People are going to live on Mars. Elon Musk gave this talk recently about living abroad. It inspired me to think about life on Mars. I can see that humans will find a way to travel to and live in other parts of the galaxy. To see space as a real frontier makes Earth appear as just one of many possible homes.
I believe all elements of the universe are connected. Everything, everywhere, follows the same laws of nature. Attraction, orbit, and energy pervade throughout. We just look at it differently depending on the context. What's the difference between a thrown ball landing on the ground and the 12 or so planets orbiting the sun? Nothing. Both situations follow the same rules, and they in fact are part of the same system. So naturally, I think it may be possible to live on Mars if it is possible for us to live on Earth.
Obviously, there are a lot of problems to address. The temperature, the gases, the chemical makeup of the planet, the length of the days and years, and the distance from Earth. But I liken the venture to a familiar one that many people can attest to: living in the wild. If you ask the average person whether they would be able to survive in the wild if they were forced to, most would say yes with varying qualifications. The idea is that no, they haven't done it before, but they are pretty sure they can.
The problems with living on Mars are numerous, and I think there are many problems with living on Earth we haven't yet solved. There are still diseases that evade our medical treatments. Autoimmune conditions are still being investigated. Cures and recoveries are sparse and not fairly discussed in the medical community. Solutions to much of what we suffer as a species are band-aids rather than the stitches that are needed. And so people work to discover more.
One of my main concerns about my life on Earth is my connection to the ground energy of this planet.
"Earthing" is known as making skin contact with the bare ground on Earth. In the context of our own planet, the EMF and the charge that is produced in Earth is well known. This energy that surges through us as we ground ourselves is measurable and the benefits to the human body has been documented. Free and mobile electrons from Earth's surface provide antioxidant action that reduces inflammation.
Regular contact with this energy is necessary for a thriving life. It's something people and animals and plants have been connected to since "the beginning". Recently, things have changed for humans, our pets, our plants, and zoo animals. Isolation from the earth's surface leaves a living being with unnecessary, low levels of inflammation. This is dangerous for people prone to autoimmune disease, and limiting for everyone else. The solution, of course, is to be barefooted on bare earth regularly. Earthing.
"Marsing", or earthing on Mars, is a concept that popped in my mind as I thought about the general mission to populate Mars. What is not known is the effect of "Marsing". What happens when a person makes skin contact with bare ground on Mars? Provided the outside temperature permits, is there a surface energy capable of maintaining antioxidant needs for humans and other earthlings? And when the temperature is unbearable for a person to be barefooted, whether too cold or too hot, is there a possibility of "Marsing" through grounding pads plugged into an energy source? Is the composition of Mars soil healthy, harmless, or poisonous to a human?
It's encouraging to see the progress of SpaceX and other organizations to make people interplanetary. There are already many astronauts who have lived extensively in space, away from the surface of the Earth. Even chimps! So it is possible to measure the effect of isolation from grounding in space and on other planets like Mars. It just hasn't been done yet.
How does Mars compare to Earth in this respect? Earth's surface has a charge of -1 nC per square meter. According to this Drexel University physics course calculation, the surface charge of Mars is -2.21 nC per square meter. This would put the Mars charge at more than double Earth. It is on the order of a nano-Coulomb, which is tiny, and would seem to be harmless upon skin contact. This will need to be tested.
The system of earthing seems to be an electrical one. But like all other natural things that are broken down to specific parts to isolate the benefits, the result may not be the same. Let's say this charge on Mars, in the long term, is not healthy for humans.
A generator could produce a similar charge, in theory, as that found on the Earth's surface. It wouldn't need to be much. People could hook themselves up to grounding mats, like the one I use daily, to access an artificial ground charge from a generator. It seems doable. But is it the same as touching bare ground?
There are clearly benefits to using earthing mats for recovery from inflammation. In this study I highlighted previously, subjects attached to grounding pads were found to recover faster from pain and tissue damage.
Human life on Mars will need a lot of technological aide. There's lots of talk about terraforming, heating, and accessing water on the Red Planet. But what about the electromagnetic field?
Thinking through the hurdles of Mars life is a good practice for thinking about Earth life. I think the problems of Mars life point directly back to life on Earth today. Do we breathe clean enough air? Is our energy source really endless? Can we sustain civilization with solar power? What is the impact of isolation from the planet's surface energy?
