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Returning to our Roots
The Evolution of Environmental Consciousness
by Kosa Ely
Growing up in
Laguna Beach in the 60’s and 70’s was a
unique experience that I value to this day.
At that time Laguna was the hub of art,
vegetarianism, and individuality.
Over the years I’ve observed and
participated with pleasure in the organic
food revolution, the alternative medicine
evolution, and the dawning of a new age of
consciousness. From a historical
perspective, however, none of this is new.
As far as the organic food revolution, we’ve
had a brief eighty years since the
introduction of chemical insecticides and
fertilizers. Prior to World War I, almost
all of our farming was organic and most of
it sustainable.
A farmer friend of mine shared his
observations with me. “Using pesticides
doesn’t kill most of the bugs, they’re just
smart enough to leave and go elsewhere. Now
the humans, on the other hand, are ‘so
intelligent’ that they spray poisons on the
food they grow, and then they eat it. Makes
you stop and ask, ‘Who’s more intelligent,
the insects or the humans?’”
To refrain from spraying poison on our food
and to support farmers who avoid such
behavior is just common sense. And it’s
important for the future of our planet.
After all, these poisons do not go away, but
show up again and again in our air, our
soil, and our rivers.
As for ‘alternative’ medicine, it is
primarily based on ancient modalities and
therapies that have withstood the test of
time. Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and
acupuncture, Homeopathy, Herbal remedies, to
name a few, are no longer restricted to
their countries of origin, but are reaching
around the world to benefit our global
community. I find it intriguing that these
proven systems of medicine and healing are
labeled as ‘alternative.’
Our indigenous brothers and sisters the
world over live in harmony with the earth,
partaking of wild foods that are both
nourishing and medicinal. It is interesting
to note that they are not plagued with the
degenerative diseases that have enveloped
our technological societies. Among a whole
list of reasons, their wild food and
medicinal herb intake plays a significant
part. Along with boosting the immune system,
Rainforest shamans believe that eating wild
forest plants balances the energetic
frequencies of the body and connects them to
the earth and the heavens.
While we may not have direct experience of
the benefit of wild foods, some of the
latest research on the development and
functioning of the human brain reveals that
our brains do in fact require wild foods.
Researchers have found wild foods to be in a
category by themselves.
I asked Christian Opitz, biochemist and
author and lecturer on wild foods, to
explain to me why. “The bio-energetics and
life force of wild foods is unique. You can
survive on a diet devoid of wild foods, but
then the body must go through adaptations
and that adaptation is what Dr. Hans Selye
called the stress response. In the 1950’s
Dr. Selye showed that the brain of modern
people is in a state of constant stress that
would only be useful in a life threatening
situation. This stress response severely
limits the body’s ability to self heal, and
also contributes to a feeling of existential
separation from everything in one’s
environment. In the stress response state
the parietal lobes of the brain are
chronically overactive. The natural function
of the parietal lobes is to give us a sense
of physical boundaries so we can discern our
body from other objects. While this is
necessary for functioning in daily life,
over activity of this brain center leads to
over identifying with one’s physical body,
and a feeling of separation from everything
else. This is why the experience of
connectedness is so rare for modern people.
“The inclusion
of wild foods in one’s diet can directly
contribute to an experience of feeling
connected. Only wild foods contain the
subtle energies and nutrients that enable
the body to attune itself to its original
design. This original design naturally
includes a consistent experience of balance,
harmony, and connectedness to all life.”
For suburb and city dwellers, what is our
chance of finding wild foods in our
neighborhoods? How do we add them to our
daily diet?
If you are adventurous, there are wild
edible foods in fields and forests
everywhere. Check the internet, your local
library or bookstore, to learn what’s
available near you.
Through the internet you can find wild food
companies that ship their products directly
to you. My favorite is wild harvested foods
and herbs from the Amazon Rainforest. Having
personally experienced the benefits of
eating wild foods daily, I believe this will
be the next stage of our natural health
evolution.
The emergence of the New age of
consciousness is an opportunity for us to
return to our roots, to accept conscious
living, conscious eating, and conscious
medicine.
It is an awakening of our relationship with
the earth, and with our global family.
We each have the responsibility to be
stewards of the earth, and to leave a living
planet for the generations to come. After
all, we are only guests here. It is to those
who tread lightly on the earth, and who
listen to her songs, it is they who enjoy
the bounty of the earth and know her
secrets. It is they who find harmony and
peace within, here on earth and in the
heavens.
“The
Amazon Rainforest is what biology
calls an ecological climax. This
means that the life processes in the
Amazon Rainforest have developed to
their full potential of efficiency
and harmony. Because life efficiency
correlates directly with the density
of micro nutrients in plants, wild
foods from the Amazon Rainforest
show a higher density of micro
nutrients than any other foods on
earth. For this reason I strongly
recommend the use of Amazon Herb
products.”
- Christian Opitz,
Bio-chemist, Wild foods expert |
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