The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.

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1-Page Summary of The Biology Of Belief

It is easy to think that Darwin coined the term natural selection. However, it's important to understand
that he wasn't the first person to use it.

Lipton asserts we've got the evolution theory wrong. He argues that our current understanding of it, based
on Charles Darwin's work, is also incorrect. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck came much closer to the truth with his
own theory of evolution.

Darwin's theory of natural selection differs from Lamarck's in two major ways. The differences are quite
significant and have important implications for how we think about evolution.

Lamarck recognized the importance of cooperation between species in evolution. He also noted that
Darwin's theories about competition and survival were incorrect. However, modern science has proven
Lamarck to be correct on this matter.

There are two important differences between Darwin and Lamarck. The first is that the former believed
adaptation to be a random process, whereas the latter thought it was driven by an organism's desire to
improve itself. For example, if someone had poor vision, he would want to improve it so he could see
better. Therefore, his eyesight gets stronger until it becomes perfect.

Lamarck had a different view. He believed that species learn to adapt by interacting with their
environment. This means they have built-in "intelligence" which Lipton's research on cells seems to
confirm.

Big Idea #2: Genes don’t determine our lives as much as the environment does.

Genes have been highly influential in the past century. People believe that their health, psychology and
even predispositions to disease are controlled by genetics. Therefore, people think that it's hard for them
to change these things about themselves.

In the introduction, Lipton describes himself as a victim of this type of thinking. He had always felt

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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miserable and believed that he was just genetically predisposed to be unhappy.

It wasn't until he had a moment of realization while working in the Caribbean that he realized his previous
view of biology was wrong. One evening, as he looked through his notes, everything came together for
him. In his own words:

Suddenly, the author realized that a cell's life is controlled by its environment. Genes are simply
blueprints for cells; they aren't responsible for how a cell lives its life. The environment controls the
character of a cell's life and reads those blueprints to build it accordingly.

It was a moment of realization for Dr. Lipton, who had been studying biology for years and realized that
genes only determine part of our destiny. It also changed the way we think about ourselves as humans, as
we now know that we can shape our own destinies in a previously unimaginable way.

Big Idea #3: Your parents' influence on you starts while you're still in the womb.

The author's research led him to conclude that our environment shapes us from the earliest stages of life.
This means that, since conception, we are influenced by our parents and other family members.

It's easy to see how our parents' parenting affects us as we grow up. For example, if a child is told he or
she is stupid or weak enough times, it will influence that person's self-image later in life.

But Lipton's research shows that what happens in the womb is also important. Cells respond to their
environment, and therefore everything that happens during prenatal life influences them.

That's why the mother's diet, environment, and emotions are so important when she is pregnant. The fetus
perceives these things and programs them in one way or another.

However, the good news is that we can still re-wire our brains later in life. This is probably the most
optimistic conclusion of Lipton's new approach to biology.

Full Summary of The Biology Of Belief

When you are stressed, your immune system will not function properly. Therefore, you should meditate
when you are in a stressful situation. Meditating also helps reduce negative subconscious thoughts that
can affect your health.

Recent research in biology shows that genes have been overestimated for a long time and that the
environment and our perceptions are more influential than previously thought. The Biology of Belief
explains how this new understanding can be applied to practical conclusions about life, including
spirituality.

In this passage, you will learn about three key points. First, we will discuss what switches our genes on

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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and off. Next, we will talk about why it's important to make peace instead of war. Finally, we will discuss
how humans are made in the image of God/the universe.

Big Idea #1: In the theory of evolution, cooperation is more important than
competition.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was the first person to discover evolution. Charles Darwin is famous for
discovering it, but he's not the first one who actually discovered it.

Lamarck's theory of evolution is similar to Darwin's, but they're not the same.

Unlike Darwin, Lamarck believed that evolution wasn't a fight for survival. Instead, it was more of a
cooperative effort between species and individuals.

Unlike Darwin's theory of evolution, Lamarck believed that species evolved by learning to adapt to their
surroundings.

Lamarck's view is more similar to our current understanding of evolution.

For example, we can see how the immune system adapts to changes in the environment and passes this
knowledge on to offspring.

When a virus enters our body, the antibodies fight it. If they are successful in killing the virus, they
remember how to kill that particular type of virus and pass on their memory to daughter cells.

Lamarck's theory that animals often work together can also be demonstrated by modern scientific
research. This is not just limited to species of the same kind, but different kinds as well. There are many
examples in nature where symbiotic relationships occur between species.

For example, our digestive system contains billions of bacteria to help it digest the food we eat.

Furthermore, even the genes of animals are affected by cooperation between species.

Science has revealed that genes don't have to be passed on through reproduction from individual to
individual, but they can be shared with members of other species.

