Review: The Biology Of Belief By Bruce Lipton

As a starter, here is a quiz.  Which of the following statements are true?

1. Our genes (DNAs) determine who we are, including our health and characters. 
2. The nucleus of the cell (the part that contains DNAs) is like the brain of the cell, so the cell dies immediately when the nucleus is removed. 
3. Cells can sense only chemical changes in their environment, so energy healing has no scientific basis. 

Answer: They are all false. 

Shattering the scientific myths 

Dr. Bruce Lipton, who taught cell biology at University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and did research work at Stanford University, shatters the popular myths such as these in his The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles, which is written for laypersons.  

The fatalistic view of our genes like #1 is common not only among laypersons but also among doctors.  However, Bruce Lipton explains how certain proteins work as an on-off switch to DNAs and how environmental factors, including our own beliefs, can create such switches.  Genes are only computer programs — information entered to the program determines the outcome, and we, as operators, have the key to choose which data to be entered. 

He then shows us how the cell membrane is the true smart guy that sense the signals and also responds to them.  DNA is like the CD disk of the software; once you installed the program, you don’t need it until you need to re-install it.  So the cell can survive quite a long while without the DNAs while the day to day, or second to second survival of the cell relies on the membrane’s sensing and responding function.  

The cell membrane has receptors not only for chemical signals (from foods, drugs, internally-produced chemicals such as hormones, etc.) but for vibrational signals as well. (page 53)  This is a critical fact in considering the effectiveness of the energy healing as well as the effect of our thoughts and feelings on our wellbeing.  

Quantum physics and new biology 

Then he moves on to physics.  This is necessary because he is talking about cell level biology, which is all about chemical reactions, and chemistry is based on physics — physics is the basis of all science.  The astonishing fact is — Bruce Lipton introduces us to quantum physics!

Gee, I thought quantum physics was considered to be a quark pseudo science.  Quantum physics is accepted in the academics?  

Bruce Lipton is firm in maintaining the new cell biology cannot be adequately explained by Newtonian physics — quantum physics understanding is essential.  Which means, matter and energy are one and the same, and we are all interconnected.  Ah, so spiritual, isn’t it?

After reading this book, I went to my local Borders bookstore and walked through the aisle of science.  I so wish I could understand these physics books!  There are even books about potential time travel written by serious scientist!!  We laypersons are left behind in the dark ages.  We need more scientists like Bruce Lipton who can explain new science in our terms.

Biology and belief

The climax of the book is chapter 5, Biology and Belief.  I had to put down the book so many times to take my breath.  If I weren’t reading it in Starbucks, I would have screamed and run around, too.  It is loaded with clinically proven cases in which belief played the critical part in healing (or death): 

• Knee arthritis patients who received fake surgery recovered just as well as patients who received real surgery.  (Both groups received the same post-operation care, including exercise.)  They believed they received real treatment, and that was enough to throw away their canes and play basketball with their grandchildren.  
• In depth analysis of FDA data shows antidepressant pills did not outperform the sugar pills.  The reason the depression patients got better was because they believed the pill would help.  (Don’t ask me why then those pills got approved by FDA.)
• A case of a cancer patient who died some time after the initial treatment, as expected with this type of cancer.  However, the autopsy revealed he didn’t die of cancer — meaning he died because he, along with the doctors, believed he would die.  

So you can kill someone if you can convince them what they swallowed was a poison.  It would be a perfect murder because doctors won’t be able to identify the cause of death.  Belief is this powerful.  

What I like about Dr Bruce Lipton and The Biology Of Belief

This book is a great resource to gain the scientific understanding of energy and information healing, or what some would call miracles.  It’s an eye-opener and I strongly recommend it even if you are not particularly interested in science. 

His view of positive belief affecting our reality can be considered the scientific ground for the Law of Attraction, at least when it comes to health and happiness. 

I love the author’s attitude that “there cannot be exceptions to a theory; exceptions simply mean that a theory is not fully correct.”  (page 96)  Whether it’s a placebo effect or never-heard-of type soul shifting, this is the truly scientific approach.  Don’t dismiss the exceptions as messy flukes.  (Sorry about putting in my own promotion, but this is something I feel strongly about. Defending the theory by dismissing the cases that the theory fail to cover is very UN-scientific.) 

How to change your belief in the subconscious mind

Bruce Lipton explains that there are actually two minds in us, the subconscious and the conscious, and the subconscious mind runs the show of our life most of the time.  So when the response is not desirable, whether it is ill health conditions or inappropriate behaviors, it is critical to change the subconscious response pattern.  

