Numen: The Nature of Plants

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By Dr. Mercola

Numen is the animated force in all things living, and this is strongly demonstrated, although often taken for granted, in plants.

Even our DNA contains much of the same material found in the plant world, which gives new meaning to the idea of healing plants.

It's a scientific fact that is explored, fascinatingly, in the documentary Numen: The Nature of Plants. As Bill Mitchell, ND, naturopath and co-founder of Bastyr University stated in the film:

"You're as much carrot as you are a kangaroo, as you are a bird. A lot of that DNA, that memory comes from the very origins of life."

Herbalism Is the Oldest System of Healing on the Planet

The use of plants as medicine is one of the only forms of healing that's embraced by every culture and ethnicity, and that has endured since ancient times and is still in use today in most areas of the world.

What makes this all the more intriguing is that how and why plants work is still largely a mystery. Modern science can uncover cells, molecules and atoms, but science cannot fully explain the healing nature of plants, or the intricacy and complexity of life.

One only needs to view the amazing time-lapsed photos of sprouting seeds and flowers blooming in the video below to appreciate this…

Herbs, Like Foods, Are Complementary to Human Health

In the past I have regarded herbs, in many cases, as an alternative to drugs, useful for treating various symptoms but not to treat the underlying cause. I have since revised my opinion on this quite significantly, and now realize that herbs can help support your health from a very basic level, just as foods do.

When I interviewed Donnie Yance, who is a clinical master herbalist, he explained that foods and herbs share quite a few similarities, including being pleiotropic -- which means they produce more than one effect.

This is expanded on in Numen, which explains that the complex mix of chemicals in plants work synergistically to address underlying imbalances in your body that may lead to disease.

As herbalist Matthew Wood said:

"It is very seldom that herbs are strong enough to kill germs. A few of them can, but then they become drugs. Killing germs isn't how traditional medicine works.

It works instead by changing the environment, working to address imbalances in organ systems and tissue states, not targeting a specific bacteria with a single chemical extracted from a plant or synthesized in a lab."

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, you could walk into a drug store and find hundreds of herbal extracts for sale. Upwards of 90 percent of the population at that time knew how to use the medicinal plants growing in their backyards to treat common illnesses and injuries; they had too, as this was virtually the only 'medicine' available.

With the rise of what is now known as conventional allopathic medicine shortly before World War One, herbalism slowly fell out of favor and became to be thought of as folk medicine. Rather than viewing nature as the source of healing, as had been done for centuries, people began to view drugs and other 'modern' healing methods as superior.

We're Now Separated from Our Natural Roots

When you shop for food in a grocery store, you're completely removed from the natural process used to grow your food. And in many cases, that 'natural process,' too, has been transformed into an industrial process that is at the heart of mass food production.

This is but one example of our increased separation from nature, a state that often leads people to feel significantly unbalanced. Said Ken Ausubel, CEO and founder of Bioneers:

"If there's been a single disconnect in Western civilization, it's this idea that somehow we're separate or distinct from nature, when in fact the opposite is true… we're connected to the ecosystems around us and we can really only be healthy when the land and the air and the water around us are also healthy. And if they're not, it's going to show up in our physical well-being."

Now, with the US spending more on health care than any other industrialized nation, while at the same time experiencing soaring rates of chronic disease, it has perhaps never been more evident that our disconnectedness from nature is backfiring.

Environmental Pollution Is Poisoning Humans, Too

Infertility, immune system disorders, obesity, and other chronic illness are on the rise, and it's becoming very clear that environmental chemicals are at least partly to blame. Yet, there is still a reluctance to acknowledge that when you poison nature, it is akin to poisoning yourself. The average American has 148 chemicals in his or her body, and this chemical exposure begins in your mother's womb.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, like phthalates and bisphenol-A, are interfering with hormones and linked to the rise in male birth defects and testicular cancer in young men. You're exposed not only when you use products containing them, but plastics containing these chemicals are dumped into the environment, where the chemicals enter waterways, with unknown effects.

"At the molecular level we're wreaking havoc, and then that cascades up to the cellular and organism and ecosystem level," said Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Healing Is About Wholeness, Not Parts

Modern medicine excels at treating emergencies and certain serious illnesses, like bacterial infections, yet often misses the mark when it comes to healing other more subtle, yet no less devastating, conditions.

Physicians often rely on lab tests and blood work over the patient's own words, and may use this information as proof that nothing is wrong, when in fact the person still feels tired, foggy or depressed. Part of the problem is the breaking down of a whole person to a set of parts and evaluating each organ in isolation from the rest of the body. Another part is ignoring the bigger picture, which is that lab tests do not give the whole story of a patient. As Tieraona Low Dog, MD, said:

"I think the truth is many people have a kind of soul sickness, they have a soul pain, a spirit pain. And you can't find it in laboratory values, you can't find it in a scan, but in no way does that make it less real."

Unfortunately, conventional medicine is not well equipped to deal with these types of emotional pain or other underlying conditions that modern medical tests miss. This is also evidenced by many physicians' complete lack of attention to lifestyle factors that could be influencing their patients' health, like sleep, stress, and diet… they don't tell you that a trip to the farmer's market for healthy food and perhaps some herbal preparations may hold the cures you've been searching for.

