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important than our genes in determining how we perform off a kerb at high speed. The bike wound up upside down. mentally and physically during life. Gene myopia is the term that Luckily I was wearing a helmet because I sustained a major blow best describes the current all-pervasive view that our health and to my head when the bike hit the ground. I was unconscious for destiny throughout life are controlled by our genes alone... In half an hour and for a while my students and colleagues thought I contrast to the relative fatalism of gene myopia, understanding the was dead. When I came to, I felt as if I had broken every bone in mechanisms that underlie programming by the quality of life in my body. For the next few days I could hardly walk, and when the womb, we can improve the start in life for our children and doing so I resembled a yelping version of Quasimodo. Every step their children." was a painful reminder that "speed kills". The programming "mechanisms" Nathanielsz refers to are the As I creaked out of the classroom one afternoon, one of my stu- epigenetic mechanisms (discussed earlier in my book), by which dents suggested that it might help if I visited his roommate, a fel- environmental stimuli regulate gene activity. As Nathanielsz low student who was also a chiropractor. As I explained in chap- states, parents can improve the prenatal environment. In so doing, ter six of my book, I not only had never been to a chiropractor but they act as genetic engineers for their children. The idea that par- I had been taught by my allopathic community to shun chiroprac- ents can transmit hereditary changes from their life to their chil- tors as quacks. But when you're in that much pain and you're in dren is, of course, a Lamarckian concept that conflicts with an unfamiliar setting, you wind up trying things you would never Darwinism. Nathanielsz is one of the scientists who are now consider in your cushier moments. brave enough to invoke the "L" word for At the chiropractor's makeshift dormitory Lamarck: "...the transgenerational passage "office" I was introduced for the first time to of characteristics by nongenetic means does kinesiology, popularly known as "muscle occur. Lamarck was right, although trans- testing". The chiropractor told me to hold generational tansissonof aed chr. |The responsiveness | ot! mm ad resist the downward unknown in his day." of individuals to resisting the light force he put on my arm. cos respnsivens ofindidatroshe | the environmental | Then bsased me. hold uty am an mothers before birth allows them to optimise conditions perceived Bruce". Again, I had no trouble resisting their genetic and physiologic development as b their mothers him, but by now I was starting to think that they adapt to the environmental forecast. y : the admonishments of my academic The same life-enhancing epigenetic before birth colleagues were right on the mark: "This is plasticity of human development can go allows them to nuts!" Then the chiropractor told me to hold awry and lead to an array of chronic diseases in older age if an individual experiences adverse nutritional and environmental circumstances during foetal and neonatal periods of development. (Bateson et al., 2004) The same epigenetic influences also continue after the child is born because parents continue to influence their child's environment. In particular, fascinating new research is emphasising the importance of good parenting in the development of the brain: "For the growing brain of a young child, the social world supplies the most important experiences out my arm and resist his pressure while saying earnestly, "My name is Mary". To my amazement, my arm flopped down, despite my strong resistance. "Now wait a minute," I said. "I must not have been resisting enough; try that again." So we did, and this time I concentrated even more forcefully on resisting. Nevertheless, after repeating "My name is Mary", my arm sank like a stone. This student, who was now my teacher, explained that when your con- scious mind has a belief that is in con- flict with a formerly learned "truth" stored in the subconscious mind, the optimise their genetic and physiologic development as they adapt to the environmental forecast. influencing the expression of genes, which determines how intellectual conflict expresses itself as a weakening of the body's neurons connect to one another in creating the neuronal pathways muscles. which give rise to mental activity," writes Dr Daniel J. Siegel in To my astonishment, I realised that my conscious mind, which I The Developing Mind. (Siegel, 1999) In other words, infants exercised so confidently in academic settings, was not in control need a nurturing environment to activate the genes that develop when I voiced an opinion that differed from a truth stored in the healthy brains. Parents, the latest science reveals, continue to act unconscious mind. My unconscious mind was undoing the best as genetic engineers even after the birth of their child. efforts of my conscious mind to hold up my arm when I claimed my name was Mary. I was amazed to discover that there was Parental Programming: The Power of the Subconscious another "mind", another force, that was co-piloting my life. More Mind shocking was the fact that this hidden mind, the mind I knew little I'd like to tell you about how I—who put myself in the category about (except theoretically in psychology), was actually more of those who were not prepared to have children—came to ques- powerful than my conscious mind, just as Freud had claimed. tion my ingrained assumptions about parenting. You won't be All in all, my first visit to a chiropractor turned out to be a life- surprised to hear that I started my re-evaluation in the Caribbean, changing experience. I learned that chiropractors could tap into the place where my shift to the New Biology took root. My the body's innate healing power using kinesiology to target spinal reassessment was actually inspired by an unlucky event: a motor- misalignments. I was able to saunter out of that dorm feeling like cycle accident. I was on my way to present a lecture when I went a new man after a few simple, vertebral adjustments on the The responsiveness of individuals to by their mothers before birth optimise their genetic and physiologic development as they adapt to the environmental forecast. Men Programming: The Power of the Subconscious In I'd like to tell you about how I—who put myself in the category of those who were not prepared to have children—came to ques- tion my ingrained assumptions about parenting. You won't be surprised to hear that I started my re-evaluation in the Caribbean, the place where my shift to the New Biology took root. My reassessment was actually inspired by an unlucky event: a motor- cycle accident. I was on my way to present a lecture when I went 26 = NEXUS the environmental conditions perceived allows them to www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2006