Noses, Snouts, Freedom, and Authority: How to Breath While Wearing a Mask
Elm and Opals
Breathing, when it is healthy, generally goes unnoticed. Yet the human being depends heavily on the efficient delivery of oxygen to cells in all parts of the body. This rhythmic use of oxygen is essential to enable clear thinking and for maintenance of peace of mind; both of which in turn allow the forming of sound judgements. Unlike the animal, which has its instincts upon which to depend, human beings rely on their power of judgment for making decisions. These everyday choices may be as basic as deciding when to cross a busy street or as complex as deferring to another individual’s proclaimed authority in a certain area of life. Ideally, these sound and healthy judgements become a basis for action which affects the wider world. The availability of oxygen necessary for these higher human functions, including basic life maintenance, does not depend on ventilation alone (i.e. sufficient air exchange with the outer world entering and exiting through the nose and/or mouth). In order to walk, talk, and think, the lungs must efficiently pass oxygen on to the iron-rich hemoglobin of the blood, and the hemoglobin in its turn must be able to ‘let go’ of the oxygen at the right times and in the right places so that the oxygen can again engage with the respiratory process; this time at the cellular level. Cellular respiration provides energy for myriad basic bodily functions which in turn support the higher human capabilities. Sometimes there is a challenge to the respiratory system’s task. This may happen during exercise (higher demand for oxygen), in spaces where oxygen availability is insufficient, or as a symptom of illness (the bodily means for using oxygen is compromised). The respiration process becomes noticeable in these situations and supportive interventions may become necessary.
With oxygen being by far the most abundant element in the earth’s crust, how is it possible that we could ever feel a lack of oxygen for our bodily needs? Oxygen may truly be considered an earth-element. Silicon dioxide or quartz (SiO2) is the most common chemical compound in the earth’s crust making up about 70% of its mass. Ninety-five percent of all known rocks contain this oxygen rich compound. Even the dead mineral kingdom depends on oxygen for its existence in that oxygen is actually part of its being! In fact, the opal presents an archetypal example of a breathing process in the mineral world. This precious ‘stone’ is actually a colloid (a suspension of a solid in water) and may contain up to 30% water. ‘Young’ (wet) opals, which are found by persistently and meticulously digging through clods of certain kinds of muddy clay, will often make slurping or bubbling sounds when placed in a bucket of water as they ‘breathe’ water back into themselves. When an opal dries out too quickly, it loses its ‘fire’ or play of color, and can sometimes regain this wondrous display when placed back into water. As most will ‘craze’ (acquire many small cracks) and lose their fiery color display if they dry out too quickly, a young opal must be displayed immersed in water. ‘Too quickly’ for opals means less than thousands of years while still safely packed in their special clay abodes while drying out. One opal ‘breath’ takes a very, very long time! In contrast to other precious gemstones, the opal does not get its play of color from metallic ‘impurities’ in a transparent mineral matrix, but rather from how the silica dioxide forms itself into little spheres suspended in water. The light then plays through it producing an appearance of living color; even in a full rainbow spectrum in some cases. As it turns out, this opal-rainbow brings into the realm of visibility its wonderful archetypal Imagination of cellular respiration. This will become more apparent in moving on to examine respiration in higher organisms. In a sense, the opal ‘breathes’ oxygen-containing water, just as higher organisms breath oxygen-containing air.
Water, the harmonious child of a problematic (for living organisms) reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, is a key player in cellular respiration. While the earth’s crust is mostly constituted of oxygen compounds, the sun’s physical being is made up mostly of hydrogen gas (about 70%). In this vein, oxygen (O) may be conceived of as an ‘earth-element’ and hydrogen (H) may be thought of as a ‘sun-element’. When these two influential planetary representatives come together to make water (H2O), (which exists at a much lower chemical energy), heat-energy is released explosively. In this chemical reaction, an oxygen molecule (O2) must accept four electrons from a ‘donor’ in order to be able to attract two hydrogen ions (H+) to form two molecules of water. Although the oxygen molecule (O2) is hesitant to accept its first electron, once it has, it becomes dangerously destructive, as a ‘superoxide radical (O2-)’, in its voracious quest to obtain three more from any possible source. Oxygen’s immoderate appetite could be loosely compared to eating one cookie while on a diet and then being compelled to eat quickly the whole box no matter what the cost to health or social circumstances may be! Hydrogen ions (H+ or protons) are also extremely focused in their ‘appetite’. They seek electrons in order to ‘complete’ themselves as hydrogen atoms. The explosiveness of the unchecked water-forming reaction, in which large amounts of energy are chaotically lost as heat, is a very basic problem inside a living organism. This problem is resolved by the process of cellular respiration.
