In the same way that modern buildings and appliances are grounded, placing your bare skin directly on the Earth physically grounds you. This grounding prevents a buildup of electricity and any potential interference that may occur as a result of that electrical buildup.

Being barefoot easily conjures the feelings of freedom, peace, and simplicity. What is often the norm for young children, playing outside, is rare for most of us as we age. Would being barefoot on the Earth each day, every day, be worth another go if we were aware of its myriad, seriously powerful benefits?

I’ve always enjoyed being barefoot outdoors. During my college years, roommates and friends would tease me about my diligent practice of sliding off my shoes the second class was over. Walking home barefoot was a true delight from the moment my feet hit the ground, one that I felt intuitively connected to and instantly at ease with, but an experience I wouldn’t completely understand or be able to fully transmit into words until later. Fast forward a few years, load up on more responsibilities, and load down on time spent outdoors sans shoes. For those who are energetically sensitive, this combination can feel near disastrous. I can feel the shift in vibration the second I enter a home from the outdoors, and at times, it can be suffocating, so much so, that for years, I’ve enjoyed sporadic stretches of sleeping outside, nightly.

I began thinking about the difference in the air and ground waves outside versus the waves inside several years before I became motivated enough to dig deeper into its energetic on-goings. The second I did, however, doors began opening (as is the norm when the Universe is nudging you in a certain direction) and information became available that I immediately resonated with, incorporated into my life, and wouldn’t turn away from embracing and sharing for anything.

In the same way that modern buildings and appliances are grounded, placing your bare skin directly on the Earth physically grounds you. This grounding prevents a buildup of electricity and any potential interference that may occur as a result of that electrical buildup. While the practice of grounding is standard in the care and maintenance of current construction, somehow we’ve glossed over applying this understanding to our own bodies. We have, faithfully, been blocking the current from the Earth for years, the precise current, the flow, that we’re designed to be connected to 24 hours a day.

Wearing shoes with rubber soles completely disconnects the Earth’s flow into our body. Most people are physically lodged in a house or office all day, walking on asphalt, all while wearing shoes. This means that many of us are gliding through each day never discharging the buildup of free radicals imperceptibly reverberating around us.

The Earth is a limitless source of free electrons that stream into the body only when it is grounded. This infusion of negative ions from the Earth into the body and the discharge of destructive positive ions is essential for well-being. Excess positive ions in the body are associated with disease and degeneration. Negative ions are associated with vitality, good health, and healing. The more time you spend grounded, the less inflammation you are likely to experience, resulting in improved overall health, a sense of calmness, clarity, and vitality. Jumping into a body of water or simply touching the Earth with bare feet starts the process of these negative ions cascading up through your body clearing out positive ions—simple, free and amazing!

There are crazy, wonderful amounts of research now underway showing that the process of grounding yourself or connecting with the Earth holds collective and diverse benefits for both the physical body as well as mental and emotional harmony.

Mulch over the implications of this awareness for a hot minute. Just touching the bare Earth with your hands or feet actually transfers these damaging free radicals into the Earth, away from your body! While that stream of harmful free radicals shifts out, a stream of electrons shifts in. These electrons restore balance and a rich overtone of tranquility to your entire system—your muscles, tissues, bones, brain pathways. The benefits are wildly attractive. Again, they are free and almost so easy that they can be readily dismissed by those looking for a more complex path to atonement and wholeness.

It thrills me (I just noticed that I’m lit-rah-lee on the edge of my seat right now, I’m that enthused) that this availability, this option, is always there for us, you and I, without costly equipment or supplements. We just have to make the choice to take it, to love it, to allow it to nourish and love us.

Reflecting back to the boundless energy, serene qualities and the quick-healing nature of childhood holds vast insight. Cheers to never outgrowing foot to Earth play!

