How to Master Your Genetic Destiny and Remain Healthy
Why our genes do not lock our genetic destiny
Our genes do not necessarily dictate our biological destiny. Epigenetics has revealed that a person’s DNA makeup does not necessarily determine whether that person will develop a disease. In other words, even when someone has a genetic predisposition for a certain disease, the condition will develop only in the case those genes “turn on.” It is our environment that regulates the expression of our genes and can program our genes to create a disease. This environment is both external (for example, air or soil pollution) and internal (our body chemistry that can be triggered by certain emotions). Our internal chemistry can cause a particular gene to either turn on (up-regulating) or turn off (down-regulating).
The environment signals our genes, and we can use these dynamics to consciously send beneficial signals to our genes, bypassing the information from our environment. Certain types of thoughts, feelings, and actions can change gene expression, which can be measured by using particular biological markers. It has been shown that meditation and a shift towards positive thoughts and elevated emotions alter neurotransmitters and hormones (the chemical messengers in the body), proteins (the building blocks of the body), and enzymes (biological catalysts or accelerators of chemical reactions in the body).
The role our genes play in protein expression
All cells of the human body (except the red blood cells) produce proteins that build up the body’s physical structure and are responsible for various physiological functions. Muscle cells make actin and myosin, skin cells make collagen and elastin, immune cells make antibodies, thyroid cells make thyroxine, pancreatic cells make protease, lipase, and amylase enzymes, and bone marrow cells make hemoglobin.
The process of protein synthesis is facilitated by the genes in the following way:
“For a cell to make a protein, a gene must be expressed. That’s the job of the genes, to facilitate making proteins. When the signal from the environment outside of the cell reaches the cell membrane, the chemical is accepted by a receptor outside of the cell and makes its way to the DNA inside the cell. Then a gene makes a new protein that’s equal to that signal. So, if the information coming from outside of the cell does not change, the gene keeps making the same protein and the body stays the same. Over time, the gene will begin to down-regulate; it will either shut off its healthy expression of proteins or it will eventually wear out, like making a copy of a copy of a copy, causing the body to express a different quality of proteins.” (Dr. Joe Dispenza)
A change in one’s emotions causes a change in the chemical environment of the cells. When the DNA receives a different chemical signal, the expression of the genes changes. The new proteins thus made can change the structure and the physiological functions of the body—for example, programming the cells to heal and repair.
In an advanced meditation workshop in 2017, Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Team measured gene expression among 30 randomly selected participants and found that they were able to change the expression of eight genes over four days of elevated emotions meditation. Those genes are involved in neurogenesis, cell repair, building cellular structures, removing free radicals, and suppressing the growth of cancer tumors.
To find out more about how the practice of meditation and yoga reverses the DNA activity related to stress, illness, anxiety, and depression, we recommend reading the following articles:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/04/06/harvard-study-relax-genes
Sources
~This article is based on the book “Becoming Supernatural — How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon” by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Hay House, Inc., Carlsbad, California, 2017~