All living beings need oxygen to maintain life even though a very few do not have a respiration process. Oxygen is ubiquitous on earth and remarkable in the variations in which it manifests and is used. It is in no short supply; the challenge is in its availability to our life processes; i.e. how it is brought into the body, tolerated, used, and given back to the wider world again. Respiration is the word that describes the biochemical process in which the cells of an organism obtain energy by combining oxygen (O2) and glucose (C6H12O6), resulting in the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and ATP (the basic ‘energy currency’ of most living organisms). This process of cellular respiration can be represented more succinctly like this: 6O2 + C6H12O6 ———> 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP. Said in still a different way: Cellular respiration breaks up a simple carbohydrate which has been broken down from dietary sources to free its hydrogen ions (H+), and then manages a step-wise process to gently introduce one electron at a time from a ‘donor’ to oxygen (O). When this has been carefully done, the hydrogen ions are then attracted to the oxygen to form water (H20). This is all done in a way that simultaneously inhibits the explosive heat energy that would otherwise incinerate the human body. A more controlled release of energy makes it possible for part of it to be harnessed in the chemical phosphate bonds of ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) instead of only being released as heat energy. This form of chemical stored energy may be used as needed by the higher wisdom of the body for functions other than simply keeping a little too warm! The relationship of phosphorous (in the phosphate groups of ATP) to light is apparent to common sense when bringing to mind the word ‘phosphorescent’ or imagining the phosphorous used on match heads. Just as the human being cannot look directly at the sun without damaging the earthly eyes, (even though the sun is necessary for all life on earth), so it is that in our bodily function, we cannot tolerate the direct effect of oxygen and hydrogen coming together even though no cell in our body can function without oxygen and water.
With so much focus on providing oxygen to every cell in the body, it seems like a contradiction in terms that the ‘waste products’ of respiration also contain oxygen. Even more incredible is that a compound such as carbon monoxide (CO), differing from CO2 by just one oxygen, is deadly to most living organisms. CO results from incomplete burning of fuel (when there is not enough oxygen available to feed a complete burning) and can build up quickly in closed spaces. This is the reason why one should never use a gas powered generator or other appliance or open flame in an indoor space unless there is adequate fresh air intake directly to the burning process. Hemoglobin much prefers CO to O2, and will drop its O2 quickly to pick up the more chemically attractive CO to which it clings very tightly. Cells experience a severe lack of oxygen availability even though there is an oxygen right there (included in the CO) owing to the hemoglobins inability to ‘let go’. This is an example of oxygen being ‘right there’ and the body having no access to it.
So how is it that animals and human beings are able to regularly access this working together of solar and earthly energy for metabolic needs considering its inherently explosive and even poisonous qualities in certain common situations? It is the plant world which solves part of this conundrum. It has the ability which humans and animals do not, to directly bring about the storing of solar energy taken into its leaves in the process of photosyntheses; making glucose a repository of solar energy which is accessible to the cellular respiration of not only itself, but also to higher forms of life in the form of food. Unlike animals and humans, a plant is rooted to one location and therefore cannot obtain enough ‘dietary’ carbohydrate to be broken down into glucose with which to fuel its own energy producing cellular respiration cycle (which it needs for growth and its own kinds of movement and reproductive processes). A plant therefore makes its own glucose through photosynthesis. This process, which is almost exactly the opposite process to that which occurs in cellular respiration, needs energy from sunlight to fuel the process of using carbon dioxide and water (the ‘waste’ of cellular respiration) to make glucose (with its ‘solar’ hydrogen bonds) and free oxygen back into the environment. The plant can represent the Imagination of stored solar energy (glucose from photosynthesis) which it makes available as food to animals and human beings which cannot use the sun’s energy as directly as can the plant. Basically, the plant transforms solar energy arriving from the cosmos directly into chemical energy.
