Why We Get Fat

In yoga, to yoke the elements of life together, the breath with the body with the spirit.  The quality of the fuel that we choose to nurture our bodies with must also be considered.  In the same way our breath is not the same, carbohydrates are not created equally.  A deep delicious breath that enters the body slowly and fills the belly to capacity and invigorates every cell of the body with peace is not the same as a shallow, fear filled, worried breath barely taken in, a form of rejecting life not embracing it. In exactly this way, by what we choose to eat, we are rejecting or embracing life.

There are libraries filled with books on diet, all written with the best of intentions and all with their own versions of truth.  And perhaps when it comes to the human body, there are few absolute truths. Some bodies are better designed for eating larger amounts of fat and protein.  However, the most famous of these, the eskimos, have a shorter life expectancy compared to the rest of the human population.  Still living until around sixty on the icy tundra does seem a huge accomplishment.  It’s difficult to determine which book about diet is the right one, if such a thing exists.  I have read a plethora of them myself, not to lose weight like most, but for nutritional purposes.

One of my recent, unfinished I should add, conquest is Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes. Gary advocates eating a high protein and fat diet over a carb diet.  He does suggest eating at least two cups of vegetables and two cups of salad per day.  On the other hand, the book, Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko, examines evidence that shows humans need much more leafy greens in our diet than previously prescribed. Since the most protein the human body will ever need is during the first 180 days of life when infants double their weight, and given the fact that human mother’s milk is only 2% protein, eating massive amounts of protein may not be appropriate for the human body. We will never need that amount of cell regeneration again. Hopefully, we will not double our weight in such a short period of time again either.  The properties of human mother’s milk vary in infinitesimal degrees, unlike the books about nutrition.

Another bone of contention in Why We Get Fat is that in the recipes in the back of the book, he recommends eating artificial sweeteners.  The consumption of sugar is a whole other topic, and I do agree with him in limiting this addictive and harmful powder from our diet.  But to replace harmful sugar with potentially more harmful chemicals makes no sense.  According to Natural News,  Artificial Sweetener Disease, (ASD)  has been linked to volumes of diseases, including “unbearable migraines, depression, anxiety, muscle pain, arthritis flare ups, buzzing or ringing in the ears, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),  and Crohn's disease.”  Increasing evidence is showing that some people who suffer from Muscular dystrophy and other similar diseases have recovered or greatly improved their condition by eliminating artificial sweeteners from their diets.  This evidence shows a connection between these poisons and muscular disorders. In addition, the only people I have personally seen eating artificial sweeteners also are the ones trying to lose weight, which they cannot do.  Increasing evidence is showing that there may be a link between weight gain and artificial sweeteners as well.

What are the alternatives to a high protein, artificial sweetener diets?  Agave and Stevia are good substitutes for sugar.  Raw fruit is also a great snack and dessert. And eating more leafy greens full of easily absorbable calcium, protein, vitamins, chlorophyll and other minerals is a great way to absorb more of everything we eat.  Beans and rice also make a perfect protein combination.  Protein can be absorbed from all forms of fruits and vegetables, which also contain fiber to help keep our bodies clean, unlike meat that can take up to seven days to digest and sits and rots in our stomachs.  Protein from cows must also be processed from grass and, in the case of factory farmed animals, corn, wood fiber, animal waste (around twenty percent of their diet) and other harmful substances.  These materials must be consumed by a cow and processed through her body in order to make protein.  By eating vegetable protein even veggie burgers processed from vegetables, we can consume far less processed food and eat food closer to its source.  Lions do not have the ability to do this, but humans have been equipped with a body that is finely tuned to process fiber and vegetables. So eat your veggies and be lean, happy, energized and young.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034378_artificial_sweetener_disease_ASD_aspartame.html#ixzz2jJRSADKPmuscular dystrophy,  

Reverence

I am on day five of a consciousness cleanse, and today’s lesson was on reverence for the body. I often ask my students after a yoga class to give their body thanks or props as some say. What follows is what I interpreted from this idea. Rather than feeding our bodies any old junk that comes our way, as we often do, we must come to the body as we would a sacred altar, giving thanks and offerings from a place in our hearts and souls.  If we truly revere our bodies as they were meant to be, we would treat them with the utmost of respect. It takes a little shift in our consciousness to remember that we are not our bodies, and that our bodies deserves our loving support. The vessels that carry us deserves to be honored.

