There seems to be a heightening level of awareness within the human race with respect to nature and all that it encompasses. Everything from the discoveries of the rudiments of language in monkeys, metacognition in some animals, self-awareness of elephants, the ability for animals to tell “right” from “wrong”, to the creation and [...]]]>

There seems to be a heightening level of awareness within the human race with respect to nature and all that it encompasses. Everything from the discoveries of the rudiments of language in monkeys, metacognition in some animals, self-awareness of elephants, the ability for animals to tell “right” from “wrong”, to the creation and extension of bills of rights for animals and plants by countries such as Switzerland and Ecuador as well as the acknowledgment of dolphins as being non-human persons.. There is a growing awareness by humanity that nature and its inhabitants are not as primitive and simple as it may have believed to be the case in the past. With this growing awareness, comes growing understanding of the unity that humanity has with the environment within which it exists. This sense of unity with nature is not something new and indeed has been the primary position of awareness for many societies in existence before their industrialization. In today’s post-modern societies, there is a resurgence of that connection with the biosphere and interconnected organism that is the planet and all that exists within it’s domain. As more discoveries are made, greater awareness shines down on humanity’s collective consciousness and thereby, allowing us to evolve the transpersonal consciousness to a level where the ego is no longer the dominator of the Self.

Science can be a wonderful thing. It can prove without a doubt what may have been suggested in times past, but was not completely understood as being the absolute truth, which always left a bit of doubt or confusion. However, with continuous scientific discoveries occurring all the time, it is of great fortune that we are able to attain substantial data and knowledge concerning the environment and all that it encompasses. With these new discoveries, it is being quite evident that humans have mistakenly been ignorant and arrogant concerning the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms with respect to their levels of sophistication, evolution, consciousness, and awareness. If we were to start looking at the mineral kingdom, much can be seen from the recent discoveries made. Of course, there has been such an influx of findings that they would be able to fill up an entire book. However, just a few will be looked at in order to demonstrate the point at hand. All of the discoveries and findings mentioned within this article have been announced publicly within the last two years.

Rocks have been looked at as generally non-living, inanimate, unconscious, and completely devoid of any lifelike characteristics. However, stunning new evidence shows that the incredible diversity of crystals and minerals after the rise of life on this planet and points to the reality that rocks, like plants and animals, have been evolving all this time, and we did not even realize it until now. This idea is being called “mineral evolution”, which is the concept that many of the our planet’s rocks, minerals, and crystals are dynamic species which emerged and transformed over time. Of course, the evolution of the mineral kingdom is not exactly the same as the evolution of the plant and animal kingdoms, since minerals do not mutate, reproduce, or complete like other living organisms, to our knowledge. However, the vast variety and abundance of all the various minerals on earth have changed quite dramatically over the 4.5+ billion years of earth’s past. US geologist Robert Hazen who led the research team for this finding, said that “for at least 2.5 billion years, and possibly since the emergence of life, Earth’s mineralogy has evolved in parallel with biology.” This should not be too big of a surprise to us, however. It makes quite a bit of sense that evolution is all-encompassing…everything from our consciousness, to galaxies, to rocks. Everything is in a constant state of be-ing and become-ing and the condition of the various aspects of Reality being static does not find much evidence to support itself on. It looks more and more as if Reality is dynamic and extropic in nature.

Stepping out of the mineral kingdom, we make our way to the plant kingdom. Although it has been known for quite some time that the rainforests of the world act as lungs for the planet, it has recently been discovered that they act as a heart as well. What this implies is that not only are rainforests giant carbon sinks of the planet (acting as lungs), but they may also be responsible for moving many of the weather patterns we see all around the globe (just as the physical heart moves blood throughout the entire body). The new study researching this subject suggests that rainforests, such as the ones in Africa and South America, create winds that circulate water around the planet. It is known that more than half the rainfall in rainforests evaporates and recirculates, which then keeps the upper air moist. New findings show that rainforests are also moving the air around them, which also has the effect of moving the water around. It turns out that as important as plants and trees are to the ensuring that there is enough clean oxygen for all sentient beings to thrive and survive on the planet, they are now acknowledged as being even more important, by affecting the very weather patterns of our biosphere.

