The power of the mind - Interview with Bruce Lipton

My basic education in the university was understanding the nature of cell biology, how cells work, and I became an electron microscopist, which gave me an opportunity not just to look at cells, but to actually use the microscope and go into the cells with an understanding of the mechanisms and the structure and how it works. And then this led me to the cell culture studies, which then showed me how the environment was controlling the cells. So I was a stem cell research scientist at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, where I was a professor, and at Stanford University later, where I was a research scientist, expanding the knowledge of epigenetics. To understand the nature, what is the difference between genetics and epigenetics? When I say this character, this disease is under genetic control, that is the belief that genes turn on and off and made the disease. This makes us a victim because as far as we know, we didn't pick the genes. And if you don't like your genes, you can't change the genes. And then you hear that the genes turn on and off by themselves. Then you realize, I'm just like a time bomb. And one day the gene goes, boom, and then I get cancer. I'm a victim. But the new science, epigenetics, which means control above the genes, which turns out to be environment, but our perception of the environment, is what controls the genes. I say, well, if perception and environment control genes, we as individuals, we can control our environment. And we can control our perceptions. So if we can control those things, then by definition, we control our genetics. And now all of a sudden it says then we're not victims, but we're masters of our genetic activity. So I had an opportunity to be 23 years ahead of conventional science because I saw epigenetics in 1967. And officially science recognized epigenetics in 1990. So when I was beginning my lectures and the people in the audience, especially medical people were looking at me and they were going, that doesn't fit their belief system. So they looked at me like I'm a strange person in the world. And they walk out on me without recognizing what I was saying because it didn't fit their belief system. Conventional science was still looking at the fact that genes were controlling biology itself. And the significance of that, it led to what is called the Human Genome Project. And the Human Genome Project was an understanding that if we look at all of the genes that make up a human, then we could use them like medicine to if you have a problem, we could engineer a new gene. The wonderful part of the story for me is under conventional belief before the genes were counted, conventional science said there's going to be over 100,000 human genes. And so the biggest surprise of all was when the results came in from the Human Genome Project, there were only about 20,000 genes. Over 100,000 genes were missing according to their belief system. Well, the problem is their belief system was wrong. This emphasized a gene is a blueprint to make a body part called a protein. So the body is comprised of 100,000 or more different proteins to give us this structure. And the genes are blueprints to make them. Well, the problem is you have over 100,000 proteins, but you only have 20,000 genes. All of a sudden, the belief that one gene makes one protein was completely false because epigenetics reveals that for every gene in your body, you can create 3,000 different variations. So basically, it led from genes controlling life to environment controlling genes, then to nervous system controlling the environment, which then led to mind controlling the nervous system. And so my evolution took me from the genes to the role of the mind and that the mind is the absolute control of our biology. And when we give our power to other people, their beliefs control our biology. So this is why we have to learn, wait, my belief controls biology. If I buy their story and it's not a good story, then I've just altered my life. And this is why we need to take the power back. The belief that genes turn on and off is taking power away from the individual because if the genes were turning on and off and I did not control them, then by definition, I am a victim of which genes did I get from my family? Did cancer genes come in, heart disease genes or diabetes? And now we recognize that in regard to disease, genes are responsible for less than 10% of disease. In fact, there are indications that genes are only responsible for 1% of disease. So all of a sudden it says, well, wait, we used to think genes cause disease, but if only a small percent of disease is controlled by genes, then where is the disease coming from that is affecting the world? The answer is now we know from epigenetics, consciousness, lifestyle, belief systems. These are the ultimate controls of the gene. We know that if you got a cancer gene and that's what you believe, then you think I'm going to get the cancer. And then you get a cancer and you say the genes did it. And now we know, no, that there is no cancer gene. There is not one gene that causes cancer. Genes are correlated with cancer, meaning if your life is not in harmony and you have one of these genes, you can activate a cancer. 