Dear
friends,
Below is
the fascinating story of a David Hamilton, a successful scientist with expertise
in drug development who has become a pioneer in researching the power of the
mind. "On average, placebo effects cure anything between 30 to 90 per
cent. That has been written up in many scientific journals. Why not see if
you could extend it?" says Hamilton. Citing recent research into spontaneous
remissions from cancer which found that a radical change of belief system
seemed to be a common factor, Hamilton believes the power of the mind may
be far greater that what is currently accepted by the scientific world.
There are
a multitude of documented cases of spontaneous remission which doctors and
the scientific community have all too often dismissed as merely anomalies.
Why aren't we pouring large amounts of research dollars into a serious study
of these cases to determine how the likelihood of such occurrences can be
increased?
Thankfully,
a few scientists are risking the ridicule of their colleagues in undertaking
the serious study of such topics. For two excellent, inspiring books which
document fascinating studies into the power of the mind, see The
Field by Lynne McTaggart and The
Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot. Let us all do what we
can to support this important work. You can start now by spreading this message
to your friends and colleagues. Have a great day, and may the power of the
mind (and heart) be with you!
With
best wishes,
Fred Burks
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1386262004
- The Scotsman (a top daily paper in Scotland)
Delving
into mind over matter
CLAIRE SMITH
It was during a weekend of fire-walking that scientist
David Hamilton decided to change his life.
As an
organic chemist with a major pharmaceutical company, he was on a good salary,
developing a new generation of drugs by synthesising molecules found in nature.
But Hamilton was never convinced that man could improve on nature, and instead
was becoming more and more fascinated by the potential healing power of the
mind. So, inspired by his body’s ability to withstand heat during fire-walking,
he began a quest to investigate the mysteries of the mind-body connection.
He also
began hosting seminars where he encouraged people to believe in the power
of their mind to positively improve their health. Unlike
many self-help gurus, Hamilton backs his arguments with scientific research
and combines his work with a post as a part-time lecturer in chemistry at
Glasgow University. In his first
book, It’s The Thought That Counts, due to be published next year,
he will put forward the scientific arguments about the mysterious mind-body
connection and argue that powerful human states such as happiness and optimism
can actually change your DNA.
"I’m interested in the whole self-improvement thing but I am the only
scientist talking about it," he says. His interest
in the power of the human spirit began when he was working as an organic chemist
for a major pharmaceutical company. Put in the fast-track by the company
because of his skill in the field, Hamilton worked on creating new drugs by
re-creating molecular structures found in nature with slight differences in
order to develop new drugs. "You study nature’s molecules and re-create
them slightly differently," he says. "The idea is to take nature and
improve on it."
However,
he was not sure that was the right approach. He was also becoming uneasy about
the way pharmaceutical companies were operating, particularly in the developing
world, and became fascinated by the placebo effect, the scientific principle
which shows that in drug trials, people given sugar pills often recover just
as well as those on other medication. "On average, placebo effects
cure anything between 30 to 90%. That has been written up in many
scientific journals. I thought, ‘Why not see if you could extend it’,"
he says.
On a weekend retreat with Tony Robbins, the pioneer of fire-walking, Hamilton
decided it was time to change his course in life. "When you walk on fire
for the first time you feel incredibly euphoric. At the end of it I felt like
I could do anything, and, more specifically, that I could live my dream."
He set up
New Awakenings, giving talks and workshops about the power of the mind over
the body. While many new-age types talk about positive thinking, Hamilton
is different, in that he gives listeners a view based on the latest developments
in chemistry, biology and physics. By presenting arguments backed by science,
he hopes to motivate people to work on their minds in order to improve their
health: "With faith, hope and determination people can change the state
of their health, life and world".
"I have found around 500 scientific papers from mainstream academic
journals which directly talk about the effect that thought, feeling and faith
have on the body’s systems," he says. Recent
research into spontaneous remissions from cancer found that a radical change
of belief system seemed to be a common factor. While few would argue with
the idea that a good attitude can speed the healing process, Hamilton believes
emotions, such as happiness, can change DNA.
What is
surprising is that a growing body of scientific thought appears to agree with
him. As an
example, Hamilton quotes the work of Eric Kandel, joint winner of the 2000
Nobel prize for medicine, who carried out pioneering work into the way genes
can be switched on or off by social influences. Kandel’s
conclusion is that many genetic differences between people are influenced
by society and conditioning, rather than incorporated in the genetic makeup
of the parents.
Hamilton says: "About 99.9 per cent of our genes are exactly the same.
The differences between us are determined by whether our genes are switched
on or off. "There is a whole branch of medicine called psycho-neuro-immunology,
which studies the effect of thoughts and emotions on our biochemistry. The
biochemistry is intimately connected with the DNA, so if these biologichemical
components are affected by thoughts and emotions then thoughts and emotions
must also affect our DNA."
He also
cites a well-known scientific study of rat pups which showed that two separate
growth hormones are switched off in those deprived of a mother’s touch. By
pulling together the evidence that love and kindness can have a positive effect
on health, Hamilton hopes to make people more aware of their own healing power. "The most powerful cure for anything
is faith, hope and determination."
