For millions of years humans walked barefoot on the Earth and slept on the ground. They worked, played and rested in direct contact with the Earth’s surface and were always connected to the planet’s life-giving forces. We may recall the free and joyful feeling of running barefoot in the grass, or the warm tingling sensation of walking barefoot on the beach. The feeling of wellbeing we get from touching our skin to the skin of the Earth can last for hours, and the sleep that follows is deep and restful. If only we could feel like that all of the time! Life is very different now on planet Earth, with most modern humans rarely stepping barefoot on the ground. We live in houses and work in buildings many of which are several stories high above the Earth’s surface. Our environment is filled with disruptive electromagnetic fields produced by modern technology, and when we do go outside, we wear synthetic soled shoes that insulate us from the Earth’s energy disconnecting us from an essential source of healing. In their “groundbreaking” book, “Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?” authors Clint Ober, integrative cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra, and health writer Martin Zucker describe the profound health benefits of connecting to the Earth. Ober grew up in rural Montana near an Indian reservation where he played barefoot with Native American children. He recalls a Native American mother telling her son to take off his shoes as they would make him sick, and recalls one child on the reservation who became very ill with scarlet fever and healed after lying in a shallow pit in the ground for a couple of days. As an adult Ober worked in the [...]

Having children is something that many people aspire to at some point in their lives and for some, the act of procreation is a natural and easy process. For others, getting pregnant is something to be avoided at all costs. Yet, for about 17% of the population or 1 in 6 couples, the ability to have children is an elusive desire that brings with it frustration, heartache and loss. As both men and women postpone childbearing to focus on building careers, more and more couples and even single would-be parents are finding that it may not be that easy to conceive.  While peak fertility for women is between age 22 to 26 it appears that women in developed countries on average are waiting until age 29 to have their first child and many are waiting until their mid-thirties or even forties to begin a family. According to endocrinologists, a couple is considered to be infertile if the woman is under the age of 35 and they have not conceived after 12 months of contraceptive-free intercourse. Because of the declining egg quality of women as they age, for couples where the woman is 35 or older, infertility may be an issue after only 6 months of trying. Sperm quality also declines with age, and studies show that at age 37, a man may be half as fertile as he was when he was 25 or younger. Statistics show that in 35% of infertility cases the woman is infertile, while the man is responsible 35% of the time. The other 30% are cases where both the man and woman are infertile or the cause of infertility is unknown. The good news is that statistics show that 92 [...]

Approximately 250,000 miles from Earth, the Moon circles our planet in an elliptical orbit that takes 27 days, 7 hours and 11.5 seconds to complete. On its counter-clockwise journey around the Earth, the face of the Moon is lit by the rays of the Sun which are reflected back to Earth. The placement of the Moon and degree to which it appears lit determine the phases of the Moon, and the 12 constellations that it passes by as it tours the zodiac signify the astrological signs of the Moon. The Moon changes signs approximately every 2 and a half days and completes 13 orbits per year. The Lunar cycle begins with the dark New Moon when its position is between the Earth and the Sun. During the Moon’s journey over the next two week waxing phase it begins to show more reflected light from the Sun. First appearing as the thin “C” shaped Waxing Crescent Moon, the Moon’s light builds to the half-lit First Quarter Moon, then ¾ lit Gibbous Moon to the fully lit Full Moon as the Moon reaches its halfway point around the Earth in alignment with the Sun. The Full Moon marks the beginning of the two week waning phase of decreasing light progressing to the ¾ lit Waning Gibbous Moon, half-lit Third Quarter Moon, Waning Crescent Moon and the Balsamic Moon shortly before New Moon. In this vast electromagnetic field in which we live, we are affected by the energies of the Sun, Moon and planets in our solar system and the cosmic energies of the universe. Everything that occurs in this field has an effect on everything else within it. So it is with the Moon, which acts as [...]

