I'm allergic to the desert. Been suffering from bad allergies all week. My eyes have been bothering me: itchy, stinging, watery, and I‘ve been sneezing a lot. Can’t really spend much time outside, because my allergies get much worse. The last I checked I had perfect vision. I don't need glasses. Though I do wear polarized sunglasses and a hat anytime I go outside, due to photosensitivity issues. But I just recently (as in just a few days ago) noticed that I have a couple of small bumps on my eyelid.
I investigated the matter online, and found that they may be benign cysts caused by bacteria under the eyelid. The best home remedy treatment for it is to put a hot wash cloth over the eyes a couple times a day. It’s supposed to help reduce swelling. I’ve been doing that, and it feels really good. Is very soothing. The bumps haven’t gone away yet, but it does seem to be helping my sinuses, so I’m going to stick with it.
For many years of my life I used to regularly use water therapy treatments, therapeutic foot and hand soaks in hot water with essential oils. For some reason though I had stopped. Haven’t really done that in several months. Well, since I’ve started regularly using the hot wash cloth as a compress on my face/eyes, besides soothing my eyes and being extremely relaxing, I’ve noticed that it seemed to restore my youthful glow. Not that I completely lost it, but I've been looking somewhat gaunt and my eyes have been very strained and tired looking lately (probably exacerbated by the HUGE amount of stress I'm currently under, but will not write about that here), and the hot wash cloth treatment has appeared to be helping some in that regard.
So I recommend it to all my readers. Get some hot water, either directly from the faucet, or else boil some up. Fill up a bowl or wash basin, and then soak a towel or wash cloth in it. Fold it over, and place it over your face, focusing mostly on your eyes and sinuses. Do it at least once a day, preferably in the evening. See how it makes you feel, and whether you notice if it rejuvenates your skin, giving your face a youthful glow. I think it would be beneficial to do this all the time, as part of your normal daily routine, like washing up.
I’m over 30, but still kind of look like a kid. I think I’ll probably always have an air of being eternally youthful, even when my hair turns white (already started, but it’s barely noticeable) and after my skin wrinkles, I’ll probably always be young at heart. Though I’m sincerely hoping to live a thousand years, without ever looking a day over 30 the whole time. Call me delusional if you want, but I call it mind over matter optimism.
For my older readers, please don’t feel bad, or think that I'm an ageist who thinks poorly of the elderly. Not at all. I don’t have a problem with anyone else's outward signs of aging, I’m just concerned with my own. I’m trying to become a new human, someone who is no longer bound by obsolete rules that restrict our possibilities for human potential, of what we are capable of being and becoming.
I refuse to limit myself to the diminished standards of human life expectancy, health, mental capability, and consciousness. It’s true that most people do not live beyond 80, but I am not most people. I intend to beat the odds. I will not be limited by the status quo of conventional thinking and orthodox history. I intend to rewrite the boundaries of what is and is not possible.
Am I youth obsessed? Maybe. But I'm not sure which is worse, being young and dumb, or being an old fool. Age in itself is not a measure of wisdom, and appearances can be deceiving. My interest in preserving youth, is less about appearances for appearances sake, and more about actually being healthy, in as much as a youthful appearance is a reflection of having good health. I want the wisdom of old age, accompanied by a 1000 years of youthful healthiness, inwardly sustained by the eternal fountain of youth.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Random Insight #7 Concerning Food Quality
Not all foods of the same kind are equally healthy, or of the same quality.
Meaning that not all whole wheat breads, Pilsner beers, or tomatoes are the same. There is not a homogenized standard. There will be variations of quality found among all types of foods and drinks, differences that may not necessarily be outwardly visible or indicated on the products label.
The quality differs depending on the way a food is grown, processed, and prepared, as well as the quality of whatever secondary ingredients are used in its production. Not only the quality of the seeds, the quality of the soil, the air, the water, and the quality of the environment in which it is processed, shipped, and sold for consumption, all factor into the quality of the final product.
Therefore, even two virtually identical products coming from different sources may vary in quality. They may look the same and taste the same, but their nutritional quality may differ in ways that may not necessarily be indicated on their nutritional information label. The calorie count may be the same, but there will be differences between the quality of the calories, a subtle "energetic" difference that is not measured or taken into account by the USDA or FDA.
