It also thrums our lives because it gives insulation against physiological effects of stress and separation that are so detrimental to our immune systems. We bolster ourselves against adversity.

Life can be full of adversity and we never know what lies ahead. We can count on good times, but alas, we must also encounter bad times. “The north wind doth blow,” goes nursery rhyme, “and we shall have snow. And what will robin do then, poor thing?”

The robin sits in barn and hides his head under his wing. The dormouse rolls up like a ball in his nest snug and small and sleeps till warm weather comes. And children are told that after their lessons they must “skip, hump and run until they’ve made themselves warm.”

This will take care of their physical temperature, but what about their emotional temperature. We know that what warms our hearts is companionship – caring for others and knowing they care about us, and living in community with others.

Thrumming your life means maintaining connections to your own emotions and those of others, and being able to continually make connections with people throughout your lifetime, as your circumstances will change. If you live long enough, it’s inevitable that you will outlive some of those whom you love and who love you.

Women are probably better at thrumming their lives, but need to be careful about adding relationships that nurture in a two-way direction. Men tend to try and thrum their lives with ideas, such as a noble profession, or children for whom they provide, and who will be their legacy and/or inherit their gold, but with whom they have no emotional connection. Thrum with good unspun fleece, i.e., something that inherently has substance. Bond with people who strengthen you, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally.

EQ is about ability to gather and sustain nurturing relationships in your life, and ability to nurture yourself. Developing your emotional intelligence is like thrumming your mittens to keep you warm on a cold winter’s day. You won’t need those mittens on a beautiful spring day, but when a blizzard comes, you’ll not only need them, you’ll need them thrummed.

Adrienne discovered that her feelings of anxiety and depression, that had been with her most of her life, disappeared after she started eating only organic foods. Her system was so sensitive to pesticides and food additives in non-organic food that she could not eat them without feeling anxious and depressed.

Alex, who periodically struggled with depression, inadvertently discovered that drinking raw milk from an organic dairy had a completely different effect on him than pasteurized milk. He was visiting Los Angeles and went into a health food store where he discovered that he could buy raw dairy products (which are outlawed in most other states). He found that raw milk gave him more energy and elevated his mood. He also found that, while he was lactose intolerant with pasteurized milk, he had no problems with raw milk. Now he has his raw milk, cheese, and butter shipped frozen to Wyoming, and no longer struggles with depression.

Over and over again my clients, who have chosen to tune into how food was affecting them, have discovered how much their feelings were being affected by food. Many of my clients have learned that even a little sugar brings them down. Sugar consumes so many vital nutrients as body attempts to process it that it can actually be considered a poison. How many people really take “Sugar Blues” seriously?

A hundred years ago, when people naturally ate non-processed and organically grown food, they were getting all nutrients they needed. Now, most fruits, vegetables and grains are being grown on devitalized soil and over-processed on top of it. Cows and sheep that were once grass fed are being fed pesticide-sprayed grains and given hormones to fatten them up. As a result, much of our food not only contains little nutrients, but has many toxins as well. Without vitamins, minerals, and many other factors that natural, organic and grass-fed food contains, many people suffer deficiencies that can cause anxiety and depression, as well a many other illnesses.

I recently found out that fat of raw organic dairy products, especially butter, contains natural anti-inflammatory nutrients. I wonder if huge rise in arthritis and other inflammatory conditions is related to pasteurizing of milk. Any inflammatory condition can certainly contribute to anxiety and depression.

Food is certainly a major factor in rise of anxiety, depression and illness. Only you can do something about this by learning how you are being affected by foods you eat.