Dwelling In Yoga…

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By Dr. Jessie Mercay, PhD, PhDmst
posted by Ganesh

Most people think of yoga as being a Hindu system of exercises involving body postures that purify and strengthen the body, bring peace to the soul, and create connection with the Divine. While this is true, there are other forms of yoga aside from body postures. For example, there is the yoga of breath (pranayama), mantra yoga (meditation and/or chanting), yogic medicine (Siddha Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine), and the yoga of architecture (Vaastu Shastras and Sthapatya Veda). What all of these sciences have in common is the goal to create Union with the Divine while living in the material world. For some, yoga is a lifestyle that includes many of these components. When one takes this lifestyle seriously they become a yogi or yogini. Many cultures around the world have historically had members of their society who strived for spiritual perfection –union with the Divine – even if it wasn’t called yoga per se. These people sometimes lived as hermits in the forest and in caves while others were householders with families. They became shamans, medicine people, yogis, and yoginis, both within society and away from society.

Temple Cottage built by AUM S&T students

One thing many of these yogis had in common is that most of them recognized that there was a special place that they preferred to do their practice. Often that place was in a cave or temple. Those householders who were fortunate lived in homes that were specifically constructed to have a special feeling or frequency that supported their goal for Union. Ramana Maharishi, the great Indian sage, became awakened from meditation in a temple (Thiruvanamalli, India). The great sage Patanjali who wrote the Yoga Sutras had his awakening in the temple Rameswara, Tamilnadu, South India. He also spent long periods of time at the temple of Chidambaram in South India, as did Thirumular, the great exponent of the seminal spiritual text, Thirumaintiram. Nearly all of the famous 18 Siddhars (enlightened sages of whom Pantangali and Thirumular were numbered) gained their awakening at Vaastu Temples in Southern India. It is widely known that the sages of India made extensive pilgrimages to various temples to strengthen their spiritual life. Those temples were not just buildings to house deities. They were special forms constructed under strict guidelines of Vaastu Shastras and Agamas.

What most people don’t know is that it was not necessarily the deity of the temple that they sought to strengthen their spiritual life. Rather it was the building itself that held the frequency that uplifted their consciousness. “The image of God, rendered in accordance with Shastric measures, shines forth with vibrancy, of its own accord”. (P. 16 Makutagama Agamic Shastra). In other words, if a form is rendered (sculpture, deity, house, temple, dance, music) using proper Shastric rules and measure, it becomes a living vibrating form on its own.

Vaastu Temple Cottage in New Mexico built by Jessie Mercay and AUM S&T students in 2008.

As strange as it may seem, properly constructed temples (and other buildings including houses) designed and built using the specialized mathematics and building codes – from the ground up – designated by the Vaastu Shastras become sacred spaces that vibrate with specific energies, which resonate with individual Atman (jivatman) and elevate the individual to spiritual bliss – Union or Yoga. This has been a little known ancient secret – held in confidence by none other than the architects of these buildings. The knowledge of how to build a building that will vibrate in such a way as to elevate the very soul of a person has been kept secret for thousands of years.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, there is a story of the architect who built King Solomon’s temple – Hiram. Hiram was a Phoenician King. He was part of the ancient tradition of temple and house builders (Sthapati’s) who were sworn to keep silent about their specialty. His workers approached him and asked him to tell them the secret of building a building that vibrated with God essence. He refused and was subsequently killed for his refusal. This knowledge was so sacred and secret because it could be used for good or evil. That is, the architects could build a Godly building that uplifted humanity or they could build a building that would vibrate in such a way that it destroyed a community.

One of the first considerations for building this type of building is the building site. The ancients (Sthapatis or Architects) knew how to select a site that already contained specific qualities that would vibrate in a positive way. Highly evolved Yogis and Sages knew how to select these sites and did throughout the world. They were taught how to select a cave or natural setting that contained the energy that would support their growth in connection with the Divine. Some, like Buddha, instinctively knew how to select such a site.

