St. Paul Pioneer Press:

One man's journey from guinea pig to skeptic to healer

BY RHODA FUKUSHIMA Pioneer Press TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Article Last Updated:04/20/2007 04:56:58 PM CDT

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After graduating from Macalester College in 1982, David Nelson of Maplewood started working for a bank. As his career progressed, he moved to Wisconsin and Ohio. He married and had two daughters. At his peak, he worked for a private trust company, dealing with people whose net worth involved a lot of zeroes - "the crème de la crème." He enjoyed his work and his clients. He got paid very well. He had a successful marriage and two great kids, but ... "There was still a part of me that was not fulfilled. "It helped me embark on my spiritual path. What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose? "My wife was in a life coach training program. She had a friend who needed to practice. I was going to be the guinea pig. It was a three-month commitment, a once-a-week phone call. "I worked with the coach for nine months to a year. It helped me move from my head to my heart. For most of us, especially men, the longest journey in life is from the head to the heart. "I sensed it was time to leave banking. It brought up a lot of fear. I thought, 'Are you crazy? You've worked hard to get to this point.' I didn't have any answers. All I knew was this chapter was ending. "During this time, my wife had recommended I try Reiki, a Japanese healing art. There were some Catholic nuns in Cleveland at a university (who taught Reiki classes). That gave it a sense of being OK and 'safe.' I was as skeptical and as doubtful as anyone could be. "When I went to this class, I could feel this energy. I could have my hand inches away from a person's body and feel something I couldn't see. It was exciting and scary. "I took all three levels of Reiki. I was still a banker. The nuns said I might want to do further training with the healer who works there. I filed it in the back of my mind. "Shortly after, I started to have my body go through a pretty dramatic change in the spring of 2001. I was losing two to three pounds a day. I lost about 35 pounds in a month. I was eating normally. I was in good shape. "I had a feeling that if I went to the ER, they were going to tell me something scary that I would focus on more. I went to the healer. He did energy work on me. He encouraged me to connect with the earth every day. I felt supported. My mind relaxed. I felt more centered and grounded. "My body stabilized. I no longer lost weight. There are some great things traditional medicine has to offer, but for me, this was the right thing. "I decided, with my wife's support, to retire from banking in 2002. I was 41. "Talk about a leap of faith. It was the right thing at the right time. It felt like death. It was my dying to an old way of being, of relating to myself, relating to the earth, relating to society. It was a big change. "Much to my surprise, my relationship with the healer evolved ... to me becoming a healer. Much to my surprise and even my resistance - my banker mind was still working - I didn't want to become a healer. But, it's not only what I enjoy but also part of my spiritual path. "I still look 'normal.' I'm trained in Reiki. I'm training in Qigong (breathing and poses). I do earth work. I had to set banking down for something new to come. So often, we hold onto the good, but there's something greater to come."

Article on Barefoot Hiking Group from Alternative Medicine.com

Barefoot hiking
Sometimes, freeing your feet can be a revolutionary act. For walking meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh recommends ditching footwear. “You can feel the floor and connect with the earth more easily without shoes,” he writes in Walking Meditation (Sounds True, 2006). “The flow between you and Mother Earth becomes stronger. The longer you practice walking with this connection, the more your heart will be softened and opened, and the more you will feel nurtured, solid, and taken care of by the earth.”

Most “barefooters” don’t meditate in any sort of deliberate way, and chances are, they’ve never heard of Thich Nhat Hanh. But his words certainly would resonate clearly. “Going barefoot makes you feel more connected with nature, that you’re part of a bigger universe,” says Jim Guttmann, a member of Barefoot Hikers of Minnesota, an informal group that gathers for regular boot-free rambles.

“Natural surfaces feel better,” advises Guttmann, about choosing a route. Like connoisseurs, barefoot hikers extol the distinct sensory “flavors” of favorite terrains: mud (squishing up between toes); fresh fall leaves (crunchy and cool); moss (soft and spongy); sunbaked rocks (rough but deliciously warm); and a clear, cold stream (i-i-invigorating!).

Most of us can recall feeling these potent sensations as kids, and indeed, for many barefoot hikers, that’s a lot of the appeal: a return to carefree days of childhood. “After hiking in shoes, your feet feel hot, sweaty, and tired,” Guttmann says. “After hiking barefoot, your feet feel cool and refreshed.” Upon liberation from constrictive footwear, barefooters report an instantaneous uprising of relief, peace, and joy. Not only can you feel more through the soles of your naked feet, they report, but this new vulnerability heightens all your senses, including your awareness of birdsong and sunlight.

Yes, hazards abound (sharp objects, stinging insects), and some surfaces are best avoided (wood chips, gravel). But after overcoming initial hesitation—and weathering a toughening-up period—Guttmann says, “Most people who try it are amazed by how good it does feel.”
Barefoot walking can improve physical health as well, according to recent research. Inspired by traditional cobble-
stone walking parks in China—which follow principles of reflexology, or stimulating “acupoints” on the soles of the feet—scientists at the Oregon Research Institute asked half of a group of normally inactive elderly men and women to walk daily (for up to 30 minutes) on mats that replicated smooth, rounded cobblestones. (The other half did conventional, 60-minute walks three times a week.) After 16 weeks, the mat-walking group’s blood pressure, on average, had dropped significantly more than the conventional walkers (126/73 versus 131/75, respectively).

In the US, barefoot hiking clubs rally their modest troops via the Internet. (Check www.barefooters.org to find a chapter near you.) But you hardly need a group or guide to give barefoot hiking a try: Just take your shoes off!