Perhaps as a response to the various discoveries concerning the plant kingdom, there have been governments across the planet that have took it upon themselves to become trailblazers in the area of plant and ecosystem rights. This higher awareness has been most recently demonstrated in the countries of Switzerland and Ecuador. In the case of Switzerland, the Swiss Government’s Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology has come to the consensus that plants have rights, and that they have to be treated appropriately. Making our way to Ecuador, we can see that the country has changed its constitution to say that nature has “the right to the maintenance and regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes.” The basis of these rights “change the status of ecosystems from being regarded as property under the law to being recognized as rights-bearing entities.”  The idea of plants having a degree of consciousness is very well documented and so it is not unreasonable for a government to come up with such a conclusion in respect to the plant kingdom. However, the perceptions of humans are not always quick to shift and change. It is demonstrations such as these which show that there is indeed a higher awareness being experienced by humanity with relation to its biosphere neighbors.

Emerging out of the plant kingdom and into the animal kingdom, a myriad of recent discoveries exemplify humanity’s growing awareness of the sophistication and higher level of be-ing that animals exist at. The latest and most well-known finding is concerning dolphins. Dolphins have been perceived as being very intelligent beings for at least several thousand years. In ancient Greece, it was punishable by death to kill or harm a dolphin. Much mythology revolves around dolphins. However, concerning the scientific data being research and analyzed, it has been found without doubt that human language and dolphin movement patterns show similarities in brevity. The law of brevity in human language, according to which the most frequently-used words tend to be the shortest, extends to dolphins, as well as other animal species. The way in which this is observed was that when dolphins move on the surface of the water, they tend to make the simplest movements, in the same way that humans tend to use words comprised of less letters when they are speaking or writing.

Perhaps it is discoveries such as these and others that are altering the positions of awareness that humanity has concerning dolphins to the point where they are being described by scientsts as being non-human persons and as a result, should be treated as such. Dolphins are recognized as being the most intelligent beings on our planet, after humans. The signs are numerous, such as the anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence, studies showing that dolphins have distinct personalities, strong sense of self, and ability to think about the future. Dolphins are also cultural animals, which means that new types of behavior can quickly be picked up by one dolphin from another.

More stunning research has discovered that dolphins, as well as other animals such as macaque monkeys, have shown to have conscious metacognition. There is a growing amount of evidence that animals share functional parallels with human conscious metacognition. Metacognition is essentially the ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their states of mind and although once considered solely the domain of humans, is now seen as evident in some animals as well. J. David Smith, Ph.D., a comparative psychologist who has conducted the study, has concluded that “metacognition rivals language and tool use in its potential to establish important continuities or discontinuities between human and animal minds.”

Metacognition aside, animals are also now known to possess self-awareness. First seen in gorillas and then later in elephants and dolphins, self-awareness is no longer solely recognized as being the domain of the human being. When most animals see themselves in a mirror, they will interpret what they see as another animal, possibly a threat, and may attack the image, or, be scared away. After awhile, the animals habituate and ignore the reflected image entirely. However, an animal that is self-aware will recognize the image as its own, reflection, which is something that requires a degree of abstract thought and cognitive association.

As fascinating as these things may be, new research has discovered that several species of animals, such as monkeys, wolves, coyotes, elephants, chimpanzees, rodents, bats, and whales, have a sense of what is called “morality”, in that they are able to subjectively tell “right” from “wrong”. In a series of studies scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer altruistic help and empathize when a fellow animal is ill or in difficulties. The existence of a conscience is also apparent, and remembering obligations also exists. Even when there is no obvious reward for an an altruistic action, chimpanzees were still observed as willing to help others. The conclusion of this observation led to the statement by one of the researchers that “chimpanzees spontaneously help both humans and each other in carefully controlled tests.” Perhaps the most interest point in this discovery is that everything else being equal, animals such as chimpanzees prefer to reward a companion together with themselves rather than just themselves alone. The act of giving by the monkeys is self-rewarding and can be said as being a demonstration of the interconnected consciousness of monkeys, just as humans, within their interconnected transpersonal consciousness, will experience the same effect. As the old adage goes, what you do to another, you do to/for yourself.

