Our Own Inner Pharmacy

Human beings are not merely passive recipients of external chemicals. We carry within us an extraordinary “inner pharmacy” — a dynamic biochemical laboratory governed largely by the endocrine and nervous systems. At every moment, our bodies produce hormones, neurotransmitters, and signaling molecules that influence mood, energy, immunity, inflammation, motivation, and even perception.

Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can mobilize us for action. Endorphins can reduce pain. Oxytocin can deepen connection. Dopamine can enhance motivation and focus. Serotonin can stabilize mood. These substances are not foreign prescriptions; they are internally generated responses to how we live.

The remarkable reality is that we are not powerless in this process. Diet influences blood sugar stability, micronutrient availability, and hormone balance. Breath regulation can directly shift autonomic tone, moving us from sympathetic “fight-or-flight” dominance toward parasympathetic restoration. Thoughts and emotional patterns affect neurochemical cascades. Chronic rumination reinforces stress chemistry, while deliberate cognitive reframing can reduce it. Physical movement alters endocrine output. Sleep restores hormonal rhythms. Even posture and facial expression feed back into neurophysiology.

This does not mean we can will away disease or replace appropriate medical care. Rather, it means we possess meaningful influence over our internal chemistry. By consciously regulating diet, breathing, attention, emotional responses, and behavior, we participate in directing our own biochemistry.

The “inner pharmacy” is always open. The question is not whether chemicals are being dispensed, but which ones — and under what conditions.

From Dominion to Stewardship – Rethinking Humanity’s Relationship with Nature

1) Biblical hierarchy and stewardship

In much of Christian theology, humans are uniquely imago Dei, or made “in the image of God” with dominion over other creatures (Genesis 1:26–28; Psalm 8:4–8; cf. Heb 2:7–8). Contemporary Christian environmental thought often reframes dominion as stewardship or “servant leadership,” emphasizing care and restraint rather than exploitation (Francis, 2015). Still, the structure remains anthropocentric: nonhuman nature tends to be valued in relation to human purposes and a theistic teleology (White, 1967; Francis, 2015).

Ethical implication: Duties toward animals and ecosystems are real, but typically derivative of humanity’s special role (Genesis 2:15; Francis, 2015).

2) Eastern and Indigenous alternatives: interdependence, not rank

Taoism treats humans, animals, and plants as natural expressions of the Dao; forcing order upon nature violates ziran (“self-so-ing/naturalness”) and wu-wei (non-coercive action) (Laozi, trans. 2003; Ames & Hall, 2003).

Buddhism grounds ethics in universal suffering and interdependence; compassion (karuṇā) extends to all sentient beings, often motivating non-harm (ahimsa) and vegetarian practice (Harvey, 2000).

Indigenous traditions frequently articulate kinship ethics, “all my relations” where rivers, mountains, animals, and plants are relatives to whom humans owe reciprocity (Kimmerer, 2013).

Ethical implication: Nature has intrinsic (not merely instrumental) value, and human flourishing is inseparable from the flourishing of other beings (Harvey, 2000; Kimmerer, 2013).

3) Modern ecological philosophies: intrinsic value and systems thinking

Deep ecology (Næss, 1973) argues that all beings possess intrinsic worth independent of usefulness to humans. Land-ethic thinking (Leopold, 1949) expands the moral community to “soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” Gaia theory (Lovelock, 1979/2000) models Earth as a self-regulating system, underscoring the fragility of human-centric control.

Ethical implication: Policies should protect ecological integrity even when short-term human interests would benefit from extraction (Leopold, 1949; Næss, 1973).

4) Practical consequences for law, policy, and everyday ethics

Animal ethics

• Anthropocentric stewardship: Emphasizes humane treatment but often permits intensive animal agriculture if human benefits are high.
• Biocentric/rights-based approaches: Argue certain animals possess rights or strong interests that humans must not override (Regan, 1983; Singer, 1975).

Conservation and land use

• Stewardship model: Conservation is prudent management of resources for human and intergenerational benefit.
• Ecocentric model: Prioritizes ecosystem health and biodiversity for their own sake; restoration and rewilding become moral imperatives (Leopold, 1949).

Law and “standing”

• Anthropocentric legal systems: Traditionally require human victims to claim harm.
• Innovations influenced by ecocentrism: Proposals that forests, rivers, or ecosystems have legal standing (Stone, 1972/2010) reflect a shift toward recognizing nature as a rights-bearing subject, not merely a resource.

5) Is reconciliation possible?

Some Christian thinkers integrate stewardship with integral ecology, arguing that dominion rightly understood forbids domination and demands solidarity with nonhuman creation (Francis, 2015). Critics respond that even reinterpreted, the underlying hierarchy keeps human interests central in ways that can subtly re-authorize extractive patterns (White, 1967; Callicott, 1989).

Bottom line: Yes, there is real philosophical conflict. The biblical hierarchy, softened by stewardship, remains anthropocentric; many Eastern, Indigenous, and ecological philosophies are biocentric/ecocentric, grounding dignity and moral considerability in interdependence and intrinsic value. Those starting points reliably produce different judgments about animal agriculture, wildlife protection, climate policy, and the legal status of nature.

References:

Ames, R. T., & Hall, D. L. (2003). Dao De Jing: A philosophical translation. Ballantine.

Callicott, J. B. (1989). In defense of the land ethic: Essays in environmental philosophy. SUNY Press. https://archive.org/details/indefenseoflande0000call

Francis. (2015). Laudato Si’: On care for our common home. Vatican Press. https://archive.org/details/laudatosioncaref0000cath

Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A26-28%2CGenesis%202%3A18-25&version=NIV

Harvey, P. (2000). An introduction to Buddhist ethics: Foundations, values and issues. Cambridge University Press. https://archive.org/details/introductiontobu0000harv

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants (First Edition, pp. 1–312) [Book]. Milkweed Editions. https://archive.centerforthehumanities.org/files/downloads/Robin-Wall-Kimmerer_-The-Sacred-and-the-Superfund.pdf

Laozi. (2003). Tao Te Ching (D. C. Lau, Trans.). Penguin. (Original work ca. 6th–4th c. BCE)

Leopold, A. (1949). A sand county almanac. Oxford University Press.

Lovelock, J. (2000). Gaia: A new look at life on Earth (Rev. ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1979) https://archive.org/details/gaianewlookatlif00loverich/page/n5/mode/2up

Naess, A. (1973). The shallow and the deep, long-range ecology movement. Inquiry, 16(1–4), 95–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/00201747308601682

Regan, T. (1983). The case for animal rights. University of California Press. https://archive.org/details/caseforanimalrig00regarich

Singer, P. (1975). Animal liberation. HarperCollins.

Stone, C. D. (2010). Should trees have standing? Law, morality, and the environment (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original essay published 1972) https://archive.org/details/shouldtreeshaves00ston

White, L., Jr. (1967). The historical roots of our ecologic crisis. Science, 155(3767), 1203–1207. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

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When is the last time you took a risk?
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