I have wanted to do a series of posts on ‘Earthing,’ for at least a couple of years now, but have had great difficulty in finding the right way to approach what I find to be a difficult, highly important concept, to portray in any sort of coherent manner. I will give credit to my good friend, raw god, for providing inspiration to approach the subject from a personal viewpoint, rather than preach in any way. It is excellent advice and actually makes it a much easier series of writings.
Before I begin with personal accounts, (which will be mixed with a little of what I have learned from other sources), I want to start in the middle of this subject. A strange place to start any account of one’s experiences, but important for any reader who might need some background on what ‘Earthing,’ or ‘Grounding’ (as it is alternatively known), means to human beings.
This documentary, released in December 2019, gives a very tangible account of why we need to connect properly with our Earth, in an electrical sense, for our own health and well-being. It is factual, has written scientific papers backing up its authenticity and is intended for a wide range of audiences. Since my partner watched this, he has been walking barefoot everywhere he is able (getting quite filthy in our pollution-filled world). I am more selective, as concrete and asphalt roads, and our man-made environments are full of insulating materials, blocking any sort of connection with the ‘earth’ beneath our feet. I hope you will watch this as it is one of the best scientific approaches that I have seen on this subject which is often shrouded in the spiritual and mystic practices of society.
I will continue this series with a very personal account of my own journey with ‘earthing,’ my on and off relationship with it, and where I want to take it going forward. My journey is unique, everyone will find something different, but I think by telling my story, just as in the documentary that you have just watched, I might just help you, my reader, with your own wellbeing journey. But more, perhaps it will also convey the urgent need for a connection with each other and all life on our planet.
Climate Change has troubled me for years now. I remember back in the late 1970’s a huge hole in the ozone layer appeared due to the use of CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) used in everything from air conditioners to propellant in aerosol cans.
As the years rolled on, I remember quite a few warnings about acid rain destroying our freshwater lakes and rivers. Then, in quick succession, it was nuclear accidents, oil and chemical spills, and PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) polluting our drinking water, causing terrible cancers. The world seemed doomed as we realised the extent of damage we’d created. But suddenly, the media reports all went quiet.
I, like most people, didn’t give it a lot of thought at the time… But mainstream media dropped the stories about such problems and focused on the 1980’s with its rebounding economics, new music tastes and outrageous fashions. The world was focused on opulent, narcissistic living and corporations cashed in on the rush to buy, buy, buy. The madness of ‘material acquisition’ continued well beyond the 1990’s until abject greed caused economic collapse to start rearing its ugly head.
But the environmental problems were, and are still there and worsening. Lots of hard working scientists knew it. So did the polluting industries. But until the whistle blowing by frustrated, (and government silenced), scientists began, the general public was kept intentionally, uninformed….
So here we are, nearly 40 years on and still nothing really constructive has been done to mitigate any of these pollution predicaments we have created. In fact, we have added more nuclear, more gas and coal, more oil, more chemicals and more aerosols to the deadly mix of atmospheric pollutants that now holds our planet in its grip.
Scientists have suggested that we are now living in a different geological epoc, (The Anthropocene) and concurrently living through the sixth mass extinction period known in the Earth’s geological history.
We receive messages about clean energy and changing our ways…and that is great. Many governments are spreading the ‘clean up’ message.
Climate change scotland
Mission Climate Change
The UN is suitably worried and is encouraging everyone to keep with the game plan to reduce global emmissions.
10min climate change update
April 2017 by Scientists.
And CBS news reports on the climate trends seen so far in 2017
But is all this now just ‘arranging the deck chairs on the ‘Titanic.’
The most recent news is worrying…
Permafrost Thaw
Oceans warming 70% more than previously thought
So do climate scientists agree?
It would seem that most climate scientists do agree.
But one particular scientist says that we are not getting the whole story.
Guy McPherson, professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. He says that we have entered into the unknown territory of Abrupt Climate Change and predicts that Human Extinctions will come in as little as in 10 years. Yes, you read that correctly – TEN YEARS…maybe even sooner!