In that same way, these special builders were taught how to select a site that would support spiritual growth if built space was constructed on that site using specific building codes from the Vaastu Shastras (textbooks). In southern India alone there are over 35,000 of these buildings in the form of specially constructed temples. What most people don’t know is that there are also thousands of homes in Southern India built using the same principles applied to temples. Those villages that were constructed using these special building codes also had a village temple that was a pure and unadulterated form (no interior walls etc), which vibrates with immense power.

People through the ages and especially in modern times have attempted to assess the qualities of these houses and temples in order to replicate them. The problem with that is that they only saw the general physical properties of the building (room placement). They failed to see or comprehend the non – physical properties and the specific physical properties that caused the vibration. Without that knowledge, the principles that they observed were misunderstood and misapplied causing random results and sometimes
damage. In fact, in modern times we have adulterated versions of this deep and profound science.

About twenty years ago, a traditional Indian architect who came from an unbroken lineage of more than two thousand years of architects and builders who knew these ancient secrets began to reveal this knowledge publicly in an effort to find students to reawaken this incredible science in its pure form. Very few of these architects (known as Sthapatis) live today as most families from the clan that preserved this knowledge were forced to seek other means of livelihood due to alien rule. This Sthapati is Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai, India. He is the single most respected Sthapati in the world today. He is highly decorated as an artisan and builder. He is known far and wide for his expertise and artistry and is referred to as Vaastu Vyasa.

Dr. Sthapati brought this knowledge to the west through a small University he cofounded with Dr. Jessie Mercay called The American University of Mayonic Science and Technology http://www.aumscience.com. This University offers classes that reveal these ancient secrets to individuals who are willing and motivated to gain the knowledge needed to properly apply these sacred building codes.

Why was this seen as such an important thing to do? The science behind this knowledge and the Rishi who cognized it reveals that an individual can gain Union or enlightenment by dwelling in a building built using these special ancient codes. Saints and yogis have known this for thousands of years. When a person lives in one of these buildings they are literally dwelling in yoga for the entire time they are in the building.


The effects are cumulative and the person becomes fully integrated over time. A little known fact is that in India today and throughout history people go to buildings built with these codes for healing and rejuvenation. It is known as a special technique called temple sleep. While the large homes built using these special codes are too expensive for a poor person, the community temple is always available for rejuvenation. And, smaller homes may be built using these building codes.

This body of knowledge is called Mayonic Science and Technology (at the request of the former President of India). The yogic Rishi who cognized this science, Siddha Brahmarishi Mayan, called it the Luminous Path. He is mentioned throughout Vedic literature (Mahabarata, Bagavatam, and elsewhere) and is known as the cognizer of the first Veda – the Pranava Veda.

His fundamental achievement was to observe within his own nature, the process that Consciousness or the Divine undergoes in its transformation of energy (Itself) into matter – the material world. Mayan was able to use the elements of that process (which is mathematically based) to replicate that process and manifest specific frequencies or qualities of consciousness in various art forms. He applied this knowledge to music, dance, poetry, sculpture and architecture. He declared that architecture was the highest form because it had the greatest influence over an individual dwelling in specifically designed built space.

The science of this body of knowledge is found in the Pranava Veda and the Aintiram –both written by Mayan (he authored more than 32 texts). The technology that follows this science is found in various treatises on sculpture, dance, music, drawing and painting, poetry and grammar, and architecture (Vaastu Shastras and Agamas). This knowledge of living or meditating in vibrant buildings is missing from the understanding of what it takes to become an awakened yogi. The general frequencies or vibrations of today’s world and today’s houses are overwhelmingly abrasive to the growth of Union. In this science, Union is concerned with resonance with the Divine. One’s own Atman must become resonant with the Divine Cosmic Atman in order to experience enlightenment. It is almost impossible for that to happen fully today with all of the events happening in the world around us that produce numerous discordant frequencies. These special houses and temples (large and small) provide a barrier to the damaging environment. They offer a frequency that offsets environmental influences. In addition, if they are built properly, they elevate the inhabitant to spiritual bliss and wellbeing.

