Plant/human symbiosis & the fall of humanity: Interview with Tony Wright (cont.)
By Trevor Smith
Food for thought
There
appears to be a mountain of evidence supporting Tony’s theory.
For starters, we are learning more and more about the beneficial
properties of fruit bio-chemistry all the time. One tomato for
example contains 10,000 different phytochemicals that we currently
know about. Many of these chemicals are transcription factors
influencing the way the DNA is read and thereby influencing the
structures that develop. Is it any wonder then that this can affect
brain size? That our
brains are shrinking? That poor
construction materials can possibly lead to brain
damage? Or that what a mother consumes can have a life
long impact on the child after birth? For millions of years this
unimaginably complex formula was directly influencing what structures
develop at the most sensitive stages of growth.
 As the symbiotic relationship evolved the mammalian developmental
environment was slowly infused with ever greater concentrations and
complexity of plant hormones. This had a progressive impact on the
way the DNA was read in turn resulted in novel structure and
function. Even
if the neo-cortex could be built to the same structural
specifications, the major part of its essential neuro-active
operating environment was also provided by the chemical cocktail in
fruit. There currently is no other coherent and contextual
explanation for the accelerating expansion of the brain which
suddenly halted and began contracting around the time we left the
African forests.
 In more recent times, the catastrophic loss of essential design
specifications (transcription chemicals) and chronic neuro-chemical
deficiency has been exacerbated by the use of increasingly poor
quality construction materials.  Katherine Milton’s findings suggest that we have lost around 95% of the
complex plant bio-chemistry and nutrients that were present during
our evolution for tens of millions of years. When considered within
the context of the design, development and function of most complex
and chemically sensitive thing we know, these factors in combination
can only result in a massive failure. The chemistry of patriarchy
It
sounds unlikely that our left hemisphere is a dominant yet damaged
version of the right, however there is evidence from various fields
to support such a seemingly wild notion. Simon Baren-Cohen has
discovered evidence that the left hemisphere is more susceptible to
testosterone damage and that higher levels of testosterone in the
womb are linked to a lower level of empathy and less social skills.
His theory is that autism is an extreme form of the male brain; the
male brain being ordinarily less empathic than female brains in the
first place. Estradiol is made from testosterone by the enzyme
aromatase and plays an important part in the “masculinisation”
of the brain, or in this case, the damage to the left hemisphere. So
the degree of masculinisation is determined by the amount of
testosterone available and the degree of aromatase activity.
The
book elaborates: “As we have already seen (see Chapter Three
for the link with oestrogen dependent cancer), the activity of
aromatase is inhibited by plant flavonoids and, more importantly, by
melatonin. Less melatonin leads to more aromatase activity, which in
turn leads to increased masculisation of the brain and, at the
extreme end of the spectrum, autism (which appears to be becoming
much more common). Our ancestral fruit-based diet would have been
rich in aromatase inhibiting factors – and in the past our
pineals would have pumped more melatonin too. The degree of
masculisation of the male brain we see today, therefore, may well be
an aberration that has had huge consequences for us.”
Males
therefore appear to be the most damaged. Where this manifests in a
greater degree of left-brain dominance it can be a disaster, as is
evidenced by the abundance of fear and control in our male dominated
society. Perhaps it is no surprise then that we live in such a
patriarchal society where it’s the old men, chronically
deficient in plant chemistry and suffering from years of testosterone
driven over-masculinisation, who send the young to war and are
currently running our society into the ground through they’re
greed and lack of empathic understanding.
Could
it just be a coincidence that we see competitive and aggressive
behavior all over the place and the biological data seems to predict
this sort of behavior in the first place? To make matters worse much
of the food we now consume contains the very same hormones that would
have been inhibited, along with others that have many detrimental
effects.
If
humanity were a single patient displaying the range of behavior we
are collectively capable of and turned up at the neurology/psychology
department of a prestigious hospital, what would they think of our
mild to severe tendency for self harm and suicide? Or our oblivious
destruction of the very environment that sustains us?
Treating
the hundreds of apparently 'distinct' behavioral, psychological and
perceptual symptoms without at least checking for a
general/structural cause would be grounds for serious negligence and
a raft of law suits even if there were no smoking gun regarding
evidence/mechanisms for a developmental/structural cause? In our case
the evolutionary data and biological mechanisms are equivalent to
fairly complete cctv footage of a serious accident, and the myths and
spiritual traditions of many disparate cultures are eye witness
accounts which include, once the dogma is stripped away, methods
to treat the condition. Shamanism, psychedelic plants, yoga,
meditation, fasting and sleep deprivation are just some examples of
these techniques aimed at regaining some of this lost perception.
Psychedelics and Other Clues
Psychedelics
like ayahuasca seem to be a powerful means of re-accessing these lost
perceptual abilities (any wonder our left brained society has made
these things illegal?). It’s been said that shamans for
example who work with it enough can eventually bring in an altered
state of consciousness willingly, without even drinking the brew. The
beta-carbolines in ayahuasca alone are powerful MAO inhibitors with
psychoactive properties by themselves (along with many other
beneficial effects). We’re chronically deficient in not only a
complex cocktail of plant MAO inhibitors but also the ones that our
pineal glands would have produced in much higher amounts as well,
given that flavonoids stimulate this gland. Pinoline is just one
example.
