Isochronic Tones are the rage. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

The brain is experiencing quite the renaissance as of late. Not only has brain research become more easily accessible and immediately applicable, but the implications of the latest research are pointing to a wonderful outcome: we now know that specific locations in the brain can be pinpointed, accessed, addressed, flooded with light to heal symptoms, and healed through the emission of sound.

What’s even more compelling is that several categories of brain research are inspiring the creation of accessible and wearable technologies that can help soothe and heal the brain, along with other parts of the body. The brain is no longer an anomaly. It’s now scientifically proven that when the brain is nurtured by light, sound, and frequencies, it passes that healing along to the whole system.

“If You Want To Find The Secrets Of The Universe,
Think In Terms Of Energy, Frequency, And Vibration.”
– Nikola Tesla

It’s All About Light & Sound

Sound therapy has come a long way since its new-age hippie roots. Sound Therapy is now utilized by a variety of global organizations and businesses. This includes business offices, hotel chains, medical facilities, universities, and a variety of treatment programs, as an effective treatment to alleviate pain and depression, lower blood pressure, overcome feelings of stress, improve learning, improve balance, and promote physical and mental endurance.
According to the Mayo Clinic, light therapy treats seasonal depression and other conditions by exposing a person to artificial light. During light therapy, the individual sits or works near a device called a light therapy box, which comes in a variety of forms, shapes, and sizes.

If you’re into frequencies and healing through sound and vibration, you’ll want to research everything you can about Sound Wave Therapy. It’s not only healing sleep deprivation, it’s been reported to improve focus and take the edges off depression. Within Sound Wave Therapy is audio-based brainwave entrainment (or just brain entrainment), which has become one of the hottest topics in transformative technology.

Brain entrainment is a simple idea with remarkable implications: communicate with the brain using audio and light, and the mind and body will respond. After all, each of us is comprised of light and sound. Many believe that, over time, this therapeutic category will also be responsible for healing a long list of physical problems, although scientific research is at an early stage.

“If you look at the anatomy, the structure, the function,
there’s nothing in the universe that’s more beautiful,
that’s more complex, than the human brain.”
– Keith Black (Discover magazine, April, 2004)

What Are Isochronic Tones?

If you’ve heard of binaural beats, you may have learned about its younger cousin, isochronic tones. These tones are defined by a single tone being turned on and turned off in rapid successions, like pulses. Imagine putting on a headset and listening to regular beats of a single tone. This is known as isochronic.

While it might sound monotonous, if done correctly and if emitted within the most successful parameters, listening to this simple set of sounds can reduce your stress, boost your immune system, and help you achieve a meditative state. Isochronic tones are part of a compelling trio that also includes binaural and monaural beats.

What Are Binaural Beats?

Binaural beats is an auditory experience whereby the receiver listens dichotically (a unique frequency in each ear), where each frequency is lower than 1500 Hz, and the difference between the frequencies is lower than 40 Hz. The tones inherent in binaural beats can vary.

What Are Monaural Beats?

The sounds of monaural beats and binaural beats are similar, except that monaural beats are more specific. They consist of two separate, steady tones produced and mixed externally.

Isochronic Tones Vs Binaural Beats

Isochronic tones are a form of binaural beats and are considered a subset. While binaural beats include a variety of tones, isochronic tones are specifically a single, repeated tone, constructed and emitted in the form of pulses.

Do Isochronic Tones Work?

According to several scientific trials, isochronic tones and binaural/monaural beats alleviate pain and reduce stress. Given that these modalities are helpful to people who have challenges sleeping, in some circles, they are affectionately known as sleep tones and sleep beats.

What Is Transformative Technology?

The definition of “transformative technology” has evolved. While it was once a fairly nebulous term related to different facets of everyday life, it’s now more pinpointed toward the idea that as we create and evolve new technologies, we must consider the lives, hearts, and minds of every species on planet Earth. Transformative technology now lives at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and the evolution of consciousness.

A leader at the intersection of tech and consciousness, and the co-founder of The Transformative Technologies Conference, Rui Ma has a mission. She recently shared, “…competence, autonomy and psychological relatedness are basic psychological needs that are necessary for well-being. Another concept

I’m fascinated by is beneficence – or the sense of being able to give to others. We have theories on what makes people flourish, not just what their systems “want,” but what we know are core psychological needs for people to lead a “good life”. What if we built companies around that?”

Light and Sound Technologies

There is a new wave of tech being birthed, known as transformative technologies. This category has come a long way. When it started in the late 1990s, the yield was poorly developed contraptions that made outlandish promises including brain growth, healing cancer, and doubling the IQ. It was a lot of snake oil backed by fascinating, abject hyperbole. Transformative technology’s early origin gave it a poor reputation and nearly broke it.

More recently, science has stepped in and started punching holes in the ideologies behind this category of theories and products, not to dismantle it, but to improve upon it. What they’re finding is that the premises behind transformative tech are not so penetrable. Since healing technologies are becoming more grounded in reality, science has changed its tune. It’s now more easily proven that light and sound can positively affect (heal) the mind and body.

What’s On The Horizon?

We know that the brain is not only fragile but also responsive and sensitive to external input. Its function is not solely information storage and retrieval. The brain can be accessed and healed through unique codes comprised of sound and light.
If science and light/sound technologists can work together to quickly iterate on theories and accessible technologies, we might learn that the brain is a key variable in the healing of some of our most elusive abnormalities and diseases.

