Tree hugging is affirmed by science (and Dave Matthew's Tumblr!)

I found this online and on Dave Matthew's Tumblr...http://davematthews.tumblr.com/

Pretty cool!

TREE HUGGING NOW SCIENTIFICALLY VALIDATED

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF ON 28 DECEMBER 2012. POSTED IN NATURAL HEALING

Die hard conservatives love to disparage liberals as tree huggers, but it has been recently scientifically validated that hugging trees is actually good for you. Research has shown that you don't even have to touch a tree to get better, you just need to be within its vicinity has a beneficial effect.

In a recently published book, Blinded by Science, the author Matthew Silverstone, proves scientifically that trees do in fact improve many health issues such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), concentration levels, reaction times, depression and other forms of mental illness. He even points to research indicating a tree's ability to alleviate headaches in humans seeking relief by communing with trees.

The author points to a number of studies that have shown that children show significant psychological and physiological improvement in terms of their health and well being when they interact with plants and trees. Specifically, the research indicates that children function better cognitively and emotionally in green environments and have more creative play in green areas. Also, he quotes a major public health report that investigated the association between green spaces and mental health concluded that "access to nature can significantly contribute to our mental capital and wellbeing".

So what is it about nature that can have these significant effects? Up until now it has been thought to be the open green spaces that cause this effect. However, Matthew Silverstone, shows that it is nothing to do with this by proving scientifically that it is the vibrational properties of trees and plants that give us the health benefits and not the open green spaces.

The answer to how plants and trees affect us physiologically turns out to be very simple. It is all to do with the fact that everything vibrates in a subtle manner, and different vibrations affect biological behaviours. One research experiment showed that if you drink a glass of water that has been treated with a "10Hz vibration" your blood coagulation rates will change immediately on ingesting the treated water. It is the same with trees, when touching a tree its different vibrational pattern will affect various biological behaviours within your body.

This vibrational idea is backed up throughout the book by a number of scientific studies to provide convincing proof that tree hugging after all is not such a crazy idea. One report even concluded the following: "safe, green spaces may be as effective as prescription drugs in treating some forms of mental illnesses".

There is one other school of thought are in alignment with this remarkable theory: Taoism. For example, the Taoist master Mantak Chia teaches students to meditate with trees, as a way of release "negative energies." In his Cosmic Tree Healing Qigong method, Master Chia teaches how to align one's body with the "aura" (or energetic field) of a tree. He explains that trees are natural processors that can help you transform your body's sick or negative energy into positive, vital life force energy. As you connect your energy with the tree you facilitate your own physical and emotional healing. The Taoist theory is that because trees stand very still, they are better at absorbing the Earth's Energy and the Universal Force from the Heavens. Trees and all plants have the ability to absorb the light frequencies and transform them into physical food; and they do the same with energetic food. The Taoist view of trees is to see them constantly in meditation, with subtle energy as their natural language.

One other fascinating laboratory that studies plant vibrational energies is Damanhur, an intentional community in Italy. In this peaceful and spiritual ecovillage there is a laboratory in the woods that offers a beautiful choir of singing trees. Yeah, you read that right... singing trees. Since 1976, researchers at Damanhur have invented and developed equipment that can capture electromagnetic changes on the surface of leaves and roots, transforming them into actual sounds. The best part is, these trees seem to control their electrical responses via a feedback mechanism, and demonstrate a kind of awareness and preference for types of music. The singing plants and trees of Damanhur have sparked off such a worldwide fascination that the people began organizing “Plant Concerts”, where musicians perform to the music created by the trees.

Click HERE for more

Readings for today's "CVille Coffee Bible Study"

See you at CVille Coffee at 10:30!

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Psalm 66:1-11
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Luke 17:11-19


Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Psalm 66:1-11 Page 673, BCP

Jubilate Deo

1

Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of his Name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2

Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

3

All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name."

4

Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5

He turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in him.

6

In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against him.

7

Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8

Who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.