 In our society, I see so many people, without realizing it, abusing their bodies, deforming them into the round shapes of potato chips or the flesh-less bacon version, both two sides of the same coin of abuse, not reverence. And I am by no means immune to this desire to abuse what I have been so graciously gifted with, an incredible working body that takes me wherever I choose to go. Fingers that type, instantly on command, legs that walk and push pedals and run when they need to, a face that expresses, lungs that breathe and a heart that never stops, (until it does.)

But how do we as a society treat our bodies? Magazines tell us that our bodies are not good enough and will never be. What does it mean to show reverence for our amazing bodies? The body does have a method to communicate its needs, but often these methods are silenced with drugs that numb us to the call of change. And when we do not heed the warnings, we suffer greatly, at least until we separate from the poor abused, unloved body. And what did our bodies ever do to us to deserve such treatment? 

Not realizing that we are not separate, we do ourselves harm. And in the process, our little lights shine dimmer and dimmer, flickering and fading unfortunately while we are alive. By taking care of ourselves with real food - greens, vegetables, fruits - preferably in its raw state, and with enjoyable exercise - gardening, dancing, walking, hiking a cliff, yoga, biking, etc. - and by taking time for ourselves to meditate and clean the palate of our minds of old, out-dated ideas and debris from the attic or our consciousness, we are showing reverence for our bodies, minds and spirits. And that is as it should be.

The Master Cleanse and Buddha

Click Here to See this News Blog and Enjoy.

If We Choose To Be

The revelation for today is that everyday is another day and that running away from responsibilities such as filling out tax forms on time is an effective attempt at self-destruction. And that the usual alleviation of stress by adding more stress in the form of alcohol, cigarettes, or other drug related substances is just as erroneous and self-destructive. Temporarily relieving pain with more pain only causes more stress and more pain until we break the pain chain and set ourselves free. And that is what I did today. And it feels good. Feeling healthy allows me the empowerment to know that I can meet the challenges of the day and of my life with vigor. And through my yoga and meditation and chanting I began the day with my priorities in order. Taking time for me first is the way to set a self-empowered positive tone for the day, so the song of my day is a good one rather than a self-defeating one.

The reason I say self-defeating is because since I have become a practicing Buddhist, I have been confronted with many of my demons. I told a friend that I wouldn't want to meet these guys in a dark alley. These demons came in the form of jealousy, anger, even rage at times. They came in the form of other people who triggered these serpents to crawl out of their dark holes into the light of my life. And once out, I was forced to take a good look at what had been a part of me that I wasn't even aware of. I had been good at playing the one who never gets jealous for so long I had no way to deal with the monster that emerged out of me.

For today, I don't have to have all the answers. This morning I watched these jealous thoughts with amazement. I watched them grow in size and strength. The more I focused on the spiral of cause and effect my ego mind or jealous monster wound and beckoned me to follow the hungrier I became for more of the same. It left little morsels of irresistible triggers in it's wake knowing that I would have to follow. The more of this irrational logic I followed the deeper and more in despair I began to feel until I stopped it. I smiled. I got out of bed and put some water on for tea and began some morning stretches. I then sipped my tea and read some positive inspirational thoughts for the day. And then I did some chanting and said a few silent prayers setting my intentions for this day.

I also realized recently that chanting, meditation, yoga and exercise is like brushing our teeth. If we don't brush and floss our teeth will rot. If we don't exercise our bodies will rot. If we don't fill our mind with healthy material our minds become our worst enemies. If we don't have some spiritual practice our lives will rot just like our teeth. We cannot separate, body, mind, and spirit; people who exercise often also have a spiritual practice and choose to eat healthy foods (a whole other subject). And when we let one healthy practice fall away, the others begin to disappear from our lives like good friends who can't stay around to see the destruction we are creating.

That being said, everyday is an opportunity to transform, to forget the past, and create the best day possible. And with practice we can build on this skill to create more and more for our lives of the things that we desire rather than swimming in the pool of things that we feel we have to accept.

