Becoming Supernatural with Doctor Joe Dispenza
Becoming Supernatural is Joe Dispenza’s combination of neuroscience and quantum physics with consciousness and healing. It’s best to go into a book like this with an open mind, but don’t follow it like a religion. Learning how to meditate, being more present, awareness, and breathing correctly, are skills anyone can learn to improve their lives and some of the practices in the book aren’t too bad. Let’s break down this book’s key themes and see if Dr. Joe is on to something or just showing off a bunch of random studies.
Who Is Doctor Joe Dispenza?
Doctor Joe Dispenza is a doctor of chiropractic from Life University and a researcher of the effects of meditation and self-healing. He and his team do brain mapping with electroencephalograms (EEGs) and individual energy field testing with a gas discharge visualization (GDV) machine, as well as measure both heart coherence with HeartMath monitors and the energy present in the workshop environment before, during, and after events with a GDVSputnik sensor. Soon, he plans to include epigenetic testing in this research, as well. Dr. Joe was in a terrible cycling accident that left him with 6 compressed vertebrae. He was told he wouldn’t be able to walk. Instead of getting the surgery, Dr. Joe visualized reconstructing each vertebra of his spine with his mind. In 12 weeks he was back to work at his chiropractic clinic and fully healed. All with his mind.
So how did that happen? The Quantum Field of Course.
Doctor Joe Dispenza’s Quantum Field Theory
Dr. Joe Dispenza spends some time explaining quantum field theory. The theory explains that particles are excitations in fields that propagate throughout the universe. So the universe we experience and all the particles and atoms we interact with are really all of these fields interacting with each other and exchanging energy. Since particles are not viewed as distinct entities or points with well-defined trajectories, their behavior becomes probabilistic and wave-like. Even the empty vacuum of space has fluctuations, demonstrated by the Casimir effect.
Then, there’s quantum entanglement or as Einstein put it, spooky action at a distance. Where two particles can be in an entangled state. No matter the distance, as soon as one particle’s state is changed, the others change instantly. This gives us the image of a universe that is a buzz of vibrations through all these fields. These are just the cool-sounding quantum field theory examples. As accurate as the theory is, in reality, the theory is computationally very difficult, that not even supercomputers can keep up. And it’s incomplete
There’s no explanation for gravity and it’s only explaining the interactions of about 5% of the total amount of energy of the universe. There’s 25% of energy in dark matter, which we kind of know is there due to gravitational lensing. And another 70% in dark energy, which is just umm……there. Using this as the scientific foundation, Dr. Joe Dispenza leaps that if you can connect with these quantum fields you can control the output. Create your wants and desires and even heal yourself.
Doctor Joe Dispenza on the Pineal Gland
Dr. Joe spends a lot of time on the pineal gland, as most spiritually-based practices do. This is a small pinecone-shaped endocrine gland located in the brain within the center, near the base. Primarily regulating melatonin for your circadian rhythm, the sleep-wake cycle. It’s unique in that it has photoreceptor cells to know how much light there is to regulate melatonin production.
It was really interesting to learn about all the ancient cultures and their spiritual beliefs and practices related to the pineal gland. Dr. Joe Dispenza will then go on to explain how this gland is the antenna that we use to tune into the quantum fields. Finding the right frequency to vibrate at, allows one to tap into the unlimited potential of possibilities. Dr. Joe goes into the different brainwave frequencies and what states of mind they put you in. Alpha waves, you’re in a more creative mindset. Beta, you’re awake and alert. Theta, relaxed. And Delta, you’re in a deep sleep cycle. You can use binaural beats to manipulate these states, where you listen to different frequencies in each ear and your brain creates a 3rd tone.
If you are just starting meditation these can be very helpful aids to get you comfortable and into a consistent practice. Dr. Joe Dispenza has plenty of them out there.