Nature Is the Source of Healing: Whole Plant Medicine

Most synthetic medications are based on compounds in plants. Scientists cannot create these substances but must, rather, try to make copies, But in their synthetic models they often end up with compounds that your body doesn't recognize and doesn't know how to handle. As Herbert explained:

"You target a particular chemical and you hit it really hard, and the system is expected to just have the response that you want it to have, but actually you have all these other effects… we call these side effects. They're not side effects, they're effects, they're just not the ones you wanted."

A plant, however, is a complex of thousands of biomolecules, many of which are countervailing, so if there's one effective compound that may have a toxic effect, it usually contains a countervailing compound so that it doesn't harm your liver, for example. It's the interplay of chemicals that make the plant work, which is why you can't study herbal medicine by isolating a certain element; you've got to study the whole plant. This is what conventional medicine is largely missing.

Of course, the ultimate 'herbalism' is the food that you eat on a daily basis. Dark green leafy vegetables, herbs and spices are excellent sources of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and anti-cancer substances that can dramatically influence your health. Christopher Hobbs, clinical herbalist, put it well: "The real medicine is hiding in the produce department."

You Can Feel the Power of Plants Every Time You Walk in the Garden

There's a deep connection with plants that many people feel intrinsically when they walk into their garden. This connection continues when you use plants for healing, including when you prepare tinctures or teas from herbs, which you can do in your own kitchen. According to many herbal experts, this relationship with plants and nature is nearly as important as the herbal medicine itself.

As herbalist Rosemary Gladstar said:

"I think one of the most unique places about herbalism and modern herbal healers is that we still maintain that deep connection with the plants. We're not looking at just single components as being the magic bullets in our bodies. There's still a deep prayerful relationship, whether you go to the plants and consciously pray or you have awareness with them, or just the way you are with them when you're harvesting them or making your medicine or even giving the medicine. There's a deep connection with the spirit of the plants. It's not just that there is a chemical constituent that will cure your condition; it is the relationship that the plant has to us and how those plants have served as our healers for literally thousands of years.

For anyone who works with the plants, whether you're gardening, or just being with them, backpacking with them a lot, that experience of having a plant communicate with you in some way happens. It takes you by surprise at first, but the plants want a talk to us, they want to help us.

They work on so many different levels in our bodies. Yes, they can work just as chemical constituents, but that's the least potency that they have… when you develop a relationship with plants, that kind of sacred plant medicine will happen. Just by working with them, they begin to speak to you and you begin to hear them. It happens when you garden. You know, when people go into the garden, they transform. That's why so many people garden. They go into that garden and they begin to feel things and be different, and in a way that's plant spirit medicine at its finest."

10 Steps You Can Take to Harness the Healing Power of Plants

After watching Numen: The Nature of Plants, you may find yourself driven to deepen your relationship with the natural world. If so, here are 10 tips to do so:

1. Learn to identify three medicinal plants you don't already know that grow in your region and learn their uses.
2. Add at least one of these herbs to your garden or to pots on your windowsill.
3. Make a tincture, tea, syrup, or salve. Or make one of each!
4. Harvest and dry mint, lemon balm, calendula, nettles, or any other plant growing in your region.
5. Find a plant to sit with quietly each morning for a week; draw the plant.
6. Identify one healing skill you would like to have but don't, and find a way to learn it—perhaps by taking an herb class, or re-certifying in basic first aid or CPR.
7. Make an herbal first aid kit.
8. Organize local healers for emergency response in your community.
9. With medicinal plants grown in your region, learn how to treat one condition that you and/or someone in your family struggles with.
10. Join United Plant Savers, which aims to protect native medicinal plants of the US and Canada.

~A.

High-Performance Agriculture Can Increase Yield 6-8 Times

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By Dr. Mercola

High-performance agriculture is one of my new passions, and my goal is to provide you with information on how to maximize the time, effort, and energy you're investing in growing your garden.

This new passion is turning into something of a second career—to learn and understand how to optimize plant growth and the environment.

Most of you are aware that I've been a strong supporter of labeling genetically engineered (GE) foods, with the intention of eliminating GE crops altogether, if at all possible.

The flip-side of this is the effort to replace GE crops with organic farming practices where crop yields are maximized to their utmost potential, to the point that genetic engineering becomes entirely superfluous. There are certainly ways to accomplish this, although the learning curve can feel a bit steep at times.

This interview focuses primarily on how you can optimize your garden, but the principles are virtually identical for larger-scale agriculture. I've been applying what I've learned in my own garden for a few months now, and I've been able to personally witness the maximization of genetic potential that is possible.

High-Performance Farming Can Increase Yield 6-8 Times

For example, the leaves on some of my plants, like my lime trees and oleanders, are literally 300 to 400 percent bigger than the typical leaf of these plants. It's truly extraordinary! You wouldn't even imagine that a leaf could grow this big.

Part of the problem is that we've gotten used to less than mediocrity, when it comes to plant performance. As my guest in this interview states, farmers and food producers routinely harvest only about 10 to 15 percent of the inherent genetic capacity of any given crop.

By optimizing soil composition and nutrient application, you can—for essentially the same amount of time, effort, and energy—increase your yield six to eight times.

John Kempf, an Amish farmer, is one of the leaders in the field of high-performance agriculture. He has taken a leadership role—somewhat similar to the way I have in natural medicine—in teaching people how to achieve these results. He's the founder and CEO of Advancing Eco Agriculture, and runs an organic, high-performance farm in Ohio.

