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The Newsletter for the Entire Essence Community
25W330 Geneva Rd., Carol Stream, IL 60188

“Man, like other organisms, is so perfectly coordinated that he may easily forget, whether awake or asleep, that he is a colony of cells in action, and that it is the cells which achieve, through him, what he has the illusion of accomplishing himself.”
Albert Claude

What is Life?

This is a question that has perplexed scientists and philosophers for thousands of years. Is the living cell nothing more than a membrane bound container of molecules and structures carrying out a complex, but very orderly series of chemical reactions? Or is there something more? Where did cells come from? Will scientists ever be able to duplicate the process and create a living cell from inorganic molecules? What is it inside a single cell that enables it to carry out all of the processes needed to maintain life? And beyond cells, are atoms and beyond atoms is energy, and what lies beyond energy…????
All living things are composed of cells. Some microscopic organisms, such as bacteria and protozoa, are unicellular, meaning they consist of a single cell. Plants, animals, and fungi are multicellular; that is, they are composed of a great many cells working in concert. But whether it makes up an entire bacterium or is just one of millions in a human being, the cell is a marvel of design and efficiency. Cells carry out thousands of biochemical reactions each minute and reproduce new cells that perpetuate life. By itself, each cell is a model of independence and self-containment. Like some miniature, walled city in perpetual rush hour, the cell constantly bustles with traffic, shuttling essential molecules from place to place to carry out the business of living. Despite their individuality, however, cells also display a remarkable ability to join, communicate, and coordinate with other cells. The human body, for example, consists of an estimated 20 to 30 trillion cells.
Healing is the process whereby the cells in the body generate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area. Healing incorporates both the removal of necrotic tissue (demolition), and the replacement of this tissue.
Now that you have a linear understanding of the description of our cellular structure, how about a picture outside the box, compliments of Dr. Bruce Lipton: “Information from the environment is transferred to the cell via the cell membrane. We used to think that the cell nucleus was the brain of the cell. But in 1985 I discovered that the membrane is actually the brain of the cell. The nucleus, as it turns out, is actually the reproductive center.
The cell membrane (mem-brain!) monitors the condition of the environment and then sends signals to the genes to engage cellular mechanisms, which in turn, provide for its survival. In the human body, the brain sends messages to the cell's membrane to control its behavior and genetic activity. This is how the mind, via the brain, controls our biology.
For example, an important discipline in the health sciences is referred to as psychoneuroimmunology. Literally this term means: the mind (psycho-) controls the brain (neuro-) which in turn, controls the immune system (immunology). This is how the placebo effect works!
When the mind perceives that the environment is safe and supportive, the cells focus on growth. Cells need growth in order to maintain the body's healthy functioning.
However, when confronted by stress, cells adopt a defensive protection posture. When that happens, the body's energy resources, normally used to sustain growth, are diverted to systems that provide protection. The result is that growth processes are restricted or suspended in a stressed system.
While our systems can accommodate periods of acute (brief) stress, prolonged or chronic stress is debilitating because the body's energy demands interfere with the maintenance it requires, and this is what leads to dysfunction and disease.
What is the connection between a cell membrane and the human brain? A lot, we are not victims of our genetic blueprint; in fact we have the power to program our own destiny. Since Descartes’ bias towards mind over matter in the 17th century, Western culture has been split between body and mind. The Romantics of the late 18th and 19th century have attempted to repair that split through poetry and art, but it was not until the 20th century that science caught up with the poets. I confirm what Shelley in 1840 wrote in “A Defense of Poetry,”-- “all things exist as they are perceived, at least in relation to the percipient.”
Lipton’s research has wide implications for us—we have the power to be equally permeable. Rather than being the victims of a genetic destiny, the self can be permeable enough to allow for changes to its biological code. The self is the maker of its own destiny. It’s all in the way we think. It’s all in the way we nurture our beliefs about our bodies, ourselves, our lives. It’s all in the way we tap into the body’s wisdom.

“The world (including our body) we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” 
Albert Einstein

 

EQLC Mission Statement

The purpose of the Essence Quality of Life Center is to awaken each individual to their own internal wisdom, whether by touch, by word, or by community participation, thus releasing more vital energy and improving the quality of their ife.