Organic IS better. And vegetarians DO smell better. Take my word for it. Although I suppose there are differences between the body odor of meat eaters who consume low quality factory farmed meat full of hormones and additives and diseases, and those who only eat higher quality locally raised free range organic meat.
Meat stinks, but nothing stinks worse than factory farmed fast food and those who eat a lot of it. If you don't think there is a difference, be my guest, keep eating your body destroying shit, and when you're dying at 70 or 80 of colon or stomach cancer, you can just say it was normal, inevitable, nature running its course, would've happened either way; you'd be wrong, but I'm not here to argue with you, I've got my own life to live.
Not that a wholesome locally grown organic diet is a panacea for a long life - it's not, there are so many other factors contributing to our premature demise - but it sure does it help. Every little bit helps. Maybe you have no control over the air you breath outdoors, but you do have some control over the food and drink you put into your body.
I was thinking about this, about the differences in the quality of foods the other day when I was drinking a beer. I've had to cut back on my beer consumption, as well as buy a cheaper brand. And I was thinking about the quality of the ingredients used, and the quality of the water used to brew it. A beer brewed using lower quality ingredients and lower quality water, is going to produce a very different beer than one using higher quality ingredients.
Of course this is obvious right? It's not the first time I thought about this, but how many times do you actually stop and wonder, to think about these other factors effecting the quality of your food and drink? Even if the ingredients listed on the ingredient list are higher quality, what about the water? When you order a coffee or glass of orange juice, do you ever stop to wonder about the quality of the water used? Maybe its the same as the tap, maybe not.
Actually I don't drink tap water. Maybe I've had it a few times in my life, but not consistently believe it or not. My entire life I've used either store bought filtered bottled water, spring water, or had a water filter of my own. I take that back. How much tap water have I inadvertently consumed from store bought beverages, like beer or orange juice? And how much unfiltered tap water was used in the foods I eat? Those would be considered hidden sources of tap water. In fact the water used in store bought foods and drinks are often a hidden source of impurities.
And what about the containers used, do aluminum cans leach aluminum into the beer? What about BPA (and other additives) plastic contamination from the can's lining (also found in canned foods), or in the case of glass bottles, from the lining of the bottle cap? And what were the conditions of the brewery itself? How clean is the equipment? What were the conditions like in transport, sitting in a warehouse, or in truck somewhere?
Other than buying a single bottle from time to time, I currently can't afford to buy the higher quality beers, such as those made by New Belgium Brewing Company, who take pride in being a green company and using only the highest quality ingredients, and giving detailed information of every aspect of what goes into making their beers throughout the whole cycle.
Many breweries do not provide such information, probably because their ingredients or brewery conditions are nothing to brag about, that if you knew what actually went into them and the conditions they were made in, you probably wouldn't want to consume it.
It is quite possible that alcohol related health problems could largely be related to consuming the impurities found in lower quality alcohol, rather than the alcohol itself. Not to say that over consuming the good stuff isn't going to cause its own share of problems, but consuming too much of lower quality crap loaded with additives and contaminated water is bound to be much more harmful.
As I mentioned in a previous post about the hidden sources of genetically modified organisms, almost all the corn grown in the U.S. has been genetically modified. And most of the cheaper American style beers, like Bud and Miller, the typical watered down piss beers, are all brewed from corn as their main ingredient, rather than the more hardy barley. And of course this corn is genetically modified.
So if you drink that kind of beer you're consuming genetically modified corn, plus what about the water? How pure is the water? Is it fluoridated? Most likely. Do they even use water purifiers? And where does the water come from?
There are all sorts of factors effecting the quality of foods and drinks. And in the case of beer and booze, the cheaper stuff is bound to contain more impurities that could possibly be even more dangerous than the alcohol itself. I suppose the same would apply to all pre-packaged drinks. All drinks contain water. So if you are the least bit conscious of your health, you need to know what you are putting into your body, which means that besides knowing what ingredients are used in your food and drink, it is also helpful to know the source of the water used to make it, and whether it is purified, and to what degree it is filtered and purified.
Not knowing this information, and yet continuing to consume the product anyway, could be gradually damaging your health. If you don't care one way or the other, than it doesn't matter. But if you do care, it's worth investigating, because not all foods and drinks of the same kind are of equal quality or equal healthiness.