Editor’s note: If you are stuck inside working on your computer most of the day, here is a good way to get grounded and connect with the earth:

It is known from research that healing in the body is regulated by the brain. This has been repetitively upheld by many studies where the desired effect(s) of various drugs have consistently missed the boat in the company of a placebo. That fact that we are in charge of our brain is reassuring.

The healing power underlying a person’s thoughts and expectations has flown largely under the radar and focus in the realm of Western Medicine. So I was intrigued (yet, not surprised) when I stumbled upon an abstract of a study the other day, entitled, The Effect of Treatment Expectation on Drug Efficacy: Imaging the Analgesic Benefit of the Opioid Remifentanil. Researchers discovered, what many people, especially those who are acutely tapped in to the energetics of being are already aware of, that the most influential determining factor to the effectiveness of any drug treatment is (cue intense music) a patient’s own mind.

It is always exciting to me when bridges are built connecting science and spirituality in ways that have great potential to comfort those “let’s see the numbers” folks into nudging paradigms to the side that are no longer serving in the best of ways, and in the following breath, open up minds to an entirely new way of treating disease.

In the study’s abstract, the researchers state: “Evidence from behavioral and self-reported data suggests that the patients’ beliefs and expectations can shape both therapeutic and adverse effects of any given drug. We investigated how divergent expectancies alter the analgesic efficacy of a potent opioid in healthy volunteers by using brain imaging.”

During the study, “positive treatment expectancy substantially enhanced (doubled) the analgesic benefit” of the medication. On the flip side, when subjects were told that they were not receiving painkiller medications, even while they were, the effects proved to be entirely ineffective. In fact, the research showed the benefits of painkillers could be increased or completely canceled by manipulating the subjects’ expectations. Wrapped up in one sentence? Relief is up to the patient.

While this amount of scientific light shed on the subject should have important outcomes for patient care and drug use, there is no money to be made in our present day setup from telling patients that they hold much potential to heal themselves. That written treatment modalities (of any variety) will always benefit from weaving these mind over matter principles into their approaches. There are thousands of examples where whatever is being wined and dined by the mind in a serious and consistent way has materialized. Mind/body medicine is not parallel to some wishful, cauldron-stirring result. It is real, concrete, and increasingly, the only way to get lasting results in a a society that has been built upon stress-laden channels, many of which lack an off switch.

Your Mind Matters!

It is known from research that healing in the body is regulated by the brain. This has been repetitively upheld by many studies where the desired effect(s) of various drugs have consistently missed the boat in the company of a placebo. That fact that we are in charge of our brain is reassuring. The brain carries out its to do list in the form of beliefs, intentions, in the trust of what is to happen, positive, negative, conscious and subconscious, alike. There is no better time than now to realize that we hold (beyond magical) moxie (Capabilities was the word I was really going for. Moxie popped up and I couldn’t turn it down.) when it comes to our path, our purpose….and our healing abilities. It is my sincere hope and intention that we, collectively, continue to migrate toward this (refreshed) and powerful understanding.

The article, The Effect of Treatment Expectation on Drug Efficacy: Imaging the Analgesic Benefit of the Opioid Remifentanil was published in the medical journal, Science Translational Medicine Vol. 3, Issue 70, February 16, 2011. You can find it online at this site, but you will have to subscribe to the read the full article.

Cancel Illness, Order in Wellness. 10 Strategies for Disease Prevention

Reduce Processed Foods

Better yet, entirely eliminate processed foods, sugar, and sugar spiking grains from your diet. Aside from being a poor source of nutrients for your body, many of the above foods create and support insulin issues. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful and effective ways to decrease risk of developing many illnesses.

Eat Real Food

Increase the amount of live and wild foods in your diet. Live food has all of its nutrients, including enzymes, unaltered and intact. Because live foods are whole foods, they contribute to feeling well not only because they decrease the amount of ‘negatives’ that are going into your body, but because they offer more nutrition-wise than food that has been stripped of its nutrients, or otherwise ‘revamped.’ Live and whole foods are fantastic, but taking this a slight step further, the REAL nutritional stars are wild foods! Even the soil that most organic food is grown in these days, has been stripped of many nutrients, leaving far less than intended for the plants to absorb and pass along. A forest, however, has ‘food production’ down with perfection. Due to the continuous cycle of growth and decomposition the soil is rich with health supporting nutrients, and the root systems of most wild plants reach an impressive depth within the soil, pulling up massive amounts of minerals and vitamins.