50% of the women that have the same BRCA1 gene never get the cancer. The point is very important. Having the gene doesn't mean you get cancer, but having the gene and not living in harmony, not living in a healthy lifestyle, that causes the cancer. And so we have to help people take them from the belief I'm a victim and give them the science that, no, your consciousness is creating this life experience in here. Your consciousness is controlling your genes. I don't have to be sick. I just have to recognize, am I under stress? Because the American Psychological Association has recognized 90% of doctor visits are due to stress. And it turns out that stress is the major cause of problems in health. And that stress is a consciousness issue. So if you can control stress, then you can control your health. And that's what the new science is all about. The picture we hold in our mind, the picture that we think about, is actually translated into chemistry by the brain. So if you have a picture of love in your mind, the brain releases some very wonderful chemistry into the blood, dopamine for pleasure, vasopressin makes you more attractive to your partner, and growth hormone is released when you're in love. And as growth hormone's name implies, it gives you health and vitality. But just to show you a different picture is, if I have a picture of fear in my mind, I'm afraid of something, my brain translates fear with different chemicals, stress hormones, cortisol, norepinephrine, factors that affect the immune system that are called cytokines or histamine. So basically, in a state of conscious fear, the brain releases chemistry that complements fear. That chemistry goes into the body's blood, and that changes the behavior and the genetics of the person. So that means there's a difference between having positive thoughts and having negative thoughts. And people say, oh, that positive thinking doesn't really work. But that's not true. The best example of positive thinking in a scientific study is called placebo. You have a disease, and the doctor says, here's this new pill, and it's the brand new science, and it's going to cure you, and you believe it. And you take the pill, and you get well. Then you find out the pill was a sugar pill. So then you're left with, so what made me well? It's not the sugar pill. It was the positive belief in that sugar pill and how it's going to help your life. So that's called placebo, positive thinking, positive result. Unfortunately, most people don't recognize a more important point. Negative thinking is equally powerful, but it works in the opposite direction. So it turns out, for example, less than 10% of cancer is even connected to a family lineage. 90% of cancer just comes out of the blue, so to speak. But the reality is, no, it's a result of stress and negative thinking. So it's an important point. Positive thinking, negative thinking, equally powerful because that's the level of consciousness that is translated into the chemistry that controls your genetics. I just want to add a very important point to this. Quantum physics is the most valid science on this planet. There is no science that has been tested more and verified more. I go, so what's the relevance? Because the primary principle in quantum physics is consciousness is creating our life experiences. And well, when you add epigenetics to that physics, now we understand the mechanism of how consciousness is controlling our biology. So biology and physics are coming together to reveal that we are very powerful creators of our lives. We have to understand during development, the brain is the equivalent of a computer. So in addition to the operating system, you also need programs to start up the machine. Well, the human brain is like this computer. And the beginning part is it's got an operating system. So now the brain is going to work, but it doesn't have any programs. So nature creates the first seven years of a child's life to download programs so that once you have the programs, then you can use the brain as the computer. So the first seven years of a child's life, the brain is not functioning at the vibration of consciousness. And I mean that when you put wires on a person's head, it's called electroencephalograph, EEG. I could read your brain activity. A child below seven has a vibration of the brain that's less than conscious. It's called theta. When theta is controlling behavior, it's imagination. So this is why children under seven mix the real world and the imaginary world together, because that's theta. So a tea party where they take a teapot with nothing and pour it into the cup with nothing. And then they drink the nothing and they go, oh, that was so wonderful, the tea. That is a child using theta, imagination. But theta is also hypnosis. And I say, so why is this important? Because you can't give an infant a book and say, study the rules of how to be a member of a family. Study the rules of how to be a member of a community. Thousands of rules. So how does a child get a chance to learn? It's not even able to read. And the answer is, it doesn't have to. Because the brain is in theta, which is hypnosis. So it