The results you can achieve when you apply the principles he teaches are truly astounding. As Kempf says:

"You have to have different expectations and you have to begin managing your crops differently. For example, when you are expecting to produce 60 to 70 pounds of tomatoes per plant, you no longer plant the plants 12 inches apart.

That doesn't work logistically. You have to begin spacing tomato plants two and a half to three feet apart. But all of a sudden, you only need three tomato plants instead of 36!"

How Food Becomes Medicine...

Kempf grew up on a family farm in northeast Ohio. The farm was originally conventionally agriculture-oriented, and used large amounts of pesticides. The turnabout occurred during a particularly difficult three-year period in the early 2000s, when a significant portion of each year's crop was lost to various pests and plant diseases.

In 2004, they began working some land on a neighboring farm where pesticides were not used. The difference was dramatic. Cantaloupes grown on their side were infested with Downy and powdery mildew, while the cantaloupes grown on the neighbor's land had no infestation at all—despite the fact that the crops were immediately next to each other and received the same care.

"At that point, I became convinced that fungicides and pesticides were not the solution to the problems that we were experiencing," Kempf says. "I wanted to know what the differences between healthy plants and unhealthy plants are, and what allows some plants to have a functional immune system that they can be resistant to disease and insect pests while the next one right beside it is susceptible."

In a nutshell, what he subsequently learned, is that the foundation of health – whether we're talking about plants, soils, animals, or people – really boils down to two things:

1. Having adequate mineral nutrition, and
2. Having that nutrition, in the case of plants, be supplied by an active soil microbial community, or having a strong soil biology

By focusing on those two areas – plant nutrition and soil biology – the farm experienced an amazing turnaround, and it's been completely chemical-free since 2006. Amazingly, as nutrition is improved in the plants, not only do they become naturally resistant to disease and insect pests, they also become hardier and better able to survive a wider range of climactic changes.

Even more importantly, healthier plants also form much higher levels of medicinal compounds and essential oils, such as phenolics, aromatics, and bioflavonoids. This is really what turns food into medicine... As explained by Kempf, these medicinal compounds are compounds that plants produce as plant protectants, meaning they protect the plant from things like ultraviolet radiation, insects, and pests. When you eat such plants, that functional immunity can then be transferred to you.

What Is High-Performance Agriculture?

High-performance agriculture, as defined by Kempf, is providing plants with the environment and the nutrition they need to allow them to express their inherent genetic potential. This is a key concept, because you're not really altering a plant's yield by supplying it with better nutrition, per se. All you're doing is allowing the plant's inherent yield potential to be fully expressed. Most plants in fact have FAR greater yield potential than what conventional agricultural practices are capable of producing. As explained by Kempf:

"Take tomatoes, for example. The day a tomato seed is planted, it has the genetic capacity to produce 400 to 500 pounds of fruit per plant. Every time that plant is exposed to any level of stress throughout the growing season that potential harvest is reduced. At the point at which you're actually harvesting the crop, you are only harvesting a very small fraction of what you originally started with the day you planted that seed. When we give the plant nutritional supplements, the reality is that we are not increasing yields; we are simply preventing those yields from being lost."

The question then becomes: How can plants be healthier and grow so much more vigorously than what has become accepted as normal? The answer to that question lies in a plant's capacity to fully synthesize. The action of absorbing water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air, and through the catalytic action of sunlight energy, sugars are formed inside the plant. Those sugars are the energy source utilized to drive all of the plants' growing processes and to build fruits. Anything you do to increase that plant's photosynthetic capacity will therefore increase the plant's energy.

The photosynthetic capacity of any given plant is directly correlated to the mineral content and the nutritional profile of the plant. If it has adequate mineral and trace mineral nutrition, it will be able to photosynthesize at very high levels of efficiency and produce as much as three to four times or more sugars during a single 24-hour period, compared to most of today's conventional crops.

How to Evaluate Plant Quality

In the full version of the interview, Kempf discusses a number of examples of dramatically increased crop yields produced on high-performance farms. While many blueberry crops, for example, have an 8-12 percent sugar content, the blueberries he's been working with have a sugar content of 14-18 percent.

"We have increased the sugar production capacity of that plant by 50 to 80 percent, which results in a sweeter fruit and indirectly a fruit that is more nutritious," he says.

To measure sugar content in your plant, you can use a refractometer, also called a Brix meter. Sugar content is often used as an indicator of quality—not because the sugars are in and of themselves necessarily an indicator of quality, but they're typically associated with the plant's mineral content. Hence, it can be used as a marker of quality. Brix meters are available on Amazon.com and other places, and can be had for under $100.

It's a simple way to measure the quality of the fruits, berries or vegetables you're growing, and evaluate the effectiveness of your remedial actions.The most common Brix meters measure on a scale of 0 to 32 degrees Brix, which is what you want. They also have units available that go from 0 to 64. According to Kempf, those are less accurate as they measure too broad a range.

