How does Personal Health & Epigenetics relate to spirituality? This is a great question!
Firstly, our Epigenetics (those factors on or around our genes that affect the way they express and create our phenotype) influence our hormones and brain activity which impacts our thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and attitudes.
- The foods we eat can make us HAPPY, like the serotonin released from eating a block of chocolate or drinking a glass of wine after a stressful day;
- the activity we do can deeply RELAX us, like the endorphins that are released after a hard workout where we’ve given it our all;
- or our relationships may trigger the release of oxytocin, and help us feel a sense of LOVE, TRUST and BELONGING;
- and our career may stimulate our creative flow or even dopamine, to help us feel SATISFACTION when we’ve achieved the ambitious tasks we set out to conquer.
All of these feelings and emotions we have, such as Happiness, Relaxation, Love, Trust, Belonging, Satisfaction, Achievement, they all influence our thoughts and behaviour. Who we are, what we think, and how we act, are all influenced by our Epigenetics.
These very same concepts are the foundations for mindfulness and the tangible ways we influence our spirituality and connection – we just choose different words to convey this, like aligning our purpose and passion (who we are), our thoughts create/manifest our future (what we think), encompassing love and gratitude, and living selflessly and in service of others (how we act).
It is time to now begin to understand that these are one and the same, just approached from different angles in our minds or in separate boxes as we’ve been conditioned to believe, however, everything is interconnected. Our body, our mind, and our spirit – each just an extension, an expression and an interaction of the other. This is extremely powerful and empowering when we truly have this realisation.
Secondly, this is DIFFERENT for everyone!
The continuum of Health and Spirituality is a personal experience. We are all completely unique – we are ALL very different. Which means we all have our own natural ways to learn, engage, connect and grow.
Through scientific studies of connection and spiritual experience it has been shown that certain chemicals, brain states and electrical activity are present when someone experiences connection or has a spiritual experience. These same neurochemicals, frequencies and neural activity can also be induced through certain foods, activities, interactions and environments – and they are different for every person. Just like our spirituality is different for each of us.
In fact, PERSONALISED spirituality is a concept we have been developing & nurturing for some time now, and you will see it start to emerge in the very near future. Those finding it hard to relate to spiritual practice can start to realise that their experience may be very different to what others describe. We may not see colours, or feel energy, or have lucid dreams, or predict the future, but we all have connection in our own special way.
Think about it. All the speakers and influencers you see on Social Media, podcasts, in Live events or on the TV are amazing. They all have different gifts, different views, insights or interpretation of spirituality and healing. They have different ways to connect and receive and different ways that this has been channelled or shown to them. In fact, for the audience, it’s sometimes confusing to know which way is the right way as there are so many different opinions. It’s the same with our foods. Should I eat Paleo? Raw? High Protein? High Fat? Juice Fasts? Cleanses? Low carb? No carb? Natural sugars? No sugar?
Everyone who promotes one way of doing things is so passionate because it works for them. Maybe it cured their disease, made them feel better or they had more success show up in their life. Of course they want to share it with the world and help others experience the same result. This is fantastic on one level, but on another level we need to stop and consider that everyone is completely different and this method may not be the right fit for every person.
There’s not one single method, process, formula or interpretation that’s right for everyone, whether we’re considering mindfulness, health, food, lifestyle or spirituality. The way that we each optimally experience, interact, engage, understand, learn, grow and connect is different and unique to us. The sooner we realise this, the sooner we will see more health, happiness and interest in participating in this crazy game we call life.
Sometimes the most powerful healer is the person who smiles to the grumpy man at the gas station and says “Thank you for all you are and all you do”. Perhaps Mr Grumpy smiles and feels special for the first time in 10 years, and subsequently reduces his stress and his chronic back pain disappears – and so does the grumpiness.
Often we look for the big fancy things when really the power to heal others may just lie in the little things we do each and every day. This is the uniquely peronalised spiritual journey that the epigenetics in your life helps you uncover.