Feng Shui and Cows…

Google Earth Study Finds Cows Point North
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Geoff Shearer

August 27, 2008 12:00am

IF you ever need to find true north, stand directly in line with a cow and stare at the end where the bulldust comes out. The latest research marvel has found that most cattle align their bodies in a north-south direction.

Cows that were grazing or resting tended to face the earth’s magnetic north pole, a team of German and Czech researchers reported the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And the finding held true regardless of what continent the cattle were on. Study leaders Hynek Burda and Sabine Begall of the faculty of biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany said: “The magnetic field of the Earth has to be considered as a factor.” The scientists used Google Earth to find images of more than 8500 cattle worldwide.

They found 60 per cent to 70 per cent of cattle were oriented north-south, which Dr Begall termed a “highly significant deviation from random distribution. Of course, the question arises whether humans show also such a spontaneous behaviour,” she said. “(And what) consequences does it have for their health?”

The animal magnetism displayed by the cattle may have some consequences in the bedrooms of Australians. The results, at least, have reignited the debate on the health benefits or otherwise of sleeping in a north-south facing position. “The north-south direction facilitates the running of the magnetic currents of the poles through your body,” one such sleeper said, “from head to toe and toe to head – the way your body’s current runs – rather than across your body, as when your bed is situated east-west.”

But according to the Indian science of Vastu Shastra, the body is a magnet with the head as North Pole and the feet South Pole. It maintains the head should be placed in the east or south for adults and in the east for children. Proponents warn: “Never sleep with the head towards the north direction”, as this is believed to cause a “repulsive force” with the Earth’s magnetic north.

The ancient Chinese practice of feng shui is more “encompassing”. Feng shui experts do support the idea that sleeping north-south can strengthen your physical health, but they say don’t discount the three other directions, as each has benefits depending on how your life is currented. Feng shui consultant and author Terah Kathryn Collins said compass positions in sleep can have an effect on aspects of health, intuition and energy.

She said sleeping south-north will “deepen sleep”; while east-west helps you wake up quickly and have more energy. West-east slows down your life, which Collins said is a good idea for stressed adults or hyperactive children.

Somewhat surprisingly, neither feng shui nor Vastu suggest you keep a north-south aligned cow in your bedroom.

Art: Steppin Out, by Kari Maxwell