Using Tea Compost for Your Garden

I recently visited the Rodale Institute, which claims to be one of the oldest organic farms in the US. It was founded 75 years ago by J.I. Rodale. One of the most potent strategies they employ to improve plant health is compost tea. While there are a variety of ways to make compost tea, you typically use a volume of water, certain sugars for nutrients, minerals, along with certain bacteria or microbes. The mix is then aerated using a pump, as the beneficial organisms require oxygen to survive. The tea is typically grown over 24 to 48 hours, and then you apply it directly to the soil on a regular basis.

An ideal compost tea is composed of tens of thousands of different species of bacteria, along with fungi and protozoa that actually digest the bacteria. This type of tea compost can address both of the main components necessary for maximum plant performance, i.e. mineral nutrition and optimized soil biology. Kempf explains:

"To provide a more complete picture of why those two factors are the engines that drive the overall system: Inside the plant, all types of metabolic processes go on that depend on mineral nutrition in order for the plant to be able to grow and be healthy. According to a number of plant researchers, geneticists, biochemists that have done a lot of work on plant nutrition, in order for a plant to have a completely functioning enzyme system, which it needs to be really healthy; it needs at least 64 different trace elements.

We're talking not only about having adequate quantities and the right balance of minerals, but we're also talking about a very broad spectrum, a very broad suite, of mineral nutrition, specifically a lot of the various trace minerals, to function as enzyme cofactors. However, we need that mineral nutrition to be in a form in which it can be readily absorbed and readily utilized by the plants. And the key to getting mineral nutrition absorption into plants is microbiology in the soil system."

This  is very similar  to your own biology. You have microflora in your digestive tract that is responsible for helping you digest your food. As the proteins and carbohydrates in the food are broken down through enzymatic digestion into individual amino acids, essential fatty acids, and simple sugars, your body can then assimilate these simpler compounds and use them for energy.

As explained by Kempf, the exact same process holds true in soil, where the soil microflora digests root exudates, sugars, and amino acids that the plant's root system sends out into the soil. These sugars and amino acids, for the most part, contain a very limited mineral profile.

The minerals are actually created through the microflora in the soil, as follows. The soil bacteria, fungi, Actinomycetes, and a variety of other soil microbes feed on these soluble sugars and amino acids. They also extract minerals from the soil mineral matrix and use them to build their own bodies. As that microbial population cycles and regenerates, the minerals that are contained in their bodies are then released and become available for absorption by the plant. Again, this is very similar to the way that fermented vegetables or probiotics improve your own digestive and overall health.

How Charcoal May Improve Soil Health

Compost tea can produce great results in terms of plant growth, but you also need to pay attention to other environmental factors, such as watering and increasing the organic matter in your garden soil by adding compost and other soil amendments. Another area I'm really excited about is the use of BioChar, which is charcoal used as a soil amendment. Producing BioChar involves slowly burning biomass, such as wood and other plant materials. The slow burning releases methane gas, producing charcoal that has an incredibly high surface area when spread out thinly.

The charcoal stores carbon (as trees and plant materials extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) and starts to reverse some of the challenges we're seeing with increasing CO2 levels in the environment. When put back into the soil, it can keep the carbon stable, in the form of charcoal, for extended periods of time, which is an environmental benefit.

From a gardening perspective, it provides a suitable environment in which beneficial soil bacteria can grow and flourish. According to Kempf, BioChar may also help "filter" toxic chemicals in the soil:

"I do not know this for sure, but I suspect, based on the charcoal component, that there's a very strong possibility it might also have a great beneficial aspect in sequestering toxins and environmental pollutants that are in our soils and ubiquitous in our environment today.

For example, with all of the herbicides and pesticides that are being sprayed, all the aerosols that are in the air, every time we get a rainfall, there are some minimum levels of pesticides that are within that rain. I think having that BioChar component in your soil can help bind a lot of those toxins and prevent them from being absorbed by your plants."

Why Using Miracle-Gro Is Not a Good Idea

Many are under the false assumption that increasing plant nutrition is best done by picking up some Miracle-Gro from your local garden store. However, it's important to realize that while conventional fertilizers can provide some level of improvement, they're far from ideal. Nor are they superior, when compared to natural high-performance plant-enhancing methods. As explained by Kempf, there are two main issues at stake:

1. Plants require far greater diversity of minerals than that provided in any commercial fertilizer formula. For example, NPK fertilizers contain varied amounts of just three components: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. As mentioned earlier, plants need at least 64 different minerals and trace-minerals for optimal growth.
2. While many soluble NPK-type fertilizers produce rapid, noticeable plant response, they significantly suppress the soil microbial community because they're essentially electrolytes, and when applied to the soil, they increase the electrical conductivity of that soil, which results in a burnout and a suppression of the soil microbial community. So, long-term, this simply promotes soil destruction and decreases your ability to grow healthy plants.

Resources for Further Learning

Soil and plant health is a complex topic that cannot be thoroughly dissected in any one article, so I advise you to take it upon yourself to learn more about high-performance gardening and agriculture on your own. One excellent resource is Secrets of the Soil: New Solutions for Restoring Our Planet by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.

Kempf also has a web site called AdvancingEcoAg.com, where you can learn more about his work. For example, you can find quite a bit of information about their cultural management systems and the nutritional systems they use on high-performance farms. His company also produces plant nutritional supplements that help increase plant health. These products will probably become available sometime next year, as they're currently in the testing phase.

~A.

New 7.0 update features....