watches the mother and the father and the siblings. It watches the community. And whatever it sees is downloaded, just like a video recorder. Watch my mother. Watch my father. See how they did it? I record that. Now I have a program. So for the first seven years, we download behavior, but from other people. And the problem is this. Most of their program behavior is not very positive. In fact, up to 70% of the programs that we downloaded by watching other people are disempowering or self-sabotaging or limiting beliefs. So we're actually downloading programs that are not helping us. And this goes into the subconscious. So the subconscious is like a hard drive in a computer. It's got programs. And the conscious mind is the creator, like the one that types on the keyboard. Conscious mind is wishes and desires. That's what you want from your life. Health, happiness, good relationship, good job. Conscious mind, creative. But it turns out that 95% of our life, our conscious mind is not typing on the keyboard. It's thinking. So it's thinking about what happened yesterday. What's going to happen tomorrow? What should I be doing? Thinking. When I'm thinking, conscious mind is not paying attention to the outside. Conscious mind has gone inside. So all the thinking you're doing is actually taking you away from the world that you see. Well, what if I'm driving the car and I have a thought? And I say, conscious mind, let's go to the steering wheel. And it's thinking. I say, well, what about the car? I go, subconscious is autopilot. So the moment you let go of the wheel with your conscious mind, subconscious comes in. But it has the programs. It knows how to drive. It learned all these things. But the problem is this. It's programs mainly from other people. Is the program good? Fine. No problem. But if the program is a negative problem, it could sabotage your life. And you are not even seeing it because you're inside thinking. So all of a sudden, it becomes a very important issue. And that is, what are your subconscious programs? There's a story I talk about that reveals this conscious subconscious. And I've used this story 30 years in my lecture. So I know the story. And the story is this. You have a friend. You know your friend's behavior very, very well. And you know your friend's parent. And one day you see your friend has the same behavior as their parent. So you want to tell your friend, you go, hey, Bill, you're just like your dad. And I say, then you back away from Bill. Because the first thing Bill's going to say, how can you compare me to my dad? I'm nothing like my dad. And people laugh because everyone's familiar with it. This is the most important story I can tell you for this reason. Everybody else can see that Bill behaves like his dad. Where did he get the behavior? Downloaded it in the first seven years. And everybody can see him do this behavior. But the problem is Bill can't see it. Because he's the one that says, I'm nothing like my dad. I said, well, how can he be playing his dad's behavior and then not see it? And the answer is, why was he playing his dad's behavior? Because he was thinking. And the conscious mind was not watching. It was inside. So whatever behavior was coming out was coming from the program. And if it's negative behavior and Bill can't see it, that means he could be sabotaging his life. And he's the only one that can't see it. So relevance is this. We are all Bill. Every one of us is just like Bill. We have in our head very positive thoughts. But our life doesn't match the thoughts. Now, let me help very quickly. You weren't there consciously when the program was coming in. Because conscious mind didn't start to work until about age seven. So if I ask you, I say, so what program did you get when you were zero? I don't know. Okay, what program did you get when you were one? Two? I don't know. So now we have a problem. Your life is controlled by the program. But you have no memory of the program. And so it's been an issue. So what is my program? So here's the interesting conclusion. 95% of our life is coming from the program. Your life is a printout of your program. You don't have to go backwards to see what the program is. You are manifesting your program. All you see is the result. I didn't get the job. I didn't get the relationship. And if you didn't see you were involved, because you didn't see your own behavior, you're only left with the belief that it's the outside is causing the problem. And what we have to do is start saying, wait a minute, I am responsible. I am creating this life. If the life isn't working well, if we say you're a victim, that means I'm powerless. Oh, it happened to me. I'm just a victim. There are no victims. We are creating what we are doing. Even consciousness and quantum physics says the exact same thing. So when you look at your life, consciousness is what is manifesting this. This is physics and epigenetics. So the idea is this. Well, now that you know that you have problems, and now you should recognize that these problems didn't come from the outside. They came from the inside. That means then we should be able to change those programs and then in changing those programs, take control over our life. And you