Something we should all hear

Man has been in an excess yang state for a long time, maybe hundreds of years.  It is time for some balance.  Remember all correction needs to be made to the center.  Live and eat in the center of the spectrum for your geographical area.

Realize balance now.

Thanks for reading.

A list of known satisfiers

Today I would like to look at the way cravings work in a little more depth.  When yin and yang get out of balance, the aspect that is in excess creates a need for the other aspect to bring it into balance.  In other words, if you are too yang, your body will crave yin.  If your body is too yin, you will crave yang.  Remember the body can be excess yin and yang at the same time.

Most food vendors know this intuitively.  It is the reason that bars give away free popcorn because they know that the salt will make you crave their alcoholic beverages.  If you look at the grocery store and observe how much shelf space is devoted to foods in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum as opposed to the shelf space devoted to foods that are at the extreme ends of the spectrum you will begin to see the enormity of the problem.

Food advertising works on these imbalances.  Food advertisers know that you have developed a list of known satisfiers that have satisfied your cravings in the past.  When you are craving yang and a big mac or a pizza appears on your tv screen you scan your list of known satisfiers to see if what you are watching is on your list.  If it is, you are very likely to make an appointment with yourself to meet up with that particular food in the near future.

How do foods get on our list of know satisfiers?  Food advertising often motivates us to try a food that we have not tried before to see if it qualifies for our list.  Peers often pressure us into trying foods or other substances and then if the craving is present, our list is often updated.  This is how drug dealers work.  They give you a free sample so that your list of known satisfiers gets updated.  Once there, if the opportunity presents itself we are ready to use that food again to satisfy our craving.  Eating in a balanced way removes these cravings and allows us to take control of our lives.

Thanks for reading.

Be straight with yourself

The other day I overheard a conversation about diet and weight loss.  I was at a senior citizens center which I frequent to play table tennis.  A man, who is about 70 years of age, was talking about diet and weight.  He was saying that he had recently lost some weight to get down to about 180 lbs but then he had gained it all back and now weighed 206 lbs.  He was complaining about back pain and how it prevented him from exercising.  Then he said "I just love to eat and I can't find any food that I don't like."

This is an example of a person who is driven by his cravings.  This is an out of balance condition that is ruling this person's life.  He is not in control of his life, his cravings are in control.

My guru once said, "If you can't be straight with the world, at least be straight with yourself."  Sometimes we go through life and we rationalize our behavior by lying to ourselves.  Part of this is due to the ignorance of the yin and yang system which creates these cravings.  Perhaps if we knew the mechanism that was working on us we would be more able to be truthful about a possible solution.  This is why it is so important to understand the dynamics of the creation around us and to utilize the tools of balance that we have been given.

We can take this situation and improve on it by moving our diet towards the middle of the yin and yang spectrum.  That means adding more whole grains and whole grain products, more vegetables, more bean products, more sea vegetables, and more fruit.

Thanks for reading.

Flu shots

I attended a senior citizen health care fair at my local center this morning and they were providing flu shots, of course.  Now before I changed my diet and lifestyle, I used to get the flu just like many other people.  That was before flu shots were available.  Since 1987 or so, I have not had the flu or anything remotely like the flu.  Why is that?

The reason is that I discovered what flu actually is.  Flu is an attempt by the body to discharge large amounts of excess that have built up over the summer season.  Flu may be triggered by various factors but the actual cause of the episode is the excess that the body needs to get rid of to balance itself.  Now the rule is, "No excess, no discharge."   So, after I changed my diet and started to balance my system, I went through a period of discharge but I came to a point where I had very little excess of any kind within my body system.  At that point I became basically immune to the flu and I have not had it since.

This system works so well that it is easy to get overconfident so beware.  I caution you not to become arrogant about your health because defects to your application of a good system can cause you problems.  Use a lot of common sense and get regular check ups with your doctor.

Get balanced, and you won't need that flu shot.

Thanks for reading.

Transition

In the temperate zone, the time of transition from summer to winter has begun.  Even as the weather becomes cooler, the contraction of summer continues.  The trees become drier and colors become more yang, reds, yellows, and oranges.  Other plants contract as well.  Annuals reach the end of their cycle and some put out seed.

It is time to start transitioning your diet as well.  More cooked foods become appropriate and more yang cooking styles such as longer cooking, stewing, roasting, etc.  Less fruit and more root and ground vegetables are the foods of fall and winter.  These are naturally the foods that preserve well in cool places as well as those foods that pickle well.  Make your own sauerkraut and pickles to last through the winter.  Squash and pumpkin store the sunshine and make it available through the winter.  Hard greens, in some places, will winter over or almost winter over so keep harvesting them and enjoy them as long as possible.

Now is the time to begin to turn inward so close your eyes and sit.  Meditation can make a gloomy day joyful.  Find the marvel of your true self.

Thanks for reading.

Going to the mountains?

Once when I was talking to a health counselor, I mentioned that I was going to take a trip to the Himalayas.  He cautioned me that that environment, being extreme yin, would not be good for my illness which was caused by extreme yang.  I was confused by his statement so I asked him to explain.  It was my opinion that the yin environment would help my condition become more yin and therefore help my illness.  He said that the extreme yin environment would make my body react and actually become more yang.  He said that I needed to go to a more yang climate which would make my body react and become more yin.

First, let's talk about the mountains and why the environment there is more yin.  Increasing altitude in the temperate zones and tropical zone actually results in a much stronger yin force.  Why is that?  Yin is created by the spinning of the earth.  The farther you go away from the center of the spinning, the stronger the centrifugal force generated.  At the surface of the earth the spinning is actually moving from west to east at about 1000 miles per hour.  At 20,000 feet elevation you are moving in a much larger circle then at sea level so you are actually moving much faster then 1000 miles per hour.  I'm sure there is a mathematical formula to compute the speed difference but I don't know it.  Perhaps one of you might know it.  Anyway the extra speed translates into increased yin force.

When you live in an environment dominated by yin force then you will naturally eat more yang foods to counteract the cold.  Thus you will become more yang.  This balances the yin environment.  Conversely, if you live in a more yang climate in the tropical zone then you will naturally eat more yin foods and become more yin as a result.

Think about it.  Thanks for reading.

Rice is in the center.

We discussed in a previous post about whole grain brown rice and how, in the temperate zone, it is in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum.  We learned that rice therefore brings balance to the human organism.  So, having learned this, we would expect rice to have a special place in many cultures in recognition of its central role in the diet in much of the world.  Indeed, rice is worshiped as a god in some cultures.  There are rice goddesses worshiped in many southeast Asian countries.  In India rice is so woven into the fabric of the culture that it is the first solid food given to babies.  It is showered on newlyweds as a sign of prosperity even in the United States.

When I started practicing yoga in 2001, I was exposed to a ceremony called Guru Puja.  This is a ceremony of gift giving to the past masters and gurus that have walked the earth.  It is also called "16 ways to treat a Guru".  I was interested to observe that of the many gifts that are presented, rice is not only one of them, but it is the element that is set in the center of the puja set up, and if there is an element missing, rice is substituted for the missing element.  So rice is recognized as the center of life itself.  This is a beautiful expression of the balance that rice brings to life.

I am sure there are many other ways that rice is celebrated for its life giving role in many cultures.  Please share some of them in the comments if you are aware of some.

Thanks for reading.