Returning to the cellular respiration process, and its role in the inhibition, or slowing down in a measured way, an explosive energy producing process, we re-visit the theme of light and color. Again, the basic problematic phenomena encountered is that of hydrogen molecules violently reacting with oxygen when existing molecular bonds of glucose break and new bonds are formed between oxygen and hydrogen atoms. As the products of the reaction are at a lower energy level than the initial ‘ingredients’, the result is an explosive release of energy and the production of water and carbon dioxide with most energy chaotically lost as heat. A way must be found to slow down and control this meeting of hydrogen and oxygen in order to form water, and to divert a large portion of this energy away from heat-forming energy towards chemical energy (ATP). Life’s solution is found through the use of an ‘electron transport chain’ which leads electrons to oxygen in a step by step way, which prepares it to receive the hydrogen ions thus creating water. Electron carriers in the respiratory chain can absorb visible light and change color when they receive or give away electrons. While the oxygen is ‘waiting’ for three more electrons which it so voraciously desires after having already received its first one (as explained above), it is held in a sort of vise made up of two metals: iron and copper. The cell can use O2 for respiration only because ‘cytochrome oxidase’ (chrome = ‘color’) holds onto oxygen at a special bi-metallic center, where it remains clamped between a heme-linked iron atom and a copper atom until it has picked up a total of four electrons. (The heme-linked iron acting as a sort of ‘queuing point’ for electrons, as described in this textbook describing electron transport). Only then can the two oxygen atoms of the oxygen molecule be safely released as two molecules of water. Rudolf Hauschka, Austrian chemist and co-founder of a popular natural skin care line, expressed it more imaginatively: ‘…starch is a bewitched rainbow drawn down into matter by the plant’s vital activity.’ (Starch is made up of combinations of sugars.)
The below painting by Boticelli, entitled ‘Mars and Venus’, pictures the two gods of Roman mythology with 4 baby satyrs; one of whom looks to be just about to ‘escape’ from under the arm of the sleeping Mars. Alchemical medical traditions since ancient times have seen copper as related to the god Venus and iron related to the god Mars. This painting to me seems an example of art in its innate wisdom revealing a primal truth that, as modern human beings, we usually only fathom through the use of concepts. The satyr represents ‘immoderate appetites’ in classical mythology and could be likened to the oxygen’s immoderate ‘lust’ for electrons. The fact that the satyrs in this painting are babies symbolizes a sort of moral innocence connected with natural processes. For me in this context, this painting represents a threshold from the wider world (in the background of the painting) into the observers soul; and the figure of Mars represents the ‘queuing point’ described in the conceptual explanation of an oxygen (representing earthly life) receiving it’s four electrons. Also represented are the iron/Mars passions which have been temporarily calmed by copper/Venus through an evolving problematic relationship (an adulterous affair since Venus is married, interestingly enough, to a metalsmith). The son that they conceived is known in classical mythology as ‘Harmony’ (a quality of water) or Cupid.
The devoted and humble hero of transporting health-bringing air from the outer world into our inner world is the human nose. What is visible as ‘nose’ on the human countenance is only a small part of the whole nasal apparatus which includes the sinuses. This is evident by looking at the accompanying diagram. As is apparent upon first glance, the nasal passage with its sinuses devote much more space and complexity than the smaller air passage through the mouth. The nose is almost entirely devoted to bringing in and conditioning environmental air and also to chaperoning its exit from the body. On the other hand, the mouth is comparatively ill-equipped for breathing and quite adept at eating. The one function which does involve air moving through the mouth for which it is specifically well-suited is in the shaping of the spoken word. Breathed air is diverted or ‘sacrificed’ from its life-giving oxygen-providing job in the lungs in order to be forced out again through the mouth ‘trumpet’ where the lips, tongue, and palate further modulate it to form coherent sounds with meaning. This is why it is common for people who speak for a living often find themselves inexplicably tired at the end of the day.
