What if our bodies were more than just physical machines that go awry every now and again? Have you ever stopped to consider this? Although we can find a physical justification for almost any and every illness, there is still something elusive about this empirical data.
If sun exposure causes skin cancer, then why doesn’t everyone who sits in the sun get skin cancer? If a diet full of wholesome vegetables and unprocessed foods keeps us healthy, why are so many conscientious eaters still sick?
Scientists would explain that it is genetics that would predispose us to the illness, with the external stimulus or factor being the trigger to the disease manifesting itself in our bodies. But then, what motivates the body’s genetics? Why do people have genetic dispositions and where do they come from?
That is usually explained as something that we are born with, something that is carried from generation to generation, our body’s weak link. But newer research in the 1980’s and 1990’s suggests another possibility.
The first transcribed work that I’ve come across that suggests that we might not be victims to mechanical failure comes from Candace Pert, Ph.D. in her book, “The Molecules of Emotion”. Dr. Pert was involved in the 1980’s with AIDS research and trying to find a cure for the disease.
While observing the way the human immunodeficiency virus attached to the cell and gave someone the moniker of being HIV+, she noticed an interesting process occurring.
She noticed that the HIV molecule was attaching itself to the same receptor site that would normally have the molecule, or neuropeptide for self-acceptance attached to it. To describe this differently, imagine a space station and a space ship docking to the space station. Now imagine that for some reason the space ship gets kicked off of the space station and gets replaced by something else, maybe an alien ship.
The inevitable question of “why?” arose and was soon answered by an article on “Tensegrity”, published in Scientific American magazine in 1996. Based on the article, there was new evidence as to how our cells operate and what caused the space ship to be replaced at the space station by the alien ship.
It was explained that there are molecules called neuropeptides that are responsible for bringing information in from the external environment. They are the monitors on the inside of the body for what is going on outside of the body. The neuropeptides attach to the cell membranes of the body, exactly like the space ship and the space station we mentioned previously. They then communicate information with the nucleus or genetic structure of the cell. The cell then is able to understand its environment, and then broadcast its directions to the rest of the cell(s) as to how to respond to the current external status. We might see this as simply as when we walk outside: if it’s 30 degrees, our bodies tell us it’s cold and we put on a jacket.
This is a perfectly operating system, which determines physical as well as hormonal (or emotional) and immune response. In other words, this is also how the body determines what hormones to produce and release into the blood stream, which determines both our emotional state and our immune state. The real question that this “Tensegrity” article addressed though, and Dr. Pert’s question was, “why does a natural, healthy neuropeptide get kicked off by a virus or another foreign invader, which ultimately leads to disease?”
The answer came in the simple example of a rubber band. If you take a rubber band in its normal state, there are pores (or holes) in it that molecules or sub-atomic particles could attach to. But when you stretch that rubber band, you stretch the pores (or holes) and that does not allow the same molecules or sub-atomic particles to attach.
In other words, our cells have a nominal (or perfect) natural tension to them. If the cell is stretched, under tension, the healthy neuropeptides that would attach to them are no longer the perfect match that they were. So they are replaced, and their replacements are viruses and foreign invaders because now they are the perfect match for the pores (or holes). And according to Dr. Pert, this process is what leads to people being HIV+, and then it would later lead many of them into AIDS. Her research also found that nutrition and other health-producing activities and modalities were more effective in treatment than a drug could ever hope to be. Her funding was cut off and the project never reached conclusion.
This type or research receives neither major funding nor major attention because it’s not financially lucrative, but its ramifications are clear. We are more than a collection of parts operating as a machine with our consciousness at its seat. We are instead multi-dimensional beings, whose consciousness permeates every cell of our being and beyond, where physical, emotional, mental and spiritual factors interrelate with information on a constant and ongoing basis. Therefore, to suggest that we are victims to some physical disease that has no connection to our emotional or mental state is to deny the essence of who we are.
Did You Know…?
By Laura Abulafia, MHS It’s summer time! You know what that means… good food, vacations, and time spent in the sun. But did you know that most sun screens have toxic chemicals in them?
After analyzing 500 sunscreens, including major brands like Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat and Neutrogena, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) was only able to recommend 39 of them in this year's sunscreen report released in June 2010 -- a mere eight percent. That means a whopping 461 of them either don't provide adequate protection or contain potentially hazardous ingredients, or both.
Many of the products looked at didn't live up to their flashy slogans and packaging. Sunscreens with an SPF higher than 50 can give a false sense of security, and there is startling new data linking vitamin A to accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions. EWG’s 2010 Sunscreen Guide will help you figure out what works and what's hype by showing you how more than 500 different products rank. For more information, visit www.ewg.org