Doctor Joe Dispenza’s Breathing Techniques
An interesting breathing technique he gives in the book is when sitting, perform a kegel at your base and imagine you’re holding your energy. While inhaling, pull that energy up your spine to the top of your head and hold for as long as you can, and exhale. You may feel your head ring like a bell. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, this is the cerebral spinal fluid being pulled up from the base and activating your pineal gland. In explaining all these different areas of science and spirituality. He makes sure to reference scientific studies and testimonials. A common feature in the book.
A really interesting testimonial on how the body has memories attached to it and the power of the heart. A girl receives a heart transplant and begins having vivid night terrors of being murdered. The heart she received was from a girl who was recently killed. Working with the police sketch artist, they can identify, find, and prosecute the murderer.
Mind-Body Dualism
From here, we’ll jump into the mind-body dualism, and how Dr. Joe brings them together. Relying on neuroscience he explains the brain’s plasticity and its ability to rewire itself. He goes on to explain how what you think and the mindset you have will be reflected not only in your body but also in gene expression.
So if you constantly tell yourself that you’re sick and that everything is wrong then your body and genes will follow with poor health and just surviving. But the opposite will happen if you shift yourself to a positive mindset, allowing your body to do what it does, heal itself, and thrive in creativity.
Yoga, Meditation and Vibrations
Apart from neuroscience, Dr. Joe will lean into the yoga practices and teachings of chakras and energy centers of the body. To give a brief overview, your lower energy centers are related to your physical body and basic human necessities, like eating and reproducing. And the higher energy centers are part of creating your reality. He goes on to explain that it’s easy to reside in lower vibrating states and feed a cycle of negativity. Storing emotions as ailments in the body. But in as little as 4 days of meditation, you can begin to break that cycle and shift that energy. And through different meditations, you can raise your vibration and connect to the quantum field, you can heal yourself and create your desired life.
Again, he has a lot of different content out there. You can pick one and go. Dr. Joe references a bunch of different brain scan studies that have been performed. Scanning a monk’s brain while meditating is always interesting.
In short, this is how Dr. Joe claims to have healed his 6 compressed vertebrae. Is it true? That’s for you to be the judge of. Like I said in the beginning, learning how to meditate and breathe properly are great practices for anyone to learn and Dr. Joe gives us some neat studies to support it.
Criticisms of Doctor Joe Dispenza
Dr. Joe isn’t really discovering anything new. He’s packaging up a lot of other people’s work and making it fit a specific narrative. He doesn’t really have any original data-driven research that is published in a scientific journal. The quantum mechanics stuff isn’t needed at all. Quantum field theory is not designed or intended to be used to explain consciousness. There’s even the interpretation of quantum mechanics called superdeterminism, where there’s no free will. And nullifies all of Dr. Joe’s ideas. Check out Sabine Hossenfelder here, an actual physicist for more.
The information about the different energy levels combined with the spiritual stuff is entertaining, but again nothing new. You can find similar studies and almost word-for-word references in other new-age healer books. The power of positive thinking has been around for a long time. And marketed in a lot of different ways. At times I’m reminded of Pastor, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and his Power Of Positive Thinking. The pastor of the Trump family and who shaped Donald Trump’s mindset according to a 2009 Psychology Today Interview. “I’m a cautious optimist but also a firm believer in the power of being positive. I think that helped. I refused to be sucked into negative thinking on any level, even when the indications weren’t great. That was a good lesson because I emerged on a very It’s a good way to go.”
Powerful stuff.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, “Becoming Supernatural” by Joe Dispenza offers an intriguing blend of neuroscience, quantum physics, spirituality, and self-healing. Dr. Joe Dispenza, a chiropractor and researcher, explores concepts like the Quantum Field, the role of the pineal gland, and the significance of meditation and breathing techniques. While his personal story of healing and the incorporation of various scientific and spiritual elements are compelling, the book also faces criticism. Critics argue that Dispenza repackages existing ideas without contributing original, scientifically validated research, and question the applicability of quantum field theory to consciousness and healing.
Ultimately, the book stands as a testament to the power of positive thinking and the potential of the mind-body connection, yet it should be approached with a balanced perspective, considering both its inspirational aspects and the critiques it faces.