So generally, people are not really taking climate change seriously. There are so many videos, talks, news items, scientist speaking out (risking and even losing their jobs), but we just aren’t getting the message. Instead, we ridicule and berate their dedicated work of decades and reduce it to a number of clichés. How awful that we can be so arrogant. But we will pay a price for that. Even the renowned, bubbly Biologist, David Attenborough, is extremely gloomy about our future as a species. But we are not listening.
Instead, we rave about Artificial Intelligence and a robotics dominated world. Why? While those people developing these technologies are surely doing so out of some sense of helping humanity, can they not see the awful potential of these new technologies as powerful weapons against us by the future powers that would single us out as the enemy?
I recommend watching this next YouTube video by Guy, on his ‘Nature Bats Last’ channel (although you can find lots more at https://guymcpherson.com/ ). It perhaps sums up how we should perceive the sudden, and now abrupt climate change for the unknown and unstoppable force it has become.
What can we do, if anything?
Guy recommends reading ‘End Game’ by Derrick Jenson http://www.derrickjensen.org/endgame/ Written in two volumes, it is an account of the end of civilisation.
And Guy also recommends an online resource for free download at https://underminers.org/ written by Keith Garnish. The name here, ‘Underminers,’ implies the sort of anarchy we might require to adjust society to being one that actually serves our existence.
These recommendations might appear extreme, and I cannot say if they give us any solutions (especially as I have not yet read them), so… I would say, live as kindly as you can, connect with your neighbours, try to be ecological, use manpower wherever possible (ride a bike or walk instead of using a car) and live simply, reduce your waste, but also reduce your purchase of anything unnecessary or wasteful. Try if possible to learn how to do things as if you were on a self sustaining camping trip with only the barest of essentials. This will all help you to adapt during the worst of the climate change events to come. You need to be resourceful and capable of surviving extreme and fast changes, especially if you have to move away from future flooded coastlines. As Guy McPherson says, ‘I do not know your personal extinction date.’ Make your life count now! Love yourself and everyone around you.
If we could do everything possible to mitigate climate change right now, this year, do you think we might just stop the worst? That we might just keep our climate stable? I like to think so, but what are the odds that it will happen? They are so slim as to be negligible. A hotter world is coming whether we like it or not!
What else can we do, if the climate is going to keep heating?
Well, let’s start being kind to the animals who will face these awful times with us! My previous post on ‘Why Do We Hurt Animals?’ gives some insights on the importance of learning to communicate with our fellow ‘Earthlings.’ The other species we live with have much more to offer than the objects of food and trinkets that we have turned them into for our own selfish pleasures.
My previous post on ‘Vegan Future’ offers a dietary, and optional choice, but is it really optional? I think it is an inevitable and necessary one if we are going to survive.
The current trend to factory farm animals is unsustainable, cruel, and contributes to climate change and ecological destruction.
Consumption of factory farmed meat is also dangerous to human health. If you do not believe me, you would likely learn for yourself by watching ‘Lucent,’ a 2014 documentary on the factory pig farming industry in Australia. The scenes are typical of the factory farm industry in other countries like the US, Canada, Spain, Britain and many European countries. These are the high industry standards. You wouldn’t want to see the poor ones! I actually had to watch most of this documentary in 15 minute slots at a time. It was the only way I could make it through the whole (and tragic) life of a pig raised for our food.
‘Lucent’ by Aussie Farms
Warning, this is very Graphic Content!
Next post up will be about learning how to be better human beings…
Our Earth is losing more resources than can possibly be replaced. We consume far too much and it is unsustainable. Governments worldwide will do nothing about this because they are only interested in tackling economic growth, taxation and export income, to pay down equally unsustainable national debts.
So, it is really up to every individual person to consciously decide to reduce consumption and find alternative solutions to promote health, welfare and happiness.
Posted by Rob Greenfield Sustainable Living
Rob’s website is a really good resource for growing your own food and reusing materials in creative ways.
http://robgreenfield.tv/sustainableliving/
That’s easy enough for us who are working and living in a wealthy society.
But what about those people who live in poor communities in other parts of the world?
Jon Jandai’s story is inspiring
Posted by TED talks
Pun, Pun Farm, Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Jon Jandai: ‘Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?’
You can find out more about volunteering at Pun Pun Farm here:
But what of our individual consumption…where do we start at home and can we make a difference with our purchases? The answer to that is YES, we can make a huge difference if we know what is wasteful!
