When you’re lost, look for answers in Nature. When you’re stressed out, go to Nature. When you don’t know what to do, imitate Nature. You are a part of Nature. Nature is a part of you. It has always been so. Nature didn’t disconnect from you. We disconnected from Nature. We forgot where we had come from. When you have doubts ask yourself: How is my decision or my action going to affect Nature? Become a Nature worshiper. Treat it as sacred. Become Nature’s child again. ...
The value of discomfort.
We seem to try to avoid any discomfort no matter what. While some discomforts are worth avoiding, some natural challenges are worth having. It is too easy to forget how wonderful a full stomach can feel. It is easy to forget to appreciate a set of warm clothes suited to the weather. It is easy to forget the convenience of a toilet. It is easy to take for granted fresh, running water. It is easy not to realize the miracle of movement, the joy of using our bodies. For overall balance and to remind ourselves how good our lives can be, let’s allow ourselves to feel truly hungry or thirsty occasionally. Let’s think of how we are using our household water. Let’s use our bodies in various ways, keeping them active, healthy, and strong. Let’s feel the rays of sunshine or drops of cold water on our skin. Let us not avoid little discomfort! It will only keep us healthy and happy. ...
Tao of the Four Empties – the Empty Kitchen
The concept of the “Empty Kitchen” is connected to the quality of fuel we supply our bodies with. Many, if not most of the foods we buy today at the supermarket did not exist one hundred years ago. The value of the food we consume nowadays seems to come more from convenience and flavor than its nutritional vitality. In order to recover or maintain optimal health, we need to empty our kitchens of things that never spoil, are heavily processed or belong to a group of so-called “modern foods” like white flour, sugar, and industrial oils. Grains and dairy products in general, as being relatively new on the menu (only about 10 – 12 thousand years), can cause a lot of trouble for some people who are not very compatible with them. The practice of “Emptying the Kitchen” is the practice of keeping at home, preparing and consuming mainly fresh foods that haven’t been heavily processed. When they come prepackaged, with ingredients including flour, sugar, oils, fillers, preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, flavor enhancers, and many other unknown, chemical components – these are not natural foods. What are real foods? Ask yourself: what would humans eat in the area where you live, before the development of agriculture, civilization, and industrialization? The answer is simple: for most of us, it would be: meats, eggs, some vegetables, some nuts, and fruits. It was not until we domesticated animals and plants, that we would start consuming other animals’ milk and a lot more plants, especially grains. With many new, genetically modified seeds, we see a widespread intolerance to gluten and other common plant components. Ancient Taoist insisted on the principle of Bigu – not eating grains, understanding the difficulties our bodies can have deriving nutrients from this particular source of sustenance. Many of you might think that nowadays, preparing your meals from scratch would be too time-consuming. You couldn’t be further from the truth. While the process of cooking or baking might require more time, it is also time that can be dedicated to many other pursuits, and the food preparation itself rarely takes us more than 5-10 minutes. Eating natural foods has an amazing impact on the quality of our health and wellbeing. When our body manages to rid itself of all the unnecessary substances that we insist on consuming but that have no place in Nature, new levels of energy, vitality, resistance to viruses and bacteria become our everyday experience. ...
Tao of the Four Empties – the Empty Stomach.
The principle of the “empty stomach” has to do with the frequency, volume and timing of our food consumption. If we take a closer look at Nature, just like the ancient practitioners of Tao did, we will notice that it is quite common that animals will go through periods of hunger. It can be caused by the seasonality of certain foods, animal migratory patterns or simply the natural cycles of day and night, times of rest and gathering or hunting. In our “civilized” world, humans, if they can, try to practically eliminate these periods. What’s more important, we increase the frequency of our meals, sometimes up to 6-8 times a day! This is not a very natural pattern for Homo Sapiens. We evolved to rest from digestion on a regular basis. “This makes sense from a survival standpoint. If we do not eat, our bodies use our stored energy as fuel so that we can find more food. Humans have not evolved to require three meals a day, every day.” Excerpt From: Fung, Jason. “Complete Guide to Fasting.” Occasional fasting turns on a very important mechanism of autophagy – the regeneration and recycling of the cells that improves the efficiency and working of the entire system. It is a very “handy” tool for the body’s natural processes of detox and renewal. “fasting is the most time-honored and widespread healing tradition in the world. It has been practiced by virtually every culture and every religion on earth. Fasting is an ancient, time-tested tradition.” Excerpt From: Fung, Jason. “Complete Guide to Fasting.” Fasting is and has always been a part of natural cycles. There are many approaches to fasting but one of the simplest and at the same time the most efficient ways is what is known as intermittent fasting. It is done by simply limiting your “eating window” during the day to anywhere from two to ten hours of time when we consume food and leaving the rest of the day and night to fasting. For example, you eat between10 am and 6 pm and you fast between 6 pm and 10 am the following day. This gives your body 16 hours of rest and regeneration. Once our body and mind adapt, this rhythm is very easy to maintain indefinitely. Other forms of periodic fasting can include but are not limited to water or dry fasting once a week for 24-36 hours, longer 2-3 day fasts every few months, etc. Fasting can be utilized on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis depending on the individual needs and goals. The amount of food is another aspect of the “empty stomach” principle. There is an old Taoist and Yogic saying: “Eat only when you are hungry but stop before you’re full.” Overrating is often a result of food addiction, inappropriate food choice, boredom or habit. Once we start consuming natural, species-appropriate foods (check the “empty kitchen” article) our unnatural food cravings largely diminish and we start eating according to our body’s true needs. We cultivate an “empty stomach” to support recovery, healing, and overall vitality. ...
