Dear Subscribers,

There was quite a bit of email and some controversy after posting the essay about rock dust by Joanna Campe. The two main issues raised by those who are skeptical are that the rock dust itself might be radioactive. This, in fact, is true, but an explanation will follow. The other concern was with the form of the minerals and whether or not what is good for plants is necessarily safe for people. I have invited another guest author to speak to this issue.

Now, I find myself standing in a huge room with countless displays and it's difficult to know where to start. Let's begin with radioactivity. As noted on the home page of zerorads.com, all uranium — which, of course, is not the only radioactive material — is believed to have come from supernovas. This uranium is found in abundance in the core of the Earth and its decay is responsible for both the heat in the center of the Earth as well as a certain amount of "natural" radiation. This is probably too simplistic, but the fact of the matter is that whatever we dig out of the Earth is likely to have a certain amount of radioactivity and this would be especially true of some minerals as well as metals, including gem stones and many metals used in dental materials . . . and, of course, much more, such as materials used in construction.

The question then arises as to whether all radiation is "bad" and if so, why. We can also ask if all radiation is "not bad", how might that be explained? These are extremely complex matters and conventional logic may not support correct conclusions. As you know, I have often used the term "medical fashion" to refer to changes in theories and viewpoints. For instance, we might suggest that Marie Curie believed that radiation is useful because there are now ways to see beyond the skin and examine the health of internal organs and the skeletal structure. We are also able to use radioactivity to destroy certain pathogens, and it has generally been assumed that the ends justify the means despite the knowledge that radiation might cause secondary cancers that are unrelated to the primary cancer.

These are subjects that have absorbed me off and on for decades but during the last weeks, a great deal of heretofore "unfiled" information has come onto my radar. First, we have the radioprotective plants. To simplify the discussion, we could say that these fall into two main categories: (1) food and herbs that are rich sources of electrons, and (2) substances that improve the quality of lipid structures in a way that protects tissue from damage.

Okay, let's take a deep breath. Radiation is dangerous because the outer ring of the radioactive atom or molecule has some unpaired electrons. This makes for instability and radiation adds insult to injury by breaking apart chemical structures that were fine until some of their electrons were pirated. This leaves a wake strewn with free radicals, which many believe are the primary cause of degenerative disease and death. If there were no instability and no wear and tear, it is possible that radiation would not actually be dangerous. This is what the studies of herbs seemed to indicate. Those herbs that are rich sources of antioxidants are capable of donating the electrons needed to avert absolute chaos on the cellular level.

However, it may not only be antioxidants that can be used to prevent chaos. This is what has been filling my inbox for the last many weeks, starting with agnihotra and moving to various mantras, salt caves, and gem stones. All of this takes us into the WuWu WaWa Zone unless we can find some underlying principles that explain why such rituals or spaces affect our resistance to damage from radioactivity. I am not ready to stake my reputation on anything yet, but curious as I am, it can't surprise anyone that I have run some experiments.

Contrarian Logic

After watching a few Leuren Moret videos, I was concerned because, due to Chernobyl, she was saying not to eat food grown in Europe. Well, this puts us between a rock and a hard place: eat GMO food from the U.S. (and many other countries), chemically contaminated food from "conventional" farms, chemtrail laced food from just about anywhere on this Planet, who knows what from wherever, or get a little radioactive cesium from your EU sources. My own experience while flitting back and forth between continents was that the food in Europe tastes more wholesome than here so what else could I say? Well, I saw a lot of blood in darkfield when I was in Europe and — with the exception of those who had undergone recent diagnostics or treatment with radiation — it was far easier to correlate what I saw to mercury amalgams or chemotherapy than to radioactivity. In short, persuasive as Ms. Moret is, I wasn't deterred from buying some imported cheese last time I was at our local store.

Well, truth be known, a point came when I had to get very serious about radiation because after reading about the symptoms people in Japan were having as a result of fallout, I suspected my nosebleeds might also be due to radioactivity. Suddenly I remembered that an Ayurvedic doctor had urged me to use hessonite to protect myself from computer radiation. Gail had brought me a stone from Sri Lanka when she was there and I immediately got it out of the box and began wearing it. Then, Dr. Hiranuma told me that one of her colleagues had been talking about black tourmaline. This is apparently associated with an ancient Taoist system of detoxification as taught in the West by Dr. Jeffrey Yuen.