The mechanics of this are straightforward. A special mathematical order (mathematical formulas) and special building codes that mirror the principles of Consciousness manifesting itself as the material world are applied to building architecture. The building then becomes vibrant with specific qualities designated by the architect or consultant based upon specific mathematical formulas. The building vibrates or becomes alive with these qualities (among which is Spiritual Bliss). The vibration of the building then affects the vibration (at the level of jivatman) of the individual. Over time, the individual jivatman vibration raises to the level of the building that is considered a divine form. This is called resonance or Bhakti.

Simply stated, because the building was designed and built to vibrate with specific qualities of the Divine, the inhabitant then becomes in Union with the Divine. These building codes include factors such as site selection, slope of land, vibrancy of land based upon special tests and analysis, existing water bodies, placement of out building, trees and other vegetation, perimeter and elevation of the building, special roof slopes, numerous interior considerations such as room placement, flow of incoming and outgoing water, placement and flow of electricity, plumbing, placement of bathrooms, orientation of building on plot, primary and secondary door placement, and numerous other considerations.

The actual building must be accomplished under the supervision of a trained Vaastu consultant who has been certified by a Shilpi Guru (at present there is only one living Shilpi Guru – Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati) or his representative. The building process is very specific and must be done to 1/16th of an inch. While that may seem impossible, it is routinely done under proper supervision. A properly trained consultant knows how to make sure that happens.

An important point to bring up before closing is that in modern times, there are many people attempting to “rectify” existing homes using gadgets, yantras, and other such gimmicks. They have reduced the ancient knowledge found in the Vaastu Shastras to something akin to Feng Shui – a very different practice.

Some people even say that putting up special mirrors or burning special incense will do the trick. This science is much more than smoke and mirrors. It is only meant to be practiced in building from the ground up. No manner of device will correct the frequency of an already existing building. It is the orientation of the building and the mathematics of the main wall and elevation that create the frequency. And all of the above mentioned codes and assessments that contribute to and maintain the frequency. No gadget can alter that. The fact is that not one of these people has actually read the Vaastu Shastras directly nor have they studied at length with an authentic traditional Indian architect who comes from the ancient tradition. Currently there are only about thirteen certified authentic Vaastu consultants and architects in the western world.

A home can be built using these codes or a small (about 10×10) mathematically perfect temple cottage built with specific building codes taken into consideration for your back yard. Like the ancient yogis of the past we must find a way to individually or collectively obtain a living vibrant structure so that we too can dwell in yoga. Some communities in the US already have properly built structures. (Not all temples are properly built in the US). Here are some places where there are properly built structures (built by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati) in the US: Hindu temple in Omaha, NE; Shiva Vishnu Temple in Washington, DC; Chicago Hindu Temple; Miami; St. Louis, and Hindu Temple on Kauai, HI.

You can find out more information about how to build such a structure for your self or your village by contacting aumcourses@aumscience.com You will need the help of a trained consultant who is recognized by a traditional Shilpi Guru. You can also purchase a book that describes these concepts more thoroughly by ordering Fabric of the Universe, by Dr. Jessie Mercay from jmercay@vastu2vaastu.com You will never be the same after living in, meditating or doing yoga in one of these forms. In fact, over time, you will be a complete yogi living in Union.

Be well…

In the mists of collective panic, it’s important to calm down your own nervous system.

When you’re in fear you take all the available energy of your body and use them for fight or flight purposes. You shut down growth and you shut down the immune system.

