Earth Day Festival 2014: How was the Woo?

Last Sunday, April 26, I went down to my town's annual Earth Day Festival to check out everything that was there, just like I do every year.

Last year I was appalled by the amount of pseudoscience and alternative medicine woo mixed in with all of the legitimate booths and displays promoting legitimate environmental causes and advice [read about it here] to the point where they pretty much overshadowed what the Earth Day festival was suppose to be about.

The worst offender last year ofcourse was a booth promoting Anti-GMO conspiracy theories.

Fortunately that person wasn't back this year, but still there were people back again promoting the same woo, including the Astrology and Tarot Card reader from last year,

and the chiropractors from last year are back as well,

but I have some new ones for this year, starting with this one:

Now I admit at first glance this one wasn't that bad, even through it had nothing to do with environmentalism.

Creating art can help relax a person and cut down on stress. That's the good part about what's being presented there.

Then there's the woo.

They also promote past life regression and trauma healing, clearing of curses, negative spirits, and other stuff of the like, and how to protect yourself from such things, all while using nature and spiritual energy.

In other words instead of addressing any real things that can cause stress in a person's life, they're just claiming that it's supernatural forces, and use "techniques" they claim to get from Shamanism to "cleanse" a person of these supernatural forces.

The next offender of promoters of woo that I saw there was this booth:

Yes, the stuff that's used to make fake tattoos is also apparently used to heal. Of what, I don't know, and from what I have read from these websites that promote "Healing Henna" they're not sure either. It just sounds like your basic New Age woo mixed with alternative medicine.

While I don't know how Henna tattoos are suppose to heal you, I do know that Henna can cause allergic reactions, and has been banned by the FDA for use on the skin.

So it won't heal you of anything, but it might result in you going some where that can heal you (like the hospital).

Finally, there was this:

That's right. Reiki, that alternative medicine/New Age woo that people who practice it claim they can heal people using just their energy, or the energy from the universe, or another dimension, or from wherever. They do this by  moving their hands over your body without actually touching you and "willing" this energy into you.

Atleast it's nice to know I wouldn't have been charged for this person to do nothing to me.

Over all I have to say that this year's Earth Day festival wasn't as bad as last year's. The New Age Movement stuff and other things that had nothing to do with environmentalism wasn't as bad as it was last year, and much of it was confined to one side street, although there were a couple amongst the main section, and of course there were vendors there selling clothes and jewelry and what have you, but I didn't mind those that much either, as they didn't drown out the booths that were promoting environmental causes.

5 Things I've noticed about... Breatharianism

Breatharianism is a New Age Movement belief that asserts that people don't need food inorder to live, and only need clean air and sun light.

Now there are a lot of things I have noticed about this belief (mainly the body count) but I have narrowed it down to five main things.

So here are five things I've noticed about Breatharianism:

5. It's a typical New Age Movement belief.

Breatharianism is a belief that is apart of, or atleast viewed to be apart of the New Age Movement, and like most beliefs in the New Age Movement it's mess-mass of several different beliefs all rolled into one.

Practitioners of Breatharianism believe it is possible to live off of prana (which is according to Hindu beliefs is a vital life force energy) and that the best source of this prana is from light and air, and with enough skill and knowledge they can somehow manipulate this prana to the point where they can live off of it forever and never need any food or water.

Another part about Breatharianism is the attainment of spiritual enlightenment, which apparently involves not eating. This sounds an awful lot like fasting, which is something that Abrahamic religions tend to do.

Basically Breatharianism is a combination of certain beliefs from Eastern and Western religions.

Also, like with many other New Age beliefs...

4. It's Pseudoscience.

While Breatharianism is primarily based from Eastern and Western religious beliefs, everything about it is pseudoscience.

Like all pseudosciences it's based off of a tiny scientific fact, and that fact is that we do need air and light inorder to live (well, not so much light, but we do need air) and that there is energy all around us... it's just not prana. This energy is either in the form photonic energy from light sources, or radio waves, or electromagnetic fields from electrical sources, or kinetic energy from air movement and the movement of the Earth.

Yes, there are many forms of energy that surrounds us. Prana is not one of them, and even if it was, it's very probable that we couldn't manipulate it with our minds.

The main claim about Breatharianism, as I stated before (and the one that doctors and scientists and people with common sense have a problem with) is that humans can live off of this prana and don't need to ever eat or drink again, which is impossible.

