Behavioral Epigenetics: The Emerging Scientific Field

According to Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief, a cell’s life is controlled by its physical and energetic environment with only a small portion managed by its genes. He discovered this while working with cells in petri dishes. When he created a healthy environment for cells, they thrived. When he did not, they struggled. By readjusting the conditions for the cells in his petri dishes, he could make sick cells well again. This ultimately means that cells are responsive and change according to their environmental signals. Understanding this is critical before you become pregnant, because it means that the cells within your growing fetus, which are quadrupling at a massive rate every second, can be programmed. This is something that the ancient yogis have always known, but now science is catching up. Environmental signals that affect cells are thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and nutrition, because all of these things are a form of energy. Bruce Lipton’s discovery was a game changer because it marked the beginning of the merging of the fields of science and Spirit.

His work, called behavioral epigenetics, has become one of the fastest growing areas of scientific research. This field is showing that genes are dynamic and responsive to everything that you think and do. Epigenetics demonstrates that you are in control of your gene activity and can enhance your genome through a better connection to your body, mind, and spirit. You must begin to think of these three attributes of Self as parts of one system as they are constantly interacting and communicating, similar to a computer or telephone network. Everything you eat, think or feel is received by this system, creating messages and memories that are being sent directly to your DNA. Our genome holds the memories of our ancestors and most often, we pass these memories on to our children. In this book, I will show you various ways that you can heal yourself and clear these memories from your epigenetic line before you have your next child.

I grew up with the belief system that because my grandma had heart disease I could easily inherit it. I also had a fear that I would automatically inherit or experience the diabetes, mental illness, and high cholesterol that run in my genetic line. According to this new research, that is not the case. Behavioral epigenetics is proving that DNA works more like a light switch that can be turned on or off. There are a few inheritable diseases that will automatically be passed down from one generation to the next, but the vast amount of your personality and health attributes are malleable.  A genetic variant in your DNA strand can predispose you to certain diseases or behaviors, but it doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to have these issues in your life. Your personal DNA is like a blueprint, giving a small percentage of fixed characteristics, such as brown eyes or blonde hair. 

If you are considering ordering a genetic test to understand your DNA, you should know the following: doctors are only able to provide the probability that you will develop a disease when looking over your genetic constitution. The presence of the BRCA1 gene, which is the gene for breast cancer, doesn’t mean that the person will necessarily develop the disease.  It indicates that the segment is faulty and the person has an increased risk. DNA cannot single-handedly cause disease. Genetic material does not predict what will happen: it is the context of your life as a whole that will determine whether a specific gene will turn on or off. 

We are affected by the awareness we have of our environment, our perception of what is happening around us, and our responses to environmental signals. Transferring this knowledge to pregnancy means that if you improve the environment for the fetus, you can ultimately change the DNA. Our cells change in response to our experiences, which should begin to give you a better understanding of why each of us develops the unique characteristics that we do.

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