A child's genes are actually altered through the experience of trauma!
So I have continued to research this, and other research shows that trauma (such as car accidents and the like) turns on certain gene pathways, and the mortality rate of the person is affected by the specific gene pathways that are activated by the trauma. This means that if certain gene pathways are activated, the person is either more or less likely to survive! Amazing! I don't really understand the specific gene pathways discussed, but it's amazing to me just how dynamic these genes are.
These research findings are like believing that the world is flat, only to discover that it is actually round!
There is so much more to the body and mind than we ever thought possible. We can now look at PET scans and SPECT scans of the brain of a child growing up in "chaotic" environments and actually see that their brain functions differently (and abnormally). And now, this addition to the body of scientific knowledge that a child's genome can actually be altered by a traumatic experience. . . .it just changes everything!
We used to think of the human brain and genes as these generally static things. A person was born with a certain number of brain cells, and that remained the same throughout a person's life. We also used to believe that a traumatic spinal cord injury meant a life-time of paralysis. And we used to believe that genes remained the same (unless mutated by some kind of unnatural force, such as radiation exposure). But none of this, as it turns out, is scientifically factual, at all.
So my question is this: If trauma affects the genome, does that mean that the human genome is affected by all environmental conditions to which we are exposed?
I have believed for many years that the possibility exists for genes to be changed for the positive, because each and every time a cell divides, there exists an opportunity for some kind of mutation occur, but why does this mutation always have to result in a "negative" change or outcome? Why can't a genetic mutation yield a "positive" change in some aspect of the human's developmental evolution?
This new scientific knowledge only serves to confirm what I have always believed, and that is that we are ultimately not defined by our genetic code. In fact, I believe that we are always in a constant state of genetic flux. Which means that even though traumatic events may, in fact, alter our genetic pool of information, I also believe that we can create positive change in this genome through conscious connection and focused intention.
And we see the effects of this every day, only we call it healing.