This update features a beautiful new design and also contains hundreds of new features, including the following:

• New design
• Redesigned interface updates the entire system and every built-in app
• Subtle motion and animation; layers and translucency provide depth
• Elegant new color palette and refined typography 
• Updated system sounds and ringtones
• Control Center
• Quick access to commonly used controls and apps with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen
• Turn on & off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb; adjust screen brightness; access media controls; turn on AirPlay and AirDrop
• Quickly access flashlight, timer, calculator, camera and music controls
• Notification Center improvements
• New Today view gives you an overview of your day, including weather, calendar, and stocks 
• Notifications dismissed on one device dismisses across all your devices
• Multitasking improvements
• Preview screens of open apps when you switch between them
• Permits any app to keep content up to date in the background
• Camera improvements
• Swipe through different camera modes – video, still photo, square aspect, and panorama
• Real-time photo filters with iPhone 4S or later, and iPod touch (5th generation)
• Photos improvements
• Automatically organizes your photos and videos based on time and location into Moments
• iCloud Photo Sharing supports multiple contributors and videos, plus a new Activity view
• Add photo filter effects
• Flickr and Vimeo support
• AirDrop
• Quickly and easily share content with people nearby
• Securely encrypted transfers with no network or setup required
• Supported on iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account
• Safari improvements
• New iPhone tab view that lets you easily switch between open web pages 
• Unified smart search field for both search terms and web addresses
• Shared Links shows web pages shared by people you follow on Twitter
• iTunes Radio
• Streaming radio service
• Pick from over 250 featured and genre-focused stations
• Start your own station from your favorite artist or song
• Siri improvements
• New, more natural sounding male and female voices for US English, French and German
• Integrated Wikipedia, Twitter search, and Bing web search results
• Change settings including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and brightness
• Supported on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation)
• App Store improvements
• See apps relevant to your current location with Popular Near Me
• Discover age-appropriate apps in the Kids category
• Keep your apps up to date automatically
• Find My iPhone Activation Lock
• Turning off Find My iPhone, erasing your device, reactivation, and signing out of iCloud requires your Apple ID password 
• A custom message can be displayed on your device even after a remote erase
• iTunes Store improvements
• Preview and buy songs you've heard on iTunes Radio while inside the iTunes Store
• Add to, and shop from, your iTunes Wish List
• Scan code with camera to redeem iTunes Gift Cards 
• Music improvements
• Play music purchases from iCloud 
• Rotate your iPhone or iPod touch to browse your music with the Album Wall
• Videos improvements
• Play movie and TV show purchases from iCloud 
• View similar movies and TV shows from Related
• Maps improvements
• Turn-by-turn walking directions
• Automatic night mode 
• Bookmarks shared across devices via iCloud
• Mail improvements
• New Smart Mailboxes, including Unread, Attachments, All Drafts and To or CC
• Improved search
• View PDF annotations
• FaceTime audio calling
• Block unwanted Phone, Messages and FaceTime callers
• Support for sending long MMS messages
• Pull down on any Home Screen to reveal Spotlight search
• Scan to acquire Passbook passes
• New ringtones, alarms, alerts and system sounds
• Definitions of a selected word for additional languages: Italian, Korean, and Dutch
• Inclinometer in the Compass app
• Wi-Fi HotSpot 2.0 support
• Accessibility features
• Individuals with limited physical motor skills can now control their device using Switch Control
• Customize closed caption style
• Handwriting input support in VoiceOver
• Math input support using Nemeth Braille in VoiceOver
• Select from multiple premium voices for speak selection and VoiceOver 
• Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids and stereo audio for iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation)
• Enterprise features
• Manage which apps and accounts are used to open documents and attachments
• Per App VPN
• App Store license management
• Enterprise single sign-on
• Remote configuration of managed apps
• Automatic data protection for third-party apps
• Exchange Notes syncing
• Install custom fonts
• New management queries and restrictions
• Education features
• Mobile device management for Apple TV
• Request AirPlay Mirroring from a student device to Apple TV
• Pre-configure AirPlay destinations and AirPrint printers
• Streamlined MDM enrollment
• Ability to restrict changes to accounts
• Web content filtering
• Authorized apps can initiate single app mode
• Configure accessibility settings for single app mode
• Features for China
• Tencent Weibo integration
• Chinese-English bilingual dictionary
• Improved handwriting input with improved accuracy, stroke order independence and support for simultaneous multiple character input
• Bug fixes

Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

~A.

http://lifehacker.com/15-brilliant-things-you-can-do-with-command-hooks-1355369802?utm_campaign=socialflow_lifehacker_facebook&utm_source=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

15 Brilliant Things You Can Do with Command Hooks

I think we all agree: 3M's Command hooks are awesome. You can stick them anywhere and easily remove them without damaging the wall or having to break out the drill. But they can do a lot more than hang your coats and keys—here are 15 ingenious ways to use them.

Hide Cables

The little Command hooks can hide pesky cords on even the thinnest furniture, as these photos from the Hi Sugarplum blog shows. Cassie uses the hooks to disguise lamp cords, but you can do this with any kind of cable or cord (e.g., by sticking the hooks at the back of your desk and running cables through them).

Mount a Router to the Wall

Related

Lifehacker reader Guy mounted his router to the wall with a couple of 3M Command hooks and as a result has much better Wi-Fi reception in his house.

