Friday - "The Hippocampus"

Contributor: Jess Reyes
Title: Lust in the Hippocampus



Matthew 5:28 - But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

When we think of the heart, most of us think of that large blood-pumping, life dependent organ 18 inches below our head. But we all know symbolically, when we talk about matters of the ‘heart’ we refer to feelings and emotions we have, that are as much triggered by memories as they are by a current event or activity. So the 18-inch journey from head-to-heart is really no journey at all, because the heart we refer to is part of the brain, located at its base in an area called the Limbic System. This system, no larger than a tangerine, is the control room for the rest of the brain and to some extent what happens with the whole body. Within this system are several important sub-systems, one being the Amygdala which is primarily involved with emotions and motivation. Another critical sub-systems is called, as funny as it may sound, the “hippocampus”.

The word “hippocampus” might conjure up images of huge, dirty hippos wallowing in a cesspool like mud hole next to a foul smelling lake (call that a campus if you like). But it is actually the most important part of the Limbic System. The hippocampus is in charge of creating and recalling memories. It provides memory road maps that can trigger in mille-seconds, millions of neuron brain cells in hundreds of places in the brain where memory sensor history is stored for a given experience. The recall is so good the ‘resolution’ pattern throughout the brain is almost like the original experience. So the movie like view, smell, taste, sound and feelings you had years ago eating your first slice of Mom’s freshly baked pecan pie is a moment in time that can be enjoyed over and over again at the beckoning of any stimuli that tags that hippocampus memory map for the brain.

To some extent this has led scientists to question what is and what isn’t reality for the brain and to also question what is human consciousness. So, what Jesus said about lust in the heart 2000 years ago in Mathew 5:28 is all the more convincing given the function of the hippocampus. Lust in the ‘heart’ or hippocampus can be as sinful and dangerous as an actual mind-body event.
Given these realities, how does your ‘hippocampus’ look today? Is it filled with dirty, hippo-size memory maps that are recalled and modified given lustful stimulus encountered? Are these memory maps exploited at your leisure whether triggered for a guy by seeing a beautiful woman with high heals at the mall; or for a woman by a checkout counter tabloid picture of George Clooney? What can we do to purge our hippocampus of these sinful memory maps to help cleanup the ‘campus’ so to speak? For one thing we can pray and ask for the Lord’s help and strength. We can also focus our minds on good things!

Philippians 4:8 …whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Most important we can live our lives in a way to stay as close to the path the Lord provides us daily. With the help of the Bible and the help of Christians friends that care about our well being, we can win the war against lust in the hippocampus.

Thank you Lord for the wonderful creation you have given us in the physical. Help us to honor You by honoring what You have entrusted to us in body, mind and soul.