PRENATAL AND PERINATAL EDUCATION SERIES - ARTICLE 10
PARENTING STYLES
- Shivakumar Belavadi, PPNE, Bangalore, India
TOPIC - Please define "Conscious Conception."
R.D.
Laing, a pioneering psychologist had honestly ruminated "It seems to me credible, at least, that
all our experience in our life cycle from cell one is absorbed and stored from
the beginning, perhaps especially in the beginning. How that may happen I do
not know. How can one cell generate the billions of
cells I now am?
We are impossible, but for the fact that we are.”
We are impossible, but for the fact that we are.”
Definition
Procreation
is a fundamental fact and act seen in all of Creation. In nature – it is an
occurrence, and has continued to be so over millions of years. Amongst human beings,
the present understanding of conception is that it is the event when a man and
woman come together at coitus under certain physical conditions. A sperm from
the man fuses with the ovum of the woman, leading to the formation of a Zygote.
This is the most popular notion of conception. While this may be true at the gross
or physical level, there is much more happening – preceding, during and after
the physical act.
What
are all the factors that contribute and influence in the process of conception?
Are there any we know of, but don’t cognize? Are there subtle factors unknown
to us? If we include all that (a) we ‘know’, (b) we ‘generally know but do not cognize’,
and (c) what we ‘do not know but we need to become aware, understand and
appreciate, the Conception Canvas expands to a realm beyond just the ‘known and
physical’ and becomes Holistic.
Conception
in such a state of Total Awareness is Conscious Conception.
I will
now attempt to put this in a perspective.
A. Conception - The Realm of the Known
In
nature, it has been observed that the physical act for copulation happens in a particular
season and for a particular reason - usually “Continuity of Species”. However,
the physical act of copulation between a man and a woman could happen for two
purposes viz. (a) Pleasure or (b) Procreation.
The act
for pleasure could be random and may happen at any time in adult human beings. While
we may attempt to procreate in any season, it can reach fruition only when
certain conditions are fulfilled. Some of these would include:
· A woman needs to be in the
“fertile period’ in the course of her monthly menstrual cycle
· Virility and motility of sperms
are essential to go through an arduous process for fusing with the ovum.
· The quality of the sperm and
egg. For instance, weak sperms may not complete the journey to the egg after
ejaculation, a hard outer cover of the ovum may make it difficult for a sperm
to penetrate into the cell.
· Synchronization of physical
factors playing a role in the process. For instance, the Celia (hair like fibrous
structures) need to move in a perfect rhythm to facilitate the movement of egg
in/through the Fallopian tube.
Medical
fraternity, surely knows all of this. Biology and Obstetrics medical literature
has details of what are needed, what needs to be done, how the process works
and how it concludes. In short, the facets involved and the process of conception
in the physical realm are fairly well known amongst the educated masses and is
well recognized within society.
B. Conception – The Realm of “What we Know but do not Cognize”.
Evolution
and life have taken many contours over thousands of years. This has produced many things which we may be
aware of at a broad level. Our information bases today are much wider. For
example, the effect of air and noise pollution, depletion of Ozone layer in the
atmosphere, reducing oxygen content in the air we breathe are well known today
because of media blitz, publicity and the repeated broadcasts made. Along with
the information needed and justified, many a times,we get only selective or
incomplete inputs. This tends to become Media
Driven Awareness.
Some of
the serious undertones in ‘generally known information’, however, are not known
and understood by people. For instance, Dr.Michel Odent gives a clear
description of a situation explaining the ‘Age Of Man-Made Fat-Soluble
Chemicals’. He states:
“Over the years we all have accumulated
hundreds of chemicals in our adipose tissue that would not have been there
sixty years ago because such chemicals did not exist at that time. Many of
these pollutants have a long half-life and we do not have mechanisms to break
them down; therefore they cannot be eliminated by the kidneys. Since the
1990s we have gathered sufficient data to realize that a major threat to the
health of future generations is intrauterine pollution by such man-made
molecules. It is during this period that molecules used by cells to 'talk' to
`each other (e.g. Hormones) can affect the way that genes express themselves.