We are at a pivotal point in the history and potential trajectories of technology. Until recently, consciousness and technology have evolved on two separate, independent tracks. If we can align them, if we can encourage deep and advanced dialogues between them, we will see immeasurable advancements in the human condition.

When this occurs on a global scale, technology will be of service to humanity, rather than the other way around.

Binaural Beats can heal us. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

When the final trickle of sadness evaporated, I became a fan of binaural beats therapy. In just 15 minutes, the unscientific new-age-ness of it all had evaporated and was immediately replaced by a measurable, grounded, and healing experience. I was more relaxed and I felt as though my brain and heart went through a (healing) car wash.

Recently on the fringe of alternative medicine, binaural beats returned to the scene with the backing of double-blind scientific trials, and a long list of brilliant supporters, including scientists, doctors, healers, and patients. What was originally thought to be a fluke in the early ear and brain quasi-experiments has become a powerful, if not profound, treatment for depression and anxiety, and potentially, a variety of physical conditions.

The binaural beats modality is the latest to emerge in “frequency medicine,” a broad category of healing techniques that tune to our body’s rhythms, patterns, sounds, and vibrations in order to gently guide, nurture, and improve them.

Binaural beats are essentially brain entrainment and live under the umbrella of Sound Wave Therapy, which some practitioners and therapists are using for everything from healing seasonal sadness disorder and improving sleep deprivation, to increasing IQ and even helping erectile dysfunction.

Do Binaural Beats Work? You Betcha.

Binaural Beats: What Is It?

The word binaural comes from the Latin, “with both ears.” The broad definition of binaural beats therapy is: when a person is presented with an audio stimulus, there is a change in their brain activity. More specifically, binaural beats are an auditory experience whereby the receiver listens in a dichotic manner (a unique frequency in each ear), where each frequency is lower than 1500 Hz, and the difference between the two frequencies is lower than 40 Hz.

Because of this dissonance, the listener perceives a cadence or beat that is absent from the audio being played. This can produce a meditative experience whereby the mind, heart, and body become more relaxed. The belief is that if our bodies and hearts are relaxed, they stand a better chance of healing. In most cases, the audio or music file being played in a binaural beats session is melodic, peaceful, and enjoyable.

Some scientists have called binaural beats “tech meds” or “digital drugs,” and they might be right. Patients and devotees of binaural beats say the experience is akin to meditating for 30 minutes, smoking marijuana, or ingesting a small amount of CBD oil. In all, binaural beats certainly aren’t dangerous and seem to have the potential to help millions of people.

Binaural Beats: How Does It Work?

Brain entrainment occurs when audio or light stimuli are used to coax our minds and hearts into new states of relating to our bodies and spirits. In other areas of science, entrainment occurs when a fluid attaches to and drags other fluids or solids along with it. It can be said that entrainment is where one element inspires other elements to attach to or follow it.

In Jungian psychology, this can be represented by “matching and leading,” whereby the therapist validates and mirrors specific phrases and behaviors in the patient, and then over time, makes healthy adjustments to these phrases and behaviors, thereby matching the patients and leading them to more conscious states of being.

In binaural beats therapy sessions, patients sit comfortably or lay on their backs. The practitioner places headphones on the patient and then plays a series of audio files. Some binaural beats music is melodic and hummable, and some is more akin to ambient, new-age electronic music.
During the session, a FitBit or similar device is used to measure heart rate and brain activity. In most scenarios, the results are clear and decisive: binaural beats therapy is a powerful modality for relaxation and healing.

Binaural Beats Effects & Benefits

• Here are the benefits that are most often reported:
• Sleep Improvement
• Relaxation
• Meditation
• Focus
• Mental Clarity
• Immune System Boost
• Decreased anxiety
• Decreased depression
• Heightened feeling of peace
• Increased life enjoyment
• Binaural Beat Science

While many claim to experience changes in physical conditions, scientific studies are still a little vague on this point. Additionally, science has recently found that binaural beats might not produce any effect on the personality, which this reader finds hard to believe.
One scientist reports that, because the thalamus is not affected during most binaural beat therapy sessions, any improvement in physical, emotional, or mental conditions could be limited, and difficult to prove. Not all the science points to binaural beats being the new cure-all, but most of the tests show measurable improvements in emotion and mind states.

Some of the more clever healers and practitioners out there are trying to find their own groove and unique value proposition in the market. As such, there is now a variety of repackaged and rebranded binaural beat therapies. While each one seems to march to its own drum, when compared to the basic tenets of binaural beat therapy, their offers are essentially the same.

The military has increased its investment in experimental technologies, especially tech focused on relaxation and mind/body control. This has tremendous and widespread implications because when the military invests, the business world tends to follow. We’ll see a variety of devices that produce effects similar to binaural beats in the coming months. Body and mind-enhancing tech is finally here to stay.

As binaural beats therapy evolves and as more research is funded, nuances in treatments, technologies, and methodologies will emerge. At present, the results and trends are promising.

Binaural Beat Technologies

If you’re hankering for a hunk of binaural beats tech, there is an emerging pile of technologies that will satiate both eardrums, and more. Here is a list of the headphones with the effective frequency responses for the therapeutic implementation of binaural beats.