We can choose to accept only good thoughts and loving people in our lives. We do not have to be the slaves of our ego minds or the demons of jealousy or fear (which is the root of all ego based thoughts.) We can choose productive, supportive, healthy, wise thoughts that nurture our body mind and souls and fertilize our lives with the desired seeds of the enlightened souls we truly are.

What Lies Below The Surface

The last lines of the second episode of Dexter, a television series about a serial killer who kills serial killers and may seem decidedly un-yogic, were however profound. As Dexter lies in a bath with his eyes open just under the surface of the water, “There are no secrets, just hidden truths that lie just below the surface.” I couldn’t help but be struck in awe by that statement and the exploitation of good and evil this series explores that lies within every human.

The show inspired me to reflect on something I recently read about our subconscious minds. From the age of birth to about five-years-old, having not developed a mechanism yet to filter out any unwanted material, our subconscious minds absorb everything we are exposed to, every negative and positive comment is filed into folders for further use, every good and bad memory, every lie and truth. And as we grow, our subconscious minds give us advice and guide us in our lives based on the material it has stored. Finding out what lies beneath the surface of our minds is of utmost importance.

Sometimes we have no idea why we think things or behave a certain way or respond to external stimuli in one way, when we might have just as well responded with a simple smile. Evidently, according to recent scientific evidence, we are operating 90% of the time from information supplied by our subconscious minds, another reason to know exactly what lies below the surface.

Discovery is most likely why many people go to therapy to face the music that plays over and over literally directing their lives. But the real question is how do we rid our subconscious mind of these old outdated files - “You’re too fat. You’ll never amount to anything. Rich people are greedy.” in order to make room for new empowering programs that can enhance our lives. And in the grand scheme of things as we affect the world around us, is it possible for this positive programming to eventually penetrate the subconscious of all of humanity, there by creating a more peaceful and harmonious world?

Thankfully, the answer to that question is yes. By us creating a more peaceful less violent (negative thought) world within ourselves, we are creating a better world. When everyone we touch through word or deed is enriched by our presence, we are also helping others to attain their own enlightenment.

On the subject of enlightenment, I recently began going to SGI, Soka Gakkai International, meetings and chanting “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” a Nichiren Buddhist chant to create world peace by creating peace within and connecting to our own inner Buddha nature. What struck me about this organization was that everyone I have met who practices this form of Buddhism seems to be happy and has an inner strength. I have known about this form of Buddhism for at least twenty years when a fellow actor brought me to a neighborhood meeting. Yet I had no idea the real message behind it.

This brings up another interesting phenomenon about this form of Buddhism; when you go to a meeting people are friendly. They ask you questions and want to know you. I had not experienced this form of acceptance before on my search for a spiritual community. I had been to yoga events and chanting etc. but found that when the event was over people quietly filed out and went about their sometimes-lonely lives. And being around lots of people and still feeling alone is perhaps the worst loneliness of all.

It’s not that I am not fine alone, but nothing of great importance has ever truly been achieved by one man or woman alone. Even Nicheren had a disciple who practiced with him on his island of exile. There is always more than one, and in some cases many, who together create massive energy called synergy. Synergy means that one plus one does not always equal two. Through synergy one plus one may equal one hundred or even one thousand or much more. It is through this synergy that great change will come to the world. When a critical mass of people have found their own Buddha natures, which lies dormant below the surface, it will open the door for everyone to make the quantum leap to witness this reality.

Our world does not need to be the violent, destructive, greedy world the media, advertising and the entertainment industry feeds us every day; - turn your televisions off - it can be the world of our dreams. By envisioning a more positive world for others and ourselves in our meditations we are creating that very world we envision. I hope to see this world. I get glimpses of it all the time, and it is beautiful. And since most people are not like Dexter’s heartless victims, a peaceful world is possible. If the masses of people one day stand up and say no to the greed and the violence propagated by those who are like Dexter’s victims: politicians, heads of countries, giant machine like corporations, banks that behave like the mafia and generals ordering soldiers to torture prisoners, we can have a world of peace for everyone to enjoy.

This peace can only be derived from empowered souls, and cannot be born from outside sources. The path to inner and outer peace may not be a smooth rode; there may be some scary unexpected discoveries along the way. Yet the journey is worth it; it is worth more than all the money in the world. It is the thing that we are after when we spend all the money in the world but can never achieve. Isn’t peace of mind, the greatest gift of all?


