The Passion of All Passions
There's a lot spoken these days about seeking your passion, developing your passion, living your passion In other words living life with purpose
Passion is like an insatiable furnace that has to be fed "Feed me, feed me", it says
So today I'd like to address this passion from a health perspective
Health as a Passion
What? Health and passion? I believe we're all interested in living a healthy life Right? It's hardwired into us from birth as an aspect of survival of the species So it would be natural if we would be passionate about our own survival
"I eat healthy" What does that mean? Who say's what's healthy? An individual decision, I suppose, but a casual personal observation, but health passion would require of us asking some hard questions about our so called healthy choices
But perhaps there's interference?
Passionate Health Questions
I think that when we are passionate about our health it means that we'll do anything to make it happen We'll go to any lengths to make sure that our health is optimal So ask yourself these questions(no right or wrong answers and you won't be graded!)
Will I spend any amount of money and forego any extraneous expenses(movies, gas, treats, vacations, etc) to further my health?
Do I continue to seek out different informaton to evolve my health?
Am I healthier in my mindbody physiology today than I was yesterday, last month, last year?
Do I regard aging as a fictional event?
Whe I wake up in the morning do I think about the health of my mindbody first and the future events of the day second?
Do I consider exercise a barometer of health? (ie if I'm able to run, swim, bike, or climb Mount Everest then I'm healthy) If so, why and who says?
Misdirecting Our Passionate Efforts for Health
You see it's all about the distractions of life and day to day activities that divert our attention away from our health passion
Today the matter science(molecular study) as typified in nutrition directs our attention away from the salient aspects of personal health We become so focused on the molecules in foods(including vitamins and supplements) that we miss the greater issues of lifestyle
It's as if we are indulging on the small things rather than stepping back and looking at the greater picture
Feeding the Furnace
From my own experience and what I have encountered with patients is that we have to first start the furnace of health passion
Like anything else this expects some form of commitment on our part
Passionate about health implies that there is a willingness to step outside the box, to encounter new information, to try new things on, in order to make health a priority
We don't really speak to this in our culture, perhaps becasue as we've said earlier, this survival thing is hardwired and so we just assume that it's part of our lifestyle But I think not
Passionate About Our Lifestyle Choices
So simple things first Come hell or high water we chose the following choices
Lights out by 10:30pm
Up at 6am
Favor foods that briing about balance
Build a churan to enhance digestive fire
Now you're stoking the furnace!
Ciao with passion To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Leisure Food
“For diet, conventional wisdom often recommends ‘everything in moderation,’ with a focus only on total calories consumed,” says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and lead author of the study. “Our results demonstrate that the quality of the diet — the types of food and beverages that one consumes — is strongly linked to weight gain.”
This most recent nutritional study brings up for us some food for thought(no pun intended)
Leisure Food
There are foods that we use as comfort or snack foods that come up for many in the process of daily activities that create a sense of equanimity From an energy science view these foods will promote the sweet, sour, and salty tastes as they reduce the Vata energy pattern
As we have talked about earlier these foods calm the physiology but for those people who have prominent Kapha mindbody energy pattern, these foods will produce weight gain in a hurry since the same sweet, sour, and salty tastes provoke Kapha producing congestion
Matter Science Nutrition
The Harvard epidemiolgical and nutritional study on the use of potato chips and carbonated drinks as they are related to weight gain comes up with no real suprise to us
There is the typical quantitative matter science ho-hum measurement issue that is replete in the nutritional information these days Calorie laden data points to make the point that potato chips and carbonated drinks lead to weight gain Yawn, tell me something new
But.....
