Born and raised in the Midwest, actress Molly Hagan moved west in the 1980s to pursue her dream of an acting career. Her childhood home was located alongside farmland that ended up being sold and quarried for limestone. “They kept buying more acreage and infringing on our life and landscape. It was hideous, and led me to want to conserve and protect the land and its beauty,” says Hagan. (read more…)
For more than 30 years, Taggart Siegel has produced award-winning films on little-known aspects of the natural and cultural world. His diverse documentaries range from the story of a Hmong shaman immigrant adjusting to American life to a Midwestern organic farmer that salvaged his family’s farm.
Siegel’s latest film, Seed: The Untold Story, follows global seed keepers from Minnesota to India battling multinational agribusinesses in a quest to protect our agricultural heritage and food sources—ancient seeds passed down through untold generations. Interviews with farmers, ethnobotanists and activists explore the importance of the genetic material that these tiny time capsules carry. (read more…)
Leading environment advocate and author Tony Juniper has been an Earth champion for three decades, imploring humanity to urgently understand that we need nature to thrive. His recently reissued book What Has Nature Ever Done for Us? How Money Really Does Grow on Trees, first published in 2013, won the Independent Publishers Living Now gold medal. It warns about the severe environmental cost of poor land planning; informs how birds, coral reefs, rain forests and other flora and fauna help preserve and sustain our quality of life; pushes for new recycling laws; and seeks to make children early enthusiasts. (read more…)
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Joseph Mercola has practiced as a board-certified family physician for more than 30 years. His educational website, Mercola.com, has been the most visited natural health site for the past 12 years, with 12 million unique visitors each month. His three New York Times bestsellers include Effortless Healing. (read more…)
An Interview with Alison Armstrong
For 25 years, relationship expert Alison Armstrong has worked to evolve society by changing the way women relate to men. Her yearning to understand the opposite sex was born from personal challenges, including a failed marriage in her 20s. She began studying men on her own, at the age of 30, beginning with the question, “What if men are responding to women?” What started out as a personal inquiry has become a lifelong pursuit and she’s shared her findings with millions of men and women worldwide. (read more…)
Following up on the success of her bestselling book Honest Medicine: Effective, Time-Tested, Inexpensive Treatments for Life-Threatening Diseases, Julia Schopick plans to spread awareness of the efficacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in treating autoimmune and other ailments later this year with a new book co-authored with professional writer Don Schwartz. (read more…)
Bridging Our Political Divide is Key
Stephen Dinan, founder and CEO of The Shift Network, is a champion of the transpartisan movement that seeks to transcend America’s current political climate to realize greater unity and understanding. His new book, Sacred America, Sacred World: Fulfilling Our Mission in Service to All, offers innovative, practical solutions for engaging citizens in an emerging whole.
Dinan has forwarded thinking in his work with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, where he helped shape the Shift in Action and One Minute Shift programs, and with the Esalen Center for Theory & Research, a think tank he helped create to explore human potential frontiers. He is also an active member of the Evolutionary Leadership and Transformational Leadership councils. (read more…)
Why Meds Don’t Work and What Does
Integrative medical doctor Kelly Brogan, a women’s health psychiatrist and author of A Mind of Your Own, has turned the world of neuropsychiatry on its head by revealing that depression can be reversed without a single prescription drug. She asserts that depression is not caused by imbalanced brain chemistry, but by lifestyle choices that unbalance the entire human physiology. That’s why conventional antidepressants generally don’t work. She instead prescribes eliminating foods that trigger inflammation in order to rebalance all body systems. (read more…)
Small Consumer Choices Have Big Impacts
Edward Humes investigates the origins and impacts of the expensive and complex process that brings us everyday products and items in his new book Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation. His latest work, which also covers our love affair with cars, is popularizing the eco-conscious term, “transportation footprint”. Aligned with this, he recommends a move to driverless cars to save lives and fuel. (read more…)
His 1996 debut album, One Track Heart, focused on updated chants from the ancient tradition of bhakti yoga, followed in 1998 by Pilgrim Heart, with a guest appearance by Sting. Since then, a steady stream of 14 albums and DVDs produced on his own label have provided the soundtrack for yoga classes everywhere; the soothing rhythmic chants performed in a deep, rich timbre complements instruction in the spiritual element of the exercise. (read more…)
Fresh Thinking Challenges Rigid Mindsets
Filmmaker Barnet Bain’s credits include writer/director of Milton’s Secret, due out this fall, starring Donald Sutherland and Michelle Rodriguez and based on Eckhart Tolle’s book, producer of the Oscar-winning What Dreams May Come, executive producer of the Emmy-award nominee Homeless to Harvard and writer/producer of The Celestine Prophecy movie. Now, as author of The Book of Doing and Being: Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love, and Work, he offers tools that everyone can use to develop a creativity practice designed to move us beyond our unconscious hand-me-down worldview, escape mental and emotional straightjackets and unlock great reservoirs of imagination. In so doing, we discover we can create anything we like; from a work of art to a fulfilling relationship. (read more…)
Start with Homemade, Organic Baby Food
For many actresses, landing a role on the hit show Passions would be a career highlight. For Liza Huber, daughter of soap opera icon Susan Lucci, a successful acting career was one step en route to her calling as a mother, public speaker and entrepreneur. Her inspiration was to launch Sage Spoonfuls (SageSpoonfuls.com) to make it easier for parents to make homemade, organic food for their little ones. It’s all about enabling parents to provide a legacy of health, all wrapped up in love.