The trouble is, we can’t change the subconscious by reasoning things out.  The subconscious mind is like an automated computer program, so we need to reprogram it.  It’s like my word-processing software automatically correcting my spelling.  Most of the time it’s fine, but there are certain words I use that are not in the software’s dictionary, and when the program corrects it, it irritates me.  And I can’t fix this problem by talking to my computer.  I need to take action to get it learn the new words.  

How can we do the same to our subconscious mind?  Bruce Lipton mentions PSYCH-K.  But there are other effective methods to reprogram the subconscious mind, including EFT and hypnosis.  I guess introducing all kinds of reprograming methodology is outside the scope of this book, so we need to explore this further ourselves. 

Bruce Lipton is in the movie What If?, so you might like to check it out too.  

What do you think about the new science uncovering the mystery of life in such an unexpected way?  Please share your thoughts in the comment.

Online Gratitude Journal New Macbook Edition #27

My new macbook 

I bought a new macbook — my first time to use Apple computer and first time to buy a laptop.  In the past, I waited until some kind of catastrophe happened to buy a new computer, but this time, I just got it because it looked fun.  Yep, I’m grateful for my wealth consciousness.  (And now I am a business owner, I can write it off as business expense ) 

I heard a lot of good things about mac.  Some even say mac is the lightworkers’ computer!  For me, however, it’s been a painful getting used to practice.  

First, the ergonomic issue with laptop.  My eyes get tired so quickly, and I get headache looking down this small screen.  Maybe I want to connect it to my monitor.  I’ve already resumed using the mouse (hate the touchpad), so getting the monitor back and making up a strange amalgam of laptop – desktop system is not so far fletched. 

I bought iWork to save files in PC compatible formats, but they operate so differently.  And I hate all the questions it asks when I try to save.  The text editor is weird, too — I get strange coding when I copy and paste to WordPress. I’m thinking of getting Quickbooks for Mac — does anyone know if this is a good program?  I don’t need particularly sophisticated program.  I just need to download data from Paypal and do a simple spreadsheet work for my accounting.

On the other hand, it sounds good when I watch movies.  My old PC had horrible soundboard.  I also like how quickly it starts and closes.  I’m probably saving power because now I actually shut down when I take a few hours break from computer work.  With my old PC, I kept it running all day.  

Can someone tell me how to love mac?  Maybe I’m missing something?  

Love, Light, and Foods

Since watching What If? movie, I’ve been thinking if we really need to eat all the foods we do.  Are we really eating to nurture our bodies, or are we eating out of habit?  Or are we eating for even worse reasons such as to numb our boredom and other painful feelings?  

Many people are turning to vegetarianism and raw foods, and that’s great.  But not so many people seem to have thought about the very nature of eating itself.  The What If? movie introduces some people living on light, not foods.

I gather there are two issues here:

1. Are we eating excess foods out of habitual action and thinking?
   If we believe we need to eat such and such, then bingo, that is what it is.  But have we really examined it?  I have the feeling we can safely reduce the food intake 20-30%.  Well, not only safely, but this may even enhance our health.  Overloading our bodies with excess foods can be so stressful to our system.  
2. Is it possible to live on non-food resources such as light?
   Living on light is also called breatharianism.  What If? movie introduces one from of breatharianism, which is to live on sunlight. And I don’t think this is a food-or-light choice but it can be a more flexible choice of food-and-light.

I’m starting to watch my food intake, along with my physical activities and spiritual wellness, to see if I can really reduce my eating.  I’m not a very technical type, so I don’t really know exactly how to measure up the percentage — nor am I going to bother myself measuring it day in and out.  But I will report my progress.  (My ultimate goal is to live 100% on light, but at this time, I don’t think my physical body is ready yet.)

Like with any change, my body may go through some detox process.  With less load on food assimilation, the body can focus more on getting rid of the stored toxins.  Luckily, spring is the best season to do detox.

I want to emphasize this is NOT about weight loss.  On the contrary, I expect my weight to be stable.  I may lose some excess weight I may be carrying, but after that, the weight should stabilize with only minor fluctuation with my cycle and the overall season, if I’m really doing well on the light.  And let my body decide what that ideal weight may be, not my ego thinking.

If you have a choice, would you let go (part of) your eating?  Why or why not? 

I found this website on breatharianism.  The linked article is a great read about our consciousness, love vs denial.