Hang Headphones on a Monitor

SExpand

Second grade teacher Kelly mounts headphones on monitors in her classroom, and you can do the same at home. If you don't care for the look, there are clear Command hooks or you could hang the headphones behind the monitor too.

Hang Curtain Rods

The easy way to put up a curtain rod without poking holes in your wall. This picture's from 3M itself.

Keep Garbage Bags from Slipping into the Can

Attach a hook on either side of the can and keep the garbage bag in place.

Mount Foil and Plastic Wrap

While you're in the kitchen, stick up some hooks for keeping aluminum foil and plastic wrap within reach. Blogger Anna Moseley uses a different brand of self-adhesive hooks, but you get the idea. If you don't want them on your wall, they'd fit great on the inside of a cupboard door.

Organize Pot Lids

Related

We saw this simple trick earlier this year. It's a smart, space-saving idea for storing pot lids.

Hang Hook-Unfriendly Items with a Command Hook and Binder Clip

You can hang anything from these hooks, even if they don't "hook" onto things well. For example this trick from The Borrowed Abode blog hangs rubber gloves out of sight but in reach (and hanging to dry) with a command hook and that other indespensible tool, a binder clip.

Attach Scoops to Containers

Hang a measuring cup to the outside of an oats container (or flour container, etc.) for easy access, the A Thousand Word blog shares.

Mount Toothbrushes

Pinterest user Kelly N Jared Stover says: "I used the small clear 3M Command hooks turned sideways on the inside of my medicine cabinet to store toothbrushes. They fit perfectly!"

Hang a Wreath

Stick a hook upside down on the back of a door for a simple way to hang a wreath on the other side, Jeralyn writes at the Lemonade blog.

Hold Glasses/Sunglasses

Professional organizer Andi Willis posted these tips to hold eyeglasses on your bedside table. If you have a bunch of sunglasses or glasses, you could also hang them on string stretched across two hooks.

Create Tablet Stations

Related

With a few hooks, you can create a tablet station in any (or every) room of your home.

Make a Changeable Artwork Display

Hang skirt hangers from hooks for an art gallery that can easily be switched up, as the Be a Fun Mom blog shares.

Make a Shoe Rack

Finally, if you have a collection of shoes with heels, hang a curtain rod between two hooks and, voila, instant shoe rack, Kayla25 adds at 3M.

Ready to start hooking everything up? If you head to Command.com you can pick up a few coupons to stock up on their hooks.

~A.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/builtlean/exercise-quotes_b_3929821.html

10 Inspiring Quotes for Exercise Motivation This Fall

By Nate Morrow

As fall approaches, many of us may find ourselves struggling to stay motivated to exercise as the weather gets colder. Luckily, it's a great time for fresh starts and new goals to get healthy; whether you're a seasoned gym veteran or just beginning your fitness journey, a little extra motivation can be just what you need to kick-start the fall season.

With that in mind, I've put together 10 of my favorite exercise motivation quotes from a wide variety of athletes, authors, and philosophers to help you start out fall on the right track.

Find Inner Strength

1. "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger

2. "If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health."
-- Hippocrates

3. "I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
-- John D. Rockefeller

4. "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
-- Mahatma Gandhi

There Are No Limits

5. "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus; and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
-- Bruce Lee

6. "Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them."
-- Orison Swett Marden

7. "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
-- Mark Twain

Never Give Up

8. "Energy & persistence conquer all things."
-- Benjamin Franklin

9. "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
-- Michael Jordan

10. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -- Agatha Christie

That last one is my personal favorite. I know it's sometimes difficult to make changes in our lives, especially with busy work and family schedules, but I truly hope you can find some inspiration here to make your health a priority this fall. Yes, going to the gym as it gets colder is not as easy as sleeping in your nice, warm bed, but you'll be glad you did.

We spend so much time and energy focused on professional and financial pursuits that we tend to overlook the importance of exercise and our own physical well-being.

So I'd like to leave you with one last thought from motivational speaker Jim Rohn that summarizes the main idea here pretty well: "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." 

Follow BuiltLean on Twitter: www.twitter.com/builtlean

Comet ISON Coma Debris, Meteors and ET Fossils - Sept 19, 2013 |UFO Sightings Hotspot

http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/2013/09/comet-ison-coma-debris-meteors-and-et.html

Comet ISON Coma Debris, Meteors and ET Fossils - Sept 19, 2013

Fireballs, Meteors, Meteorites, Asteroids and Comets have increased over the past 3 years.
       (.....Corrupted Atmosphere)
Around 15,000 tons of meteoroids, micrometeoroids and different forms of space dust enter Earth's atmosphere each year.

The meteor that rocked the world in February 2013 also left a trail of dust around it. NASA's Suomi NPP Satellite tracked the plume and showed that it had traveled around the northern hemisphere and back to Chelyabinsk, Russia in 4 days.

Video Chelyabinsk meteor dust traveled around the world

Could Earth be threatened by extraterrestrial bacteria and chemicals from Comet ISON's coma debris, or from meteorites in general?

Reports of microfossil or microbial life discoveries in meteorites have a long and tangled history stretching over half a century.

