By Christina Lavers
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Is Urban Living Making Us Sick? 

The last century, especially the last several decades, has seen a steep rise in levels of allergies, asthma and auto-immune disorders. What is interesting is that statistical analysis shows that typically these conditions are more prevalent in developed nations than in developing countries, and when families migrate from a developing country with a low incidence rate to a developed one with a high incidence rate, it only takes one generation for the conditions to present.

A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland suggests that exposure to farm animals in early childhood may play an important role in the development of a healthy immune system, specifically in regards to the role of dendritic cells and cytokine production. Dendritic cells are messengers that present antigens to other cells to elicit an immunological response. Via this mechanism they regulate cytokine (messenger protein) production, adaptive immune system response, and are essential for the establishment of immunological memory.

By Irwin Ozborne
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

In junior high school, I was a painfully shy student. It was to the point I would go through an entire week without peeping a single sound. While it was quite easy to shield my anxiety during most classroom activity, the lunchroom was always my greatest test. How could I possibly hide myself in a crowded cafeteria?

There was always one table in the back of the room which only had about five kids sitting there (the tables sat about 20-30 people). With so many empty seats at the table, it was the perfect spot for someone with severe, debilitating social anxiety. This group was the outcasts of the school. They wore the same clothes every day, never paid attention in class, didn’t follow the rules, had long straggly hair, and were already experimenting with drugs and alcohol. But, they were also different in the sense that they had no desire to fit in with the “cool kids.” They were perfectly content being in their own skin.

By Carolanne Wright
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

People are fed-up. And angry. We simply no longer accept that corporations have the right to ride roughshod over the environment or destroy the health of its inhabitants. We refuse to remain silent when faced with companies who contribute to poisoned rivers, people and wildlife — where the only concern is for the mighty dollar. No longer will we stand by and watch as beauty and the balance of nature is laid to waste.

Monsanto, in particular, is known as one of the most destructive corporations of all times. In response to the ongoing damage caused by the company, a coalition of food, farming and environmental justice groups — including the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), Navdanya, Regeneration International (RI) and Millions Against Monsanto, among others — have taken matters into their own hands. During the COP21 event in Paris, the alliance announced that Monsanto will be put on trial in The Hague, Netherlands for “crimes against nature and humanity” come autumn 2016.

By Tomasz Kopec, MD
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

I am sure everyone has had an ‘aha’ moment. It is when something becomes obvious and we know this is the best way forward or the best solution to a problem. These moments often happen suddenly when we do not expect them. For example, when we drive, walk, shower and daydream not thinking about anything in particular.

On the other hand, many people say that the harder they try the less likely they come up with a new, fresh idea. Say, in a meeting at work when you want to impress others and suggest something particularly clever, and you just can’t.

In this article I will explain you what creativity really is, how it works in the brain, and how you can let it happen to you.

By Stephen John O’Connor
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Not A ‘Normal’ Journey

I have been on a journey for most of my life. Not a normal journey, but one of the soul, the spirit – of the one behind the one who I thought I was. Something or someone has been propelling me through this lifetime as though I am a passenger on a fate-bound mystical train with no way to look forward and only a view of where I have been.

Since I was very young, I felt urged toward uncovering the occult secrets of the Masters from the past. I read and I discovered. First, came the Western Esoteric Tradition. It started with the College of Esoteric Studies out of Barbados. Then, The Rosicrucian Order A.M.O.R.C., where I became Master of the Lodge. Continuing my search, I read Ouspensky, Gurdjieff, Wei Wu Wei, and Harold Percival. All pretty heady stuff. I felt like I was making progress, but to where?