Gregg Braden: The Turning Point

In science there is the so called pop(ular) science that you see on the newsstand, on glossy covers of the magazines at the airport, that you see on the glitzy documentaries on television. This is science not always based on the most direct or honest facts. On the other hand there is the peer reviewed science. This is where real scientists do the research, present the reports, circulate them among their peers to find out where the mistakes are, to find out where the theories are not so strong or where they don’t hold up and they are published in peer reviewed journals, sometimes after years of going through this process.

Peer reviewed science supports the new discoveries that we talk about in this conversation and that I talk about in my book. The popular science has yet to catch up with that. In mainstream media, mainstream textbooks, mainstream classrooms are still teaching the old scientific story and when I asked the question: “Why aren’t you embracing the new discoveries?” The answer I get to that question falls into the categories of power, ego, money and habit.

The college professors have taught one story of science and the world for 40 years or more. If they change that story, they feel that it invalidates their career. I don’t agree with that. I think it would be a beautiful example of how science is constantly being updated if they could share the new discoveries with their students. They say: “Gregg, do you know how much money it would cost to change the story and all of the textbooks.” And my answer to that is “I think we won’t be using textbooks much longer.” It’s all going to be digital online and it’s very easy”. We are less empowered when we embrace the story of separation and we will feel as powerless victims. We are more empowered when we embrace the story of connection and what the science is telling us about our relationship to our bodies, how deeply connected we are with our bodies.