Ignite the Promise

Beam me Up, Scotty!

Bruce Lipton, in his book, Biology of Belief (Hay House Publishers, 2005), believes that medical doctors and researchers need to pay more attention to energy-based medical treatments.  Lipton expects that this shift in focus will reduce the over 300,000 unintended deaths a year due to adverse drug reactions.

If we look at ourselves subatomically, we would find ourselves made up of a bunch of atoms floating around in electrical fields, the electrical charges keeping us from flying apart.  The science fiction televison program, Star Trek, had a special chamber that dissociated a person into electrical charges to be beamed to another location where they spontaneously reassociated back into the person.  'Beam me up, Scotty' was the signal to initiate this --  definitely a great way to travel through space!

Yes, our entire body is held together by charged molecules -- energy.  This leads to the notion that all of us have an unique energy signature that radiates from us.  Ever meet someone you immediately liked, that seemed to be on the same wave length?  Well, if we all exhibit unique energy fields, then it may be that those positive people encounters indicate a coherance of fields between you and the other person, i.e., there is harmonic resonance.  So what we term 'good chemistry' is in reality harmony between the two energy fields! "Were there sparks when they met?!"  There are also those encounters with people we feel antagonistic towards.  There is no resonance, just destructive interference. It is like there is a repulsion of energy fields.  On a larger scale, the in situ destruction of kidney stones is caused by the stones vibrating when the frequency of introduced energy waves match those of the stone, causing the stone to vibrate to the point of dissolution.

We already use energy to generate information from our bodies' systems.  Doctors use different scanners such as CAT scans, MRIs, and PET scans.  The energy sent into the organs cause release of energetic molecules which can be measured on films, like brain scans.

While the mainstream medical establishment has not yet embraced energy-based medicine, the belief that energy fields are influential in controlling our physiology and our health has led to a number of healing modalities that exploit this.  Acupuncture, massage therapy, music therapy, chiropractic and Frequency Specific Microcurrent treatments use electrical/energy pathways to treat different health issues.

As an extension of our electrophysiology, and the fact that our cell membranes are the sites of our responses to the environment with specific protein receptors to make those responses specific, it follows that electrical signals coming from the environment have specificity.  This further means that we do not respond to all signals, as different people have different receptors and respond differently to signals.  This leads to an interesting question.  Does every thought, even prayer, have specific electrical markers that will only be received by a person(s) who has the complementary receptors, and to no one else?  Additionally, do these environmental messages (signals) last forever since they are made up of specific energy units?  Can my grandfather's prayer for me 100 years ago show up today?

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

 

 

It's St. Valentine's Day Once Again!

St. Valentine's Day (14 Feb) is one of my wife's favorite days.  That means I must remember it and celebrate it!  It is a great opportunity to recalibrate your approach to people you care about.  How do you make the day memorable to them?  Last year in my Valentine's blog, I ended by saying, "Yes, we need to send 'love' today, but should do so other times as well.  We should be gifting those we love, spontaneously, not just on St. Valentine's Day."  I also provided a bit of history that showed St. Valentine's Day was first declared in 498 AD!  So what I will do for my wife? 

It's simple, just do something -- with meaning, with heart!  Here is my list for all of this year: 1) Give her flowers; 2) Tell her I love her every day and every time I leave to go somewhere; 3) Help her more in the kitchen and with the laundry; 4) Ask her what she would like to do on the weekends; 5) Listen to her and talk less; 6) Give her undivided attention instead of multitasking when she is speaking with me; 7) Give her a hug regularly; 8) Make regular, unscheduled efforts to surprise her with things she likes, like a gourmet cookie; 9) Make dates to take her out to something nice; and 10) Pray for her health and success daily.

Happy Valentine's Day, Madeline.  I love you!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

We are of Two-Minds!

Have you ever heard the phrase -- my mind has a mind of its own?  It's a reality -- we have two minds -- conscious and subconscious minds!  As you might guess, the two minds may not always agree with each other.  When that happens, life can be stressful and bad things can happen! 