Today I’m grate for the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  And all the budding trees.  And my peaceful neighborhood.  This weekend has been beautiful — hope you are having a great time, too.  (Photo by Mr. Greenjeans)

Creating The New World, Part 1 Love

Do you create your life freely or do you live within the limits of the existing system? Do you realize you have the power to change the system, and eventually the whole world, when you make a change that is not limited by the existing system?

I want to dream big and write about how we can create the New World based on the foundation of love, light, truth, abundance and power. Because big dreams inspire us and provide us the essential direction of our lives. How can we make the decision of which road to take when we don’t know the big picture and the overall direction?

Plus Ascension provides us the rare opportunity to change. We live in a special time when significant change is possible.

What love is not 

First we need to know what love is. And few words have been abused as badly as the word love.

1. You don’t know what love is if you think unconditional love is special.
If you think there is unconditional love, which is a better kind than other kinds of love, let me ask you: What is love that is not unconditional? What is conditional love?

• I love you if you (lose 10 lb, quit complaining, help me more around the house, etc.)
• If you love me, you would (stop drinking, work harder, etc.)

These are just forms of manipulation, in the name of love. I know most of us have been conditioned with this from childhood, but let’s make it clear this has nothing to do with love.

2. You don’t know what love is if you sacrifice yourself in the name of love.
Love starts with self love. There is just no way to love others while ignoring your own worthiness or letting yourself abused. And if you think self love conflicts with love for others, look around carefully. Love gets stronger with more love. Conflict is an illusion made from the fear of scarcity.

3. You don’t know what love is if you think love is about holding hands and not saying anything uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable to whom? To that person or yourself? You may say you don’t say certain things because you care about that person’s feelings. Well, I care about people’s feelings, too, but I also know that, when someone think in this line, they are usually hiding the truth, and the truth is they don’t say it because it makes themselves uncomfortable.

We sure don’t need to offend people’s feelings unnecessarily. But hiding the truth under the name of love is very unloving.

Loving darkworkers

The last point leads to the issue of darkworkers. It sounds nicer to say that there is no such thing like darkworkers and we are all good loving souls, hug one another, and ignore the energy sucking dramas some of us are acting out. But is it true? And is it helpful even to the darkworkers themselves?

It’s helpful for darkworkers to continue their way, yes. If they are to come back to Light, however, they get the best chance when people around them set up a clear boundary so that the darkworkers cannot get any energy from them. Tough love, sure, but what is the point of covering up their acts?

This is not about fixing them. Let them be who they are but put your self-love in place. Awareness of what is really going on, factually and energetically, is the start of love.

Then what is love?

My definition is love is the awareness that we are valuable for our individual uniqueness and yet we are all part of the whole. I love you for who you are. No need to change unless you yourself wish to change. And together we make a union that is more than the sum.

We are like parts of one body. The kidney is valuable for its unique function, and so is the heart. The heart doesn’t put down the kidney because it deals with urine. Our respective uniqueness is our strength — we don’t need kidney to become more like the heart.

Sometimes, a part of the body starts doing strange things. It starts to suck up energy from the surrounding area, making the area difficult to function fully. We don’t need to hate this part of the body, but we do want to focus on our ability to function fully and give our attention to the working parts, not the malfunctioning parts. This is how we “love” darkworkers.

But what about romantic love and relationship?

I think romantic relationship and family unions in the New World will be very different. I’m not against the idea of romantic love — it’s a beautiful form of love — but I do think the consequent idea of romantic relationship and the institution of marriage are abused badly.

Think for a moment. If the New World operates on the foundation of love:

• Do you need someone to assure your worthiness by being with you?
  Of course you don’t. You already love yourself as you are.
• Do you need someone to promise to be with you for the rest of your life?
  You don’t need to force love and security in such a way. Relationship is best when it is based on free will, at any given time. And forced love is not love, whether it is forced by yourself or by others.
• Do you need to form a secure haven called family?
  If the outside world is a savage cruel place, it makes sense to build a safe small haven, and this has been one of the major function of family. But if the New World is all about love, where is the danger?

So what is the role of romantic relationship and marriage in the New World? While we operate on the big love, it’s also good to form close connections so that we can get to know each other better and we can share ourselves readily. Romantic relationships can be one of those relationships, along with others like friendships.

We’ll loosen up a big time in forming and maintaining romantic relationships. You may have just one partner or multiple of them at any given time in your life. Your living arrangement can be flexible, too, beyond the traditional form of living with your family. If you enjoy being close to others, you may choose to live in something like a co-op that is formed on the basis of shared interest (say, similar eating or exercise habits, or artist co-op that shares studio space, etc). If you like traveling, you can do so. Or you may like solitary living arrangement. Whatever you choose, you are accepted and loved.

