|
Health and fitness needs to be high on our list of
priorities since the "gifts" of mind, body and spirit
are our greatest assets. Is it not strange that we are
more concerned and take better care of our various modes
of transportation than we do of our own body? Or better
care of the externals of life as opposed to our inner
stability.
No longer is it a contention, a "maybe" that the
triad of the mind, body and spirit are connected.
Since this is so, there is a need to investigate,
inquire and probe as to how the mind, body and
spirit work together to help us in achieving
a life of balance, harmony and peace. To ignore the
importance of this; is to do so at ones' own peril.
How lackadaisical we are and "yes" even lazy when
it comes to the maintenance and the nourishment of the
mind, body and spirit. We turn a blind eye and a deaf
ear to the influences that are the harbingers of the
many maladies and disorders that threaten the state of
our well-being.
In the face of these ever increasing "risk
factors", we speak words of utter nonsense when old
habits are challenged. In a cavalier manner, we say; "I
will die happy doing the things I like who wants to live
to be old and feeble anyway? Or the words; "I know
someone who lived to be one hundred years old. They
smoked, drank and chased everything in skirts. And when
they died, they died with a smile on their face." How
touching! Both statements are a cop-out and they demean
the inherit "gifts" of the mind, body and spirit.
Many; to many of our health problems we bring
down on ourselves from out of our past and present
ill-fated habits and lifestyles. The words;"what one
sows, one reaps" are never truer than when we take into
account how we have not given due attention to the
proper maintenance and care of our personal health.
Recently, I noticed a cartoon and its' caption. It
showed two westerners walking down a jungle path. Off to
one side were two lions in the bush.
One lion said to the other lion. "No", I
wouldn't eat either one of them. They are full of
Preservatives".
That is not all we fill our bodies with in today's
living. We abuse our bodies on a daily basis by
ingesting all sorts of strange liquids and even stranger
forms of matter. We have substituted a balanced diet
with eating habits that no self-respecting four-legged
animal would dream of copying. At the same time we
ignore the need to do even a minimal amount of exercise
to keep the skeletal and muscle structures in shape.
Some believe "elbow bending" and the "remote control
button" afford enough exercise. Maybe these two should
be included as Olympic events,
Probably we should mention something about
sleeping habits. In many cases what we consider to be an
adequate nights' sleep falls short of the goal. If we
were told that one of the requirements to hold a
particular job was to get as little sleep as possible.
We would protest vehemently, shouting that our rights
were being violated. Yet we allow our own personal
habits and life-styles to deprive us of the much-needed
sleep that our mind, body and spirit need to restore and
heal our depleted energy levels.
Add this to our frenetic merry-go-round existence
as we reach for the "golden rings". Believing that
within these externals, ones' identity, happiness and
our very life can be found. It is no accident that we
have become "fragmented people". Fragmented in mind,
body and spirit. It is not surprising that there are
times we feel alienated not only from ourselves but from
others as well.
Several days ago, after speaking to a group of
students who were studying English. One of them handed
me a piece of paper that had these words written;
"Do you know how it feels to be lost and
alone? If the world is a stage and you
are left in the wings.
Or when you feel like a song and no
one wants to hear you sing. Do you know how it
feels"?
To live in a state of well-ness, to have a
well-being we need to look to the choices we make, the
life-styles we adopt. We either focus in on those things
that engender and promote balance, harmony and peace. Or
we choose their counterparts and live a life of
"quiet desperation" or maybe not so quiet. As we have
said; we create our own world.The world we choose
to live in which inversely creates in us a limiting
factor binding us to a self-image that is incomplete.
Sadly we accept and believe it to be our "Real Nature".
In this ongoing process we furnish our "comfort zones"
the way we want them. Making it almost impossible
to make the needed change to become and be all that we
can be and are.
If our lives are lackluster, dull, lifeless,
painful or meaningless. It is time to ask ourselves,
"why is this so"? Is this really the way I want to live
out my life? We know that the solution to any problem
lies within the problem itself. Herein lies our hope; we
can remain our own problem while we moan and groan
and even find someone or something to blame. Or we
can become and be, the problem no
more. And go on to a more excellent, a more meaningful
way of living.