Get Sunlight

Balance your sun exposure. Spend enough time in the sun each day to normalize your levels of vitamin D. If/when spending time outdoors is not possible, consider mindful supplementation. Vitamin D is a key player in overall health and tests are available from a nutritionally knowledgeable physician if you’re unsure whether you need to supplement.

Balance your Fats

Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by reducing omega-6 rich oils (cottonseed, corn, vegetable, wheat germ, grapeseed, sunflower seed, soybean, sesame seed, olive and safflower) and including more high quality omega-3 rich foods in your diet (omega-3 rich wild fish or fish oil and flaxseed are two good sources).

Exercise

Cultivate a regular exercise routine. As already written above, controlling insulin levels dramatically drops the risk of health decline. Exercise drives your insulin levels down,  making it very beneficial from a position of prevention.

Sleep Well

Sleep sound. Historically, sleep was thought to be a passive state. Few things could be further from the truth. Sleep is an incredibly active time for both our brains and our bodies, during which we dreamily dive into all varieties of growth and repair processes- a dynamic biochemical orchestration. Sleep certainly affects our physical and mental well-being, and is essential for the normal functioning of all of the systems of our body, including our immune system.

Avoid Environmental Toxins

Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins. Pesticides, household cleaners, chemically laden paints and stains, conventionally grown food, air fresheners, air/water pollution, plastics, body washes and lotions are just a small sample of things that most of us come in contact with on a daily basis that make an imprint on our internal toxin load. Research all products that enter your home and your body and do your best to find healthy substitutes to support your own health, the health of your family, and the well-being of our planet.

Avoid Harmful EMFs

Limit your exposure to EMF produced by cell phone towers, base stations, cell phones and WiFi stations. (Easier written than done with the profuse integration of all the above into our daily lives and routines). There are several protection devices that are now available and can be worn and/or placed in your home to reduce energetic interference.

Get Grounded

Connect with the Earth (A passion of mine! I cannot write enough about this topic and so it deserves an entire, solo-style article. Click hear to readTouching Earth.

Heal Emotionally

Discover techniques to help rebalance your body from emotional energetic blockages. The Center for Disease Control states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions and stress. Neurological short-circuiting can promote a whole host of health problems, including activating cancer genes. While some people might gloss over this factor due to lack of ‘tangible understanding,’ it may be more important than all the other more physical ones listed above, and is very worthy of being addressed.  A couple of energetic rebalancing techniques worth looking into are Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique ( B.E.S.T.) and Emotional Freedom Technique.

Watermelon

The cooling qualities of watermelon make it wonderful for a quick and easy summer detox staple. Add the delicious factor into the mix, and you’re sailing along with a warm weather cleansing trifecta! With positive effects on the kidney, bladder, heart, stomach, colon, and liver, watermelon works to cleanse (nearly) the entire body! According to traditional Chinese medicine, it cools the energetic channels in the body that are dominated by fire-making. It is therapeutically helpful in cases of urinary tract infections. for those who cannot tolerate high sugar foods, watermelon juice can be fermented (using the same cultures and process as kefir) into a refreshingly fizzy, sugar-free drink.

Sprouts

Sprouts are, literally, bursting with life. Sprouting is the natural process of transforming a dormant seed to a living seed. Grains, legumes, and other seeds that have been sprouted sport an impressive amount of precious enzymes, and aside from being important to digestion, enzymes play a role in the ongoing process of detoxification. Sprouts are rich in plant-based protein and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. To top it all off, sprouts offer an easy way to keep fresh, inexpensive food in your home, year round.