The one final demonstration in this article of this elevated level of consciousness and be-ing that other aspects of nature have is that of language among animals. It has recently been found that the rudiments of language exist among monkeys. Certain monkeys that have been studied have been seen to combine the same calls in different ways, using rules of grammar that turn sound into language. Alban Lemasson, a primatologist at the University of Rennes in France, has stated that “this is the first evidence we have in animal communication that they can combine, in a semantic way, different calls to create a new message.” As it stands, it seems that humans are no longer the sole users of language in the sophisticated manner in which we use it. Although nowhere as complex as the syntax of human beings, it is more advanced and complex than we have ever previously been aware of.

All these discoveries have occured within a few years and are demonstrative of the incredibly accelerated rise in awareness that humanity is experiencing with respect to the level of consciousness of various aspects of nature, as well as how primitive nature and all the various aspects of it, seemed to be in times past. There is an awakening to a more intelligent nature than previously was acknowledged. This is a step towards a new age in which humans and the rest of nature will hopefully have a more symbiotic and unifying relationship with the environment, and more respect will be given to it. Baby steps, for sure, but baby steps towards a positive future, nonetheless.

Rarely do films captivate people as the new film Avatar by director James Cameron does. With an overwhelming positive response to the film, it may become one that will be looked upon as one of the most revolutionary and transformative movies created. There are several reasons for the success of Avatar, one of them being [...]]]>

Rarely do films captivate people as the new film Avatar by director James Cameron does. With an overwhelming positive response to the film, it may become one that will be looked upon as one of the most revolutionary and transformative movies created. There are several reasons for the success of Avatar, one of them being the spectacular new version of 3D, called Real 3D, that was used to create a very unique and amazing viewing experience. However, technological eye-candy aside, the film’s underlying themes revolving around human environmental degradation, the dark side of capitalism, and the military-industrial complex all add to the composition of a film that has a deeper message for humanity, in perhaps the hope that once realized and actualized upon, we will finally transcend the egoistic tendencies that befall us within lower levels of consciousness and realize our place within the world, the universe and Reality itself.

The story takes place in the year 2154 CE and involves a mission by the US military and contractors to a moon of the planet Polyphemus called Pandora that is approximately 4.3 light years from Earth and about the same size. This planet turns out to be a rich source of an element called Unobtanium that Earth, which is now essentially devoid of anything green, desperately needs for it to solve its energy crisis. There is no security threat by Pandora or its inhabitants. However, ex-military mercenaries are sent to the moon in order to make sure the shareholders of the corporations which are mining the precious ore see substantial increases in their financial positions as soon as possible. The tactics of attacking, and conquering are used at will. The moon itself is largely comprised of lush forests and within it, live all sorts of prehistoric-looking flora and fauna, as well as the humanoid race known as the Na’vi. This is a race of peaceful blue-skinned and golden-eyed humanoids that are approximately twice the size of humans. The moon’s atmosphere is not breathable by humans and so they have to use specially-designed oxygen masks. However, this is not ideal for their purposes, so avatars are created. An avatar in this film is an organically-grown Na’vi that is controlled by a human remotely while lying in a pod on one of the human ships. All sensory experiences that would be felt by a Na’vi, such as taste, sight, and touch, are experienced as if the human was experiencing them first-hand. The Na’vi race survives and thrives on Pandora by understanding it and living in harmony with nature and all the life contained within it.