• Bose QuietComfort 35
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
• Sennheiser HD 202 II
• CozyPhones Sleep Headphones
• Shure SE215-K Sound Isolating Earphones

If you’re into binaural beats science, you might try the Muse and Muse2, which, according to their website, sells “immersive meditation devices that provide real-time feedback on mental activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements. I love the Muse and Muse2. I have both of them and have found them to be extremely effective for mental, emotional, and physical health improvements.

If you’re interested in the future of humans and consciousness-tech, including binaural beats technologies, check out the Transformative Technologies Conference. It’s an unusually comprehensive event featuring brilliant scientists and those interested in advancing human consciousness.

Binaural Beats In Summary

The Dalai Lama once said, “It takes a long time for me to settle into a deep meditation. If you can invent a device that will help me get into a deep meditative space, I will use it.”
While much of the transformative technologies space is still in early experimentation, the trends in research and the recent release of a long list of products point to a massive paradigm shift. Not only are the emerging technologies aimed at pacifying and healing pained and anxious spirits, they are also hoping to heal the body.

In a matter of five years, this category of technology went from “fru-fru-woo-woo” to powerfully and thoughtfully embedded in scientific research and trials. The next five years will astound us.

Many scientists (artificial intelligence, hardware/software, data science, etc.) who are in the conscious-tech space believe heart rate and brain waves are the key doorways that will lead us to meditative states and improved physical conditions.

While vibrational, energy and sound healers have believed in (and proven) the power of induced relaxation for centuries, so far, scientific research is still playing catch-up. The belief is simple: When our spirits are peaceful and aligned, our bodies will follow.

Intermittent fasting is effective. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

I love intermittent fasts. I have found them to be physically healing, emotionally cleansing, and spiritually uplifting. As the body experiences a shift in its attachment to food, the mind and heart experience something similar in relation to their attachments to ideas, feelings, people, and experiences.​
Intermittent fasting refers to eating plans and dietary protocols that cycle between periods of fasting (no food or some food) and periods of non-fasting. There are a variety of intermittent fasting diets, along with several types of intermittent diet meal plans.

The benefits of intermittent fasting include lowering insulin levels, reducing inflammation, improving brain health, possible weight loss, and helping you feel more hopeful and prayerful. Overall, Intermittent fasting has shown promising results in broad trials involving mice and a few limited human trials.

To learn more about intermittent fasting, check out my other article about the benefits, trends, spirituality, and dangers.

“Fasting Is The First Principle Of Medicine;
Fast And See The Strength Of The Spirit Reveal Itself.”
~ Rumi

Intermittent Fasting Diets

In general, intermittent fasting includes fasting one to two days per week or on alternating days. During these days, you eat either no food at all or 25 percent of your regular caloric intake.
On reduced calorie days, men consume 500 to 600 calories, while women consume 400 to 500 calories. Rather than strictly focusing on male vs. female intake, you might consider your body type, regular diet, and personal preferences before committing to a specific number of calories.

On non-fasting days, the most successful intermittent fasters eat normally and never binge. Some of the more courageous fasters eat only during limited windows throughout each day and might reduce their carbs. For all fasts, it’s important to stay hydrated, which includes drinking water and non-caloric, non-alcoholic beverages like unsweetened coffee and tea.

Here are a few types of intermittent fasting diet plans to consider:

Simple And Painless Fast

The most cautious fast consists of no food restrictions, fasting one day per week, with only one meal on that day, and with a calorie intake at the 25 percent level (400 to 600 calories). On the other six days, eat normally.

5/2 Moderate Fast

The 5/2 fast consists of no food restrictions for two days per week, while reducing calorie intake to 25 percent, between 500 to 600 calories. On the other five days, you would eat normally.

Consistent Fasting

One of the most aggressive ways to intermittent fast is to adhere to your usual diet from 8am to 3pm, with fasting during the remaining hours of the day. On some days you might want a cheeseburger at 8pm, but you can’t have one.

Alternate-Day Fast

This intermittent fast might be one of the most difficult. Eating normally on one day and then fasting on the next day. To get the most benefit, you would continue this cycle somewhere between 8 and 16 weeks. Each fasting day can include 500 to 600 calories or no calories at all. In either case, be sure to drink plenty of water.

Alternate-day fasting can help you lose weight, and help lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Krista Varady created a version of this diet which she calls, “The Every Other Day Diet.” While restrictive, this diet tends to hold people’s attention longer than most. The length of time that seems to produce the most benefits is 12 weeks, which is also the number of weeks that most human trials aim to achieve.

6/1 Fast

The 6/1 Fast is a simple fast where you eat nothing for one 24 hour period each week, starting with any meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner). During this time, doctors recommend that you drink plenty of water. Low-sugared coffee, tea, and other non-caloric and non-alcoholic beverages are permitted.

Keto Derivative

A form of The Keto Diet includes an aspect of intermittent fasting that some people find helpful and effective. During every meal, eat your vegetables first and then eat your protein, with meals to be completed between 11am to 6pm, with intermittent fasting hours from 6pm to 11am. Refrain from heavy carbs like bread, pasta, and rice. Keep in mind that drastic reductions in carbs can make you feel a little foggy.

