Sacred Dopamine is the Eros Molecule
The neurotransmitter known as dopamine has become such a buzzword in today’s pop culture. It is generally known as a desirable feel good molecule, but is also used in a negative context of chasing a cheap dopamine hit. Over the next few paragraphs we will explore the salience of dopamine, eros, and the relationship between them.
Upon deeper evaluation I turn to professors Andrew Huberman and Robert Sapolsky for a more up to date and accurate analysis of dopamine. Dopamine can most accurately be described as the molecule of motivation. Without it, Nate Hagens says, “ we wouldn’t be curious or motivated to get out of bed.” So dopamine is released in the brain subsequent to a thought of something we either need or want. For example, the thought of food will be followed by dopamine in order to inspire the necessary actions to acquire food. Most people know that dopamine causes feelings of pleasure when we obtain a reward, but what most people don’t know is that it is also released in anticipation of reward. Dopamine in a nutshell is, “This feels good, I want more.” It’s the molecule of more. It motivates us to pursue a reward and to continue to extract value from such reward. For example with food you take one bite and you're already thinking about the next bite you are going to take.
Reward can be universal or relative. A universal reward not only for humans but all life forms would be to obtain food. A relative reward might be getting a good grade on your biology exam, becoming a yoga teacher, or climbing a mountain top. It’s relative because what's considered a reward for one person isn’t to the next person. No matter what the pursuit is, there are two points of reality, one is the current situation and the other is the imagined future of what you want, and between those two stands the necessary action steps which are made possible by the motivation of dopamine.
An important trait of dopamine is that it will decrease when a reward is expected. On the contrary an unexpected reward will skyrocket our dopamine levels(which is why gambling is so addictive). The known becomes boring and the unknown becomes intriguing. This shows that we are biologically bestowed with an internal incentive system to seek novelty. We are wired to not settle for ‘good enough’. We can make a discovery by finding a great new song, but after listening to that song a million times it doesn’t hit the same as it did in the beginning. We can find a new restaurant we like, but after going there a million times you get sick of it. This characteristic of dopamine is relevant to the main overarching point I’m driving.
Now we must discern between what we will call shadow dopamine and sacred dopamine. (For more on this subject check out my blog titled Naive Pleasure vs Wise Pleasure) Simply stated, shadow dopamine can be considered as sources of dopamine which have a net negative effect on your health and your life. It is short term pleasure that is a poor investment in your future self. It’s the constant urge to consume, the incessant impulse to feed the hungry ghost, it's the dopaminergic crave that causes us to be restless, neurotically check our phones, and scroll into infinity. On the other hand sacred dopamine are sources of dopamine that result in net positive effects on your health and life. These are the noble life pursuits that require discipline and consistency. They are beneficial investments in your future self. Things like creating the habit of daily exercise or pursuing the goal of writing a book are healthy expressions of dopamine.
The difference between shadow and sacred dopamine is the difference between instant gratification and delayed gratification. Single marshmallow dopamine vs, double marshmallow dopamine(see double marshmallow experiment). So neuroscientists have discovered there are two different dopamine neural pathways in the brain. One for instant reward, the other for delayed reward. We come preset with the internal motivation system to either ruin us or actualize us. Both exist within us and this is one reason why learning about our biological wiring is so imperative to our success.
Now I want to slightly switch gears. This might seem chaotic but bear with me I promise it will make sense when I tie these together. So now we will unpack what I mean by Eros. I will largely be drawing on Andrew Cohen’s book, “Evolutionary Enlightenment” for this concept. Eros can be described as the evolutionary impulse in the Universe that drives the evolution of all things. Before the big bang there was Nothing. Pure void and Oneness. The force that caused the big bang is the same force that lives within every atom of the Universe. This force is coded with the fundamental drive to evolve, to emerge, to venture into the unknown and experience novelty. This force is Eros. Eros is the ubiquitous intelligence of the cosmos that is driving evolution. “Fourteen billion years ago the Universe was born in a flash of light and energy which slowly evolved into matter, then life, then consciousness and culture, and finally you– a human being with the power to self-reflect and the freedom to choose.” The trait of self awareness creates the capacity for Eros to wake up to itself within you, as you. Human beings are at the leading edge of the Cosmos becoming aware of itself. (At least on Earth)
What I am presenting is that the desire of Eros is manifested in humanity as our innate desire to seek novelty and explore the unknown. The sacred dopamine system is the biological manifestation of Eros in the flesh. Eros is most interested in those of us that are seeking higher truths and greater potentials. It can only evolve through us so it makes sense that what we feel most inspired by corresponds to the direction Eros wants us to go in. Which is why Joseph Campbell urges us to follow our bliss.The unexpected rewards that the sacred dopamine system pursues are things like experiences of higher consciousness, breakthrough discoveries, emergence, and quantum leaps of evolution. The novelty being sought is not the new iphone update, rather a new nervous system upgrade that awakens our latent potentials.
Andrew Cohen argues that your inspiration for spiritual development isn’t a personal desire, but actually the evolutionary impulse manifesting in and through you. So our sacred dopamine system is in place to motivate us towards attaining our highest individual and collective potential. This coincides with the agenda of Eros to become and evolve. Therefore: sacred dopamine is the Eros molecule.
How can we work together with this universal force? Well I think it requires internal investigation of what makes you feel most alive. What gift or contribution do you seek to bring into the world? Of course we face many existential threats at this time on Earth, and I believe our motivations towards higher consciousness coincides with what is necessary to save the world. Some might say the intelligence of the Universe has orchestrated this situation as a forcing function for our consciousness to evolve. The solutions are found thru the evolution of consciousness. Not only will the unknown save us, but in the grand arch of eternity, it contains the Great Mystery in which the One is forever seeking.
