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CARE FOR YOUR BODY
Taking care of your body is essential to your health, well being, and ultimately peace of mind. How does it contribute to the global shift in consciousness needed on the earth at this time?
Each of us is a "cell" in the collective "body" of humanity. By cultivating healing and peace in your own life, you become an exemplar of healing and peace for many others. We tend to underestimate our impact on those with whom we are associated. On an outward level, you can teach others about healing practices (exercise, diet, relaxation, yoga, meditation, etc.) that you have found beneficial. On a more implicit, subconscious level, the peace and balance you have created in your own life subtly influences those with whom you are connected to become more peaceful themselves. There is a learning that goes on by "empathic resonance" beyond what you might communicate verbally. In short, your own level of personal peace can "entrain" a similar state of calmness in those with whom you associate.
Guidelines for a Conscious Diet
 The following guidelines are intended to stimulate your thinking rather than be prescriptive. None of us has exactly the same dietary needs, so give each guideline some consideration and think about how relevant or important it seems to you. Caffeine may or may not necessarily contribute to your stress, even though it does for many people. Or your tolerance for dairy may be higher than average. Also, in social situations you may choose to relax some of these guidelines, allowing yourself to eat more sugar or meat because it is socially comfortable to do so.
Reduce (or eliminate) caffeine
Of all the dietary factors that can aggravate tensions, caffeine is one of the more potent. Many people find that they feel calmer and sleep better after they have reduced their caffeine intake. Substitute herbal teas or green tea for coffee and regular tea. If you drink sodas, try decaffeinated ones. Too much caffeine elicits your body’s stress response and puts a strain on your heart and other bodily organs. It can also cause insomnia.
Reduce all forms of sugar
It was not until the twentieth century that most people consumed large amounts of refined sugar. Today, the standard American diet includes white sugar in most beverages (coffee, tea, cola), in cereal, in salad dressings, and in processed meat, in addition to one or two desserts per day and perhaps a donut or a cookie on coffee breaks. Sugar may be disguised under a variety of names, including dextrose, sucrose, maltose, raw sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and fructose. The average American consumes roughly 120 pounds of sugar per year.
Our bodies are not equipped to process large amounts of sugar. Continually bombarding your body with this much sugar can result in chronic dysfunction of your sugar metabolism. For some people this dysfunction can lead to excessively high levels of blood sugar or diabetes. For an even larger number of individuals, the problem is just the opposite—periodic drops in blood-sugar levels accompanied by feeling lightheaded, irritable, or anxious, a condition known as hypoglycemia. Sugar is also known to impair immune response, raise triglycerides (blood fats), aggravate digestive disorders, and increase hyperactivity in children.
Reduce all types of simple sugar in your diet. This includes foods that obviously contain sugar, in the form of white sugar or sucrose, such as candy, ice cream, desserts, and soft drinks. It also includes subtler forms of sugar, such as honey, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn sweeteners, molasses, maltose, and dextrose. Be sure to read labels on any and all processed foods to detect these various forms of sugar.
Eat whole, unprocessed foods
Try to eat foods that are fresh and as close to their natural state as possible. As some say, “If it grows, eat it; otherwise don’t.” Whole foods include fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, unrefined cereals, beans, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables, fresh fish, and free-range, organic poultry.
Food processing diminishes or destroys nutritional value in several ways: Artificial colors and dyes, for example, can interact with and damage DNA. Nitrites, added to many canned meats, are not themselves carcinogenic but can easily react with protein breakdown byproducts in the digestive tract to form highly carcinogenic compounds known as nitrosamines. People sensitive to aspartame (Nutrasweet) may also experience symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, nausea, dizziness, insomnia, or depression. In short, you can do much to enhance your sense of well-being—and avoid potential health hazards—by replacing processed foods with whole foods whenever possible.
