Heal the Soil

Heal the Soil, Heal Ourselves!

By Steve Freier

Recently, I have been digitizing some of my old radio shows, most of which were recorded and archived in the 1990s on cassette tapes. One of the shows was an interview with Shabari Bird who at the time in 1999 was the recent widow of Christopher Bird, author, along with Peter Tompkins, of the now classic books, The Secrets of the Soil and The Secret Life of Plants. In that interview we discuss ideas from his books, and Biodynamic Agriculture. In this age, ruled by Monsanto and GMOs, I feel this is a Natural Science that sorely needs to be re-discovered, taken seriously and developed further if we are to survive and thrive as a species.

Biodynamic Agriculture was first made known by Rudolf Steiner, (B. 1861 – D. 1925) an Austrian born natural scientist, philosopher and spiritual clairvoyant. Biodynamic agriculture was initiated by Rudolph Steiner in a series of (channelled) lectures to farmers in Poland in 1924. (Steiner also initiated the concept that developed into Waldorf Schools.)

Those Polish farmers had noticed that the quality of their produce was declining and they wanted to understand what was happening and what they could do to reverse the decline. Steiner’s basic message was that the world was becoming materialistic and needed a spiritual impulse to restore balance. He recommended certain preparations to help activate the soil communities again.

What is Biodynamic Agriculture? Biodynamic farming works with the forces of nature—the moon, the stars and the sun. Farmers work to build a complex and living soil and to develop a living connection between Heaven and Earth. In this environment, plants grow exceptionally well without any sort of chemicals: the food is tasty, nutritious and very satisfying. The soil itself is the key in this type of agriculture, because it is ultimately the topsoil upon which all life on earth depends.

Humus-rich topsoil has taken thousands of years to get to its present state of intense microbiological activity. These micro-organisms work full-time producing the organic matter that plants need for development. It is clear, then, that we need to take care of them. Unfortunately, conventional farming has destroyed the majority of these microscopic populations with fungicides, insecticides and herbicides to the point that it is now necessary to do an urgent about-face, before we fully devastate the earth, our food supply and our own health, everywhere!

Bio-Dynamic Agriculture offers a potential remedy for our foolish farming ways ! But it would mean that our farmers begin to embrace an entirely new way of being and doing farming. In a dozen or so years, it is possible to bring damaged soil back to a happy, healthy, productive state without the use of harmful chemicals or GMOs. While this may seem a long spell from today's perspective, it is a relatively short period in the span of the earth.

Cosmiculture to the Rescue! In Secrets of the Soil, the authors have introduced hundreds of thousands of farmers worldwide to the primal mysteries of the soil. In it is a chapter on Cosmiculture! What exactly is "Cosmiculture?" Simple! It is the channeling of cosmic energy into the ground for the benefit of plants. But how is this accomplished?

Fieldbroadcasters! On a practical level, this Steinerian ideal is accomplished with what is called “Fieldbroadcasters” or “cosmic pipes,” which are 6 – 7 foot high plastic tubes, three inches in diameter, their bases inserted thirty inches into the ground. Atop each pipe is a copper electrode designed to absorb the mysterious cosmic energy. In some models there are cups into which various nourishing substances are placed and radionically broadcast to the crops. The theory is thus: “All around us is a great sea of energy, cosmic energy, solar energy, lunar energy, planetary energy, and the energy of the earth itself. But, unlike the chemicals sold in commerce, this energy is free, and it isn't toxic; it's highly beneficial. All we have to do is tap it." - Galen Hieronymus

Radionics is also used to monitor plants as well as animals, as in the following examples.

Example 1: An orchardist monitors her trees radionically to find evidence of fungal diseases. Because she does not detect any disease problems until midway through the season, early sprays are not applied. This saves money and reduces impact on the environment.
Example 2: A horse breeder has a valuable animal with health problems, and the usual spectrum of testing reveals nothing. Radionic analysis suggests that the problem is a relatively rare amoebic infection. A specific conventional test confirms this and the proper treatment is given.

Unfortunately, today Biodynamic Agriculture is still in its infancy and only practiced by a relative handful of farmers. In my research, I found a couple of websites which listed participating farmers and there I found only a handful. However, Biodynamic Agriculture is considered the cream of the crop of Organic Farming, so it is a goal we should be encouraging all farmers to try to emulate even in the smallest degree because we need to do everything we can to move away from the insidious encroachment of the Monsanto-based, GMO-style poisonous methods that are slowly poisoning us! GMO farming offers short-sighted gains, but is deleterious to all of us in the long run.

Just as a healthy gut is critical to the health of humans, a healthy soil, rich with multitudes of biological species, is critical to the health of what we grow in it! Therefor we cannot separate our human health from the health of the food we consume; and that food must be grown and nurtured by a healthy soil!

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NOTE: Today, in 2015, Shabari Bird is married to Hugh Lovel, who is considered one of the world’s top experts in Biodynamic Farming. His book, A Biodynamic Farm has served as a good introduction to many. It is available through Acres USA, www.acresusa.com. Their comprehensive website is: http://www.quantumagriculture.com.
If you’d like to listen to my interview with Shabari Bird Lovel, here's a link to my Commercial Free! Timeless Topic Radio Shows