Tao of the Four Empties – the Empty Mind
How many times do we hear the story of never-ending to-do-lists, things to take care of, projects to complete, deadlines to meet, unfinished errands, etc? How many times our head is overflowing with never-ending streams of thoughts, plans, worries – an incessant noise and activity. We can easily notice an interesting phenomenon nowadays – overstimulation of the mind and under-stimulation of the body. The simplest solution would, of course, be a reversal of these proportions – activating the body and quieting the mind. The practice of the Empty Mind aims to achieve just that: a quiet, focused mind. How do we empty our minds? How to realize a focused, relaxed, flexible and quiet mind? Obviously, it is not easy. Many aspects of contemporary life stand in our way. The pace of life in the cities, work ethics of most companies, the focus on the instant results in today’s business world, changes in our immediate surroundings, lack of access to Nature for some, 24/7 exposure to marketing and mind-manipulation, high expectations towards ourselves and others, and even the impact of stimulating foods and beverages. While it is very difficult for us to be unaffected by all of these daily occurrences, it is possible to develop simple thought habits, mental hygiene of sorts, an attitude of looking at tasks at hand from a bit distanced perspective. In many Taoist practices, we frequently distinguish two opposite but complementary poles, two aspects of the same – Yin and Yang. In the practice of the Empty Mind, we also address this duality. We practice controlling our thoughts by the conscious development of certain habits of mental attitudes – that would be an active Yang approach. We can also utilize a more passive, Yin technique – letting go and focusing more on the meditative aspects of the practice. They are complementary and equally important and both can utilize the use of breath and self-observation. It is very difficult if not impossible to make any changes without the ability to take note of the present situation here and now. It is only when we are aware of the fact that our mind is overstimulated, too emotional or stuck in a negative sphere, that any steps towards changing this situation can be made. In order to do that we need to develop a habit of paying attention to what and how we tend to think. Just like everything else, at first it seems very difficult but with time it will get easier and easier. There are many simple exercises that can help us control the flow of our thoughts. We can start by noticing and writing down the feelings or emotions we would like to get rid of like anger, anxiety or the need to complain, and then pay attention and note every occurrence during the day. You will notice that at first, it requires a great deal of self-discipline but it will soon become very natural. The very fact that you notice it will give you a measure of satisfaction and increase the level of control you have over this particular habit. The next step is finding a feature directly opposite to the one you’re trying to get rid of. For example: for anger, it would be: composure, patience, mental balance. For anxiety – calmness. For the habit of complaining – noting the positive side, praise, etc. These are the characteristics you want to introduce, strengthen, and master. The habits that deserve your energy and effort. Features of your mind that you want to cultivate. The more we do it the easier it becomes. The more we pay attention to something, the more we will see it all around us. Paying attention (which is a form of energy allocation) to the positive aspects of the situations we are in will strengthen these aspects, deepen our ability to find them, create a habit of guiding our minds in the more desirable directions and not just automatically reacting to the circumstances. This is how we can manifest the kind of understanding, create an inner perspective that is the most conducive to maintaining serenity, optimism, joy, and contentment. With practice, it will become completely natural, subconscious, and effortless. In Yin practice, a more passive mind practice, we will concentrate on influencing and calming down our minds with the use of meditative techniques, working with our breath and awareness. We try to create habits of letting go of mental noise, habits of finding moments of quiet contemplation in different situations throughout our day. These can be pre-arranged meditation times (like before or after work) or, in a more informal way, brief moments of remembering and awareness of our breath, posture, our body or emotional state. Focusing attention on one’s breath, lengthening of the exhale, a conscious relaxation of the entire body and letting go of accumulated tension – they can all be an integral part of our how we “go with the flow” of our day’s events. We can find these little meditations in many unexpected places. For some of us, it could be a moment of silence and stillness waiting in the queue. For others – a short break for a cup of tea. Sometimes it happens while we take our pet for a walk, make our bed, clean the dishes or fill up our car’s gas tank. The possibilities are infinite. What are your “informal” meditations? When do you find the time to let go? ...