Sexuality in the New World

Romantic relationship and marriage are considered to be the only “correct” forms of sexual relationship at this time. So when we loosen up our idea of relationship, what happens? Do we become promiscuous?

First, it’s important to realize that your sexuality is yours. It’s not your partner’s nor of some authority in government or religion. You decide the when, with whom, how. This is especially important for women. Do not let the conventional “you are either a madonna or a whore” idea limit you.

Next let’s admit we get into the act for many reasons other than love and pleasure. Have you had sex with hidden agenda like:

• To prove you are (attractive, strong, worthy of attention, etc.)?
• To control your partner (to keep them to you, to get them do something, etc.)?
• To distract yourself (from boredom, loneliness, frustration at work, etc.)?

All these conditions will be worked out when we operate on the foundation of love. So sex with hidden agenda will go away.

Contrary to the promiscuous sex-overloaded society that some people may have thought when I said “New World based on love”, I think we may have a lot less sex in the New World. When you realize you are free to choose the type of sexual relationship, and you don’t need to bring in hidden agenda — when you choose to have sex just because you feel like it or to share some fun and pleasure with your partner — I think the demand would naturally decrease. Of course, it’s also quite fine if you are into providing joy big time.

How to bring in the New World

First, I want to emphasize it is totally counterproductive to think of the New World as how things SHOULD be. The should mentality, the expectation, automatically put it off to some unknown place in time and space. The time to start the New World is NOW.

Here are some things you can do today to bring in the New World:

1. Forgive yourself and others so that you can start anew. Forgiveness is a form of self love.

2. Live in gratitude. Gratitude is an expression of love. Don’t discuss how important gratitude is; say thank you to your loved ones, to things around you, to nature, to life.

3. Talk about the new way of life with your loved ones — your relationship partner, family, and friends. Embracing the possibility is the first step of actually living it.

4. Allow more and more love in your life. Do you do what you love to do? Do you talk to yourself with kindness even when things turn difficult? Do you spend time with people you really like? Do you express your love in a simple, straight-forward way without fear?

5. For each person you interact with, find some unique gifts they have and tell them how much you appreciate them. We can use a lot of assistance in realizing our beautiful qualities in us.

The “gift” doesn’t have to be some holy, noble, rare quality. For instance, a pretty smile is something we can treasure. (Do you realize how so many people, both men and women, would be delighted to hear how cute they are?)

6. Think more ways to cooperate rather than compete. If you are in business, are there ways you can work with others in the same or related fields that would benefit all involved? If you are studying something, can you also teach each other? Competition is based on scarcity and fear. Cooperation brings in more love and abundance.

7. Try something new. This requires self love and assurance, and in tern reinforces the same. And you will meet more people to love, learn more things to love.

8. Are there people in your neighborhood who would benefit from extra attention and care, such as older people, single parent with small children, etc? Why not strike up a casual conversation and let them know you are happy to help when they need something? You might be delighted to find how something small and easy to do for you can be appreciated so much. Offer your love and kindness freely.

Kids really belong to the “village” and we all want to be looking over them. Your community being safe and operating on love will expand to larger community.

9. When you go shopping, talk with the cashier. Treat the storekeepers like real people. Eventually, get to know them as your friend. Same with the bus drivers, the librarians, the customer service reps who answer your 800 calls, etc.

10. If you are in abusive relationship, whether it is romantic relationship or family situation or work related, please have the courage to leave. You are doing a disservice not just to yourself but to the whole by staying there. First, stop participating in their drama. This will likely make them more abusive in their attempt to get your energy, which will prompt you to leave finally.

11. Again, offer your loving words and actions freely. Let go of your agenda. Let’s talk, hug, kiss, and make love with no expectations but just because. Also, feel free to say no.

Love and the fifth dimension

Some people say the fifth dimension is love. I thought about this — length, width, height, time and . . . love?

What I think is there is no polarity in the fifth dimension. Everything is in alignment, and we call this love. In a sense, polarities have helped us learn our life lessons by providing contrast. But as we progress in Ascension and graduate from the school of life, we don’t need polarity any longer. We can just be. This is the ultimate destination we want to take our New World.

Does this mean we are going back to the original utopia like I described in that article? Not quite. I don’t think nature repeats exactly the same way. In the New World, we will be living in love similar to the original utopia but in a more conscious way.

Do you have more ideas to bring in the New World of love? What do you think of my vision of the New World? Let me know by leaving your comment ^_^  (Photo by carf)

« Previous Page