Spiritual Ethics of Genetic Engineering

We are transferring this email discourse to the Forum to invite more discussion from others about this topic.

The initial email I received:

Dear Nick,

I am a PhD student from the Uk researching ethical aspects of genetic engineering. In this regard i am very interested in the spiritual significance of the genome or DNA. I was very interested to read on your lunar planner website that DNA is the "urn of the soul". I would like to hear more about the source of your information and anything else that you could add to your account of DNA that is not on your website, particularly the implications for the ethics of genetic engineering.

I suspect that you get a lot of email enquiries so i'm not too hopeful of hearing back from you. If you do have time, i would be very much appreciate a reply.

Kind regards

Handy (Forum Name)

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My initial reply:

Hi Handy,
Yes I do get a lot of emails, but your question is certainly intriguing and of interest to me.

It is mainly a concept I've amalgamated from several things: my inner meditative contemplations; my background in R&D diagnostic imaging technology (nuclear imaging / ultrasound), and in bio-energy harmonics / alternative healing modalities (nutrient:organ resonances, etc.); as well as studies with a Dr. John Whitman Ray in the 1980's (Body Electronics). I learned in his Iridology Instructors Intensive to see and differentiate soul patterns overlaid upon genetic patterns in the iris, hence, and partly why, my extrapolation to soul consciousness expressing through the DNA, thus, the DNA being the vessel (urn) for the soul (just as more generally, soul expresses through the body).

Also seeing the correlation of Earth's precessional cycle (astronomical cycles in a solar system) providing the resonances for the nature and timing of evolution of life on a planet--both the evolution of physical life and the consciousness of a species, is another reason why I came up with the concept of the "DNA Illumination"; i.e., the more the DNA phosphodiester (light-conducting) circuitry / hydrogen-bonding / atomic spin axis orientation nesting in the greater geo-solar magnetic field (NMR principle), is tuned, the greater the capacity for the DNA to super-conduct consciousness.

This is why I "suggest" the DNA is currently functioning in a bio-logistical (off) mode, the dualistic mode of reason / comparing opposites in what can only be a reflective nature of the un-illumined DNA (the analogy of seeing the filament in an light bulb when not lit). If fully lit, we would function in an epistemological / illumined mode of consciousness--in the light.

All of this is of course my hypothesis, certainly not claiming to know the genetic details, although I belive I'm on the right track conceptually.

Regarding the spiritual ethics of genetic engineering, personally I do not have a problem with it at all, as it seems to me that we already have been engineered. Perhaps the "harmonic tuning" of the genome / sequencing is an important aspect to consider in genetic engineering. I'm not sure if anyone is looking at that (the harmonics of the sequencing, etc.). This would be more of my focus in healing and DNA evolution if I were involved in such.

Handy's email reply:

Hi Nick,

Thank you for elaborating for me and so promptly. I can see that the soul may express through the DNA. If that is so, then i would have thought that genetic engineering could interfere with the soul-intended physical expression of particular souls and that this would have negative implications for the spiritual ethics of genetic engineering. Why would you disagree? What do you mean when you say that we have been genetically engineered before?

Kind regards
Handy (Forum Name)

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My reply:

Let me first clarify Handy: I am not in support of creating synthetic bodies / cloning humans--a sci-fi super race, but I do support such work to correct / refine what are genetic limitations, deformations, genetic malfunctions that cause ill health and human's perpetuated inability to function at optimal health, well being, and to express consciousness in our highest potential. And obviously any technology or discovery could either be used for our betterment or be miss-used--perhaps that is more of the issue. Throughout history people have been aware of our less than optimal gene pool and of course there have been many attempts to change that for a variety of reasons including pure evil intent for world dominion, from Alexander; Hitler; et. al.

Although I belive there are greater natural cycles governing human evolution, I also think it prudent to support the attunement of our selves, the human vessel (creating optimal health in general, and more specifically health at the cellular (DNA) level) so we may express human consciousness (our soul-level selves) more effectively, more purely, rather than having that expression distorted due to de-tuned / aberated genetics and ill health in general. I think and feel that the natural evolutionary cycles and our learning to be responsible co-creators of our evolutionary experience go hand-in-hand. Our capacity to express unconditional love / compassion is greatly effected by our emotional and spiritual maturity, but also by our bio-logical condition. And it does not imply improved genetics would automatically produce emotionally mature and spiritually self-realized beings, but it would sure help ease the painful struggle heard in the human cry.

In response to your question about genetic engineering disrupting souls' intended physical expression (and opportunity for growth): I do recognize that our capacity to grow is supported by the limitations in which we incarnate, yet that does not suggest that souls incarnating though a human vehicle perpetually require the same limits for eons. If the the soul collective is naturally evolving, it seems to me that the vessels through which they express would become more refined in the evolutionary process as well. Thus, this bio-logical refinement would not be at odds with a soul's intended expression or what a soul needs to learn. It seems to me that to support the super-conductance of consciousness through the DNA (as "responsible" co-creators or our reality) would be in concert with the natural evolutionary process--proving improved bio-environmental conditions for advancing souls to express though in their incarnational process.

Another thing I have observed in my own life is that my growth is two fold: one being the evolution of my soul (and soul stream / or ray of a greater consciousness of which I am a part), and the other being the evolution of the genetic stream (or blood line) into which I was born, it having its own behavioral patterns that have opportunity to evolve. Thus we are here supporting both in one symbiotic process. If parents evolve and grow, specifically change behavioral patterns both at soul level and the patterns incurred from their parents at a cellular level, then their offspring have opportunity to start off with more of an advantage then the parents had. This seems the nature of evolution--the gift of life not only being our personal betterment at soul level, but to provide opportunity for those yet to come at the biological / environmental level as well, by breaking from the established cultural conformity--held in our frozen genetic coding.

