Every year at the end of fall I watch all the birds fly south for the winter Somehow the always know where to go, when to go, and how to get there, even if one has never done this before. Science calls it instinct, but its hard to tell if these things are really learned or remembered.....
If you are a video game nerd, like myself, you have herd of Assassins Creed. The idea behind this game is that memories are stored in DNA and they us this idea to go back into the past. This is called Genetic memory, and even though you can't really use it to go back into the past, I believe its a very real thing.
Genetic Memory does, in fact, exist. In truth, it is one and the same with instinct. Instinct is commonly seen as a driving force which causes a creature to display a particular kind of behavior. It is often assumed (and correctly so) that the creature may not even be aware of the benefit or purpose of the behavior, but merely responds to the inner drive which turns out to be of benefit. We do not share the experiences of others in our own time, but share the collective experience of our ancestors as imprinted into our DNA. DNA, in fact, is the medium through which Genetic Memory/Instinct is transmitted through time to each individual.
We already know that DNA defines the way we look and act but it also defines the way we grow, that includes the brain and its neurons. To understand how this would influence memory you first have to understand how neural pathways are formed and how they are the source of that which we call instinct.
Before birth, DNA determines the shape of our bodies and our brains. One of the things it determines is the arrangement of the neurons in our brains, which (although similar from person to person) is unique to each individual. It is that arrangement which creates a built-in influence of all the past experiences of all previous generations.
In our own lives, our personal experience runs that same system in reverse. When we become so familiar with a pattern in our lives, either of our own activity or of something we observe, it affects the biochemistry which surround the neurons in our brains. This change in biochemistry encodes the mean average, or sum total of our experience.
There is a pathway from this biochemistry through the glands to the DNA contained in our reproductive systems. Sperm is created continually, making it more susceptible to large, immediate personal experiences. Eggs are always there, waiting to descend, and therefore are more responsive to the long-term and consistent experiences.
Both Sperm and Egg are like little "smart" missiles", each being programmed right up to the moment of firing with the latest data available. So, when we reproduce, all of our personal experience up to the moment of conception is carried on to the next generation.
This is why the leatherback turtle, which must make its way to the ocean right after birth, knows how to get it to its final destination. A baby kangaroo climbing into its mother's pouch after birth is instinctive behavior. Other examples of instinctive behavior include fight or flight responses and animal courtship behavior.
Spiritually, this tells us a lot about how the universe is learning about itself. I have said before source (god) divided itself to learn about itself. The way DNA memory works drives the change needed for this type of expansion. It also drives evolution and helps everything work together in an almost perfect balance.
I doubt this information will lead to time travel like in Assassins Creed, but it can tell us a lot about why are world is the way it is. When it comes to DNA, I doubt we know even a third of what there is to know about how it works.
Its important to never stop asking questions.....
Have a good week!!!