The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles
by Bruce H. Lipton
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Santa Rosa, CA: Mountain of Love/Elite Books 2005 224 pp 5 pp Refs. HB $25.00
Bruce Lipton was a tenured Associate Professor of Anatomy at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine -- but was deeply unhappy with his job and his life. He had begun his career as a cell biologist with great enthusiasm, excited to be working at the leading edge of science. However, he was totally stressed by having had to care for his father while he died of cancer, at the same time struggling to maintain his teaching schedule while writing grants to continue his research program, and dealing with an economically devastating divorce. He abruptly left to take a sabbatical to work in a medical school in the Caribbean.
He became fascinated by the cooperation between the various plant and animal inhabitants of his island. Gradually he came to see that cooperation appeared to be the guiding pattern of nature, rather than competition, as Darwin had proposed and as had been taught within western science for decades. This was unacceptable to his colleagues when he returned to his professorial duties, so he resigned to pursue a life-long dream of playing in a rock and roll band.
When he discovered he was actually better at teaching and research than at musical performances, he returned to his former occupation. He published several papers confirming his alternative views of biology, showing that DNA was not the sole control mechanism for life processes, but then abandoned for good his position as a cellular biologist.
In a book that is peppered with wry humor, Lipton engagingly shares his understanding of the interconnectedness of the universe, building on theories derived from:
Cellular biology --
You may consider yourself an individual, but as a cell biologist I can tell you that you are in truth a cooperative community of approximately 50 trillion single-celled citizens. Almost all of the cells that make up your body are amoeba-like, individual organisms that have evolved a cooperative strategy for their mutual survival. Reduced to basic terms, human beings are simply the consequence of "collective amoebic consciousness." As a nation reflects the traits of its citizens, our human-ness must reflect the basic nature of our cellular communities. (p. 27)
Lipton points out that if we examine various organisms -- as diverse as worms, fish and humans - the similarities between them are far greater than the differences. The diversity in form and function in organisms cannot be accounted for simply through genetic differences.
Some of the most important contributions of this book are Lipton"s suggestions of alternative ways of explaining genetics. Drawing on Lamarckian theory, supported in research that Lipton summarizes, we begin to see how evolution may be a co-creative endeavor that includes individual organisms, collective needs of the environment -- which can include all of creation -- and not excluding Darwinian selection,
Quantum physics --
... the laws of quantum physics, not Newtonian laws, control a molecule's life-generating movements... (p. 110)
Bioenergy medicine --
... Energetic signaling mechanisms such as electromagnetic frequencies are a
hundred times more efficient in relaying environmental information than physical signals such as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, etc. (p. 111-112)
Common sense --
You are personally responsible for everything in your life, once you become aware that you are personally responsible for everything in your life. One cannot be "guilty" of being a poor parent unless one is already aware of ... [health-related] information and disregards it. Once you become aware of this information, you can begin to apply it to reprogram your behavior. (p. 178)
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