A Delicious Life

I found this article on Daily OM and thought I would share it:

Not Alone In The Dark
Looking At What We Don’t Want To See

It is one of life’s great paradoxes that the things we don’t want to look at in ourselves are the very things we need to look at in order to know ourselves better and to become more fully who we are. The feelings that make us want to run away are buried treasure full of energy and inspiration if we are willing to look. These feelings come in many forms, from strange images or snippets of information to recurring dreams and feelings that rise up seemingly without a reason. Whatever shape they come in, and no matter how scary they seem, these messengers bring the information we need in order to grow.

When we are tired of pushing something down, or trying to run away from it, a good first step is to write down what we think we are avoiding. Often this turns out to be only the surface of the issue or a symbol of something else. Expressing ourselves fully on paper is a safe way to begin exploring the murky territory of the unconscious. The coolness of the intellect can give us the distance we need to read what we have written and feel less afraid of it. It helps if we remember that no matter how dark or negative our thoughts or feelings may be, these are energies shared by all humanity. We are not alone in the dark, and all the gurus and teachers we admire had to go through their own unprocessed emotional territory in order to come out the other side brighter and wiser. This can give us the courage we need to open the treasure chest of what we have been avoiding.

Within the parts of ourselves that we don’t want to look at, there are emotions that need to be felt. Unfelt emotions are stuck energy, and when we leave emotions unprocessed, we deprive ourselves of access to that energy. When we feel strong enough, we can begin the process of feeling those emotions, on our own or with guidance from a spiritual counselor. It is through this work that the buried treasure of energy and inspiration will pour forth from our hearts, giving us the courage to look at all the parts of ourselves with insight and compassion.

I don’t like writing when I’m not in a good mood - I feel like this sentiment translates in my work. I want my messages to encourage positive thoughts that help people. But I also realize that if I show my real self to the world, that can be helpful too.

Right now, I’m dealing with some heavy emotions from things that happened long ago. I have been afraid to examine them, so instead I buried them. That’s tough to live with though. You can do it for a while, but inevitably, they will come up. The good news is that I’m getting the courage to look. And while it can be painful at times, this article reminds me that releasing this old energy is healthy - it’s necessary in order to grow and it makes room for new good things to come.

I had to post something about this New York Times article about meat consumption that I read today. I’m not a vegetarian, but I do try to be conscientious about my meat consumption. Knowing where conventional meat comes from, and how it is raised, I avoid it as much as I possibly can. I have been nearly vegetarian before, and it felt pretty good. I definitely noticed a difference in my energy levels and moods once I got off the conventional meat.

I have considered giving it up all together, but not for the reasons that many people go vegetarian or vegan. My reasons have been in line with the arguments this article brings up - all of the environmental impacts of raising meat that make it an unsustainable habit.

Everyone wonders, where can I get protein if not from animal sources? There are plenty of foods that have protein in them - after all, if a cow is living a natural life, is it eating other cows? No, it eats grass.

You, too, can get protein from vegetables like leafy greens. And beans, grains, nuts, seeds, algae, and even fruit. All of these foods have some protein in them. In fact, many people in the world have lived for centuries solely on vegetarian sources of protein.

If you are a hardcore meat eater, I would suggest you try an experiment in vegetarianism to see if it works for you - try it out for two weeks, and see how you feel.  Maybe you’ll like it. Maybe it won’t work so well for you. Maybe you’ll decide that while you’ll still eat some meat, you won’t consume as much as you used to. Either way, if everyone stopped for a couple of weeks, the environment would thank you for your kindness.

I’ve been talking recently about the importance of how you eat - what happens when you change your focus from eating to other things, and how your emotions affect your digestion. I found this article interesting and related to this discussion, so I thought I would reprint it:

How Mindset Affects Your Waistline
By Jon Benson

When it comes to being fit, you should focus on being happy first.

This may seem like putting the cart before the horse. However, new research on the brain shows us that simple meditation - for as little as five minutes - can alter brain chemistry in a way that improves both athletic and work performance and increases our own experience of happiness and well-being.

Numerous studies on why diets fail demonstrate that a happy person is more prone to follow through on a diet or exercise program than one who is merely going through the motions of life. Depression is often cited as the number one reason people give up on a diet. It makes sense to make yourself truly happy… and science shows us you can.

Give meditation a try. Just take five minutes in solitude, and focus on two simple things: Kindness and compassion. This is a great start. See if you can work your way up to 30 minutes a day. Changes in brain chemistry occur in as little as two weeks, according to Harvard University researcher Olivia Carter, Ph.D.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Meditation practice is really good for calming the mind, as long as you don’t get caught up in the fact that your mind is constantly wandering while you’re sitting there. That’s why they call it “practice.” If you can get over the fact that you will not be able to do it “perfectly,” even for five minutes, and just allow yourself to practice it, you will benefit over time. Five minutes per day in the morning and five in the evening is enough to get long-term benefits - as long as you practice every day.

