Could we select which genes decide to express themselves in our body?
Epigenetics is the new study of how and why the body switches a gene on or off. It is the study of how cells read genes instead of how cells are the effect of changes in the DNA sequence.
We are not just our DNA sequence then; we’re what our cells choose to read.
In his book, “You Are the Placebo” author, Dr. Joe Dispenza, writes about a bike accident he had when he was 23 years old where he broke his back in six vertebrae. In his case, a large volume of bone fragments went back toward the spinal cord. After seeing four different specialists who all recommended he get the Harrington rod implant to straighten and heal his spine, he decided against it. He believed there was some innate healing wisdom in the body. He left the hospital and moved in with two caring friends.
He describes his mental work of healing his spine. “For two hours twice a day, I went within and began creating a picture of my intended result: a totally healed spine.”*
He wasn’t good at doing this in the beginning. His mind wandered and he sometimes suffered moments of doubt where he heard his medical doctors giving him the diagnosis he ignored.
But he kept at it. For nine weeks he visualized, meditated and trained his brain to heal his spine. It worked.
After 10 weeks he began to work again. He went on to practice chiropractic care and give workshops on what he learned for thirty years–virtually pain free.
His book, “You Are the Placebo,” is a powerful testimony and well researched analysis of the reality of mind over matter or attention of matter. He teaches people with physical challenges how to overcome the challenge through meditation, attention, which leads to repositioning of genetic expression in the body.*
He writes how we can all change our realities of our bodies with our thoughts, our emotions and our intentions. He gives a road map on how to do this.
Could our emotions, intentions, and environment cause us to express some genes over the other? It seems there is little to lose from trying.
I’m excited by this new research. It puts some of the power the back into the individual where he/she can have more input of the health and reality.
It is also a mindshift. It seems there is so much pressure in society to look outside of ourselves for the solution–to feel the victims of events, our DNA, the country or race or gender we were born into.
It is exciting to “take back our power” to create our lives and reality. It is a lot of responsibility, too. We have to monitor our thoughts and emotions moment by moment.
I’m also not suggesting to throw out the wisdom of western medicine. We have that as a resource as well.
But for the moment to moment mindset, we are with ourselves, responsible for our thoughts, capable of directing our attention to healing, wholeness or the opposite. For now, I choose wholeness, healing and peace.
* Joe Dispenza, “You Are the Placebo.” Hay House, Inc. Carlsbad, CA 2014.
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