They are biologically active in parts per trillion, thousands of times more
diluted than the level at which toxicological testing is usually performed. The majority of the genes in our bodies are
only switched on for short windows of development, and then they shut down
until the next generation.”
Remediation,
as Kate White suggests in an article on ‘Pre and Perinatal Experiences for
Health and Healing’, is in “ Prior to
conception, women can cleanse, ridding their organ systems of possible toxins
from plastics and other chemicals ingested without their knowledge, hidden in
food and air pollution.”
The
experts mentioned above illustrate the new knowledge which has come about
through research and scientific findings. Today
they need to become well known amongst all sections of the society. While
generally people may have the knowledge of pollution and contamination, the intricate
details of the causes and harmful consequences of those are not widely known. However,
with some effort, interested persons could access resources with which they can
increase their knowledge and learning. If such topics are included in
public health discourses, publicity and notifications, the awareness coming
about from that, will help people make better choices in life, especially in
the context of conception.
Hence, with some effort, things which are in general
awareness could move to becoming specifically and specially cognized in times
of need. Thus Healthy Conception and Child Bearing would become more
purposeful.
C. Conception – The Realm of “What we need to become Aware
of, Understand and truly Appreciate”
Our
knowledge and understanding of the last few centuries is now undergoing through
an upheaval. A significant body of knowledge is being discovered through
new-gen sciences. Many scientists, researchers, anthropologists, biologists and
pedagogues are exploring the arena of Quantum Physics, Consciousness,
Epigenetics, Signal Transduction and other related spaces. Senior PPNE
practitioners and professionals, including William Emerson, Thomas Verny, Wendy
McCarty, Ray Castellino, Marcy Axness and Bruce Lipton speak of the role of Consciousness,
Epigenetics and the new awareness/sciences in the process of Conception. Many
of them echo the knowledge and understanding which is coming about with the
changing knowledge paradigm. A few of them are quoted below:
1. Marcy
Axness – “Conscious
Conception is a Quantum Collaboration. We tap into a powerful dimension of
human development when we broaden our perception of what happens in the
“simple” process of fertilization of the egg by the sperm. Consider the
implications of findings in quantum physics, cell biology, and epigenetics,
such as non-local mind matter interactions, and the effects of “directed
intention” on microbes, human cells, and biochemical reactions in the body.”
2. Wendy
Anne McCarty states that while working “I focus on
sensing the greater field, what I have come to call the “therapeutic family
holographic field.” The field that contains local, energetic, and non-local
information; and that reflects the unconscious, conscious, and superconscious,
all the interconnected relationships, and all time periods, ancestral and other
life-times, etc. I would tune into the field and focuses would emerge.”
She
also mentions that “PPN findings show us that our spiritual connection, primary
knowing, and transcendent Self perspective are there from the beginning of
life! We are consciousness coming into human life, and we are innately wired
with the capacity of connection with our transcendent Self and Source to be the
embodied integrated spiritual human being—the butterfly.”
She
goes on to state – “When I speak of
supporting babies’ wholeness from the beginning of life, I see this as our
primary task in welcoming consciousness—to nurture and protect their primary
relationship of Self.”
3. Dan Hurley in an article in
Discover Magazine.com states “Grandma’s experiences leave a mark on your genes.
Your ancestors' lousy childhoods or excellent adventures might change your
personality, bequeathing anxiety or resilience by altering the epigenetic
expressions of genes in the brain.”
He
refers extensively to the pioneering work of
Moshe Szyf, a molecular
biologist and geneticist at McGill University in Montreal and Michael Meaney, a McGill neurobiologist,
which gives us new insights of behavioural epigenetics, traumatic experiences
in our past, or in our recent ancestors’ past, leave molecular scars adhering
to our DNA.
He
further quotes the duo saying – “Jews whose great-grandparents were chased from
their Russian shtetls; Chinese whose grandparents lived through the ravages of
the Cultural Revolution; young immigrants from Africa whose parents survived
massacres; adults of every ethnicity who grew up with alcoholic or abusive
parents — all carry with them more than just memories.
