Who Is Todd?

Hi, I’m Dr. Todd Pesek, MD.

But, please, call me Todd!

Humble Beginnings

My vision for Earth Healers started a long time ago—sometime in my early childhood, perhaps even before then. I have always harbored a connection with the planet. I grew up in the Appalachian area of rural Pennsylvania, and we always had a home either very near or on a large area of land—and I could usually be found outside, ambling and taking it all in, or running and feeling the ground   beneath my feet, breathing in the smells and the spirit of the world around me. I would literally wake, pull something on, and tumble out the door if the weather was nice. Sometimes I would sleep in my clothes so I could get outside faster. I usually had some kind of pack with me, a bag or backpack, or whatever was handy, for carrying a notebook or some paper and a pencil, some water, whatever else seemed right that day for the hours I'd be out. It was my meditative place; my home where I felt safer than even when I was indoors. This was a place where I felt at ease.

Throughout my childhood, my younger sister and I would embark on various adventures and expeditions as we explored our surroundings.  Often we would emerge from the house at around 5 am to hear the sounds of the earth waking up. We would fill a gallon jug with hot spring water, stick in some herbal tea, grab our thermoses and some toast, and be gone for the day. And out we would go, to connect.

Kids these days!

I realize now that we were naturally nurturing our spiritual connections to the planet in ways we could not explain, we just knew we had to, so we did. Most children know this inherently; you can’t keep them still, can’t keep them inside. I remember sometimes picking cherry tomatoes and green beans out of the garden for lunch, and I recall inventing a way to dry the mint leaves from our large plants so we could wrap them to make tea for our mother. It was actually pretty good tea too.

I am sad to see that many western children are moving away from their connections to our natural world. I see the increase in disease and obesity in kids steeped in this culture, and it makes me so sad. I don’t think we were meant to be mostly sedentary, indoor dwelling folks…indoor air pollution notwithstanding, I think kids need room to run and explore and breathe and appreciate how the littlest creatures are all connected to the big picture. Perhaps we could work together to remedy this?

Traditional Healing Starts at Home

As far as healing, my family has always been steeped in the Appalachian root doctoring tradition and home care. We were always the sorts to offer Goldenseal and Echinacea at the first sign of a cold. We have always lived healthfully—eating carob instead of milk chocolate, using stevia, molasses, and honey for sweetening, and always reusing or recycling anything we possibly could.  It was partially out of necessity, but mostly because my parents knew it was the best way to instill the values they held in their kids. My sister and I became whizzes at reusing boxes and milk crates. Growing up under these circumstances, I learned to appreciate my connection with the earth, the creatures around me, and our natural capacity for healing.

The Missing Piece Is Found in the Jungle

As I got older, and became more and more involved in the “realities” of western culture, it became more of an effort to maintain this connection, as it does for all of us, and I had to reach further to find the time to get out and feel myself decompressing. I think for a time in my late teens to early twenties I felt like something was missing for me, something I couldn’t put my finger on. I was healthy, I exercised regularly, I was in school, but something wasn’t there for a time and I missed it.

I figured that I would find it in the rainforest--a place to which, for unexplainable reasons, I have always been drawn. In books as a small boy, in movies as a teen…perhaps it was the allure of expounding on my healing heritage, or maybe the mystery and majesty of the unknown. Maybe I’m a bit of a thrill seeker. I am sure that there were elements of all of these reasons (and then some that I can’t explain). And so I went when the opportunity arose—off to the jungles of Belize, after I had just seen the miracle of my nephew’s birth. I guess you could say, thanks to this, I was especially vulnerable to the desire for meaning we all kind of look for as we make our way from day to day.

The indigenous people I met and the way of life they embraced made so much sense to me--the balance they achieve reminded me of the ideals I had as a child. I won’t say that they or I have no hardships, that we don’t get sick or we won’t someday return to the earth, that there aren’t days when we have all been hungry…but the harmony of their sustainable lifestyles and the capacities of earth and man to heal themselves are so in line with the parts of me that speak to me loudly, the parts that are just THERE, whether from our early experiences, past experiences, a gift, whatever.

Let me step back and say I’ve always been the kind of person that takes an all-consuming interest in things I find worthwhile. My family finds it odd, but I can literally focus endlessly on tasks I feel are worth doing. I did it when I was young and wanted to master outdoor skills, I did it in high school when I wanted to be physically fit, I did it in college, where I graduated from the honors biochemistry program as a premed student, I did it in medical school where I proudly demonstrated academic prowess, and I continue to observe the same trends in my life to this day. I am lucky to have passion I can focus.