Low fat, high carb. Low carb, high protein. No dairy. No grain. No meat. So much of what people focus on is what to eat.

Are we putting too much emphasis on the “what” of eating? What about the how?

I’ve been reading Marc David’s book, “The Slow Down Diet.” He argues that, while food quality is certainly important, how we eat is equally as important.

The evidence is in studies on awareness and eating. In an experiment, test subjects consumed a mineral drink in a relaxed state. Absorption of the minerals was measured at 100%. Then they tested mineral absorption when the test subjects were distracted - listening to media - and they found that absorption was reduced to 60%.

Marc David goes on to discuss how he’s had much success with clients who want to lose weight by teaching them how to eat without distraction. In many cases, this is the only thing that his clients will change. Suddenly, excess weight starts to fall off them.

How do you eat most of your meals? In front of the television? While driving or reading the newspaper? If you need to lose weight, do you think that trying this experiment will help?

I have been thinking a lot about the Buddhist Five Mindfulness Trainings that I learned when I was sitting regularly with the Rock Blossom Sangha. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the fifth one, which is stated as such:

The Fifth Training: Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body and my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self transformation and the transformation of society.

When I don’t read the news or websites that focus on gossip, I feel better - happier and lighter. There are a lot of publications out there that are less than helpful - that seem to only exist to feed into fear or greed or envy.

We don’t need to live with these kinds of emotions, feeding them on a daily basis. You will get a sense of calm and peace when you start to abstain from media that poison your thinking and distort your views.

Since much of it is driven by advertising anyway, it’s not pure reporting - there’s always an angle to make the story more intriguing and really sell it so you’ll buy more. I know some people who do not tune into any media - if they really need to know something, they hear about it from neighbors, friends, and family. And most of them seem pretty content.

tulum 011

My boyfriend and I went on vacation to Mexico for two weeks. We traveled from Mexico City to Playa Del Carmen on a GAP Adventures tour, seeing many ruins and pyramids, enjoying Mexican culture and mouthwatering food.

At the very end, we went to Tulum, the famous Mayan ruin on the Caribbean Sea. In front of, and with help from, our whole tour group, he proposed to me behind the pyramid. This photo is of the moment after I said yes.

I just saw this post about the “all you can eat diet” in the blogosphere. While I was traveling in Mexico for two weeks in December, I did go on this diet. It was delicious, and actually yes, I did lose weight.

I noticed that while there is processed food in Mexico, the restaurants that we ate at were serving dishes that contained almost only whole foods. Tortillas are made fresh daily from ground up corn - no preservatives to keep them shelf stable. Chickens run freely - they eat bugs and worms and other things that Chickens should eat. Sauces were made with lots of spices, and beans were most likely cooked with unprocessed lard. While white rice was served sometimes, we were more likely to find hot tortillas than processed grains on our plates.

I ate whenever I was hungry, but sometimes we were too busy exploring to eat - so I might have skipped a meal  or two. It didn’t matter anyway, because I would make up for it at the next meal. But still, I lost weight and felt good most of the time. I really think it was because we had so few processed foods on our trip.

I do try to keep the processed foods out of my diet, but when I eat out, I don’t always know what I’m getting. A lot of times, restaurants substitute cheaper ingredients to add to the bottom line, which adds to your waistline quicker than you’d imagine.

If you really want to change your life, cut out as many processed foods as you can. See how you feel after a couple of weeks. What has changed for you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Was that just a bit too loud? Sorry…I’ll try to keep it down today.

Need some help with that hangover? Ok, here are a few tips.

Put that coffee down. I know, you think you need it, but you really don’t. You’re already too dehydrated as it is. Drink some water. Not too cold though - if it’s icy cold, it could turn your stomach. Try sipping some hot water instead - the warm water is easier on the stomach and can get you hydrated more quickly.

Your body probably lost lots of nutrients last night, so you’ll need to replenish yourself. Take lots of vitamin C - like the amount that you would take if you felt a cold coming on. That should be somewhere around 2000 to 3000 mg. Don’t worry about overdosing on vitamin C - the worst that can happen is that it will just pass through you. You’ll know you’ve had enough when you get the urge.

Next, replenish yourself with some protein. Eggs are a great way to get the amino acids and fats back in your system.

Then, once your stomach has settled, try getting some more sleep. Don’t bother with the aspirin, Tylenol or whatever over-the-counter headache medicine you usually take - it does too much damage to be worth taking. Sleep will take the headache away.