Many
other psychedelics can undoubtedly help as a partial treatment.
Tony’s mention of synesthesia being a relic of this advanced
perception makes sense in light of E.A. Serafetinides research.
Serafetinides administered LSD to those who had undergone either left
or right temporal lobe removal. He found the perceptual affects were
virtually non-existent after right but not left temporal lobe
removal-- further supporting the idea that the left hemisphere is no
longer capable of making use of such profound activity and that this
is another psychedelic catalyzing access to the latent functions of
the more sensitive right hemisphere.
Other
research by Dr. Allan Snyder has found that by decreasing the
dominance of the left hemisphere with magnetic fields the enhanced
perceptual abilities of the right can be partially accessed. These
include increased visual memory, drawing skills, and other abilities.
He cites cases were autistic savants have damage to parts of the left
hemisphere and how this results in a decreased ability to suppress
the less filtered perceptions of the right hemisphere.
Just
one example of this is Steven Wiltshire, who has astonishing artistic
abilities coupled with a photographic memory. Oddly, he cannot add or
subtract! His left hemisphere lost its linear processing but this
decreased its dominance, opening the door to the rights more advanced
abilities. There are many others like Wiltshire with similar stories.
Research
into Alzheimer’s also supports the idea that we are chronically
deficient in the chemicals abundant in a fruit, and that this is just
a further symptom. Recently it’s made headlines that hundreds
of dementia patients could be helped by a “drug
breakthrough”. Dementia
seems
to be partially halted and reversed by drugs with the same sort of
activity we see among these fruit chemicals
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22087826
. A quick search on google reveals many fruit chemicals with the same
exact properties. If this is the case then when we were flooded by an
incredibly rich cocktail of flavonoids way beyond current research
parameters then, relatively speaking, our reference points for
dementia are invalid.
Insanity and Hope
If
there was any
indication at all that we had profound abilities locked within us
then we should immediately look into this. Especially since it is
precisely these sorts of enhancements in perception that are
necessary if we are going to get ourselves out of the mess we’ve
stumbled into.
As
Einstein said- “ The problems that exist in the world today
cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.”
If
there were any evidence at all for widespread neural retardation
would it not be a near certain candidate for the root problem behind
our collective insanity and inability to live harmoniously with each
other and our environment? If there is a structural problem with our
neural architecture then this provides an absolutely amazing
opportunity for a species scale ‘fix’ to our current
state of literal insanity, and offers immense hope for our dire
situation here on earth.
Even
if there was only the slightest indication that this was the case
then we should at least check to be sure. Not rigorously checking
into such a profound possibility would actually be a symptom, and it
should be very easy to dismiss based on scientific methodology.
The
current reaction to this research is split, but the initial support
leans heavily towards the more creative, innovative and intelligent
spectrum of society who have been willing to scrutinize with an open
mind. Even still, such broad initial support is a conundrum for such
a radical new idea. Although the book is not well known as of yet,
the Transpersonal Association of Estonia has selected it for
translation. Meanwhile it’s being dismissed- often before even
evaluating the evidence-by those who cite current or familiar
paradigms..exactly
as predicted if the condition is real.
The
consensus among many striving to better our world is that we are
collectively engaged in a tightrope act between disaster and a
massive shift in collective awareness. Our ignorance is jeopardizing
the continuation of not only our own species but countless others and
the planet as a whole. We have the physical means to turn things
around but it is a crisis of consciousness; and thus our own minds
that stand in our way. We are glued into our conditioned behaviors
and ways of viewing the world.
Without
a fundamental change in the way we relate to ourselves, the earth,
and our place in the cosmos, we will only see more of the same.
History repeats itself and, as we have seen time and time again,
attempts to fix any of the individual problems (symptoms) that arise
from a deranged collective mind are doomed to fail in the long run
unless the damaged equipment generating all these problems is
addressed.
Major
shifts in perception can be accomplished relatively quickly by
combining various techniques. It’s straight forward: replace
this plant bio- chemistry for the long term and diminish the
influence of the left hemisphere while simultaneously engaging the
right hemisphere. The trend is very consistent from those who’ve
dabbled. The more one explores the more mind blowing and self-evident
it becomes. Ultimately it comes down to a choice.
Look
at the evidence, experiment and decide for yourself.
This
only a glimpse at some of the supporting data. For more information
see:
http://leftinthedark.org.uk/
http://beyond-belief.org.uk/
New
book project
http://www.indiegogo.com/Make-up-your-own-mind
Terence
McKenna ~“You must cut through the aura of programming and
cultural assumptions that surround us from the moment we are able to
speak. The only way this can be done is by dissolving the boundaries
of ego. Ego is a structure that is erected by a neurotic individual
who is a member of a neurotic culture against the facts of the
matter. And culture, which we put on like an overcoat, is the
collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviors are
acceptable…
..The
goal can now be stated. What this is all about is a return to
archaism with the lessons learned in history. Thats where we were
happy. The fall was a fall..Into a veil of tears..Into a world of
limitation, pain, suffering, infectious disease and so forth and so
on. It’s a prodigal journey into a lower dimension that can now
be ended by a collective cultural decision to commit to this Taoist
shamanistic feminized cybernetic caring aware present kind of being.”
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