New Age thinkers claim that a new generation of children are being born with special gifts. Born mainly from the 1990s onwards, the so-called 'Indigo' kids, named after the dark blue colour of their spiritual auras, are supposed to have unusual psychic talents, to resist authority and have a natural aptitude for technology. American self-help lecturers Jan Tober and Lee Carroll argue that this new generation will advance the evolution of human consciousness at a more rapid pace than ever before. They believe this 'phenomenon' has ' escaped mainstream attention because to think that we might now be seeing a new human consciousness slowly arriving on the planet now - manifested in our children - goes way beyond established conservative thought.' They insist that Indigo children have been recognised by academics and medical professionals across three continents.

But what they don't seem to consider is that children have always been the driving force behind human evolution, and that to brand a new generation with a colour, albeit a spiritual one, smacks of just the kind of thinking that evolving consciousness should liberate us from. An Indigo Celebration by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober (Hay House, £9.99). For more information: www.indigochild.com

Earth Day
Half a billion people across 174 countries will be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow. One of 12,000 eco-projects for 2004 is the planting of a new tree for every American - a total of 285 million. Earth Day was started in the U.S. in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. It instantly caught the imagination of the anti-Vietnam student movement, and has been growing ever since. More information: www.earthday.net

Death Awards
Green funeral promoters, the Natural Death Centre, presented their annual awards to the burial industry last weekend. As part of the 12th National Day of the Dead, awards were given to the best eco-friendly crematorium, burial ground and coffin manufacturer. Double gong winner was Carlisle whose cemetery and crematorium were commended for the use of environmentally friendly cardboard coffins and woollen shrouds. More information: www.naturaldeath.org.uk

Mark Winter