We all know that water is essential for life. Without it there would be no life as we know it on earth. Humans are made up predominantly of water. At birth the body is nearly 90% water, declining as we age to about 70% at midlife and below 50% after age 60. It is not difficult to see that aging has a lot to do with dehydration. Water delivers nutrients to our cells, transports toxic waste out of the body, and balances our electromagnetic field. It is estimated that just to maintain health we need to drink half of our weight in ounces of water per day. Of course this can’t be just any water. It must be purified of the toxins which are so prevalent in our environment. But is this enough to keep our water vital for the health of earth and its inhabitants? As it turns out, water is not just a combination of hydrogen and oxygen as its chemical formula H2O would suggest. Water carries a life force all its own which, when vibrantly alive, imparts this vitality to all of life. Water has its own life cycle which it must complete in order to sustain the vital force that nourishes us. There are many theories about the origin of water. A recent theory presented by Louis Frank at the University of Iowa, is that 40 billion years ago water came to earth in the form of comets containing balls of water and ice weighing a hundred tons or more, and this phenomenon is still occurring today. As the ice balls penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, the heat of the sun evaporates them and turns them into gas particles which mix with [...]

For millions of years Earth’s inhabitants have evolved under the rays of the sun. The solar rays keep us warm, enable us to see, and provide vital energy that promotes growth and is essential for a myriad of life processes. Throughout time, humans have revered and worshipped the sun, recognizing its immense healing powers, knowing well that their very lives depended on it. Sun Deities presided over virtually all ancient civilizations including Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Mayans. Temples were erected to honor the sun and capture the healing solar rays. Sunlight has been used as medicine for thousands of years. In his book, “The Healing Sun”, Richard Hobday recounts the rise and fall sunlight therapy, called heliotherapy, named after the Greek sun god Helios. Heliotherapy was practiced by noted physicians Hippocrates and Ephesus who prescribed sun bathing for chronic diseases including asthma, epilepsy, paralysis, hemorrhage, jaundice, bladder problems and obesity. The Greeks advocated exercising in the nude to take advantage of the sun’s rays which imparted strength and stamina in the athletes. The word gymnasium is derived from the word “gymnasion” which means a place for naked exercise. The Roman philosophers Pliny the Elder and Cornelius Celsus and the great Arabic physician Avicenna all advocated exposure to the sun along with good sanitation to maintain health and cure a variety of ills. With the advent of Christianity and the “dark age”, sunlight therapy fell from grace, due to its close association with sun paganism. It wasn’t until the tuberculosis epidemic in late 19th century Europe that heliotherapy made a comeback. TB arose as a result of squalid and polluted conditions in cities. It killed and disfigured millions and baffled physicians. Then in 1877 British [...]

In the last decade or so an interesting phenomenon has occurred in the American diet. Soy products have gone mainstream. Soy’s popularity began as a source of protein for vegetarians, and in recent years has been touted as a potential cure-all for heart disease, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, hot flashes, and the answer to world hunger. Soy-based veggie burgers can now be found in fast food restaurants, with tofu dishes a common offering in some of the most exclusive restaurants. Even public schools have jumped on the bandwagon by including soy foods and additives in school lunches. How did this happen, and what exactly do we know about this upstart food? In November, 1999 the Third International Soy Symposium was held in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the United Soybean Board, American Soybean Association, Monsanto, Protein Technologies International, Central Soya, Cargil Foods, Personal Products Company, SoyLife, Whitehall-Robins Healthcare and the soybean councils of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota. Presentations by scientists funded by these organizations marked the culmination of a decade of research intended to win FDA approval and consumer acceptance of soy products such as tofu, soy milk, soy cheese, soy sausage, and estrogen-like compounds including isoflavones, genistein and diadzen. As we now know, this marketing campaign was highly successful, yet many of the research studies funded by the soy industry have been challenged by independent scientists. Outspoken nutritionists such as Sally Fallon and Mary Enig go even further to point out the problems with soy and the negative impact these products can have on our health. According to them, “Advances in technology make it possible to produce isolated soy protein [the key ingredient that imitates meat and dairy] from what [...]