Natural Disasters: How are animals warned?, Part 1

Numerous testimonies

In Martinique, in 1902, several days before the eruption of Mount Pelée, all animals, from birds to reptiles, fled the surroundings of the volcano. The people stayed. There was only one survivor out of the 40,000 inhabitants: a prisoner protected by the thick walls of his jail.

In Fréjus, France, in 1959, all the cats deserted their homes before the dam built upstream burst and flooded the lower part of town, killing over 400 people. And in 1999, in the Vosges, before the violent hurricane Lothar hit, with violent winds that felled numerous trees, all the deer had left the thick of the forests to regroup in the open clearings.

On December 26, 2004 the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka was devastated by a tsunami that penetrated up to three kilometres inland and covered an area of 300 hectares. Surging waves destroyed buildings and transformed vehicles into deadly missiles. Although more than 200 elephants and numerous other animals lived in the park, not a single one succumbed to the tidal wave. “No elephant died, not the least hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disasters coming. They have a sixth sense. They know that something is about to happen”, declared one of the park officials. From a helicopter a journalist sighted the herd of elephants on dry land. The authorities in Sri Lanka confirmed the fact that no dead wild animal was found among the tens of thousands of human remains recovered.

At all times and everywhere in the world such events are related and never fail to fill man with wonder, prompting him to ponder the mysterious faculty that animals possess to have a premonition of such dangers.
The scientific approach

To scientists there is nothing mysterious or inexplicable about animals knowing in advance that a natural disaster is going to take place. Contrary to humans who live in a secure environment, animals live in an environment fraught with a thousand hidden dangers. They are constantly on the alert for predators, to defend their territory and their young, to escape the inclement weather, to find food and so on.

In order to survive the multiple dangers confronting them, animals have developed heightened faculties of perception. In some the sense of hearing is especially refined. The sounds that they are able to pick up are greatly increased towards the high or low end of the frequency spectrum, thus allowing them to hear their enemy “from afar.”

Bats and insects, for example, discern ultra-sounds that are inaudible to humans. Rocks subjected to strong pressures, as it is the case with an impending earthquake, emit sounds of high frequency. That is certainly why shortly before the earthquake that triggered the tsunami of December 2004 thousands of bats were witnessed in Sri Lanka flying away from their deep cave habitats in broad daylight, whereas these animals normally come out only at night.

Elephants, on the other hand, detect infra-sounds. Those of the Yala Park mentioned earlier as having escaped the tsunami probably discerned low frequency sounds emitted by the shifting continental plates, thus allowing them to get to the shelter.

Other animals, snakes for example, are very sensitive to variations in the earth’s magnetic fields, which alter strongly in the hours preceding earthquakes. It would explain why snakes leave their holes before the first tremors to avoid, as has often been observed, being crushed. Chickens, geese and pigeons are also observed to become extremely agitated before earthquakes.

According to some researchers, such panic is due to the ability of these birds to perceive emission of radioactive gases, like radon, which occurs when deep subterranean rock layers, with trapped gases, crack and shift shortly before the earth quakes.

The acute perception of the animals is certainly a part of the explanation of why they foresee danger, but it does not explain all. Two reasons prompt us to think that there must be something else than the sixth sense we speak so much about. Firstly animals react before the event takes place, and secondly they react intelligently in relation to the danger. Let us examine these two elements.

Temperament and Health, Part 2

The Elements

Each temperament corresponds to one of the four elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Sanguine types are mobile and free as the air, melancholic types are reticent and heavy like the earth, choleric types are lively and active like fire and phlegmatic types are peaceful and “calm as the lake.”