~ Bruce Lipton ⠀

Yes, wash your hands & boost your immune system. Both of those are important. What’s more important is in states of stress, you lower your immune system response. It does no good to keep feeding the fear & panic in this situation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Stay aware but its MORE important to calm your nervous system ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Have a meditation or spiritual practice you can tune into daily ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Root chakra activities (Prithivi mudra) – stay embodied in your body, stop getting stuck in your head and stay present.
Have light foods which keeps you active and energetic whole day.
Physical movement, walks, exercise, house chores, to name a few whatever helps you snap back into the body.
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Feeling grounded and safe in your body.
* What does feeling safe in your body feel like? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
* What does feeling supported in life feel like in your body right now?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
* What currently brings you those feelings?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
* Go and what you love the most. Do what you love, love what you do. 🙂
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Stress management through rest and relaxation – maybe you need more self-care, rest, an adult coloring book, create some art. Draw, listen to music, sing, dance or watch something you like and makes you feel good.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Prioritize PLEASURE – what brings you pleasure in your mind, your body, your soul? Prioritize your pleasures.

Focus on the good in life, not panic and fear. Energy goes where attention flows! You can do this with mantras or a daily gratitude practice recite 3 things you are grateful for today. Pass your love and gratitude to all…   

Be well…  🙂

Children and Technology: How to Protect Our Little Ones From EMF

Nowadays, babies not long out of the womb can make use of iPhones attached to babies’ bottles, iPads on potties, wireless nappies and change tables. It’s just a whole new level of ridiculousness that’s really not good for anyone.

All these wireless devices expose us to man-made EMF radiation. It’s often called high-frequency or microwave radiation. No previous generation has ever been exposed during childhood and adolescence to this kind of widespread radiation. My nine-year-old son was born around the time the iPad was launched. So, these kids and the following generations have lived their whole lives surrounded and immersed in man-made high-frequency EMFs, at complete odds with the extremely mild EMFs generated by their own bodies.

Why and How is Wireless Technology Affecting Children?

Let’s look at an iPad. They emit short bursts of pulsed microwave radiation even when we are not using them. These bursts typically occur every 4 seconds or up to 900 times every hour. Even when they are not in use they are continually searching for a signal. Smartphones do the same thing.

Hundreds of studies have linked EMF radiation with ill-health effects: headaches, migraines, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, heart problems, infertility, ADHD and autism.

The heart, brain and reproductive organs are most badly affected. It makes sense: we put phones to our ears/brains, iPads close to our face and tablets/laptops on our laps. These organs also contain the highest density of ‘Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels’. When we are exposed to man-made EMFs these gates open, allowing millions of calcium ions into each and every cell, wreaking havoc. A massive inflammatory cascade ensues: inflammation equals disease.

Of course, our hearts and brains run on electricity too (that’s what ECGs and EEGs measure). So, any unnatural form of EMF is bound to affect our own natural electrical systems.

Why are children more at risk than adults?  

Children are not little adults. They are impacted way more than we are because their heads are smaller, their skulls much thinner and right up until about 20 years of age their brains are still developing. Their brain tissue contains more fluid and so is more conductive than ours. The bone marrow and eyes absorb way more radiation than the rest of their body. Stem cells are also much more numerous and active in growing bodies and have been shown to be affected by high-frequency radiation. That’s why when it comes to children and technology, we simply have to be vigilant.

Cancer Risk 

As far back as 2011 high-frequency EMF (this includes WiFi radiation) has been on the World Health Organisation’s Class 2B List of Possible Human Carcinogens. This is based on research showing increased brain cancer in heavy users of mobile phones (that is, 30 minutes per day) with over 10 years of use. Note that was 30 minutes a day – how often do you or children talk for that length of time or longer?

Brain cancer rates are increasing significantly and the longer we spend on the phone and the closer we hold it to our body the higher the risk. There is lots of research screaming at us to take note.

Some really significant studies have been undertaken in recent years that shows that the earlier a child (under twenty years of age) starts using a mobile (or cordless) phone, the higher the risk of developing a malignant brain tumour (glioma) or an acoustic neuroma. The latter is a rare, slowly growing benign tumour found between the ear and the brain. The study showed that children who started using a mobile phone as teenagers go on to develop 4 to 8 times more brain cancers than those who began using phones later in life. The younger the child, the greater the risk. These findings have been corroborated by other major studies such as the Interphone study and the CERENAT study.