9

For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10

You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11

You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David-- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful--

for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Give away

"Greed says that the more you get, the more you have.
Christ says the more you give away in love, the more you are." 
~Frederick Buechner

St. Francis preaches to the birds

"Once when Francis was passing near a certain village he noticed a large flock of birds of different kinds all gathered together.  Leaving his companions and going eagerly towards them, as they seemed to be awaiting him, he gave them his accustomed greeting.  Surprised that they did not fly away as they generally do, he started talking to them: Brother birds, you ought to praise and love your Creator very much!  He has given you feathers for clothing, wings for flying, and everything you need.  He has made you the noblest of his creatures, for he has appointed the pure air for your habitation.  You have neither to sow nor to reap, yet he takes care of you, watches over you and guides you.  At this [as he used to relate himself] the birds began to rejoice after their fashion, stretching out their necks, spreading their wings, opening their beaks and looking at him, whilst he went to and fro amonst them, stroking their heads and bodies with the fringe of his tunic, and finally making the sign of the cross over them and sending them away with his blessings."

~from "The Wisdom of St. Francis and his Companions," compiled by Stephen Clissold

"Francis and Beyond" Dean Peter Eaton reviews two new biographies of St. Francis in The Living Church

"Francis and Beyond" Dean Peter Eaton reviews two new biographies of St. Francis in The Living Church:

Francis and Beyond

• Friday, October 4, 2013

October 4: Francis of Assisi, Friar
Review by Peter Eaton

Along with Saint Nicholas, Francis of Assisi is the best-known of all saints in the Western Church. And yet, for all his popularity both among faithful Christians as well as those who do not describe themselves as religious but who see him as a symbol of environmental stewardship, the Francis of history bears little resemblance to the Francis of later myth and spirituality. These two books help us enormously in gaining a clearer picture of this elusive yet compelling figure.

Francis of Assisi A New Biography By Augustine Thompson, OP. Cornell University Press. Pp. x + 299. $29.95

Francis was a difficult, complex person — a particular and unique spiritual personality, alien to so many sensibilities, both among his contemporaries and in every subsequent generation. He was a trying patient when sick, and deeply ambivalent about his authority and his place in the community he had founded.

There is no uninterpreted Francis, and the task of the historian is to examine very carefully the abundance of evidence that survives. It is a much more difficult task than it may seem, for even the earlier date of some documents does not guarantee their reliability. All those who have written about Francis have had an agenda, including his first biographer. And much that has been written about Francis, or with Francis as a major theme, is of questionable usefulness if what one is interested in is a true portrait of the saint in all his fullness.

Augustine Thompson’s new biography is a model of all that is best in a work of this kind. It is compellingly and
lucidly written, accessible both to the interested layperson as well as the scholar. This is the first critical biography of Francis by an English-speaking scholar; the other two biographies that can be described as critical are by an Italian and Frenchman. The book is divided into two parts: the biography and an examination of the sources. In a biography of this intricacy, this is the best way of organizing the work.

Thompson’s biography is now the place to begin for anyone who wants to understand Francis, his life, and the subsequent development of devotion to him, and it is not soon to be bettered.

The Cambridge Companion to Francis of Assisi Edited by Michael J.P. Robson. Cambridge University Press. Pp. xvii + 305. $29.99

Michael Robson has given us a helpful collection of essays, divided into two sections. The first section concerns Francis, his writings, his relationship to Clare, and the emergence of the movement. There is even a chapter on “Francis and creation,” which traces Franciscan reflection on the subject as far as Angela of Foligno. The second section collects essays that range through many aspects of the Franciscan heritage in the Church. Anglicans will welcome especially “The ecumenical appeal of Francis” by Petà Dunstan, a leading scholar of Anglican religious life.

As always, truth is much more interesting than fiction, even “holy fiction.” Thompson and Robson have provided us with the sort of attention to Francis that is likelier both to illumine this remarkable historical figure and to enable us to live into a more genuine Franciscan spirituality.

Read it all HERE at The Living Church