Healthy Living and Wellness are the Foundation of Life

I was taught to trust that others had my best interest but as I gained more life experience, I realized that this was not always the case especially when it came to healthy living. I learned that when we want to take care of our health, we must discern for ourselves what products, services and people are unhealthy for our well-being, and which are not. And it takes work and practice since no one knows our physical and emotional bodies like us.

I learned from publishers, authors and ranchers like Bryan Welch, who shares his story in my book Our Journey to Corporate Sanity, that when you treat animals humanely, the soil on their farms is rich and healthy. We need bees to ensure our food supply is healthy because they’re key to maintaining fertile soil and crucial to our food supply.

There is magic beneath our feet that is here to teach us to pay attention to taking impeccable care of our planet, including our body and what fuels it.

The Choices We Make Facilitate the Path of Healthy Living

What we put in our mouths can fuel us or destroy us from within. Do you pay attention to your nutrition? Do you know whether the soil your food was grown in used toxic chemicals? If you don’t already, can you consider adding natural herbs to your meals, and becoming aware that everything can, and should, come from nature?

Sure, some kids think that food comes from the supermarket, but isn’t it our responsibility to teach ourselves and the people we love to know where our food is sourced?

The nutrition in our food has decreased dramatically in the past 100 years. Our society has come to love microwaves that zap our food quickly, but the real question is: Why can’t we wait? Doesn’t our body deserve healthy food?

The food we put in our bodies, the thoughts we put in our minds, and the people we put in our hearts all influence our physical and mental health. Are you questioning everything and finding sources that are not genetically modified or processed, for example, to decide what energy to ingest?

Everything is Connected to Nature, Including Us

There is much we can do by harnessing and aligning our heart, intuition, mind, and body. What is interesting is that when we don’t have access to health care, we search for alternatives independently—and what we often find is alternative healing that is available in nature.

People who don’t have health insurance or coverage search for alternatives and often find ones that work. When I went to the Amazon rain forest, I was amazed at how many natural resources they have access to for Western ailments like arthritis, depression, and so much more.

I later learned about the healing power of mushrooms when I worked on the film Fantastic Fungi: The Magic Beneath Us. There is lion’s mane mushroom for memory, turkey tail for immunity, and others that I could forage even in local forests. I was amazed that I could simply learn how to incorporate them into my daily nutrition.

Natural Sources Support Healthy Living

I learned a lot about hemp from working with a company that is building homes from natural materials made of hemp and lime with LEGO-type blocks. Isn’t it interesting that hemp has been used by different cultures since 8000 BCE and that the US Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper?

Hemp requires less water than other industrial crops and none of the pesticides; it grows to maturity in just 90–120 days and also remediates the soil, making it an ideal rotational crop. One metric ton of hemp sequesters 1.5 metric tons of carbon. Hemp also leaves us with cleaner, healthier soil. It requires no pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or fertilizer. And hemp uses very little water–-especially compared to cotton and most food crops. Hemp grows extremely fast, in as little as four months.  It is ready for harvest very quickly, whereas wood can take at least 30 years to harvest.

As hemp grows in popularity around the world, I imagine there will be a transfer of production to natural resources. For example, the production of plastic bottles might transfer from petroleum to hemp, which returns to the earth much faster. It will only take several months for hemp bottles to return to the earth and not pollute our oceans.

And because hemp bottles deteriorate more quickly, they will provide us with fresher water. I predict we will see a concerted effort by the chemical and petroleum industries to discredit hemp-based bottles in an effort to justify the continuation of their own. Hemp will also begin to replace wood and products from other plants, such as cotton.

There will always be people who resist trusting an ancient ally like hemp, due to fear and greed. Human nature, being what it is, prevents people from incorporating the truth within us. And yet, hemp is natural and can do much for human health as well as the environment.

Listening to Our Inner Knowing

Much changes when we listen to our body and realize that there is no one way for everyone. Become aware that what is good for one person is not necessarily good for you. Take advantage of what you feel guided to follow and whose interests you are supporting. Ask yourself, “Who am I allowing to have power over me?”

Your opportunity is to move into your body and heart, to discover your true compassion, and to understand that fear that surrounds you does not have to be yours. The key is to know who you are—not who others say you are. Being aware of how to balance your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body creates harmony and greater alignment in your life.

What path are you choosing?