Our conscious mind works to think conceptually, abstractly, set goals, judge, try new things; it has short-term memory and limited processing capacity (illustrated by the inability to multi-task beyond 2-3 things at one time.

Our subconscious mind keeps us alive and safe.  It monitors our body functions, heart rate.  It is literal and is sensory based and holds our attitudes, values and beliefs.  It has long-term memory with an immense processing capacity able to manage thousands of events to support our body's needs.  Our subconscious mind is continuously being primed by all our senses.

The importance of understanding our two minds is when the two are not in synchrony.  For example if we consciously decide to undertake a risky task or sport, our subconscious is cautious and unwilling to act, so there will be an internal struggle.  In the 1996 movie 'Shine' we find a brilliant Australian piano prodigy struggling with his subconscious as his conscious mind strives to succeed as an acclaimed pianist.  He has been subconsciously programmed by his father to avoid the spotlight because the notoriety will get him killed.  Thus as he plays in a competition to win, his subconscious fights his conscious mind to fail.  He makes it to the end of the piece and collapses.  He has a mental breakdown.  The conscious fight to keep from failing had taken its toll. 

In an experiment conducted with college students, one group was 'tested' with a series of rude words. Another group was 'tested' with polite words.  After their tests, participants were asked to meet with two testers.  When they arrived at the appointment, they found the two testers having a conversation.  Unbeknowst to the students, the conversation was a test to see which would interrupt the two testers first.  All the students exposed to the rude words waited about 5 minutes before interrupting the testers.  Surprisingly, 82% of the polite-word group did not interrupt the testers during the entire test period.  Exposure to the different word-sets programmed the subconscious of the students.  Further, the subconscious demonstrated influence on conscious actions.

The understanding that our subconscious plays such an important role in our conscious life reinforces our need to feed our minds with positive thoughts and images instead of negative ones.  This understanding also reiterates the importance to help children read, see, hear, and be exposed to life enriching experiences.  If not, our children will be at a disadvantage to live positive fulfilled lives.

These ideas are presented after reading "Biology of Belief" by Bruce H. Lipton (Hay House, 2005) and "Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson (Zondervan Press, 2011).

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Where is your Mind?

Have you wondered where your mind is?  Is it in your brain or is it somewhere else?  I wondered to the point that I figured no one knew so I stopped wondering.  Well, there is research evidence suggesting that the brain is not where the mind is.  OK, we know where the brain is, so where is the mind?   

If the mind is defined as the organ that responds to environmental signals with specific and appropriate cell and body responses, then that excludes the brain as the mind.  The mind decides on actions to take.  The mind helps us move to take the action. The brain coordinates the actions.

The definition also excludes the cell nucleus, with its genetic material (DNA), as the mind.  The DNA does not have an on/off switch that is needed to control cellular and body functions. The genes however contain information to produce a response to an environmental stimulus.  That information on the genes is 'protected' by a protein coat.  When the body needs a specific response, a stimulus in the cell activates the protein coat to uncover that portion of the gene to allow synthesis of a needed protein product.  In other words, the genes are there to respond to signals from the cells -- and the cell receives its signals from the environment through its surface membrane receptors. 

While the brain does not have the responsiveness for a 'mind,' the cellular membranes throughout the body have such functional capability.  The short of it?  The mind of the body resides on the surface of cell membranes!  Furthermore, the mind works through energy fields to control our physiology and our health.

As more practitioners take on this new thinking that it is environmental signaling (and not our genetics) that controls our physiology and health, there will be more outside interventions that can help us heal, get well, feel good, and live long vibrant lives!  I am looking forward to learn more about this!  Hope you are too.

These ideas are exerpted from "Biology of Belief" by Bruce H. Lipton (Hay House, 2005).

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

"It's the Environment, Stupid!"