There are many deeper aspects of the film, some of which will be explored here. These aspects not only define the tone throughout the film, but they add to the complexity of the film (such as the invention of a new language for this movie). The first aspect that will be looked at is the ability for the Na’vi to receive transmissions of information from other elements within the environment. For instance, when the main character in the film named Jake is exposed to a Na’vi tribe for the first time, the king of this tribe named Eytukan tastes Jake’s blood from a wound on his forehead and decrees it is the will of Eywa for him to live with the Omaticayan tribe. A key to understanding how this is possible is to note that moments prior to this, an entire fleet of dandelion seed/jellyfish-looking floaters gravitate towards Jake’s avatar and cover his entire upper body. These seeds are later to be understood as being “very pure spirits” that come directly from Eywa, which is a planetary consciousness field akin to Gaia. What this example insinuates, is that the Na’vi are able to sense through the blood (the life-force of a being) of another a simple form of a transmission that they revere as a deity; this deity has encoded this information within the person’s consciousness. The blood served as a medium by which the sensing of the transmission by the Gaia-like entity was possible.

Another key aspect of the film are the ideas of interconnectedness and oneness. The Na’vi feel very in tune, connected, and one with nature and all that it encompasses. They experience this not only in a spiritual way, but in a very literal one as well. As the end of the ponytails that they have, there is a neural queue with bioluminescent strands that have the ability to connect to other neural queues, such as those of animals, as demonstrated when Jake’s avatar bonds with his Direhorse. Another demonstration of this interconnectedness is when Neytiri teaches Jack about the Na’vi-forest connection. She explains to him that all energy is borrowed and one day we have to give it back. This ties into the fact that matter (which is ultimately energy) can not be created or destroyed, only transferred from one existential manifestation to another. We are truly stardust. It is also disclosed within the film that all the trees on Pandora connect to each other through a certain type of bioneural network. The trees on Pandora are part of a neural network that is composed of more connections then the human brain. This seems to draw a parallel with the reality of plant consciousness here on earth, where scientific discoveries in the past few decades have found that there is a process of biocommunication in plant cells, which has come to mean that plants are sentient life forms that feel, know, and are conscious. The scientific field of neurobiology has been more and more effective in demonstrating this plant consciousness.

There is much in the film about Eywa, which has previously been called a similar concept to Gaia here on earth. At first, the scientists from earth do not believe the stories of the Na’vi about how Eywa is an actual sentient being within nature, but rather they believe, from their empirical experiments, that what the Na’vi call Eywa, is just an organic form of a data processor that can be uploaded into and downloaded from. However, towards the end of the film, the main scientist experiences the reality of Eywa being an actual form of collective group consciousness, with which the scientist becomes one with as her physical body dies. The mechanistic and reductionist views of the scientists had only shown one side of the reality. All the inhabitants are connected to the Eywa consciousness (human, animal, plant) and even the inorganic material on the planet as well. This is the fundamental aspect of a unified consciousness of all that exists. Everything is connected, from the tiniest particles to the largest galaxies. All is one.

There is also something to be said of how the Na’vi live and exist. Although the Na’vi are not as technologically advanced species as humans are, they are a more consciousness-evolved species that realizes in every waking moment of their lives that All is One and nature is not something to be seen as an enemy, but rather something that is a part of themselves just as much as they are a part of it. The spiritually-minded Na’vi feel the interconnectedness between each other and with nature to the point that (perhaps through an evolutionary response to a shifted collective consciousness) they are able to literally connect with aspects of their environment, such as horses, flying creatures, and each other,  and become one with them and become in tune to each others’ localized energy fields of consciousness. What they lack in technology as we know it, they gain in consciousness evolution and increased spirituality.

Avatar is a brilliant film that touches upon many issues and aspects of reality that humanity is in the process of experiencing and living through. There is much to be taken away from this film, and it would be quite difficult to leave this film without going over in one’s mind some very philosophical thought-forms. There is much that can be said about what sort of messages the film is trying to project into humanity’s consciousness, but the primary message seems to be that humans still have much room for growth and improvement. The ego, and all that comes with it, such as desire for material aspects of reality, is something that is seen as having the need to be transcended. Nature is viewed as something that is as much a part of us as we are a part of it. When humanity shifts its consciousness to a higher level, where behavior by humans as seen in Avatar is far removed from the collective transpersonal consciousness, they we will be able to experience a transcended and self-actualized existence.  If one wishes to read an astrophysics professor’s analysis of Avatar, particularly its scientific aspects, check out this article. If you have not seen Avatar yet, it is a great film that is much more than bedazzling animations and graphics. It will no doubt stand the test of time as a revolutionary and inspiring movie.

