 BOOK
TALK
Candace Pert
by Gayl Woityra
What draws readers
to a particular book? At least three factors can
apply: subject or theme, the author and the
title. All three drew my interest to this
month’s book: Everything You Need to Know to
Feel Go(o)d by Candace B. Pert, PhD, with Nancy
Marriott (Hay House, 2006). We shall discuss
these three interest factors as we explore this
informative and interesting book.
I must admit that
it was the author, Candace Pert, who first came
to my attention. I saw her for the first time in
the popular film, What the Bleep Do We Know. For
years I’ve been intrigued by scientists who work
on what may be termed the “outer edges” of
scientific research – that is, those areas that
are more holistic, involving body-mind-spirit or
who explore the far reaches of consciousness or
the new paradigms of science.
Pert fits this
description. She is an “internationally
recognized psycho pharmacologist, a former
Research Professor at Georgetown University
School of Medicine and Section Chief at the
National Institute of Mental Health. She
acquired her PhD in pharmacology from Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine, she has published
more than 250 scientific articles and she has
lectured worldwide on pharmacology, neuroanatomy
and her leading-edge research on emotions and
the body-mind connection. In 1997 her book,
Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind
Bodymind Medicine popularized her groundbreaking
theories on consciousness, neuropeptides and
reality. She is currently developing Peptide T,
a therapeutic for treatment of HIV. With
credentials like these, Pert became immediately
interesting to me and I was ready to read
anything she has published.
Therefore, when I
heard of her new book, Everything You Need to
Know to Feel Go(o)d, I bought it and her earlier
work, Molecules of Emotion (Scribner, 1997) as
well. The title intrigued me because it sounded
like a self-help book, yet because the author is
a scientist, I expected reasonable,
science-based explanations. Moreover, I
wondered, was this scientist really talking
about God? Obviously there was something of a
mystery suggested by the title’s double meaning.
Finally, the
general subject matter implied by the
combination of the author’s background and the
holistic play on words of the title led me to
conclude that I could learn something from this
work, especially as it might provide scientific
support for learning how to “feel good.” Indeed,
it does do that, but in ways I hadn’t expected.
We’ll begin our discussion with that point.
Some readers might
be disappointed if they were to buy this book
expecting the usual guide to self-improvement,
with a step-by-step, chapter by chapter list of
behaviors, meditations and affirmations to
follow. Pert clearly doesn’t write her books
that way. Whereas her co-writer, Nancy Marriott,
once suggested that Candace “present practical
applications of (her) science in the form of
advice, suggestions, and ‘how-tos,’” Pert
disagreed. She wanted her book to “answer
questions audiences had been asking... (which
largely meant) how can we feel good.” Pert’s
answer is that the process is “an ever-evolving
one, coming out of my own growth and journeys in
consciousness.”
Therefore readers will find that both the
scientific and spiritual insights in this book
are set within the context of Pert’s own daily
life experience and spiritual development. She
says, “It’s not a book about information and
advice only... I’m a scientist, not a guru. This
book is about my journey.” As a result this is a
very human document, one to which all readers
can ultimately relate. Candace frankly reveals
her own human weaknesses and issues and thereby
demonstrates how she applies her own scientific
knowledge and spiritual insights to move forward
toward positive outcomes.
Moreover, she
explains the mystery of the book’s title. She
says, “The book is going to tell how my
understanding of emotions and consciousness
brings me ultimately to my understanding and
embracing of spirituality... I’m going to talk
about God and I’m going to do it as a
scientist.” Certainly in these times when
religions and science seem to be in perpetual
conflict, it is encouraging to explore an area
where they can cooperate and inter-relate.
Clearly, readers
will learn much about the brain and the mind
from this book. Most of the discussions are
quite accessible to the general reader. Only
occasionally did I find myself a bit lost in
discussion of brain cell activities. Basic to an
understanding of the book, without using many
scientific terms, is that “neuropeptides are
biological messengers released by the brain.”
They are sent throughout the body to receptor
sites. In effect the entire body acts as the
subconscious mind. (That may be a very new
concept for most readers.) Everything we think,
feel and do affect all parts of ourselves. “In
this book Pert demonstrates how your
consciousness changes your body, your health and
your environment.”
