Our Lives Are Not Controlled by Our Genes but by Our Beliefs

"We can change our lives as fast as we can change our beliefs, and since our beliefs can change instantly we can actually change our lives instantly," says Bruce Lipton. He gives a solid scientific explanation to confirm that it is not our genes that control our biology but rather our perceptions of the environment, or in other words our beliefs.

A couple of months ago while I was visiting Brussels I shared some of my experiences from my last trip to India with my friends.

I told them about Swami Yogananda, a yogi that I met in Rishikesh and who thanks to his yoga practice has reached the age of 103 years old, and in an apparently very healthy body.

After talking about him one of my friends commented: "I wonder if that's thanks to his practice of yoga or just thanks to his genes?".

What comes first, matter or consciousness?

I love science but one thing that bothers me about it is the need of scientists to put always matter as the source and cause of everything.

To me thinking that we are the way that we are because of our genes is like saying that the chicken came first and then the egg... no wait, the egg came first then the chicken.... hmmm wrong example, but I think you get my point.

What I'm trying to say is that I believe that it is not matter what creates consciousness but rather consciousness creates matter. The mind creates the "illusion" of matter but matter can't create the mind.

The DNA and everything in the body are shaped according to the requirements of the soon-to-be-born soul, or in other words to the accumulated past karma of the soul.

So to me, it doesn't make any sense to say something like "I'm like this because of my genes", but of course like many people I do frequently fall in the same trap.

So, are we controlled by our genes?

This reminded me of a lecture that I saw a few years earlier on the internet called "The New Biology - Where Mind and Body Meet", given by Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. a stem cell biologist.

In this lecture Bruce gives a solid scientific explanation to confirm that we are not slaves of our genes or our DNA, it is not our genes that control our life, which is an outdated scientific belief, but rather our perceptions of the environment.

He explains how our perceptions of the environment can affect our biology, and since our perceptions of the environment are not always accurate this basically means that it is our beliefs that shape our bodies and even our reality.

So, in conclusion, we are actually responsible for everything that's going on with our life. He also says that our perceptions of the environment can even rewrite our genes to adapt to the environment where we are living.

In other words, it doesn't matter with which genes we have come to this world, what really matters is through what kind of beliefs we experience the world around us.

It doesn't matter with what kind of genes Swami Yogananda was born, it doesn't really matter if he practices yoga or not but what really matters is what kind of beliefs he has. Of course, his beliefs are most likely shaped by his practice and study of yoga.

The New Biology - Where Mind and Body Meet

I think the lecture is awesome and the ideas expressed in it can be life-changing so I strongly recommend that you take your time to watch it.

The lecture is divided into two videos of about one hour fifteen minutes each, but don't worry, you won't get bored at all because Bruce is very didactic and he won't give you a chance to get distracted.

He is able to present complex scientific concepts in a very simple way and put them at the reach of all people regardless of their background. If you like movies like "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" and "The Secret" you'll certainly enjoy watching this lecture.

There are so many interesting ideas to learn from this lecture. One of the things Bruce says and that I really liked is that "the power of love is the most powerful agent to promote growth in the body, even grater than nutrition".

He then gives an example of how the lack of love has had a detrimental effect on the growth of children living in orphanages in some Eastern European countries, some of them even becoming autistic because of the need to protect themselves from the threatening external environment.

"The New Biology - Where Mind and Body Meet" Video 1

The first video includes subjects like:

The structure of the cells
How the cell communicates with the environment
What is the real brain of the cells
Proteins as machine
Hormones as signals
What is the DNA

"The New Biology - Where Mind and Body Meet" Video 2

The second video talks about:

Quantum physics
The effect of electromagnetism on our biology
Stress and how stress suppresses our growth, the immune system, and intelligence.
The flight and fight response: The effects of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System
Conscious parenting: the effect of the mother's perceptions of the environment on the baby.
The power of prayer

(Update 28/03/16) That YouTube account was terminated by YouTube, but here are the same two videos in one.

Books written by Bruce Lipton

Bruce Lipton is the author and co-author of several books that you can find in Amazon.com like "The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles" (about how personal beliefs affect our personal realities), and "Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There From Here" (about how collective beliefs of a culture or a society also affect our personal biology and behavior).

At the moment I'm reading "The Biology of Belief". It's very interesting but sometimes a bit too academical. It covers everything that Bruce explained in the lecture so reading this book is a good way to go deeper into the subject.

I hope you enjoy watching this lecture and if you still don't believe that by changing our beliefs we can change our life at least you can try to keep your mind open and start an inner journey to explore what kind of conscious or unconscious beliefs you have and if they have had any effect in your life.