There are an increasing number of people, today, who find themselves allergic to various forms of environmental stimuli - dust, pollen, animal dander, specific chemicals, etc. - this in addition to widespread food allergies. The list is an ever increasing one of difficulties experienced with things that are widely present in today's world.

No one knows, for certain what the reason might be for the expansion of allergic responses on a worldwide level, and particularly in technologically advanced countries. Some have attributed it to environmental changes; others to the presence of new imbalances within the body that may relate to diet or to cultural factors that are altering man's relationship with nature. In the end, the answer cannot be sought in the physical realm, but as with all bodily symptoms and functions, must be pursued on the level of consciousness.

The problem of response to allergens is intimately connected with the problem of man's relationship to nature. In the most basic and universal sense, the relationship of the human body to the earth was meant to be self-sustaining, that is, the earth contained within itself all that was needed to support health and life for the human organism. This situation made for healthier bodies in the distant past, at a time when man's consciousness did not perceive itself as fundamentally separate from its environment.

As civilization progressed, however, and separation of one thing from another and man from nature took place, a new factor was introduced into bodily responses which made them more sensitive to minute quantities of certain substances that they previously had been able to assimilate without difficulty. This is less a matter of individual lack than it is a matter of collective consciousness in its present imbalance in relationship to nature, in its present disregard for the inherent intelligence of the human organism, and in its present lack of awareness of the relationship of the body to higher consciousness.

Within today's world, the nervous system has a primary role in affecting almost all other functions of the body and a significant role in affecting allergic responses as well. When the nervous system becomes overstimulated, it creates difficulties for the natural healing capacities of the cellular, glandular, and cortical functions so that they can no longer do the jobs they were meant to do. This means that they cannot filter out extraneous material or toxic substances in the same way that they could if the nervous system were functioning properly. Such functioning depends upon the consciousness that regulates the nervous system - one that is fundamentally energy based and is attuned to the natural world. This energetic attunement has been progressively decreasing in recent centuries, which is why allergic responses have been on the rise.

In order to heal this situation and to return the body to a state in which it is not responsive to things that are presently irritants, it is necessary for a change in awareness to take place so that man's relationship with the earth and with nature is one of participation rather than separation. Increasingly, this will be the case as the new energies of light permeate the body and consciousness, but for now, the predicament for those who suffer from allergies, some quite severely, can only be addressed in a more limited way on a case by case basis.

For some, the purification of the body through incorporating more pure fluids, through purifying the diet, and through ridding the body of toxic substances provides a key to the regulation of allergic reactions. For others, purification and even severe restriction of diet may only have a limited effect. Sometimes what is needed is to re-route the energy pattern within the body so that the body is more grounded in terms of its relationship to the earth. When this is the case, the body is able to receive more energy from the earth, and to distribute its own energy into the earth in a more direct way. There are various spiritual practice which address this need and can be tried on an experimental basis.

For still others, the need to endure the allergic condition is part of an overall issue of vulnerability, in which the psyche, based on the soul's directives, has created a condition of vulnerability and an insufficient barrier to certain stimuli so that a person would learn to deal more effectively with this aspect of their emotional life. In this sense, the allergic response serves as a physical manifestation or metaphor for the need to allow oneself to become more vulnerable, with fewer barriers or hard surfaces between oneself and others.

Remedies for the suffering brought about by allergic responses must be researched on an individual basis, for no two human bodies have the same physical or karmic history, and therefore no two people will respond in the same way to life or dietary changes, or other efforts at healing. However, in the end, the need for humanity to find a way to change its relationship with the world around itself will be the most significant factor in eliminating allergies on an individual and collective level. These will disappear when the flow of energy between man's consciousness and the environment returns to a more natural and balanced state. At that time, the problem of allergies will become a thing of the past.