Reduce consumption of
commercial meat
Meat in general, and red meat in particular, poses a number of health hazards. It’s no accident that countries low in meat consumption have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Frequent consumption of beef, pork, and poultry increases your risk of atherosclerosis, the main cause of heart attacks and strokes. Most commercially available forms of these meats come from animals that have been fed hormones to promote weight gain and growth. There is good evidence that these hormones stress the animals, and there is reason to believe that they may aggravate stress levels in meat consumers as well. Antibiotics given to conventionally farmed cattle and poultry can also increase antibiotic resistance in consumers. Moreover, the conditions in which animals live prior to slaughter are akin to torture. Is it any wonder that commercial beef and poultry don’t taste as good as they did thirty or forty years ago? If you choose to eat beef pork, or poultry, try to consume it only in organic forms. Try to buy wild rather than farmed fish.
Eat more fresh vegetables
Fresh vegetables, both raw and lightly cooked, help to increase the alkalinity of your body, which will make you calmer. As you start to remove unhealthy foods from your diet, you may discover how tasty vegetables can be when they are fresh and properly prepared At least four servings per day of vegetables is optimal.
Buy vegetables that have been grown locally, if possible. By doing so, you help the planet—produce that has been transported long distances requires a greater use of fuel and results in increased carbon emissions.
Avoid using alcohol, nicotine, and
recreational drugs to escape life
An occasional glass of wine or beer (once or twice per week) is fine. All drugs (including excessive or unnecessary prescription) TEND TO pull you out of alignment with your deeper self.
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Reduce or eliminate foods that cause allergies
Allergic reactions occur when your body attempts to resist the intrusion of a foreign substance. For some people, certain foods affect the body like a foreign substance, causing not only classic allergic symptoms such as a runny nose, mucus, and sneezing, but also a host of psychological or psychosomatic symptoms, including any of the following:
- Anxiety or panic
- Depression or mood swings
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Confusion and disorientation
- Fatigue
Dairy products and wheat are the worst offenders, but some people are allergic to other foods such as chocolate, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, or soy products. If you suspect you’re allergic to a type of food, eliminate it from your diet for two weeks and then reintroduce it, noticing its effects.
Increase fiber in your diet by eating vegetables and whole grains
Fiber consists of the indigestible parts of plants you eat. A certain amount of fiber is necessary for the proper functioning of your intestinal tract. When you don’t eat enough fiber, you are likely to be prone to either digestive problems or constipation. Fiber can be found in grains, bran, fresh vegetables, and fruits. To increase the amount of fiber you eat, try bran cereals or add bran to your favorite cereal. In general, try to eat ample amounts of fresh raw vegetables and fruits. It’s a good idea to have at least one mixed salad containing several different raw vegetables per day.
Drink six to eight glasses of purified water per day
Ample water is important to your health. It helps your body to eliminate toxins. You especially need to drink ample water if you live in a hot environment, eat a lot of protein, drink alcohol or coffee, take medications, are running a fever, or have urinary problems.
The purity of the water your drink is important. Use reverse osmosis or activated carbon filters to purify your water. Drink purified water out of metal containers. Plastic bottles are not good for you or the environment.
Eat more healthy fats high in Omega-three fatty acids
Reduce saturated fats, which have been consistently shown to lead to increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Saturated fats are the fats that come from animal sources: beef, poultry, bacon, butter, eggs, whole milk, and cheese. These fats, when consumed in high amounts, tend to end up as plaque deposits in your arteries, which accumulate over time, producing atherosclerosis. Also, avoid trans fats, which are in all foods which have oils listed as "partially hydrogenated."
While reducing saturated fats, eat more foods high in omega-3 essential fatty acids, such as salmon, sardines, flax seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts. It’s also possible to increase your omega-3 intake by taking fish oil capsules, 1000-3000 mg. per day. The standard American diet is deficient in omega-3 fats; including them in your diet will help reduce inflammation in your body, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Other benefits of omega-3 fats include reduction of cholesterol, improved brain function, increased immunity, and relief from depression.
