Mental Clarity and Food Choices
With the close of the 20th century and the beginnings of the human genome project there was interest in the effects food had on the mind This was particularly the case for such health problems as obesity, diabetes, and "overnutrition"
The mind is not a matter or molecular field but rather thoughts are an energy field entity so the energy science can help us with choices Think about it Can we wet our thoughts? Is there any validity to the molecular expressions of thought? Yes, it's true that there are molecular traces of thought by PET scan after the thought but as yet no one has defined that thoughts have a molecular home
Even though we study the brain there are many researchers who would argue that the mind has "escaped" That mind is no longer relegated to the brain but is in every cell of the mindbody
Mind and Nutritional Choices
So why should we care about our thoughts and nutrition? Seems like a dead end
Bu what if I were to tell you that what you eat affects your future choices about food? What if the choices you're making right now are affecting your food choices in the future? That is, if you continue to make choices that blunt your decision making clarity then you'll continue to make the same bad choices as you have done in the past
From an energy science point of view the mind is the DNA of each and every cell of the mindbody Every cell is imbued with mind or DNA Molecularly and structurally our daily life choices impact DNA expression so we need guidance as to what are good choices This is what the energy science discipline provides
What Are Mind Supporting Nutritional Choices?
The energy science of Ayurveda states that there are foods that produce over time mental clarity These would be:
Mango pomegranite figs date peaches and pears(in general most fruit); sweet potato sprouts leafy greens zucchini yellow squash and asparagus; basmati rice quinoa blue corn tapioca barley; mung dal red and yellow lentils; fresh unprocessed cow's milk ghee soft cheese homemade yogurt goat's milk; almonds white sesame seeds fresh cashews; saffron tumeric cardamom coriander fennel cumin; fresh sugarcane juice jaggery raw sugar raw honey; herbal teas such as brahmi and licorice;
Foods that increase mind and thoughts(increase hyperactivity):
Sour fruits apples banana guava tamarind most citus; potatoes nightshades broccoli cauliflower broccoli spinach winter squash pickles; millet corn buckwheat; brown lentils lima and kidney beans adzuki beans tur dal small amounts of black pinto and pink beans; sour cream salted or sour butter cream cottage cheese ice cream; most nuts brown sesame seeds; curry chili cayenne black pepper; processed sugar artificial sweetners cooked honey; coffee black and green tea; fish most seafood chicken
Foods that decrease mental clarity and produce dullness:
Avocado watermelon plums apricots; mushrooms garlic onion pumpkin; wheat brown rice; urad dal and large amounts of black pinto and pink beans; hard processed cheese processed milk eggs; peanuts rancid nuts black sesame seeds; jalapeno pepper nutmeg; molasses soft drinks stevia extremely sweet tasting foods; alcohol marijuana most other drugs; beef pork lamb and venison
This latter group is particularly important and will produce over time obesity, metabolic syndrome, and dullness leading to continued poor food choices
Anyhow as they say "Food for Thought"
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Meditation and Chronic Pain
Probably one of the most challenging clinical conditions in medicine are those where physical pain plays a role in the chronic disease Although there is always a psychological or emotional component to this pain, it is the physical pain that becomes so daunting This is the case in any chronic disease associated with pain But what makes it so challenging? Is it really the pain? Or is it something else?
Anybody confronted with chronic pain will attest to the fact that it's the continuous physical discomfort that doesn't go away that leads to the challenge But what if the person is given things to do to help with the pain but won't do them because they make the assumption that it won't work This becomes a problem
Case Study
Let's talk about a middle aged woman with high Vata energy who has a 4 year history of sharp burning electrical pelvic symptoms that move up toward her head But over the last 6 months these pelvic symptoms progressed to severe bladder symptoms with burning pain during and after urination to the point of incapacitation so she cannot work or do normal daily activities She's given specific therapies that will indeed help her with the pain but is unable to do even a small part of them because she believes that they are making her symptoms worse In the end her mind is so strung out that she becomes confused with loss of ability to maintain direction in helping herself with healing
I know there will be some who would argue that this is just part of the problem and that is indeed true But what we have here is a mind that is interfering with the person getting better by preventing her from even using the therapies to begin with Physical pain freaks the mind out It produces enormous unsettling so that there is confusion, disarray, loss of ability to maintain direction, and lack of faith in any process
Role of Meditation
Obviously meditation does not eliminate pain but it has one very important attribute It settles the mind so that there is a potential for faith to peek its head in the door and nuture some calmness to the freaked out mind
We see a lot of people in the clinic with chronic disease who have perhaps underlying psychological or emotional pain but not obvious physical pain and so these people can also benefit from meditation