To correspond to an element, however, means not merely to have its characteristics, but also to have an affinity with everything of a similar kind. Thus a phlegmatic person likes being on the bank of a stream, by a lake or the open sea. Water therapies, thermal baths or similar treatments have a good effect upon him. Swimming is his favourite physical activity. He appreciates liquid forms of nutrition (soups, semi-solid puddings, sauces) and reacts better to herbal medicines in the form of teas than to dry pills. Of all the different forms of massage, lymph drainage is the most helpful. Sea products like fish, algae, etc., are good for him; the iodine they contain stimulates the thyroid gland and thereby the sluggish metabolism.

Choleric people on the other hand are ruled by fire. They are not especially keen on water, but are attracted by everything dry and warm — just like their own element. They prefer physical mobility and the ensuing warmth. As therapy, the sun, hot air (sauna) and warm compresses work well, as do extracting and stimulating applications (mustard poultices), also herbal remedies dry as pills or capsules. Choleric types prefer strongly seasoned and dry, concentrated foods (grilled meats rather than stews, bread rather than porridge). Since muscles predominate with them, massage appeals to them.

Everything connected with air is especially suited to the sanguine type: walks, hiking, changes of location on foot or by bike, activities in the fresh air. Taking in pure air in the country, in the woods or at the seaside, especially where the wind is blowing, works far better than sunbathing or water therapies. Breathing exercises are a joy. Medicinal herbs are best taken in the form of inhalation or steam baths. The sanguine type can manage on very little food, as long as he gets sufficient of the “nourishing” air from his activities, otherwise he is inclined to compensate through over-eating.

Melancholic types have an affinity with the earth element and react well to mud-baths, volcanic earth and compresses made from healing earth. Their nutrition should be rich in mineral salts. Herbal medicine is most suitable in tablet or capsule form. The nervous system being predominant, reflex zone massages are to be specially recommended, as are any and all methods of relaxation. Melancholic people need to get enough sleep. They do not care for calm and repetitive physical activity (like weight lifting), but they like any sports that stimulate with plenty of movement in variety, such as tennis and team games.

This schematic depiction naturally needs to be adapted in practice. A water therapy goes down well not only with phlegmatic people. It can be adapted for the other temperaments. Thus while total submersion in the element (like swimming in the sea) is very beneficial for the phlegmatic, the sanguine will respond better to a shower, the melancholic needs an even less watery application (for example, compresses) and the choleric prefers the hot steam of the sauna.
One further important point to watch out for in therapy is that just as like attracts like, opposites repel. One should therefore not suggest as therapy something that really belongs to the opposite temperament. For example, it would be wrong to forbid a sanguine person any social contact, to counsel a choleric person against any form of physical activity, to confront a phlegmatic type with sports or particularly strenuous massage, or to refuse a melancholic any stimulation (no reading, no amusements, no outings). That would weaken their health.

The connections between temperament, body constitution, element and lifestyle explain why not every treatment has equal appeal for all patients. Warm and dry medicinal herbs like rosemary and thyme, for instance, have a greater effect on the warm and dry temperament of the choleric person, but rather less on the damp and warm temperament of the sanguine person, and little or no effect on the cold temperament of the phlegmatic or the melancholic. Or: Depending on his affinity with the element of water, a stay at the seaside works exceptionally well for a phlegmatic person, but is less beneficial for a melancholic, who might be overly excited by the iodine. Conversely, the reduced oxygen on the mountain height is beneficial for the choleric and melancholic person, but it unsettles the phlegmatic. Sadly, the knowledge of these interconnections has been largely lost. It could be of tremendous help, though not only in therapy but also to get to know oneself better and to achieve more in life, according to one's own temperament and element.

Temperament and Health, Part 1

The human body is made up of four organ systems: the digestive system, nervous system, the musculo-skeletal system and the system of heart and lungs. These systems differ in strength from person to person. One system will supersede the others and in this way influences the physical constitution.

The prominence of one of the systems correlates with the temperament of the person concerned: With a phlegmatic person it is digestion that predominates, with the melancholic it is the brain and nerves, with the choleric person it is the bones and muscles, and with a sanguine person it is the heart and lungs.