Reduce consumption of milk
and dairy products
Many people have problems with lactose intolerance and widespread allergies to dairy products. Much of the commercial milk you drink also contains residues of drugs and hormones used by the dairy industry to increase productivity of cows.
In short, it’s a good idea to reduce your consumption of cow milk and milk-based products to a minimum. Some unprocessed cheese is ok. Learn to enjoy organic soy, rice, and almond milks as well as organic yogurt.
Increase protein relative to carbohydrate. Too many carbohydrates lead to too much insulin production, which stresses your body. More protein of high quality (for example, wild fish, tofu or tempeh) helps to produce and maintain neurotransmitters in your brain (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine), which helps your brain to function better. A good ratio is 30% protein to 40-50% carbohydrates in each meal.
So cut down on excess simple starches such as breads, chips, pasta, potatoes, and even white rice. Increase healthy proteins instead.
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 A wholesome diet will enhance both your physical as well as your psychological well-being. Taking time out for personal relaxation is just as important. Relaxation is not hard to learn, nor is it hard to practice. What is difficult for many people is to give it much time or energy. It often seems that work, household responsibilities, entertainment, and stimulation are more important. Going to the mall or watching sports on TV is more compelling than meditating or practicing deep relaxation or yoga.
Relaxation means having one or two periods of 20-30 minutes during the day when you stop everything and just focus on relaxing. There are numerous ways to do this. Some people prefer a formal relaxation technique such as progressive muscle relaxation, restorative yoga, meditation, or listening to guided visualizations. For others there are more informal ways, such as taking a twenty minute walk in nature, listening to soothing music, a twenty minute catnap, or soaking in the bath tub. What is important is just making the time to stop action and let yourself "just be."
Pacing means to live your life at an optimal rate. Too much activity packed into each day, without breaks, leads to exhaustion, stress, and eventual disease. Not enough activity leads to boredom and self-absorption. Many people tend to pace themselves too fast, following the lead of a society in which we’re all told to do more, achieve more, and excel no matter what the cost.
If you tend to rush through the activities of your day, experiment with slowing down and giving yourself a five to ten minute "minibreak" every hour or at least every two hours. Minibreaks can be especially helpful at times when you transition from one activity to another. For example, after commuting in the morning, take a short break before going into work. Or after cooking a meal, take a short break before sitting down to eat. During your break, you might practice deep abdominal breathing, meditate, get up and take a short walk, do a few yoga stretches, or do anything else that helps you to reenergize, relax, and clear your mind.
Downtime implies giving yourself more extended periods of time to rest and replenish your energy. While minibreaks will help you to get through your day more calmly, you still need periods of time out away from work and other responsibilities. Without such periods, the stress you experience in dealing with work or other responsibilities tends to become cumulative. It keeps building without remission. Sleep at night doesn’t really count as downtime. If you go to bed feeling stressed, you may sleep for eight hours and yet wake up still feeling tense and tired. How much downtime should you give yourself?
Recommended goals to work toward are:
- One hour per day
- One day per week
- One week out of every twelve to sixteen weeks
If you don’t have the option to take four weeks off from work in a year (the American average is two weeks), try to obtain at least a few days’ break every three or four months (even if your time off is unpaid).
During periods of downtime, you disengage from any task that you consider work, put aside all responsibilities, and don’t answer the phone unless it’s someone you would enjoy hearing from.
There are three kinds of downtime, each of which has an important place in developing a calmer lifestyle: rest time, recreation time, and relationship time. It’s important that you provide yourself enough downtime so that you have time for all three. Often recreation and relationship time can be combined. However, it’s important to use rest time for just that—and nothing else.
Rest time is time set aside just to relax, as described above. It is time when you put aside all activities and just allow yourself to be. Just stop action and let yourself fully rest. Rest time might involve lying on the couch and doing nothing, quietly meditating, sitting in your recliner and listening to peaceful music, soaking in a hot tub, or taking a catnap in the middle of the workday.
