Hey guys!
Linking to one of my last posts about egoistic genes, mentioning that, according to Dawkins and sociobiology, we are “blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes” and that “traits such as aggressiveness can be explained by biology rather than a person’s social environment”, I’ve found an interesting video concerning genes and the influence of the environment. When I watched it I thought of sharing it with you.
In the video Bruce Lipton, a well-known cell biologist, states that the belief of human beings as a biochemical machine controlled by genes is wrong. Instead of saying that genes control our lives, that we are “victims” of our genes, he states that also the environment has a huge influence on us. But have a look at it yourself:
So according to Lipton, genes “respond” to life and we aren’t just “victims” of our DNA. In addition Lipton is one of the scientists who favor the opinion that the power of our mind controls our health. I think this is really interesting because me, too, I think that our well-being is highly dependent on our thoughts and our attitude. I am one of the persons who can persuade herself really well. I sometimes sort of “block” myself with my thoughts and I would say, once I was even able to get ill because I thought I’d become ill. And maybe you’ve already heard the following: “If you do not believe in a certain thing, this negative attitude already stops yourself.”
In his book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles, Lipton demonstrates how the new science of Epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter and the profound effects it has on our personal lives and the collective life of our species.
On his website, you’ll find the following summary of the book:
“The Biology of Belief is a groundbreaking work in the field of New Biology. Author Dr. Bruce Lipton is a former medical school professor and research scientist. His experiments, and that of other leading edge scientists, have examined in great detail the processes by which cells receive information. The implications of this research radically change our understanding of life. It shows that genes and DNA do not control our biology; that instead DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts. Dr. Lipton’s profoundly hopeful synthesis of the latest and best research in cell biology and quantum physics is being hailed as a major breakthrough showing that our bodies can be changed as we retrain our thinking.”
Although I think this is all pretty interesting, to me it is a bit too spiritual. I agree that environment is an important influence on us, and that we aren’t only victims of our DNA. However, in my opinion our thoughts won’t be able to tranform us into totally different people. And of course it always depends on the person and his/her “power of minds”. Nevertheless I see some true parts in it. Maybe I should talk and talk about cooperation and empathy till everyone is so persuaded of it because you have changed your attitude towards that issue? 