The Master Cleanse: Lemon Juice & Cayenne Pepper Fast

This popular fasting practice has been around since the 1940s, created by the controversial Stanley Burroughs. Stanley wrote The Master Cleanser in the 1940s but the 1970s revision inspired a popular cleanse movement, which continues to this day. Fans of this cleanse include Beyoncé, Jared Leto, Denzel Washington, and Angelina Jolie.

The Master Cleanse consists of drinking only water mixed with a half-teaspoon of lemon juice and a hint of cayenne pepper 5 to 8 times per day, for 5 to 10 days. While this fast is not recommended for everyone, and it’s not a cure-all or intermittent fast, you might consider this idea when creating your own hybrid intermittent fast/diet. One hybrid idea might be to drink this formula from 3pm to 8am and eat two calorie-restricted meals during the hours of 8am to 3pm.

The Warrior Diet

This intermittent fasting diet has some passionate followers. It involves fasting during the day and then eating a huge meal at night.​

Popularized by fitness expert Ori Hofmekler, the dieter consumes small portions of raw fruits and raw vegetables during the day, then eats a high-calorie meal before 8pm. In short, you fast all day (limited to fresh fruits and vegetables), and then you have a power-feast in the evening, finishing your banquet within a 4-hour eating window.​

There are several challenges with this type of fasting. Depending on your body and metabolism, eating in the evening can extinguish the benefits of intermittent fasting. It might:

• Negatively impact your sleeping and dreaming patterns
• Alter hormone function
• Increase inflammation
• Impair blood sugar regulation
• Create weight gain
• Elevate triglycerides and cholesterol

Circadian Rhythm Or 16/8 Fasting

When it comes to losing weight, there are healthy and unhealthy paths. The Circadian Rhythm or 16/8 Fasting is when you eat solely during an 8-10 hour window each day. The rest of the time you refrain from meals and caloric beverages, but you can drink non-caloric, non-alcoholic drinks, including low-sugar coffee and tea.
Intermittent Meal Plan Example
For this example, we’ll focus on the 5/2 Intermittent Fast, which consists of two fasting days per week, each allowing 25 percent of your regular caloric intake (400 to 600 calories). When doing this fast, consider having an eating window from 8am to 6pm. In addition to possibly losing additional weight, you’ll have more food options if you avoid pieces of bread, rice, and pasta during your fast.
When fasting with limited calories, a hidden gem is hemp seeds. My favorite brand is Manitoba Harvest. Their Hemp Hearts are delicious and provide more protein than meat.

Here Is An Example Of An Under-600 Calorie Meal Schedule:

Breakfast: 250 Calories

• 1/4 cup of oatmeal
• 8 oz Green smoothie with apples, spinach, and kale
• One hard-boiled egg or a one-egg Tex-Mex scramble with a pinch of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and salsa

Lunch/Dinner – 300 Calories (Pick One)

• One small baked potato with one tablespoon of sour cream
• 2 cups roasted vegetables with two tablespoons of hemp seeds
• 1/2 avocado on toast with one tablespoon of crushed peanuts or sesame seeds
• Chicken, Vegetable and Bean soup with 3 oz of chicken, 1/4 cup of red beans, 1/2 cup of chopped veggies. You can swap the chicken for 3 oz of beef or buffalo, a moderate portion of tofu or 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds.

Between Meals – Under 60 calories (limited to one of these items, once per day)

• 2 cups of cooked microwave popcorn
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• Three whole-grain pretzel sticks
• 14 almonds
• One apple (baked)
• 1/4 cup low-sugar ice cream
• 1/4-1/2 banana

Anytime

• Water with 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and a tiny sprinkle of cayenne pepper. This drink is my favorite, especially during the fasting hours of 6 pm and 8 am or 6 pm and 11 am.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits

While intermittent fasting is not a cure-all, and the data is based mainly on scientific trials focused on mice, many people agree that intermittent fasting does wonders.
Many say that it can:

• Ease depression and increase vitality
• Improve memory
• Reduce inflammation and weight gain
• Remove damaged brain cells and generates new ones
• Help reduce attachment to emotional and psychological luggage.
• Improve your experience when praying and meditating

In general, even a little fasting here and there is shown to have positive effects. If you have gut issues or adrenal fatigue, proceed with caution. To be safe, ask your doctor or certified nutritionist before you begin fasting.
In all fasting, be careful about “starvation mode,” when your body starts to conserve energy by reducing the number of calories it burns. Starvation mode is something to avoid. It can cause your body to stop losing weight, and it will most often make you depressed, angry, lost, confused, or worse. It might also have other negative effects.

Just in case, notify a few friends before you fast. Texting a friend is quick and easy, “Hey, I’m fasting. If I die, I buried a treasure under a tree. The map is in my fridge. It’s all yours!”

Intermittent Fasting Benefits. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

I began intermittent fasting when I was 15. At that time, I fasted because it cleared my mind and put me in a more meditative and prayerful state. Fasting might make you feel a little foggy or spacey, but for me, fasting helps me become more peaceful. Meanwhile, it does a great job of rebooting the system.

“All The Vitality And All The Energy I Have,
Come To Me Because My Body Is Purified By Fasting.”
~ Mohandas Gandhi

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting refers to eating plans and dietary protocols that cycle between periods of fasting (no food or some food) and periods of non-fasting. There are a variety of intermittent fasting diets, along with several types of intermittent diet meal plans.