Recreation time involves engaging in activities that help to "re-create" and replenish your energy. Recreation time brightens and uplifts your spirit. In essence, it’s doing anything that you experience as fun or play. Examples of such activities might include puttering in the garden, reading a novel, seeing a special movie, going on a hike, playing basketball, taking a short trip, baking a loaf of bread, or fishing.
Relationship time is time when you put aside your private goals and responsibilities in order to enjoy being with another person—or, in some cases, with several people. The focus of relationship time is to honor your relationship with your partner, children, extended family members, friends, pets, and so on, and forget about your individual pursuits for a while.
 Just as with diet and relaxation, regular physical exercise is critical for both your physical and emotional well-being. This is probably seems obvious, as exercise has been so much a part of modern culture for the past few decades. Not always has this been so. Up until the twentieth century, the idea of making time for daily exercise would have seemed strange indeed. For a majority of people, basic survival depended on frequent physical activity. In times past (and in developing countries to this day) people usually walked long distances to obtain supplies and exerted themselves to provide for basic needs such as food, warmth, and clothing. Not so in modern technologically advanced countries, where we sit while we work, sit while we travel, and sit during much of our leisure time in front of TVs or computers. Overweight is not a problem in some parts of the world but affects more than 60 percent of adult Americans. Along with our sedentary lifestyle comes a variety of chronic, stress-related diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. The human body evolved over the past million years in a physically demanding environment. It functions best when it is frequently used.
Choosing an Exercise Program
There are many types of exercise to choose from. Which forms of exercise you select depends upon your objectives. Aerobic exercise is very effective in reducing the effects of stress for many people. Common forms of aerobic exercise include running, cycling, brisk walking, jumping rope, rowing, stationary cycling, freestyle swimming, or various aerobic classes at your local gym or health club. Aerobic exercise requires sustained activity of your larger muscles. It reduces skeletal muscle tension and increases cardiovascular conditioning—the capacity of your circulatory system to deliver oxygen to your tissues and cells with greater efficiency.
Beyond aerobic fitness, you may have other objectives in taking up exercise. Mindful exercise such as hatha yoga or tai chi will enhance your energy and help you to feel more free and grounded in your body. Regular practice of yoga or tai chi is particularly potent in unifying body, mind and spirit, and may enhance your connection with your innermost self. If increased muscle strength is important, you may want to include weight lifting or isometric exercise in your program (if you have a heart condition or angina, you should probably not engage in weight lifting or bodybuilding). If socializing is important, then racquetball, golf, or possibly team sports such as basketball or soccer might be what you are looking for. Team sports can be exciting and fun, however too much emphasis on competition becomes an ego drama and may run counter to values of cooperation and interrelationship that are part of the emerging new planetary consciousness. Exercise that involves stretching, such as dancing or yoga, is ideal for developing muscular flexibility. If you want to lose weight, jogging or cycling are probably most effective. Finally, if you just want to get out into nature, then hiking would be appropriate. Rigorous hiking (as done by the Sierra Club, for example) can increase both strength and endurance.
Many people find it helpful to vary the type of exercise they do. Doing two or more different forms of exercise on alternate days is sometimes referred to as “cross-training.” This gives  you the opportunity to develop a more balanced state of fitness by exercising different muscle groups. Popular combinations involve doing an aerobic type of exercise such as jogging or cycling three to four times a week and a socializing exercise (such as golf), or a bodybuilding exercise, twice a week. Maintaining a program with two distinct types of exercise prevents either from becoming too boring.
If you haven’t been exercising, it’s important not to start off too fast or hard. Doing so often results in prematurely “burning out” on the idea of maintaining a regular exercise program. Approach exercise gradually. Set limited goals at the outset, such as exerting for only ten minutes (or to the point of being winded) every other day for the first week. Add five minutes to your workout time each week thereafter until you reach thirty minutes.
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