The First Biological Law

In my last post I set the stage by talking about the fundamental shift in thinking required by the 5 Biological Laws. I used the analogy of changing the room and mentioned that to explore this new concept you have to fully step into it and resist the temptation to evaluate it with one leg still in the previous room. Doctors are fully committed to their understanding of health in order to do their work. Their understanding is based on a 'mechanical' model where outside forces 'attack' the body or parts break because of some genetic coding (aka bad luck). You could imagine that if a doctor or scientist held on to the old paradigm of disease as a result of sin it would be difficult for them to really understand or accept the current 'mechanical' model. The 5 Biological Laws open the door to an entirely new way of practicing medicine where the patient no longer simply hands over his body to be 'healed' by the doctor. Instead the patient and doctor, together, determine the exact cause of the symptoms, the current phase of the process and the doctor then has the ability to support the patient and alleviate some of the symptoms. Using the 5 Biological Laws it is possible to gain a much more accurate understanding of why we get sick instead of a myriad of possible causes. One of the fundamental views held by Hamer is that nothing in nature happens by chance or accidentally. He refused to accept that just because something was present 50 or 60 percent of the time a certain disease developed, that this could be described as the cause. We don't have biological fathers 60 percent of the time, we have a biological father and mother 100 percent of the time. So he applied the same rigorous standard to his research, demanding that each law be verifiable in 100% of patients.

So, the first biological law creates an understanding regarding the origin of disease. The cause of disease is a very precise event, defined by Hamer as a biological conflict. Again, a different room all together, not a weak immune system, genetic coding (aka bad luck), but a precise experience. Disease is also not caused by generic stress or psychological conflict either. These areas have been the subject of psychosomatic research but are no more accurate than the field of genetics where because a certain gene is present and active in SOME of the cases it is determined to be a cause.
The origin of all disease, from the common cold to cancer, according to the first biological law is a biological conflict, which is defined as an "acute shock - an unexpected, dramatic event, experienced with a sense of isolation." Hamer named this "shock"  DHS, which stands for Dirk Hamer Syndrome, to honor the memory of his son who died in a tragic accident, an event which caused Hamer to begin his research.
It is important to point out that the biological conflict has very specific qualities as mentioned above, these are as follows:

1. It is immediate and unexpected, therefore the mind has no time to fully contemplate the event. It is not something you see coming, but an unexpected event that catches you off guard.

2. It is acute in the sense that it happens in a fraction of a second.

3. At the time of this event, the person feels detached from the world and experiences that moment with a sense of solitude.

An example of a small, insignificant "shock" is if we open the door to a public washroom, which someone forgot to lock and find ourselves face to face with the occupant. In an instant our body reacts on several levels. We hold our breath, muscles contract, adrenalin is released and all of this happened without us thinking it through and planning our reaction. The biological shock, or DHS, is not a bad thing. Life is full of them and our bodies have adapted to them by reacting in a way that helps us overcome the conflict in a timely manner. Think of a mouse that sees a cat, it doesn't think about the best way to deal with this situation, it just runs. Automatically its body releases adrenalin, increases its heart rate, constricts its veins and increases the performance of its lungs. The state following the experience of a DHS is called sympathicotonia, where you experience vasoconstriction and therefore have cold hands and feet, increased heart rate and have difficulty sleeping or eating and obsessively think about the problem until you can solve it. This makes sense from a biological, evolutionary view point, which is why Hamer called the body's responses to these conflicts SBS - Special and Biologically Sensible programs (instead of disease).

In our culture, we hold the belief that only the intellect analyses, processes and organizes situations. Hamer, however, is talking about a direct, biological, unfiltered feeling. And he supports his view with the study of evolution. So when he speaks of a biologically sensible program, it is sensible for survival, for adaptation and the preservation of the species. Hamer uses simple animal language in order to describe these biological conflicts such "being unable to mark the territory", "sensing danger (as in the sense of smell)", "being unable to swallow or digest" etc. Of course we experience these situations differently today than we would have earlier in our evolution, or how other animals still experience them today. For example "missing a morsel of food" for an animal actually means starvation, whereas we can have the same experience when we go bankrupt, lose our job or our home because those situations threaten our ability to provide food and shelter for us and our families.