How did becoming a parent boost your relationship with organic foods and health?
I was raised on a diet of mostly fresh, homemade, food and knew it was something I wanted for my own children. At that point, I knew the basics; that it was healthier and tasted better than store-bought baby food. The more I learned, the more I became fascinated by how switching to an organic diet positively affects our health.
Why is it vital to introduce organic food during a youngster’s early development?
America’s food supply is loaded with more chemicals and GMOs [genetically modified organisms] than ever before. I believe, as many others do, that the rapid rise of food allergies in children is a direct result. Many chemical pesticides and artificial flavors and colors are known to contain carcinogens, suspected hormone disruptors and neurotoxins. It is widely believed that even small doses of these common pesticides can have lasting negative effects on a child’s health. I believe that teaching our kids about the importance of fresh, organic food and the potential dangers of a conventionally processed diet helps set the stage for a lifetime of healthy choices.
How do homemade organics and packaged organics differ?
Store-bought baby food, organic or not, is processed to have a long shelf life of up to two years. So much of the nutrient content is lost during processing that most manufacturers artificially add it back in, but aren’t obligated to inform consumers. The added nutrients are synthetic and aren’t absorbed by the body the same way as naturally occurring nutrients.
The taste, color and aroma of commercial baby food isn’t as appealing. By feeding your baby a steady tasty diet of fresh, homemade, organic baby food, you greatly reduce the risk they’ll grow into a picky eater. Plus, making your own baby food is three to five times less expensive than what is store-bought.
Homemade food has a far smaller impact on the environment compared with commercial manufacturing, transportation and packaging. By the time a baby turns 1, they will have eaten from nearly 700 jars or pouches of store-bought baby food that generally end up in landfills, because little is recycled.
Which favorite foods do you love to make for your babies and why?
I focus on whole foods. Great first foods include bananas, apples, butternut squash, pears, avocados, peas and sweet potatoes. Once a baby has successfully tried a couple of these, start mixing them together. Banana and avocado, apple and butternut squash, and peas and sweet potato are good combos. They’re loaded with nutrients and antioxidants, easy to make and yummy. Avocados’ healthy fat is also essential to brain development.
What key lessons learned from your mother have you carried forward with your young family?
Two lessons really stick with me: “Stay open and leave room for life to surprise you,” and “You can have it all… just not all at the same time.” In my teens and 20s, I was a meticulous planner, disappointed if things didn’t go exactly as I wanted. Amazing things happened after taking Mom’s advice to leave myself open to wonder.
Growing up, I saw my mom have an amazing career, yet also be a fantastic wife and mother. Her secret, and now mine, is to prioritize and focus on one thing at a time, whether it’s work, kids or my husband. This way, everything in your life gets 100 percent of your attention some of the time, rather than trying to do everything at the same time, which rarely works.
What’s the best gift a mother can give her child?
There’s nothing more important to a child’s overall health and well-being than being raised in a loving, warm environment where they feel safe, loved and important. My deep love for my children guides every decision I make for them. A mother’s intuition is a superpower.
Gerry Strauss is a freelance writer in Hamilton, NJ. Connect at GerryStrauss@aol.com.
Why Growing Up Can Mean Loving Better
Gay Hendricks and his wife, Kathlyn, have discovered through working on their own relationship and counseling hundreds of other couples that the time from midlife onward offers the greatest opportunity of any other period to grow love. At a mutual low point, they made the life-changing decision to rebirth their marriage, tapping into a new source of energy and rejuvenation that’s producing extensive and surprising benefits.
The Ojai, California-based couple, both with Ph.D. degrees, co-authored their first trailblazing bestseller, Conscious Loving, more than 20 years ago and have published 30 other books, including their latest, Conscious Loving Ever After. The Hendricks Institute that they founded annually offers workshops and seminars in North America, Europe and Asia. Their nonprofit Foundation for Conscious Living funds research, films and scholarships related to relationship well-being. (read more…)
Why She Still Looks Terrific After 40 Years as a Model
Supermodel extraordinaire Christie Brinkley looks as amazing in her 60s as she did when she first graced the cover of Sports Illustrated nearly 40 years ago. In a new book, Timeless Beauty, Brinkley reveals her anti-aging secrets, many of which involve reliance on healthful foods, a positive attitude, exercise and good skin care. Much of what she’s learned is reflected in her line of Christie Brinkley Authentic Skincare. Here, she shares some highlights of how she keeps her mind and body healthy. (read more…)