Cucumber

Largely due to faddish, eye-covering cucumber pics strewn about nearly every magazine, few of us are a stranger to the cooling potential of cucumber. Chinese medicine believes that cucumber has a cleansing effect on the blood and clears internal heat from the body, which is helpful for inflammatory conditions…it also believes cucumbers have a soothing effect on the nerves and aid in the treatment of insomnia. While this cooling fruit’s thirst quenching nature makes it a great summer treat eaten alone, it is equally incredible juiced and/or infused into a pitcher of water- in the same way many people do with lemon or lime.

Aloe Vera

There is a reason that bottles of aloe vera gel line grocery store shelves every summer season. if you have ever sliced open an aloe leaf to slather it over a sunburn, you’re already familiar with its cooling savvy. Taken internally, aloe reduces heat and has intestinal stimulating abilities. for this reason, when used mindfully, it can be an effective treatment for constipation. While good quality, organic bottled aloe can be found, it is best fresh, scooped straight from the leaf, with all of its cooling constituents entirely intact.

Purslane

Ahhh…..purslane. ((Love!)) Purslane is a special plant~ rare in its qualities, but not in its findings. it is actually a very common and beneficial weed. What is extraordinarily brilliant about purslane is its omega 3 content- unusual for a land vegetable, as most omega 3 comes from oily fish and micro-algae. Like many of the other hot weather friendly foods, purslane is a contender when it comes to cooling inflammation in the body. it is a potent detoxifier and effectively dissipates internal heat. Make an omega 3 rich meal by adding a handful of purslane- fresh from the yard- into your favorite salad or smoothie.

I grew up picking black raspberries and occasionally found interest in the deep purple gems hanging just overhead, but, it wasn’t until very recently that I took a serious look at these often unnoticed, untouched beauts.

There are two common mulberry tree species (plus many off shoot hybrids) here in the U.S. , the native red mulberry and the Asian white mulberry. The red mulberry, which reaches a height of about sixty-five feet, has rough, reddishbrown bark and the leaves are rounded, toothed, some oval shaped, some lobed. The fruit, also oval in shape, hangs from a thin, green fruit stalk and is composed of many very dark purple berries (when ripe.) Each little berry has its own seed. Red mulberry trees will be the ones that you are more likely to come across while foraging.

With the thought of beginning a silk industry in mind, white mulberry trees were imported from Asia during the 1800’s. Being too much work, this idea was quickly abandoned, though, not before this fertile tree swept its way across much of America. As the name implies, white mulberries are white with clearly visible black seeds in the center of each tiny berry.

It is not at all surprising to me that these little berries are being sold in stores as a superfood! As it turns out, mulberries mean business in the nutrition department. They are fairly high in protein; one handful contains about 3 grams of protein (for comparison- bananas are about 4% protein and mulberries are about 11%.) They are a sweet source of vitamin C, with about one handful (I don’t necessarily dig the counting’ game when it comes to food, but when I must- it is usually by the handful), a 28-30 gram serving containing around 130% of the recommended daily amount. They’re also a decent source of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, potassium, and fiber.

Mulberries are one of those foods that I believe are best enjoyed, solostyle. Still, I’ll post a recipe for a fantastic smoothie and mulberry crisp below.

Mulberry Recipes

Wild Mulberry & Celery Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup wild mulberries
• 1 banana (omit if you have lower glycemic needs)
• 1/2 cup pineapple, chopped (again, lessen or leave out for less sugar)
• 1 cup nut or seed milk (hemp, almond, coconut milk, etc.)
• 3-4 stalks of celery
• Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Mulberry Crisp Recipe

Fruit Layer

• 4 cups wild mulberries
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon (about 1 dropper ful) liquid stevia (or 1 tablespoon honey)

Crumble Topping

• 3/4-1 cup coconut flour
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 dropperful) liquid stevia
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• (can add in ground nuts/seeds and/or oats)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine fruit layer ingredients in a bowl and then pour the mixture into a fitting casserole dish.
3. Combine the crumble topping ingredients (mix in coconut flour, slowly, until it reaches a crumble consistency. Evenly distribute crumble mixture on top of the fruit layer.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. (Serve hot or cold)

(The one rule, sans exception, of foraging: know your plant. While the benefits of eating wild plants are significant and very worthy, there is no room for error. You can, and should, take all of the time that you need to get to securely know a plant before consuming it. You must comfortably and positively identify it 100% of the time.)