Nutritional Medical High Priests Are On To Something
What seems to be most interesting about this article is that for the first time the word "quality" is now entering the nutritional vernacular Calorie quality versus calorie quantity
Now not to say that such thinking suggests a change in the matter science nutritional establishment's way of doing things But it does suggest researchers are now thinking that the quality of foods is important
The Basis of Energy Science Nutrition: Quality
The fundamental difference between the matter and energy science disciplines is that one deals with the quantitative(measurement in calories) and the energy science deals in the qualitative(energetically what are the tastes)
Taste patterns are composed of fundamental vibrational frequencies and are 10 basic pairs(hot/cold, soft/hard, gross/subtle, dry/rough etc) These vibrational frequencies are the footprints of the subtle biological energy field So the hot quality of sour and salty balance the cold of Vata producing calm in the mindbody physiology
Nutritional Self Medication
Seeing the mindbody as a vibrational energy field as well as the foods that we take in gives us an insight as to how foods can become medicine
Whether we consciously understand it or not, we self medicate with foods The mindbody is searching for food that when ingested medicates the physiology to give it a sense of peace and tranquility in the apparent buffeting outside reality indicative of our above research study
To those who consciously chose foods according to their mindbody makeup, hats off to you for you represent less than 1% of the world's population
For those who don't, perhaps consider this food for thought(pun intended)
Later To health as a Skill Love DrBill
This brings up the issue of calorie quality vs. calorie quantity:
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Lifestyle Coaching: Some Caveats
Lifestyle is the buzzword these days as how to effect change and hence health in one's life
I think that there are some important aspects before you decide to jump into this type of work of getting a coach to help you along your road to improving your health
Choose the Philosophy First
This blog is to introduce to those who are interested in a different way of seeing the human biology and its physiology
The mindbody is both a matter and an energy field So the coach who has a matter(molecular) way of seeing the mindbody will carry that into all the information delivered
The deeper reality is that the mindbody is an energy field as well and since all disease begins in the energy field it would behoove those interested in disease prevention to embrace a coach who knows energy science work as well
This kind of guidance can only be obtained in one who understands the core philosophy of the energy sciences When is the best time for the biggest meal of the day, what's the best time to go to bed, what's the best time to wake up in the morning? These questions seem to be unrelated to nutrition to the casual observer but play a big role in grounding a solid system of nutrition
Such basic lifestyle choices presently advocated in the matter science world are not grounded on us a being part of Nature but rather a collection of molecules that has somehow learned how to think
Then the Coach
Having had dealings with many consultants over the years I have come to realize that the coach is only as valuable as how focused I am with what I want to accomplish
Once I have chosen the health philosophy first now I'm ready to "hire" my coach but I think here we should be focused on what we are hoping to get from the coach
Is she going to support me about getting up in the morning? And what does that support look like?
Willingness to Move On
I've also learned that at times when needs are not being met that it may be ready to move on That in some way you have to reassess what your needs are That perhaps what you thought was what you needed is not where you want to go
It's at this juncture of reassessment that you can get a better perspective of what needs to be done to improve your health Maybe just practicing for a year what you have started with the coach is appropriate and sufficient Because everyone moves on their journey of health at their own level of comfort
Have a great weekend To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Five Coffee Substitutes
From an energy science nutritional view coffee is not a healthy drink It provokes all three energy patterns, Vata(energy of movement), Pitta(energy of transformation), Kapha(energy of stability)
Due to stimulant effect it provides too much mobility and hence provokes Vata and Pitta and the pungent post digestive effect provokes Pitta The sweetness(heavy, oily, static) usually associated with the drink provokes Kapha
I know this is a debilitating thought for those of us who need our cup of Joe in the morning to get started And so what the heck go ahead and have it
But for those interested in alternatives I thought I would provide some insight into what else is available in the marketplace
These types of substitutes for the "real thing" have a very close taste resemblance to a Starbuck's visit particularly if you happen to have a milk steamer and not adverse to milk as a drink unto itself
Grain coffee are made from an assortment of roots and vegetables(asparagus, beetroot, carrot, sweet potato, rye, etc0
Ayurveda, the energy science medical discipline from the yoga tradition uses a grain blend supported with herbs that are in part antioxidants ashwagandha and shatavari
Chicory