Meaning that not all whole wheat breads, Pilsner beers, or tomatoes are the same. There is not a homogenized standard. There will be variations of quality found among all types of foods and drinks, differences that may not necessarily be outwardly visible or indicated on the products label.
The quality differs depending on the way a food is grown, processed, and prepared, as well as the quality of whatever secondary ingredients are used in its production. Not only the quality of the seeds, the quality of the soil, the air, the water, and the quality of the environment in which it is processed, shipped, and sold for consumption, all factor into the quality of the final product.
Therefore, even two virtually identical products coming from different sources may vary in quality. They may look the same and taste the same, but their nutritional quality may differ in ways that may not necessarily be indicated on their nutritional information label. The calorie count may be the same, but there will be differences between the quality of the calories, a subtle "energetic" difference that is not measured or taken into account by the USDA or FDA.
Organic IS better. And vegetarians DO smell better. Take my word for it. Although I suppose there are differences between the body odor of meat eaters who consume low quality factory farmed meat full of hormones and additives and diseases, and those who only eat higher quality locally raised free range organic meat.
Meat stinks, but nothing stinks worse than factory farmed fast food and those who eat a lot of it. If you don't think there is a difference, be my guest, keep eating your body destroying shit, and when you're dying at 70 or 80 of colon or stomach cancer, you can just say it was normal, inevitable, nature running its course, would've happened either way; you'd be wrong, but I'm not here to argue with you, I've got my own life to live.
Not that a wholesome locally grown organic diet is a panacea for a long life - it's not, there are so many other factors contributing to our premature demise - but it sure does it help. Every little bit helps. Maybe you have no control over the air you breath outdoors, but you do have some control over the food and drink you put into your body.
I was thinking about this, about the differences in the quality of foods the other day when I was drinking a beer. I've had to cut back on my beer consumption, as well as buy a cheaper brand. And I was thinking about the quality of the ingredients used, and the quality of the water used to brew it. A beer brewed using lower quality ingredients and lower quality water, is going to produce a very different beer than one using higher quality ingredients.
Of course this is obvious right? It's not the first time I thought about this, but how many times do you actually stop and wonder, to think about these other factors effecting the quality of your food and drink? Even if the ingredients listed on the ingredient list are higher quality, what about the water? When you order a coffee or glass of orange juice, do you ever stop to wonder about the quality of the water used? Maybe its the same as the tap, maybe not.
Actually I don't drink tap water. Maybe I've had it a few times in my life, but not consistently believe it or not. My entire life I've used either store bought filtered bottled water, spring water, or had a water filter of my own. I take that back. How much tap water have I inadvertently consumed from store bought beverages, like beer or orange juice? And how much unfiltered tap water was used in the foods I eat? Those would be considered hidden sources of tap water. In fact the water used in store bought foods and drinks are often a hidden source of impurities.
And what about the containers used, do aluminum cans leach aluminum into the beer? What about BPA (and other additives) plastic contamination from the can's lining (also found in canned foods), or in the case of glass bottles, from the lining of the bottle cap? And what were the conditions of the brewery itself? How clean is the equipment? What were the conditions like in transport, sitting in a warehouse, or in truck somewhere?
Other than buying a single bottle from time to time, I currently can't afford to buy the higher quality beers, such as those made by New Belgium Brewing Company, who take pride in being a green company and using only the highest quality ingredients, and giving detailed information of every aspect of what goes into making their beers throughout the whole cycle.
Many breweries do not provide such information, probably because their ingredients or brewery conditions are nothing to brag about, that if you knew what actually went into them and the conditions they were made in, you probably wouldn't want to consume it.
It is quite possible that alcohol related health problems could largely be related to consuming the impurities found in lower quality alcohol, rather than the alcohol itself. Not to say that over consuming the good stuff isn't going to cause its own share of problems, but consuming too much of lower quality crap loaded with additives and contaminated water is bound to be much more harmful.
As I mentioned in a previous post about the hidden sources of genetically modified organisms, almost all the corn grown in the U.S. has been genetically modified. And most of the cheaper American style beers, like Bud and Miller, the typical watered down piss beers, are all brewed from corn as their main ingredient, rather than the more hardy barley. And of course this corn is genetically modified.
