Mind… the Gaps in your Awareness

How to Grow Old the Right Way Up

Saturday 18th January 2014

3. Mind… the Gaps in your Awareness

Many people are aware about the condition of their minds and bodies. Sadly, many of us pay more attention to the state of our car, our furniture or our house than to ourselves. We tend to numb our senses and subject ourselves to excess or deprivation in ways that in my view, if we were in our right ‘mind’ we would never consider.

If at all times we were aware, ‘Mindful’ of our real needs (I’ll talk about the mind and emotions in another post):

Would we eat or drink in excess?

Would we put inside our bodies harmful substances, food and drink that are not good for us, or smoke?

Of course, the question is, unless the cause is genetic – and I’ll come back to that at some stage- would we suffer from indigestion, obesity, diabetes, and perhaps allergies, which in my view might be caused by saturation of the body with a particular food or substance?

Would we deprive our lungs from that most essential fuel, Air? We tend to breathe so carelessly, that most of the time our lungs are 3/4 full with poisonous Carbon Dioxide. As with food, we tend to take in more than we can expel! Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnia

Would we deprive our bodies of movement if we realized in our bones that a sedentary life can kill us? Everybody knows that it leads to heart disease, arthritis, with the consequent body parts replacement if they are replaceable, and that it is also one of the biggest contributory factors in depression, lack of energy, poor sleep, obesity, etc, etc.

I suggest for this week, that you treat your body as you would treat your car:

Check the alignment = Posture

Check the quality of the fuel and oil you put in it = Air, food and drink.

Keep turning the engine on to make sure the battery keeps charged.

You could also chose to go to a mindfulness class near you.

I have personally attended Hugh Poulton’s  www.yogaunlimited.co.uk Ashtanga Yoga and Mindfulness classes and I just think he is very excellent.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS

1. I am not a health practitioner of any description. The tips I will be giving are directly related to my personal experience and my experiences with family and friends who seem to have benefited from those tips. Please if in doubt, always consult a qualified practitioner.
2. With their permission I will be mentioning in these pages the names and expertise of many people who have contributed to my current state of health. See also the Links page. Whenever possible  and relevant, I will be leading you to their websites or giving you a direct contact if you ask me. Nobody is or will be paying me or rewarding me in any way for doing so. I will be doing it because they are wonderful practitioners, to whom I owe much and to whom I am very happy to direct people to, for the benefit of all. I don’t and won’t recommend anyone whose help and expertise I haven’t experienced and benefited from directly.

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The Three Pillars of Good Health

How to Grow Old the Right Way Up

Saturday 11th January 2014

2. The Three Pillars of Good Health

They are in my view, Faith, Hope and Charity… just joking for now but we will actually come back to those in due course. If you are at all curious about my approach to religion and spirituality, please continue reading till the end of the post.

Last post was about The Posture of the Soul and the Tree of Life. But for the time being, in order for this blog to be a practical guide, and not too esoteric, let’s move into the physical aspects although as I warned you in my first post, physical/spiritual/emotional will be all jumbled up in these pages.

The Three Pillars of Physical Health

1. Posture

2. Breathing

3. Movement/Rest

1. Posture.

I consider that posture is a sort of coded message. In the majority of people, it reflects their general state of health, their energy levels, the way they feel about themselves and the way they relate to the outside world.  In turn, it is the most immediate aspect of our physique that other people perceive, even if that is often done in a totally unconscious way.

I suggest a little task, which is for you to reflect on the following questions.

1. What does my posture feel like?

2. How does my posture make me feel about myself?

3. What does the image on the mirror tell me about my posture?

4. How does my posture make me feel in relationship to the outside world?

5. What do I think is the message I am giving to others with my posture?

6. Last but not least: Does my posture reflect the direction of my growth? Am I still growing the right way UP?

You are very welcome to share your insights with me and others, or ask any questions you might like to ask. I will probably have to sort out a forum or some sort of interactive site… We’ll see.

 

Religion and Spirituality: my view as a sceptical believer

I describe myself as a sceptical believer: I doubt everything and I believe everything is possibly.

I don’t follow any organized religion or specific spiritual movement, because in a way, I follow them all.

Just to clarify my position, whereas I find in all religious and spiritual organizations/movements, very important and essential ethical principles and directions for life that are useful, beautiful, and that should ring true to any member of humanity, I find also that too many wrong and unethical deeds have been and are constantly performed in the name of religion. I often find that ritual replaces feeling; rules and duties, replace natural, humane spontaneous behaviours, often jeopardizing spiritual growth and true compassion for oneself and for all the creatures in the Universe.

I find that organized religion has often been at odds with progress, with curiosity, with our rights to create, re-create and make of our world a better world for the present and the future.

Therefore I am happy to follow any aspect/rule/claim of any religion or movement, that increases my sense of well being and happiness, my awareness and correction of my behaviour and the constant striving for compassion, humanity, solidarity,

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS

1. I am not a health practitioner of any description. The tips I will be giving are directly related to my personal experience and my experiences with family and friends who seem to have benefited from those tips. Please if in doubt, always consult a qualified practitioner.
2. With their permission I will be mentioning in these pages the names and expertise of many people who have contributed to my current state of health. See also the Links page. Whenever possible  and relevant, I will be leading you to their websites or giving you a direct contact if you ask me. Nobody is or will be paying me or rewarding me in any way for doing so. I will be doing it because they are wonderful practitioners, to whom I owe much and to whom I am very happy to direct people to, for the benefit of all. I don’t and won’t recommend anyone whose help and expertise I haven’t experienced and benefited from directly.