At the moment of the DHS, the body experiences a situation that is very significant from a biological viewpoint. All the elements of that situation, so the smells, sounds, objects, food that was ingested are registered by the body in a framework along the with the context of the emotional content. From then on, any one of these elements can remind the body and reactivate the same SBS. This is called a "conflicting track" which covers allergies, chronic diseases and auto-immune diseases. This will be covered futher, later on.

For now lets look at some examples to help us with our understanding so far. An animal that is experiencing a starvation conflict react with cell proliferation in the liver in order to better digest what little food it may find. As mentioned, humans can experience the same biological conflict in situations such as a job loss. The biological conflict is subjective to the experience, not the event. In other words, two people can have different experiences of the same event. One person may have a "starvation conflict" because the job is clearly the means to put food on the table, while another person looses their job and feels "devalued". Both experiences are biologically, fundamentally different and will activate different responses in the body.
Here is another example: A mother goes to the grocery store with her son. While she is shopping, she looses track of her child and all of a sudden notices that he is gone. Any parent who has experienced this kind of situation can probably confirm that the experience is acute, dramatic, and experienced with a sense of isolation. The shopping list no longer exists and the experience is all consuming, heart is racing etc. At this point the experience of the mother determines the activation of the SBS. The mother may feel as though the child was "torn from her breast" because on the way in she perceived someone looking at the child in a suspicious way and in this case the activated program would be one related to the milk ducts. However, she may feel "devalued" because she did not pay close enough attention to her child and this would result in the activation of a program related to the skeleton. If she felt a great sense of urgency to "act quickly" her thyroid glands may become involved.

The point here is that, what is important is the persons experience rather than the event itself. The biological conflict of the experience relates to the biological function of the affected system. For example, the urinary system is in charge of gathering and expelling urine, but biologically it is also used to "mark one's territory". If this relates to the content of a biological conflict such as when my boss tells me to take down the pictures I've hung up in my office, then it is possible that a SBS is activated that is in charge of the urinary track's epithelium. Now, if the conflict is intense enough and lasts for a long enough time, then the resolution may involve a cystitis or urethritis.

At this point I want to finish this post with the following clarification. Not every time we experience a DHS do we develop detectable symptoms, the intensity and duration of the conflict determine the intensity and duration of the SBS and we will go into more depth about the course of events following a DHS.
Also, I am not saying that diseases are not potentially dangerous or life threatening. But I do believe they are misunderstood processes under the current medical model and the understanding of the 5 biological laws can offer a more precise approach that also allows the patient to deal with symptoms without being filled with confusion, frustration or consumed by blind fear and panic.

The 5 Biological Laws - A New Paradigm for Medicine

I haven't written anything in a while and now I am about to launch in a somewhat daunting task of writing about the 5 Biological Laws. Part of the reason I haven't been writing is because I often wrote about topics I was currently reading about. Well, for the past few months I have been mostly reading about this topic and I just haven't felt ready to dive into this one. Actually I still don't feel ready and I hope I don't botch this one, but here we go...