The benefits of intermittent fasting include lowering insulin levels, reducing inflammation, improving brain health, and helping you feel more hopeful and prayerful. Intermittent fasting is showing promising results.
There is also the benefit of weight loss, one of the more popular reasons why people do intermittent fasts. While some intermittent fasts are helping a wide variety of healthy humans (and many mischiefs of lab rats) to burn fat and lose weight, intermittent fasts can have adverse effects, too. To be safe, ask your doctor or certified nutritionist for the go-ahead.​

The overall consensus about intermittent fasting is that it improves health and mental clarity, but it doesn’t consistently result in weight loss, or more weight loss compared to diets that restrict calorie and carb intake.
I’ve tried all types of intermittent fasting. Sometimes I lose weight and feel better, and sometimes I don’t experience anything beyond improved clarity and peacefulness.

Intermittent Fasting Diet

In general, intermittent fasting includes fasting one to two days per week, where during those days you eat either no food at all or 25% of your caloric intake. Most people who commit to intermittent fasts reduce caloric intake to 25% of their regular diets, either periodically or on alternating days. On reduced calorie days, men consume 500 to 600 calories, while women’s caloric intake is 400 to 500.​
On non-fasting days, the most successful intermittent fasters eat normally and never binge. Some of the more courageous fasters eat only during limited windows throughout each day and might reduce their carbs. For all fasts, it’s important to stay hydrated, which includes drinking water and non-caloric, non-alcoholic beverages like unsweetened coffee and tea.

You can learn more about a wide variety of intermittent fasts, along with their meal plans and suggested eating schedules here.

Metabolic expert Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center said, “There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an 8-10 hour period of the daytime, is effective.”

There is substantial scientific evidence suggesting that circadian rhythm fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can be a particularly useful approach to weight loss, especially for people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Fast With No Binge

While the idea of fasting for a day and then binging on fat and sugar might sound appetizing, it’s terrible for the body. It’s important to note that when you choose to do an intermittent fast, make sure you are eating normally on the non-fasting days. Studies show that people who binge after fasting can cause their health more harm than good.

“If Thou Wouldst Preserve A Sound Body, Use Fasting And Walking; If A Healthful Soul, Fasting And Praying; Walking Exercises The Body, Praying Exercises The Soul, Fasting Cleanses Both.”
~ Francis Quarles

Spiritual Fasting

When the body is cleansed, the spirit is uplifted. The two go hand-in-hand. Fasting allows our souls to be less attached to our bodies and minds. It improves our vibration and helps us feel more connected to ourselves and others.

Almost every spiritual and religious tradition in the world mentions fasting as an essential activity for spiritual growth. It’s found 87 times in the Bible. Socrates and Plato fasted so they could purify their minds and spirits in pursuit of the truth.

Native Americans fast either in private or during public rituals. Indian fasts generally include abstinence from food and water, and they often enhance spiritual visions. In addition to a clearer state of mind and heart, fasts are also a way to rid the body and spirit of toxins accrued when interacting with society and the everyday world.

Kundalini Yogis encourage regular fasting because it allows the spirit to traverse the chakras and connect with the eternal consciousness. This allows energy to flow through the body without hindrance. When done in conjunction with Kundalini yoga, intermittent fasting can also improve the immune system.

When doing vision quests in the wilderness and other rituals, I’ve found it vital to fast the majority of the time. The idea here is to put my spirit in a state of wakefulness so that I can connect with my spirit guides and be more in tune with my surroundings.

During my first vision quest, I was so in tune and connected, I was able to attract peaceful bears, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and other animals to my sleeping/ritual sites. I felt genuinely peaceful, which inspired the animals to feel the same.​
One early morning, I must have been profoundly awake and aware because a big black bear encouraged me to wrestle with him. He was so loving and playful. I attribute these amazing experiences partly to fasting.
Feeling bright and awake allows our spirits to connect to several dimensions and to vibrate at higher frequencies. This, in turn, improves our health and relationships.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits

If you’d like to lower your risk for disease, intermittent fasting can improve the health of your brain, lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and it can reduce the chance of obesity. Some studies show that intermittent fasting can reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes, while other studies show that your metabolic health can be put at risk, increasing the risk of diabetes.

Alternative medical doctors, who are trained in both eastern and western medicine might be able to understand your specific needs so they can prescribe the type of fast to give you the benefits you’re seeking, while also preventing you from hurting yourself.​

While intermittent fasting is not a cure-all, and the data is based mainly on scientific trials focused on mice, many agree that intermittent fasting does wonders.​

Many say it can:

• Ease depression
• Improve memory
• Increase vitality
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce your weight or slow weight gain
• Reduce the growth speed of cancer
• Protect your neurons
• Remove damaged brain cells and generate new ones
• Help reduce attachment to emotional and psychological luggage.
• Improve your experience when praying and meditating

In general, even a little fasting here and there is shown to have positive effects. If you have gut issues or adrenal fatigue, proceed with caution.

Intermittent Fasting Science

One of the most remarkable benefits of intermittent fasting is that it has a positive effect on your mitochondrial networks, the fuel for your cells, by helping it remain fused. This undoubtedly improves energy, which can have positive effects on memory, longevity, and health challenges related to aging.
While intermittent fasting is trending, and many people are posting positive effects from their fasts, the research has mostly been conducted on mice.​

The hope is that intermittent fasting isn’t just a fad and that it has proven, lasting effects. Fasting research is on the rise. The hope is that more and more trials involving humans will be funded.

