Sunday Story...Please Mr.Sandman

Bring me a dream. For many people sleep is an elusive moment. They can’t get there and then when they finally do they can’t stay asleep or get back to sleep once awakened. This is so bad for your health and here is why (and yes these are drawn from scientific studies):

Sleep deprivation:
Wreaks havoc on your immune system. Ever notice you are more likely to get sick or sniffle or couch when you have not been getting enough rest? This is why! This is also why you feel the need to sleep and rest when you have a cold, flu, or something else.

Make you less intelligent. Our ability to think clearly and reason and problem solve lessen when we are tired. If you want to be more efficient the answer is not more caffeine, its more sleep.

Your ability to handle stress is impaired. And this then becomes a maelstrom you get sucked down into since the more stress you have the harder it is to sleep.
Your risk of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety is going up exponentially the longer you are sleep deprived.

Just one night of decreased sleep leads to systemic inflammation and insulin resistance. And in case you don’t know it almost all disease begins with one or both of these two things. That’s right, lack of sleep is making harder for you to lose weight (as if it wasn’t already a struggle).

At its most extreme you can go longer with no food than you can with no sleep. Yes no sleep will kill you.

Why?

Way back before the turn of the last century (1900) the epidemic proportions of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer and others was unheard of. So what changed?
Very simply we are now living in the cycle of endless summer. Our bodies think it is summer all year long. We have artificial lights telling us to stay up later. We have lots of berries and fruits available all year long. Longer days and shorter nights, an abundance of carbohydrates (fruit) and lots of stress tell our bodies it is still summer. So we want to eat more, pack on the fat and prepare for the coming winter…which never comes.

Back around 1900 we used to sleep on average 9-10 hours per night. Today that average is less than 7 and a lot of that is not restful rejuvenating sleep. The sales of sleeping aids (pills) have passed 5 billion dollars and are increasing every year. We have lost touch with the natural rhythm of our bodies and the annular cycle of the earth. And it is killing us as sure as I am sitting here. Granted it takes a while and your headstone is never going to say”died of lack of sleep” but it is affecting the quality of your life every day.

The Fix

We have covered many of these before but it is well worth re-doing:

1. Turn off the electronic devices: T.V., computer, phone, ipad 2 hours before you go to bed. Yes that means no T.V. in the bedroom. This especially true of show that might over excite you (horror, suspense, the news).

2. Turn off the lights! Sleep in a pitch black room and use black out shades to keep the ambient light out. There are a lot of lights on in our world and any amount coming through will tell your body it’s time to wake up. This includes all the digital lights…the clock, the phone charger, all of them.

3. Eat less before going to bed. This is my bugaboo. I have a tendency to eat late and go to bed full. It turns out that when I do that my body is digesting food when it should be tending to repair and rejuvenation.

4. Try to get in touch with the rising and setting of the sun. Get up at dawn and go to sleep as close to sunset as possible. Too tough for most of us I know but get aware of this and give it a shot.

5. Wake up and get up at the same time every day. You will find a rhythm here and get to sleep at the right time each night.

6. Try magnesium as a sleep aid. It has a calming effect and is very good for other (digestive) processes.

7. Start meditating every day to help handle stress. Even 2 or 3 5 minute breaks during the day to just sit and breathe. Breathe in and breath out, let the stray thoughts pass through without judgment or holding on to them. This practice will help you calm your mind when it comes time for sleep at night.

8. Turn the lights down, use softer indirect lighting and candles.

9. Turn the heat down in your bedroom. Use blankets to make a nest but keep the room under 68 degrees.

10. Exercise every day. Get up get moving and get sweating. It is the natural way of our people folks. You were born to move. Do Crossfit for functional intense movement.

11. Eat a diet full of quality protein, lots of vegetables and good fats. Stop eating inflammatory processed and refined foods. Some of us call this paleo…it doesn’t matter what you call it just stop eating CRAP. (Calorie Rich And Pathetic).

12. Stop watching and reading so much news. It is toxic to your mind and creates a mental state of confusion and chaos. You won’t sleep well that way.

13. Get outside. Spend some time in nature every day. Nature has an ebb and flow and you are part of it. Being in touch with nature is good for your soul Get out there and enjoy it.

14. And last but not least and my personal favorite: Take a cold shower every morning. Try to get in the shower within 2 minutes of waking and try to get 3 minutes of cold water on you. You will jumpstart your cortisol production, kick your immune system up and awaken you Chi energy. Try doing it within 2 min of waking up for at least 3 min. And of course, do it without screaming like a little kid!


There you have it…your recipe for a good night’s sleep. Now go out there and get one!


Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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Sunday Story...Perfect Diet

In Search of the Perfect Human Diet is a documentary created by a C.J. Hunt who almost died at age 24 of a heart attack while running. He spent the next 22 years searching for what and how to eat in order to find perfect health. The movie is full of scholarly references, interviews with many knowledgeable people in the fields of nutrition, human evolution and many more. This is a movie everyone should see. This is a way of eating everyone should adopt. It isn’t a fad, unless you consider a fad lasting about 2 million years!

I am not going to recap the movie here. I will be hosting a viewing of the movie soon and I will invite all of you to join me. The bottom line is very simple: eat real food. Real food is the kind of food that is recognizable, close to the ground, and simple to prepare and eat. Real food does not have a nutritional label attached to it. The turnips I pulled out of the garden did not have a label on them. Real food does not have an ingredient list. The grass fed beef I bought this morning has only one ingredient: beef. This is really simple.

The hard part is doing it. We, as a society, have made it really easy and cheap to eat bad food. I was traveling recently and away from my own cooking and regular food sources. It was difficult to find food that I wanted to eat. I could eat lots of crap (Calorie Rich And Pathetic) food. I didn’t but it was everywhere. However, it is possible to eat healthy even in the face of airport food stands and fast food kiosks crying out. It just isn’t easy.

As with everything the question is how to start? It seems terribly radical to go into your kitchen and remove all the processed foods, all the sugars, the dairy, the grains, the legumes and replace them with natural meats, a variety of vegetables and sources of healthy fats. You could do it that way or you could take a more measured and gradual approach. Change one thing. Add another a week or a month later.

So here is a ten step approach to shifting your diet in a more healthful direction.
1. Drop the Soda, Gatorade, energy drinks anything over 1 cup of coffee or tea with water. Drink lots of water…if you normally drink 8 sodas a day 8 glasses of water of the same size should be a piece of cake. Drink coconut water or use Emergen-C if you are worried about electrolytes.Does this really need explaining? There is very little good in any of these drinks. A quagmire of chemicals and sweeteners (most of which don’t occur anywhere but in a laboratory) designed to make you want more of the same. Stop it now and back away from the bottle.
2. Dump the sugar. STOP adding sugar to your food. Sugar is addictive so when you stop using it you are going to have withdrawal symptoms just like any other drug like caffeine, alcohol, or heroin. And it is everywhere so this is going to be challenging. If you must use sweetener try to get closer to the real deal...honey, stevia, or ?. Minimal processing and no lab creations (high fructose corn syrup, aspartame).
3. Change your plate. Make sure there is a fresh green vegetable on the plate every meal. Just one. It’s a start and I don’t want you to freak out!
4. Increase your protein intake. Protein is a macronutrient (the other 2 are Fats and Carbohydrates) necessary to your survival. Notice there is no fried Twinkie necessary for survival. Eat meat, eggs, and nuts at every meal. The breakfast cinnamon roll is not doing you any good, even if you cover it in bacon.
5. Eliminate milk and replace it with… (guess) Water! Milk is not necessary for your survival despite what the dairy producers lobby would have you believe. Lactose is a sugar and we are going to eliminate added sugar from our diet.
6. Stop buying from the middle aisles of the grocery store. Stick to the produce section, the meat section. There are lots of different vegetable other than carrots and broccoli and lots of fruits other than bananas! The only reason to venture anywhere else is for a specific need…paprika or laundry detergent.
7. Go to www.Foodee.com and start using recipes from there. They are simple, healthy and don’t use any of the things we are trying to avoid for the most part. Learn to enjoy preparing food and eating flavorful delicious meals
8. Give up grain and legumes. Bread, pasta, cereal, and all the rest of the grain family. It is full of sugars and other things that don’t serve you in your quest for health.
9. Give up dairy...all of it…cheese (this one was the last thing to go for me), yogurt, and anything else dairy related. Except butter, especially butter from grass-fed cows...mmmm Butter! We won’t use a lot of it but we will use it from time to time.
10. Go to the clothing store and buy yourself new clothes that now fit because you are nearing your optimum healthy weight!

That’s it. All in all very simple and healthy way to get to the Perfect Human diet…meat, vegetables and fruit, some nuts and seeds. No sugar, no grains, no legumes, no dairy. You won’t be deprived, trust me. And you may just release yourself from the shackles of corporate food slavery!


Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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Sunday Story...Do What You KNOW

Do what KNOW not what you FEEL.

There is discipline in doing what you KNOW.
We do what we must do because to do otherwise will create a break in how I see myself.

I don't always FEEL like working out but I KNOW it will be good for me and I KNOW I will FEEL better after I do.