The next few blog entries will be my attempt to provide an understanding of the 5 Biological Laws as discovered by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer. I am using the book 'Disease is another thing!' (I imagine the title is somewhat less awkward in italian...) written by Marco Pfister and Simona Cella. The 5 Biological Laws, which were called 'New Medicine' by Dr. Hamer, give an entirely new understanding of how diseases develop. It answers both how and why we get sick and requires a complete shift in paradigm of medicine. To describe what I mean by shift in paradigm, let me share the analogy used in the book of "changing the room". Our fundamental view on health is that of a battle field, where our immune system fights disease which is "bad". Now, whether you have a completely allopathic view and believe that diseases must be fought with aggressive drugs and surgeries or prescribe more to the naturopathic / holistic view of treating the whole person, supporting the immune system in order to heal the person, fundamentally the view point remains the same. That is: the disease is bad and needs to be fought. To get back to the my analogy, you can re-arrange a bunch of furniture and even bring in a whole bunch of new furniture, but ultimately you are still in the same room, a room that is defined by the philosophy of the battle field. What the 5 Biological Laws require is that you step into a completely different room. This of course can be a challenge because you will be tempted to evaluate this new room based on what you learned in the previous one. In other words, if you've always known the world to be the center of the universe and flat, then the thought of a round planet that orbits the sun can be a challenge.
So I hope for those who read the next few blog entries, that you will allow yourself to step into a new way to look at health and what we call disease. If you find yourself intrigued, I hope you will explore this subject a bit further. I will do my best to provide you with some more resources in English. I also want to caution you from looking up Dr. Hamer on Wikipedia and forming your opinion on this entire subject solely on what you find there.
Finally, I want to clarify that the 5 Biological Laws are not a new form of treatment or therapy. They are a set of laws that provide an entirely different framework for describing the complex and complicated phenomena of "health" and "disease". The beauty of them lies in their simplicity as well as in the fact that they are verifiable by everyone. Once you fully understand this subject matter (and this may require a bit more than simply reading the next few blog entries here) you will be able to verify these laws next time you 'catch and cold' for example.
So I hope you will allow yourself to be challenged in your views and go on a journey with me. Remember that if history has taught us anything, it's that chances are, what we currently know to be the truth isn't really. At some point, it was believed that disease was punishment from god for our sins and thank goodness we got over that one! (at least most us did...) So, give this a try and see if this can serve us as a better model for explaining what happens in our bodies.

Food Inc.

I watched Food Inc. yesterday. It's a documentary about our food supply and an absolute must-see! I don't really know what to say other than: Watch It! Sometimes I find myself having conversations with people and I tell them that I don't eat a lot of meat, I am not an all out vegetarian but might not have meat for weeks and when I cook it's mostly vegetarian and fish. Then, sometimes I get the comment: Well, what's wrong with meat?  Because the general impression that most people seem to have is that maybe they should cut down on the amount of sugar they eat, or fast food they eat but meat from the grocery store is good for you.

But really, it's not "What's wrong with meat?" it's "What isn't wrong with it?". The implications of the our food choices go far beyond our own health and affect the treatment of workers as well as the environment. And yes, once again, choosing organic, locally grown food costs more. But it is a vote you cast. A vote that has an impact. Big stores like Walmart and Superstore are carrying more and more organic products and with the purchasing power of these giants the implications are huge. It means millions of tons of pesticides and other chemicals NOT dumped into the soil. It also clearly supports, of course, farmers in your local area.

At any rate, I highly recommend this film. In Canada you can get it on Netflix and I sure you'll find other ways to watch it as well.

The power of vulnerability

This was shared with me in response to my last post. I wanted to share it here because I know that some of my readers are not connected to me through Facebook and may not have seen this yet. Enjoy.