The Dangers Of Intermittent Fasting

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting if done incorrectly, can cause a person to have a net gain in weight. When you fast for a couple of days, and then binge on beer and pasta, chances are, you’ll do more harm than good.

Intermittent fasting may increase insulin levels, put pancreatic cells at risk, cause unnecessary fatigue, and add to your belly fat. A new study suggests that intermittent fasting, while often producing positive results, can harm metabolic health and cause Metabolic Syndrome.

​When we have poor metabolic health or Metabolic Syndrome, we are at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. See your doctor to ensure that you have the proper levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and blood pressure.​
When you conclude your fast, your body might be oversensitive to the foods you eat. Be aware of your allergies and eat only whole, natural, unprocessed foods, at least for several days. Hydration is the key.
In all fasting, be careful about “starvation mode,” when your body starts to conserve energy by reducing the number of calories it burns. Starvation mode is something to avoid. It can cause your body to stop losing weight, and it will most often make you feel depressed, angry, lost, confused or worse. It might also have other negative effects.​

Just in case, notify a few friends before you fast. Texting a friend is quick and easy, “Hey, I’m fasting. If I die, you can have my toaster!”

Whether it was engineered at a clandestine lab or it naturally emerged from interactions between animals and humans, the coronavirus will be with us for some time. While it might spread more akin to a drip-feed than surge, caution (not panic) is recommended, especially for those who are elderly or health-compromised.

The official name of the 2019 novel coronavirus is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The associated disease is known as COVID-19. Hundreds of scientists have confirmed that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. As of this writing, there is no vaccine or cure for the coronavirus.

A Few Facts About COVID-19

There are many conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, most of which are based on irrational thinking, political propaganda, fear, and racism. These theories cover a broad range of ideas, from “Bill Gates is using his man-made disease to reduce world population and to gain profit” to “it was created by Democrats to bring down Donald Trump.” Spreading this type of misinformation during a health crisis can be extremely dangerous, not to mention a waste of time. It might even prevent the weak and infected from seeking the help they need to live.

If you’re lost in the insanity weeds and would like to return to a noble and defensible reality, consider these facts:

COVID-19 is a pneumonia of unknown cause, first reported in Wuhan, China,  on Dec 31, 2019, and is now reported to be in over 100 countries. Dozens of research scientists, labs, and companies have identified the genetic sequence of the coronavirus and are working on a vaccine.

Symptoms include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle pain, and feeling unusually tired with an incubation period between two and 14 days. Some cases include vomiting and diarrhea. The more extreme cases result in severe pneumonia and renal (kidney) failure, which can lead to death.

The virus can live and thrive for up to a full day on your kitchen counter, door handles, and other objects. It (so far) cannot sustain itself in the air for long. This means that unless someone spits, coughs, or sneezes in your direction, you might not be at risk. To some, the verdict is still out on this idea.

The coronavirus is an intense and deadly flu, far more dangerous than viruses from recent history, and nothing like the common cold. While preliminary reports state that COVID-19 results in five to 20 deaths per 1000 (depending on the source), the common cold does not have a mortality rate. Even if the virus ranges from one to five deaths per 1000, it’s a pandemic, which means the disease could spread to millions of people within a relatively short period.

A few weeks ago, China’s CDC reported that 2.3% of confirmed cases died, but this number could be misleading, as not all cases are reported. To date, of people age 80 and over, 14.8% have died. The fatality rate for people in their 50s is 1.3%, 0.4% for folks in their 40s, and 0.2% in people aged 10 to 39. As more data is reported and analyzed throughout the world, we will likely see a shift in these numbers.

Children tend not to die from the disease, but the elderly, and those with medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease, and those who are societally disenfranchised, are far more vulnerable than other segments.

University of Nebraska’s Dr. Kevin Lawler, who’s received a bit of flack for his leaked presentation to hospitals, estimates there will be over 4.8 million total hospitalizations from the coronavirus, 96 million US cases, 480,000 deaths, and a flu season that’s 10X more severe than usual. While it’s important to understand the varying levels of potential risk, only time will tell.

Comparable flu statistics: For this flu season, which began in the fall of 2019, there have been 34 million flu diagnoses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths. Given the current trend of COVID-19, we can expect the coronavirus to exceed the flu by a factor of at least 3. Some say, when compared to the flu, COVID-19 could net 10-20X the results.

While holy roller Jim Bakker promotes the unproven idea that the consumption of silver or praying to Jesus will eradicate the coronavirus, keep your eyes glued on the data and scientific facts. There is a wealth of information available on the CDC and WHO websites.

Protecting Your Health

At some point, COVID-19 might become a slight or moderate threat to you and your family. Keep in mind that only you know what is best in terms of precaution and preparedness. As such, some of these ideas could be helpful to you and those you love:

• If you’re sick, stay home for the week. If you’re feeling a little “under the weather,” consider staying home for at least one day to see if your symptoms are escalating.
• Regularly wash your hands with soap for 20+ seconds.
• Wipe your phone with a disinfectant wipe at least twice per day.
• Regularly use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. You might consider researching how to make your own with aloe vera.
• Keep a personal towel (that only you use) to dry your hands, or dry them with a paper towel or air dryer.
• Do not directly touch or rub your eyes with your hands. Do not rub your lips, wipe your mouth with your hands, pick your teeth, or pick your nose. Keep your fingers away from your face.
• Limit your time in crowded places. Consider canceling group events and parties.
• Consider traveling by car or air, instead of by train. It’s best to prioritize your transportation modalities in this order: walk/bike, car, plane, then train.
• It might be best to avoid carpools during this time.
• Working from home during time is preferable. Consider replacing some of your regular business meetings with videoconferences.