What controls our health, our biology?  Is it our inherited genes?  No!  We have been wrong since 1859 when Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection."  With this publication, Darwin launched a quest by scientists for the genetic proof that our biology is controlled by indelible genes.  This concept, Darwinian determinism, has been the mantra for over 100 years and our textbooks and literature tell us that our genes control our lives.  As a former medical school professor (who worked with cells that produced specialized proteins (antibodies) that confer immunity to foreign substances), I, too, learned the mantra.  Scientists spend years searching in the DNA for specific genes, e.g., a cancer gene, etc.  This view suggests that we are not in control of our lives, that the genes we inherit from our parents dictate who and what we will become.  It implies that if our parents had heart trouble or cancer we will have it as well.  We just wait for the cancer gene to emerge!

Genes give us the structure and unique form of who we are, but do not control our biology.  The book, "Biology of Belief" by Bruce H. Lipton (Hay House, 2005) shows it's the environment that is the driver shaping our lives (biology), not our genes.  Lipton, a former professor of Cell Biology, systematically and convincingly presents the case for this 'new biology' that is diametrically opposed to Darwinian determinism.  Instead, Lipton suggests it is Environmental determinism.  The implications of Lipton's thesis are profound.  It means that we are not trapped by our heredity; we are not cursed by poor health experienced by our parents; it is not inevitable that we get cancer if our parents had cancer; importantly, it means we have more control over our health and lives than we ever thought possible.  Lipton does reference that only 5% of cancer and cardiovascular patients can attribute their diseases to heredity. 

The dogma resulting from Darwin's thesis was that DNA (genetic material, deoxyribonucleic acid) produced RNA (ribonucleic acid messengers coding for proteins) that leads to protein synthesis.  Lipton says that this DNA-centric view puts the DNA (genes) in control of our biology and he emphatically points out that this is wrong!  Scientists have known much of what Lipton shares, but have not articulated the fact that it is the environment that plays the dominant role in controlling our biology. 

The concept that the gene is in control is so very entrenched (textbooks, curricula, lay media) that it is difficult to change mainstream thinking. It has been widely assumed in the science community that DNA (found in the nuclei of all cells) is the brain for the cell.  A brain is an organ that senses and responds to its environment.  By referencing published science experiments, Lipton shows that the main function of the DNA is for reproduction of the cell.  In his colorful way, Lipton says that the DNA is not the brain, but the gonads of the cell!  If the nucleus/DNA is not the brain, then where is the brain?  By its function, Lipton declares the cell membrane the brain.  The membrane senses the environment and with its receptors and effector proteins sets in motion an appropriate response to the environmental stimulus.  There is a scientific discipline, Epigenetics, that studies the control of cell function outside of genetics.  Most interesting from these studies is the fact that we can change our genetics and that those changes can be transferred to our progeny.  As Lipton says, the primacy of the environmental signal over the DNA results in a sequence that starts with an environmental stimulus resulting in triggering regulatory membrane proteins that then activate the DNA, the RNA, and subsequent protein synthesis.  And proteins are the substances that serve as 'workers' in our bodies to help send signals, pass information, and turn on and off cells that produce other mediators that keep our bodies functioning optimally.

How do we humans develop our biological complexity?  It is with the several hundred thousands of protein molecules that mediate and generate our diverse responses.  It appears that even though mice and humans have about the same number of genes, our proteins' abilities to respond to many environmental stimuli far exceed those of mice. Why?  From epigenetic studies it has been shown that over 2,000 protein configurations can be formed from a single gene sequence.  That's diversity!

The bottom line?  If our cellular membranes translate environmental signals into behavior, then our environment plays the major role in controlling our biology.  This means that we have significant control over health and well-being situations in our lives.  We are not constrained by our genetics.  We can help ourselves and can no longer blame our inherited past.  Now that is exciting!  What does this mean in terms of medical practice, nutrition and health, existing diseases, people and places we interact with, or what we think and do?  New thinking, new treatments, new ideas, and new hope where there was none!  There is more to this story and I can't wait to learn it. 

