THE MIRACULOUS MOLECULES OF A STILL MIND

It always surprises me how so many healthy practices can be found in the Holy texts. And, imagine if we actually followed them how our health and happiness would improve. One of these instructions is “Be still and know that I am God”. I know some of you are turned off by just the word God. Don’t worry, we will talk about that. Today, there is much epigenetic research looking at what happens when we still our minds by sitting in meditation or mindfully practicing tai chi, chi gong, or yoga. We now know these practices can:

• help step down harmful stress hormones,
• turn on digestion and immunity,
• improve cognitive function,
• and maintain the healthy copying of our DNA to regenerate our bodies and stay young.

If you don’t already know the definition of epigenetics, epi, means above, and genetics, of course, means the study of our DNA and the adjoining parts needed to store and copy it. Epigenetics looks at how adding and subtracting different molecules to these parts can shift how we use our DNA to generate proteins and other building blocks of our bodies. Epigenetic mechanisms don’t change the underlying genes we are born with only how they are copied. It’s kind of like changing the punctuation of a sentence where the sentence is the DNA code and the punctuation is molecules such as methyl groups (CH₃) or acetyl groups (COCH₃). Changing the punctuation can alter the meaning of the sentence. By adding and subtracting punctuation on our genes and their wrapping spindles, we can literally change our mental, emotional, and physical health. We can use epigenetics to control our health!

Epigenetics mechanisms allow what we think, feel and do, and the environments we live in to change how we copy our DNA to build our proteins. Shifts in how we build proteins can alter our physical bodies, our emotional well-being, and ultimately how we age. And, epigenetic mechanisms are more malleable and sometimes even more important than genes we were born with. For example, you may have been born with the genetics for cancer, or other diseases and conditions, but they may or may not be epigenetically turned off or on. This may be the reason one identical twin may have type 1 diabetes while the other with exactly the same DNA may not. In the nature (DNA) verses nurture (epigenetics) argument; nurture wins out more than 70 percent of the time. In other words, what genes you were born with may or may not cause negative or positive results depending on the environment, lifestyle and nurturing you received. The good news is you can control how you live and shift your epigenetics towards health.

Anyway, that being said, I would love to share with you some of the research proving the usefulness of the directions found in something as beautifully simple as the 23 Psalms of the Bible or Torah. The author, King David may have written the passage “The Lord is my shepherd” using a familiar reference from Hammurabi’s legal code. This code can be found inscribed on the obelisk located at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Today, this would be like us using the familiar “In God we trust” or “All men are created equal” because the familiar easily sticks in our heads.

“The Lord is my shepherd” or caretaker. This may seem simple enough, however if you have ever visited an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or any other 12 step program, you may find that “coming to believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity” is big roadblock because many people don’t believe in a power greater than themselves. And then compounding that with the 3^rd step of deciding to turn our lives and wills over to that greater power may seem virtually impossible. But, being still may be the answer to this dilemma. Interestingly, easy directions are given right in the passage. David says, I lay down in the comfort of nature and relax near still waters.  Meditating in nature helps us to realize a quality of unity and a sense of peace. This can restore our heart and soul. Incredibly, there is even some minor research that demonstrates just quietly walking in natural rural settings can positively affect our mental stress too!

The Vedic texts describe how meditation puts you in touch with your deep inner self and how this non-changing consciousness creates a peaceful feeling of unity with all things and an ability to witness ourselves. Have you ever been talking to yourself and wondered who is talking and who is listening? Who is this witness? Could this be a connection with what Jung called the Universal Consciousness, God or what others call “a power greater than themselves”? Meditation activates this deep inner self and creates a connection that activates shifts in your body with miraculous molecules. This is epigenetics at work.

Amazingly, studies demonstrate meditation not only reduces our stress hormone levels, it increases coping mechanisms leading to greater resilience. Evidence also shows meditation increases the gray matter of the brain and even its neuro-plasticity enhancing cognitive function and creativity. Meditation epigenetically affects many genes leading to a reduction of inflammation and disease. Moving and sitting meditations achieve positive psychological as well including mood elevation and diminished anxiety. And, it induces these changes rapidly!

Meditation and many other lifestyle factors can modify your epigenetic patterns causing major shifts in our health. They can turn off or turn on inflammation causing disease and aging. These other factors including:

• diet,
• smoking,
• alcohol,
• toxins and pollution,
• insomnia,
• negative mental stress,
• obesity,
• variable work shifts,
• and lack of physical exercise.

And now, by understanding the epigenetic mechanisms behind these changes, we can begin to alleviate negative lifestyle factors and lean into the positive lifestyle combinations to elevate your mental, emotional, and physical health. We can easily begin by taking tiny steps towards change. The tinier and simpler the step, the easier the change. Let’s start with a short, simple form of meditation.

One simple type of meditation is just waiting for your next thought. These are the tiny steps:

• Before you start place paper and a pen next to you.
• Find a place you will not be disturbed.
• Decide how long you want to meditate. Start with a shorter time and then lengthen after you have success. Set an alarm so you won’t need to wonder how much time has passed.
• Begin by sitting comfortably with your spine straight and breathing while waiting for the next thought to come in to your mind.
• When your thought comes, acceptingly write it down with the pen on the pad you next to you.
• Then, merely go back to breathing and waiting for the next thought, and when it comes, accept it and write it down even if it’s the same thought again.
•  Repeat this process until the allotted time is over.
• Do this each day

Many positive things will automatically happen.

1. The time between the thoughts coming will increase.
2. You will reduce feeling of stress and begin to increase peace, bliss and connection.
3. You will become more aware of the patterns of your thoughts, your triggers, and learn more about your self-talk.
4. Your inner self will become freer to express ideas, creativity, and effortlessly modify habits.
5. You will develop increased control over thoughts, emotions, and reactions to fluidly manage relationships, situations, and life’s events.
6. You will modify your epigenetic makeup towards a healthier, happier you.

Remember, we all have busy monkey minds and there is no competition. It is not just about quieting your mind. It is also important to learn about your thoughts, self-talk and the triggers that control your emotions and reactions. We can take our thoughts captive and become masters of our focus, behaviors, and lives

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about taking control of your thoughts, emotions, and lifestyle, please contact me for a complementary call by clinking below.

Sabrina Venditti,  Loredana Verdone,  Anna Reale, Valerio Vetriani, Micaela Caserta, Michele Zampieri, Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics. Front Psychol. 2020; 11: 1767. Published online 2020 Aug 11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01767

Jeffrey M. Craig, Alan C. Logan, and Susan L. Prescott, Natural environments, nature relatedness and the ecological theater: connecting satellites and sequencing to shinrin-yoku. J Physiol Anthropol. 2016; 35: 1. Published online 2016 Jan 13. doi: 10.1186/s40101-016-0083-9. https://rdcu.be/dEzO8

Hari Sharma, Meditation: Process and effects. Ayu. 2015 Jul-Sep; 36(3): 233–237. doi: 10.4103/0974-8520.182756