Pert’s many years
of research has proven that “all systems of our
physiology are connected and coordinated by
emotion-laden, information-carrying molecules,
engaged in constant cross talk... between the
nervous and immune systems.” She calls this
network of communication, the “body-mind.” What
does this mean for us, the readers? Truly
comprehending this inter-connection within our
body allows us to better understand ourselves,
thereby enabling us to make better, more
coherent choices in our daily lives. Pert
especially notes “the key that explains how
energy heals, how mind becomes matter and how we
can create our own reality is the emotions...
It’s the emotions... that link us as physical
entities to the divine, making it possible for
us to both feel good and feel God at the same
time.”
Regular readers of
Book Talk may recall a similar theme in a book
we discussed a few months ago, The Divine Matrix
by Gregg Braden (Hay House, 2007). (See
phenomeNEWS June 2007). This connection between
emotions and the divine is a topic repeatedly
turning up in current literature. We will be
featuring more discussions of this in future
Book Talks, especially as it relates to how our
thoughts affect our lives.
Meanwhile as
readers we discover both information and
insights in Pert’s book that we can use. For
example, nearly everyone in today’s world faces
various blocks and frustrations in everything
from the work place to family relationships. In
her book Pert interweaves the story of her
discovery of Peptide T, a “nontoxic, highly
potent drug for use in the treatment of AIDS.”
Pert and her husband developed this substance
more than ten years ago, yet due to inept
testing by others and inadequate research by
others as well, it was shunted aside for all
these years. Readers can clearly see how this
frustrating situation affects Pert, but more
importantly, we observe how she applies her
theories to dealing with this issue. In other
words, she doesn’t just tell us what we could
try to do with our issues and problems, she
acts, following her own insights and let’s us
draw our own conclusions about the results.
In one chapter,
Pert provides readers with an easily
comprehended summary of her research and
theories. Much of this new research results in
conclusions and theories that are difficult for
the prevailing academia and science to accept.
Pert notes, “There’s much resistance to the idea
that the mind is in the body and the brain is
not the mind.” Yet we discover that Pert’s
research with her husband Michael and the
publication of their theory in The Journal of
Immunology “helped launch a new field known as
psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), a field
“controversial at its inception (but) strong and
flourishing today.” Again, a key to Pert’s
theory is that “Awareness is the property of the
whole organism.” And she says with emphasis,
“The body is the subconscious mind.”
So what does this
all mean to us? Given that “the growth of brain
cells never stops,” is means that “you can learn
and change and grow because you’re literally
making a new brain every day.” This is certainly
encouraging to us all. Moreover, because Pert
has determined that the tone of our thoughts and
emotions affect the chemistry of the
brain-body-mind receptors, how and what we think
and feel have critical impacts on our physical,
emotional and mental health. In other words, she
says, “If you have uplifting thoughts, you’re
building a very different brain than if you have
negative ones.”
After a brief
explanation of how the frontal cortex of our
brain works, Pert gets to some vital points. The
frontal cortex is “the executive level of
consciousness,” the place where we make
choices,” and “the part of the brain that makes
us human.” The frontal cortex “strengthens and
even enlarges from frequent meditation,” a fact
proven in experiments at the University of
Wisconsin in collaboration with the Dalai Lama.”
Pert believes that “the potential for higher
consciousness is built right into our anatomy.
Beyond just feeling good, we can feel God and
from that state of bliss and union, we have the
capacity to create a future for ourselves and
for our planet.”
Following her
discussion of what she terms “New-Paradigm
Physiology,” the major portion of the book is
her “Adventures in Consciousness-Land.” Here the
reader will find numerous insightful discussions
of many topics relevant to all of us, including
the connection between food, toxicity and mood;
healing and consciousness; synchronicity, energy
medicine, love, imagination and empowerment. In
all cases, Pert makes her subjects come alive
because she gives them a context within her own
day to day life experiences, lessons and growth
of awareness. Her own affirmation becomes: “I
can do it!”
Everything You
Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d is a rewarding book
to read. It both informs and inspires. Readers
who might like a fuller scientific discussion
would also enjoy Pert’s first book, Molecules of
Emotion. That work includes a glossary of
scientific terms, especially those relating to
cellular biology; a very complete appendix of
“Bodymind Medicine: Resources and
Practitioners;” a recommended reading list, and
a subject index.
Candace Pert’s website is:
www.candacepert.com.
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