---

Biologists—They’ve Finally Hit the Wall

---

In February, I attended a Symposium Honoring Arthur Peacocke sponsored by the Zygon Center for Religion and Science (www.zygoncenter.org) at the Lutheran School of Theology in Hyde Park. Arthur Peacocke, a renowned biochemist, Anglican priest, and theologian, was one of the most influential and most respected twentieth-century contributors to the dialogue between religion and science. Honoring one of our fellow bridge-builders between science and religion was wonderful. The icing on the cake, for me, however, was the sea change that seems to finally be becoming mainstream in the field of biology.

     I’ve attended quite a few of these religion/science conferences, and the presenting biologists were mostly in the mold of evolutionary biologists Richard Dawkins, proponent of the theory of the selfish gene and author of The God Delusion, and David Sloan Wilson, author of Darwin’s Cathedral, who sparked vigorous debate during the May, 2003, “Works of Love: Scientific & Religious Perspectives on Altruism” conference in Philadelphia, by proclaiming, “God is off the table.” During that conference, I remember talking to a physicist during one of the receptions. He shook his head over the discussions he and other physicists were having with their biologist colleagues. He smiled and said. “You know, we physicists used to think we could explain everything. Then we hit the wall. The biologists just haven’t hit the wall yet.”

     Because of my experience at the Zygon conference, and, the books and websites of “maverick” biologists like Bruce Lipton (The Biology of Belief) and Joyce Hawkes (Cell-Level Healing), I am please to say that more and more  biologists are admitting that they have hit the wall. They have hit the wall and in many cases have gone beyond it, not only realizing that the materialistic reductions of genetics and chemistry does not explain everything, but that there is a probability of a higher force, something that smacks of spirituality, perhaps even God.

     One of those pointing the way is Philip Clayton, Professor of Theology at Claremont School of Theology and Professor of Philosophy and of Religion at Claremont Graduate University (www.ctr4process.org/about/CoDirectors/clayton). Author of The Re-Emergence of Emergence and Mind and Emergence: From Quantum to Consciousness and a process theologian, Clayton presented current research by systems biologists and math biologists that is pushing the envelope. Clayton counters the “reductionist” theory of science that explains any event in the world by reducing it down to fundamental particles, laws, and forces. He points out that you don’t find the triumphalism in systems and math biology that you find in gene-centered biology. It’s really more about networks and how the cells within and between these network systems interact. Clayton argues for the idea of strong emergence in relation to both the natural sciences and the human mind. This is a new paradigm in biology. This pattern of emergence, according to Clayton, suggests a new approach to the problem of consciousness, which is neither reducible to brain states nor proof of a mental substance or soul. Although emergence does not entail classical theism, it is compatible with a variety of religious positions. In his book Mind and Emergence, for example, Clayton provides a defense of emergentist panentheism and a Christian constructive theology consistent with the new sciences of emergence. After his lecture at the Zygon symposium, I had a chance to chat with Clayton. Yes, he agreed, this paradigm shift did indeed mean that biologist had hit the wall.

     Of course, there are the “mavericks” I mentioned earlier, those who stepped beyond the boundaries of traditionally acceptable biology—at great risk to their careers and professional standing—to blaze the trails for this paradigm shift. One of those is Dr. Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles. I had just read this book prior to attend the Zygon symposium and found the correlations between some of Lipton’s ideas and Clayton’s intriguing. The book, of course, is great. But so are two related websites, www.brucelipton.com and www.beliefbook.com. The Bruce Lipton site heralds the idea of “Thinking beyond the genes” and states that “a renaissance in Cell Biology now provides the cutting edge science—real science—to prove how holistic health therapies work. Research scientist Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., introduces a long-awaited paradigm shift in the biomedical sciences.”