There are many parallels in wellness issues on Earth to those we'll face on a strange planet. Perhaps thinking in the context of Mars life can help us improve Earth life.
Go out and touch the ground we so freely have. And forward this to anyone you know who is working on preparations for a life on Mars.
Image Credit: By Moyan Brenn from Anzio, Italy (Mars) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Mars_%2813026811355%29.jpg Edits: cropped to 600 pixel width and removed name.
I was going to the gym today but almost canceled on myself.
I had made the wretched choice of eating a donut last night. When I do such things, I didn't give enough credit to the consequences. Sure, I get some after effects, I told myself. Little achiness, brain fog. Funny how time befuddles memories.
It was an inflammation bomb. First came the wheat coma. I was reading and had to drag myself to bed, it was so bad. I fell into instant sleep for an hour, and woke feeling hungover and tender. My trap and shoulder blade area were tight in a knot, so I rolled it out on a lacrosse ball.
Did some deep breathing, drank my vitamin C and magnesium mix, and tried to sleep. No go.
My stomach was upset. I got up and had some kombucha. I thought of taking charcoal, but didn't want to absorb the magnesium that I had already taken. Lesson learned next time.
It took me a few hours of reading to get to bed. When I woke this morning, I still felt hungover. Butter coffee and some eggs helped. I was determined to go to the gym today, and I gave myself a couple of hours to warm up.
This was class one tightness, inflammation to the max. Everything felt rusty and I could barely get down into the squat and hold it.
Feet splayed, torso wrapped over my knees. And really, really tight in the hips. It was time for some major mobilization.
Ankles flex through the calves. So I work on the calf and achilles tendon. Keeping my leg rigid at the knee and hip, I lean hard and hold for a minute or two. Sliding over to either side helps to mobilize in more directions.
My hips were feeling smoother, and I was able to get down with feet straighter forward. My torso was more upright, but there was still a bit of tightness holding my midback in a curve.
Geez was I tight. At this point I was about to push my training session back one day. With bad mobility, heavy lifting is not advantageous. Better to wait until I'm able to get into good positions. Squat retest after shoulder dislocations.
I wanted to test my weightlifting position, in addition to the full squat. I don't go all the way down when I'm loaded with weight.
You can see I'm able to get down with my feet pointed forward. My torso is not perfectly upright, but it's much more mobile and no longer glued to my knees.
After much tweaking, I actually freed myself up enough to train.
Add me on Snapchat to hear about the training session. Yea, the picture's silly.
It was necessary that I get outside. Yesterday morning I was tired. I haven't been able to use my earthing mat during the night. Long story. So I ripped off my shirt and soaked in some sunlight.
It's amazing what a few moments in the sun can do. I watered my head down with a hose, barefoot on the concrete, and squatted for a bit.
UVB rays hit the skin and spur it to make vitamin D and cholesterol sulfate. Basically, it makes me feel good and high on life to bask in the sun. If you're feeling drab, flat, low, it might be time to get out under nature's heat lamp of joy.
Just try not to overdo it. Too much time in the sun and I start to feel dizzy, tired, spent. And I get skin damage. But leave the sun block behind.
From the research I've read, our skin needs the sun to come through to get the boost. So I go bareskinned. Feel it out for yourself. Wait until you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Let yourself bask. And when you've had enough, remember that there's another day to get more.
It is the year 2016.
I stand barefoot on the ground and listen.
A four hundred thousand kilogram vessel of shining metal soars through the air above me. It's so far up I barely make out the glint of light and whisper it makes as it passes. The jumbo jet glides ten kilometers above ground at 900 km/hr.
My mind travels further up, past the stratosphere, where another four hundred thousand kilogram structure swings past the plane. The International Space Station zooms 400 kilometers above ground at 27,000 km/hr. It's been circling this planet since 1998.
My kind, Homo sapiens, have forged technologies that allow us to roam the skies and beyond like no other creature can. Michael Faraday made the electric motor in 1821. The term "electricus" was coined in 1600 by William Gilbert upon studying static electricity. The ancient Egyptians wrote of Thunderers of the Nile, electric fish that held the power to shock. Earliest record dates to 2750 BCE.
From the gargantuan, we humans have developed down to the miniscule. There is a microrobot in development to insert into and operate on a diseased human eye. Others can crawl through a blood vessel to visualize and treat exact deficiencies.
