May 1: Happy May Day! A tense post midnight square between Venus and Pluto leaves some people feeling wounded or upset with partners. Emotional challenges continue as the Last Quarter Aquarius Moon brings more early morning discord. Hearts and heads struggle to get in synch. Have faith, the day soon gets easier. Given that the Sun is in strong-willed Taurus, it is wise to give everyone plenty of time to sit with their feelings. The celestial tide takes a positive turn as midday nears. Worries ease as communication channels open. The afternoon is the best time to express emotions. Discussions c ..read more

Artwork©altitudevisual/123rf Due to our innate connection with nature, mindful birdwatching is undoubtedly a tonic and a source of peace for our modern hearts and minds. For our ancestors, however, having an in-depth awareness and understanding of birds and nature was vital because it informed them of the happenings in the wilderness. This appreciation of what is often called “bird language” is still part of the culture of many native communities, such as the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert and some Amazon rainforest communities. In our modern lives, however, most of us don’t need&n ..read more

Photo©YuriiYarema/123rf A TMJ patient in Maine had six surgeries to replace part or all of the joints of her jaw.Another woman in California, desperate for relief, used a screwdriver to lengthen her jawbone daily, turning screws that protruded from her neck. A third in New York had bone from her rib and fat from her belly grafted into her jaw joint, and twice a prosthetic eyeball was surgically inserted into the joint as a placeholder in the months it took to make metal hinges to implant into her jaw. “I feel like Mr. Potato Head,” said Jenny Feldman, 50, of New York City, whose medical rec ..read more

Photo©OlenaYakobchuk/123rf With inflation taking a bite out of nearly every budget, finding affordable getaways makes sense for many families. A road trip saves significant money on plane fare, but how can you make it more eco-friendly? Fortunately, the right approach can make a road trip more affordable and more sustainable than flying the friendly skies. Greening your vacation begins with the planning stages. Here are seven ways to travel more sustainably on a road trip. 1. Choose Your Ride With Care Emissions might be the biggest polluter on your road trip — but not if you eliminate them ..read more

Artwork©Adam Vilimek/123rf When you walk or drive down a city street, what you are seeing all around you are manifestations of thoughts. Every building began as an idea in somebody’s mind. Someone acquired the land. Someone designed the  house. Someone had  the  idea to  organize people together to build the house, either to make money or to live in it. The trees you see were planted for shade in the yard, on the sidewalk, along the street. The pavement that we accept as a natural part of our landscape was conceptualized, designed, engineered, installed, and is maintaine ..read more

Photo©EvgeniyKalinovskiy/123rf Health care providers and patients have traditionally thought that infections patients get while in the hospital are caused by superbugs they’re exposed to while they’re in a medical facility. Genetic data from the bacteria causing these infections – think CSI for E. coli – tells another story: Most health care-associated infections are caused by previously harmless bacteria that patients already had on their bodies before they even entered the hospital. Research comparing bacteria in the microbiome – those colonizing our noses, s ..read more

Artwork©RetroVintageClipArt/Etsy When we incarnate into a 3D world, we are going to experience events that offer us chances to learn many things. We plan many of those events to give us the best chance of success. Prior to incarnating we choose specific spiritual goals and abilities we wish to achieve in the incarnation. That includes choosing the moment of our birth to align with specific planetary energies. We make agreements with others to act in certain ways during that lifetime to help us both grow. We plan ways to balance out karma to assist us learn what we hadn’t known at the time w ..read more

Photo©AneteLusina/Pexels When I was a child and adolescent, my family suffered prolonged life-threatening intimidation from the New York mafia. My father was called as a witness to testify against Johnny “Dio” Dioguardi, a ruthless mafioso of the Lucchese crime family. In an attempt to protect my mother, me and younger brothers from almost certain death, my father refused to testify against Dio, even as this was demanded by the young and ambitious Robert F. Kennedy, then chief counsel to the New York Senate committee on racketeering. To help secure my father’s silence, I was brutally raped ..read more

Photo©Elvira Koneva/123rf Sleep anxiety is like a finger trap; the more we fight it the more we get stuck. I often advise my patients to be gentle with themselves, and accept that when sleeplessness happens — and it does — at least you are resting your body and sometimes, that is enough. Here are six techniques for anyone who struggles with sleep anxiety. These exercises offer a soothing way to prepare for rest and gently introduce an effective way of letting go of the day’s concerns. 1. The Pillow Breath  A simple deep breathing exercise Lie down in bed or any flat surface with ..read more

Bald eagles at their nest at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia on March 6, 2024. U.S. Department of the Interior / Facebook Biden Administration Restores Protections For Threatened Species by Paige Bennett, EcoWatch The Biden administration restored protections to threatened species in the U.S. on March 29 — protections that had previously been rolled back in 2019 by the Trump administration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) finalized three rules to ..read more