Colors: they are as integral of an aspect of reality as air and water. A colorless existence is a seemingly-incomprehensible one, minus perhaps what has been described as the Void by sages and those who have experienced enlightenment. Thanks to the ability for humans to see the visible light [...]]]>

Image Courtesy of ISO50

Colors: they are as integral of an aspect of reality as air and water. A colorless existence is a seemingly-incomprehensible one, minus perhaps what has been described as the Void by sages and those who have experienced enlightenment. Thanks to the ability for humans to see the visible light spectrum, reality itself seems surreal at times. The vast array of colors that exist within the domain of human experience allow for a seemingly-endless number of possibilities. It seems like a monumental task for me to be able to note how integral color is to the human experience. There are species that only see ultraviolet light whereas others such as snakes and scorpions see infrared light. The focus of this article is the soothing and healing aspect of color and how it can benefit us in a psychological manner towards the promotion of a more positive well-being.

Color therapy is a form of healing and therapy that utilizes different colors to bring about certain intended and desired effects. It is a holistic, non-invasive and powerful therapy which dates back thousands of years, evidence of which can be found in ancient texts from countries such as India, China and Egypt. The manner in which color works as a therapeutic agent lies in the fact that color is essentially light of varying wavelengths with each color having its own frequencies that will have a certain effect on the individual. The energy radiating out of this light affects all living cells and used in the right way, the different frequencies of light, i.e. color, can have a profound and healing effect on all forms of being, be it plant, animal, human, or otherwise.

The wavelengths of the frequencies of light determine what hue a color is. For example, a long wavelength and low frequency within the color spectrum creates the color red whereas a short wavelength and high frequency creates the color violet. The seven colors of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, or roygbiv for short) are attributed to corresponding to seven primary energy fields of the human body, with red being at the base field and violet being at the crown field. Since color is made up of differing wavelengths and frequencies, it will be absorbed not only through the eyes but also through the skin and the varous fields emanating from the human body, such as morphogenetic fields.

Using colors for an increased sense of well-being

As we absorb color energy not only through the eyes but also through the skin and the various energy fields, color therapy can be used on the body in a number of different ways. As with any therapy, each therapist may have his or her own ’style’, however, a number of common methods used are:

• The placing of color silks on the body or even wearing clothes of a particular color
• The directing of colored light on to the body
• The drinking of solarized water
• Meditating on specific colors
• Performing color breathing techniques
• Using a light box to direct color to the body using colored filters

Color therapy has been around for thousands of years, dating back to the times of ancient Egypt and Greece. In Egypt mythology, it was said that the god Thoth founded the art of healing with color. In Greek mythology, this individual was called Hermes Trismegistus. According to Hermetic tradition, ancient Egyptians and Greeks used crystals, stones, and minerals for healing. They even colored their healing centers with a variety of vibrant colors. The belief they held was that disease was a result of an unbalanced system. Color, such as in the garments worn, was therefore used for restoring balance. Around the beginning of the first millennium, there was an Arab physician named Avicenna who further advanced healing with color. According to him, color was crucial to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. As there were colors which were therapeutic in a given situation, there were also colors which were not. For instance, if an individual had a nosebleed, looking at the color red would make it worse whereas blue would subside the nosebleed and reduce blood flow. During the Renaissance, there was a great deal of interest in color healing as well. A man who went by the name Paracelsus was a renowned physician who believed light and color were essential for the well-being of an individual and used them in his medical practice.

Today, color therapy has found a resurgence of interest as more people seek out wellness programs and techniques that incorporate all the body’s systems, on a holistic platform. It is quite well known that certain businesses use color to their advantage, such as using red and yellow to make people hungry. It is also common knowledge (based on personal subjective experiences) among many that a color such as blue is very soothing and can make an individual feel cooler in a hot environment (try this out yourself if you are skeptical). Just to illustrate this reality by using a discovery by German researchers, people who are in a place where there is red or blue background lighting, feel that a glass of white wine tastes better than when they are in rooms with green or white background lighting. Color therapy can be used for a variety of problems, including physical, mental, emotional or even spiritual. It is a holistic treatment that should be an integral part of one’s everyday life for ensured health and well-being. Is it too far to suggest that the sky is blue or that foliage is green because these colors in these aspects of reality bring about the greatest benefit to the environment and all that is contained within it? The colors in nature seem to suggest that colors are an important part of life for all living things.

