Customer Reviews

The Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetic Medicine and the New Biology of Intention

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First of all, if you are a newcomer to Dawson Church's writing, you need to know that his facts are unimpeachable - they were stringently peer-reviewed before publication. What is more, when Church makes categorical statements, he provides research to corroborate them.

To quote Church (p212) "We usually look for miracles when we are in extreme peril. In a universe where the miraculous is available to us every day, where discontinuous positive change is always an option, and in which science has given us the understanding that genetic changes occur within seconds of changes in consciousness, it is high time we began looking for miracles as a first resort, not as a last resort." This is a staggering claim. But what is even more incredible is Church's backing up this statement with examples of up-to-date research.

The author explains epigentic (DNA based) healing, then gives the everyday applications. It is mind-blowing to learn that a group of people could "unwind" (activate) a sample of DNA using only their thinking. More amazing is the fact that they could do this at a distance - half a mile away. The implications are thought-provoking to say the least.

Dawson Church goes on to discuss "consciousness as medicine" and what he refers to as "routine miracles." And this discussion is simple, practical, and as always, impeccably referenced to research. Finally he describes the relevant use of energy psychology (specifically EFT) providing how-to notes in the appendices.

This is a book that needs to be read more than once. For one thing, it is jam-packed with information. First-time read, it inspires. After that, the book becomes a first-class reference manual for "You, the ultimate epigenetic engineer" as Church puts it.

I don't usually use superlatives in my reviews, but this book deserves them. It can prove life-changing for those who take it seriously.

This book anticipates an important trend in health care and self-development, and it articulates it beautifully, drawing from a broad range of developments to support its vision.

Its tone is that of a science writer rather than a scientist, and I learned a great deal from its many clear, concrete examples.

The book takes the reader on a quantum leap into cutting edge science and shows how medicine and health care will be transformed in the next decade. Dawson Church has mined the most revolutionary findings from diverse fields of science and practice and brilliantly synthesized them into a clearly-written manifesto for the enlightened care of the human body, mind, and community.

Once in a great while, an expansive book traces the connections between seemingly disconnected fields of science to produce a brilliant new synthesis. This work, linking genetics, electromagnetism, medicine and social change, is a monumental feat of scholarship and imagination, and provides a fascinating glimpse of the exciting possibilities that lie ahead. It points the way to a radical leap in our understanding of healing--and indeed the nature of human beings.

Dawson Church, The Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetics and the New Biology of Intention (Energy Psychology Press, 2007)

I really wanted to like Dawson Church's The Genie in Your Genes. Church has some very interesting ideas here, though he sometimes goes off the deep end with them (probably the book's biggest flaw, but then it's perhaps better to err on the side of overreaching with a book like this); his problem is the way in which he relates them.

The Genie in Your Genes is an attempt to take ancient modalities of health care and make them new, as a growing body of scientific research is validating things that Asian health care practitioners have known for thousands of years. This certainly isn't the first time such a thing has been tried (the books of Norman Cousins, especially Head First, are an excellent example of the subgenre), but Church backs up his assertions with papers and studies that previous authors working in the field didn't previously have. He also focuses more on the electromagnetic "aura", for lack of a better term, than any other author I've read on the subject, and links electromagnetism to the Chinese idea of qi (or chi, as most know it these days). Interesting stuff, and well worth looking into.

However, the information is not delivered in a compelling way at all. The book doesn't read like a textbook, really, but there are a number of times where it put me in such a mind. And as much as I hate to say it, who wants to read a textbook for pleasure (or information-gathering, for that matter)? It's almost like an information dump, with all thought given to the information and none to how to best convey it.

