Here my academic background kicks in : to be precise, DNA is not altered during life-time. But on top of DNA there is epigenetic coding, which affects the way genetic information is used. And some of this epigenetic coding can be passed on to next generations. The liberating part is that new, strong, positive experiences can alter that epigenetic coding, so we are not completely stuck with the genetic information we inherited from past generations. Yup, I'll write more later on =)