So if you drink that kind of beer you're consuming genetically modified corn, plus what about the water? How pure is the water? Is it fluoridated? Most likely. Do they even use water purifiers? And where does the water come from?
There are all sorts of factors effecting the quality of foods and drinks. And in the case of beer and booze, the cheaper stuff is bound to contain more impurities that could possibly be even more dangerous than the alcohol itself. I suppose the same would apply to all pre-packaged drinks. All drinks contain water. So if you are the least bit conscious of your health, you need to know what you are putting into your body, which means that besides knowing what ingredients are used in your food and drink, it is also helpful to know the source of the water used to make it, and whether it is purified, and to what degree it is filtered and purified.
Not knowing this information, and yet continuing to consume the product anyway, could be gradually damaging your health. If you don't care one way or the other, than it doesn't matter. But if you do care, it's worth investigating, because not all foods and drinks of the same kind are of equal quality or equal healthiness.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Random Insight #6 Mind is Spirit
What is spirit? What distinguishes matter from spirit? And why is the spirit typically regarded as being superior to the body?
I was thinking about these questions last night after midnight, but I was too tired, and my eyes too strained to pursue the topic further, until now.
It occurred to me that the nature of material things is to deteriorate. As soon as we are born into this world, our bodies begin to die gradually over time. Each day is a constant struggle fought by our minds, like a warrior in a fortress, to maintain equilibrium against the forces of destruction eating away at the body, similar to the constant rise and fall of the ocean waves wearing away at the shoreline.
Our body is like the shoreline, the forces of gravity (of time and space) are like the waves wearing away at the shore, and our spirit is like the water itself. If we can learn to consciously direct our minds to flow with the current of water, instead of against it, essentially becoming like water, we may prolong our lives; otherwise our body, like the earth, is gradually worn away until nothing remains.
Matter is mortal. Spirit is immortal. Mind is intelligent. Body is unintelligent. Oh and before you get into a fit and argue that the body is more intelligent than I give it credit, do keep in my mind that the mind is not restricted to the head, but permeates the entire body.
Mind is the master. The body is the slave. A body without a mind wouldn't be a person. The mind is what makes the person, not the body. A body is merely a vehicle, and the mind is the driver of the vehicle. But the driver of the vehicle is not the vehicle itself. A vehicle without a driver, is useless. If you want to see for yourself just how intelligent a body is without a mind, all you have to do is look at a dead body. A dead body is essentially a discarded broken down vehicle ready for the scrap yard.
It seems to me that consciousness - the ability to think, to feel, to reason, and to be aware - must be an aspect of spirit, more so than the body. Because the only thing making the body more than just a pile of meat and bones, is consciousness, an intelligent personality giving that body life.
So when you say that it is the spirit that animates the body, what you are saying is that it is the consciousness that is animating the body. But how does mind relate to the body, and more specifically, how does the mind relate to the brain?
Mind and spirit are possibly one and the same. But do keep in mind that the mind is not merely the intellect, it is also the capacity to feel love and to express emotion, and it is not restricted to the head, but permeates the entire body. Consciousness itself is invisible, just as spirit is invisible, but probably its closest physical attribute would correspond to electricity.
The brain is not the mind, the brain is more like a battery for the mind, and the mind is like the electricity that powers the battery. The mind is electric, therefore thoughts are electric, and the body acts as a sort of electrical conductor. The mind itself is not the source of electricity, it is more like a lightening rod, that attracts the electrical energy to the body. And the brain is like the physical control center, or like an electric power plant, which utilizes that energy to power the body.
But where does the electricity come from? And where does it go, when the battery dies? Electricity doesn't die, does it? It can travel anywhere, and power any battery. A battery is useless without electricity. Electricity cannot be harnessed without some way of collecting and storing its energy. Therefore if the two are equally necessary, why is the electricity (the mind/spirit) considered more important than the battery (the body/matter)?
Probably because the battery is disposable, or can only be recharged so many times, whereas the electricity itself is immortal. Also because consciousness (or spirit and electricity) is the intelligent principle underlying life. Without consciousness life would have no meaning, there would be no beauty, no truth, or love. It's not that those things wouldn't exist, but without consciousness you would be blind to them.