can only do that if you recognize I am personally responsible for what's happening. So therefore, I'm personally capable of changing it. So all you have to do is look at your life. And first thing is this. You say, the things that I like that come into my life, they come into my life because I have a program to let them come in. More important, the things that you want, what you struggle over, you have to work hard for, you have to sweat to make it happen. Why are you working so hard? The answer is inevitably, whatever you want and you can't get it is because the program you have doesn't support it. So you're trying to fight against your own program. I'm working hard to do this, but my program is working hard to prevent me from doing it. That's where struggle comes from. So we have to recognize that when you have struggle in your life, it's not because the universe doesn't like you. It's not because you're an unlucky person. It's because your invisible programming is keeping you from getting what you want. And so now that you have an understanding, you have programs. Of course, the most important thing is, can I change the program? We have to recognize that what we call the mind is actually two separate minds. And each mind learns in a different way. And that's where the problems come from. So let's talk about the conscious mind. That's the latest evolution of the brain. It's right behind your forehead, a lobe of brain called prefrontal cortex. This is where our personal identity is. This is where our spiritual connection is, the prefrontal cortex. Consciousness character is creative. This is what makes humans different than lower animals. We can have imagination and then we can create from our imagination. What is it you want? Oh, I can make that. So that gives us our power. Subconscious is actually just a database of programs like the hard drive of a computer. There's nobody in there. So conscious mind is creative. Subconscious mind is habits, habitual. Subconscious records a behavior and then can play it back. You learned how to walk before you were two. You could be 100 years old. You're still walking. Why? Because the program that I got in subconscious can be there 100 years. But if the programs aren't good, you have to remember this is the habit mind. Habits do not want to change. If a habit changes, then it's not a habit anymore. But that creates an issue then. What if my programs I don't want and I want to change them? I go, oh, well, it learns in a different way than the conscious mind. Conscious mind is creative. You could read a self-help book. You can watch this video. You can go to a lecture. You can just go, aha, I have a new idea. And conscious mind can change. Subconscious resists change because if it changes, then habits disappear. This is why people read a self-help book. And if you give them a test, they can get 100. I understood everything in the book. I say, did your life change? No, but I understand everything in the book. That's because conscious mind downloaded that information. But conscious mind only working 5% of the time means I don't care what you read in the book. Your subconscious is still controlling it. But now we want to change subconscious. I go, but that has to have a special learning process. The first seven years of our life, the brain is in a lower vibration called theta. It's hypnosis record. So I say, you want to put a new program in? Then you use hypnosis. Does that mean I need to see a hypnotherapist? I say, no. Here's the reason. The vibrations of the brain when you're sleeping are very low called delta. And then as you start to wake up a little bit, the next vibration is called theta, higher vibration. But you're still not awake yet. But when it crosses into the next one called alpha, the higher vibration, that's calm consciousness, like you wake up in the morning. And before you wake up, you're just in theta, imagination. When you come home, it reverses. Just as you go to sleep every night, when this conscious mind disconnects, the brain is operating in theta. Well, that's the hypnosis one. So if you put earphones on with a program that you want to be true in your life, whether it's a relationship program, a job program, a health program, whatever that program is, and you go to sleep, guess what? Conscious mind just went to sleep. So it's not even listening to the program. It's gone. But theta is hypnosis. So for the next period of time, just after your conscious mind went to sleep, if you have a program coming in the earphones, it's going straight into the subconscious. That's called self-hypnosis. That's one way to change. Number two, after age seven, you're not in theta anymore. Now you're in conscious, but you can still learn programs. You learn how to drive a car, play an instrument, ride a bicycle, whatever. Well, how'd you learn those? Repetition, practice, making a habit. You have to practice something, repeat it. So I give you an instrument. I say, here, play this horn. I don't know how to play a horn. I say, practice. So every day you practice, you practice. And guess what? After you practice enough, now it's a program. I can now pick up the horn and play it. Well, if you want to change your life, make a