Last night, I heard part of a Dr. Bruce Lipton talk for the second time. In it, he speaks of the concept of Genetic Determinism, the idea that our genetic code determines our experience of life. In other words, that we are victims of our genes. He goes on to demonstrate how the genes are actually just blueprints responding to their environment. They control nothing, only respond to directions. What controls the genes? Behavior. Behavior creates the environment to which the cells are responding. What determines behavior? Belief.
Only a small percentage of disease is genetic in origin. Most disease is due to habits of thinking and behavior, based on belief.
That may seem a startling statement but when you learn to step back a little for from the stories playing in your head, it becomes apparent just how much this is true. The mind is constantly regurgitating it’s beliefs in response to what it perceives to be happening.
Don Miguel Ruiz speaks of this as our conditioning. Mary O’Malley describes how when we are out of touch with ourselves, we develop compulsions. I talk about Seeing the Story.
As the mind likes to have an explanation or story for everything, it can become prone to blame and make excuses. When we see the world from within this web of stories, we can develop bizarre explanations that drive or reinforce our behavior in very curious ways.
While we were watching Bruce, there was a large array of baked sweets people had brought – even the fresh strawberries came with sugar. Some people spoke of the evils of sugar, there was stories of a family sweet tooth, and of having a little fun. There was little neutral ground and the goodies were pretty much cleared.
The simple fact is – sugar and low quality carbs are addictive. Sugar creates a short term high, then a drop that leads to craving for more. This throws off the bodies intelligence, the signals for what we actually need. Eating such foods in the evening exaggerates the effects.
If your diet is reasonable, a little sugar is not an issue. It can even aid in processing a purification. (people may crave sweets during a release) The issue arises when it’s a habit or part of the diet. The vast majority of packaged foods contain sugar as a primary ingredient. We’ve become conditioned to expect sweet taste. Indeed, some of said foods are not palatable without added sugar and flavours.
If you’ve ever tried something like a fast or a South Beach or similar low carb diet, you’ll see the sugar addition. It creates a craving there for the first couple of days. It’s only after that that the bodies intelligence is restored.
Being mindful when we eat helps a great deal. Then we see the craving and the excuses. Then we can choose.
You’ll see 3 kinds of voices. The excuses that make it OK. The blindness – ‘I’m not watching while you indulge’ game. And the blame that makes it wrong. Where is the neutral voice, where it doesn’t matter?
Many think seeing it wrong will help. Without guilt, will we ever learn? The problem with making it bad is it makes us wrong. This just feeds the story. We can see how well guilt works by witnessing how many diets fail and leave the participant feeling worse than when they started.
The idea here is that happiness is the goal. Lasting happiness that’s not at the mercy of craving or guilt. This comes from not being caught by the story, by being neutral and thus seeing it as it is and choosing wisely.
Food is one of the more obvious ones, touching both physical and emotional craving. But we have similar excuses for our behavior throughout our life. Work, sex, money, relationships… one big drama for all too many people. You may think – ah but I’m not caught in a big story. I would then ask – are you enlightened? If not, you’re in a story. You just haven’t seen it yet.
But there is a way out, if you’re willing to look. And keep looking. The effort is more than worth it.
Davidya