pjsc # 95 Going to the Doctor for health, is like going to the Government for wealth!

pjsc 95  Going to the Doctor for health, is like going to the Government for wealth!

Sad, but true!  Most people today really believe that, if they don’t feel well, or even “quite right”- well, just go to the medical doctor- just pick your specialty!- and all will soon be well.  He will either give you the right pill, or injection, or give you the appropriate surgery, and voila- you are cured!

I think folks are finally starting to wake up to the ridiculousness of this general idea, but the truth is this is the way our health care system in America has been running for decades!  YOU are not responsible for your health- M.D.’s are!  So, we all have license to eat whatever we want, drive our bodies into the ground by not sleeping, not resting along with our “tribe” of family and friends, work ourselves endlessly to prove what hard-driver achievers we are- and then go to the medical clinic and say “FIX ME!”

And now, with the stupid Obamacare program, we can even make the Government pay for it!

The trouble is: the Government is US, the U.S., at least those that are the producers: the ones that pay the taxes that fund ridiculous government programs.  Like Obamacare, the government funded school lunch program mandates, and the “My Plate” FDA guidelines of insanity.

If you rely on governmental programs, which are funded by your tax dollars, to tell you how to be and remain healthy and vital- you are deluded.  These are the worst, most self-serving sorts of recommendations- of course, the Food and Drug Administration or FDA is just about protecting corporate interests in the selling of certain foods and drugs.  It has nothing to do with you, or your health.  It is just protecting the interests of huge food interests, such as big dairy, and prohibiting the competition of small, raw dairy producers in competition with huge scale, confined animal feeding operations with unsanitary and inhumane conditions.  And the DRUG enforcement is largely phony baloney- coming out against E-CIGS, that are by and large innocuous, and are a wonderful and very easy way for cigarette smokers to replace their horrible habit with one that is almost identical, and yet completely harmless!  What is not to like there???

And yet, governmental interests, via the FDA and others, are totally against e-cigs, primarily because their unstated intention is to protect the taxation of real cigarettes, which are a huge money maker.

REALLY? WHOLE GRAINS??!

AND, if you think the government will create wealth, or will provide for you in the manner of a rich uncle, you are sadly, sadly mistaken!  Your government will perhaps provide for you, but if you rely on that in the form of welfare, or any other program of governmental dependance, you will be sadly mistaken indeed.

Get on this bad train, and you will be doomed to a life of near total poverty; never having quite enough of anything, and disappointed in every aspect of your life- from control over your circumstances, to the ability to have self determination in your life; to realize your abilities and what you have to offer to your tribe!

In other words: You will never really be YOU!  You’ll only be a shriveled little husk of what “might have been”...

Determine yourself!  Ignore Big Government as much as possible- to quote Jesus: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” - in other words: “Give Government what you must, but give what is truly important unto God, your tribe, and yourself!”

Bottom line?

Eat good, nutrient rich, God made foods!  Buy a Vitamix- drink a Paleo green smoothie daily, with good fats and greens and spices.

Exercise daily, with Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  Self resisted exercise, Visualized resistance exercise, stretching, and body weight exercise- gentle and very, very effective.  Check out my e-book Perfectly Paleo Exercise.

Sleep at least 8 hours per night- connect with your tribe of family and friends frequently- meditate or pray daily!

The strange thing is that at least 80% of the health benefits you will achieve are from just those three things!

God made foods!  No processed man made fast food crap.  Lots of greens, and real meats and seafood and good fats like coconut oil and grass fed dairy- a Paleo Smoothie is ideal!

Daily Exercise!  No canned programs like P-90 X or gyms or any other “fake” exercise- just NATURAL, gentle, real exercise- PERFECTLY PALEO EXERCISE!
 From 15-45 minutes per day, max!

Sleep and tribal interaction! Good sleep and talking, playing, and just plain goofing off with your tribal pals is really, really good medicine!!  Praying and meditating are likewise crucial parts of a truly well led life...

A life without big government- a life without big medicine- a life without pain, or endless treatments, or privation!

A Paleo Life!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #89 Go for a Flow State in life!

Go for a Flow State in life- Exercise for the body, and music for the soul!

This is to paraphrase the ancient Greek Aristotle, who first said it!

Alexander

As the teacher and mentor of Alexander the Great, he certainly proved that he knew what he was talking about... but what does it mean for YOU, today?


Well, with all the talk of “play” being important in paleo and primal health, even amongst adults, this quote points out what is really important in that statement- FLOW STATE, or being so immersed in what you are doing that you are almost oblivious to all else around you- is key to both real achievement, happiness, and health!

A tall statement to swallow I know, but it is true!

All of us instinctively grasp what this statement means, since all of us have had that... moment... when everything else just disappears, and we are caught up in the moment- whether we were hitting the bes
t baseball pitch ever, or sprinting our fastest sprint and feeling like we were flying, effortlessly, or playing our guitar and feeling like we were Jimi Hendrix reborn!  ALL of those are FLOW STATES!

And a flow state is the ultimate state of human kind- a kind of “state of grace” if you will.  And, when achieved, it makes all of life more than worth living, and is the ultimate human expression of self- self actualization!