I suppose with these beliefs it seems that...

3. They make it sound like humans are actually plants.

Now I'm sure that no person alive that claims to practice Breatharianism will actually say that humans are pretty much like plants, but it does sound an awful lot like that's what they're trying to get at with their insistence that people only need air and sun light to live, which is something that plants need inorder to live.

While we do need air inorder to live, we don't actually need sun light inorder to live (although it is better for us in the long run to get some sun light). We do infact need water and nutrition (in the form of food) inorder to live, just like every other lifeform on this on this planet.

So many of you are probably wondering by now how exactly can these Breatharians live without water and food, if it is impossible for them to live without water and food? Well there's actually a couple of explanations for that, the first one being...

2. Those that try to go all the way tend to die.

With a belief that encourages people to do things that can kill them, such as not eating or drinking anything, eventually some people who try doing what the belief says you're suppose to do will end up dying. Breatharianism is no different.

Lots of people have tried Breatharianism, most of which give up in the end and start eating and drinking after they realize that they just can't do it, and this is either because the pains of hunger and thirst is getting to much for them, or they realize that what they are doing to themselves is killing them.

Unfortunately there are a few people who have tried to go all the way with living off of sun light and air and choose to ignore what their own body is trying to tell them. Unless someone intervenes and forces them to stop, what ultimately ends up happening is that they die.

Now some of you are probably wondering if Breatharianism is impossible, and that it will kill you if you really try to do it, then how come there are people out there that claim they can do it?

There's a very simple explanation for that. It's because...

1. Those who claim to be able to do it are lying.

Those that claim to practice Breatharianism and do it successfully have either been shown to be frauds, or are greatly suspected of lying, and have people help them cover up the fact that they eat and drink just like the rest of us.

Wiley Brooks, probably one of the most famous Breatharians there is, has been caught numerous times eating and drinking stuff. He also admits that he "occasionally" eats a Double Quarter-Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds, and drinks a Diet Coke, although he claims this to add balance to one's self...

Jasmuheen, another famous Breatharian, actually agreed to take a challenge by the Australian television program 60 Minutes to test her claims that she can live off of air and light alone by allowing the television show to supervise her and make sure she didn't eat or drink anything. The test was stopped after those who were observing her realized that her health was declining and that if they didn't stop the experiment, she would die.

The fact remains is that no one can survive without food and water. Those who claim you can and that they can do it are either lying or deluded.

5 Things I've noticed about... Reiki Healing

Reiki healing. It is a form of alternative medicine that was invented in 1922 by Mikao Usui that many people (particularly those in the New Age Movement) believe that people can focus this energy from some supernatural source and use it to heal people.

While there are a lot of things that I've noticed about Reiki healing, there are five particular things that I've noticed about it.

So here are five things I've noticed about Reiki healing:

5. It's like faith healing without God.

Reiki healing is to the New Age Movement what faith healing is to Christian Fundamentalist: they both are using a source of energy from a supernatural power that is basically far beyond what they can really comprehend (and that they will admit to not fully understanding it) and expect it to do your bidding. Also, practitioners tend use their hands as a way to channel this energy into the "patient".

That is the basics of what both faith healing and Reiki healing is, the only real differences is that with faith healing you at least know where this energy is suppose to be coming from, where as in Reiki healing there can be multiple sources where this supposed energy is coming from (except from God... usually). And that's another thing about Reiki healing...

4. There is no set source from where this energy comes from.

Do you know where your spiritual healing energy is coming from? Well, neither do Reiki healing practitioners.

The range of alleged sources for the energy that Reiki healers claim they get this energy from to do their healing varies. Some claims it's from themselves. Some claims it's from the "patient". Some claims it's all life around us (kind of like the Force from Star Wars). Some claims it's from the Earth. Some claims it's from spirits. Some claims it's from the Sun. Some claim it's from the Universe.

In other words there is no agreement on where this alleged energy comes from. The only agreement amongst Reiki healing practitioners is that this energy is good for you.

3. It should be cheap.

According to Reiki healing practitioners, Reiki energy is all around us and/or inside of us, and if you believe them, it is an unlimited resource that can be used by anyone... theoretical speaking.

Now considering this it should be pretty darn cheap to go to a Reiki healing practitioner and have them try to heal you (hence the word "try") because they don't have to buy anything to do what they do, they're just using their own mental power to force your body to heal.

Most people would think that after considering all of these factors that Reiki healing would be cheap, except...