Additionally:

• For a time, consider refraining from using holy water and other sacred ritual items at churches, temples, ashrams, mosques, ceremonies, and religious events.
• If you begin to display symptoms, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or paper towel so that you can protect others from also becoming sick. Consider wearing a mask.
• If someone is coughing or sneezing, and you’re not clear on what’s happening for them, to be safe, leave the room.
• Sleep at least 8 hours per night, exercise, eat healthy meals, meditate and pray.
• Drink lots of fluids.
• Thoroughly wash vegetables before cooking or consuming.
• To give your health and immune system a boost, reduce your sugar intake.
• Frequently wipe down surfaces with disinfectant wipes.
• Avoid sharing personal items with others.
• Consider taking immune system boosters like Elderberry, Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Barley grass, and other superfoods to improve your immune system and energy, and give yourself a fighting chance.
• If you’re on any regular medication, try to source a few extra week’s supplies of prescriptions and antibiotics.
• For a time, replace handshakes, hugs, and kisses with waving, saluting, bowing, applauding, nodding the head, and winking. In general, avoid close contact with others. The safest bet is to keep a distance of at least 3 feet during this time.
• In crowded areas, consider temporarily wearing a simple N95 or N99 mask. For the sake of ensuring that hospitals have ample supply, refrain from hoarding masks.
• Create a separate, protected space for potentially sick household members.
• Keep apprised of your city’s plan to counteract the challenges surrounding the spread of disease and related emergencies.
• Don’t obsess over risks and fears; instead, focus on preparedness, preventive care, loving yourself and others, and staying healthy.
• To counterbalance potential drama and stress, find time to laugh, play, and pray with loved ones.

Prepping Your Home

When large populations become physically ill, there can be changes in local, state, and national operations. While it’s never helpful to panic, it can be advantageous to prepare (with limits). If some of these ideas are interesting to you, be thoughtful, methodical, and careful in your planning. While parts of this list might not be required at this time, if you live alone, a few of these ideas could save your life.

• Store an additional 1-month supply of food, including lots of vegetables, dried or frozen meats, meat alternatives, canned goods, and pickled eggs. Consider canning and jarring your favorite vegetables so that you never run out of nutrient-rich food.
• Consider storing 2 weeks’ worth of water, just in case something happens to your plumbing while you’re sick or in case there’s a temporary change in how local utility companies function.
• In light of a possible power outage, have a collection of candles, flashlights, and batteries on hand.
• Stock 1-2 months of nonprescription drugs and other healing supplies, including vitamins (especially vitamin C), soothing herbs and lotions, cotton swabs, rubbing/disinfectant alcohol, herbal pain relievers, essential oils, stomach remedies, and cold medicines.
• Buy an advanced first aid kit.
• Source your health records from hospitals, doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and other health professionals. If possible, keep them handy and in printable formats.
• Have a backup plan for your video, streaming, and internet services. For example, you can have a Zoom account with a backup Skype account. Add a mobile hotspot to your phone line to remedy any temporary internet outages.

In all things, seek the best for yourself and your loved ones. Care for your friends and neighbors when you are able. While there are challenges ahead, this is a great time to pray, spend time alone, work on creative projects, start a home business, love-up your family, and curl up with a favorite book. As always, it’s best to refrain from fear and panic, while ever reaching toward peacefulness, forgiveness, and love.

From all the media hype and misinformation, and all the streams of helpful insights pouring into your social media feeds, you might simply choose to use the coronavirus as a provocation to improve one aspect of your life: your diet, your exercise regimen, your relationships, or your meditation and prayer practices. When we focus on happiness and personal improvement, we increase our vibrations and thereby improve our states of mind and health.

As humankind continues to massacre the earth and haunt its many creatures, we will see more challenges and viruses in the years ahead. Stay healthy, positive, and informed. Try to be prepared, while also loving, thriving, and living in the moment.

On a lighter note, you might enjoy this COVID-19 safety video from the Vietnam government, promoted by The World Health Organization.

For the latest and most accurate information, please visit the WHO and CDC websites. Always root for science – it’s our ally!

Wishing you health and happiness, always!

Most of us struggle when trying to limit our consumption of meat, sugar, and caffeine. We’ll whine when our alarm goes off in the morning. When we stub our toe or prick our finger, we gasp and yelp like a five-year-old. We’ll then complain about our tiny pain for the rest of the day.​ Enter The Ice Man or just “Iceman.” After surviving his wife’s suicide, Wim Hof raised his four children alone. With deep pain and sadness as his motivation, he learned to hold his breath for 10 minutes, swim naked beneath thick ice, and set world records. To date, he is the proud owner of 26.