© Baldwin H. Tom, Ph.D.
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Brain Patterns, Neurochemicals and Non-Genetic Implications

Most recently when I find an area that connects the right brain to the left brain, I am fascinated.  I have focused on the right brain emotions of feeling good, being sad, being depressed, and having faith because there is now scientific evidence that we can take pictures of our brain patterns that represent these emotions.  Now that is amazing!  There are now ways to characterize and map emotions to different sectors of our brains.  Furthermore, there are now identified molecular markers that serve as messengers in triggering emotions and/or the brain changes.  Awesome!  In other words, we are beginning to discover hard scientific evidence on what we have previously considered just a feeling without science or chemistry associated with it.

As I was reviewing my notes and reference materials to write up this blog, I picked up a book published in 2005, The Biology of Belief, by former university cell biologist Bruce H. Lipton.  I had not read this book yet so I began to flip pages to read sections. It is an amazing read if you are a scientist, as I have been, because it challenges Darwinian determinism.  It notes that it's not the genes that dictate who we are, but it's the environment.  I am still reading the book and I guarantee that it will challenge your understanding about how genes work and do not work in creating who we are. 

While I have yet to complete the reading, here is what has been said about this book.  1) Our biology is controlled by energetic messages from our negative and positive thoughts; 2) The healing potential of our bodies are influenced by our thoughts, perceptions, and subconscious awareness; 3) There is a connection between biology, psychology, and spirituality; 4) Your emotions regulate your genetic expression; 5) Your health is controlled by your lifestyle, not by your genetics; 6) You are less a victim of your genes and more a responsibility of your own actions; and 7) You can change the character of your life by changing your beliefs.  If this synopsis doesn't get you running to read the book, I'm not sure anything will!

While it appears I have deviated from my original theme around finding common denominators in brain patterns and neurochemical secretion among music therapy, prayer, meditation, cognitive behavior therapy, acupuncture, and microcurrent stimulation, I believe this book may actually help reinforce the theme.  The fundamental question I am yet seeking is whether these types of treatments result in physics-based electrochemical endpoints that change our biology.  As an adjunct here, I personally witnessed the change in heart rate of a hospital patient anxious about a planned surgery while she was being prayed over.  Her starting pulse rate on the monitor was 95 and during the 5 minute prayer it dropped to 60 and stayed around 60 until the prayer was over and the patient opened her eyes.  Then it went back up to 75, not 95.  Whether it was the prayer or her relaxation, I don’t know, but her anxiety level was reduced.  The pulse rate drop was dramatic.

To be continued ... 

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

In A Pit With A Lion!

At the end of our lives, our greatest regrets will be those things we should have done but did not.   

Did you ever wonder how some people seem to have lives that are more energized than not, ones that appear to have interesting stories to tell, stories you enjoy listening to?   I have.  It turns out that if we do not live fully, we have regrets.  The most interesting lives tend to be lives lived with fewer regrets! 

Mark Batterson's book (Multnomah Publishers, 2006), "In a pit with a lion on a snowy day," tells the story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased and then jumped into a pit to kill a lion on a snowy day.  Why?  We don't know.  Because Benaiah did so, he was later selected to be the body guard for a king.  Batterson tells this story well, and asks us to imagine what the king thought when he saw Benaiah's resume: "I killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day."   Benaiah later become the commander-in-chief of the entire army. The point of this story was to note that if Benaiah had decided to run instead of chase the lion, his life would have been very different. 

In nine chapters, Batterson tells about other lion chasers and teaches how we can be better lion chasers and live fuller lives. It is also a story about taking risks.  Importantly, it is a story about embracing uncertainty, as lion chasers are never certain what the outcome might be. The bottom line is that we have to have guts to step out in faith and chase lions.  "No guts, no glory!"  We need some offense in our lives, not just defense.  We need to be proactive, not reactive; not just playing it safe.  Lion chasers are always looking for opportunities and making the best of them -- doing the best one can with what one has.

OK.  We are not going to risk chasing a lion.  However, the moral of the story is that if we want to have a full life, we will need to take risks to reach for things we should reach for.  It may be to quit a job for a new one in another state, to start a business, to get married, or to have children.  In each instance there is risk because of the uncertainty of the results.  Risk provides complications and inconveniences.  However, when we embrace uncertainty that comes from risk, the end result can awaken us to a new life and unforgettable moments.