2. It isn't cheap.

I've done a little bit of Google searching to find some prices on what a Reiki healing practitioner charges, and one website I found that offered Reiki training (which could cost $1,600) said that on average Reiki healing practitioners made between $25 to $60 an hour.

This is of course just the average, and could in fact cost a lot more than just $60 an hour. In fact it could cost twice that much, or even over three times that much. It all depends on where the practitioner is located and how much you're willing to spend.

Even at $25 dollars an hours it does seem like an awful lot to pay for something that in reality doesn't work, and because of the fact that it doesn't actually work, it means that...

1. It is harmful.

I know, many of you are reading this and thinking "if you're not actually using any chemicals or anything like that, then how can it be harmful"?

Technically speaking in itself Reiki healing isn't directly harmful, but indirectly it is harmful because you are forgoing real medicine for something that neither works nor exists. While this isn't much of a problem if you have a cold, it is deadly if have cancer and you decide to use Reiki healing rather than proven medical techniques that could either stop a cancerous tumor, or even get rid of it.

The fact is that Reiki healing doesn't work, and not only is it a waste of your money, it is a waste of time and your health.

Breatharianism: One of the dumbest (and most dangerous) things of the New Age Movement

Breatharianism. It's a belief in the New Age Movement that people can live off of air and sunlight alone, and do not need food (and for some, water) to live, and that people can convert air and sunlight into prana, or life energy, with according to practitioners is all a person needs to live.

Now many skeptics are in debate about breatharianism. The debate of course isn't about whether it works or not, as all agree that it doesn't. The debate is about whether it one of the dumbest things to come from the New Age Movement, or if it's one of the craziest. The one thing that all skeptics will agree upon is that it is definitely one of the most dangerous.

No organism on the planet can live off of sunlight and air alone, be it either animal, or plant, or microbe. All lifeforms on this planet require at the very least water and nutrients in order to live. In fact for many lifeforms sunlight and air isn't even required in order to live, just water and nutrients.

Now we of course need air to live (although sunlight isn't really needed, it is a good thing to get, so as soon as you finish reading this, I recommend you go outside and get some sun) we can not live on air alone, because air does not contain any nutrients and other substances we need to live other than oxygen. Sunlight has the same problem with not having any nutrients and substances either, and thus cannot be used as a source of energy for the human body. The only the way to get nutrients and substances into our bodies that can be converted into energy is through food.

The amount of energy we can get from food (via digesting it) is measured in calories. The amount of calories a person needs is on average is around 2400 (this of course varies from person to person, depending on the person's size, how active they are, and their metabolic rate). Of course what you eat is also important as well, as a well balanced diet is necessary for a healthy life (getting 2400 calories a day in just cake and ice cream is not healthy no matter what). Air and sunlight does not contain anything that can be measured as calories, thus it cannot be converted into energy inside the human body.

Of course there is the claim that air and sunlight can be converted into prana, but there is a major problem with this claim: There's no evidence what so ever that humans can somehow convert air and sunlight into prana (or any other type of energy necessary to live). In fact there's no evidence at all that prana even exists, more or less that we humans can live off of just prana alone.

Some of you might be asking "if breatharianism is impossible, then how come some many people claim to be successful at it?" The answer is simple: they are lying, and they eat as much as we do.

Several high profile members of the breatharian movement have in fact been caught cheating (i.e. eating). Probably one of the most famous breatharians to get caught cheating is Wiley Brooks, who does admit to occasionally having a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese from McDonalds, and a Diet Coke.

One high profile member, by the name of Ellen Greve, a.k.a. Jasmuheen, actually did try to prove that a person could live off of air and sunlight alone, and agreed to do so under controlled conditions (i.e. she was being watched 24/7) after accepting a challenge from the Australian version of 60 Minutes (whom also filmed her) back in 1999. The test was stopped after four days after she began experiencing life threatening conditions due to dehydration.

Of course Ellen Greve got lucky. Many people who have tried to live the breatherian lifestyle (including followers of Greve) have either given up because they found out pretty quickly that it can't be done, or they died from severe malnutrition and/or dehydration. This of course is why so many skeptics (and doctors and scientists) consider breatharianism to be so dangerous.

People simply can not live off of air and sunlight alone. Everyone needs food in order to survive, including immobile people in vegetative states (which is why they are often times hooked up to feeding tubes). If you try to live off of air and sunlight, you are going to die.