Modelling shows that children’s heads absorb more than twice the amount of radiation from a smartphone than an adult. Their bone marrow ten times as much. This increased risk doesn’t just apply to phones but iPads too, as these are often used close to the head. Every single manufacturer of phones and tablets worldwide issues a safety warning in the fine print instructing you not to hold wireless devices close to your body.

Mums aren’t off the hook either. There are many studies that find mobile phone use by mums during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk for behavioural problems, particularly hyperactivity/inattention problems and also autism.

The American Academy of Paediatrics had this to say about smartphones:

“They’re not toys. They have radiation that is emitted from them and the more we can keep it off the body and use (the phone) in other ways, it will be safer”. 

Safety Standards

In 2012, the American Academy of Paediatrics wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in the USA asking them to review the existing outdated and inappropriate standards for high-frequency radiation. It’s a story for another day, but in short, our regulatory standards do not protect us and Australia is no different. They are not only outdated but they also don’t take into consideration that our cells are adversely affected by this type of radiation (only that it can heat our tissues).

Steps to Reduce Your Child’s EMF Exposure from Technology  

Listed below are many steps you can take that will make a significant difference to your child’s health and wellbeing. Most of these recommendations are similar to those given by the American Academy of Paediatrics.

  • The best way to reduce EMF in the home is to replace your wireless router/modem with a non-wireless router and install ethernet connection points.
  • Use corded plug-in (not wireless) connections for your gaming device, printer, mouse, speakers, tablets, keyboards and headphones.
  • All gaming devices (PS4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch) emit radiation so time spent on them should be limited and controllers should be wired.
  • To play an app or watch a movie on your device, download it first, then switch to airplane mode while you watch in order to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure.
  • Disable the WiFi and Bluetooth functions on all your laptops, computers and tablets.
  • Smartphones and tablets can also be connected to ethernet using adaptors.
  • Apple TV, Smart TVs, Google Chrome Cast and similar emit EMF and need to be completely unplugged when not in use.
  • At a minimum, turn off your wireless router at night and only turn on during the day when needed.
  • Do not install a router in your bedroom or living area where the family spends a lot of time.
  • At bedtime turn off all mobile phones or put them in airplane mode. Sleep mode will not suffice.
  • Never allow a child to put a phone to their head or keep it in their pocket; older children can use speakerphone or air tubes (a special type of EMF-limiting earphones).
  • Text or email instead of making mobile phone calls or use speakerphone.
  • Never make phone calls in cars, trains or buses. The phone works much harder to get a signal through metal.
  • Never charge a phone or tablet beside your bed, even in airplane mode or when turned off.
  • Pregnant women should keep all wireless devices (mobile phones, tablets, laptops) away from their abdomen.
  • Replace DECT cordless phones with corded phones.
  • Set some ground rules to keep the usage of devices down.
  • Work and play outside even if using devices. Nature (grounding and the sun) is your greatest asset when it comes to offsetting the negative effects of man-made EMF.

Una Phelan. Read more here…

A Real Risk to Living Beings: Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)

You may not realize it, but you are participating in an unauthorized experiment—“the largest biological experiment ever,” in the words of Swedish neuro-oncologist Leif Salford. For the first time, many of us are holding high-powered microwave transmitters in the form of cell phones – directly against our heads on a daily basis.

Cell phones generate electromagnetic fields (EMF), and emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR). They share this feature with all modern electronics that run on alternating current (AC) power (from the power grid and the outlets in your walls) or that utilize wireless communication. Different devices radiate different levels of EMF, with different characteristics.

What health effects do these exposures have? There in lies the experiment.

The many potential negative health effects from EMF exposure (including many cancers and Alzheimer’s disease) can take decades to develop. So we won’t know the results of this experiment for many years—possibly decades. But by then, it may be too late for billions of people.