The Carbon Footprint of Consumption TED talk 2016
So buying local, unprocessed food from sustainable sources is going to make a huge difference. And so is reducing material goods that we don’t really need.
Making your own toiletries, household cleansers, and food will keep you healthy, reduce chemicals, packaging and waste and lower your carbon footprint exponentially.
And here are some household Tips on how to improve your daily ecological living from Clare Delaney @ecoexpert1 (on Twitter) http://www.ecofriendlylink.com/blog/
Here is one of Clare’s many examples of how you can replace household purchases with inexpensive eco friendly alternatives.
Posted by Clare Delaney
Let’s start joining the conversations, listen to the thoughts and ideas of other change-makers, and get in touch with what really makes us happy, healthy and free of pollution, waste and greed.
We need to start thinking about ecological futures for every country around the globe, so if you want to study ecological living for sharing with others, find out more about this promising venture and earn university credits towards your degree through informative worldwide study programs http://www.cellonline.org
You may have exciting ideas for new ways to cut our ecological footprint.
James Greyson of the United Kingdom, has been developing a circular economy plan for many years. He can be found on TED talks and on his own website where he shares his ideas about creating new ways to leverage global change, far beyond what we all can do individually.
James Greyson won the 2016 MIT Climate CoLab contest with this invention of a wood drying chimney to cut carbon emissions produced by wood fueled cook stoves (much of the third world still cooks and heats homes using woodstoves).
James has also begun a new ‘Virtual Think Tank’ to tackle Climate Change and Global sustainability on Patreon, if you think you may like to take part brainstorming in this new community offering your research and ideas, you can find out more at
If you are a Twitter user, try a search using ‘#EarthOptimism’ as a starting point to find out what else you can do to encourage, and engage with others in the discussion on an an ecological future!
We are currently in illusory states of the mind that feed a loop of constant fear, anger, war and destruction, greed and depravity on our planet. It is making us and the planet very sick! And these thoughts are paralysing our ability to move forward to create a better world.
So where DO I go from here?
All You Need is Love sung by Glee
That might sound simple, but Love is an energy….yes an energy that transfers from every person to every other form on the planet.
Are you religious? Yes! That’s great, as long as you use your religion to foster love, care, kindness, hope and betterment for everyone and everything around us. If it does anything that hurts others, or our world, don’t follow it any more and find a religion with a humane philosophy that teaches only kindness.
I personally do not follow any religion as I believe all religions have the same founding principles. They all have great merit when interpreted correctly without egotistical human intervention. My belief is that we have a founding universal energy that is ‘Love’ and it is a governing principle energy of life itself. Without it, we die!
POTENTIAL!
Children are born without our biases, without our perceptions, and without our self-created emotional shackles. I want you to watch this unique interview conducted outside the United Nations Offices. Please watch the whole interview with the articulate Max Loughan, a thirteen-year old Theoretical Physisist who has a wisdom that only 1% of us might only acheive in old age after a lifetime of searching!
What is God?
OK…I’m convinced 🙂
Video of Max making his ‘Free Energy’ device.
And here is Max’s achievement being tested on his Brother!
If you are astounded by Max’s intelligence and indeed his amazing grasp of existential laws according to theoretical physics, you will enjoy his interview about what has been termed the ‘Mandela Effect’ in which we have been shifted into a parallel universe by an experiment at CERN in the Large Hadron Collider. If this is true, we are already living in a world with different perceptions.
This is really exciting, because everything that Max believes, could be the theoretical proof that we can shift our reality, and perhaps have already done so. Could this be why our astrophysicists have started to find more planetary objects in our own solar system that were previously undiscovered?
Don’t scoff at this. Everything is possible and future events unfold according to our thoughts and deeds. It is time to stop the Egomaniacs who are turning our world into a dead planet.
Max certainly isn’t Egotistical. He is a bright human being who wants to help humanity. I hope he has a chance to make his ideas into actions and deeds that help humanity find a stargazing future.
Max’s plea, is for us all to become a ‘ripple effect’ of game changers on this planet.
You and I may not be Theoretical Physicists, but there are plenty of ways that we can personally change our world! Start by being unafraid to tackle what appears to be unsolveable problems in your life!
Stargazing Futures 