This article first appeared in the October 2005 issue of  Science of Mind.

When Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., was a research scientist and medical school professor, he made an amazing discovery about the biological mechanisms by which cells receive and process information: Rather than our genes controlling us, our genes are in fact controlled by environmental influences outside our cells, including our thoughts and beliefs. Accordingly, we are not “genetic automatons” victimized by biological inheritances from our ancestors. Instead, we truly are co-creators of our lives and our biology.

Lipton describes this new science, called epigenetics, in his book, The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles (2005: Mountain of Love/Elite Books). Full of citations and references from other scientists conducting leading-edge research in this field, this book could literally change your life at its most fundamental level.

Until the discovery of epigenetics, it was believed that a cell’s nucleus, which contains the DNA, was the “brain” of the cell, quite necessary for its functioning. In fact, as Lipton and others discovered, cells can live and function quite well even after their nuclei are removed. The real “brain” of the cell is its membrane, which reacts and responds to outside influences, dynamically adjusting to an ever-changing environment. What does this mean for we collections of cells called humans? As we encounter various environmental influences, we tell our genes what to do, usually unconsciously. Do carbs make us fat? If we believe they do. Will we be loved, succeed on the job, be prosperous? If we believe we will.

Lipton also shows us how Darwin was wrong. Competition is not the basis for evolution; it’s not survival of the fittest that allows us to survive and thrive. On the contrary, he says, we should be reading the work of Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, who came before Darwin and demonstrated that cooperation and community are the foundation of survival. Imagine if each of your trillions of cells decided to do its own thing, to fight to be king of the hill, instead of cooperating with its fellow cells. How long would you survive?

Science of Mind: The basic premise of your book, The Biology of Belief, is that our DNA does not control our biology.

Bruce Lipton: Yes. I started studying this in the late 1960s. Since that time, science has started to reveal all the things I saw then. Biologists doing research at the leading edge know everything I’m talking about in the book. But the public has no understanding of it, because they get  either an abbreviated form, or what they’re being sold is a belief that we’re controlled by our genes, and that’s not supported by leading-edge science. My effort was really to get the leading-edge information out there. The mindset of the public has been programmed with the belief that they’re genetic automatons, genes are controlling their lives, they’re victims, everything like that. But the main thing is, the leading-edge science—what I’m talking about—has been established for at least 15 years. It’s time to get it out to the public because that’s where it gets used.

Science of Mind: This relatively new science that you write about is called epigenetics. Would you explain what that is?

Bruce Lipton: Epigenetics is the science that shows that genes are not controlled by themselves, genes are controlled by the environment. It’s been around for about 15 years, and it’s now just finally peeking its little head around the corner. I’ll give you an example. The American Cancer Society recently released a statistic that said 60 percent of cancer is avoidable by changing lifestyle and diet. This is from an organization that for the last 50 years or so has been looking for cancer genes. And now it’s coming out and saying, it’s the way you live, it’s not the genes. We’ve been focusing on cancer as a genetic issue, but only 5 percent of cancer has genetic linkage. Ninety-five percent of cancer really doesn’t have a linkage to genes. The reason [for saying there is a genetic link] is, it’s physical, tangible, so let’s work on that. What about the 95 percent who get a cancer and there’s no  genetic linkage? It’s not easy to do experiments on anything you can’t physically focus on.

Science of Mind: So genetic determinism—the idea that we’re all controlled by our genes—is fatally flawed, as you say in the book.

Bruce Lipton: Yes.

Science of Mind: You also wrote about Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck and his theory of evolution—that we survive through cooperation, rather than the later Darwinian idea of competition and survival of the fittest. Just as our all our trillions of cells must cooperate to keep our body operating properly, we humans can’t survive without massive amounts of cooperation with one another and with our environment.

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