There is committment in doing what I KNOW.
I do what I KNOW I should do because I said I would and I must maintain my integrity.


There is satisfaction in delayed gratification...putting off short term gain for long term reward.
I KNOW getting an education is important but I may not FEEL like doing the work.


There is power in doing what I KNOW I should do.
I KNOW going to work is important even though I don't always FEEL like going.

There is a smile in doing what I KNOW.
I KNOW eating good natural real food will make me strong and healthy even though I don't FEEL like eating it.

There is nothing like the feeling we get from doing what we know we should and could be doing. I may not FEEL like tackling my to do list but as soon as I get a couple things checked off I am right as rain!

I am not sure where the idea started of only doing what we feel like doing or going where we feel like going. I am sure that if I only did what I felt like lots of things would never get done.
We are empowered to do what we feel like. How many times have you said I don't feel like doing (fill in the blank)_________. We need to start doing what we know...even when it is hard or strenuous or seemingly impossible.

I am not sure where the idea started of only doing what we feel like doing or going where we feel like going. I am sure that if I only did what I felt like lots of things would never get done. There are things you know you should, you must, you have to do and it really doesn't matter if you feel like it, or if you want to do it. You do it because you KNOW you must do it.

This is especially true for doing the right thing. Your character is defined by doing what you KNOW is right even when no one is watching. Even when the only person who knows is you. After all aren't you the most important person in your world?

Many thanks to Les Brown for the inspiration for this post.
Do what you KNOW not what you FEEL.


Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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Sunday Story...We are Family

Family, Clan, Tribe, Relations...these are people you were born to, the people who you are connected to by chance of birth...or was it chance. Some random happening that had you born into that group of people as opposed to some other group, that had you born here and now as opposed to some other place in the world.

For many of us we were born into a family group that us, nurtured us, and raised us the best way they knew how. Maybe when you look back on it they weren't quite the right people for you to be raised by but they did what they could.

For too many others, though, the clan they were brought to didn't love them, didn't nurture them, didn't raise them. For those of you like that, you have my sympathies.

If we look at this from the point of view that our birth is a random chance, an event swayed only by the vagaries of superstition, or the whim of some supreme being then our Family Group was out of our hands. We are not responsible for the where or the who we were born to. So all the good stuff wasn't my doing and I am not to blame for any of the bad stuff either. So if I got a silver spoon and no love...oh well that's the way to cookie crumbles. Or if I got the wrong side of the tracks and a daily beating, oh well those are the breaks. This world view seems flawed to me. It appears to take all the free will and free agency out of the equation. In other words, in a world of order and purposeful design the circumstances of my birth are completely random and without rhyme or reason.

Why on earth then would I choose my birth, and, therefore, my Clan, my Family to be anything less than beneficial? Why in the world would I choose to be born into an abusive situation? Or an impoverished 3rd world country? Wouldn't we all choose a birth that would give us love, and success, and peace, and joy, and comfort? I know I would. So, maybe choice isn't quite the right word. Unless the choice was made with a singular purpose...the move me closer to full actualization and to move the people around us closer to that same goal. Maybe the right concept is to understand that you are here to learn, to teach, to turn yourself (and the people around you) into a fully actualized human person.

If we look at this from this standpoint then we can see that our Family Group is there to serve our progress and we are there to help theirs. So I was brought into this life at this point in time, at this particular juncture to further both my own and the development of that group into a higher plane of being.

So was it a choice or an agreement with those other souls in the group? Both is the likely answer. When we look at our life in this light...the light of the choice to grow and to learn and to teach...then we must be constantly asking ourselves...what is the lesson, what am I supposed to learn, where is the growth curve in this experience?

You are here for a purpose. The people around you are here for a purpose. Your birth was not an accident and neither was theirs. If we start viewing life from this lens the events of my life might make a bit more sense instead of just bad luck or poor judgement. When we start from the point that says my purpose is to learn as much as I can in order to move myself toward greater actualization and to provide a foil for the people around me to learn the lessons they need then maybe I can begin to make sense of the things that have happened to me.

I f you think you were born into the wrong family maybe you need to think again and think differently. If you think you would have been different or better off in different circumstances you might be right. And you also might not getting the lessons your soul needed to get. If we don't move forward, if we aren't growing and learning we are dying, sliding into a very cold ennui with no end in sight. A sad fate indeed.

Embrace your life, your family, your circumstances. Say thank you for all the good and for all the adversity. All of those things made you who and what you are today. And who you are is pretty special...One of a kind. Be grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow. We believe in you and trust that you are going to move forward and lift all of us up.

We are Family.

Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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