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Three Homemade Toothpaste Recipes – Better Oral Health for Less Cost
• Total Nutrition – Make your own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula

Interested in giving cloth diapering a try? Good for you (and your little one(s)!)

Cloth diapers dramatically cut down on diapering expense, free up tons of space in our landfills, they’re healthier for your baby, and chances are potty training will go much quicker!

Most people are not fond of daily dealings with diaper full after diaper full~ which explains why disposables have become a multi~million dollar business. However, cloth diapers are making a comeback with some really convenient and effective designs. The fold~and~pin variety of diapering system that many people are used to still exists, but new all~in~one cloth and cover designs are popping up everywhere. Velcro and snaps have replaced sharp pins and the diapers are fitted with elastic around the waist and legs to hold in contents. A few people are turned off by the cost of each diaper- which can run anywhere from $5 to over $20 a dipe. While I understand that the initial cost can be a distraction, doing the math for the entire length that your little one will be in diapers instantly turns that frown upside down;). After trying several when my daughter was first born, I settled on buying only 6 ‘Bum-ware’ all-in-one diapers. These were the most incredible diapers~ I paid a total of $132 (plus I continued using a few of the ‘trial diapers’ mentioned above.) They lasted through 2 children. It costs, on average, about $1,600 to diaper one child for two years in disposable diapers- about $66 a month. Many children are in diapers for longer than two years. That comparison is a no-brainer.

Varieties of rash creams are staple on store shelves and on baby~shower lists. I don’t know of many parents who even have to invest in these products while using cloth diapers. True, rashes may develop from constant wetness against the skin…but, deeper thinking into what disposable diapers are made of leaves any inquisitive person wondering…

Both of my children are past the diapering years, and while I was intuitively drawn to cloth diapering without much further investigation, I never looked much into the chemicals that disposables contain. It didn’t take much searching to track down a few: first on the list: traces of dioxin. Dioxin is an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries…yet, is in full swing here in the U.S.. Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT)- a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and other animals. And, lastly (for this write~up, anyway…I’m sure that I’m missing a few) disposables contain sodium polyacrylate~ a type of super absorbent polymer- the substance that becomes all gel-like when wet (anyone who as used disposables is familiar with sodium polyacrylate.) A similar substance was used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980’s when it was discovered that it increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and creating a nice environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria.

We move on to the environmental aspect of diapering. The Real Diaper Association- an advocacy group founded in 2004- estimates that the U.S. uses 27.4 billion disposable diapers each year. The EPA further translates this into more than 3.4 million tons of waste dumped into our landfills. Add to this mix the amount of petroleum, chlorine, wood pulp, water and energy that it takes to produce disposables…

The one plus that disposables have going for them is convenience. Admittedly, while we had visitors staying with us and when we traveled, we traded in the Bum-ware for seventh generation brand disposables. Even with those exceptions, we saved a ton of money and, more importantly to me, a *crap~load* (laughing) of diapers from reaching the garbage.

Using cloth diapers is an amazing thing that you can (now easily) do for your baby’s health, the environment, and your budget. The moment you throw away your last gel-filled disposable and wrap your little one in soft, warm, (safe) cotton, you’ll understand why cloth-diapering mamas are so ‘crazy’ about cloth!

Happy diapering!

(a handful of diapering companies worth looking into-> bum-ware.com, fuzzibunz.com, happyheinys.com, bumgenius.com and betterforbabies.com)