This Far, and No Farther

The Seventh Commandment of Self-Brain Surgery™

Since 1953, when Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, humans have been enamored with the idea that genes determine most aspects of our lives.

This idea became widely popular and is still often repeated in the media today, with headlines like 'Researchers discover the gene for dyslexia!

The dogma of genetic determinism has a firm hold on the public imagination, but there is one problem:

It’s not true.

It is now clear that the old idea of a particular gene being responsible and having ultimate power over how your life plays out is fundamentally incorrect, and that is very good news.

The issue with leaving the ultimate power over most of your quality of life up to a molecular lottery is that it removes you- your choices, beliefs, actions, your faith- from any position of power. This belief that “it’s not my fault, I got it from my dad,” is true only for a very small number of things about you, like your eye color.

What IS true, without controversy now, is that your genes tell only a small part of the story of how long you’re likely to live, what your personality may be like at baseline, and what diseases or other issues you may be susceptible to.

The truth is, genes aren’t the card game, they’re just the deck. The player can win even with a hand that’s not as “good” as someone else’s, if they play their cards right.

Molecular biology has now conclusively shown that what’s important is NOT which genes you have or don’t have, but rather the switching on or off of those genes. When and how that switching process (called “genetic expression”) occurs is what determines what happens to you.

And here’s the good news: gene expression is not a fixed process, but rather one that changes in real time constantly throughout your life.

This means that your decisions, beliefs, and behaviors have more power to change your future than your DNA does.

That’s why our seventh commandment is this:

---

I must not perpetuate generational thought or behavioral issues in my family, or start any new ones

(The Seventh Commandment of Self-Brain Surgery)

Read it out loud:

I must not perpetuate generational thought or behavioral issues in my family, or start any new ones

---

The old idea that if our dad was an alcoholic, our mom was abusive, our “whole family” had bad backs, or “everyone in my line gets dementia” is no longer believable on a scientific level, because we know that the vast majority of genetic starting points and potentials can be influenced positively or completely reversed in a single generation, largely by changing how we think about them.

Here’s a whole podcast on this idea, which goes into epigenetics, generational sin and thought issues, and the belief that God punishes us for problems our ancestors had (he doesn’t). Please listen to it, and consider reading our friend Gina Birkemeier’s incredible book, Generations Deep for more (she’s coming to the podcast soon, as well!).

The bottom line for today is this: eradicate the belief that if you’re made of the same stuff as your parents, you have to have the same life they do. You might look like your mom, but you don’t have to struggle with the same issues she did.

And it’s so important in terms of our mental health, because the less control you believe you have over how your mind and brain work, the less hope you will feel that change is possible.

So, if you came to this letter today sad, sick, stressed, or stuck in some area of your life and you believe that it’s not possible to improve the situation because “I was born that way,” or, “My dad’s always been depressed, so I got it from him,” then it’s time to reclaim your God-given power.

It’s time to change, my friend. Like God said when he laid out the limits of the ocean, let’s tell those generational issues, “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt.” (Job 38:11 NIV)

You have vast control over gene expression, and it can change in the length of time it takes you to read this sentence. Genes are constantly being turned on and off in your body, and you can harness the power of Hebb’s Law (neurons that fire together wire together) to make those switches work for you. When you make purposeful decisions to begin working on things, and keep after it, the changes will begin to groove new synapses in your brain, and it will become easier over time to “be” the kind of person you feel called to be, not the one you used to believe you were fated to be.

You can’t use your genes as an excuse to blame some prior generation for what’s hurting you now. But you CAN use the power God gave you to more positively express those genes to help yourself get better.

And better beats blame, doesn’t it?

And most importantly, if everyone in your family was anxious or stressed out or depressed or dependent on alcohol, then you may believe that your kids have to struggle with those things too.

But again, it’s epigenetics to the rescue, because those things can change in this generation, if you are willing to change your mind. Start with you, and everyone around and after you will begin to imprint on the positive changes you’re making. Future generations will start with different switches on and off because you took the time to switch them.

It’s not just a good idea, it’s the seventh commandment of Self-Brain Surgery™:

I must not perpetuate generational thought or behavioral issues in my family, or start any new ones.

Reply to this post and or leave a voicemail and tell me if you’re practicing self-brain surgery, and how it’s helping you.

Be sure to check out last week’s lesson if you missed it.

Announcement: We’re starting The School of Self-Brain Surgery™ soon. We’re testing the school with some volunteers now, and our second training session is soon. Once we work all the tech kinks out we’ll be ready to go live with students from all over the world! If you’re interested in knowing more about The School, click here to be notified when it’s ready to go live.

We’re going all in on believing that we have the tools to change our minds and change our lives. Living from a mind-down perspective changes everything, and it helps us harness the transforming changes to our lives that the Bible promises in Romans 12.

The neuroscience is on your side, my friend.

And the good news is, you can start today.

By the way, if you think these lessons are valuable, please consider sharing this with friends. If you share with three or more people and they sign up, you can get free access to my paid subscriber content!

If you need a treatment plan to help you overcome any kind of trauma, tragedy, or massive thing in your life, check out my latest book, Hope Is the First Dose.

Lisa and I are praying for you.

Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope),

Lee

Psalm 71:14 ("As for me, I will always have hope.")

From the banks of the North Platte river on Moon River Ranch in Nebraska, USA