Today, while we wait for the results, a debate rages about the potential dangers of EMF. The science of EMF, discussed in the next chapter, is not easily taught, and as a result, the debate over the health effects of EMF exposure can get quite complicated. To put it simply, the debate has two sides. On the one hand, there are those who urge the adoption of a precautionary approach to the public risk as we continue to investigate the health effects of EMF exposure. This group includes many scientists, myself included, who see many danger signs that call out strongly for precaution. On the other side are those who feel that we should wait for definitive proof of harm before taking any action. The most vocal of this group include representatives of industries who undoubtedly perceive threats to their profits and would prefer that we continue buying and using more and more connected electronic devices.

This industry effort has been phenomenally successful, with widespread adoption of many EMF-generating technologies throughout the world. But EMF has many other sources as well. Most notably, the entire power grid is an EMF-generation network that reaches almost every individual in America and 75% of the global population. Today, early in the 21st century, we find ourselves fully immersed in a soup of electromagnetic radiation on a nearly continuous basis.

What we know

The science to date about the bioeffects (biological and health outcomes) resulting from exposure to EM radiation is still in its early stages. We cannot yet predict that a specific type of EMF exposure (such as 20 minutes of cell phone use each day for 10 years) will lead to a specific health outcome (such as cancer). Nor are scientists able to define what constitutes a “safe” level of EMF exposure.

However, while science has not yet answered all of our questions, it has determined one fact very clearly—all electromagnetic radiation impacts living beings. Science demonstrates a wide range of bio-effects linked to EMF exposure. For instance, numerous studies have found that EMF damages and causes mutations in DNA – the genetic material that defines us as individuals and collectively as a species. Mutations in DNA are believed to be the initiating steps in the development of cancers, and it is the association of cancers with exposure to EMF that has led to calls for revising safety standards. This type of DNA damage is seen at levels of EMF exposure equivalent to those resulting from typical cell phone use.

The damage to DNA caused by EMF exposure is believed to be one of the mechanisms by which EMF exposure leads to negative health effects. Multiple separate studies indicate significantly increased risk (up to two and three times normal risk) of developing certain types of brain tumors following EMF exposure from cell phones over a period of many years. One review that averaged the data across 16 studies found that the risk of developing a tumor on the same side of the head as the cell phone is used is elevated 240% for those who regularly use cell phones for 10 years or more. An Israeli study found that people who use cell phones at least 22 hours a month are 50% more likely to develop cancers of the salivary gland (and there has been a four-fold increase in the incidence of these types of tumors in Israel between 1970 and 2006). And individuals who lived within 400 meters of a cell phone transmission tower for 10 years or more were found to have a rate of cancer three times higher than those living at a greater distance. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated EMF – including power frequencies and radio frequencies—as a possible cause of cancer.

While cancer is one of the primary classes of negative health effects studied by researchers, EMF exposure has been shown to increase risk for many other types of negative health outcomes. In fact, levels of EMF thousands of times lower than current safety standards have been shown to significantly increase risk for neuro degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease) and male infertility associated with damaged sperm cells. In one study, those who lived within 50 meters of a high voltage power line were significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease when compared to those living 600 meters or more away. The increased risk was 24% after one year, 50% after 5 years, and 100% after 10 years. Other research demonstrates that using a cell phone between two and four hours a day leads to 40% lower sperm counts than found in men who do not use cell phones, and the surviving sperm cells demonstrate lower levels of motility and viability.

EMF exposure (as with many environmental pollutants) not only affects people, but all of nature. In fact, negative effects have been demonstrated across a wide variety of plant and animal life. EMF, even at very low levels, can interrupt the ability of birds and bees to navigate. Numerous studies link this effect with the phenomena of avian tower fatalities (in which birds die from collisions with power line and communications towers). These same navigational effects have been linked to colony collapse disorder (CCD), which is devastating the global population of honey bees (in one study, placement of a single active cell phone in front of a hive led to the rapid and complete demise of the entire colony). And a mystery illness affecting trees around Europe has been linked to WiFi radiation in the environment.

There is a lot of science—high-quality, peer-reviewed science—demonstrating these and other very troubling outcomes from exposure to electromagnetic radiation. These effects are seen at levels of EMF that, according to regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates cell phone EMF emissions in the United States, are completely safe.