Yet the dominance of an organ system does not of itself determine the temperament of the one concerned. There is also a psychic component. Our body constitution and the way we do things are linked. Thus a choleric person possesses a well-developed musculo-skeletal system as well as being active, athletic and enterprising. The organs necessary for physical activity are exceptionally well developed, helping to bring him success in life, but they are at the same time also the most at risk of breakdown from the excessive strain.

In this way the temperaments make it possible to divide humans into four main groups, each having a similar physical constitution and lifestyle, also similar susceptibility to illness and reacting similarly to treatments.

Each temperament has its own distinguishing characteristics. However, every one of us is something of a “hybrid”; in reality the temperaments are never found in their “pure” form. In that respect the following category descriptions overstate the case.

The sanguine type

People with a sanguine temperament in general tend to have strong heart and lungs. The chest cavity is the most developed part of the body. Sanguine types appear solid, broad, tending to stockiness, with short arms and legs. The general impression of their physique is repeated in the different parts of the body: Head and hands are broad rather than long, the cheeks are prominent, with a good complexion.

The heart and lungs, which are intended to facilitate the exchange of blood and air, are always vigorously active. The sanguine person is accordingly mobile, lively, open and sociable. A life enthusiast, who is fond of interaction, enjoys travel and is drawn to all sorts of activities which stimulate the heart and breathing.

Their predilection for social contact and gastronomic pleasures can lead to excessive eating and drinking - especially of stimulating nourishment like red meat, sausage and alcohol. Health problems may well ensue with blood circulation and respiration. The blood thickens and circulates poorly. Heart and circulation illnesses may arise (varicose vein, embolism, high blood pressure, heart attack) and breathing difficulties (lung congestion, asthma).

The melancholic type

People of melancholic temperament have pronounced development of the brain and nervous system. Not being very strong in the digestive region, nor with the lungs or muscles, they are not at all “rounded”. They are tall and slim. The body is frail, the limbs are delicate and the joints may protrude. The head is broad, especially in the area of the brain.

The melancholic type is inclined to be thoughtful, to deliberate and to analyse. This makes him appear reticent, sombre … melancholic. He is nervous and sensitive, impressionable, indecisive, irascible, anxious and stressed, but also lively, with hands and feet never still. He enjoys stimulants — of a physical nature (coffee, tea, tobacco, highly seasoned dishes, and so on), or else the psychological kind, in that he leads a restless kind of life, is very outgoing, and has a flair for lively discussions.

Since the melancholic person has a weak digestive tract, he eats only little, but often and irregularly. He is inclined to abuse stimulants. Fatigue of his nerves can lead to a string of disturbances: nervousness, anxiety states such as stress, depression, neuritis, neuralgia, migraine, insomnia.

The choleric type

Cholerics have a well developed musculo-skeletal system, lending them an athletic stature, with a square face and body. The eyebrows are straight, the gaze penetrating. Voice and demeanour show solid strength.

The passionate nature leaves the choleric person continually active and on the go. He is a great athlete and loves to expend his strength in physical activity — this, for him, is pleasure and challenge. He reacts quickly and prefers action to reflection. If something is going too slowly or his activity is thwarted, he very soon becomes impatient and irate.

Choleric people have a tendency to overindulge in “strong” foods like meat, sausages, cereals, sugar, fats, and for their flagging strength they enjoy using stimulants such as alcohol, coffee, tobacco.

The tendency to over-exertion can cause torn muscles, fractures, tendinitis or trouble with the joints (dislocations, rheumatism, arthritis). The improper diet causes mainly problems with the gallbladder (liver and gallbladder blockages and infections).