Like
silt deposited on the cogs of a finely tuned machine after the seawater of a
tsunami recedes, our experiences, and those of our forebears, are never gone,
even if they have been forgotten. They become a part of us, a molecular residue
holding fast to our genetic scaffolding. The DNA remains the same, but
psychological and behavioural tendencies are inherited. You might have inherited not just your grandmother’s knobby knees, but
also her predisposition toward depression caused by the neglect she suffered as
a new-born. Or not. If your grandmother was adopted by nurturing parents, you
might be enjoying the boost she received thanks to their love and support.”
4. William
Emerson comments on Conception and early life that – “
The associated underlying belief systems that hold it in place derive from a
number of factors: the shadow aspects of parents; the same unresolved elements
in the lives of grandparents (the ovum from which the mother sprang was already
formed at eleven weeks gestation in the maternal grandmother); a commensurate and immeasurable twine of
psychogenetic ancestral memories; the prenate’s own “baggage” from
pre-conception; the experience of the conception itself; the phenomenology
of implantation; and the whole duration of the gestation period; all together form layers of affect in this
self-forging process.”
5. Bruce Lipton – “As has recently been established environmentally-directed maternal
influences may impact more than just the subsequent generation. An
observation referred to as the "grandmother effect" reveals Dutch
women who were on starvation diets during the famine of World War II, produced
smaller than normal babies. Interestingly, this pattern of stunted growth
continued into the next generation (Vines, 1997). There are now many examples
of how maternal observations of environmental exigencies profoundly alter the
growth, phenotype (physiological expression), sex ratios and even the sexual
maturation period of their offspring, all in an effort to ensure the survival
of their species.”
The
references above evidently speak of the newness of this knowledge. They also
speak eloquently of the integrating and combining effects of seemingly
different disciplines, through the process of conception. This body of
knowledge conspicuously seems missing in the information which is available and
accessible to the masses. It is not easily found or discussed in the public
domain.
A
question arises at this stage - Do I need to know everything about everything
before proceeding for conception? Is it possible at all for a human being? The
understanding one can gain from the working of the Quantum Field is revealing.
If we just become aware of ‘what I know’ and accept ‘I do not know many things
but I can get to know anything’ and set a clear intention behind my subsequent
efforts, the Field manifests according to
My Intentions. A human being is a truly powerful entity !
Many cultures had wisdom
which is Holistic, often preceding the vintage of modern sciences. Buddhist,
Shamanic, Greek and contemporary tribal cultures show a prescient awareness on
conception. Many of them include sanctity, devotion and divinity to complete
the Holistic elements. As an example, I am giving below a diagram which gives
an indication of the rich essence of Indian/Hindu scriptures. This is developed
by the Shivanetra spiritual lineage in India, capturing all the causative and
collaborative conception factors including those known in science today.
Synthesis
DIVINITY
OF PROCREATION
Integrating
knowledge from Modern Sciences and the Ancient Indian Wisdom would lead to
Conscious Holistic Conception in my opinion. There is a dire need to recognise
and act on the following:
1. There is a common goal of
mankind as a whole – Peace and Progress! There is a chain in the way the order
of universe operates. BodyçèEmotionsçèMind/IntellectçèSubconsciousçèSocietyçèWorld
çèUniverse,
is a chain which is continuous and interactive in both directions.
2. Who or what is being created
during conception? It is now apparent to serious PPN practitioners (and to many
others!) that there is a huge nexus between the Universe and the new life or
entity being created. The possibility of bringing to life a human being, does
not lie in the consequence of a physical act nor in a bio-chemical fusion of
germ cells. It is a possibility that is divined out from the Field (Divine
Matrix as Gregg Braden expounds or the Sacred science of Kshetra as revealed
through the Bhagavad Gita, a scripture of ancient India).
3. It should be easy to visualise
that the new life is a complex of Body, Mind, and Emotions, like all of us know.
However, that is just in the visual spectrum. There are deeper layers of life –
which include the subconscious mind! For instance, today we now know that
memory is associated with not just the brain, but the whole body. It extends
within the body and outside! Ancient
scriptures of India explain how impressions from seven generations can be
embedded within the subconscious!
4. The Universe/Supreme Energies
and Intelligence do not function in a random manner. There is a deliberate
design and purpose in all action. What appears as chaos in one plane, is
coordinated symphony at another level! Indeed, the pulse that becomes the
heart, throbs for eternity! The new conception happens with a purpose and all
the stakeholders associated with it must collaborate to help the new life move
towards achieving its purpose.