The Value of Vulnerability

I recently learned a wonderful life lesson. I learned this from my students. This happened (in part) when I, recently, attended what is called the Thompson Rivers University, Adventure Guide Program 'Pin Party'. I teach whitewater kayking, swiftwater rescue and rafting at TRU and have done so for about 4 or 5 years. Adventure grads are notorious for not showing up to grad ceremonies because these events are usually when they are already working somewhere on the rivers, oceans or in the mountains. Therefore, the pin party was created. It takes place in November when all adventurous activities become dreadfully wet and cold; and it's generally in between commercial guiding seasons. Instructors, students, grads and former student then gather in the gear bay (a giant room filled with kayaks, rafts, canoes etc) and grads are presented with a TRU Adventure Programs pin. We all cheer, watch slide shows of recent adventures and generally rejoice in the magic of this place. It was at this recent event that I had a conversation with one of my former students, who told me how I had had a tremendous impact on his life. He told me that he had made several lifestyle changes lately such as paying attention to what he eats, making meditation part of his life and writing a mission statement for his life. He told me that all of this began, for him, with a conversation him and I had in the spring. I had talked to him about my personal journey. I talked about cancer, meditation, nutrition and personal growth & development. It was that evening, because of that conversation that I had a realization about this life lesson. But there were other experiences that led me have this epiphany. Over the past few years of teaching kayaking I had the incredible privilege of teaching some very talented boaters. Some of them, had far more natural talent than I, they were younger, more graceful than I. The first time this happened to me, I had second-year student as an assistant on a Kayak 1 course (the beginner level kayak course). At the time I felt threatened by this better kayaker. I felt out of shape and a bit rusty at the time and I struggled to deal with this situation. The following year I had a student in the Kayak 2 course who was clearly a much more talented boater than me. Thankfully it was so obvious, because I now had to adjust my entire approach right from the start rather than struggle with a threatened ego for the whole course. I realized that I wouldn't be able to out perform this student. But what he had in talent, I had in experience. Especially teaching experience. I had spent a lot of time honing my detection and correction skills. Being able to look at a complex movement and determine what could be done to improve it. So I decided to take a coaching approach to my teaching. I did not pretend to be the better boater, instead I said: "Here is what we want to learn, let me provide you with a location and specific challenge to help you master this skill". Then I provided feedback and everynow and then I would challenge myself to give it a go. Sometimes I did well, other times I wasn't as smooth and when that happened I provided my opionion as to why that happened. At the end of the course, this student told me that I had been his favorite instructor and that he had learned so much from me. As it turns out I learned just as much from him. So the life lesson I took away from all of these experiences is this: The value of vulnerability. I can have a much greater impact, when I am vulnerable. When I don't pretent to have it all figured out, know all the answers or possess all the skills, others are able drop those same barriers and allow themselves to step up. Great conversations happen from a place of vulnerability, because we all have our struggles, our doubts, fears and pain. When you allow yourself to be vulnerable you are really open and you allow others to do the same. Then, the magic happens.

The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution!

I was reminded of the importance of letting some fresh air into the house. We all appreciate fresh air when we get outside of the city or town where we live. Anytime we get outside for a walk, maybe up in the hills above the valley floor I think most of us take in a deep breath and appreciate the clean fresh air. Many of us, depending on where we live, pay attention to air quality ratings. Fewer people consider the indoor air quality. Because the air in our homes comes, of course, from outside it is often more polluted than the outside air unless we let some frash air in. This is because once the air is in the house, we add pollutants to it in the form of hair spray, perfumes, cleaning products, off-gassing from adhesives, paint, furniture carpets, cooking etc. In addition to that, there are organic pollutants like dust mites, molds and other micro-organisms which, along with good old dust add to the pollution of the air inside our homes. There are ways to deal with all of this pollution of course. One way is to filter the air and in a lot of North American homes air is circulated through a forced air heating and AC system. Those who own their own home may have options available in terms of upgrading the furnace or installing additional air filters. But many people live in older houses or don't have the option of installing an expensive air filtration system. The other two options are much cheaper: reduce or eleminate the sources of pollution and LET SOME FRESH AIR IN! Ways to reduce pollution in your home include eliminating many of the common house hold cleaning products. There are natural ways to clean, using vinegar and natural soaps. Norwex has a line of micro fibre cloths that require only water to effectively clean almost any surface (go to florianscharlock.norwex.biz for more info). And then you can open some windows and let some fresh air in! My grandmother used to open the windows to her bedroom every morning and lay the down pillows on the window sil. She'd let both the bedroom and pillows air our for 1/2 hour to 1 hour, while keeping the door closed as to not let all the heat from the whole house escape. Making a habbit of opening the windows in your bedroom to let fresh air in every day will ensure your bedroom remains a healthy place for you to rest.

Death by Doctor

A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook and I am thankful she shared it. I knew that allopathic medicine is responsible for more deaths than the diseases it attempts to cure but Dr. Peter Gilden does very fine job of outlining the reality we live in and how we got here. It's just a short video, but great food for thought so I hope that you will take the 5 min. and watch it.