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” - Albert Einstein

The following information shows how our knowledge of the biology of human cells confirms Lamarck's
theory.

Big Idea #2: The membrane of a cell controls its behavior.

Lamarck's theory is important because it emphasizes the importance of cooperation in biology. To

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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many elements working together.

There isn't a single function in our bodies that doesn't exist in a single cell.

Cells are very intelligent. They were among the first life forms on our planet and have survived while
most creatures died out.

When cells are removed from the body and placed in a culture, they will actively seek out environments
where they can survive.

But what are the factors that contribute to this intelligence and how do cells behave?

Most people would probably guess that a cell's nucleus is where chromosomes are stored. However, if
this were true, the cell should die as soon as its nucleus was removed.

Yet it's been proven that when the nucleus of a cell is removed, the cell will continue to live and function
as if it had a brain. This is because reproduction takes place in the nucleus, not its brain.

In reality, the cell membrane is likely to be the brain of a cell.

Inside the cell's membrane are two types of proteins, receptor and effector. Receptor proteins pick up
signals from the environment while effectors turn those signals into action.

If the proteins were removed from a cell, it would become brain dead and not be able to respond.

Big Idea #3: Despite what some people think, there is evidence that genes do not
determine our development.

We found that Darwin's theory of evolution is not always supported by science.

Darwin was remarkably self-critical. He questioned whether he had given enough consideration to
environmental factors in evolution, even near the end of his life.

It turns out that there are many weak points in the evolutionary theories of Darwinian scientists.

One theory is that genes determine biology. In other words, the way a person looks and acts is based on
their genetic makeup.

However, this theory fails to hold up in one area: if our biology is determined by our genes alone, then the
human genome would need a gene for each protein. Since there are far more proteins than genes, that
means we have to have at least 120,000 genes. Yet we only have about 25,000 – which means there must
be some other factor determining how many of those proteins get made.

So, there must be other factors that affect our biology.

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It has been found that our environment also plays a significant role in shaping who we are.

Inside of cells, there are proteins that surround DNA. These proteins react to signals in the environment
and help determine the destiny of the cell by activating certain codes of DNA.

If you have a gene that makes you more likely to develop Parkinson's disease, then it doesn't mean that
you will. Instead, it depends on whether the regulatory proteins allow the gene to be activated.

So, what our cells actually become is not determined by how we are born. Instead, it's determined by the
environment around us and how we interact with that environment.

Big Idea #4: Medical science has not evolved as much as other fields. It's still stuck in
the past and this is putting us at risk.

You might be surprised to learn that illnesses caused by medical treatments are one of the biggest causes
of death in the Western world. In fact, in 2003, they were actually the number-one killer. Why is this
happening?

The answer lies in physics.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists began to understand that there were complex
relationships between energy and matter. This understanding was a radical change from the previous view
of linear cause-and-effect relationships.

Biology is different than physics. Biology is based on principles from the Newtonian world, which are
outdated. For example, when a person has an illness, doctors treat it with medicine that stays the same
even if the cause of the illness changes.

Organisms are also affected by Einstein's notion of a more interactive process.

For example, scientists have discovered that the reactions of proteins in a fruit fly are not linear but rather
interconnected.

A change in one area can affect other areas. In addition, some areas will be affected more than others.

So, this may be the reason why so many people suffer from side effects when taking medication. The
same drug can't always work for every person because everyone is different.

Therefore, it would be a good idea to research alternative medicine instead of relying on pharmaceuticals
for everything. However, the power of big pharma will keep us from doing that in the short term.

Big Idea #5: The mind is crucial to our physical health.

You may have heard of the placebo effect. This is when people get better after taking a fake treatment,
such as a sugar pill. It suggests that part of the healing process lies in our minds; we recover because we

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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think we will.

Why is this so?

Well, we know that the mind plays a crucial role in regulating our body. It's not just conscious thoughts
that make us healthier; it's also subconscious ones. The conscious and subconscious work together to
improve our health.

Candace Pert discovered that the mind is not contained in our heads, but throughout our body. The brain
can send information to the rest of the body and vice versa.

Pert has also discovered that our body can create molecules of emotion and program them to make us feel
better.

We are capable of overriding our automatic responses to the environment, but that can be problematic.

We are capable of overcoming our base instincts and programming ourselves to be better people. We can
do this, unlike animals, because we have the ability to program our own behavior. However, it is possible
for us to program ourselves in a way that is harmful; we may receive negative messages from parents or
teachers which can lead to certain behaviors.

For example, say a teacher tells you repeatedly that you are stupid. That could become part of your
programming and affect how you think about yourself in the future.

The positive and negative effects of controlling our beliefs can influence biology in some interesting
ways. We will examine those points below.

Big Idea #6: The human body has two basic survival mechanisms: growth and
protection.

