Bruce Lipton on Epigenetics

Here's a post Pelle shared in Integral Naked but not here - stinker.  :p  Sounds like it could be interesting:

Re: Bruce Lipton on Epigenetics

I knew that nothing gets past you anyway :P

The clips are very much based on a green v-meme view of genetics/biology, but this is a step on the spiral that cannot be skipped if we eventually want the integral view.

Thanks for reposting.

Re: Bruce Lipton on Epigenetics

Could you say more about why you see it as coming from green?  (For those of us who may not be ready to commit a few hours to watching this, at least not just yet.)

arthur

Re: Bruce Lipton on Epigenetics

Sure.

Orange biological science views genes as fairly stable entities over time. There is random mutation and natural selection, but this is a fairly slow process. Orange thinkers do acknowledge sexual selection as well but this is pretty much part of the natural selection concept. Orange biological science has no problem with environmental factors per se, but generally this is kept separate from the genetic makeup. They say that the environment might affect phenotype (ie not only genetic makeup but also local factors in the uterus shape the body of a “new human”), but that is as far as the environment can reach. So when your average doctor talks about disease she might say that a certain disease is a combination of inherited genes and the environment/lifestyle you have. For example your dad died from a heart attack and now you're eating lots of sugar and hydrogenated fats so you will likely get a heart attack as well. Both genes and environment matter, but they come from different directions so to speak. So far so good, and none of this is wrong, it is perfectly valid science.

Green goes one step further and says that not only do you have a certain genetic makeup, but your environment and even your perception of your environment, can actually affect your genes! Sounds crazy huh?
Let's say we have a certain gene, and we call it 21 (random number…). Now we usually do not only have one version of a gene, often there will be 21a, 21b, 21c for example. Which of these versions that will be switched on or off is decided by either local or global factors in the body. Let's take an example of global factors. If I perceive fear, then this will trigger the brain to tell the peripheral nervous system as well as the hypothalamus to send new neurological and hormonal messengers to the body, these messengers will eventually attach to the cell membrane, through membrane proteins the signal will be propagated to the nucleus, and within the nucleus a certain gene is switched on and another switched off. In other words: genes do not actively do anything, they are tools to be used by global, local or intracellular messengers/proteins. A gene does not have the power to regulate itself! It might be able to do some self-regulation through feed-back loops, but outside factors can always override this system.

Another interesting thing that can happen is that sequences of DNA called transposons can move around the genome (with the help of enzymes/proteins) and thereby change the structure of certain genes. How often this happens and to what extent this can be done intelligently by outside stimulus is still a matter open to debate or I should say green/integral research. My own belief is that this can happen to a considerable extent, especially if one does deep spiritual or healing work.

So as we would expect green to do they stress the importance of the environment, and that the individual (me me me) can change his body and genetic makeup by changing his perception.

An integral view would honour both orange and green insights, and probably add new stuff as well.

Hope that helps,

Pelle