studies have shown…Why science makes me mad

Blah blah blah is what I hear when yet another meta analysis makes the health headlines. “Meat causes cancer and diabetes! Carbs cause cancer and diabetes! Studies have shown…” Blah blah blah. Is anyone else’s head spinning? Have you lost all your hair yet due to this stressful mess of humanity?? I wish I could say I have a love/hate relationship with science but at this point, it’s really more about hate. The Grinch says it perfectly, “Hate, hate, hate, double hate. Loathe entirely!” My reason: in the name of science, the amount of ancestral knowledge that has been neglected, ignored and outright murdered into oblivion is beyond comprehension and really, beyond accurate description. These days, lab coats can’t be manufactured fast enough to candy coat our obsession with facts and figures, when all along, we have had most of the answers to our burning health questions right in front of us. Here’s a personal story to further explain.

A relative of mine is an archeologist. He is also a very spiritual man. He has been in the field of archeology for at least four decades and has probably considered himself a spiritual man for about the same amount of time. Several years ago he was telling a story about the stars. Amidst his delicate words about the power of the cosmos, he mentioned NASA. He shared how their scientists were looking for a special group of stars that they know exist but don’t have all the information needed to make their grand conclusions. So apparently, NASA called him one day to ask him about what he knew. Full stop. Wait—what?? Yes, you got it, despite the fact that he is not an astronomer, nor has any degree or experience traversing outer space, they somehow sought him out for answers they were desperately seeking. Why? Because their modern day, über-advanced, world-renowned science tactics couldn’t explain the phenomenon they were studying. And he, my relative, an old, wise, spiritual guy, knew something they did not. A big something. And I’m pretty sure NASA didn’t get the answer they were looking for (he didn’t get into the details of what he shared with them). He just laughed at the memory of NASA calling him — this ordinary, humble guy— to give them “big” answers.

I think he chose to tell that story because he wanted to make a much larger point: the scientific community has big sciencey dreams, but is pretty out of touch with true reality. They are missing one big piece of the cosmic puzzle: ancient, ancestral wisdom. This can and should be applied not only to the quest for understanding the stars but a whole lot of other things, like disease or illness, political or environmental discord, mental and physical health, forest fires, aliens…and the list goes on and on.

So who has the answers then? Well, tribal traditions that honor ancestral wisdom have, in most places on the planet, been erased, eradicated or simply forgotten due to assimilation and modern day madness. I do believe science is ancient but I believe more that the roots of science, the answers, are actually spiritual. Perceived “magical” math equations, used in ancient civilizations have predicted the future and even concluded the position of the stars and their impact on us here on Earth. Time and time again we have looked back at this history to see our future in our past, and yet, we are still in denial. The variations between cultures and geographic locations may differ but the mysticism is so freakin’ real that it all continues to trump science, to this very day. Hence, why NASA called a spiritual archeologist for advice…

So where am I going with all this? Get ready to be mad, if you aren’t already. The answers to our metabolic crises in this country and throughout the world do not lie in more scientific studies. Nor do they reside in laboratory classrooms or big wig foundations funneling billions of dollars into research. The answers you seek sure as hell don’t live on your social media feed either. The answers are within us, through nature. Now if we would just allow our nature—our deep, authentic, cosmic nature—to be itself, we could get somewhere. Let me say that again so it sinks in: we need to allow our nature, our deep, authentic, cosmic nature, to be itself. I am talking about ancient wisdom that lies within all animals everywhere. It lies in the roots of the trees, the mycelium between it all and even the breath of air that you inhale on a daily basis. It lies in the morning mist that floats across the valley. It travels through the ebbing and flowing of the ocean tides. It travels inside you. You know the way your body feels after you eat? Satisfied, comforted? Or maybe the opposite—disgruntled and upset. These are signs that your body is literally talking to you about what works and what hurts you.

But you aren’t listening.

You want more science! You want more data! You want more doctors to tell you the “right” thing to do and how to take their medication so you can live a little longer or at least, not feel so much pain while you wait out your impending doom. You want the surgeons to cut out the cancer instead of letting your body heal itself through real food and being an authentic, extraordinary, cosmic human.

Here’s another thing to make you mad: none of this science that you so desperately cling to is medicine that will actually cure you or even make your life worthwhile. True medicine lies in ancient, natural, human behavior, like listening to the birds nearby, so you can hear their song instead of the noise you have been conditioned to define it as. True medicine is trusting the stars, the rivers and the winds to heal you with their wisdom. True healing is sitting by the fire and making your prayer, giving an offering and living each day with intention and commitment. True health is honoring your body and mind as it requests you to do, every single moment of every day.

But your filters have become so thick and so dark, you refuse to accept your body and mind as a communication device that is here to serve you!!! They are the most precious gifts of all. Yet you still expect science to spoil you with its facts and figures and conflicting, confusing answers that can be interpreted a million different ways. And worse, you are ok ending up in the emergency room again and again because the doctors have convinced you that your demise is your fate and that their drugs are the only things that can help you manage life until you die a rotten death.

All of this is why science makes me so mad. It has destroyed the sacred in us. It has stolen our capacity for healing, both individually and collectively. It has robbed us of the life that we are meant to live and coerced us into narratives that are vicious, sick and twisted. And in the context of metabolic health, it perpetuates a negative narrative that breeds desperation and overwhelm. So to you who use science as a weapon to divide instead of unite us, it would behoove you to not just get a life but get in touch with your soul.

And to all of you, scientist or not, go back and get yourself human again. Find what you lost. Reclaim your humanity. Reclaim your spirituality. Learn about your ancestors. And I mean your deep ancestors. Go back 500 years, 1,000 years. And yes, thanks to science we can access these things, right? Well, actually, the wisdom is also in the spirit so if you can release those thick filters, the answers may come to you in a very non-scientific way.

Of course I have no study to prove any of this. No science to back me up. But I do have proof of spirit so if you’re still obsessed with evidence, try accessing spirit and you might just “prove” that there is more meaning to life than the latest meta analysis article on the front page of your media source.

Yes, I am still mad. But I do feel better now that I shared this with you. And I will still want to pull my hair out at times. Science will always be an integral part of our lives and of course we should use it but we should not be abused by it. My experience with spirit is teaching me to pray harder and more often. To take every opportunity to hold the sacred and be the sacred. To replace hostile narratives with a commitment to creating and sustaining true health, on all levels. To simply, live my prayer. And hopefully, to get a little less mad.

*photo by Michael Wood