to harmony as life goes on. As God’s creation, we are propelled, move and desire spiritual equilibrium with the world around us. The abundant life and a mind of wholeness (the mind of Christ) is obtained when moments arise in our lives when the inner and outer patterns we have “chosen” to store in our minds mesh. The Lord has designed us to not only desire Him (represented by the juice) but to also strongly desire, anticipate him, to be excited about him and predict the future reward. These dynamics within our minds must be in place in our lives to truly understand the mind of Christ for he is the Spirit of prophecy and our fulfillment.