So, How Exactly Do You Care For Your Body Correctly? – Vol. 358, April 21, 2016

Over the years I have heard of too many of my contemporaries dying early in life. There was a co-worker of my ex-husband’s who died instantly while jet skiing in Florida, age 33. There was the best man of my best friend from college, dying of a brain aneurysm at the age of 33, leaving his wife who was six months pregnant at the time. There was the very artistically talented art model of my ex’s, who died at the age of 44 from breast cancer and there have been three deaths of friends of my current roommate all in the past year of cancer of various sorts all in their early 50’s.

What the hell is going on here, you may ask?

Well, I can tell you what I have learned after reading a ton, watching a ton of webinars and of course studying health and the workings of the mind, by people who think outside the normal allopathic medical way of thinking of health – they are holistic practitioners, some M.D.s. And, lastly from my own experience overcoming both mental health and physical health issues the conventional medical world thought were incurable.

First: Hippocrates was correct in the assertion that food is our medicine. I don’t know any other creature, plant or animal that can live without the appropriate nutrients for its body to function correctly. So, with that in mind think “natural,” as in “from nature” before consuming anything that you may think of as food. I am not a purist when it comes to raw food, though some believe that 51% of your food should be eaten raw so that the heat doesn’t kill the nutritional value. Vitamin C is lost through heating, though I also have heard that broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts are better for you cooked since uncooked they can hinder the function of your thyroid. Cocoa is the most nutritious food there is, so long as it isn’t heated to process while leaving out all the artificial garbage that chocolate is made with. Pure raw honey is also a super food as is algae from the sea. So, eat one item foods, that you recognize for what they are and purchase organic if they don’t have rinds on the fruits and veggies to keep the insecticides away from the consumable part of the plant.

Second: We in our hectic society, with the all consuming technology have done a disservice to ourselves in multiple ways. The first is to stop or minimize our engagement with other people eye-to-eye and soul-to-soul. People were not meant to interact with one another through technology. There are no hugs, no kisses, no human contact in this manner and all too many times much dishonest communication. It’s a bit harder to be dishonest when someone is there right beside you. It is also a bit more difficult to be emotionally harmful to another because you will have to deal with the emotional response that your receive, which isn’t the way it is when someone texts or sends nasty comments through social networks, is it?

Our technology has also gotten in the way of our taking appropriate care of ourselves because it eats up so much time. The best thing you can do if you are a tech head, is to get the hell away from it and get out into nature, interact with the people you say you care about, do some sports or get in front of some great art. Do something that is more connected with our human experience than the false promises from our technology. Your “Facebook friend” most likely knows little about the real you – therefore that is NOT a true relationship on any level. So, stop pretending it is and get out there and engage with people who you can get to know face-to-face for who they truly are, and you they.

Third: How about you give your body some activity? Do you enjoy sports? Did you enjoy sports when you were younger. I am not coordinated and would be the last to be chosen to be on any team. However, even I enjoy swimming, yoga and hiking through beautiful natural enclaves. Nature is there to allow us to realize that there is more to life then sitting in front of a computer, I-pad or I-phone, more than worrying about our small concerns. Instead get us out in nature and in touch with the magnitude of the spirit that is all around us, if we would only take the time to be in it and appreciate it. In so doing, your body will get the activity it craves as your ligaments and tendons are lubricated and your bones are challenged to remain strong and healthy. Your cardiac system will love you as well. Just don’t over do it. Listen to your body.

Fourth: Your relationships: How are your relationships? Do you hang out with people who love and truly support who you are in this world, or people who tell you that you are dreaming and fantasizing? Are you with people who are positive and doing innovative and useful things with their lives, or people who complain about the world and are destructive to themselves and others? The people you spend your time with will dictate the way you feel about yourself, so choose well.

Fifth: Your Career: Are you doing something that you both enjoy and are fulfilled by, or are you doing something to pay the bills and worse, to keep your “status” whatever that means to you? Let me tell you something on this one: I have worked with many people who have had excellent paying jobs, where their jobs were slowly killing them. They were “soul sucking” jobs in some cases. In others, the bosses were threatening and abusive – even bullies in a couple of cases. If you are not in a position at work where you feel fulfilled by the work you are doing, respected and appreciated for your efforts you best ask yourself the hard questions as to why that is so. Then figure out what you need to do to create a work environment that works better with your values and your interests. It could add a few years and even decades to your life.

Sixth: Your home environment: Are you happy where you are living? Do you feel like the community in which you live is conducive to your feeling good about yourself? Do you like the climate, the people, the cultural and sports opportunities that are available to you there? Or, do you feel that you would be happier somewhere else? I have worked with clients with all the money in the world. In one case the client moved across town to be closer to the shops instead of driving over a half hour to get some groceries. In another case, I am working with a family that lives in a very well to do area, and yet, given the traffic, the closeness of the houses, one to the next, and the hectic nature of life there, this particular parent is unhappy in her upscale neighborhood. For another, like me, she is ready to leave the cold and move somewhere a bit warmer for a change. It is totally up to you to create the environment that will work best for you, and if you choose wrong, well, you couldn’t know that unless you try a change. So, make a different move till you find a place that you feel, “at home and at peace.”

Seventh: Spirituality: Hey, I am not a particularly religious person, though I do understand that there is a whole lot about this world that goes beyond my or anyone else’s understanding – the 99% of all what we don’t see or sense with our limited abilities. It is through our understanding of spirituality that we learn how to be grateful for all that we don’t understand, while allowing ourselves to appreciate how little we know. Spiritual practices align us with the energy that created this universe while giving us a bit more respect for what we cannot understand, yet still need to respect as the indigenous peoples’ of the world do. We humans have to take into account our bodies, minds and spirits for true health and wellbeing. Those who haven’t figured that out, are most likely those who are doing damaging things to their minds and bodies. Because, if you realize that you are not alone in this world, even if you sometimes feel like you are, or if you feel that you have to do it all on your own – well, those with a spiritual practice are those who know that there is something more than them that is helping them to deal with whatever it is that they need to deal with. Along with spiritual practice goes meditation, prayer and self-hypnosis – all going to that inner self, looking to the God inside ourselves for the answers that we need to move forward in life. Because as Christ, Buddha and any other faith tradition I know of – we are one with our God, the creator, so why don’t we act more like that and treat ourselves and the other creatures of this planet as this is so, instead of being so damn destructive to anything and anyone including ourselves. Love and respect heals – period.

If were were to put into practice even one or two of these things, you would feel happier, healthy and more contented. This regardless of the normal struggles of living we all have to deal with – which is WHY we need to make the changes to help ourselves be happy, whole and complete. If you are unwilling to do so, don’t be complaining to anyone else – because you are the only one who is responsible for your health and wellbeing – no one else.