To be well, to be "whole", to be healthy in mind,
body and spirit. Another triad needs to be
considered. The following three things are three
suggestions that most every mother tries to teach her
children.
1. To eat properly
2. To exercise daily
3. To get a proper nights sleep
Sounds simple enough, right? But how many do
{do}these simple suggestions. Do pay
attention, taking them to heart and finding out what
they can mean to their well-being. Lets' take each of
these basic essentials, one by one. Commonsense tells us
that for us to maintain a high level of energy that we
need to perform all the various tasks we as humans have
chosen to be of importance. Proper nutrition is needed
to supply the fuel to maintain the body machine.
Someone has said;" we are what we eat". I would
add," some live to eat while others eat to live". Many
would agree with the first quote as for myself, I eat to
live. The "stuffers" of the world those who shovel the
food in as though they were stoking a locomotive or as
if it were their last meal. May be closer to the truth
than they realize, it may well be their last meal.
Obesity is on the rise with its accompanying entourage
of high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, diabetes,
gout and the killer heart disease. It is hard to believe
that people play so "fast and loose" with their
lives. Unless obesity is caused by a glandular or some
other physical abnormality there is really no one or
anything to blame except oneself.
Back in the sixties: I knew someone who weighed
over 325 lbs. He had trouble just to get in and out of a
chair or in going up a flight of stairs, Many of the
simplest of things demanded a Herculean effort on his
part. One day after many broken promises and
resolutions, he decided to lose weight. His goal was to
reach a weight of 175 lbs. He also decided that he would
not buy any new clothes until he had reached his desired
weight. The months went by and the pounds with them.
Almost twelve months to the day, a new person emerged
out of the old. New clothes were bought, a new car,
a sporty BMW, a new hairstyle and a new personality. The
transformation was unbelievable. When asked how he did
it; he said; "I just stopped kidding myself that I could
lose the weight anytime I felt like it". And faced up to
the fact that if it was to be done. I was the only one
who could do it. Plus I was getting tired of carrying
around an extra person". The rest of the story; he
also got a new wife.
The bottom line, if you want to change, whatever,
"Just do it".
The second basic building block for maintaining a
healthy body is exercise. A word which many have grown
to ignore and dislike. Proper exercise is important for
the skeletal and muscular structure of the body. If we
don't exercise we will lose our tone, as flab replaces
muscle. Also we will suffer in a loss of strength,
stamina and endurance without a minimum amount of
exercise. As they do say; "if we don't use it, we lose
it"
The magic word to remember when we are talking
about exercise is "consistency". We need a plan and we
need to work the plan. A companion word with consistency
is "determination". And I guess we need to include,
"desire and discipline" if we are going to get serious
about exercising as a life plan. The original question
asked about longevity? No exercise, no longevity
What kind of exercise, how to exercise, how often,
must be a personal choice. But whatever it is it needs
to be something one can live with and do on a daily
basis. Fitness and exercise must become a way of life, a
posturing and a "breathing". By this I mean fitness
must become as important as breathing. From a personal
standpoint; I do a routine of stretching, stomach
crunches, push-ups and working out with the five pound
staff I carry. Plus the daily walking with and without
the backpack {70-100 lbs.}. I used to carry 100lbs
but since India I have reduced the pack 25lbs. Sometimes
if lucky I get to play some tennis and half court
basketball. To put it another way, I think "well-being".
I am,"well-being"; I assume the "presence" of wellness.
Old habits die hard but again the benefits far
exceed the initial difficulty of making the change. The
favorite excuse I hear all the time when the subject
turns to exercise." I am to busy, I have no time and
when I do, I am to "tired". If we want to do something
bad enough we will always find the time. I believe the
greatest "nemesis" to exercising is down right
"laziness". I have yet to meet a person who has
seriously decided and stuck with his decision to
exercise. That has not said;" I feel better than I have
ever felt in my entire life".
As we know; there are all sorts of addictions; one
of the better, the most productive is to be addicted to
those things that engender and enhance
ones' well-being.