Life on Earth has existed for billions of years. However, how did it survive? Our bodies show two types
of behavior that have helped us stay alive: growth and protection.

We can see this in the way our cells react to things. In one study, scientists placed cloned human cells in a
culture dish. When those cells were faced with toxins, they moved as far away from them as possible.
This is called the protection response. However, when something nutritious was introduced into their
environment, the same cells gravitated towards it and grew more quickly than usual. This is called the
growth response

When people are in a state of flow, they cannot be distracted by the temptations that come with
multitasking.

Growth occurs when we are in a healthy state. When we're under stress or threatened, however, it makes
us revert to a more primal mode of being and prevents us from growing. Since growth is fairly easy to
understand, let's look at the more complicated process of retreating into protection mode.

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The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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The immune system is one of the body's defense systems and it protects us against internal threats like
bacteria and viruses.

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland work together to produce stress hormones that protect us against
danger. However, these hormones also suppress our immune system.

The HPA axis is a response that our body uses to protect us when we're in danger. It's also referred to as
the fight-or-flight response because it prepares us either to confront the threat or run away from it.

Throughout the evolutionary process, we've been exposed to external threats.

The problem is that the HPA axis triggers fear in stressful situations. This can cause us to be fearful
unnecessarily. For example, we could feel fear when presenting or taking an exam.

In order to thrive, we must learn how to control our stress levels by controlling the response of our
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Big Idea #7: From the moment of conception, parents have a huge influence on their
children's personalities and behavior.

We've learned a lot, so let's recap. We know that the environment impacts our cells, and we know how to
cope with stress. We also know that it is possible to reprogram ourselves.

How can we apply this knowledge in our own lives? One way is to use it when parenting.

Most people don’t realize that the environment in which a child is raised can affect its development from
birth.

The idea that our genes determine what happens to us is incorrect. The research by multiple scientists has
proven this to be false.

During fetal development, the fetus is influenced by its surroundings. Some scientists believe that
conditions in the womb can determine whether or not a person will be susceptible to poor health later in
life.

Therefore, parents should make sure that they give their children the best start by providing them with an
ideal environment to develop in.

They should eat healthy and ensure that they program their child for success.

Parents play an important role in shaping a child's life. Their actions can determine how the child will
experience the world, and they should make sure it's not with unnecessary fears or stresses.

Parents should never label their children as weak or stupid. This will become a self-fulfilling prophecy
that can carry over into adulthood and potentially throughout the rest of their lives.

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However, that doesn't mean we should be intimidated. We still have the ability to program ourselves to
achieve great things, even after we've grown older.

Big Idea #8: Cooperation is better than competition, because it's more effective for
development.

The overarching message of evolution is "make peace, not war." This is an important reminder because
the two are intertwined.

For billions of years, cells have worked together to survive.

In the beginning, there were many single-celled organisms competing for scarce resources. Eventually,
they learned that working together would be more beneficial than fighting each other. Multicellular life
was born.

The human body is a complex organism, with billions of cells living together in harmony. Each cell has
its own place and purpose, which keeps the body healthy.

Imagine how great it would be if we could take some inspiration from the cell and cooperate with each
other.

It's often thought that humans are genetically programmed to be selfish, but this is not the case in nature.
Humans and animals have a lot of similarities, so it makes sense that we're also similar in our behavior.

Even the most violent baboon is not genetically programmed to only look out for itself.

If even baboons can cooperate, then people should be able to work together.

If we continue with our selfish ways, we will find more and more conflicts in the future.

The way to prepare for the future is to communicate with each other, as we all have the same goal of
living in a nice place.

We need to realize that we are not necessarily programmed to be selfish.

Big Idea #9: There is scientific evidence that we are made in the image of the
universe, and there is also evidence that we live on after death.

Some religions believe that we are made in the image of God. Atheists may find this hard to accept, but if
we take "God" to mean the universe or our environment, there is evidence that suggests otherwise—we
were formed from the universe or from what some people call "God."

Our bodies respond to signals from our environment. Therefore, we can say that we are created by our
surroundings.

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 The Biology Of Belief Book Summary, by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.
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Other spiritual ideas can be supported by science as well. For example, there is evidence that suggests we
continue to exist after death.

Our cells have identity receptors on their membranes that make them (and therefore us) unique. These
antennae pick up signals from the environment and create our identity.

Think of our body as a television. Our identity is the image that appears on the screen. If the TV breaks
down, does this mean that we are also dead? Of course not—just get another TV and you'll see the same
image again.

Therefore, even when our bodies die, the imprint of our identity remains in the environment.

If there were another version of you that appeared with the same identity receptors, it would pick up the
same broadcast as you and replace your existence.

In summary, we can appreciate this spiritual notion by understanding that our body cells pick up signals
from the environment.

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