Secrets of Your Cells: Discovering Your Body's Inner Intelligence (36 page)

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “Thank You,” that would suffice.

— MEISTER ECKHART

Recognize I AM

Chapter 2
, “I AM–Recognize,” invites you to know that you are a sacred being. This is true even if religion is not part of your mind-set or way of life—your physical nature is itself sacred. Your body and mind, your molecules and cells, can be revered and held as your own exclusive expression of life. There will only be one of you, ever; you are unique.

We seem to more easily recognize our flaws and faults than what’s right with us—the gifts we bring to the world, our laughter, our love, our creativity. Strive to see and accept
all
of who you are and have been—the one who was present on a road less traveled, the one who followed the crowd, the one who went down a path that shouldn’t have been taken. There is a time to accept everything that has gone into crafting you as you are. Each decision has been your teacher and, hopefully, has brought you greater wisdom.

I recently taught a Cells and the Sacred workshop at a retreat center, an experience I touched on briefly in
chapter 7
, and I struggled. I had a hard time integrating my science self with my other, more sensitive spiritual side. I felt split in two. Before the final session, I went into the center’s garden to gather myself together, to meditate. And it will come as no surprise to you by now that my cells carried me swiftly to
now.
I thanked them with all my heart for that gift, and as I did so, I heard an elusive voice say,
Finally, you got it—you really
mean
it!

I had long made it a practice to thank my cells, and I thought I meant it every time, but this time I had the benefit of an altered state of consciousness: I was not remotely in my science mind, and it made a difference.

The biggest “aha!” moment was still to come. Hearing this message,
Finally, you got it,
filled me with a great giddiness and unleashed the voice further. It was as though I were suddenly receiving a transmission from my cells. This is what I heard:

We are your oldest ancestors. We’ve survived millions of years, and yes, as you say, we certainly know how to live and thrive. The lessons you share describe what we must do as sacred beings. After all, we are holding the torch of life God gave us to carry. You carry a bit of that spark that resides in each one of us. Go to the place inside you that lets us be the spirit guides of your cells. Tap into us freely. Ask us how you can care for us, what you can do for us, and what we can do for you.

In a rush, my disparate parts came together—scientific knowing and spiritual seeking. I knew that what I had been teaching—which I had always thought of as my imagination extrapolating biological cellular life to a more poetic reflection of human life—was indeed a reflection of cellular reality. It was a felt sense of knowing, and it rang true. It was the voice of I AM THAT I AM.

Then the scientist in me stirred from silence and got busy, attempting to discount what I had just experienced. I was having none of it. If people through the ages have been able to “talk” to plants and get information from the visions that result, why can’t our own cells provide information through visions? Why couldn’t I have received the wisdom of our cells directly from my own cells all along? To a scientist who does not believe in the more holistic, feminine, and experiential side of science, this would no doubt sound like craziness or New Age “woo-woo.” Yet the cytonauts who have journeyed through this book may be willing to accept this possibility. Our hunches, our inner voice, God, and intuition are all part of who we are. How—or whether—we express what comes from these inner spaces is a piece of the great adventure we call life.

REFLECTION

Recognize I AM THAT I AM.

Listen

In
chapter 3
we learned how our cells listen to one another and how important it is to listen to others instead of reacting silently—arguing, judging, criticizing, and discounting. We also need to listen to our own inner voice, as I learned once again in the retreat center garden, especially when we are seeking guidance. Recall that our cells listen to all our chatter, receiving myriad molecular messages and deciding what action to take as a result. Many scientists say that only our neurons can interpret information, yet this is only part of the picture. All cells must be
able to respond to incoming messages, and they do so at lightning speed, acting in nanoseconds—
billionths
of a second—and even picoseconds,
trillionths
of a second, well beyond the reach of our conscious awareness. Indeed, our cells apparently operate in quantum realities, each one carrying out a million maneuvers in time frames unfathomable to the human mind. They are in the
now
each moment: fluid, flexible, and ever changing.

When we stay in the moment and listen without reacting, our cells receive consistent messages and are able to choose wisely. They don’t have to waste energy refereeing internal arguments or exciting one another needlessly. And this gives us the opportunity to thrive.

REFLECTION

Remember that your cells listen to everything happening in your world. When you are afraid, they coordinate their activities to help you deal with the situation, whether it is real or imagined. Your choice—to run away, freeze and hide, or change your mind about whatever challenge lies before you—changes your cells. Is the challenge worthy of getting your cells excited, or are you imagining danger where none exists?

Make it a practice to ask yourself: What messages are my cells listening to? Am I caring for them or making them work unnecessarily hard? Can I create a more nurturing partnership with them? Even if you look at cellular life lessons only as metaphor, the cells that carry you through life have much to teach you.

Strum the Strings of Life

Chapter 4
unlocked the secrets of intelligence held in our cells’ architecture. Learning about the fabric and powerful strings of the cells marked a major turning point in my appreciation of the sacred nature of cells. Even though ancient healing strategies such as energy medicine, sound, and prayer are not yet accepted as part of mainstream medicine, these strategies are
unwittingly based on the cells’ architecture. Finally, we are able to identify anatomical structures inside our cells that can respond to these healing modalities: chanting, the flow of energy, the movement of breath.

Can we consider our cells shamans? Does the cell’s very fabric shape-shift and move in its changed form for our higher good? Is any form of consciousness actually contained in those tubes and struts we can see under the microscope? My understanding of our cells’ design has allowed me to see and appreciate the sacred origins of movement practices such as tai chi, yoga, dance, qigong—even walking. All of these stretch and soften the fabric within and around our cells. We may not be consciously aware of what our minds need to let go of for healing, but our cells are wise, and moving them can help healing unfold. Letting go is a central approach for both physical and spiritual healing. In fact, I propose that one of the most important practical lessons from our cells is the myriad ways we can let go—through movement, being in the present moment, humming, and writing down our truth.

Quantum physicists talk excitedly about a string theory of the universe, a concept well beyond my abilities to adequately describe or even understand.
²
But given what we have learned about the fabric of our cells, perhaps the strings of the universe and our cells’ strings resonate when we are in a state of well-being, or perhaps when we are undergoing transformation or when the world faces a crisis. It is a provocative question to explore whether another way we and our cells are connected to all life on the planet is via strings. We do know that our cells’ intelligence relies on its strings to act. Perhaps someday this will be added as another layer of string theory. As above, so below; as without, so within.

REFLECTION

What do I want to let go of?

What moves me, shape-shifts me to the higher expression of my life?

Who’s pulling my strings?.