An unlikely activist

I have worked at Columbia University since the 1960s, but I was not always focused on electromagnetic fields. My PhDs in physical chemistry from Columbia University and colloid science from the University of Cambridge provided me with a strong, interdisciplinary academic background in biology, chemistry, and physics. Much of my early career was spent investigating the properties of surfaces and very thin films, such as those found in a soap bubble, which then led me to explore the biological membranes that encase living cells.

I also performed research exploring how electrical forces interact with the proteins and other components found in nerve and muscle membranes. In 1987, I was studying the effects of electric fields on membranes when I read a paper by Dr. Reba Goodman demonstrating some unusual effects of EMF on living cells. She had found that even relatively weak power fields from common sources (such as those found near power lines and electrical appliances) could alter the ability of living cells to make proteins. I had long understood the importance of electrical forces on the function of cells, but this paper indicated that magnetic forces (which are, as I will explain in the next chapter, a key aspect of electromagnetic fields) also had significant impact on living cells.

Like most of my colleagues, I did not think this was possible. By way of background, there are some types of EMF that everyone had long acknowledged are harmful to humans. For example, X-rays and ultraviolet radiation are both recognized carcinogens. But these are ionizing forms of radiation. Dr. Goodman, however, had shown that even non-ionizing radiation, which has much less energy than X-rays, was affecting a very basic property of cells—the ability to stimulate protein synthesis.

Because non-ionizing forms of EMF have so much less energy than ionizing radiation, it had long been believed that non-ionizing electromagnetic fields were harmless to humans and other biological systems. And while it was acknowledged that a high enough exposure to non-ionizing EMF could cause a rise in body temperature—and that this temperature increase could cause cell damage and lead to health problems—it was thought that low levels of non-ionizing EMF that did not cause this rise in temperature were benign.

In over 20 years of experience at some of the world’s top academic institutions, this is what I’d been taught and this is what I’d been teaching. In fact, my department at Columbia University (like every other comparable department at other universities around the world) taught an entire course in human physiology without even mentioning magnetic fields, except when they were used diagnostically to detect the effects of the electric currents in the heart or brain. Sure magnets and magnetic fields can affect pieces of metal and other magnets, but magnetic fields were assumed to be inert, or essentially powerless, when it came to human physiology.

As you can imagine, I found the research in Dr. Goodman’s paper intriguing. When it turned out that she was a colleague of mine at Columbia. When it turned out that she was a colleague of mine at Columbia, with an office just around the block, I decided to follow up with her, face-to-face. It didn’t take me long to realize that her data and arguments were very convincing. So convincing, in fact, that I not only changed my opinion on the potential health effects of magnetism, but I also began a long collaboration with her that has been highly productive and personally rewarding.

During our years of research collaboration, Dr. Goodman and I published many of our results in respected scientific journals. Our research was focused on the cellular level—how EMF permeate the surfaces of cells and affect cells and DNA—and we demonstrated several observable, repeatable health effects from EMF on living cells. As with all findings published in such journals, our data and conclusions were peer reviewed. In other words, our findings were reviewed prior to publication to ensure that our techniques and conclusions, which were based on our measurements, were appropriate. Our results were subsequently confirmed by other scientists, working in other laboratories around the world, independent from our own.

A change in tone

Over the roughly 25 years Dr. Goodman and I have been studying the EMF issue, our work has been referenced by numerous scientists, activists, and experts in support of public health initiatives including the BioInitiative Report (discussed in chapter 11), which was cited by the European Parliament when it called for stronger EMF regulations. Of course, our work was criticized in some circles, as well. This was to be expected, and we welcomed it—discussion and criticism is how science advances. But in the late 1990s, the criticism assumed a different character, both angrier and more derisive than past critiques.

On one occasion, I presented our findings at a US Department of Energy annual review of research on EMF. As soon as I finished my talk, a well-known Ivy League professor said (without any substantiation) that the data I presented were “impossible.” He was followed by another respected academic, who stated (again without any substantiation) that I had most likely made some “dreadful error.” Not only were these men wrong, but they delivered their comments with an intense and obvious hostility.

