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Changing the World Inside a Cell
A Review of The Biology of Belief: Unleashing The Power Of Consciousness, Matter And Miracles by Bruce H. Lipton. Santa Rosa, CA: Mountain of Love, 2005.

By Wanda Burch

In The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton simplifies complex bodies of scientific information on biological organisms and suggests paths to healing. In a wonderful melding of Einstein and quantum physics with personal discoveries in his witness of healing outside the conventional medical environment and his discovery of the universe of possibility in a single cell’s life, Dr. Lipton comes to the conclusion that “every material structure in the universe, including you and me, radiates a unique energy signature.”

In Lipton's discussion of epigenetics – a new field of biology that is unraveling the mystery of how the environment influences the behavior of cells without changing the genetic code -  he finds that each individual cell functions as its own universe with the membrane serving a much greater purpose than originally thought. The membrane can be regarded as the security service of the cell, allowing in and keeping out what it "learns" is safe or harmful. It becomes both guardian and gateway.

Lipton shows us that the cell has a kind of intellect which can be "taught" by experience and thought, making it even more important for its owner to act and react positively and in a healthful manner to the environment, to thoughts, to suggestions, and to outside energy. Genetic transfer can happen - and does - but we have the ability to influence profoundly the intellectual makeup of our cellular structure, so much so that we can influence genetics themselves and influence change in the future generations. We can also change a genetic tendency by "teaching" the individual cell what it needs to know or by altering our physical and mental environment so that the individual cells understand the kind of change they need to make - each cell its own universe but with the ability to then teach the cells around it.

I am reminded of a big dream in my own healing journey in which I used dream imagery as adjunct therapy to medical treatment for breast cancer.. In that dream, I saw two “cities,” one in ruins. As people worked to rebuild the ruined city, a second city, which lay across a bridge, magically rebuilt itself, only better than the first. Every positive influence exerted in the ruined city exacted a more perfect city across the bridge. There were mysterious cubes in the dream, keys to the cubes, and guardians as well as builders. I called my dream “Cell City” and felt there was an important lesson about the influence of thought and human ability to not only heal but to influence the rebuilding of the body’s cells in magnificent ways. I found myself re-exploring that dream as I read The Biology of Belief.

I recommend Dr. Lipton’s simple, direct exploration of research that may provide a bridge for other scientists and certainly provides an invitation for all of us to take responsibility in making connections that will bring health to ourselves and to our environment. He charges us to expand our role in influencing and being influenced by the universe and in the melding of psychology, biology, and spirituality.

© Wanda Burch 2005. Wanda is the author of She Who Dreams (New World Library),  a graduate of Robert’s Dream Teacher Training, and leads her own workshops on developing dream imagery for healing. Visit her website at www.wandaburch.com