The phlegmatic type

A predominant digestive tract gives the person of phlegmatic temperament a long and solid body. He enjoys eating, but his life has little in the way of mobility, is on the slow side and he does not burn off very well what he consumes. He tends toward overweight, and especially because he very easily stores fat. His body seems voluminous, fat and soft; the limbs, however, are more lengthy, but solid and thick, because the muscles are surrounded by fat. The lymphatic system is likewise strongly developed. The lymph abundance adds to the body volume and sponginess of the tissues. Just as the sanguine type derives a reddish tint from his “blood surplus”, so does the lymph give the phlegmatic a pale tint. The phlegmatic type is calm, peaceful and patient, does not readily commit himself to physical activity, but prefers the indoor, sedate life.

Phlegmatic types enjoy eating, with quantity more important than quality. Rich foods and sauces, stodgy puddings and heavy meals, are favourites. The excess does, however, lead to an exhaustion of the digestive glands (insufficiency of the liver and pancreas) and the digestive organs are enlarged (stomach, gallbladder, intestine — constipation). Problems of the lymphatic system such as glandular inflammation, angina, cellulitis also frequently beset the phlegmatic.

Gnomes, Elves, Gods of Antiquity, a Universal Knowledge, Part 2

Universal knowledge of elemental beings

These beings have been described worldwide in similar terms, considered in connection with the same natural elements, and placed within a hierarchy at the summit of which there is not a single god but a group of gods.

Testimony to the existence of a dozen main gods is found not only in Greek, Roman or other European mythology, but is also found to varying degrees in Africa, Asia, and America.
Such conformity is amazing. Beyond the variations due to the differences of culture and environment, the conceptions and descriptions match in an astonishing manner. Where can this unanimity come from?

There are two hypotheses. The first one considers all the knowledge about elemental beings as a human invention that is propagated all over the globe. The second approach considers the fact that since so many peoples worldwide have believed in the existence of elemental beings and could depict them in a similar manner, it means that they all – no matter where they lived – saw the same thing and could thus describe a similar reality. There was therefore no transmission of an imagined conception but the development of a knowledge based on personally lived experiences.

Of these two hypotheses the first is the least plausible. It is a well-known fact that information transmitted by word of mouth and through intermediaries gets rapidly distorted.

In addition, at the time when these transmissions were supposed to have taken place natural obstacles such as oceans, high mountain ranges, and deserts were almost insurmountable barriers. Besides, a very strong missionary zeal would have been necessary to propagate that knowledge all over the world.

A knowledge for all times

According to ethnologists and historians, one of the characteristics of peoples believing in the existence of elemental beings is precisely the absence of a missionary spirit.

The fact that the belief in the existence of elemental beings is uniformly spread, not only in space but also in time, gives more credence to the second hypothesis.

Indeed, this belief has been alive since the earliest human history. It begins with the worship of nature spirits, the traces of which are found in cave drawings dating over 25,000 years ago. It continues with the worship of ancient gods in Mesopotamia (5 BC), in China and Persia (4 BC), in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as with the Aztecs and Incas (14th/15th century AD), with North American Indians (17th/18th century AD), up to the present day when animistic beliefs are firmly rooted in a sizeable portion of the world’s population.

What an extraordinary long life for a belief considered erroneous and stemming from human imagination!

Why not accept that these folktales and legends are founded on truth, that they were originally based on lived experiences and direct contact, and therefore that the elemental beings really exist?

Gnomes, Elves, Gods of Antiquity, a Universal Knowledge, Part 1

From time immemorial, human beings, both children and adults, have been seeing elemental beings and relating their encounters to those around them. These narratives, which went beyond the ordinary, have been preserved and handed down from generation to generation. Over time – and often with a lot of distortions – they became folktales and legends of various peoples.

They tell of peasants whom these elemental beings guide as to the best time to plant, of shepherds who are helped to find their lost herd or to watch over them, of miners being shown where to dig, of fishermen directed to where to spread their nets, of mountain dwellers and seamen who are warned of the imminent arrival of an avalanche or storm.

