Light

The word in my mind today was light. It has been mentioned in the past several days in several of my posts in different ways.
John 8:12 (taken from the Orthodox Study Bible) "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

In yesterday's post I said: "for the light of love is all there is."

Several days ago, I hinted about needing protection from ultraviolet Light, or harmful rays from the sun.

I have posted on the healing and beneficial effects from plants and nature derived from sunlight, such as CLA.

About ten days ago, we sprung ahead for springtime, now having longer days, lighter in the evening.

Light is God. Light is Divine. Divine is loving. Divine Light is healing.

When God created the world, saying, "Let there be light" (Gen: 1-3). (What God creates is Good).

However, humans, in our effort to make subtle changes in our environment, have created a monster, "light".

(Discover 2003) "In 2001, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published two studies that the editors argued revealed "an association between exposure to light and breast cancer risk," with "alarming" implications."

Humans are not immune to light pollution. "Other studies have shown that light striking the retina, even during sleep, can reduce production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate circadian rhythms. Melatonin also has antioxidant properties, and for some mammals it has been shown to suppress the estrogen estradiol, which is associated with breast cancer."

"Light is a drug," says Russel J. Reiter, a neuro-endocrinologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center who has researched the disease-preventing properties of melatonin." "By abusing it, we compromise our health."

Melatonin is produced by the body and takes 8 hours of complete darkness to produce this essential hormone.

The animal world and all of creation is affected by our unnatural light as well. In (Discover July 2003), the article written by: Eric Scigliano, (Turn Down The Lights), we are reminded that "not all lights have equal optical and biological effects, even if they shine with equal brightness. Fluorescent bulbs, as well as the metal-halide and high-pressure mercury bulbs often used in stadium lighting, emit a lot of imperceptible ultraviolet light, which is useless for illumination but plays havoc with the detectors used by astronomical observatories."

Tonight and every night I encourage you to get at least 8 hours of sleep in complete darkness. In order to enjoy the Light of life.