“I Think Of The Cold As A Noble Force. It’s Just Helping Me. It’s Training Me. It’s Bringing Me Back To The Inner Nature, The Way It Was Meant To Be.”
— Wim Hof

Here’s a sampling of facts about The Iceman:

• He ran a marathon in a desert with no training or water. When he emerged victoriously, he rehydrated by drinking beer for a few hours with friends
• He’s a Yoga master
• An expert in nutrition, he has eaten just one meal a day for 38 years
• He can control his heart rate and hormonal system through breath and meditation
• He learned to speak ten languages without the use of any apps

The Iceman was born as Wim Hof on April 20, 1959, in The Netherlands. With nine siblings, one of whom is a twin, Wim had to fight hard to stand out. He also had to quickly learn to defend himself from teasing and abuse throughout his childhood.​
At age 17, digging deep within himself, Wim became an extreme sportsman. It all began with a spontaneous jump into a freezing cold canal. The Iceman was born.

The Wim Hof Method

When you’ve endured near-freezing water for just shy of an hour, run Arctic marathons in your bare feet, swam like a madman under a lake’s thick ice for what seemed like an eternity, and learned to control your sex drive, you have but one thing left to do: launch a method so others can do the same.

​The Wim Hof Breathing Method was not initially created through academic research or scientific experiments. It wasn’t established by channeling information from aliens or Gods. The science of the Wim Hof Method was born from personal experience.​

Imagine if all health, healing, and endurance modalities could be developed in this fashion: no red tape, no government approval – just cold hard facts born from focused obsession.

“I Do Not Only Endure The Cold; I Love The Cold.”
— Wim Hof

Wim Hof’s website is chock full of information about his processes and experiences, including free instructions on his unique breathing method, known to fans as the WHM (Wim Hof Method).

Here’s a brief description of the WHM:

• Sit comfortably with your back straight.
• Take 30 quickened breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through the mouth.
• After the quickened breaths, take one long, deep breath. Hold it for as long as you can.
• When you feel the need to breathe inwardly, inhale deeply. Hold this breath for 10 seconds.
• Repeat this process as many times as you’d like.

From a Kundalini perspective, this will open up your air passages and awaken your power center. You’ll immediately feel better.

In addition to his breathing method, Hof believes that repeated exposure to cold air or cold water will stimulate the immune system and improve your health. You can learn more about this on his website.

Wim Hof Method Benefits

According to Hof’s website, WHM has a long list of benefits, including but not limited to:

• Stress reduction
• Faster recovery from physical exertion
• Better sleep
• Improved sports performance
• Reduced inflammation
• Improved integration of pain
• Enhanced metabolic activity
• Increased energy
• Heightened focus and determination
• Increased willpower
• Enhanced creativity
• More focus and mental clarity
• Greater cold tolerance
• Stronger immune system
• Potential reduction of symptoms from rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and several autoimmune diseases.

Wim Hof Quotes

Wim Hof is known for his inspirational talks, beliefs, and procedures. Here are a few gems that Hof has shared in recent years:

• “If you can learn how to use your mind, anything is possible.”
• “In the Bhagavad Gita, they say, ‘The mind under control is your best friend, the mind wandering about is your worst enemy.’ Make it your best friend, to the point where you can rely on it. Your mind makes you strong from within. It is your wise companion. The sacrifices you make will be rewarded. Life doesn’t change, but your perception does. It’s all about what you focus on. Withdraw from the world’s influence and no longer be controlled by your emotions. If you can grab the wheel of your mind, you can steer the direction of where your life will go.”
• “Ask yourself, ‘Have I ever experienced the wonders of life?’ Meditate about it. Meditation helps your spirit bloom like a beautiful flower. The experience can be beautiful and great. Poetry is the language of the soul. So listen. Life is like a dewdrop on a grass leaf. When it slips away, it’s gone forever.”
• “We can do more than what we think. It’s a belief system that I have adopted, and it has become my motto. There is more than meets the eye, and unless you are willing to experience new things, you’ll never realize your full potential.”
• “Fear does not go away by itself. You have to confront your fear, mold it, then learn to control it in its own irrational reality. Every human being has the power to do just that. To go deep within and confront your inner being is a powerful act. Going deep and developing the will power is the only way.”
• “Once you know the way to your spiritual destiny, you can change. Once you realize that there are no limits in your mind, once you realize there are no boundaries to what is possible, you can change.”

“I Do Not Fear Death; I Fear Not To Live Fully.”
— Wim Hof

Wim Hof Diet And Philosophy

Hof states that his methods are based on three core principles: breathing, exposure to cold, and commitment. Hof says, “Together, these three pillars provide you with a means to take control over your own body and to battle stress, fatigue, and many other obstacles in life.”

While becoming The Iceman, Hof also established a dietary routine in a form similar to The Fast-5 Diet outlined by Bert Herring. The rules of this diet are simple and akin to intermittent fasting: eat within five consecutive hours, every day. Herring says that integrating intermittent fasting into a daily routine “gets appetites working like they should — reducing intake if you have excess fat and maintaining a healthy weight if you don’t.”

If you’re ready to take your life (and immune system) to the next level, you can enroll in Wim Hof’s latest video course offerings. The new course consists of 10 major themes:

• Going Deep
• Stress Control
• Energy Management
• Inflammation
• Endurance
• Longevity
• Under Pressure
• Spirituality
• Creativity
• Life Adventure

Wim Hof explains that it is each of us who harnesses the power within. He’s designed these courses so that initiates will advance themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. Hof hopes that every participant will gain more peace, strength, and control over their energy and happiness.