program and then practice that program anytime you can remember. And the third way of changing the subconscious mind is a new process called energy psychology. And it's a way of introducing what is called super learning. Maybe you've seen somebody read a book by moving their finger down the page. As fast as they moved that, they read every word on the page. Well, if you can engage super learning in this process, you can download new subconscious programs in minutes. There's a whole bunch of modalities, different ways of energy psychology, but this is the latest approach. You can change beliefs in minutes. And this is what we all need now, because the planet is in a very tough situation right now. And we all have to change our beliefs because our beliefs are creating a problem. We need to change. So energy psychology is the third way. So there are three ways to change beliefs. Number one, self-hypnosis, earphones at night. Number two, create a new habit and practice it. Just practicing, repeating it. And number three, energy psychology is a way of changing programs very quickly. The wonderful story about this new science is that programming is what creates our life and parents are programmers. And so if parents knew that their words that they say to a child are shaping the future of that child, then parents would start to say different things to their children instead of criticizing them, saying that's not good enough and you don't deserve this and who do you think you are? The conventional parent is criticizing a child like a coach on a team. If a player on the team isn't doing well, what does the coach say? It doesn't go, oh, please do better. The coach says, that's not good enough. You can do better. But a child old enough to understand what the coach is talking about goes, oh, okay, I'm not working so hard. I'll work better. And criticism makes them change. But remember, a child under seven is not thinking. It's just recording. What is it here? Not good enough. Not worthy. Not lovable. Not deserving. And that was because the parents were going to do that to try to make the child do better. But if the child is not conscious thinking and just recording, then all those words become very negative programs for the future of that child. It's more effective for parents to say you are smart. You can do anything. You're very powerful. You're a creator. Why? Because if those are the programs and then the child's life is 95% from those programs, all of those programs give power to a child. So there's an important part. It's called conscious parenting. But then now you've got to add one last thing. Parents are like everybody else. 5% of their life comes from their conscious wishes. And 95% comes from the program. I say, why is that important? Because a parent was once a child and was programmed by their parent. So when they're with their own child, 5% of the time they're going to be, oh, I'm going to be a wonderful conscious parent. I'm going to make the best child possible. But I go, yeah, but 95% you're still automatic program. You're going to play the same program that your parents had. A very interesting little side story. When they followed the fate of children who were adopted into a family where there was cancer running in the family. So the whole family lineage, grandparents, parents, et cetera, had cancer. And the child from outside adopted into that family. It turns out that the adopted child will generally get the same cancer that the family has. But the most important insight is the adopted child came from different genetics. So it's not the same genes. So where did the cancer come from? And the answer is not from the genes, but from the programming. So we have to recognize I want to be a conscious parent, but I also recognize that 95% of my life is not coming from conscious parent. It's coming from program. But if there's, let's say, a couple that are raising a child, one of the parents could observe the other parent. And if the other parent goes off and starts doing an old program, the watching parent could go, wait, let's stop and change this program. And so between the parents watching each other and helping them change the program, they can become then real conscious parents. And so this is why it's important because like Bill, he couldn't see his own behavior. A parent cannot see their own behavior. They have wishes to be the best parent, but that's 5%. 95% is coming from just the way they were raised. But another parent observing this has an opportunity to be critical and help adjust the programming so that if both parents are doing this, at some point, they will rewrite the negative programming and then become truly conscious parents and creating the next generation with power. The planet is in a state of upheaval at this moment. We're facing an evolution. The behavior that people have been living on in this planet, the behavior of civilization, is causing what is called a mass extinction. We're destroying the environment. So this is a wake-up time. And it says our behavior, which has been programmed for generations, is causing this problem. But if we change the behavior, then we have an opportunity to create a healthier, happier world. And so the old