The last building block is an adequate time for
sleeping. The body needs "downtime", a chance to restore
and replenish the depletion of energy that one expels
during the day. To run an engine with little or no fuel,
no oil lubricant and allowing it no "timeout"; a resting
period will eventually ruin the engine. The body is no
different for it is during sleep;that the restorative
powers of the body are replenished to help in the
healing of the wear and tear of the day. One of the
worst injustices done to the body is depriving it of
proper sleep. One of the important techniques used in
brainwashing is the deprivation of sleep.
All that has been said up to now about the need
for proper nutrition, proper exercise and proper sleep
for the healing and restoration of our physical vehicle.
Also applies when we speak about the mind. Both the body
and the mind are forms of matter manifested out of the
unmanifested. Relatively speaking since we live in time
and space, the mind as the upper echelon of
the body needs the proper nourishment {right
thoughts, feelings and emotions} those very things that
can help in the developing of the ways, means and
instruments so that we might better "self-remember" as
to 'who we are.' As well as remembering the "Source" of
our mind and body.
We spoke about the need of the body to
exercise. The mind also has a need to
stretch; to ask, probe, seek and search for a "way" to
reach out beyond the mind into the levels of
consciousness that can afford us a possibility of new
insights into new paradigms. To lead us out of our
present dilemma of fragmentation and separateness
towards a unity with "All and Everything". Atrophy of
mind can happen as subtly and as easily as it does to
the body. The break down of both of these fields of
energy {mind and body} is a source of much of our
suffering and pain. Vigilance is one of the words we
need to practice.
Aging need not be a negative attitude but rather a
time to enjoy the moment and reflect on the joys of
wisdom and truth. Age should not be considered a
liability but instead an asset. A period to expand, to
go beyond our safe havens and enter into the wonders of
the unknown. Many of our years prior to the "autumn" of
our lives we spend bound by the "known" of our
time. With fleeting moments of suspecting
there is more to life than what we think, see or feel.
More than the World we have created for ourselves. More
than the transitory externals that we cling too,
defensively out of fear.
If there is a need for the body to have a "time
out" period, there is even a greater need for us to set
aside a time for the mind to seek refuge from the
constant "chattering'' within. Three words and their
meaning need to be investigated and considered for the
health of the mind; the three words are; concentration,
contemplation and meditation. It is within
these three, a healing and restoration can take
place. Not just in the mind but throughout the
body.
This leads us to the last building block in the
triad of "mind, body and spirit". As said before; "words
create words". Which in a sense is unavoidable but
necessary. It is imperative that we are aware, that our
consensual languages are inadequate. Because our minds
at this point in time are as we have said; fragmented.
Unable to consistently separate the unreal from the
real; the truth from the false and the light from the
dark. But we are working on it.
Whether we believe or do not believe that the
human species is part spirit as well as being mind and
body is one of personal choice. One either believes
he/she is more than ones' mind and body. That life is
more than just existing. More than eating, sleeping and
the performing of the many routines we have conditioned
ourselves to participate in. More than the pain/pleasure
cycle. More than the fears and desires which we have
allowed to bind us.
Or we believe that death is the "end all" of end
alls. That everything is for naught, that there is no
rhyme or reason for life. No meaning, no purpose or goal
that life is just one great big "joke"; a "comedy of
errors" played out by a bunch of misguided fools who
believe that there is more to life than meets the eye.
The wonder, we are not doomed, we have not been
left defenseless, without the inherit resources to cope,
to adapt, to go beyond the transitory circumstances
whatever they maybe. Each has within "the gifts"; the
Power, the Force, and the Will. Choose well, always
remembering there is no name for the nameless. It just
is.
Deep within our "Absolute Nature" the Power, the
Force, the Will, the Truth, the Love is waiting to be
"incarnated", if we will consciously decide and
consciously make the effort to become and be who and
what we have always been, the" very substance of the
very substance"; One of the One.
The secret of longevity, fitness and health lies
within the investigation, the inquiry and the probing
into the meaning behind, in and through, above and
below. As to what is "Truth", what is relative, what is
Absolute, what is temporary, what is permanent? Who am
I? Why am I here? And where am I going?
I will end with a legacy of twelve words; I have
spent a lifetime with these words;
"Be still and know"
"Know thyself"
" Unto your own self be true"
(China 5/2001)
|