I turn my attention to ground level, to the oldest and most sophisticated technology available to us. Within the cells of my body, and even closer, to the proteins that form these cells. When wet, these proteins allow electrons to flow. The entire structure of my physicality consists of proteins that are interconnected and surrounded by water.
The earth's electrons are pulled through the protein complex that makes up my skin, muscles, bone, and even cells and DNA at the tiniest level. Every bit is connected by semi-conductivity. The protein complexes allow electrons to flow because of the water that surrounds them.
There's an electron reservoir within my body. My tissues can hold a "full charge" of electrons that are used when there is oxidation. If I don't step outside, I'm depleted of my electron source. I must then draw on other sources. Antioxidants from my diet and body synthesis can only go so far to fight damage. When these are depleted, especially with a life of stress, my immune system weakens.
So I bring my body, this formulation of ancient technology, out to connect with the earth. I renew my supply daily. I have had to engineer a life that allows me to step outside, barefoot, every day. I've rediscovered the way to more fully harness this technology. There's more, I'm sure of it. So much more to discover. Yet, I'm quite certain it's already been known, by someone, somewhere, some time in the past.
I bring my attention back out to the world, and I take pride in the amazing accomplishments we humans have made, zipping by, humming deep below, and silently providing comfort in every way.
I just wanted you to know, last Saturday I wrote my 100th newsletter to you. When I started these letters, I wanted it to be a way to teach powerlifting and strength training in a simple way. I wanted to share with you how I got strong and mobile. And I wanted to share secrets about nutrition that shouldn't be hidden. But my newsletter turned into something else.
It became more, because to be honest with myself, I had to write about the other things I've been exploring. More than strength, I was looking into mind cultivation. I wanted to become more deeply in sync with myself. I wanted to control my negative emotions, and downward spiral thinking. I was stressed out at work, I worked harder, and I tried to make things better by fixing things.
But I realized I had to stop and dig down within myself. I needed to recover on a daily basis. I needed to heal my mind. This led to meditation and heart rate variability (HRV) practices. I learn from Pema Chodron and Tara Brach.
Much of my exploration into meditating happened at a park near my home. I loved being outside on the grass, with trees all around, and birds singing from those trees. The sun gave me a kind of energy I had forgotten about since childhood. I had already known about earthing, but spending time regularly outside, barefoot, etched the benefits in stone for me.
My goal is to make known some of the basic things about human well-being that, as a race, we've forgotten. I want to reconnect us to the earth and bring us into a real understanding of our relationship to this planet and the universe. In addition to spending time outside barefoot, I believe earthing mats are part of the answer.
We've let our bodies become twisted and gnarled in pain, immobility, and incapability through sitting. Sitting in classroom and office chairs, sitting in cars, sitting on couches. That's not how our bodies are designed to exist. I see Kelly Starrett as one of the leaders of the physiological revolution.
Food was engineered and production amplified to feed the exponentially growing population of the world. And it worked. And now we need to get the quality of food back. We just are not getting nutrients that we need. We aren't eating the right stuff. We need to look for the good stuff. We need tons more green leafy veggies and fat and meat from animals that are raised right. We need food that is free of herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics. There are countless leaders bringing us solutions today. Look at Terry Wahls, William Davis, Mark Sisson, and Dr. Mercola.
Life is great, and keeps getting better in many ways. But these are some fundamental things that we've left behind in the search for higher answers.
The more we try and the more we explore, the more we'll be what we were meant to be. I believe we're inclined to be good when we're well nourished, rested, and finely tuned in every way. We've restricted ourselves as a race to reach specific goals. Now that humans have reached those goals, it's time to take care of ourselves again. There's a lot to reverse. Just take a look at epigenetics to see that the lives of our ancestors are written into us.
What I find I share with you, and it gives me satisfaction to write to you. You've intentionally signed up for my newsletter. You search, dig, read, and act to make life good. If my letter resonates with someone else you know, please forward it. You never know how far they may go with it. There's a lot to work on with ourselves, but you'll find that the more you tell people about things, the better you understand them.
So connect with the ground, eat well, get strong and get mobile, and cultivate your mind. When you find what is good within you, let it thrive. Simply doing good is the easiest way to share it with the world.