The Polonnaruwa Meteorite

Minutes after a large fireball was seen by a large number of people in the skies over Sri Lanka on 29 December 2012, a large meteorite disintegrated and fell in the village of Araganwila, which is located a few miles away from the historic ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

At the time of entry into the Earth's atmosphere on 29 December 2012, the parent body of the Polonnaruwa meteorite would have had most of its interior porous volume filled with water, volatile organics and possibly viable living cells. A remarkable coincidence that should be noted is that within several days of the meteorite fall, various parts of Sri Lanka experienced episodes of red rain, yellow rain, green rain as well as black rain (period December 2012/January 2013).

There is tentative evidence for the presence of organisms, including diatoms, in meteorites falling over the same time period. These microorganisms are likely to have served as nuclei for the condensation of rain drops.

Image: Microorganisms found in the black Rain and in the Polonnaruwa Meteorite.

The identification of fossilised diatoms in the Polonnaruwa meteorite is firmly established and unimpeachable. Since this meteorite is considered to be an extinct cometary fragment, the idea of microbial life carried within comets and the theory of cometary panspermia is thus vindicated.

Comets and Meteorites can contain living bacteria from space along with other chemicals including arsenic. But with around 15,000 tons of space dust enter Earth's atmosphere each year including the larger cometary fragments made it to the ground, you would think space dust is no threat to the Earth and humanity.

But 'what if' space dust or cometary fragments contains life threatened organisms or chemicals?

Soon the earth will be doubled dusted with unknown biological and chemical debris from comet C2012 S1- ISON.

The space dust from ISON could be in our atmosphere for years. In the event the debris contains fossils as in the meteorite dust Sri Lanka, it will be interesting to see what effect, if any, it will have on the biology of earth or.. we may expect a pandemic? Like the Black Death of 1347 (1347-1350) one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. The Black Death of 1347 was probably caused by a corrupted atmosphere.

 

~A.

GeoengineeringWatch.org

http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/


~A.

New World Order Chemtrail Mural in Portland Oregon

http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/new-world-order-chemtrail-mural-in-portland-oregon/

documenting the chemtrail-geoengineering coverup

Sick, sick, sick......~A.

This is the 72,000 Sq. Ft. Eco-Mansion Going Up in the Ozark Mountains — But Why? | TheBlaze.com

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/07/19/this-is-the-72000-sq-ft-eco-mansion-going-up-in-the-ozark-mountains-but-why/

THIS IS THE 72,000 SQ. FT. ECO-MANSION GOING UP IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS — BUT WHY?

There's a 72,000 sq. ft., 13-bedroom, 14-bathroom, mansion going up in the middle of the Ozark Mountains. And as the walls take shape, so do the theories about what exactly it is. According to the New York Times, some say it's a military bunker, others say a low-profile getaway for local phenom Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And still others speculate it's there to host aliens.

"It's really strange, and we're thinking something's up," Michele Grider, who lives just down the road from where the mansion is being built, told the Times. "If there was a nuclear thing they could hide a bunch of important people there."

It's called Pensmore, and its location is the opposite of its architecture: inconspicuous. It's located halfway between Springfield and Branson, MO. And it's bigger than the White House.

The owner, 60-year-old Steven T. Huff, used to own a company that makes software for military and intelligence agencies, further fueling speculation about the complex's use. According to him, it's just a large second home.

But while speculation exists about the mansion's primary purpose, it's clear what it's secondary purpose is (if not really the first): to trumpet green technology.

"Energy efficiency and enduring sustainability are the twin missions of Pensmore," the complex's website says. "The values and beliefs behind these principles are firmly held: a belief in good stewardship to the earth and fellow man, a belief that oil, gas, and coal as energy resources will become increasingly expensive and thereby unsustainable, and a belief that one ought to leave a positive impact in the world."

"Sustainability means more than just energy efficiency. It also means minimizing total life-cycle costs through low and zero-maintenance materials, and reduced use of non-renewable products during construction," the facility touts on another part of its website.

"Perhaps one of the biggest environmental advantages of Pensmore is its inherent durability. Designed to endure for centuries, the chateau will leave a minimum impact on the environment while other structures are built, demolished and built again and again."

The site explains some of the technology that will be utilized:

Pensmore's heating system utilizes a cutting-edge technique for harvesting solar heat energy that exploits the vast energy storage potential of its steel reinforced TransForm™ concrete shell. Many builders already make use of traditional solar heat collectors, which are highly efficient at moderate temperatures. But until now, it has been expensive and impractical to "bank" the excess solar heat generated on sunnier days. Pensmore's newly-developed technologies enable it to store millions of BTUs of thermal energy while the sun shines, slowly releasing this "green" heat back into the interior at night and during cloudy days.

Secondary sources of heat include combustion of wood products grown on the estate (net carbon neutral) and "conventional" geothermal systems.

It will also take advantage of a new product called TRransForm — a super-insulated energy-storing concrete forming system. That's important because Huff is an investor in the product. He told the Times he wants to test out the material on a large scale.

An architect's rendering of the finished mansion.

So why rural Missouri?

According to Huff, he wanted to test out the technology in a climate that offers both warm and cold temperatures. But there's also another reason: rural Missouri shields him for building inspections.

"[B]y locating in an area famous for a small government approach," the Times reports, "he is not subject to building regulations or inspection, which he said would have complicated his efforts."

According to the Times, construction has been ongoing for the last two years, and probably won't be completed for another two.