Without consciousness you may as well be dead. Or you wouldn't even know that you were alive, or where you are or what you are. Just like without electricity all your electric appliances are useless. Your computer, television, radio, may still look the same, still be in perfect condition, with absolutely nothing wrong with it, yet without electricity they will not work. Whatever existence they have without electricity, without awareness, may as well be nonexistence, same is true with any living body without a mind.
Therefore consciousness is the root of life. But for the root to grow it must be planted in good soil. The root cannot exist independently. It needs a body of some kind, to take root into, but the body is just a vehicle, powered by the mind. The vehicle does not power itself, it must have a source of electricity and a driver.
I was thinking about these questions last night after midnight, but I was too tired, and my eyes too strained to pursue the topic further, until now.
It occurred to me that the nature of material things is to deteriorate. As soon as we are born into this world, our bodies begin to die gradually over time. Each day is a constant struggle fought by our minds, like a warrior in a fortress, to maintain equilibrium against the forces of destruction eating away at the body, similar to the constant rise and fall of the ocean waves wearing away at the shoreline.
Our body is like the shoreline, the forces of gravity (of time and space) are like the waves wearing away at the shore, and our spirit is like the water itself. If we can learn to consciously direct our minds to flow with the current of water, instead of against it, essentially becoming like water, we may prolong our lives; otherwise our body, like the earth, is gradually worn away until nothing remains.
Matter is mortal. Spirit is immortal. Mind is intelligent. Body is unintelligent. Oh and before you get into a fit and argue that the body is more intelligent than I give it credit, do keep in my mind that the mind is not restricted to the head, but permeates the entire body.
Mind is the master. The body is the slave. A body without a mind wouldn't be a person. The mind is what makes the person, not the body. A body is merely a vehicle, and the mind is the driver of the vehicle. But the driver of the vehicle is not the vehicle itself. A vehicle without a driver, is useless. If you want to see for yourself just how intelligent a body is without a mind, all you have to do is look at a dead body. A dead body is essentially a discarded broken down vehicle ready for the scrap yard.
It seems to me that consciousness - the ability to think, to feel, to reason, and to be aware - must be an aspect of spirit, more so than the body. Because the only thing making the body more than just a pile of meat and bones, is consciousness, an intelligent personality giving that body life.
So when you say that it is the spirit that animates the body, what you are saying is that it is the consciousness that is animating the body. But how does mind relate to the body, and more specifically, how does the mind relate to the brain?
Mind and spirit are possibly one and the same. But do keep in mind that the mind is not merely the intellect, it is also the capacity to feel love and to express emotion, and it is not restricted to the head, but permeates the entire body. Consciousness itself is invisible, just as spirit is invisible, but probably its closest physical attribute would correspond to electricity.
The brain is not the mind, the brain is more like a battery for the mind, and the mind is like the electricity that powers the battery. The mind is electric, therefore thoughts are electric, and the body acts as a sort of electrical conductor. The mind itself is not the source of electricity, it is more like a lightening rod, that attracts the electrical energy to the body. And the brain is like the physical control center, or like an electric power plant, which utilizes that energy to power the body.
But where does the electricity come from? And where does it go, when the battery dies? Electricity doesn't die, does it? It can travel anywhere, and power any battery. A battery is useless without electricity. Electricity cannot be harnessed without some way of collecting and storing its energy. Therefore if the two are equally necessary, why is the electricity (the mind/spirit) considered more important than the battery (the body/matter)?
Probably because the battery is disposable, or can only be recharged so many times, whereas the electricity itself is immortal. Also because consciousness (or spirit and electricity) is the intelligent principle underlying life. Without consciousness life would have no meaning, there would be no beauty, no truth, or love. It's not that those things wouldn't exist, but without consciousness you would be blind to them.
Without consciousness you may as well be dead. Or you wouldn't even know that you were alive, or where you are or what you are. Just like without electricity all your electric appliances are useless. Your computer, television, radio, may still look the same, still be in perfect condition, with absolutely nothing wrong with it, yet without electricity they will not work. Whatever existence they have without electricity, without awareness, may as well be nonexistence, same is true with any living body without a mind.
Therefore consciousness is the root of life. But for the root to grow it must be planted in good soil. The root cannot exist independently. It needs a body of some kind, to take root into, but the body is just a vehicle, powered by the mind. The vehicle does not power itself, it must have a source of electricity and a driver.
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