They also tell of elemental beings teaching people new ways to utilize what is found in their natural environment: where to find a spring, which medicinal plants to use in taking care of various ailments, how to forge metals, what clay to use to obtain better pottery, which vegetal fibres to use in weaving.

The main elemental beings described in these narratives are gnomes, giants, elves, sylphs, water sprites and, less often, salamanders.

The main task of these beings is not rescuing or advising human beings but to take care of Nature itself, that is, to form, bring it to life and to organise it. They are active in one aspect or another depending on their kind.

Gnomes work with everything relating to the soil, that is, earth, stones, and rocks. Giants form the mountains, valleys, and caves. Elves look after the growth of flowers and plants, while sylphs animate and direct winds, clouds and storms. Water is the sphere of activity of water sprites: springs, streams, rivers, lakes and seas. Salamanders are in charge of everything relating to fire: fireplaces, forges, volcanoes, “will-o’-the-wisps” and so on.
Folktales and legends

In the folktales and legends the elemental beings are described as having a height and a size adapted to their task. Gnomes are stocky and dense like the rocks and the earth; water sprites are fluid and supple like the liquid element, and the giants are large like the mountains and plains they shape.

But the elemental beings in contact with matter are not the only ones in existence. All the folktales and legends also describe different groups of elemental beings standing a little higher than these, directing and coordinating their activities; and higher still a smaller number of elemental beings of a superior kind who are at the top of the whole hierarchy. The latter were considered by various peoples as the most powerful and the highest, and as such were venerated as gods.

These are the well-known deities of Greek and Roman mythology: Zeus, the god of the sky and all meteorological phenomena; Hades, the god of the underworld; Poseidon, the god of the sea; Artemis, the goddess of the hunt; Demeter, the goddess of vegetation; Hephaestos, the god of fire and crafts; Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. The unanimity and universality of these tales and legends is surprising. Human beings all over the world and through the ages have indeed come in contact with elemental beings.

In the Jungle of Diets, Part 2

It’s not just about weight!

Although most diets aim at weight reduction or loss, many are also used as therapies. The body may not only be overweight from excess fat, but a profusion of waste materials can accumulate in tissues and organs without causing an increase in weight. To that extent dieting can make sense for rheumatism sufferers or sufferers from cardiovascular disorders and other diseases.

In a rheumatism sufferer for example, such a diet will be low in proteins to avoid an influx of uric acid and urea, which cause inflammation and blockage of the joints. In people with cardiovascular disease the choice is a diet low in fats to reduce cholesterol intake and prevent blood thickening and deposits in the arteries (arteriosclerosis). In cases of eczema acids are to be restricted, in oedema salts, and sweets in acne.
Purpose of dietetic treatment

In contrast to diets, nutritional therapies aim to rectify nutritional deficiencies, that is they aim to replenish vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, and so on, the lack or deficiency of which caused the disease in the first place. Any organism depends on a steady supply of nutrients for its proper function and growth. While temporary shortages are mostly without significant effects, chronic deficiencies can cause considerable damage.

Nutritional therapies are arranged to remedy missing nutrients in the body. Vitamin C deficiency for example is treated with citrus fruits. Mineral deficiency can be helped by vegetables and dairy products, which are foods high in minerals.

But sometimes it is not enough to just use certain foods, one must increase their consumption substantially in order to supply the adequate amount of a certain nutrient. A protein diet, which consists mainly of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, can be used to remedy protein deficiencies. For osteoporosis a diet rich in dairy products (cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt and so on) can be recommended, which assists calcium and vitamin D absorption. In certain cases it would be a good idea to add nutritional supplements to the diet and increase the vitamin and mineral intake. So for instance wheat germ is useful to increase supply of vitamin E, brewer’s yeast for the B vitamins, Spirulina for amino acids and linseed or rapeseed oil for vitamin F.

Which diet do I require?

Every diet should have a certain therapeutic goal. It does not any make sense to try a diet simply because it is praised in the media or it was recommended in a book, or because it is in fashion at the time or has helped another person.

