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periods of stress. A frightening “growl” heard while walking in the woods, the first tense ride in a jet plane, stage fright, or pressure in the operating room when one is performing unfamiliar surgery— all involve the secretion of this fascinating stress hormone, adrenaline. The parasympathetic nerves exit through the sacral plexus, as well as via the cranial nerves. The voiding reflex of the urinary bladder, healthful digestion after a good meal, and clear vision through constricted pupils are all mediated by the parasympathetic nerves. The heart rate is slowed, salivation enhanced, and blood flow to the major internal organs increased through the media of parasympathetic nerves. In contrast to the chemistry of the sympathetic nerves whose transmitter is primarily noradrenaline, the parasympathetic nerves use the transmitter acetyl choline. This balance between the “gas pedal” and the “brake” in our body infrastructure is profoundly influenced by nicotine, which adversely stimulates both systems simultaneously. Imagine driving a car that way. No wonder the body is affected and life span shortened by this “wear and tear” phenomenon of tobacco addiction. NEUROENDOCRINE CONNECTIONS Within the last decade a fascinating new family of body chemicals has been discovered in the brain. The endorphins, located in certain portions of the midbrain have been related to many powers, including our threshold for pain and the stability of the emotions. Every year another brain peptide gets discovered, stimulating fascinating research in stress control, mental illness, and the relief of pain. Corresponding hormones have been found in the stomach and other abdominal organs, revealing to scientists the Creator’ s wisdom and the complexity of body design. Surely, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Moreover, all of these integrated functions help produce a unique person with characteristics that no other human being possesses. This is partly what makes us so precious, not only to our friends and closest companions, but also in the sight of God, our Creator. The ability of a human mind to restore and retrieve information is just amazing. Some philosophers maintain that, because of this, the memory should be carefully guarded, putting nothing into it that we would not choose to retain. To carry out this aim, we really should “guard the avenues of the soul,” and avoid reading, seeing, or hearing things that would suggest impure thoughts. You might have to turn away from a thousand topics which invite attention in order to keep your God—given computer from being filled with “garbage” which only confuses, never edifies. To develop in children and youth the type of mind that can give our world what it needs—Josephs,