A 9-year, $3.8 billion study conducted at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University found “a 47 percent reduction in the combination of death, heart attacks, and strokes” in those who practiced transcendental meditation daily. Does pretending to breath in light still sound weird?

I also encountered a study found that “Meditation provides a good starting point for learning and creativity.” The researchers assert that “There are strong pedagogical reasons for including meditation as part of the daily experience of pupils of all ages and abilities.” The study concludes that “Meditation is a proven means for stilling the mind, encouraging mindfulness, and providing optimum conditions for generative thinking and reflection.”

I’m sold. But, you know what? I’m also “sold” that drinking kale juice every morning would be great for me. That doesn’t mean I do it. Meditation, I’m convinced, is GREAT for you and for everyone. I really believe that. But how does one meditate? And when? And what will people think of me if I stare into the dark center of a candle’s flame daily?

For me, the benefits of meditation outweigh any concerns, and using the candle light solved the problem of how to meditate. I think it would be cool to stare at the dark center of a flame for a few minutes per day. Better mood? Increased focus? Better thinking and reflection? Less risk of heart disease? Yes, I think I’ll sign up.

You know, it goes without saying, but light is truly amazing.

When it comes to lighting, we are used to lighting that shines from above, like the sun or the moon and many artificial light sources that mostly are used from the ceiling or poles. In my early career as a lighting director for movies and television we used to up light or semi up light certain features or backgrounds in order to create dramatic visual effects. Back When I owned an event lighting company in Israel, I had an opportunity to implement some of what I have learned in the motion pictures industry. Back then there was no culture of lighting for events, the little lighting that was done was mainly halogen floodlights hanging on high poles and flooding spaces with a glaring light. Bringing the techniques I’ve learned in the motion pictures lighting, I have started up lighting trees, bushes, walls, architectural features, backgrounds etc. This created a lighting effect that was beautiful, dramatic and overwhelmed people. During the many evenings and nights that I spent overseeing the events, I used to stand close to the entry to the event location and watch people’s reaction when they entered the space. I noticed an interesting thing, the beauty we created using these special techniques of lighting, was so surprising and “out of this world” that people would just stop in their place, breath deeply with a quiet sigh and soak the view with admiration. That taught me how powerfully lighting can effect human emotions. As I started designing for architectural lighting projects, I carried on my experience from both the motion lighting and event lighting and started using in floor lighting in my designs. The first notable project that this technique was implemented for was around 1992 for the Wailing Wall tunnels in Jerusalem. The effect was surprising, interesting, complementing to the architectural nature of the tunnels, warm and dramatic.

How many light bulbs have you changed in your lifetime? It’s a simple action, and often one that we don’t put much thought into, but what if the simple act of changing a light bulb could make a profound impact on the environment, and the well-being of future generations?  As experienced www.EnergyStar.gov:

“If every American home replaced just one light bulb with a light bulb that’s earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.”

Think about the changes that you can make by simply replacing the outdated incandescent bulbs in your home as they burn out with one of the Alternative Lighting Solutions below. Here are some details on a couple of the most popular Alternative Lighting Solutions available.

Compact Fluorescent Lamp: Modern CFL bulbs for use in homes consist of a curved fluorescent tube and electronic ballast in a single unit, designed as a direct replacement for standard blubs. They use 3-4 times less power than comparable incandescent bulbs. These are great options to replace your standard light bulbs, but they do have a few small drawbacks. According to an article by PopularMechanics.com, while CFL’s do have a much longer lifespan than standard bulbs, they often lose some of their brightness long before their expected lifespan is up, and this is increased in fixtures that don’t allow for efficient cooling of the ballast located in the base of the bulb. Another documented fact about CFL bulbs is that they do contain mercury, which means that they must be disposed of properly by taking them your local approved recycling center. You wouldn’t throw a battery out with the daily trash would you? So you shouldn’t throw these out either.

Light Emitting Diodes: LED’s are a form of “solid state” lighting that have become available recently to homeowners as an incandescent and CFL replacement. Using small light emitting diodes mounted directly to circuit boards, these are highly efficient, and have fewer parts prone to failure, allowing for an expected realistic lifespan of 20,000 to 30,000 hours, when operated at recommended temperatures. While initial costs for these bulbs are higher than incandescent and CFL options, long term energy savings are where this alternative lighting option truly shines, with the average LED bulb using approximately 12-17% of the energy that it takes to run an incandescent bulb of similar output, the end result is a bulb that costs drastically less to power over time.

As a point of comparison, here is a simple chart of the energy usage of LED and CFL bulbs compared to incandescent bulbs, and the output associated with them:

Lighting technology has changed a lot in the past decade, and it is pretty amazing to see what could be on the horizon for future lighting innovations. Take this for example. While most homes will never need this amount of output, it’s pretty impressive to see that something the size of a Christmas tree light, like this plasma bulb, can put out more light, more efficiently, than the giant bulbs that we use in street lamps!

The great thing about these changes is that they aren’t something that requires a huge change in your lifestyle, so they are some of the easiest ways possible to help the environment, and lower electric bills while you are at it!

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