5. In a popular video on You Tube
[https://
www.youtube.com/ watch?v = kJBO0C1iYp8 ], Dr Thomas Verny begins by
stating that Procreation can never be understood without the basic knowledge of
two important guiding factors. The first is the ‘Life is a Continuum’ and the
second is the ‘Mind- Body Connection.’ These two are considered primary
essentials of Indian spiritual learning as well! ( Punarjanma – Rebirth and
Karma – Cause and Effect chain). The process of procreation really is
Re-Creation and it would be sad to limit it to banal recreation !
Following
from the above, we need to recognise that for practising conception
consciously, we need to be aware of the role of stakeholders at each stage.
A. Parents
– They have the most immediate interest. They need to prepare for conception by
becoming aware of themselves, their baby-to-come and the other influencing
factors. The influence of parents becomes palpable and has a tremendous impact
on the baby coming into this world. Kate White summarises this in an article on
Conscious Conception stating:
“The mother is the first home for humans.
Once a woman or a couple decides on pregnancy, this early in utero environment
can be nurtured with nutritional changes and awareness. The best thing that parents can do prenatally is resolve their own
early history. An adult’s unconscious pre and perinatal pattern can influence
how a baby is conceived, nurtured, born and raised. Couples can seek out
counselling to decide on how they want to parent and what their family values
will be. Prior to conception, women can
cleanse, ridding their organ systems of possible toxins from plastics and other
chemicals ingested without their knowledge, hidden in foods and air pollution.
Whatever is going on around a mom three months before conception will influence
the DNA selection for a baby. The
father’s experiences, environment and stress levels also influence the DNA in
the sperm. As parents move toward conception, their state of mind can
influence DNA selection. It is also important for moms to take prenatal
vitamins, especially folic acid and fish oils (omegas 3, 6 and 9). Moms and dads can cultivate a sense of
safety and protection in their bodies, in their relationship and in their
environment to help prepare for the pregnancy.”
B. Society
– There is an effect of the local environment comprising of other human beings,
cultural influences, medical practices (during pre-conception- Obstetrical,
Psychological, Climate, quality of air/water/food and attitudes) and many other
influencing factors. If all of them are coordinated and made collaborative, the
conception process is positively influenced. Negative consequences follow if
the practices are opposite.
C. Universal
– We all need to be aware and accept of the Grand Purpose and Design in
everything in the Universe. If we ignore this, then actions could become
discordant. As a species, we will fail to achieve the larger purpose of Peace
and Progress and hence not grow and evolve in a harmonious manner. “I-Me-Myself”
is a very limited view of myself and I/we have to include everything else in
and around me/ourselves.
If the
order above is within our awareness and acted upon, we will move towards
begetting exceptional and empowered individuals into our midst. All
stakeholders have to collaborate. Many PPN experts have opined that if
Conception is practised “Consciously”, within two to three generations, planet
Earth will become a wonderful place.
We
often hear “Think of what kind of Planet we will leave behind for our Children”.
In my opinion, it is equally important of “What kind of Children we will leave behind
for the Planet”. Conscious
Holistic Conception is the need of our times !
Conclusion
What
modern pre and perinatal sciences are revealing and promoting is truly
meaningful for mankind. Ancient cultures practiced profound wisdom as well.
There is a loaded message from an ancient Indian scripture (called Viveka
Chudamani)
“Jantunam
Narajanma Durlabham”
Meaning - Of all species, begetting conception/birth
as a Human Being is the most precious and valuable.
Another relevant verse from Indian scriptures is:
Ahara
Nidra Bhaya Maithunam Cha Samanam Etat Pashubhir Naranam l
Jnaane
Hi Tesham Adhiko Visheshaha Jnaane Vihinaha Pashubhirsamanaha ll
It means that all species exhibit basic instincts –
hunger, sleep, fear and mating; what
sets human beings apart is awareness or knowledge; Hence in the absence of
awareness and knowledge, man is just an animal.
It is
hence clear that for mankind to survive and evolve, Conscious Holistic
Conception is essential. This message needs to spread far and wide, and into
every Home and Heart !
