Spring usually brings wind to the desert. Hot, dry wind has always bothered me. I feel irritable and don’t sleep well. Since that has been the case from childhood, I’ve spent a lot of time researching why that’s so.
Last week I was talking to a friend who asked which ion, positive or negative, came with the wind. I’d done an article some time ago, probably during the springtime when the wind was blowing, and since it was on my friend’s mind, I figured I’d touch on it again.
I’m sensitive to, and affected by, the wind. When I was in grade school and the wind was blowing, when we lived in Southern California, everyone wished I’d stayed home including me. We moved to the northern part of the state, where there was little wind, when I was fifteen and a half. I remember, because I’d just gotten my learner’s permit, a milestone in most kid’s lives, and I got to drive my car…with my Mom as co-pilot in the passenger’s seat, but it was a memorable experience. Because of the move, it took me a long time to make the connection between the wind and my moods.
My next long-term encounter with the wind was when I was stationed at Twenty Nine Palms, CA. That was also a memorable experience; one in how to cope with many disagreeable and irritating things including the wind, dirt, poor water, being a hundred miles from nowhere and at least a hundred other things that I won’t go into.
I can’t do anything about the weather except schedule my life around it. Almost without fail, I can tell a day or two before the wind blows. The more adrenalized I am, the harder the wind will blow. Usually, once the wind starts, things begin to lighten up. A day or two after a strong wind, I’m deflated…no energy, no ambition and very little patience. When the wind blows every day, I have to find other ways to deal with it, besides changing my schedule. I’m not willing to self-medicate with drugs or deal with the problem in other ways that don’t fit my lifestyle choices.
Something I’ve found that helps me, is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). I covered EFT in a past article, but it seems appropriate to touch on it again. EFT can be found on the Internet and you can get a free download from their web site www.emofree.com. It’s a simple procedure, once you get the sequence down, and takes only a few minutes per day. The problem I have is I usually forget to do it during the day and if it takes me more than about fifteen seconds to go to sleep at night, something’s not normal. I’ve noticed that I have to do the process less and less the longer I practice it. There seems to be some accumulative effect.
My youngest son and I are quite a bit alike. He suffers from the same wind problems I do. We’ve sailed together a lot and you can’t sail without wind. Sailing was never a problem for either of us and there’s a reason. Waterfalls, turbulent streams and water in general, create negative ions. Saltwater, the ocean and salt mines all emit negative ions. This explains why neither my son nor I were adversely affected by the wind when ocean sailing. Trees, forests, grass lands and savannas are all high in negative ions.
Positive ions have been proven to be detrimental to health. Positive would seem to be good but where ions are concerned, negative works best. Cities, concrete, freeways, computer monitors, TV sets, electric heaters, microwave ovens, microwave towers, tobacco smoke, crowded rooms, all electrical appliances, any combustion, including internal combustion engines, dust, bacteria, and hot dry winds are all high in positive ions.
Sliding across a car seat creates a positive ion/electron charge. Touching some form of ground discharges the static electricity. Our cat and I have a static problem. She loves to sit in my lap and I find it very relaxing to pat her and listen to her purr. If she moves and disconnects our circuit, and then puts her nose on my finger, the sparks jump and so does the cat.
Static electricity is positive ions. Almost all synthetics, building materials, clothing, rugs and furniture coverings, attract positive ions and deplete negative ones. Plastics are positively charged and consume large amounts of negative ions.
Positive ions are connected with allergies, headaches, tiredness, stress, insomnia, loss of memory, accelerated aging, lack of concentration, respiratory problems, rheumatism and lowered immune responses. Negative ions promote alpha brain waves and increase brain wave amplitude, translating to a higher awareness and a calming effect. Also, areas high in negative ions are low in bacteria.