METAREALITY
REVIEW
RETURN TO THE
BRAIN OF EDEN:
Restoring the Connection between Neurochemistry and Consciousness
I
By Tony Wright and Graham Gynn
n this fascinating
book, authors the
authors chart the
devolution of the
human brain over
the course of the
last several million years. Devolution, you
say? You thought we were
always evolving? Aren’t
our brains supposed to be
at the pinnacle of our journey here on Earth? It’s a
bit more complicated than
that. Return to the Brain of
Eden is ultimately about
how “a single divine self
was split into two, and the
more fallen, delusional self
assumed control.” That’s
putting it mildly. Tracing
back the ancestral lineage
to our rain-forest inhabiting forebears, Wright and
Gynn argue that a change from the chemical and
nutrient rich fruit-based diet our distant ancestors
survived and thrived on for millions of years to one
heavily dependent on the grains, dairy and meat
reversed what had been the steady growth of the
size and ability of the human brain. This change
has resulted in a left-brain, testosterone-drive culture obsessed with violence and power.
This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg.
Throughout the book, Wright and Gynn describe
in great detail the origin of the human brain. The
fruit-based diet was key to the exponential growth
40 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW
of our early brain, since it
was literally at one with nature, steeped as it was in the
“hormone rich sex organs
of plants.” At some point
along the way, the split in
our brains became a split
in consciousness. This split
into two hemispheres initiated the reversal of brain
growth and the subsequent
dominance of the left side,
characterized as the linear,
verbal and predominantly masculine half, over the
right’s more creative, feminine side. To put it simply,
the main effect of this left
brain dominance is a world
driven by the psychosis of
power over rather than by
power with.
Admittedly, my summary here doesn’t do the book
justice. I was captivated by this book and found
Wright’s and Gynn’s theory utterly convincing. In
fact, I was reminded of another very important
book on a very similar subject, Leonard Shlain’s
The Goddess Versus the Alphabet. Both books describe an alternate view of history centered around
the development of human consciousness. They
ultimately make a case for the responsibility of
consciousness: the responsibility to reflect on its
origins, realign itself with its higher purpose and
try, try again. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Bryan Voell