I guess this does come back to philosophy, even religious belief, and I am not about to argue or disagree with anyone's religion, as I accept all. However, I tend to be more of a naturalist, and do see / belive in a Greater Intelligence expressing, organizing and unfolding through all of reality. It is easy to see a permeating Intelligence when exploring either the microcosmic or macrocosmic levels of life (from the DNA to the stars). I do not see that to mean that it is for us to sit passively and let what ever to happen, waiting on our deliverance / arrival to the pearly gates, nirvana (or whatever conceptual description one may have). I suppose if one has more of a conventional religious belief, envisioning that Intelligence as a Being that we personify in our image and who is one that created us the way we are for reason and therefore we should not tamper with the given human mold, then to effect change in the bio-functional aspect of life (our genetic coding) would be morally wrong, but then why do anything at all for the human condition. We tamper with everything, that is how we grow; we explore and effect change. I do feel that we, as a species, are learning to be responsible co-creators of our reality--in all areas of life--and that is what we have in common--our true spiritual growth (to differentiate that from adhering to a religious belief, a bio-logistical description unique to a culture or person, of right verses wrong); and that personal and collective spiritual growth is what is most important to us all. We can easily see this opportunity for growth (and the not so good choices we have made along the way) specifically in our degenerated ecological situation on Earth, and also in the dramatically poor and deteriorating health of humans, most who take drugs to suppress a million symptoms of that ill-health rather than changing how we live to create true healing and optimal health (a typical scenario in the US anyway). But the true wisdom we gain far out ways the man-made judgments we make about our choices.

I suppose like many people, I observe my daily struggle with my own limitations to express what I know is my greater potential (soul consciousness) optimally due to my own bio-logical limits--just not always feeling top-notch physically and knowing I have clearer mental-emotinal experience and expression when at optimal health. Sure much of that is due to my own less-than ideal habits, and perhaps the struggle to change my own self-etched neural-net, but I also see the inherent limits of the human coding (the urn of the soul) as it seems obvious when looking at the health of humans in general, we are all far from genetically optimal, and most (conscious people) struggle to express their fullness. The more I work to embody and express my greater true soul essence, which I belive goes hand-in-hand with a healthy life style, the more I naturally transmute my bio-limits; yet at the same time why not tune the fundamental circuitry of the vehicle to facilitate that process?

Regarding my cryptic statement about already being genetically engineered: Perhaps that is a topic of its own. But, in general, I suppose people have three primary conceptual ideas (even beliefs) about our origins. One is that God simply put us here (in what ever way), generally with the added thought that sentient life is unique to Earth; the second is that we organically just evolved, despite all of the missing links in that theory; and the third being that other (non-terrestrial) intelligences had a hand in our placement on Earth and the condition / engineering of our gene pool, even with intent that the DNA would not function in its super-conductance mode. If we are to consider that humans are learning about the amazing intelligence in the DNA conformation (genetic sequencing, resonance etc,); does it not stand to reason that other stellar species understand these matters as well, even far more than humans. I certainly can't image that we are at the high end of the spectrum of consciousness.

When exploring the greater heavens and realizing the zillions of star systems in millions and millions of galaxies that exist, and realizing how orbital harmonics in those star systems provide the unique and dynamic energetic environment for the evolution of life, both physical and the evolution of consciousness--the basis or astrology (See my articles about Earth's precessional Cycle of the Holy Cross and Planetary Synodic Cycles / and also the Synodic Cycles section on this forum)--then I simply cannot fathom how people could adamantly think that Humans on Earth are the only sentient beings in the universe--the archaic "the Universe revolves round us" mentality--it seems a bit egocentric (arrogant) to me. I also do not see any evidence what-so-ever that all humans merely evolved from an ameba marsh. I do acknowledge there are other non-terrestrial intelligences, ones who have been to Earth before and responsible for much of Earth's history and ancient and intelligent civilizations, even seeded life here on Earth, and that they all did not merely evolve from their respective ameba-sourced gene pools. So my (cryptic and philosophical) comment was referring to the consideration that it is not merely a "God" being responsible, AND I qualify, that does not exclude a Divine Intelligence expressing through all of reality, as, again, anyone exploring the micro and/or macro cosmic aspects of life can realize this incredible Intelligence at work. I simply view that everything, including all beings (even us little guys on Earth) are parts of that Divine Expression, not separate from it; that God is inclusive not exclusive; and that the creative process is one we all have a hand in--all learning to be responsible co-creators. I think we must be at grade school level when it comes to the science of genetics. I can't imagine there are not more evolved inter-stellar species participating in genetic engineering, in the creative process of life.

Nick

There are some persuasive arguments there, Nick, for why, spiritually, genetic engineering could be a good thing. I don't know if your outlook on things includes an acceptance of the idea of a karma acting to express the consequences of actions from former lives in this one. If one does take that view then it would seem possible that one way in which karma could operate is through the DNA by imposing constraints on the the expression of the current physical incarnation. If this is the case, then to genetically engineer, say, to remove or swithch off a gene which would be likely to cause some sort of illness later in life, would be to violate the law of karma. That's one way in which there could be negative spiritual implications with genetic engineering and i would like to hear what others would say in reply.