     The Beliefbook site provides a wealth of information including a sample chapter of the book, a biography of the author, and in-depth author interviews. The “Author” section reveals Lipton’s early career as a cell biologist and professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Lipton began examining the principles of quantum physics and how they might be integrated into his understanding of the cell’s information processing systems. He produced breakthrough studies on the cell membrane, which revealed that this outer layer of the cell was an organic homologue of a computer chip, the cell’s equivalent of a brain. His research revealed that the environment, operating through the membrane, controlled the behavior and physiology of the cell, turning genes on and off. According to Lipton, these studies presaged what he calls one of today’s most important fields of study, the science of epigenetics, the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environment controls gene activity.

     Lipton’s epiphany came while teaching at an offshore, out of the mainstream, medical school in the Caribbean. It was here that he started thinking outside the rigid parameters of belief that prevail in conventional academia. It was an epiphany that shattered his beliefs about the nature of life, leading him to a realization that a cell’s life is controlled by the physical and energetic environment and not by its genes. “Genes,” states Lipton, “are simply molecular blueprints used in the construction of cells, tissues and organs. The environment serves as a ‘contractor’ who reads and engages these genetic blueprints and is ultimately responsible for the character of a cell’s life. It is a single cell’s “awareness” of the environment, not its genes, that sets into motion the mechanisms of life.”

     The other “maverick” I’m exploring in this column is Joyce Whiteley Hawkes, Ph.D., a biophysicist, cell biologist and energy healer who authored Cell-Level Healing: The Bridge from Soul to Cell. I was introduced to Hawkes’ work during the March meeting of Chicago IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies). That presentation, complete with astoundingly beautiful and detailed slides and videos (you can purchase the DVD on-line at http://chicagoiands.org or at one of the monthly meetings) blew me away with the depth and breadth of information that provides a clear correlation between energy healing, meditation, etc. and the health of your cells.

     In Hawkes’ case, her epiphany began with a full-blown Near-Death Experience (NDE). In the 1970s, while working as a supervisory research scientist with the National Marine Fisheries in Seattle, Washington, Hawkes was a typical, materialistic scientist who believed neither in God nor the afterlife. Then an oak-framed leaded glass window crashed down on her head and suddenly her reality—and eventually her entire life—shifted. She met her deceased mother and grandmother (ah ... there is life after death); she met a Great Light and was overwhelmed by love and peace (ah ... there is a God); she came back with energetic healing powers ...

     At first, Hawkes tried to dismiss her experience as hallucination, but she couldn’t. In the end, she began studying energy healing, both here in the U.S. and with indigenous healers throughout the world. Her website, www.celllevelhealing.com, gives you a glimpse of Hawkes’ mission. It is a glimpse that will have you going out to purchase the Cell-Level Healing book and the Chicago IANDS DVD. In the “Author” section, for example, there are two pictures from the documentary in which Japanese scientists test the strength of Hawkes’ healing energy. One photo shows Hawkes doing healing work while her brain activity was being recorded at a laboratory. The other shows a brain scan comparison of her brain while meditating and while healing. The results of the experiment were quite unusual, according to Dr. Akio Mori, of Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan. “I’ve never seen anyone with as highly focused brain patterns as Dr. Hawkes,” he said. The “Gallery of Photos” section features images of well-formed healthy cells versus malformed sick cells that will have you thinking about the experiments by The Hidden Messages in Water author and researcher Masaru Emoto that were featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? In order to get the full picture (including several healing meditations), however, getting Hawkes’ book is a must.

     My advice: Embark on your own exploration beyond the boundaries of traditional biology. Use the resources mentioned in this column. And, if you find or know of any other valuable resources, please let me know.

---

Mary Montgomery is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises (“Freelancing with Finesse!”), specializes in public relations, writing projects and web authoring, development and publicity, especially in the non-profit sector.  Ms. Montgomery has a Master’s Degree in religious studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) and is working on a Ph.D. with a focus on the new scholarship of Unlimited Love and the Other Regarding Virtues. She is also in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via email at monty764@sbcglobal.net or at her web site at www.montymedia.com.

---

Next Article

Return to This Month's Index

Go to the Home Page