Life as a continuous act of cultivation.
Every day I cultivate my life experience. I like to think of the word “cultivate” as “do”. What I do is what I develop and strengthen. How I live every day influences the way I will live in the future. How I live every day determines how I feel about the past. What I do every day but more importantly how I do it, is a choice easy to forget that I have. Am I kind or rude? Talking or listening? Paying attention or absent-minded? Compassionate or indifferent? Tolerant or idealistic? Focused or scattered? Relaxed or tense? Calm or anxious? Happy or sad? Active or inert? By concentrating on certain aspects and attributes of our life and our being we can create habitual reactions that we would like to have. By making an effort to smile, to listen to others, to pay attention and notice the good side of things, it becomes infinitely easier to do it in a more natural, effortless way. Almost automatically. What is your choice? What do you cultivate? Life goes by very quickly. Be an artist and a co-creator of your daily experiences. ...
Tao of the Four Empties
There are countless ways to approach our health and wellbeing. Some people are inclined to follow the mainstream guidelines, others like to experiment on themselves. In an era of the internet, we have access to an unbelievable amount of health systems from many diverse cultures. It is only a question of what we like and what works for us. Many years ago, while studying books on Qigong, Tai Chi and Taoism I came across an old Taoist saying: “ Those who strive for longevity should maintain the “Four Empties”. For me as a Tai Chi and Qigong practitioner, the concept of the “Four Empties” neatly encompasses all the general principles of maintaining good health that I have discovered and implemented in my own life. Each of the Four Empties represents an important aspect of our daily cultivation. The type of practice that is simple, inspired by Nature itself, and accessible to anyone wishing to try it. The Four Empties are: Empty Mind Empty Stomach Empty Kitchen Empty Room The practice of the Empty Mind refers to our effort of maintaining an inner, mental equilibrium. Our mind has an unimaginable power of effecting the quality of our life, therefore it is important to pay attention to the habits it develops (for example needless worrying or dwelling on the past or future). There are many meditative, contemplative methods that help to bring our thoughts to a place of balance and stability. Control of our breath can be a very useful tool. The practice of the Empty Stomach refers to the importance of our eating habits and their impact on our lives. It reminds us of the value of the time-tested healing tradition – fasting. Each and every one of us needs to find a favorite way to implement periods of detox and restoration with no food. It mimics the experiences of our ancestors and reflects our evolutionary needs, reminding us that for most of humanity, continuous satiety is a very recent and not necessarily optimal phenomenon. The practice of the Empty Kitchen refers to the quality of foods that we usually consume. Foods our body needs have to be fresh, unprocessed, whole. Most of us quickly forget the meaning of these words. Keeping our kitchen empty means avoiding eating anything that can be stored for an excessively long time, learning to recognize the real, natural foods that humans have been using for millions of years, and “unlearning” the pseudo-foods we’ve grown to consider “normal”. The practice of the Empty Room refers to the influence of our surroundings on our mood, health, and wellbeing. Simplifying what we can make simpler, decluttering what we can declutter. Creating space for more movement, sunshine and fresh air. Motivating ourselves to activate our bodies and interact with natural elements more. By minimizing the amount of “things” in our life we open up room for more time for relationships and experiences. In the next few posts, we will take a closer look at each element of the “Four Empties”. ...
The hidden aliases of sugar.
In 1983 Annie Lennox (Eurythmics) sang: “Sweet dreams are made of this Who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas, Everybody’s looking for something…” Well, nowadays it seems like everybody is looking for something… sweet. And for a good reason. Did you know that sugar can be more addicting than cocaine? When we eat sugar, opioids and dopamine are released. Research shows, that our brain’s opiate receptors that affect the reward center, are activated by sugar which can induce compulsive behaviors. The neurotransmitter dopamine release caused by sugar can easily lead to behaviors known as substance abuse. The problem is we are often completely unaware of how much sugar we consume. Average American eats 150-170 pounds of refined sugars a year! This is ¼ to ½ pound of sugar a day! While you might be thinking: “It’s not me for sure!” We often simply don’t know that sugar is put in many processed foods we would never suspect. Bread, sauces, hot dogs, ketchup, peanut butter, pickles, soups, nut milk, smoothies, yogurt, salad dressings, flavored water, white wine and many, many more. What makes it difficult for us is the fact that sugar hides behind many confusing names. Here are just some of them: Agave Anhydrous dextrose Barley malt syrup Brown sugar Beet sugar Birch syrup Brown rice syrup Coconut sugar Corn sugar Corn syrup Corn syrup solids Dextrose Fructose Cane juice Cane sugar Caster sugar Crystal dextrose Date sugar Demerara sugar Sugar cane juice Fruit sugar concentrate Golden syrup Gluto-malt High-fructose corn syrup Honey Icing sugar Invert sugar Karo Lactose Malt syrup Maltose Maple syrup Molasses Glucose Fruit nectar Panela Pancake syrup Rapadura Raw sugar Sucrose Treacle White granulated sugar Evaporated corn sweetener Liquid fructose Read your labels! Sugar in a processed, refined form has an extremely negative impact on our health! Please, be aware of what you are eating! ...