The giving back or ‘letting go’ of air with its accompanying moisture and warmth is every bit as important as the taking in. For example, an asthmatic individual’s challenge lies in the exhale becoming restricted. In a seeming contradiction to the feeling of suffocation that occurs with an asthma attack, an asthmatic’s symptoms are commonly the result of over-breathing. Pay attention to what air feels like when you breath in through your nose only…and then again when you breath out. Usually it is quite noticeable that the air coming in is cool, dry, and possibly irritating in other ways; in contrast, the air coming out is warm, moist, and usually not irritating if sinuses are healthy. The nasal passages warm the incoming air, moisten it, filter particulates out of the air and also perform the essential task of making nitric oxide (NO) which, among other uses, has anti-viral effects. For more information on this topic, please see this interesting study by Jan Martel, et. al. entitled: Could nasal nitric oxide help to mitigate the severity of COVID-19?. The chart below is from Patrick McKeown.
While the human being has the ability to sacrifice breath (warmth, air, and moisture) for speaking, the dog in contrast sacrifices about 12% of its in-breath (seen in red in below illustration) for its powerful sense of smell. A scientific article entitled ‘The fluid dynamics of canine olfaction: unique nasal airflow patterns as an explanation of macrosmia’ by Brent A Craven, et . al. explains in detail the mechanics of the airflow to the olfactory (smelling) system. In their diagram below the dog’s nostril is colored grey on the left. They found that during sniffing, the inhaled air in the dog separates into two distinct pathways. The upper flow path, approximately 12% of each breath and shown in red, passes straight to the olfactory region, which is connected to the olfactory bulb portion of the brain shown on the right. The rest of the air in the lower pathway, colored blue, flows down the pharynx into the lung. Dogs devote much more brain power than do humans to interpreting smells. They have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity as compared to 6 million in people, and the area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. As compared with dogs, what human beings have lost in brain size related to smell, they have gained in the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe, which in humans occupies the front third of the brain, is relegated to a paltry ten percent in dogs. Much of the capability for exhibiting higher human functioning such as problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation of actions, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior reside in the frontal lobe.
There is much in a dog’s behavior that is dictated by its sense of smell. For example, when a dog meets another dog that it hasn’t seen in years, both dogs can ‘remember’ by smell which was the dominant dog in the relationship and thereby ‘know’ how to behave. A dog has almost completely lost its freedom in this respect and others, and is ruled by what its nose tells it. What it eats, how it relates to different humans, animals and other dogs, and how it behaves in a given place or under various conditions are all strictly regulated by instincts based on smell. In contrast, human beings can call upon their higher faculties which can even override what their senses or instincts may urge them to do or believe. Humans have the capability to consciously decide to what or to whom they will sacrifice their life-resources; while a dog is constrained to feeding its instincts with its diverted breath (with the advantage that much is ‘taken care of’ in a dog’s life without their own efforts!). An individual human being can decide whether to allow another’s judgment regarding any area of life to supersede their own opinion precisely because their capacity for judgement is not overpowered by sensory experiences.
Some of the the most challenging questions of life lie around the concept of authority and expertise. Rudolf Steiner put forward some thought provoking ideas when he spoke about trust in authority as it concerns the modern human human being. He began by explaining how, in the past, when the individual human being was still more connected with his group soul, the personality could express itself instinctively, as with ‘brute force, with an animal force...’ This was because the individual personality still ‘assimilated the creative forces of their culture.’ As individuals developed self-consciousness and began to free themselves from the influences of their culture, these creative forces became exhausted. ‘The dynamic, elemental energy of the personality declines and there emerges what is later called the democratic outlook which, with its egalitarian doctrine, standardizes the personality. And it is precisely in this egalitarian process that the personality seeks to manifest itself - truly a radical contradiction!’ Rudolf Steiner elaborates; ‘But in the era of personality everyone wishes to be a personality and that is the inherent contradiction of this epoch. We must always bear this in mind. It is not that one rejects the idea of king or pope; it is not a question of suppressing these offices, but simply that everyone would like to be a pope, everyone would like to be a king. Thus papacy, royalty and democracy would be realized at the same time.’ In other words, we find ourselves in the somewhat ironic situation of trying to have a democratic community entirely constituted of kings and popes!