Namaste

MEDITATION SHEDS LIGHT ON THE DARKNESS, and the ego doesn’t like it.

I'm fighting the dark side today. Thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts has made me feel inflicted and assaulted. I also have a touch of the flue. Then I believe my thoughts and my feeling sick may be a natural reaction to attempting to tame the beast known as the ego mind, you know the voice that tells you what you can and can't do, the one that is the neigh-sayer who sets limits on your abilities and desires. Any form of limited thinking really is the ego mind. And it's so important to be aware that we are not that ego mind even though it so wants us to believe we are. Any form of negative thoughts is not who we are; but they can greatly affect our happiness, our financial success, our health, our relationships with others etc.

And taming the beast is not easy. It is so cleaver that it makes us think that it is real and that the danger we want to attack is real, all the while distracting us from what is real and usually right in front of us, whether that be a potential accident, a beautiful guy or girl, a beautiful sky etc. Our ego is the monster that is constantly dragging up the past also and only exists in the past or the unknown fearful future. It cannot exist in the present. It is what takes us on all kinds of rides, "yeah, I remember when I saw that concert, yeah I remember when my ex did this or that," "so and so used to say that too." All of these illusions about the past that are now only movies on the screen of our minds exist to take us away from the life we have today; they take us away from life in general and keep us in a fantasy world where the ego can feel safe.

The Ego is a funny beast too because it likes to torment itself with remembering horrible things too; in fact it really likes that the best. It makes every object, every billboard, every movie, every conversation, every new girl friend something to compare the past too and relive the past horrors through the present. It likes to torture and torment itself. The ego's life is dependent on the energy it derives from keeping us in constant flux from pain to fear to sadness and despair or fantasizing about a past that probably never really existed. It gains energy from our despair.

I have been practicing several new forms of regular meditation, and have noticed my ego kicking and screaming in the process. It has been relatively quiet until now. Presently, it wants to shout at everyone and defend itself by attacking others. It feels attacked by others slight of words or their egos. That's another thing, different people's egos sometimes get together and talk amongst themselves. "I'll show you not to talk too much." "Oh yeah, well I'll show you; I won't talk at all. I'll sit hear and brood." Unfortunately for so many folks this has become what they feel is normal, letting their ego mind take the driver's seat and take control is normal. It may be normal, but it is a form of insanity and a dangerous game.

Ah, my ego was almost out, in fact it has made some pretty good plays in the past few days in conjunction with other people's egos. All these egos are running the world a-muck. It's easy to blame the politicians and the world for our own over active ego mind, but if we can't tame our mind, how do we expect big-headed-politicians or giant headed banks and CEOs of those banks to even begin to find their way. The healing of the world must begin with the individual and then progress to a critical mass and then like a great “Ah Ha” from billions of voices, the ego will be exposed for what it is, a parasite in our minds and in the world.

Namaste,
Here’s to kicking the ego out, and living in the vastness of our true selves.

Erasing Victim-hood

Lately, I have been confronted with people who are in a self-imposed state of what I call victim-hood. I also recently read a book about our soul's stages of development, which confirmed my perception on being a victim.

Happiness and joy can only come from inside. There were people in concentrations camps, who found joy in the smallest things in life and became inspirations to not only other prisoners but even to the guards. They knew more peace than most people living in abundance. Finding our way when the outside world seems to be falling apart is not easy. But it is essential for us to realize that we are not those outside circumstances. It is essential for us to dis-attach our emotions and our thoughts from dwelling on the outside world in order to find peace.

Sometimes people with lots of money and the biggest houses on the block are also on anti-depressants etc. And those with so much abundance, delicious food, shelter, friends, music, beautiful children are also not happy. They look in the world and try to find the ugliness, rather than looking inside for the beauty. You can only see beauty in the world when you are able to see beauty from within.

These same judgmental people look at their own bodies and find fault with everything about them. They are too fat, too skinny, their legs are too short, or too long or too thin, etc. They beat themselves up at every turn and wonder why thine eyes are only able to see a negative world. They wonder why god seems to be against them. They fail to see the lessons their soul is desperately trying to teach them.

