After meeting Carlo Leifert, a professor in ecological agriculture who has been researching low-input farming, Wayne Roberts is now convinced that the merging of farm, food, health and environment concerns will become the new normal.

The great divide between food and farming is about to become a blur as a result of pioneering scientific research in Europe that's pushing the boundaries of health and agricultural policy. Though no poem insists that 'food is food and agriculture is agriculture, and never the twain shall meet', that may as well be the watchword in both fields. The chasm between the two is rarely bridged at any level of public discussion or decision-making. Food writers rarely report on farms, and vice versa. Nutritionists rarely discuss anything that happens to food before it's harvested, and vice versa for agronomists; even the champions of organic farming rarely make nutritional claims. Doctors barely know about nutrition and hospitals serve what is called hospital food, just as farmers and processors don't fret about what happens to diabetes rates when all their corn is turned into cheap pop and junkfood filler. Government ministries and departments of food and agriculture rarely meet, let alone worry about harmonizing their policies.
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Because I'm getting up in age and my immunity's been enhanced due to exposure to so many viruses over the years, I rarely get a cold or the flu. When I run my body down due to overwork, excess stress, and improper eating, however, sometimes I find myself coming down with whatever's going around (especially when I travel).

When I first notice any typical viral symptoms, I immediately begin taking a combination of astragalus root and reishi mushroom. Occasionally I will add with this 1/2 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in water, drinking this several times a day. I also look at what's going on in my life and see where I can add in some relaxation or reduce my stress.
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At one of my workshops last weekend, a participant asked me if I had undergone formal training to be a public speaker. My reply was no. However, I told her that fairly early in life I was encouraged to be in some amateur theater productions, which helped me get over my painfully shy nature at the time. I also told her that I was frequently required in my advertising career to formally present my ideas to small groups of people. And later in life, I was asked to teach an adult class at my church — which I happily did week after week for 8 years.

The result of those experiences was this: Once I determined that my next right step in life was to share the principles in my book by speaking to organizations and congregations all across the country, that step was a virtually effortless one for me to take.
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People fighting off winter colds and bouts of the flu typically reach for a glass vitamin C-packed orange juice, but new research suggests that vitamin D may be a better protector. People with low levels of the vitamin, which is often called the sunshine vitamin because sun exposure triggers its production in the body, are more likely to catch colds, the flu, and even pneumonia, a broad new study reports. The effect was magnified in people with asthma or other lung diseases.

Vitamin D deficiency is quite common in the United States — particularly in winter…. "People think that if they have a good, balanced diet that they will get enough vitamin D, and that's actually not true," said Dr. Michal Melamed…. "Unless you eat a lot of fish and drink a lot of milk, you can't get enough vitamin D from diet" [CNN].
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French physicist and philosopher Bernard d'Espagnat was this year's winner of The Templeton Prize, a generous award given to a living person whose outstanding contributions through their life's work define and substantiate the spiritual aspects of life.

His explorations of quantum mechanics and insights into the nature of our universe stand out for their implications about the existence of an "ultimate spiritual reality" that is veiled from us apart from our perceived everyday world. This veiled reality, according to d'Espagnat, exists beyond time and space.
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Today, April 22, is designated as Earth Day. Started in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, it was in protest at that time to the unbridled corporate and consumer activities that were contributing to excessive environmental pollution. The dangerous levels of waste and degradation went unchecked as toxic oil spills, raw sewage, and air-polluting factories and plants were casually accepted as a normal part of life.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across the country demonstrated and held rallies in the streets, campuses, and large public arenas to send a message about the action needed to turn things around. Distinguished by its collaborative support by both political parties, this first Earth Day event led to the formation of the U.S. EPA, and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. Earth Day is considered the beginning of the modern environmental awareness movement, and the month of April has in essence become "Earth Month."
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The other day I was driving down the road when I saw a bumper sticker on the car in front of me that read:

I love that bumper sticker, because it perfectly captures the essence of one of the most important principles for living life in the divine flow: You must let go of what you "think" you know.

One of the most common ways that we interfere with the flow is thinking that we know best, and overruling the divine guidance that we are continually receiving through various sources . . . such as our own intuitive sense.  Read the rest of this entry »

The combined surface average temperature for land and ocean from January to March was the eighth-warmest on record since tracking began in 1880, NOAA said in an analysis released today, April 17, 2009.Temperature for the quarter: about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly a degree above the 20th-century average.

The average combined temperature for March was 55.9 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly a degree above the 20th-century average for that month, the report says.

The average global land surface temperature for March was 42.5 degrees Fahrenheit, about 1.7 degrees above the 20th-century average. The average global ocean surface temperature for the month was 61.4 degrees Fahrenheit, about 0.7 degree above the 20th-century average.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," illustrates a fictitious character who was born an old man, and as time progressed, grew increasingly younger. It goes without question we accept this as an impossible scenario, since our current body of scientific knowledge holds that a human's natural cycle is to be born tabula rasa, starting fresh as a newborn, only to experience decay and disease as we are exposed to the antagonists of healthy living. But after seeing the movie my curiosity was piqued. If we can think ourselves healthier, can we think ourselves younger?
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With less than four years to go, stories of what the Mayan Calendar means for us and what may happen on December 21, 2012 have created a lot of apocalyptic fear about the 'end of the world.' Global news about irreversible climate change, economic instability and impending collapse only heighten those fears of doom and peril.

To dispel fear and encourage a sense of optimism and greater understanding around this time of great global change and the coming of a new era, The Institute for Cultural Awareness (ICA) has organized a pilgrimage to bring together indigenous elders and future wisdom keepers from around the world for what's called The Return of the Ancestors' Gathering throughout Northern Arizona, beginning on Earth Day weekend, April 18th, 2009, through the 28th. This culmination of world elders will be the fourth official gathering of the Continental Council of Indigenous Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas.
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