A friend and his wife who I met through medical training were from Louisiana and brought me back to this memory of the taste for this vegetable related to endive and radicchio Chicory is quite common in the deep South and has some great health benefits
Chicory can serve as an ingredient of the above grain coffees and many times is mixed with the "real deal"(coffee)
It can serve as a support for bacterial flora in the gut providing oligosaccharides and inulin which nourish the bowel flora as a prebiotic fibers
From an energy science view it provides the bitter taste which is detoxifying Due to this effect it helps with Kapha and Pitta conditions such as reducing swelling, improving arthritis, and lowering cholesterol
Steamed Milk
If socialization at your local Starbuck's or coffee provider is what you may be looking for, one could get simply steamed milk Using a nonsugar flavor can be a way around "getting the fix"
This is kinda of like a methadone program but will fulfill many different needs that can get met without the caffeine
Strong Kapha energy patterns would have to watch this however since milk carries the sweet taste and will produce weight gain
Tea
As a suprise black tea can have more caffeine than that regular cup of coffee in the morning Again from an energy science nutritional view it's not the caffeine that people affects people but the qualities as discussed above
So warmth of the drink along with the flavor particularly of a herbal blend can be quite nourishing to the physiology
Hot Water - What? Yuck
And yes hot water sipped in the morning hours can be quite beneficial as the mindbody wakes up The mindbody physiology is cool in the am as it wakes from slumber and it's a Kapha time of the day(heavy, cold, static, oily, dense, slow, cloudy)
So perhaps warm or hot water can be a nice pick me up without jolting the system with caffeine
Ciao for now To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Photo courtesy of thepretenda
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Aging and Nutrition
Jeanne Calment holds the title of the eldest senior citizen on the planet who made it to 122 The energy sciences tell us that 120 should be the normal lifespan for us humans
Not surprisingly many of us are not only interested in living long lives but in talking with friends and patients over the years we also want to see productive lives in our later years
The current matter science medical discipline and its research has studied this issue molecularly but from an energy science view this whole thing about aging will defy the contemporary molecular probings
You're Only As Old As You Think You Are
This aphorism that we've heard over the years is born out in what the energy science medical discipline has to say about aging
You see aging actually like any disease process begins in the mind because the body including its genetic information is constantly listening to the mental thoughts that we create
And this is why the molecular answer about aging will not yield an answer to the matter science probing The mind is an energy field not a molecular(matter) field
So if you think you're young, you're probably right
But with these basic premises let's examine what aging looks like in terms of the mind
Rigidity, Inflexibility, and Its Opposite
"I've always done it like this"
Such is another common phrase that we hear ourselves or elders say when confronted with change and brings up the way the mind starts seeing things as it ages
It is of little value to have an old mind in a young body or to renew the body but keep the mind tied to the past and its compulsions In so doing the mind interferes with the energy flow through its field and this leads to stagnant energy, a slugging of the free flow
In fact, we often want to rejuvenate the body and prolong our lives in order to continue the same old mental and emotional patterns that are wearing us out and causing pain to others as well It's completely counterproductive Take a bunch of vitamins and supplements yet continue with the same worn out emotions and patterns of thinking
With age the mind energy field begins to sector choices out, develops rigidity and resistance to change, and develops barriers for newness
This sectoring out of choices occurs because of beliefs, judgements, prejudices, opinions of others, and a host of energetic forces that bring about seeing each day's choices as fresh and new
Clinging To The Past
Being stuck on old outworn memories inhibits freshness and believe it or not is stressful
A friend and I were talking about this topic and he related that there were studies of CEO's who by studies showed more stress the more inflexible they appeared in responding to questionnaires
So having the mind attached to creativeness and newness in experience is actually longevity promoting but also amazingly and paradoxically less stressful not more stressful
Exercising Your Flexible Mind
So my friends flexibility of the mind is key to longevity and living to the ripe old age of 120 years as the energy science predicts
What does this look like?
Experience new ways of doing things like nutrition
Explore not listening or reading mass media(mental junk food)
Consider conscious yogic breathing
Perhaps look at the value of using ghee
Consider using a monodiet of kitchari for a week
And when you see yourself in resistance, RELAX!
What accelerates this process is that as you become more flexible in the mind in adopting new mental habits that are energy science promoting, the body which is intimately spliced with the mind gets the benefit as well It becomes healthier as a result!
Ciao Thinking young To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Photo courtesy of Crocheted
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