But it's one thing to deal with helping people with chronic disease but quite another to try to help those with chronic disease who have chronic physical pain
Meditation does not eliminate the pain It helps settle the mind so that it is not so anxious and is able to accept suggested therapies without freaking out There are times when pain is so commanding of our attention that a trial of a particular approach freaks us out Everything is uncertain and we just want the pain to go away This is specifically a very bad place for people with chronic disease
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Meditation and Healing
Healing is a process that is poorly understood in our Western culture From an energy science point of view it requires time because it's a release of accumulated toxicity which takes time The major interfering stumbling block in the process of healing is the mind
Seemingly time isn't a commodity that much of us have in this Vata whacked...ie excessive movement... society in which we live but if real healing is going to happen it will require that a person decides on the part of herself to spend time to do the work
Whether it's reading a blog or doing a healing activity for oneself, it's consistency that counts One may find that there doesn't seem to be anything there for them one day but when they keep coming back they continue to find value in their activity
How the Mind Interferes in Our Healing
The most influence in healing is the mind because it prevents us from trusting the process and moving ahead with treatment plans
Change Nor do we understand often what is required of us taking on energy science healing Change in nutrition, change in lifestyle behavior patterns, doing unusual therapies that are foreign to us...these make the mind unsettled and want to run away, distrusting the process being suggested
Unknown journey Healing is in and of itself an unknown This can be very unsettling for the mind and most of us because as we drop our toxicity and imbalances, new states present themselves The once comfortable steady state of disease is not so steady which can be a good thing New experiences will occur and because they are out of the realm of our day to day experiences it freaks us out At times we yearn for no change Having said this, this change is slow and not herky-jerky and once we settle into this new way of doing things it's exciting seeing our old disease state dissolve into new areas of comfort
Pain Another reason that the mind interferes is because of pain particularly if an accentuation of the pain occurs with treatment This is obviously a real problem that causes the person to freak out about the therapy but it's nothing but a release(below) This will immediately send a signal to the mind of distrust and anxiety It will make the mind run and distrust But if the practitioner is able make adjustments things will get better and healing can occur
Release Who hasn't done a yoga session without experiencing some element of discomfort in the stretch? But this experience is simply a release of old patterns of holding the body in space When we get used to this experience we are not so fearful of it
Real healing takes time Energy science healing is not like modern medicine healing(matter science healing) The latter gets us out of tight jams such as cancer, car wrecks, and suicidal tendencies But it doesn't answer the major problem of chronic disease The word chronic disease has a specific meaning here It relates to a significant amount of time that it has taken to develop and express itself If someone has vein distention seen on the legs(varicosities) it implies that the microscopic veins have been distended for a long period of time It also implies that it will take a long time of treatment to deal with the problem Most people realize this time relationship but the mind interferes
Meditation as a Resource
The mind is the fastest moving vehicle in the body If it is always moving fast, it makes us impatient, undecided, and upset If treatment is not progressing fast enough or things seem to get worse, the mind will stop us on our healing journey
The use of meditation is a way to quiet the mind It stabilizes the mind energy field and allows us to witness the mind as it really is...an petulant, impatient, and confused child Meditation quiets the mind so we can have better clarity and see what we are doing for the long haul
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Nightshades
One day I was telling a patient about how acidic tomatoes are and he told me of his own experience.
He related that he was driving aloing the interstate when he saw ahead of him a truck lying on its side on the highway. As he got closer he saw a lake of tomato sauce on the road and drove through it with a swish.
He drove on to the next pit stop for some gas and as he was fueling the tank his attention was drawn to the lower parts of the car and found that the paint was peeling off. Now what would that do in our stomachs? Heartburn for those predisposed and imbalance for the rest us who are provoked.
The tomato in concentrated form can be acidic enough that people "burp" their sauces to neutralize the acidity using baking soda.
Nightshades In General
The nightshade family includes tomato, potato, bell peppers, and eggplant. Other relatives are garlic and the onion. Yes, these are common bill of fare in the American diet but that doesn't make them healthy.
Nightshades contain 8 neurotoxins that our body has to detoxify when we consume them.
From an energy view probably none of us should be consuming the nightshades. But they're cheap and quick so there we are. If we are seeking balance in our nutrition energetically, it would be helpful to look to see if tomatoes are in your nutritional format.
Take a look at foodsheal.com Take the test and find the nutritional format best suited for you.