Embracing uncertainty has a lot to do with our perspectives in life.  Do we believe there is a purpose for our lives?  If we see no purpose, we will give up at a first set back.  If we do not believe there is a purpose, then any purpose will do.  If that's the case, we will believe our lives are controlled by circumstance and happenstance – random.  If so, the future is dependent on chance.  Well, I do not believe we are here just to wait for the wind of circumstances to move us about.  I know that everyone has special talents and inclinations.  Thus, I feel these inclinations, when embraced, will lead them toward their purpose -- their destiny.

Here is the challenge.  Faith and the willingness to lose some control in our lives is required in order to have the confidence to embrace uncertainty. When one steps out in faith, takes a chance and becomes a lion chaser, that single experience will change the trajectory of one’s life.  It certainly changed Benaiah's life from common warrior to becoming the supreme warrior! 

Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch survivor of the Nazi WWII camps, demonstrated by working on a needle point picture that our lives look a lot like the underside of a needle point rendering, a jumbo of threads and colors without a discernable pattern.  Yet the front side displayed a beautiful picture.  Christians believe that while we see a jumble of threads, God, from the outside looking in, sees the complete picture.  This means that not all our experiences (and lion chasing) may fit our perceived path (or make sense to us at the time).  Lion chasers are not deterred by gaps of logic, they just move on -- in faith.

Now that I understand the ‘secret’ to a fulfilled life, I have begun chasing more lions!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Faith -- The Fifth Dimension

We live in a three-dimensional world -- we move up/down, forward/backward, and side/to side.  When we add time, our total existence is in four dimensions.  That's it.  We can't be anywhere else! It is in these four dimensions that we work and play.  It is in these dimensions that we deal with life and work with their challenges.  We act in response to life's needs and demands.  We make decisions and we make plans.  We enjoy it and we are unhappy about it. 

Is there more?  YES!  For those of us who believe in a force outside of ourselves, we have faith.  Faith is about trust or confidence in someone or some thing.  Faith is not only believing that someone can, but that they will.  Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is expecting the sun to rise again tomorrow because it happened yesterday.  Faith is thus the fifth dimension in which all of us can live. 

It is with faith that we can overcome fear.  Faith allows us to withstand times of challenge and difficulty.   Faith in a greater future guides us to new heights.  Have you been in the presence of someone with a strong faith?  Those individuals tend to be calmer under pressure, less agitated when confronted, and more composed when challenged by life.  Those entrepreneurs with a strong faith about themselves tend to take greater risks in innovative ideas.  Living can be difficult, yet a person of faith tends to weather the difficulties better -- believing tomorrow will be a better day.

It's a new year and I will focus on living fully in all five dimensions -- especially by faith.  That will be my New Year's resolution.  By the way, I have faith that 2012 will be an awesome year! 

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Jesus Christ is Born Today!

Born of a poor family, Jesus' virgin birth is accepted by the faithful.  When one connects the dots with the reported observations of people 2000 years ago, it is easy to see how Jesus was a unique person.  He is considered the son of God and lived a 'perfect' life.  Very little is known about his early childhood except that he was raised in the traditional Jewish ways.  His mother was Mary, Mary's husband was Joseph, and Jesus had a brother, James.

Only when he was thirty when his ministry became apparent do we have more information about his life.  What is amazing given what we know about the difficulty of 'getting the word' out today is that Jesus did it when the basic means of communications (transportation) was by foot.  There were no cell phones or iPads or such.  It was all face-to-face or word-of-mouth communications.  Yet, he was able to spread his message that there is a better way of living.  There is a heaven and there is an evil one, the devil, who prefers you not know about heaven. 

Jesus was brilliant as a debater and a spell-binding teacher.  He often used stories to make a point.  The story made you think to try to discern what he meant.  He did not lose debates.  When he was challenged by leaders who adhered to Jewish law who said, "This women was caught in the act of adultery.  The Law commands us to stone such a woman.  What do you say?"  These leaders' goal was to trap Jesus in breaking the law by sparing the woman.  Instead Jesus said, "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  No one did.

