Dr. Denise Douglass, Medical Qigong Institute, LLC

05/17/2025

Study published in JAMA indicates link between proximity to golf courses or shared water supply with them, and the increased risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease, noting heavy pesticide use of golf courses.

Spoiler: it’s the pesticides. Researchers found that those living within a mile of golf courses have 126 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than those who live more than six miles away, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Areas that shared drinking water supplies with water used near golf courses were the most greatly impacted, the study shows. Researchers believe this shows that the pesticides used on golf courses could contribute to the amount of Parkinson’s cases.

“The odds of PD were relatively constant within close proximity to a golf course and decreased linearly as distance increased; individuals living farther from a golf course had reduced odds of PD, decreasing relative to the distance from the nearest golf course,” the study explained.

Previous studies have already linked chemicals found in pesticides including paraquat and rotenone to neurodegeneration, according to the study.

“This isn’t about golf,” said Dr. Michael Okun, national medical adviser for the Parkinson’s Foundation. “It’s about pesticides, environmental exposures, and preventable risks hiding in plain sight.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833716

05/12/2025

Look who found refuge in my garden seedlings on this hot day.

02/25/2025

There are so many ways to communicate…

11/04/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14o8unuqCS/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Some days, the world feels too sharp,
Too loud, too raw to touch.
Headlines scream, phones ring,
And chaos dances at our doorstep.

But I've learned to find sanctuary
In small moments of grace—
The way sunlight paints shadows on walls,
How wind whispers through leaves,
The steady rhythm of my own breath
When I remember to just... breathe.

I've learned to turn off the noise,
To silence the endless chatter,
To find strength in gentle things—
A cup of coffee at dawn,
A moment of kindness between strangers,
The quiet courage of growing things.

They say the world's gone mad,
But perhaps the secret is knowing
When to step away from the storm,
When to guard your peace like gold,
When to let your heart be still
In a world that never stops spinning.

For in this rush of endless moments,
We must remember to be gentle
With ourselves, with each other,
To find beauty in broken places,
To create spaces of quiet wonder
In corners of our own making.

This is how we stay whole—
Not by hardening our hearts,
But by knowing when to soften,
When to rest, when to breathe,
When to let the world's noise fade
Into the background of our being.

~ 'Find Your Quiet in the Storm' by Etheric Echoes, Etheric Echoes

~ Art by Dee Nickerson

09/16/2024

This is a good reminder about the benefits of early morning sunlight.

Experts say it should be a routine, not a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence.

05/12/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/iemCVBFUnNVbEXk9/?mibextid=UalRPS