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10 Ways to Improve Agni
In energy science work it's not just one thing that you do to bring about balance but a multiplicity of "things" And most of the time(80%) it's lifestyle behavior patterns not herbs and supplements that are the "things" that will make a difference This particularly plays out in digestive issues where attention to details pays big dividends
This approach to disease brings clarity both emotionally and mentally so that better decision making is done as you move along in the process So let's take a look at some important choices that the energy science recommends to improve digestion
10 Energy Science Remedies for Poor Digestion
1 Biggest meal of the day at noon The digestive system is most ready for the experience between 11a and 2p Conversely at the same time at night between 11p and 2a one should be in bed or there is a great chance that you'll be "raiding the fridge" particularly if Pitta is high and the digestion is too hot
2 No snacking Snacking confuses the GI tract So eating the main meals at predetermined times every 4 hours is very important If you snack you will never know true hunger Due to its simple sugars that can be digested quickly fruit makes a perfect snack food
3 Only eat if real hunger exists The way to tell if there is true hunger is to drink some water and see if you're still hungry If your hunger goes away then it's false hunger However the best way to lock into true hunger is to eat at specific times of the day, eat the biggest meal of the day at noon, and don't snack
4 Ice is not nice Ice cools the GI tract down and agni The enzyme systems work best at 98.6F and so when ice is used during meals it affects your digestion and creates ama which is undigested, unprocessed food Ama is root of all disease so you can see that simply avoiding is a major step to improving your digestion
5 Pay attention to what you're doing and chew food thoroughly There is good experimental evidence to show that when you pay attention to the eating process you digest better There are estimates as to how many "chews" should be used for each mouthful of food and I think that a reasonable number is 20 This guideline is also useful for food prepartation paying attention to the food being prepared
6 Take your time eating Setting down your fork and chewing food, appreciating the taste, textures, and the completeness of chewing the food
7 Make a deal to sit while eating Sitting in your car while driving doesn't count here! Even if it's a grape make a deal with yourself that you'll sit down to eat the grape to create a habit
8 Don't eat when emotional upset Having mental and emotional turbulence prevents you from being able to focus on the process of eating at hand
9 Moderate exercise Make a point to do some form of exercise every day This improves agni and supports quality digestion and prevents ama formation The use of pranayama and in particular kapalabhati(KB) is an excellent way to improve agni and get exercise It may not seem like much but doing 5 minutes of KB is like running a half a mile
10 Use churans with meals At foodsheal.com under nutritional tools there is a listing of churans which are collections of spices that can be used during cooking or sprinkling on food before eating In the energy science each meal should have all 6 tastes Churans can be instrumental in providing these tastes in order to help improve digestion
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Herbs and Dis-ease
The use of herbal preparations in the treatment of any disease can be effective if we understand the world of herbology
Herbs have their medicinal effects on multiple systems and go where they are most needed in the physiology unlike their pharma counterparts who are made to have specific molecular physiologic effects However herbs are similar to the effects antibiotics have in that they support the system in correcting the disruption Antibiotics don't eradicate the infection as much as they support the immune response to the invading organisms For example, if someone develops pneumococcal pneumonia, the immune system is not up to the challenge to clear the organism In that case the antibiotics help the immune system in clearing the pneumococcus from the lungs and in actuality do not eradicate the organisms completely
Similarly herbs due to their specific energetics help support the physiology to clear energetic imbalances that are created by unconscious choices Even though herbs are thought of as molecules by nutraceutical companies and are marketed as such, the proper use of herbs will not be done effectively until we use them as healing energetics
Understanding the Origin of the Imbalance Being Treated
Probably the most important aspect in the energetic use of herbs is understanding the imbalance that has been created Any healer whether allopathic or Ayurvedic would admit that you have to know what you're treating before you decide on the direction of therapy In the allopathic discipline the physician through the course of testing comes up a disease label such as cancer, hypertension, autoimmune disease At times not much testing is required and at other times a lot of testing is needed
Similarly in the energy science of Ayurveda a precise understanding of the energetic imbalance is required in order so that a successful herbal protocol is prescribed It requires more than taking a pill conjured up by some nutraceutical company but rather an in depth analysis of what is going on energetically based on what is being reported by the patient
It may be surprising to you to hear this but no two cases of the IC bladder pain syndrome are alike So as we are each uniquely different from one another so we are uniquely different in the way we create our diseases
Absorption of Herbs
An important aspect of the use of herbs is their digestion, absorption, and assimilation Healthy agni is required for this to occur or they are excreted through stool or urine The unfortunate problem for most is that the agni is not healthy What's more is that if the herbs are attempted to be digested they will be turned into ama which is undigested unprocessed food
This is a serious problem even though as a unsophisticated audience we don't understand what deleterious effects we are physiologically creating We merrily go along our way popping nutraceuticals hoping we'll get better when in actuality we are making ourselves sick by our actions
This specific problem can be averted by taking advantage of the agni in our skin through the use of transdermal herbal creams Also through the use of submucosal delivery of herbs we can avoid the digestive system altogether Using both types of delivery systems we can physiologically herbs into the system where they are needed for healing
Real Healing Takes Time
Healing is subtle not gross That is to say, healing using an energetic approach requires observing for subtle changes in the body's reporting of symptoms and noticing how improvement is occurring Otherwise we miss the signs of healing and sooner rather than later we say "this isn't working"So any healing whether allopathic or energy science requires patience and discipline when using a herbal approach otherwise we lose in the end
Another aspect to real healing is to understand that as we get better we reverse our disease process What this means is that we have apparent aggravation of symptoms as the imbalance is corrected We hate to hear this but it's a fact As we gently release the excess energy that we have created by unconscious choices in the past the net result is gentle symptoms of release
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