When I first started working in the lab many years ago genetics was THE thing. The genome was just being sequenced and we were going nuts trying to find genes responsible for every known human condition or disease. It was pretty ground-breaking stuff, but as with all ground-breaking stuff you don’t have all the answers at the beginning. Odd thing was, plenty of people talked as if we did. Genetic decoding was going to answer EVERYTHING.
Funny enough, the next big thing in molecular biology was epigenetics – not to get too detailed, but basically we learnt there are many things which can turn genes on and off. Things like a baby going through the birth canal, changes which genes are on and off. Even more interesting, we’ve now learnt that something as simple as the tone of voice someone uses when they speak to you, can turn genes on and off – your genes!
There’s a great experiment I encourage you to do yourself at home:
Cut an apple in half and seal the two halves in two separate jars. Make one your love jar – you can only say loving, nurturing words to this piece. The second is the hate jar – you can totally let loose abusing this poor little piece of apple.
Talk to your apple a couple of times a day and give it a few weeks – you will be amazed by the results and I have seen them for myself. One will be almost pristine, if slightly dried. The other will be shrivelled and rotten and disgusting looking. No points for guessing which words give which results. Does this not make a HUGE statement about how we should be speaking to each and every person, every day of our lives. When I think of the times I’ve got angry or frustrated with the kids I cringe.
Not only can someone else influence our genes, but of course the most powerful and present influence on our own genes is us. What we focus on creates our reality, for the simple fact that if we focus on the bad stuff in our lives, we notice more bad stuff. We don’t have more bad stuff, we are just giving it our energy and attention. If we focus on the good, it may not all be good, but we’ll feel good for remembering the positive and when we bring the good To out attention it’s more likely to become our memories.
This all becomes even more powerful when we look at The Divine Marrix by Greg Braden – he outlines experiments that demonstrate our thoughts don’t just influence how we feel and what we remember. They change our DNA. I’ll say that again. YOUR thoughts will CHANGE YOUR DNA. So if you don’t believe in the power of the mind you may need to consider.
What does this all mean though?
Here are some points I think we should all take away from this:
- Speak with love…as much as you can
- be mindful, it takes practice but be present and you will be more aware of what you are thinking and the way you are speaking
- find exercises that encourage positive thought – positive thought does not come easily or naturally to most people, it takes work but it’s work worth doing
speak with love…as much as you can
Exercises for positive thought might include anything from meditation to mindfulness. EFT tapping exercises can give amazing results as well. Find something that works for you and make it a small daily ritual.
Be kind to yourself and each other – it matters on the deepest and most fundamental level of our being. Sticks and stones might break our bones but apparently names can change our DNA…