Even not all that long ago (i.e. not ancient history), human beings had more external support for choosing what to believe or how to act. Someone’s social station, their education level, what family or cultural group they belonged to, and even aspects of their physical appearance were all adequate aids to ‘sniffing out’ how we were expected to behave with respect to this or that other individual or situation. Today, with more access to information and other means of self-education in combination with the above mentioned enhanced sense of personality or unique individuality, which are both in keeping with healthy forward moving human development, ‘everyone would like to be a pope; everyone would like to be a king.’ The human being’s relationship to the concepts of expertise or authority, and the related concept of ‘law’ are evolving rapidly. So, even though we may no longer depend unquestioningly on another’s authority, if we are to be contemporaries of our age in the right sense, we still must remember that ‘it is not that one rejects the idea of king or pope; it is not a question of suppressing these offices‘. Put differently, it is not that authority (law) is no longer a reality or that it is no longer important, but rather that we now have an individual responsibility for our attitude or relationship towards authority. Common sense, clear thinking and a feeling for the truth are the primary pre-requisites - qualities that are within the reach of any striving human being.
Recognizing and understanding basic truths or ‘laws’ does not decrease our freedom; rather it increases it. In order to be able to play the piano, knowing the basic laws of music and how a piano works increases our ‘freedom’ to play the music that we wish to portray. A solid knowledge of algebra increases our freedom to take up a calculus class. There are many more examples of our freedom increasing when some sort of ‘outer form’ is imposed upon us. The way laws of all kinds are used is changing; with YouTube videos and other Internet resources along with increased ability to visit more places the concept of ‘expertise’ is evolving. What questions can we ask about developing a new view towards authority and the related concept of expertise?
How does the modern human being reconcile this new feeling for freedom and independence, which is consistent with healthy soul development in our time, with a healthy attitude towards authority? For if we take our start from a sound common sense, we know that we depend on authority for a very many aspects of our everyday lives. A modern human being simply does not have the time to become an expert on every topic necessary to live in the modern world (although we do have YouTube videos!). The great majority of us would prefer not to rely on an amateur in his field when we are a passenger on an airplane, a patient in a hospital, or even a patron of an expensive restaurant! So why is it apparent that most of us do not make enough effort to concern ourselves with whether a person who presents themselves as an authority on the most fundamental questions of humanity has the right to do so or not? In what specific domain am I a ‘king’; in which specific time am I a ‘pope’? And how and when do I make right judgements about others for those same questions?
As alluded to above, it is no longer so easy to define our relationships with each other, and most especially in the domain of ‘authority’ since we are so extra-sensitized to our self-consciousness in keeping with the spirit of the times in which we live. Even in the fairly recent past, we could safely assume authority, in for example medicine or law, if someone had a degree in the field or had written a few books on the matter. In this rapidly changing world of information technology, in which almost anyone can become an ‘author’ and there are numerous alternative methods of educating oneself, it would likely not be argued by many that these methods are no longer as safe and sure. As Rudolf Steiner said so succinctly, ‘We must bring about a situation in which the distinction between an amateur and an expert can be drawn in the right way.’ However, neither he nor anyone else can really tell us how. That is for every individual to work out for themselves.
‘Man is given his freedom to the highest degree in (modern times)! He must endure this.’
-Rudolf Steiner
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As we move into the fall season, and furnaces start up, houses are closed up, and moisture levels change, indoor air quality may be the cause of health problems in unexpected ways. In my experience, mold and carbon monoxide are two sneaky and relatively common culprits as their symptoms mimic flu-like illnesses and/or neurological diseases. Here are a few tips for taking care of the respiratory and immune systems with these factors in mind:
The nose is situated at the front lines of the immune response of the body. Learning to breathe through the nose, and reducing mouth breathing as much as possible takes full advantage of this protection before it becomes a deeper problem. Here is a video by Patrick McKeown on ‘How to Breath Through a Mask’ which also includes general tips on reducing mouth breathing and some interesting information about carbon dioxide.