There are many ways in which color therapy can be applied to your daily life. One way is related to the clothes you wear. Clothes are very important because it is something you have on your person the entire day (well, unless you are a nudist) and therefore the frequencies of the light get absorbed into your body the most through the colors of your clothes. It must be remembered to keep a balance in relation to colors, therefore you should have a diverse wardrobe will all the colors of the rainbow and then some. Excluding certain colors may be detrimental to your well-being but if some colors are preferred more than others, than this intuitive feeling should be pursued.

Colorful Meditation

A form of color therapy that I feel deserves a fair amount of time to talk about is the practicing of color breathing. This is a form of meditation in which you visualize a certain color entering your body. You can do this in whatever way you are comfortable but I will give an example of how to do this.

• Find a quiet spot, either outside in nature or inside your home.
• Sit with your back straight in a chair of with your legs crossed, with eyes closed or open.
• Visualize a color you want to use in your therapy and while breathing imagine that color going into your body through your nose.
• Hold your breath for a few seconds as the color dissipates throughout your body and then breathe out all negative emotions, stress, and pain that may reside within you.
• Do this a few times until you feel that all psychologically cleansed.

Color of the Year 2010: Turquoise

I have been meaning to write an article on color for quite a while. However, a recent discovery while browsing the internet rekindled that idea. I had found that Pantone (which is noted as being the world’s color authority for 45 years now), has just announced that the color of the year 2010 will be a shade of the enchantingly beautiful color turquoise. Although I am unsure how a “color of the year” is come up with, various synchronicities and events within my life that revolved around turquoise have me beyond being content about the choice of turquoise for a Color of the Year. They note that “combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.” Turquoise seems to have a special place on cultures and societies all over the world (and I don’t say this just because it is my favorite color). Pantone’s further descriptions of turquoise are that “Turquoise is a color that most people respond to positively. It is universally flattering, has appeal for men and women, and translates easily to fashion and interiors. With both warm and cool undertones, Turquoise pairs nicely with any other color in the spectrum. Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.” Of course, it is not a big deal that a certain color is deemed a color of the year whereas the myriad of others are not. However, it is a color that has been becoming more popular for the past several years now and is hard to dislike, given its soothing and tranquil nature.

The Beauty of Color

Reaching out far beyond simple aesthetic pleasures, colors provide the ability to manifest an enhanced sense of well-being, primarily psychologically but also perhaps holistically. The use of colors as a theraputic tool is a safe and effective means of augmenting our lives for the benefit of being, as a whole. Incorporating the realm of color into one’s practice of meditation is a great addition that may bring about subjectively-beneficial results that may not have thought to be possible before. When you go about your daily life, become more mindful of colors and how they may have an effect on your being. Be wary of the psychological manipulation that places such as fast-food restaurants use to pursuade you one way or another. Colors are beautiful. Without them, life perhaps would not seem to be possible.

In the present-day highly urbanized and industrialized parts of the world, it seems there is a significant lack of a feeling of being connected with nature. Nature is sometimes seen as a foe trying to kill those who have artificially separated themselves from it, by throwing things such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and volcano [...]]]>

In the present-day highly urbanized and industrialized parts of the world, it seems there is a significant lack of a feeling of being connected with nature. Nature is sometimes seen as a foe trying to kill those who have artificially separated themselves from it, by throwing things such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and volcano eruptions at them. There is a sense in these circles that nature is something that is essentially a resource treasure chest that is to be exploited for the benefit of the human species. Rather then being a separate and disconnected aspect of Reality, the human race is very much a part of nature as nature is a part of us. Without nature and all that it encompasses (planetary body, air, water, etc.) it would be an impossibility to thrive. Given the severe nature of the disconnect that is being experienced by many in the urban and industrial areas of the world, there is an emerging sense of a void that is ever-increasing thanks to the advent and rise of highly sophisticated technologies that, although they could be used as an connection enhancer with nature, they are being used for the most part to further separate ourselves from the very environment from which we arose.

