LAKE OCONEE — Body and Soul. You probably have heard that descriptive combination of words in a variety of contexts. I doubt, however, that you will have heard or understood them in the perspective that I am about to present. Two respected authors, a medicine man – Norman Shealy, M.D. and a research scientist investigating “soul” impact on the body – Dawson Church, Ph.D., have written a book entitled SOUL MEDICINE. Are you interested in what this means? Stay with me for it is fascinating material, with implications for your well-being.

First off, “Soul” has been described in many ways, particularly in religious or musical frameworks. Some even speak of it in a romantic way such as “Soul Mate”. In this book the authors define their meaning of “Soul”. It is “a personalized expression of the universal field, as the divine aspect of a human being, of God expressed at the level of a single being, or as a personhood made manifest through pure consciousness, as opposed to physical or mental form”. Got that!? Seekers of extended knowledge, let’s move on. This isn’t fluff.

A beginning point is to understand Epigenics. Epigenics looks at the influences on DNA from outside the cell. The biochemical environment in which cells exist has a profound effect on which genes are activated. The energy environment has an even more rapid effect than the chemical one on gene function and direction. Bottom line deduction here is that you are born with a certain DNA, our hand me down genes from our biological parents and their ancestors. These genes can activate or evolve in a variety of directions depending on the biochemical environment and the energy field present.

Needless to say, this reality has a lot to say with regard to pregnancy, birth and early childhood environment and development. The brain, which drives all thinking, feeling, and behavior is particularly vulnerable to potential changes as it evolves into its “wired” state.

Shealy and Church speak of three “pillars” of Soul Medicine:

1. A human being is an ENERGY SYSTEM. Every atom in the body vibrates at a certain energy level.
2. CONSCIOUSNESS affects the energy system. Genes and consciousness interact. A change in Consciousness automatically changes the energy system. Some knowledge of quantum physics enables you to further understand this evolving energy system impacting your DNA.
3. INTENTION provides the power, the motivating force, to set in motion the complex chain of events that result in personal growth and healing. Intention conditions the field of Consciousness, reorganizing energy to create such an optimal energy field.

Your thought, or intention, effects an energy change. Are you familiar with the term placebo? The placebo effect is one example of this. A person thinks (believes) that a certain pill will cure a particular ailment. In reality the pill is a simple sugar pill having no potency. Yet healing often takes place. Why? It is because the person converts a belief into a very specific molecule having a different biochemical reality, which in turn produces a different (healing) result.

Another more mundane example. A group of women got together to have a fun weekend getaway playing tennis and drinking Bloody Marys. As they consumed more and more of this beverage their behavior changed. They were feeling the “buzz”. They became giddy and more extroverted in their conversation and antics. Later they realized, much to their chagrin that they had forgotten to put the vodka into the Bloody Mary mix! But because they had believed vodka was in the drink, they experienced the “buzz” and frivolity that resulted. (Ask my wife for details!)

Let me close, finally, emphasizing the practical point that the brain changes (neuroplasticity) depending on how you perceive information. Perceptions “wire” the brain, which then lead to further thoughts, feelings and consequent behavior.

A situation I encounter daily involves this principle. I listen to a husband and wife describe a situation. Both were present. Yet their description, based on their perception and consequent belief, and the emotion connected with it, lead to vastly different conclusions. This then in turn leads to some pretty negative behavior by one or both of them.

In conclusion, I hope you have enjoyed this foray into some of the latest research on the brain and it implications for your life. This is significant information!

Dr. Stathas can be reached at (706) 473-1780. E-mail: Stathas@plantationcable.net.