And so it began, days into months, months into years. I spent literally months at a time in the jungle. My first jungle experience was a reward in its difficulty, if that makes sense. Like walking for a toddler.

A Dream Realized: Offering Alternatives in the Face of Poverty

Such was the birth of Earth Healers, in a conceptual sense. Together, the remarkable family I have assembled through my ventures and the ventures of those I love and respect work to alleviate poverty by providing respectable occupation steeped in the traditions of healing. Poverty is a  disgusting thing, anywhere on earth. Look around you, no matter where you are, and you will likely see it or its effects somewhere. People will do what they must to fend for their loved ones. They will continue to slash and burn in the rainforests, or sell themselves for whatever they can. Together, we provide alternatives—respectable, real alternatives. There is a definite screaming undertone of conservation of both rainforest and deep healing tradition—but this type of conservation allows us to not only share traditional healing with the world in an entirely new way, but it allows the populations others sometimes consider “less advanced” (for the record, I do not feel this way. You may have noticed.) to show the world their brilliance and use the lands in the sustainable ways they have honed for millennia. It is my hope that we can learn something from each other. Traditional healers have inherent unity and can benefit humanity through their introspection and insights.

I think corporate conglomerates would put down their saws and pick up their sustainable gathering baskets if they knew they’d make 100 times the cashola…together, we can provide the models which have the potential to grow well enough to seriously impact these scenarios. It feels right to me now, the time to raise consciousness and green business awareness. There are people like us out there to reach, and people who aren’t like us to educate. We are demonstrating economically viable conservation…I am fixated on a fiscal exchange to demonstrate that these lands are worth more living (sustainable growth and harvest of medicinal plants and healing traditions) than destroyed (slash and burn, logging, etc). What I knew as a child, and what I want to demonstrate now as a professional is that there is no human health without environmental health.

I hold my head high as my partners and I work side by side with our indigenous counterparts on our joint programming. The barefoot little boy in me belongs out there in the dirt and trees and beauty, and the healer and preservationist in me believes in wellness, as well as what we do as we help cultures (yes, even our own as we carve an even larger niche in a newly emerging market) generate new ways to earn a living through an increasingly socially responsible and global marketplace. We can all be a part of each other without trying to keep up with the Joneses so much so that we kill everything in our path. This has always made perfect sense to me. How could it not?

My endeavors have expanded globally from the rainforests of Belize and Guatemala…I now find much of my time being occupied primarily in the Amazon, at least currently, though I still work closely with healers on our programming in other areas. I’ll say it again; we are all connected and important to each other!

I really look forward to sharing Amazonia and its mystery and mysticism, as well as with project planning and development (it isn’t always smooth, but its always worth it!), and exchanging information with all of you, my extended Earth Healers family. Consciousness and economically viable conservation are the messages that my partners and I wish to share with you, and we would love to hear your feedback. Talk to us, so we can become a cohesive group and a formidable force in the business of peace and prosperity.

Let’s walk this path together…

Comments

[Guy]

Hi professor,
Glad i saw this site. Didn't realize that any one grow mint any where in the north east,guess because I haven't seen a lot of people embracing natural herbs. I see tomatoes pumpkin, water melons etc,, I remember my mom had a mint garden out doors but it had two different forms of mint one with thick medium leaves the next with fine leaves. Thanks for putting your stories and vision out.

[Annette]

Hi Dr Pesek, I am one of your students and was very pleasantly surprised to see your blog. It reminded me of my childhood in NE Ohio by the lake and surrounding farm lands and how much my love for the outdoors brings me to an environmental place in my life right now. I spent a summer in 1974 in Costa Rica and memories of the people, and the health and environmental concerns of a developing country and a land with every resource available to cure the ills of this earth including solar energy and rain forests abundant with plant and animal life.

[Feri]

im feri graduated from Brawijaya University, Indonesia.

Do you interest to do some research in Indonesia, because if you interest i want to join. bacause indonesia is very rich country with ethnics, its over 300 etnics and every ethnics have special indegenious knowledge. if you interest and willing as your team please contact me at my email.

[Kieran Keefe]

Todd,
I remember when you left Dr. Jarrolls lab, and you said you were going to be a "medicine man" like in the movie of the same title. I am so happy that you achieved that goal. My son is now 4 months old, and as parents we could not agree more with the ideas presented in your blog. I met you 10 years ago, and I'd love to speak with you again, but this time in Amazonia. Be well, and best wishes to you and your loved ones.
-Kieran Keefe

[danny bloom]

Todd
lovely post, lovely blog. are you by any chance related to William Pesek, reporter for Bloomberg news in Tokyo?