Hidden or ‘occult’ sinus infections of either bacterial or fungal/mold origin may continue to produce toxins for quite a while; for example, after a mold exposure has ended. Testing for these organisms in the nasal passages if there is any hint of sinus trouble, and doing a specific protocol of daily sinus rinses if such an issue is suspected may have surprisingly good results.
One more reason to take digestive bitters and/or include bitter, liver supporting foods in your diet! This study suggested that ‘Nitric oxide production is stimulated by bitter taste receptors ubiquitously expressed in the sinonasal cavity’. This possible benefit of increasing immune protection at the front lines, and improving distribution of oxygen throughout upper and lower parts of lungs more evenly is in addition to the liver protective, blood sugar supportive, and detoxification supportive roles that are already attributed to digestive bitters! Uriel Pharmacy’s ‘Chicory Ginger Bitters’ is one example of a digestive tonic that can be used on a daily basis for a health-bringing effect.
Mold problems tend to flare up in damp climates where there is not a clear boundary between a ‘human dwelling’ and ‘where nature dwells’. In other words, the human being who inhabits a dwelling should ideally have a clear consciousness about all spaces within its boundaries. Clutter may cause or obscure a problem and dark, unseen spaces such as attic, crawlspaces and inside walls where a dampness may have occurred are possible spots where a mold that produces mycotoxins (not all kinds of mold do) may establish itself. In colder climates, even though outdoor humidity may be very low, if there is not good ventilation within the home, condensation may encourage mold growth in dark unventilated spaces. Since mycotoxins are gasses, they will not be reduced by most less expensive air purifiers which in fact make the problem worse. An air purifier is necessary which addresses not only spores (which are usually to blame for allergy symptoms, but also the ‘chemical VOC’ aspect of mycotoxins which are gaseous substances produced by the mold organism. Since mycotoxin induced illness is not an ‘allergy’ but is toxicity related, typical allergy symptoms are generally not present. Rather, symptoms which indicate nervous system troubles such as headache, anxiety, fatigue, numbness and tingling, muscle twitches or cramping, loss of coordination, brain fog and memory troubles, word finding problems, and other ‘strange and unusual’ symptoms present themselves. It is possible to do a urine test to measure mycotoxins in the body (you may contact our office for more information). A few suggestions to get started with a suspected mycotoxin related illnesses may be found here.
Carbon monoxide poisoning, especially milder cases, are more common than one would suspect. Symptoms are flu-like, and are related to lack of oxygen availability to the organs and tissues. ‘Pulse-ox’ finger measurements may appear normal. Only a special blood test (blood gasses) which must be done in a hospital setting can detect most cases. Signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are very similar to the flu and may include:
• Dull headache
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Loss of consciousness
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be particularly dangerous for people who are sleeping or intoxicated. People may have irreversible brain damage or even die before anyone realizes there's a problem as carbon monoxide is odorless. A person may have continued symptoms which last for months or years even after the exposure has been eliminated. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the main treatment to speed up healing as it facilitates availability of oxygen to oxygen-starved tissues. If you have any fuel or flames in your home (stoves, fireplaces, wood stoves, water heaters, etc), please buy a carbon monoxide detector with a ‘peak level function’. Even lower readings that show up when the ‘peak-level’ button is pushed (since readings will not show up on the regular display until they are higher for a certain amount of time and the alarm only sounds when your life is in danger) is cause for investigation as to what is causing it. For sensitive populations, chronic intermittent exposure to single digit levels can cause persistent symptoms. If measurable levels are present, appliances will need to be checked for leaks or insufficient fresh air intake.
For example, when a dog meets another dog that it hasn’t seen in years, both dogs can ‘remember’ by smell which was the dominant dog in the relationship and thereby ‘know’ how to behave. (…and someone is about to get their bone stolen!)