I later discovered that both men were paid consultants of the power industry – one of the largest generators of EMF. To me, this explained the source of their strong and unsubstantiated assertions about our research. I was witnessing firsthand the impact of private, profit-driven industrial efforts to confuse and obfuscate the science of EMF bio-effects.

Not the first time

I knew that this was not the first time industry opposed scientific research that threatened their business models. I’d seen it before many times with tobacco, asbestos, pesticides, hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”), and other industries that paid scientists to generate “science” that would support their claims of product safety.

That, of course, is not the course of sound science. Science involves generating and testing hypotheses. One draws conclusions from the available, observable evidence that results from rigorous and reproducible experimentation. Science is not sculpting evidence to support your existing beliefs. That’s propaganda. As Dr. Henry Lai (who, along with Dr. Narendra Singh, performed the groundbreaking research demonstrating DNA damage from EMF exposure) explains, “a lot of the studies that are done right now are done purely as PR tools for the industry.”

An irreversible trend

Of course EMF exposure including radiation from smart phones, the power lines that you use to recharge them, and the other wide variety of EMF-generating technologies is not equivalent to cigarette smoking. Exposure to carcinogens and other harmful forces from tobacco results from the purely voluntary, recreational activity of smoking. If tobacco disappeared from the world tomorrow, a lot of people would be very annoyed, tobacco farmers would have to plant other crops, and a few firms might go out of business, but there would be no additional impact.

In stark contrast, modern technology (the source of the human-made electromagnetic fields) has fueled a remarkable degree of innovation, productivity, and improvement in the quality of life. If tomorrow the power grid went down, all cell phone networks would cease operation, millions of computers around the world wouldn’t turn on, and the night would be illuminated only by candlelight and the moon we’d have a lot less EMF exposure, but at the cost of the complete collapse of modern society.

EMF isn’t just a by-product of modern society. EMF, and our ability to harness it for technological purposes, is the cornerstone of modern society. Sanitation, food production and storage, health care these are just some of the essential social systems that rely on power and wireless communication. We have evolved a society that is fundamentally reliant upon a set of technologies that generate forms and levels of electromagnetic radiation not seen on this planet prior to the 19th century.

As a result of the central role these devices play in modern life, individuals are understandably predisposed to resist information that may challenge the safety of activities that result in EMF exposures. People simply cannot bear the thought of restricting their time with—much less giving up these beloved gadgets. This gives industry a huge advantage because there is a large segment of the public that would rather not know.

Precaution

My message is not to abandon gadgets like most people, I too love and utilize EMF-generating gadgets. Instead, I want you to realize that EMF poses a real risk to living creatures and that industrial and product safety standards must and can be reconsidered. The solutions I suggest are not prohibitive. I recommend that as individuals we adopt the notion of “prudent avoidance,” minimizing our personal EMF exposure and maximizing the distance between us and EMF sources when those devices are in use. Just as you use a car with seat belts and air bags to increase the safety of the inherently dangerous activity of driving your car at a relatively high speed, you should consider similar risk-mitigating techniques for your personal EMF exposure.

On a broader social level, adoption of the Precautionary Principle in establishing new, biologically based safety standards for EMF exposure for the general public would be, I believe, the best approach. Just as the United States became the first nation in the world to regulate the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) when science indicated the threat to earth’s ozone layer long before there was definitive proof of such a link our governments should respond to the significant public health threat of EMF exposure. If EMF levels were regulated just as automobile carbon emissions are regulated, this would force manufacturers to design, create, and sell devices that generate much lower levels of EMF.

No one wants to return to the dark ages, but there are smarter and safer ways to approach our relationship as individuals and across society with the technology that exposes us to electromagnetic radiation.

– By Martin Blank, PhD

Source: https://www.sevenstories.com/blogs/131-a-real-risk-to-living-creatures-electromagnetic-fields-and-their-dangers