BOOK SUMMARY 269 You Are the Placebo

BOOK SUMMARY 269

You Are the Placebo

·         Summary written by: Carol-Ann Hamilton

"What reality do you choose to live?"

- You Are the Placebo, page 123

Is it possible to heal by thought alone – without drugs or surgery?  Yes!  In You Are the Placebo, Dr. Joe Dispenza shares numerous documented cases of those who reversed cancer, heart disease, depression, crippling arthritis and even Parkinson’s tremors.  Similarly, he recounts how others have fallen sick and even died the victims of a hex or voodoo curse – or after being misdiagnosed with a fatal illness.  Such is the power of belief.

The Golden Egg

You Can Create a New Body and Life

"You have to finally see your old, limited beliefs for what they are – records of the past – and be willing to let go of them so you can embrace new beliefs about yourself that will help you create a new future."- You Are the Placebo, page 165

Dr. Joe’s personal journey began shockingly at just age 23. During the biking portion of a Palm Springs triathlon, he was run over by an SUV barreling along at 55 miles per hour.  Never even saw the vehicle coming… Doctors insisted he undergo devastating Harrington rod spinal surgery or face sure paralysis.

Contrarily, he embarked upon an “inward reconstruction”. In so doing, he proved his book’s sub-title, making the mind matter. Essentially, if a given (healing or beneficial) gene has been previously expressed by the body – but then turned off due to stress or illness – we can turn it back on.  New genes can be instructed to behave in new ways.

Gem #1

Cross the River of Change

"Ninety-five percent of who you are by the time you’re 35 years old is a set of memorized behaviors, skills, emotional reactions, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes that functions like a subconscious computer program."- You Are the Placebo, page 71

As Dispenza declares, the hardest part about change is not making the same choices we made the day before. Did you know 90% of today’s thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday? Indeed, we cannot create anything new from the known.

Goodness! The conscious mind’s 5% capacity is constantly working against the 95% of unconscious programs we’ve memorized for years. Your (unconscious) body remembers each negative ever harbored. To change will feel like swimming upstream.

Literally, cravings (to return to old ways) are withdrawals from the body’s familiar chemical-emotional addictions. However, if we can understand our discomfort is “simply” the biological, neurological, chemical and even genetic death of the old self, we have greater power over change.

Some call this experience the dark night of the soul. The author terms this necessary process the phoenix igniting itself and burning to ashes. To get started, here are some suggestions:

·         Stop analyzing and over-thinking your life on the basis of any current stressful or negative emotions; this keeps you anchored to the past

·         Avoid judging yourself; otherwise, you’ll never enter the operating system of your mind to reprogram old patterns

·         Stop anticipating that negative past events will recur; expect the best

·         Get out of your own way!

Gem #2

Think Greater than You Feel

"Use elevated emotions to drive you into a new future."- You Are the Placebo, page 136

We shouldn’t merely avoid negative emotions like fear or anger. Rather, we are encouraged to cultivate heartfelt emotions like appreciation, joy, excitement, fascination, awe, inspiration and kindness. Over time, your sub-conscious mind and body begin to believe your preferred future has already occurred.

To begin to manifest what you DO seek:

·         Be thankful in the present moment; gratitude is the ultimate state of receivership

·         Express internal appreciation even before outer shifts happen

·         Add to these emotions clarity as to your positive intentions; be optimistic

·         Think back to when you have successfully changed in the past

For me, the uplifting effect of Dr. Dispenza’s tediously-won lessons is this: I can absolutely bring a new future into concrete material existence by changing my belief and perceptions at a biological level. What power!

Our genes do not doom us. We can modify our destiny by turning on the genes we want and turning off those we don’t want.  Changes in human consciousness produce physical changes, both in structure and function, in the human body.

I for one cannot wait to hear what else we discover about epigenetics, neuroscience, biology, psychology, and quantum physics. It appears the seemingly impossible is becoming ever-more possible.