reviewed by June Milligan For HB Magazine |
Dr. Newberg opens the first chapter of this book with the true story of how a patient shrunk his cancer tumors to half their size in two days because he believed that an injection of a new experimental drug would cure him. He was in stage four cancer with a body riddled with tumors, but the media was touting this new drug, so he persuaded his physician to include him in the test group. To the amazement of the doctors, this particular patient, whom they call Mr. Wright, was the only one who improved on that drug. After ten days all signs of the disease had disappeared and he returned home in perfect health.
Two months later the media reported that the FDA believed the drug was ineffective. Mr. Wright heard the reports and immediately became ill. The tumors returned and he was readmitted to the hospital. The doctor in charge was now convinced that Mr. Wright’s belief in the effectiveness of the drug had healed him, so he decided to test his theory by telling Mr. Wright a lie: that a new “super-refined, double-strength” version of the drug was guaranteed to produce better results. Mr. Wright then received injections of sterile water, which he thought was the miracle drug. Once again, his recovery was dramatic. His tumors disappeared and he resumed a normal life-until the newspapers published an announcement by the AMA which stated that the drug was “worthless for the treatment of cancer.” After reading this, Mr. Wright fell ill again, returned to the hospital and died two days later. His doctor concluded that the effect of his belief cured him, and his loss of belief caused his death.
Although most oncologists believe that spontaneous remissions are due to some unidentified biological mechanism, Dr. Bruce Lipton, in his book of the same name, would say that this story is an example of the Biology of Belief. After all, a strong positive belief may trigger the unidentified biological mechanism which leads to a cure.
The authors of this book are attempting to explain how and why beliefs work this magic. They offer a practical model of how the brain works that will help you understand your own beliefs and the nature of reality. They have found that once our beliefs are established, we rarely challenge their validity, even when faced with contradictory evidence.
Dr. Newberg was one of the research scientists featured in the movie/documentary What the Bleep Do We Know? (2004) as well as the documentary Religulous (2008). He states that, “The anger and prejudice generated by beliefs such as extreme Fundamentalism can permanently damage your brain.” On Dr. Newberg’s website you can download research papers on brain science and the effects of beliefs on the brain dating from 1992.
We cannot escape the power and influence of our beliefs. They can make the difference between life and death, health and illness. This book brings additional clarity to the emerging science of consciousness and even explains how these new findings about the brain mesh with certain spiritual traditions.
Why We Believe What We Believe is divided into three major parts: How the Brain Makes Our Reality; Childhood Development and Morality; and Spiritual Beliefs and the Brain. We really do see the world, not as it is, but as we are. This is even further evidence for all of us to look at our beliefs and see if they are valid in this modern world, for everything we do and everything we think about engages a belief in some way.
For more info, contact June Milligan, specializing in helping people learn how to let go of unproductive thinking.
(775) 786-9111
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