People are awakening from their slumber of disconnection with nature and are rediscovering the serenity, tranquility, and peace that nature has to offer, if one chooses to seek out places of restoration and healing for one’s emotional, psychological, and physiological states. If it is not a possibility to wander deep into enchanted forests or meadows, people surround themselves with plants, animals, and anything that reminds them of their environmental biosphere. There is a plentiful data bank concerning the holistic health benefits of being connected to nature in some way, and attuning of one’s self to the wholeness aspects of everything, rather than becoming preoccupied with the minuscule and little things in life that all-too-frequently unnecessarily complicate one’s life by his or her over-focusing on such matters.

Studies at the University of Rochester have shown that being connected and unified with nature creates a significant consciousness shift within an individual. When disconnected from nature and the environment, a person is more self-centered and egoistic but once reunited with nature, the individual becomes more caring and selfless. Instead of focusing on the pursuit of one’s own self interests, a person shifts their focus to the overall positive transformation of society. Even if one spends large quantities of time in a room or area that has a good amount of plants can experience this shift. One theory that I express is that a large contributor to such a consciousness shift when a person is surrounded by nature is because of the effects of the energy fields of plants and their own localized forms of consciousness having a direct influence on us. Since the 1960s, there has been a continuously-growing body of research that has demonstrated the factual reality of a plant consciousness and affirms their sentience and influence on not only other plants, but even animals and humans. Yes, to some it may seem like a “preposterous hippie idea” that acts such as the hugging of trees has any effect whatsoever on the individual doing the hugging, but when focused on the research and data, this idea does not sound so far-fetched anymore. All that exists in reality is Consciousness, which expresses itself in a wide variety of energetic manifestations, which interact with everything and everyone, because of the reality of the interconnectedness and oneness of all that exists. The energy exchange between one manifestation of energy (plant) and another (human), which occurs with an interaction between each one’s localized energy fields, gives a whole new meaning to the term “treehugger”.

Besides the interaction of energy fields, studies like the one published by the New Scientist demonstrate that rainforests all over the world act as massive carbon sinks and also are responsible for the weather patterns experienced globally. Being the symbolic heart and lungs of the planet according to these findings, it gives us all the more reason to not only respect and protect nature and the biosphere, but also to promote the continuous planting of more plants and trees, in the hope that doing so will ensure that our planet’s heart and lungs stay in optimal health. When the environment is healthy, we are healthy.

Psychologists all over the United States have expressed their concerns over the replication of things found in nature (such as dogs having their robotic counterparts and webcams being used to view nature) and how such things are an inadequate replacement for the real thing. Psychological repercussions can result from this replacement of nature with technology. That is not to say that technology is something to shun away from. This is certainly not the case, especially when being mindful of transhumanism. However, the message is that no matter how technologically advanced we may become, we are still interconnected with nature and the environment. Losing our connection with the very environment in which we live in not only negatively affects ourselves, but society’s future, as a whole. It is best to remedy such issues before they reach catastrophic proportions, such as the extinction of key components with in the biosphere. Evidence compiled by such institutions such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Landscape and Human Health Laboratory and elsewhere demonstrate that a connection to nature is vital to the  psychological and physical well-being of humans, because such a connection helps with the reduction of stress and other mental issues.

Rediscovering humanity’s deep and intimate connection with nature is a fundamental aspect of maintaining our well-being and helps with grounding us to a reality that existed long before the technological advancements of the human race. Given the interconnected nature of everything in existence, the denying of our unity with all that is around us not only impedes a transpersonal shift in humanity’s consciousness, but it also brings forth problems mentally, emotionally, and physically for each individual human being. So go on, take a trip into a park, beach, meadow, or anything where nature is abundent and plentiful. The benefits will be apprarent immediately.