To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all - Oscar WildeThere is a small, disorderly looking house that sits on the corner across the street from my childhood home. In the early 1960s, the young couple who lived in the house divorced and the wife moved away. When she left, the man pulled down every shade on every window in the house. Once in a while I'd see him walking to and from his car or mowing his lawn, but he always kept his head down and never said a word. … [Read more...]

I am currently gathering personal stories that demonstrate how veganism has affected individuals on a spiritual and/or subtle energetic level. Much research is being done within alternative healing and scientific circles on the subtle energy fields that we all experience, on both conscious and unconscious levels. However, very little attention has been paid to the disruption of our energy fields and our spirits that is very likely caused by eating and using animals who have suffered terribly. I … [Read more...]

No one is alone. Absolutely no one. Even in the most desperate of times, when nothing seems to be going right, when bad news rocks us to the core, when no one seems to care and when we give up on ourselves, we are not alone. In the darkest of hours, we sometimes feel like there is no where to turn. A loss leaves in its place a void that is utterly painful and sad, a place that makes the light and love of our past experience seem light years away. Fear of loss swallows us up from the inside. And … [Read more...]

Reign Over Me, starring Adam Chandler and Don Cheadle, directed by Mike Binder, 124 minutes, now available on DVD.Reign Over Me is my favorite film so far in 2007. Powerful, haunting, touching and profoundly moving, the film is a testament both to the power of friendship and also to the extraordinary healing potential of the human heart.This film was written and directed by Mike Binder, who also wrote and directed another brilliant and under-appreciated film a couple of years ago entitled The … [Read more...]

Editor's note: This column is an excerpt from the author's new book, Palm Visions.I have given intuitive readings for most of my life. For the last twenty or so years I have done it as a profession, and I am sure that I have broken every rule there is that is possible to break. I am not fond of rules. As a matter of fact, I generally believe in rules only when they don't apply to me. But, whether you believe in the laws of Karma or not, it still remains that "what goes around comes … [Read more...]

Let me start with the facts. These "facts" are not just hypothetical ideas. They are actual statistics and actual studies that show that chiropractic care for children is not only safe, it is vital. Take these figures into account:A study done by Abraham Towbin, M.D., an expert in pathology, shows that "Spinal cord and brain stem injuries occur often during the process of birth but frequently escape diagnosis" ("Latent Spinal Cord and brain Stem Injury in Newborn … [Read more...]

Belief systems have played an essential role in my spiritual journey. In the mid-1980s I was exposed to New Age spirituality, and I have subsequently embraced it with what can only be described as life-transforming dedication. The underpinning of my journey for the past twenty years has been the evolution of my spirituality. In essence, this has entailed a redefining of who I am as a human and a spiritual being. For the first half of my life, I was a human being with a soul. And my … [Read more...]

Urine is a liquid waste product excreted by the kidneys. Urine is made up of 96 percent water and 4 percent waste products, such as urea and salts. When we urinate, this waste liquid is passed from the kidneys and is temporarily stored in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow elastic organ that can stretch to accommodate up to two cups of urine at a time. As our bladder fills, our nervous system will alert us of our need to urinate and when the time is right, we will then release it from the … [Read more...]

Editor's note: Aimee Prasek, a graduate student at the College of St. Catherine, is an Edge Life intern this fall. She brings a diverse writing perspective to her passion for holistic health promotion. Continue following Aimee's three-part series in the December and January issues of Edge Life. I never pictured myself attending a private, Catholic, all-women's college-certainly not the largest women's college in the nation. Initially, I thought St. Kate's would just be another notch in my desk … [Read more...]