Review: The Biology Of Belief By Bruce Lipton
April 12, 2009 by akemi · 19 Comments
As a starter, here is a quiz. Which of the following statements are true?
- Our genes (DNAs) determine who we are, including our health and characters.
- 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.
- 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.