During Jesus' time, there were many others preaching about a better life.  There were magicians and other charlatans to entice people to join their movements, often for a fee.  Jesus just used well-placed miracles to make his point that he was the real deal.  You've got to love his math that I learned recently, where 5 (loaves of bread) + 2 (fish) = 5000 (people  fed), with a remainder of 12 (baskets of food)!  His miracles and teaching could not be countered by the powers in control of society, neither the priests, pharisees, nor the Roman authorities.  As more and more people 'joined' the Jesus movement (as it was not Christianity then) his detractors saw Jesus as a threat to their power and to the stability of their society.  Hence, Jesus had to be silenced.  He was ultimately betrayed by one within his inner circle of 12 disciples.  Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve and, for 30 pieces of silver, turned Jesus over to the Roman authorities.

Even though the Roman official, Pontias Pilate, could find no crime that Jesus committed, the custom of the day was to select a prisoner to be executed.  The crowd, consisting mostly of those who would best benefit if Jesus were eliminated, selected Jesus. 

He was tortured and hung on a cross, as was done with criminals, and died.  While Jesus suffered and died a painful death as one of us, he told his disciples that he would return in three days after being killed.  No one understood what this meant until it happened.  In his greatest miracle, on the third day he rose from the dead.

The rest is history.  In the short span of three years of ministry, Jesus was able to solidify teachings about God and Him, the son, to the disciples and to other believers so that his words would ultimately change the world.  However one views this Jesus story, it is irrefutable that Jesus Christ was born, preached, died, and for the faithful, he rose from the grave to change the way we might live.  Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth. Happy Birthday and Hallelujah! 

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Down Syndrome -- Of Mice and Us

This blog is about entrepreurship -- seeing a problem, seeking a solution, coupled with buckets of perseverance.  This is a testimonial about one mother seeking a cure for Down Syndrome and succeeding!

The story begins when Teresa Cody’s first child Neal was born in 1997 with Down syndrome (DS).   With a science background (as a dentist), Dr. Cody told herself “that through the proper medicine (chemistry) we could treat the symptoms and free him from the limitations of Down syndrome. It is now coming true. He is getting better and better. He has more and more function and abilities.” 

Cody has been deliberate and systematic in researching and studying everything she could about DS.  She joined and participated in DS forums, but soon discovered that the forums spent too much time bickering and not enough in looking for solutions. This drove Cody away from the forums to a full focus on studying the science.  She joined with others with similar interests in researching the science of DS and sharing information. It was not until 2004 when a Stanford research paper on Down Syndrome mice showed the cause for memory problems in these mice that it became clear to Cody her next steps.

Cody works through the Changing Mind Foundation (CMF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit she formed dedicated to improving the mental ability of persons with Down syndrome.  The CMF advances a treatment therapy designed by Dr. Cody based upon the research findings of the Stanford DS mouse model that targets the underlying cause of learning and memory problems. Although much work needs to be done, there are numerous testimonials on the CMF website that will inspire anyone who knows someone with Down Syndrome (and there are 400,000 children and adults with DS).  Here are some results from CMF:  1) 14 year old Jacob's I.Q. increases 20% in 6 months; 2) Neal goes from nonverbal to chatter box in 3 years; and 3) 3 year old John's I.Q. and function reach normal levels. 

While there have been amazing results, the mainstream medical establishment has not fully endorsed the treatment.  They are saying that clinical studies are needed to validate the safety and efficacy of the CMF treatment.  You can follow this journey of one person’s determination (when many said it could not be done) to begin to solve the DS problem.  Since June 2009, Dr. Cody has been blogging her findings about DS’s chemistry and neurobiology and the anecdotal results of children and adults on the CMF treatment protocol (www.changingmindsfoundation.org).  Who said, necessity is the mother of invention?'  This was definitely the case with Teresa Cody.  Her dogged persistance in finding a treatment to Down Syndrome is an inspiration to me.  For the mothers, it has been nothing short of miraculous!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com