It’s now been about a decade since the publication of the first hardcover edition of The Genie in Your Genes. The revisions I’ve made to the book since then tell us a lot about how much the field of Energy Psychology has changed. Ten years ago I predicted that we’d see research showing the effect of emotions on gene expression, but I could not point to much in the way of evidence for that hypothesis. By the time I wrote the paperback edition five years later, I could list thirteen studies. Now, there are hundreds of studies that demonstrate the link between what we think, feel, and believe, and which genes are promoted or silenced. Science is gradually tracing—in detail—the precise regions on DNA strings that are affected by experiences such as psychological trauma, emotional resiliency, and spiritual epiphany.
Around the same time I wrote that paperback version, I also founded the peer-reviewed journal Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment (www.EnergyPsychologyJournal.org). I’d had a difficult time getting my research published in conventional journals. I sometimes ran into entrenched skepticism, but more often I encountered honest ignorance. Reviewers had no background in energy therapies and didn’t know what to make of the papers they were reviewing. The health outcomes of participants were often a giant leap better than usual in conventional therapies, and didn’t fit into the conceptual framework of incremental improvement. If I told you I’d bought a new car and it got eighty-five miles to the gallon, you’d be impressed. If I told you it got four hundred miles to the gallon, you’d think I was crazy. The results of energy therapies are often so outside the box that they baffle the imagination.
The journal has since facilitated the expert peer review and publication of dozens of papers. Many of these might never have been published had they had to run the gauntlet of uninformed peer review. I appreciate the members of the editorial board. These distinguished authorities were willing to lend their names to the masthead of the first issue based only on trust. I also appreciate the invisible work of the peer reviewers whose expertise makes the continued high standards of the journal possible.
In the coming years, I expect to see energy medicine and Energy Psychology integrated into conventional medicine. Skeptic Richard Dawkins said, “There is no such thing as alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t.” This statement is a useful reminder that separating the worlds of “conventional medicine” and “complementary and alternative medicine” or CAM can be unhelpful. Conventional medicine is assumed to be evidence-based and effective, while CAM is by definition an alternative to “real” medical care. When CAM demonstrates good patient outcomes, it should be part of conventional medical practice.
Emerging research will facilitate this process. Studies of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), for example, have shown that EFT can remediate most cases of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression in just a few sessions. This opens up the possibility that the prevalence of these mental health problems will be greatly reduced in the coming decades. One of my recent keynote speeches was called “A World Without PTSD?” and, though I do not believe that we can cure every mental health problem in every person, I do believe that we’ve entered a new era. With enough social will and belief, we can bring the same vigorous energy to bear on eliminating mental health problems that previous generations brought to bear on eradicating cholera, typhoid, and polio.
I also predict that combination therapies will trump individual therapeutic schools. Advocates of EFT, EMDR, TFT, and other therapies vigorously champion the superiority of their methods. I believe that they all use common pathways, and that those pathways are more important in producing successful outcomes than the variations between methods. Healers with a diverse toolbox have more tools to help their clients than devotees of any particular therapeutic school.
I believe that as genetic testing falls in price and complexity, individualized treatment plans will become the norm. For instance, we will be able to test whether a particular client responds best to a mixture of qigong and EFT, or yoga, ibuprofen, and EMDR. The test won’t involve a blood draw, lab work, and a wait for the results. We’ll use simple saliva swabs that will show color-coded results in seconds. In this way, highly personalized medicine will become possible.
I also predict a continued upswell in the recognition of the importance of spirituality in the healing process. Studies that measure biological markers show that the beliefs of participants reveal the highest level of correlation with their health outcomes. Biological measures have already shown us that emotional problems like stress aren’t “all in the mind.” They have powerful negative effects throughout the body. The reductionist division of human experience into body, mind, and spirit is useful for studying microscopic phenomena, but a holistic approach is essential to grasping the big picture. The old paradigm that holds psychology separate from biology is breaking down. Even our brains are shaped by the thoughts we think.
Human beings aren’t just unitary individuals; they thrive only as part of a thriving biological and spiritual ecosystem. I sometimes define my life’s mission as “emotional terraforming.” By this I mean the work of rendering the “emosphere”—a word I coined to describe the entire emotional atmosphere of the planet—a place fit for acceptance, growth, and love. As I look back on the ten years between the first edition of this book and the current edition, I believe that the emosphere has shifted during that time. Despite the wars, conflicts, and screaming headlines, I sense an upswing in positive and empowered emotions on a global scale. We’re at the tipping point.
I believe the shift will accelerate. Just the way that the institution of slavery went from being perceived as normal to being an abhorrence in just a few years, I believe that the negative emotional conditioning that enslaves so many minds will rapidly dissipate. A century ago, our ancestors learned how to eradicate many infectious diseases. We are the generation that is catalyzing a profound global transformation, sculpting a beautiful emosphere that nourishes both us and succeeding generations.
—Dawson Church