programs of victim and all the issues of crisis and health and stress, these can be rewritten. And if we understand they can be rewritten, then we can change our lives. I'll just close with a very important fact. We run programs 95% of the day. And our lives then become a reflection of whatever the program is. But science has recognized something very important. When we fall in love and we just have this big, Ah! I've fallen in love! I go, in 24 hours, your life can change. Your life could be every day, blah, blah, blah, blah. You meet this special person, and the next day is honeymoon. Heaven on Earth. And you have a honeymoon experience where love is so beautiful and life is better and I'm healthier and happier and life is wonderful. The honeymoon time is the first time in your life you stop playing the program. You stay conscious. And that means mindful. I say, why is it important? Remember, the reason I play the program is because my thinking went inside and then the program played automatically. But if I stop thinking, I'm not letting go of the wheel. And conscious mind has wishes and desires. So guess what? If I'm holding on to the wheel with conscious mind, I'm driving toward wishes and desires. And that's what manifests as the honeymoon effect. Unfortunately, thinking comes back in and then the old programs come back up and then the honeymoon ends for most people. But the most important lesson was this. If we rewrote all the stupid programs and just left the creative ones that we want, then life would be a honeymoon every day of your life for as long as you lived. We'd have Heaven on Earth. But it's the programs that get in the way. So the wake up call is time to wake up, change the programming, change civilization. Because if civilization starts to live in harmony, the planet will regrow the garden. That we were given when we got here. Interesting as a scientist, I never believed in spirituality. But as my world changed and I started to see how the environment was controlling the cells, I started to recognize something that no two people are exactly the same. And that you can demonstrate by if you take an organ out of your body and transplant it into another person's body, their immune system will say not self and reject it. So our cells have an identity to them. And the identity is a set of protein receptors, antennas, just like television antennas on the surface of the cell. No two people have the same set of these. There's a large number, like a combination lock. I say, well, why is it important? Because these are called self receptors, receivers of self. Then where's the signal of self coming from that activates these antennas? The answer is not inside the cell, outside the cell. And that's when I thought, oh my goodness, my identity is picked up by these antennas. But the antennas are receiving a broadcast from the environment. So a simple analogy. You have a television set, an antenna, and you're watching a program. The television breaks. We say the television is dead. I go, yep, television is not working. It's dead. The question is, is the broadcast still there? This is the television and I am the broadcast. Because if I am the broadcast, the broadcast is always here. It's the televisions that come in. Two important quotes, Albert Einstein. The field, the invisible energy. The field is the sole governing agency of the particle, matter. The field, energy, is shaping matter. The field is here whether the body is here or not. The field is still here. The bodies come and go. So then we have to recognize the idea of death is not what we have believed it to be, an end. Death just means, okay, the television's broken, but you're still the broadcast. You're still here in a different form. And you can manifest the physical part again. That's called reincarnation. But you're always here as a spirit. What is the field definition? Invisible moving forces that influence the physical world. I go, okay, cool. Wait, there's another word with the same definition. Spirit. Invisible moving forces that influence the physical world. So what's the consequence? Quantum physics is returning us to the first understanding of spirituality. We are first the energy field. And that energy field, then spirit or field, you can say whichever one you want, is what shapes our lives. And so this is a uniting of ancient spirituality and modern science are coming across to become one again the same. And once we own that we are spiritual entities, then we become empowered because the fear of death will disappear. And that's what drives most people on this planet. The fear that you know you're going to die. But what if you know you weren't going to die? What if you knew you were always here? Then all of a sudden it changes why we're here. So instead of saying, this is the only one time I'm here. It's like, let's make the best of this one. Why? Because if I'm creating my life, why don't I create heaven like the honeymoon? I can do it. I've done it. I can do it for my whole life. I don't have to have just a short period of that. So whether you say the word field or whether you say the word spirit, they are functionally the same thing. So new science is going to return us to ancient wisdom.