Danny Bloom in Taiwan

PS: what's your POV on my idea of POLAR CITIES FOR future survivors of global warming, if things get really bad in future?

http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

PRO or CON?

email me offline at danbloom - GMAIL

[Kelly]

Hi Todd!

I'm so happy I stumbled upon your page. My holistic doctor/spiritual healer prescribed Maca for me in his office, but I didn't know much about it. I just happened to find your page when I did a Google search and I'm so glad to read your story. It just made my day.

It's so wonderful to have people like you in the world doing the kind of things that you do. I hope that one day I can do something so great. Thank you so much for all that you do and all that you are - You are truly a gift from God, and an inspiration. Best wishes for you on your journey.

All my love,
Kelly Johnson

[Joshua Hocter]

This is a wonderful site Todd! I have been wondering for so long what you have een up to and I have told several different people some of our stories (like the time we almost wound up on Gilligans Island...remember that? Dude, I am so proud of everything you have accomplished and ecerything that you are going to accomplish to make the world a better place!

[siva sanker]

Todd,
nice expression of yourself.the world has shrink to a small place so its reflections.this vision of you was the root of us and all our connections here.i want to tell you more of forests and the so called human connection but there is something more about children.world can only exist likein our dreams if we could take away all kinds of fear and a deeper understanding of self and immortality.Todd we are too selfish beings to make a sincere try.
siva

[Daniella Farghal]

Great to know that somebody like you is around. I always thought that our industrial world should connect with the wisdom of natives from all around the world. There is good in both worlds, if we could bring the brain and the heart together, that would be great. Your work is a great contribution.
I wish you success in all your endeavours!

Best,
Daniella

[Maria Wheelock]

Aloha to you my new friends, Todd and Marc, of Earth Healers!! We met at the Boulder Creek Festival in May 2006. I feel truly blessed that our paths have crossed!!! Your passion, knowledge, great energy and balanced presence drew me in and I'm hooked on your products and your beliefs behind them. It's fabulous to meet such conscious beings on this planet and I give you many thanks for spreading the love and awareness that you have.

Namaste,

Maria Wheelock

[Leo]

I agree with your comment Rob. I have been taking MACA EH for over a year now and I would never leave anywhere without it. It gives me the energy that I need for the day to day chores. Nice stress reducer also.
Hope everyone is taking Maca.

[Nina]

Todd:
you have blended passion and purpose, not an easy thing in this world. A friend has been using MACA for some time and is sending me a "sample" in time for this weekend -- the proverbial word of mouth recommendation! i much prefer to use products that inspire as well as to heal, so I'm looking forward to this experience -- I will post again once I've tried. sending good thoughts your way...

[helen]

A lovely site for this wonderful product! I am enjoying it's benefits as I write!

Thanks!

HgN

[Rob Stern]

If everyone was on Earth Healers MACA the world would be a better place. Keep up the good work.

Rob

[Todd Pesek]

Rehema,

Hurray!! My first comment.

I believe we are all so interconnected with such subtle nuances, so really, what someone (us, for example) is doing in the rainforests (the lungs for our planet) definitely affects everyone here in the states. So, everything that we do we trace back to the health and wellness of the people in the states, indeed the world. We are all one people here on our one single earth.

That said, it is mindful to engage in conservation projects wherever possible, and home is no exception. We have projects here in the U.S. too. Sadly, I just learned that one of the areas that we have been working to purchase for a center for biodiversity and wellness education, sustainability, and traditional healing has been purchased by a developer and will be subdivided into 33 lots. Up go more houses. This 126 acres is a plot of old-growth oak-hickory forest and many species of powerful healing plants grow within it. It borders a park that I have adored and enjoyed my whole life, and now, as people go to this wonderful place to take in the breathtaking panorama from its beautiful cliffs, they will take in the view… and see houses and exploited lands. I just don’t understand…

Thank you for joining the Earth Healers family. I see that you are a health educator. Bravo!!! Wonderful folks like you are how we get this message across—there is no human health without environmental health. We need to demonstrate economically profitable conservation for people and planet. Thanks for your help!

Please do share the LOHAS market and socially responsible consumption with your students. Have them start with Coop America’s Green Pages at www.coopamerica.com

Keep reading and be well!

T

[Rehema Gueye]

Greetings, a very nice sight and interesting too. i did not read in detail but would like to check you further to find out how you bring this back to the U.S. and what do yu do here. beside the publication. i appreciate the news letter. and i did enjoy what i did read.

thanks
rehema RN Health Educator