I believe that is what we are here to experience.  The flow states of Exercise for the body, and Music for the soul- those are the ultimate ends, the means to happiness in the here- and- now.

I spoke of Alexander before: what was his “flow state”?

Well, he sent back specimens of all of the animals that were new that he encountered, to his mentor Aristotle when he was on his conquests out East... I’m sure that was part of his “flow”...

But for him, the greatest conqueror of his age, I’m sure he felt most fulfilled and alive in battle, as he ran at the enemy in his armor, dodging and thrusting with his sword, calculating without even thinking consciously like a modern day football player on the field, going with his interior flow!

Alexander always wore bright armor that identified him for who he was, and LED his armies into battle- do you think he attracted the enemy much??

We have come a long way from the bravery of Alexander in battle; now our generals hide away and order the soldiers to be brave instead...

So what is our “flow state”?

Whatever we feel we are “good” at!

And the key is to get good at something!

And I don’t even mean that would be something that others might “think” you are good at- just pursue, say exercise and music, and do them for fun, and do them as best you can!

Those are two that I have chosen.  But, you can choose whatever disciplines you want!

Like to work on cars?   I like old cars and trucks too!! Enter them as disciplines, and work on a “flow state”!

Landscaping or “rewilding” your yard or acreage?

I do that as well, and it is  wonderful candidate for achieving a flow state of satisfying creativity!!

What I’m saying is this: no matter what you choose, you can achieve the ultimate in human happiness by achieving an active “flow state” as you work towards your passion, whether it is flower arranging, auto mechanics, physical culture, visual arts or music- just find your passion!

As long as it is active, and requires you to learn, research, and pursue it actively- it can lead you to your flow state, and your realization and happiness in this world!!

The alternative is passivity- seeking out passive entertainments, easy “nutrition” like fast foods, no attention to diet or exercise, letting the Government and the media decide how you live and spend your time-

Just biding your time until you “prematurely” die...

That is a waste of your life.

Seek out your Passion(s)!  Whatever they are- pursue them!

Be like Alexander! Wear a bright colored helmet and run directly at what you want- let no one stop you!  When they try, dodge, jump, and thrust!

When you pursue your passion, above all- LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

You have prepared for it, and it is YOU!

Here is a great TED talk about Flow State!

Meditation Changes Your Brain!

We all know that exercise, especially proper, Paleo-type exercise to build strength, actually physically changes the structure of your muscles, i.e.- they get bigger and stronger!  


Now we also know that proper mental exercise, i.e. meditation also makes your brain change physically as well, in a beneficial way.  Check out the video above for a brief overview of the study that confirmed this utilizing M.R.I. brain scans.

Back already?  Good, let's continue:

What meditation truly is is not some hippie sort of "OOOOMMM" in the lotus position while sitars drone in the background... 

Meditation in it's true sense is simply giving your undivided attention to the present moment!

My basic meditation strategy is simply to sit in a comfortable chair, shut my eyes, and, whilst concentrating on my breathing, simply thinking the word "One" over and over, for each breath in and for each breath out.  Nothing else; if another thought comes up, I simply ignore it, and concentrate again on my breathing and my one word...  And other thoughts do come up, like random bubbles surfacing on an otherwise placid pond!  It really takes effort, minimal yet sustained, to keep concentrating only on the present- my breathing, the total relaxation of my body, my "one".  Especially when you are first getting started, this is hard; it is antithetical to our whole modern "ethic" of move, think, accomplish, make money, plan!!

I am sure that Paleolithic people were not like we are now; they rested much more, and lived almost entirely in the present moment.  I also believe that they were much more resistant to our modern mental problems of anxiety, depression, and many other neuroses that result from both our incredibly nutrient poor diets (particularly the Omega 3 and other good fats), and frenetic, overcrowded, and over-competitive lives.

While the actual, formal meditation process outlined here is a great way to get started in meditation and start adding the benefits to your life, there are other ways, once you kind of "get it" and learn to shut down your chimp mind, which is your wandering, thoughts-a-flitting, attention changing every second or so conscious mind, and attend to the here and now.  This is actually a process of tuning in to your right brain, which is the intuitive, feeling, creative part of your brain, and ignoring the ever chattering left brain.  We have over-emphasized the left brain in modern times, ignoring and suppressing what is in reality one half of our identity!  

Some of the other ways you can "meditate" or at least tap into the here and now and into your right brain are with things like forest bathing, or woods walking, with your attention on the present, and not thinking about taxes, or paying the power bill, or-you name it- just the here and now!  Oooom!

In church this morning, I thought about how prayer is a form of meditation- total concentration and attention to God!  We all have wandering minds; I thought about how important it is to really focus on the here and now, especially in church!

And even when driving home in my old truck, if I turn off the radio or the iPod, and simply think about driving- first gear, second, third, fourth... clutch, brake, steering... and simply am there in the moment, 

all the way home, I am the better for it!  My right brain thanks me, my hippocampus thanks me, and my  amygdala is overjoyed!  

Playing music is largely right-brained centered, and present-centered- we all know music is a thoroughly joyful endeavor!  Kind of "musical meditation" in a way..

So meditate!  The benefits are profound- just the increase you will gain in focused concentration alone is well worth it- and the quality of your life will vastly increase!  

J & Zeke