Still, this is not to say that this isn't a book worth reading, especially for those with chronic health problems that haven't been helped by traditional medicine. Church envisages a world where traditional medicine is a final recourse, rather than a first recourse, for the sick, and I'm certainly not going to argue that he's not onto something with this idea. I just wish he'd put it all better. ** ½

Dawson Church's new book, "The Genie in Your Genes," is going to be a huge best-seller, changing for the better tens of thousands of lives. It's all in the book! It reads well. It's logical, intuitive and overwhelming. It is a triumph of deduction and reasoning, linking together science, genetics, behavior, moods, electromagnetic physiology, belief, consciousness, and how to use this knowledge to achieve peace, happiness and success.

Dawson's logic and scientific command are relentless. And they beautifully extrapolate into an explanation of the effects of thought, attitude, emotions and their outcome. His book is a clear map to understanding a path to well-being. We may have genetically inescapable blue eyes, but we can voluntarily decide whether we are going to smile or frown with those eyes, and the consequences of that behavior will affect us and effect change. As an orthopedic surgeon schooled in anatomy and surgical approach and reconstruction, I cannot explain, for example, the 1000 year ancient "science" of accupuncture and the stimulation of healing energies. But I have seen its physical manifestations. My patients will occasionally ask if I will pray with them before an operation, and I readily do. And I also ask them to imagine themselves later, healed and happy, walking and doing what they would love to do. With success! Now Dawson Church has found a way to explain and quantify this experience.

So Dawson Church has accomplished his own miracle, defining for everyone what is in ourselves and how we can harness it for our own and others greater good. Bravo!

Pierce Scranton
author, Death on the Learning Curve

As an EFT therapist I am accustomed to cynics and even some highly qualified therapists who don't believe we are energy, at last a book that explains it all. It will open the doors to quicker healing.

What an amazing book... if you thought that everything is set and done with your genes, you're wrong... YOU can change everything... In some parts the book is a little "nerdy" with a lot of physiology that may be hard if you don't know how the body works its chemicals, but just read through it, even if you don't understand, you will see the big picture, and it's a nice one... made me laugh and wonder.... :0)

I am an EFT practitioner and have people travel from around the world to our retreat in Sedona. Most have never heard of EFT but after being introduced find answers they have searched years to find within themselves. Genie in your genes does an awesome job of explaining how EFT and other energy healing techniques work. Just as hard as explaining how the electricity travels to your outlets in your house, how energy travels through our body is a mystery to most. I have been teaching Reiki and energy healing for over twenty years, and this is one of the best books for explaining energy and quantum healing avaialble. Read it with an open mind and find the mystery to heal your life.

In The Genie in Your Genes, Dawson thoroughly explores the latest research in Energy Medicine and Energy Psychology, fields in which he has done extensive research. Focusing on epigenetics, which is the study of how gene expression is influenced by one's environment, Dawson greatly expands on the ideas of best-selling author Bruce Lipton (The Biology of Belief).

I believe that The Genie in Your Genes is an important book, providing additional evidence for the thesis (which I explore in some detail in my book Drunk with Wonder: Awakening to the God Within), that how our genes express (the hormones and other proteins they cause to be created) is profoundly impacted by our environment. In other words, the choices we make about our lives (our thoughts; the emotions we allow ourselves to feel and, even more importantly, the one's we don't; our friends; whether we watch TV, and if we do, what we watch; in short, all of our lifestyle choices) actually impact what our genes call forth. If we make choices that create stressful experiences, we create heart attacks, stroke, cancer and other maladies. If we make healthy, nurturing choices, our lives can truly be filled with wonder and joy.

Dawson not only discusses the emerging science of epigenetics with skill and voluminous research, he also presents the latest information on the exciting fields of energy medicine and energy psychology. This is paradigm-changing material, and I urge you to read The Genie in Your Genes as soon as you can.

I've only read the first few chapters so far but I'm hooked. I am a firm believer that you can't attach either total or the majority of "the blame" on any one factor when it comes to the human body and mind. The fact that so many doctors of high caliber endorsed this book was my incentive to purchase it, rather than borrow it from the library. Not an easy read but not difficult either - I really enjoy books that open my mind to new concepts!