Cleaning tourmaline stones in salt water before using them in drinking water. The amount consumed was one ounce of water each day for three days. For the record, though I bought six stones, three are for a friend so only the remaining three were used in the water I drank. Some people recommend using the crystals that have not been tumbled [see bottom of page.]

In this lifetime, I first heard about therapy using stones from my kahuna friend and teacher, Morrnah Simeona. She described a method of distant treatment involving urge of a diagram, usually a life size body marked in sand. The stones would be placed, with intent and proper selection of the appropriate stones, directly over the symbolic chakras, the real ones being, of course, wherever the patient was, often thousands of miles away. At the time, I was listening but not quite leaping over the Moon. Gem therapy is, of course, a part of medical astrology in India, but the subject seemed a little obscure and I assumed the action of gems was very slow. I now stand corrected.

The stones have a piezoelectric effect that is mild but enough to create movement of energy that either benefits or harms the user. Whether the effect is felt in the aura or via nadi or chakras is not my place to say. The effect might involve direct action on tissue, but it would be as invisible as the radiation about which we are so concerned. One thing led to another and then the theory of hormesis entered my mind space. This theory postulates that a very low dose of ionizing radiation, something above the background level but much lower than what is used in medicine or nuclear materials, can inoculate a subject against potentially harmful exposures. Very good laboratory studies suggest there is merit in the concept, but the rule when proposing something counter to the normal understanding is to mention the matter and then let it go where it will because until people have wrestled their way through the literature, considered the experiments, tried things themselves, they will argue from a base of information that does not include opposite points of view.

Onwards

If I become convinced of something, I might write about it down the road, but for the moment, it behooves us to remember that we are always exposed to some level or other of background radiation. In addition, most of us have had x-rays at some time. We have taken flights, breathed air laced with fallout from weapons used both in tests as well as wars, and we have probably at some time or other been near a nuclear power plant. We are still here so while we cannot assume that there are no risks, we probably shouldn't panic.

Now, to the second issue which was minerals. My experience is that radiation leeches trace minerals, but there might be a better way to word this or to explain it. Textbooks, for what they are worth, sometimes describe "essential" nutrients. The list varies as opinions change, but an essential nutrient is as one might imagine absolutely necessary so when deficient in something so vital, we tend to go into a state of depletion and degeneration.

For a supplement to be effective, it must be easy to assimilate. Many years ago, a psychiatrist approached me after a talk I gave at a conference. He said he had given a large number of schizophrenic patients various mineral supplements. I said, "and it didn't help them at all, right?" He asked how I knew, and I said that because the assimilation was poor, the "nutrients" passed through the entire gastrointestinal tract without being utilized. He added that it was actually worse than that because the pills themselves came out whole. Now you know why so many of my formulas are not only in liquid form but in alcohol or something sweet like honey or molasses because these stick to the wall of the stomach and promote really rapid absorption. Sometimes I add warming spices to stimulate gastric secretions, things like ginger, galangal, or cinnamon. All of this increases the probability that the needed nutrients will move into the blood stream where they will be picked up by both red and white blood cells. This is where what is ingested becomes a nutrient. It was just something in a bottle until it is actually taken up by the blood cells.

As you all know, I have spent many, many hours mesmerized by blood cells. I find them endlessly interesting and feel like I am something like an anthropologist in another world, a world where I don't know the language or customs but I can learn if I want to take the time to do so. If you think your dog puts on a show at meal time, try to translate wagging tail, anticipation, and eagerness into another sentient form and you will see happy blood cells. Like all living creatures, they are very aware of their environment and just as vulnerable to chemistry as fish in the sea.

Minerals

I would never trust a scientist to formulate a supplement for me because scientists usually work inside boxes that affect their understanding. Instead, we have to look at Nature and realize that depleted soil means nutrient deficient plants which means that all the life forms that depend on plants are also deficient. There are several pervasive farming practices that are absolutely devastating to the soil. One is tilling and then leaving soil fallow. Whether you are looking at a plow pulled by an ox or a tractor, the digging disturbs micronutrients in the soil and exposes living creatures to blistering sun. We are creating deserts through idiotic agricultural practices.

