In 1953, amazing scientific research reported by James Watson and
Francis Crick captured the attention and imagination of human civilization. I
vividly recall a New York tabloid’s coverage of their discovery, the full front
page covered in large bold print read, “SECRET OF LIFE FOUND!” Their seminal studies on the nature of
DNA, the molecule that forms the structure of genes, are a foundational pillar
upon which modern medicine is built.
From Watson and Crick’s insights on how DNA encodes an organism’s
hereditary traits, we bought into the belief that genes control biology. This belief led to a concept known as genetic determinism, the notion that our
physical and behavioral fates are encoded in the genes. Since that time, modern medicine has
operated under the principles of the medical
model, an understanding that implies the human body is a chemical machine
controlled by genes.
The perception that genes control our abilities,
and more importantly, our disabilities, is so fundamental that we introduce
this concept at the most elemental level of a child’s schooling, and
continuously repeat the message through every level of higher education.
Consequently, the public has been conditioned to believe that the human body
and its behaviors reflect the activity of an exquisite genetically-controlled
biochemical automaton.
Since genes apparently control the traits of an individual’s life,
and since we had no say in which genes we were provided at conception, we might
rightly consider ourselves victims of
heredity. Owning victimization, we come to see ourselves as being powerless
with regard to our ability to “reprogram” our fate. Diseases and dysfunctions are inevitably blamed upon the
genetics and chemistry of our cells, tissues and organs.
Assuming the role of powerless victims, we rightfully deny
responsibility for our physical and mental dysfunctions: our hearts attack us, defects in our insulin-producing
cells trigger diabetes, depression is due to chemical imbalance and wayward
cells cause cancer. In perceiving
ourselves as “victims,” we have been programmed to seek outside healing through
medical practitioners, who attempt to treat our ills and symptoms through the
administration of drugs—a chemical correction for a chemical machine.
In
the 1970’s, as a professor of histology and cell biology, I was teaching first
year medical students the basic mechanisms by which genes controlled
cells. However, at the same time,
my research on cloned stem cells provided evidence that this genetic
perspective on human biology was fundamentally flawed. These maverick, and to many, heretical,
studies revealed that the fate of stem cells could be profoundly altered by
minor changes in their environment.
By modifying the constituents of the culture media or altering the
oxygen concentration in the incubators, I was able to control the development
of genetically identical cells, causing them to become muscle, bone or fat.
These studies clearly demonstrated that the character or fate of
cells was not “controlled” by genes.
In pursuing an understanding of what “controls” the cell’s behavior, my
studies illuminated the mechanism by which the cell’s membrane, its “skin,”
read environmental conditions and then sent signals throughout the cell to
control its biology and behavior.
Upon applying these insights to cells in the human body, it became
apparent that the conditions of the body’s chemical environment, the equivalent
of “culture medium” for our cells and tissues, was controlled by the secretions
of the brain. Consequently, in
response to the conditions of the world in which we live, the nervous system
directly influences the character of the internal environment, which in turn
shapes the fate of our cells. Changes
in how we perceive the world ultimately lead to internal environmental changes
that control the genetic activity and character of our cells
I was offered an opportunity to test this hypothesis as a research
fellow at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in 1987. The theory I proposed on how our cells
are controlled by our perceptions was substantiated in two major scientific
publications. This pioneering research
presaged one of today’s most active areas of research, epigenetics, the science of how genes are controlled by the
environment and—more importantly—by our perception of that environment.
As described in my bestselling book, The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter
and Miracles, the new perspective on human biology does not view the body
as just a mechanical device, but incorporates the role of mind and spirit. This
breakthrough in biology is fundamental to healing for it shows us that when we
change our perceptions or beliefs, the nervous system sends totally different
messages to our cells. In effect, we reprogram them. This new biology reveals
how people can have spontaneous remissions or recover from injuries thought to
be permanent disabilities.
The body is not a “single” organism, but really represents the
cooperative effort of a community of
fifty trillion single cells. While every cell is an independent entity,
collectively the body’s cellular community accommodates the wishes and intents
of its “central voice,” - the mind and
spirit.
Science is beginning to recognize that the principle source of
stress, responsible for most of our illness, is our system’s “central voice,”
the mind, which really consists of
two separate minds, the conscious and
the subconscious. The conscious
mind is the thinking, rational “you”.
It is the creative mind that houses your wishes, aspirations and
desires. Its supporting partner is
the subconscious mind, a database of
programmed behaviors. Some
“programs,” specifically inborn instincts
are directly derived from genetics. However, the vast majority of the
subconscious programs are acquired through the developmental learning
experiences we have as children.
The subconscious mind is not
the seat of reasoning or creative consciousness. It is strictly a stimulus-response device. When the subconscious mind perceives a
signal from its environment it reflexively responds by activating a previously
stored behavioral response—no thinking required!
Our fundamental perceptions or beliefs about life were downloaded
into our subconscious mind by simply observing the behaviors and attitudes of
our parents, siblings and peers during the first six years of our lives.
Neuroscientists have revealed that 95% or more of our behavior is controlled by
the actions of the subconscious mind.
Hence, most of the behaviors that shape our lives are derived from other
people’s programs.
The insidious part is that the subconscious behaviors are
programmed to engage without the control of, or the observation by, the
conscious mind. Since most of our
behaviors are under the control of the subconscious mind, we rarely observe
them or much less know that they are even engaged.
This is why the concept of “positive thinking” becomes
problematic. Indeed, positive
thoughts can create a health-sustaining internal environment. But “positive thinking” is a quality of
the conscious mind. Since our
biology is controlled 95 to 99% of the time by our subconscious mind, the conscious
mind’s positive thinking usually has little influence over our health. However, with appropriate guidance and
exercises we can use our conscious awareness to actively transform our lives by
rewriting limiting perceptions, beliefs and self-sabotaging behaviors
programmed in our subconscious minds.
Quantum physics emphasizes that the mind’s thoughts are not
physical in nature, but represent immaterial energy fields, vibrations. Whenever we engage in healing ourselves
through intention, we cause the mind to act as a “tuning fork” that sends
healing vibrations throughout the body.
Through focused and repetitive exercises, intention processes can
facilitate a reprogramming of limiting and self-sabotaging subconscious
beliefs.
An individual’s healing processes is profoundly accelerated when
they gather in community and simultaneously practice their healing intentions
with others. When a group shares a
collective vibrational field, the healing power of intention is greatly
amplified. Adam and other amazing healers further enhance the healing property
of intention by serving as both a “conductor” who entrains the group’s
vibrations and an “amplifier” that further boosts the power of the group’s
healing field.
Adam’s empowering, and yet easy to understand books on the healing
power of intention provide important insight into understanding the role of the
mind and its affect on biology and behavior. With this new awareness, we become empowered for we can
learn to become masters of our destiny
instead of victims of our genes.
Bruce
H. Lipton, PhD, cell biologist, lecturer and author. For more information, visit: www.brucelipton.com