Life is complicated enough. Simplify what you can. Especially your daily habits. Healthy = Natural = Simple
Kids do it. Birds do it. Your dog and cat do it. Sometimes 40-50 times a day. Since we sit so much, we tend to forget how important it is to pandiculate – contract and extend the muscle or better yet – the entire muscle group as often as possible. This is how we can get rid of excessive tension accumulating in our body as a result of a lack of movement. Pandiculation resets the muscles to their neutral position, helping them to get back to their natural state and prepare the entire musculoskeletal system for movement. Contract and extend the entire body when you wake up, while in bed and continue to do it frequently throughout the day (especially if you have to sit a lot!) Various forms of meditation have a huge impact on our body and mind. Did you know that meditation reduces anxiety and stress, improves concentration and mood, decreases cortisol (stress hormone) levels, lowers blood pressure, slows down the heartbeat, increases the feeling of relaxation and raises the number of antibodies thus improving resistance to infections and inflammation? At the beginning or at the end of your day, create some time for quiet contemplation, simple meditation… Most animals in Nature do not eat all the time. Observe and imitate natural patterns in the wild by skipping a meal or two from time to time. Extend the time between meals and create an opportunity for your organism to activate its regenerative mechanisms. The body gets quickly adapted to a new meal frequency and it becomes a natural, everyday habit. By not eating for 16 hours (including sleep), we benefit by improving our cognitive functioning, lowering the inflammation, blood pressure and blood glucose levels and by a general improvement of metabolic processes of the body. Do not eat until you’re really hungry and when you are, drink some bone broth or a cup of herbal tea or coffee, extending the time of fasting. When you are ready for a meal, eat real, natural, unprocessed food, including lots of veggies, especially the fermented ones. Move your body. Sweat a little every day! Exercise and physical activity allow you not only to retain your strength and functionality but have a huge impact on your mood, memory, sleep quality, stress reduction and cognitive fitness. Take at least a short, intense walk. Run a few flights of stairs. Take the garbage out. Walk the dog a few blocks. Take every opportunity to train your thermoregulating mechanisms. Body conditioning that takes advantage of natural elements, exposing yourself gradually to cold or heat can improve your blood circulation and resistance to colds, activate your hidden energetic reserves and strengthen your immune system. Walk barefoot. Take a cool shower! It can be more efficient than a cup of coffee or a Red Bull! Make sure you create an optimal condition for natural, healthy sleep. People who experience problems with sleep tend to gain weight easily, are more prone to inflammation and depression. Proper sleep helps to ward off diabetes, prevents heart disease, increases fertility and sex drive, improves concentration and productivity, boosts immunity response and mental wellbeing. Sleep in a quiet, dark and well-aired room with no phone, iPad, computer etc. ...
“Perfection” vs. “Reality”
We are looking for “natural” in a very artificial world. We are looking for “simple” in a very complex world. We are looking for “pure” in a very polluted world. We are looking for “slow” in a very fast-paced world. We are looking for “relaxed” in a chronically stressed world. We are looking for “healthy” in a very sick world. We need to remember that most of us generally don’t function in a very natural world. We’ve been subjects to many unnatural factors for many generations. Highly processed foods, polluted environments, stressful lifestyles – we are the end products of it all. What does it mean from the practical point of view? It means that sometimes, even following the best, most optimal and natural approach may not bring forward the exact, expected results we would like to see. Changing our lifestyle will certainly create a lot of improvements in its overall quality, however looking for perfection would be a little unrealistic. Therefore take your time introducing changes. Enjoy small successes. Don’t anticipate solving all your issues within a week or two. Think how long it took you to get you to where you are now. Just do and try to find a way to enjoy the process of doing it. What can you do? Meditate – it will provide a measure of a slower pace, calm and stress release, emotion control and a wider, deeper perspective on things in general. Exercise – it will diminish stress, provide better mental and physical functionality, overall better mood and a feeling of well-being, improvement of metabolic and hormonal health. Eat natural, unprocessed, real food – it will provide the necessary building blocks for a healthy body and mind. Fast periodically – it will provide an opportunity for healing and regeneration. Reestablish your natural sleeping patterns – it will provide support for your immune system and mental and physical restoration. Spend time in Nature – exposure to natural elements will exercise and strengthen your body’s defence systems and thermoregulation mechanisms, and recharge your inner mental batteries. ...