The right diet or nutritional therapy should exactly correspond to the needs of the individual. Professional dietary advice is important, because there are manifold interactions in the body, so that what is intended to help may in fact cause harm in the end.

If a diet promises a quick result, without the person having to contribute anything, great caution is called for.

In view of the natural law of equilibrium every “one-sided” diet presents an unbalanced eating habit — when the aim is to eradicate an existing imbalance. Diets and nutritional therapies therefore are not part of the normal lifestyle and should not be maintained for too long. Nor is it beneficial to spend one’s life jumping from one diet to another with the aim of doing as many “healthy” things as possible.

Diets and nutritional therapies are temporary aids. During times when we are not on a special diet, we should strive for healthy eating habits which suit our needs. These requirements will naturally depend on our activities and the change of the seasons. When we always adjust ourselves to these conditions we thereby obey the law of balance – and, literally speaking, nourish ourselves in a balanced way.

In the Jungle of Diets, Part 1

Central to all natural processes is the law of balance. It operates in the greatest as in the smallest. It ensures that stars and planets stay their course in exact orbits, by keeping their forces in balance, and on the atomic level it brings about equilibrium of forces of protons and electrons.

The law underscores the balance that occurs everywhere between giving and taking. The amount of air we breathe out corresponds to what we inhale. Blood pumped by the heart into the arteries cannot exceed the volume flowing back in the veins. The activity during the day must be compensated by a suitable period of rest, and in walking we keep our balance by compensating the movement of one leg with the other.

The law of balance also covers the nourishment of the body. Here it is necessary that a balance exists between what the body consumes, in the way of foodstuffs, the activity demanded of it, and what it eliminates as waste.

Our health depends on this balance, which has to be achieved over and over again, because we occasionally consume more food than we use or vice versa. The balance is ordinarily restored from one day to the next. But there are people in chronic imbalance, either out of a habit of eating too much, more than what the body would need, or eating too little.

In the case of overeating, illness follows from accumulation of waste products in the body. In the reverse situation malnutrition is caused by a deficiency of nutrients. In both cases the therapy must begin with the eating habits of the individuals affected to restore the lost balance.

How do diets work?

Diets are restrictive regimens where one or several foods are renounced. How severe the restriction is depends on the goal in mind. If the aim is to relieve the body it may be enough to consume less amounts of food than usual. For a profound correction the food intake needs to be less than the demand. Only by depriving the body of what is necessary for it does it commence to draw on the surplus resources stored in the deep tissues. This way the strain is relieved and finally disappears.

The most austere diet is fasting. Nothing but water is permitted. Burning up reserves and waste is at its utmost because the body receives no nourishment. But such fasting should never be done on a whim.

Monodiets are slightly less restrictive, because – as the name implies – only one food item is permitted. This can be consumed at every meal. Among the best known monodiets are grape diet, vegetable juice, macrobiotic rice, lemon juice, and maple syrup diet.

In addition to fasting and the monodiets there are a number of other restrictive but less austere diets, since various foods are permitted. As long as they are a step back from the usual eating habits they can also be effective. The possibilities are countless. Some diets rely on the number of calories, for example 2,000, 1,500 or 1,000 calories per day. Others cut down on fat, carbohydrate or protein, some have minimal salt intake, a balanced fare and so on.

The Hay diet belongs to this group. Here all foods are allowed, but may not be consumed together. Protein and carbohydrate foods are eaten at different meals. Lunch for example could be a fare of raw and cooked vegetables and a starchy food like potato, cereal or pasta. Dinner on the other hand might be raw and cooked vegetables with a protein of choice (cheese, meat, fish or egg). Separating foods simplifies and shortens the alimentary passage and digestive period considerably, which in turn shortens the absorption of nutrients from the partially digested food. The diminished assimilation is able to stimulate the body to break down surplus deposits.