~A.

http://www.rebellesociety.com/2013/09/16/i-need-you-to-know-something/

I Need You to Know Something... | Rebelle Society

via Jessica Hesser on Sep 16, 2013 | 0 comments

{Source: newvintageleadership.com}

My heart aches lately, but after thinking about it for a while, I'm pretty certain it's not just for me. My heart is aching for all of us, for this beating, throbbing collection of human hearts.

My friends, we are at a critical and precious point in time and I think there is a mass need for healing and love on this sweet planet right now.

I feel, then, I must tell you something, and it's very important, so although we might not have met yet, (and may never), I need you to believe me when I tell you this.

I need you to know how loved you are, how tremendously loved you are. I need you to understand how much the very universe from which you were born is madly, deeply and truly in love with you. I need you to understand that in all ways you are perfect, magnificent and divine.

"Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~ Rumi

I know it doesn't always feel like this.

I know that sometimes you think you are not good enough, that you would be better if this or that were different. I know you think there are times you have failed, or that maybe you are failing right now.

I know that sometimes your chest gets so tight, the air so heavy with the weight of regret and worry and shame that you think you can not possibly go on.

I know you think you have done things that can't be undone and that there are parts of you that are bad, selfish or unclean. I know there are things about yourself that you don't like and sometimes secretly hate.

I know there is a loneliness that can take hold, a loneliness so big that it stretches to the edges of eternity and pushes on your heart so hard you shake in fear that it will never end. I know at times you have hurt so badly that the pain has dropped you to your knees.

Sometimes the layers of life can pile up so high that it seems impenetrable and you start to forget your true self, to mistake the experience for who you are. But it is not who you are, my friend.

"Your problem is you're … too busy holding onto your unworthiness."
 ~ Ram Dass

Let me tell you what I see when I look at you:

In you, I see the Infinite. I see the very seeds of Life itself. I see universes being born into existence.

I see the mother of all that is. I see the wind that blows the mountains into form. I see the awesome and endless enormity of the sea. I see the fierceness of the mighty sun. I see the graceful allure of a silver, siren moon in a cobalt sky.

I see the roots of history, the old blood and the new blood, fresh and vital. I see the ancient stories, and the ones not yet written.

I see the kind of hope that can only be found on the breath of angels. I see the unbearable sweetness of a baby's touch and the soft warmth of its skin.

I see endless, passionate, consuming love. I see gentleness. I see deep, deep joy.

I see the courage of a warrior's heart. I see the endurance of one who's loved from the depths of their being.

I see all the things you sometimes forget about yourself.

"You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are." ~Yogi Bhajan

All the things that you are create an amazing, intricate and unique expression of life. All that you are is exactly as it should be. The idea that you are somehow not good enough is a lie, so let go of the judgments you hold for yourself.

Know that at all times you are being and doing exactly what you should be. Life is unfolding exactly as it should. Everything is happening for your awakening and for your highest good, even when you can't see it. Your path is supremely designed and if you find the faith to follow it, it will always lead you back to love.

So soften, my friend, move closer into the heart, trust that all is well and give yourself permission to be exactly who you are and to celebrate the light that you have brought onto this earth. Fill your life with love and joy and beauty and know that you deserve these things always.

You are never alone, you are held at all times in the arms of love. When everything starts to feel heavy and hard it is only because you have forgotten your inherent radiance, you have forgotten the awe-invoking brilliance of your soul. You have forgotten that this remarkable life has been given to you for your own delight, born from your breath, and bathed in your godliness.

If you could catch even a glimpse of what I see, of the stunning power and exquisite perfection that dwells within you, you would never be the same.

When you see who you are you will know the love that universe has for you and you will love yourself in equal measure and, really, this is the most important thing you can learn to do.

There is unequivocal magic created when you find the grace to truly embrace and love who you are. It transforms your life and the lives of those around you.

"To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don't wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now." ~ Alan Cohen

Offer yourself kindness, forgiveness and acceptance and you will automatically and naturally offer this to others and then, my friend, the world (and you) will have the love and the healing that it needs so much right now.

If you feel sad, broken, lonely, wrong, unworthy or not good enough in any way, I need you to know that you are loved. There is nothing that you have ever done or that has been done to you that can take away from the perfect wholeness of your being, nothing that can diminish your greatness or the love that the universe has for you.

I need you to know how loved you are, how tremendously loved you are.

 

*****

 

 

{P.S. You are more than enough.}

 

 

 

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Jessica Hesser is an insatiable learner, mama, wife, explorer, creator, and above all else, seeker of Truth. She seldom stays in one "place" too long, finding it impossible to resist the fervor to experience it ALL, but she understands the power of her stillness. She will try anything once, but more likely three times, just to make sure... Jessica has certifications in Yoga, Personal Training, Holistic Fitness, and Reiki. She offers yoga classes, private yoga, workshops, meditation, personal training, energy healing and original jewelry in Naples, FL. Find her on her website Mantras & Miracles or on Facebook.

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More Rebelle...

• How to Avoid the Spiritual Backlash (Against Yourself).
• The Miracle of Mantras.
• In the Spotlight: Creative Healing through your Archetype.
• Forces of Nature: The Healing Benefits of Reiki.

Rebelle on Facebook & Twitter / General contact: editorial@rebellesociety.com
Submissions: create@rebellesociety.com / Advertise: advertise@rebellesociety.com

 

~A.