This book attempts to explain the theories of “Epigenetics” in simple terms and illustrations that are integrated with the author’s personal story which serves as an example of how the cells of our bodies are affected by our thoughts. I see the book as composed of biology plus quantum mechanics plus metaphysics plus spiritualism.

Bullet points extracted from the text:
• The body is made up of trillions of cells, the very heart of biological study.
• Cells individually have all the functions our bodies have; equivalents of the nervous system, digestive system, respiratory system, excretory system, endocrine system, muscle and skeletal systems, integument (skin), reproductive system and even a primitive immune system.
• Each cell is described as an intelligent being that can survive on its own, smart cells imbued with intent and purpose; actively seeking environments that support their survival while avoiding toxic or hostile ones. Thus cells are held to be capable of learning through environmental experiences and able to create cellular memories and pass said learned information to their offspring, an example being an immune response to a virus.
• Cellular learning and survival imperatives led cells to organize and specialize, ultimately developing multi-cellular organisms.
• Proteins within the cells perform the physical work behind metabolic and behavioral functions.
• The nucleus, containing the cell’s DNA, is cell memory referenced in the production of proteins
• The cell membrane is the brains of each cell, controlling cell functions. The membrane reads the environment and reacts to that stimulus by means of receptors, gates and channels.
• Dr. Lipton describes the cell membrane as a “liquid crystal semiconductor with gates and channels.” Being that cell membranes and computer chips are homologues; then cells are programmable, just as computer chips are. If so, the programmer lies outside of the cell. (Is that programming by me or the environment?)
• Data is entered into cells via the membrane’s receptors. Receptors trigger the membrane’s effector proteins, which act as the cell’s “Central Processing Unit” (CPU). The effector proteins convert environmental information into the behavioral language of biology.
• Physics is the foundation of all sciences and biology has relied on the physical world of Newtonian physics – the laws of matter – ignoring the invisible quantum world of Einstein, in which matter is made up of energy and there are no absolutes.
• Quantum physics discovered that physical atoms are made up of vortices of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating, radiating energy. Assemblies of atoms – molecules – collectively radiate their own identity.
Every material structure in the universe, including you and me, radiates a unique energy signature.
• The quantum perspective reveals that the universe is an integration of independent energy fields that are entangled in a meshwork of interactions. The flow of information in a quantum universe is holistic.
• The difference between Newtonian and quantum physics is that quantum mechanics more specifically applies to molecular and atomic realms (and therefore to cells) while Newtonian laws apply to higher levels of organization, such as organ systems, people or populations of people.
• Hundreds of scientific studies over the past fifty years have consistently revealed that “invisible forces” of the electromagnetic spectrum (energy) profoundly impact every facet of biological regulation. Specific frequencies and patterns (of energy) have been shown to regulate DNA, RNA, protein synthesis, alter protein shape and function, and control gene regulation, cell division, cell differentiation, hormone secretion and nerve growth and function.
• When cells come together in a community each cell cannot act as an independent agent, the member cells must commit to a common plan, accomplished through cell specialization. In our bodies, certain cells have the job of monitoring and organizing the flow of behavior regulating signal molecules – the nervous system and the brain.
• The brain’s function is to coordinate the dialog of signal molecules within our community of cells.
• Subconscious reflexive behaviors, like breathing, are controlled by portions of the brain. Other portions can learn new behaviors and the self-conscious brain – the prefrontal cortex – can observe programmed behavior, evaluate it and consciously decide to change the program. Thoughts can propel behavior more efficiently than physical molecules – the speed of light versus the speed of chemistry.
• In medicine, the placebo effect is an example of the workings of a positive belief. In a 2002 study patients with severe debilitating knee pain were divided into 3 groups. The first group had damaged cartilage shaved; the second had the joint flushed while the third group had a fake operation. All three groups improved. The third group as much as the other two.
• Conversely, engaging the mind in negative thinking can damage your health.
• Your beliefs act like filters on a camera, changing how the world is seen. Your biology adapts to those beliefs. While we cannot readily change the codes of our genetic blueprints, we can change our minds. Positive thoughts are a biological mandate for a happy, healthy life.
• The brain’s subconscious mind is an autopilot that operates on genetic instincts, which control the body’s physiological mechanisms; and learned perceptions, the fundamental behaviors and attitudes we observe in parents teachers and peers, no matter if those beliefs are true or not. The subconscious is pre-programmed at birth but learns and is reprogrammed throughout our lives by the conscious mind.
• These two minds are a phenomenal mechanism but we need to be aware that the greatest impediment to realizing the dreams of the conscious mind are the limitations programmed into the subconscious.
• Our minds progression makes each of us unique. But even mindless, we are biologically unique at birth and carry that identity for life. That is made possible by a family of cell receptors called self-receptors (human leukocytic antigens), no two sets of which are alike. It is what activates these self-receptors that make our cells reflect our identity. Like a TV antenna, they read a signal of self that does not exist within the cell but comes to it externally. Therefore, our “self” exists in the environment, whether our body is here or not!

In all, the book goes from science to spirituality and self-help vaguely supported by limited examples. Its new biology and new science so expect revisions to these theories by others in the future.

Well written book that explains current understanding of cell governance. Author argues that the cell is primarely dependant upon external electro-magnetic fields for moment to moment operation. The nucleus is primarely concerned with re-production. It is the receptor and effector proteins embedded in the membrain of a cell that receive and transmit external data to the internal mechanisms of the cell including the protein sleves that control how the DNA functions. ( )

Really got into this book. Made me wish I'd gone for a science degree of some sort. Made me want to read more about quantum physics. ( )

Lipton concludes that genes and DNA do not control our biology. DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell including the energy from our thoughts.

Genes can be removed from a cell and it survives. But it cannot reproduce. The cell membrane is the brain of the cell.

Chapter 5, Biology and Belief, tells of Dr. Albert Mason who cured a boy of warts by hypnosis. Later he found out that the boy was suffering from a lethal genetic disease. At the time, Mason believed in the treatment.

Lipton states that the conscious and the subconscious are interdependent. The subconscious mind is habitual and millions of times more powerful than the conscious mind.

He states that the limbic system chemical communication signals into signals the we experience as emotions. Our self-conscious ability to reflect can allow us to develop misperceptions. Beliefs control biology

The placebo effect is very powerful. In one study those who got fake knee surgery improved just as much as those who had real surgery. Nocebos (negative beliefs) are also effective.

When your conscious mind has a belief in conflict with a "truth" stored in the subconscious, the body's muscles weaken. Pushing an outstretched arm provides a test.

In an Addendum, Lipton mentions PSYCH-K, Rob Williams, www,psych-k.com, as a program that can change long-standing limiting beliefs in a matter of minutes. It uses muscle testing. ( )