All posts by Kirsten Cowart

Kirsten is a writer who loves to practice vipassana meditation, yoga, travel, and learning about nature, consciousness, and how to make the world a better place. Her current interests involve studying and practicing flow, staying In Flow, and recognizing the natural flow of the universe. Kirsten loves to learn about the holistic healing arts. She is also interested in ancient cultures and practices such as Druidism. Kirsten is honored to be apart of such an incredible movement of love and heart centered living in this world.

Ecotherapy: How to Create a Sacred Relationship With Mother Nature

If you knew there was a secret remedy that could reduce stress, promote a healthy body-image, and significantly improve your mental health, you would grab it with both hands right?

Well the world does hold this remedy, in nature. Simply spending time surrounded by nature, even small patches of greenery in an inner city area, has a whole range of benefits for your health.

Nature as Therapy

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Ecotherapy is a practice which has at its heart our connection to the natural world. It works by increasing the time we spend in nature, and celebrates the various restorative effects this has on our body, mind, and soul.

There are many theories as to why an immersion in nature feels so good, but a lot come back to the same idea known as the ‘Biophilia Hypothesis’. Essentially, we love nature as humans because we evolved in it, it’s in our DNA.

We feel drawn to nature and if we commit to spending time in it, and enter into an open communication with it, we begin to develop a greater understanding of the world around us and, in turn, ourselves.

 By giving nature greater access to your life, you can reap these rewards. Here are 7 ways nature teaches us about life and nurtures our souls:

  1. Nature knows no labels

Western modern society is built on a foundation of quick shortcuts that we use to quickly interpret, and oftentimes judge, our fellow citizens to determine how we should interact with them. People’s job titles, clothes style, and social class all construct for us a picture of a person. Continue reading

What Your Native American Zodiac Sign Says About Your Personality

Native American astrology is celebrated for its profoundly deep and in-depth representative abilities. Dating back nearly 5000 years ago, Native American astrological signs are all based on the spiritual alignment of an individual to their totem.

Zodiac signs are based on the Mesoamerican calendar, created with the aim to harmonize life with long-held animal myths and legends. Animals, as part of Native American cultures, have the power to educate humans through life lessons and spiritual guidance.

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Otter (January 20 – February 18)

Often perceived as unconventional, the otter isn’t always the first one to get the job done. However, while the otter may have an unusual way of looking at things, he/she is the most equipped with a wide skill set of brilliant imagination and intelligence – giving them unique leverage over the competition. Continue reading

This Amazing Study Demonstrates How Humans Can Sense A “Force Field” Around Them

If you look back into the theories and practices surrounding auras and the electromagnetic field of the body, it appears that something is really going on around us. What a lot of people would like to know is if we can, in fact, feel this ‘force field’ and how it has a purpose in our functioning world.

New scientific evidence has found that we use this ‘force field’ like area around our body to sense and avoid harm.

According to a study that was recently published in the Cognition journal, scientists are looking into this phenomenon where we can ‘feel’ into the space surrounding our body.shutterstock_270110672

This ability may be mostly one used by our subconscious in order to avoid danger and add to our reflexes.

This is like how if you see something flying towards you out of the corner of your eye you can often tell if it’s about to hit you or not and can quickly move to avoid it.

What is so interesting about this study is that the scientists were about to create an experiment that allowed people to be ‘tricked’ into tapping into this new sense and feel the phenomenon for themselves. Continue reading

A New Scientific Study Suggests The Zika Virus Is Being Caused By Pesticides

By now you’ve probably heard of the Zika virus in some way or another. Many people have their own opinions about it’s origins and the controversy surrounding it. The point of this article is to present information objectively so you can form your own opinions. Stay open minded, get all the viewpoints and perspectives before making concrete decisions.

This virus has created major concerns among young couples and families, and after the World Health Organization declared a state of emergency on the virus, it seems there needs to be some deeper investigating. 

They have even gone so far as to recommend that we not to travel to these tropical regions, and if you live anywhere near these regions, which do reach all the way up into the southern United States, that you should put off having children till at least 2018.

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The epidemic in Brazil where children are being born with microcephaly has created a mystery around itself. If Zika is, in fact, the culprit then why are we not getting the same epidemic in other countries that are also seeing the virus?

In Brazil, the rate of microcephaly has jumped all the way to 1,500. However, in nearby Colombia where they have found almost 12,000 cases of pregnant women with the Zika virus they have not had a single child born with microcephaly. Continue reading

There’s a Strange Whistling Coming From The Caribbean Sea That Can Be Heard From Space

The University of Liverpool ocean scientists found an area of the ocean that is reverberating with ‘oscillations of the Earth’s gravity field’ in such a way that they can be ‘heard’ from space.

Despite all of the noise coming from the ocean worldwide, there is a region in the Caribbean Sea where the synchronistic waves are allowing a whistle like effect that is blowing very loudly.shutterstock_369078077

The Caribbean Sea is south-east of the Gulf of Mexico and is part of the Atlantic Ocean. This area has the Caribbean islands, Central America, and South America surrounding it.  The region is a very large area of around 1,063,000 square miles (2,754,000 km2).

By measuring the various pressures and sea level readings from the bottom of the ocean in combination with ocean activity spanning over 50 years and observing satellite measurements of gravity the university was able to discover what they are calling the ‘Rossby Whistle’.

The `Rossby Whistle’

This strange phenomenon, or whistle, is created when a large wave moves slowly across the ocean in a westward direction and interacts with the seafloor.  While normal waves would cancel each other out this wave is able to die out on the west side of the basin and then reappear on the east side.

This strange wave system is named the ‘Rossby wormhole’ and they are able to hold together and oscillate for a sharply-defined period of time. Continue reading

The Hubble Telescope Has Spotted Incredible Auroras on Jupiter

Recently, the Hubble telescope captured some incredible images of an aurora on Jupiter which is perfect timing when you consider that the Juno spaceship is set to arrive at Jupiter in early July.

Auroras are incredibly beautiful light shows that appear in a planets atmosphere around it’s poles. Jupiter is the largest planet so seeing an event this large is both baffling and exciting when you consider how huge this aurora is.

Jupiter has long been known for its very large and colorful storms. The biggest of these storms is the Great Red Spot that you can see clearly raging on its surface. Astronomers have been able to admire and study the planet through the use of the Hubble Telescope’s ultraviolet capabilities.

Auroras as often created from high-energy particles entering the atmosphere of the planet near the electromagnetic poles. These high-energy particles collide with the atoms of gas which will create beautiful and vivid images in the sky. Continue reading