The use of fertilizers and pesticides burns the soil and the microorganisms in the soil. Moreover, after such crises, plants need more water to dilute the toxins. This is affecting our water tables as well as cellular memory because instead of using water that has been undisturbed for thousands of years, we are recycling water that had hardly recovered from its last insult, sort of reincarnating too fast.

Plants are capable of binding certain toxins into their roots or sometimes other parts, but just as plants make chlorophyll and other marvelous solar distillations, they can fix micronutrients into their gifts. These are very easy to assimilate in the form of juice and when plants are consumed as juice, the fluids of the body are enhanced almost immediately because the chemistry of the juice as well as the pH and nutrients are "just right" as compared to what the human brain can imagine.

Let's however back off for a moment. How do you know if you are mineral deficient? Well, you could have had a test for osteoporosis and been shocked by your bone density report, but you could also look at your fingernails. If you see ridges, you are deficient. Drag a fingernail across another nail. If there are bumps, you have a problem. However, long before these symptoms become manifest, there would have been other indications of electrolyte imbalance. So, if we want to know whether or not we are assimilating a nutrient, we could see which of the ingredients in a dozen different bottles on the shelf gives the fastest relief for muscle spasms.

Now, here is where this meandering discourse gets interesting. We have to ask important questions such as which came first, the electrolyte imbalance or renal failure? What are electrolytes and what are they doing? They are signal processors that maintain the charge in the body. In live blood circles, the going language is "zeta potential". There is a surface charge that helps cells to keep proper distances, but invisibly, we also know that the charge has a pulsation that signals in a manner that regulates voltage throughout the body. Anything that impacts this system will affect the host positively or negatively. Using minerals, internally or externally, to improve how this system works makes sense. Obviously, the wrong mixture will short circuit the system.

Most studies cite levels of sodium, calcium, and potassium, but there are many, many minerals that are also critical to proper functioning so I have generally favored the most natural source possible. Then the minerals can be administered in a form that makes them easy to assimilate. Under normal circumstances, the kidneys will recycle minerals so we actually do not need a lot of supplementation unless our kidneys become overactive and we excrete fluids before the minerals have been captured and put back into service. As you know, the kidneys take a beating if the adrenals are fluttering because it's hard to rumble and quake without affecting the kidneys.

Some of you realize I have been involved in such studies for more than four decades. Among the simplest mineral supplement strategies is to put a spoonful of very pure salt, either rock salt or salt from deep in the ocean, into a liter of water and just use a spoonful of that water a day. The crystalline structure of salt helps to restructure the water and make it more nourishing. Other trace minerals can be found in fossilized sea vegetables such as from the Great Salt Lakes of Utah or from volcanic ash. Seaweed from clean water is another excellent food source. Food has six main tastes: sweet, sour, pungent, salty, bitter, and astringent (the Chinese system combines astringent with sour.) Many herbs have five tastes, practically none have salt except for seaweed and salt itself. We need variety and this means consuming foods with all tastes.

Some interesting sources of trace minerals have oceanic origins. For example, some supplements are made with oyster shells or even pearls. Some come from coral. If the method of preparation is careful, these can be assimilated, but the processing is very labor intensive and often involves endless grinding, heating, mixing with juices, such as lemon juice, or herbs such as turmeric root, neem leaves, or sometimes even metals. Unless you trust the laboratory and its procedures, it would be foolish to consume these sorts of products. One of my favorites is shilajit. This comes from a substance that is found in Himalayan rocks. When snow melts, waters come down the mountains and deposit tiny amounts of organic material in crevices and pores of rocks. When the sun is hot, the material emerges like a resin and is collected, processed, and made into a supplement. In Ayurveda, it is said that all protocols work better if accompanied by shilajit.

Stress

Keep in mind that all stress affects the adrenals and illness is in and of itself stressful. To conquer the illness or restore health, one needs the body's information system to be in working order. Micro nutrients assist this work and it is very possible that tiny amounts are effective.

Many blessings,

Ingrid