They repeat the same lessons over and over in life and feel like their on roller coaster rides, blaming every bad business associate, bad wife or husband for their failed marriage; they blame the car company for taking their car; they blame the government for ticketing their car; they blame the economy for their depression and anger. They have made themselves into victims every time they blame anyone for their lives.

And what would the alternative be? The alternative would be for them to take responsibility for their actions and for the mistakes they made to put themselves in a place to learn these valuable lessons - over and over again for those who fail to get it the first time. And the reason we must learn the same lesson over and over is because when you blame everyone else and never take responsibility for the circumstance of your life, you can not learn from your mistakes, since your ego has created a state of denial, and you are completely unaware that you made a mistake in the first place.

If you think the world does things to you and you have no part in the this drama, you are a victim. Unlike you think, you are not an innocent one. This is eternal victim-hood, and the only escape from this self-imposed concentration camp is to look within, to find peace and become responsible for your inner peace, no matter what is happening in the world around you. To quiet the voice of the ego who seeks to blame and lives in fear of taking responsibility is the only path to building a new life and to walking away from the self-imposed depressed, angry, victim that seeks to keep you just as you are forever.

It is not my intention to suggest that certain events like acts of violence etc. are the victims fault. Circumstances that are not within our control are not necessarily our responsibility. However, how we choose to react to those circumstances is within our realm of control.

In my life, I used to have my shoes and school supplies even my toys stolen from me as a child. I would be upset for a day, then get a new pair of shoes etc. and move onto the new item. It kept happening because I kept leaving my things unattended. It was a bad habit that exacerbated my mother sometimes. I had to learn to be present.

On another occasion I was held up at gun point and robbed. My higher-self told me to leave my wallet in my car, which I did. It also told me to walk across the street when I saw a man getting out of his car on my path; I choose to follow the friend I was talking to rather than leading both of us across the street to safety. We were lucky. He took my friend's wallet and we called to cancel the cards immediately, and the police caught a guy who had stolen a car, because of us. (not the guy that had stolen the wallet however) When it was all over, I was so happy. I proclaimed to my friend, "We just won the lottery. We're still alive. This is amazing." I have had many unfortunate friends who live in a state of negativity and victim-hood who would have had a very different reaction.

I have had to learn the lesson of listening to my higher-self over and over. After avoiding the clear warnings I was given, I am certain, angels must have saved my life more than once. I have now made a commitment to myself to listen and to follow this advice. When I have a powerful feeling to stay home and go to bed early rather than appease over-controlling people who demand my time and attention, I will choose to stay home on those occasions rather than attempt to please others. For me, this was a powerful lesson, one I had to learn over and over again almost being killed several times in order to grock it.

I'm also lucky to be so fortunate to always look on the bright side of life. That being said, I know the other side, the side of wallowing in negativity and pain and blame; I've always felt that I wasn't strong enough to endure such self-torture. The point is that if I can look on the bright side, anyone can. Are there any other benefits to looking on the bright side besides being in control of your life?

One main physical and mental benefit of positive thinking is health related. Positive thinkers get sick less, they feel better, they have more energy to do creative things etc. I also firmly believe that allowing yourself to stay in a depressed state for too long a time can lead to the very chemical imbalances that create a constant state of depression, basically an ego-centered existence. Action, getting a job if you're unemployed, any job making some money just to get you out of the house and into a different state of mind, can be all you need to knock the demon of depression right out of your system. And if you're depressed because you hate your job, take a painting class or some hobby that you've dreamed off; plan a trip etc. Taking action towards your dreams will help empower you and create the opportunities for a new and better job and the life you desire.

According to the book, "You're Not Crazy, You're Just Waking Up!" by Michael Mirdad, we go through these states of development throughout our lives. When our soul or higher-self is ready for us to learn a new lesson things get shaken up in our lives. We loose jobs, relationships fade, we feel a sense of unease for a while. Things fall apart, so new things can come into our lives. We have reached a turning point. If we are aware of this process, it can make these shifts less painful and more rewarding, as we know we are moving on to new and better things, if we are willing to learn the valuable lessons from the mess that has come into our lives. If we live in denial, or take medications, or run away from the truth, we will remain in a constant state of mess or repeating mess until we learn the lesson.

Ahh, a big deep breath now. All the worlds problems are solved. Now can we all just get along?

Namaste...