Diet and the work

[Gawan]

It occurred to me today as I read some of my own older posts, that these two subjects relate to each other (it is already mentioned on the forum), in the sense of observing one self more clearly and to get to the roots of programs and even seeing ones own machine more clearly.

Why does it matter when working on the self, first hand observing? Substances like gluten, dairy, coffee, improper sleep, sugar … the way you eat simple messes up the system with results of mood-swings (unbalanced hormones), mind fog and lacking energy for example. So it is imo needed to clean up the body from these substances, cleansing the body from these "diet-buffers" which are making it difficult to see oneself and programs. Otherwise it is maybe like living in jungle and everywhere are dangers to be seen: in leaves, plants, water, flies... which in the end are just distractions from real dangers: cats, snakes and spiders for example.

All in all adjusting the diet is a tool of observing/seeing oneself more clearly, without distractions.

 

[mcb]

All in all adjusting the diet is a tool of observing/seeing oneself more clearly, without distractions.

I think, more fundamentally, that if your "machine" isn't running well then it may not be able to do the work. Toxic diet is part of it, and toxic relationships are another (to sum up much what I have been working on for the past 8 years).

Also, while I think a good diet is important, I notice that the reasons we often don't eat well seem to be part of a larger problem. Seeing and observing one's own situation in light of the larger situation is undoubtedly important as well.

While my comments are not going to be anything new to regular readers here, we seem to be under assault from all directions at once, including food, water, air, relationships, and societal customs. When we look at why, we often find the reasons leading back to the influence of "authorities," often trusted ones, that have interests other than our well being at heart.

When we set about making adjustments to diet, we run into difficulties defining what is healthy (in the face of so much misinformation), and then difficulties locating and buying what we think is heathy (a constantly changing picture as we learn more), and then even more difficulties living in societies where unhealthy practices are "normal" and healthy practices are not. The same can be said for making other changes besides diet. When I try to take it all in, the actual circumstances under which we are living are almost unbelievable.

So I think we need to be aware of and observe all of the "assaults" under which we find ourselves. They are not just our situation, they are our "learning situation." They are the environment in which we do the work.

I am currently reading the book Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha (_http://www.sexatdawn.com/). I find it very interesting because the authors attempt to expose our misconceptions about human sexuality and "monogamy" much the way other authors are trying to expose our misconceptions about diet. This is yet another direction from which we are under assault from the forces behind "monogamy" and "monotheism."

I bought the book because I have been noticing for a long time now that the notion of humans being naturally monogamous has no basis in reality. That's why I write it in quotes -- "monogamy" -- because it is more something people talk about than actually practice. I have thought for a long time that there have to be different and hopefully better ways to do things, and the book has a lot to say about this.

The implications from having cultural rules that are in direct conflict with our basic evolved needs are huge. Once again, the systems in place seem to be there for the purpose of making us malfunction. As with diet, this has been going on for a very long time.

How many more of these major assaults are there? Which are new and which have been around for millennia? It seems like it would be useful to have a list.

 

[Mikey]

I agree to everyhing being said. Plus, I see the diet as part of the 4th way. The way of the Fakir. It's as essential as the way of the Monk and the Yogi.

 

[Gertrudes]

Building on Megan and Data's words, cleaning up our diet and sticking to it also sends a message to the deepest part of ourselves. A message of respect and caring not only for our bodies but also for the very food we ingest. These apparently small acts create the foundation for what we wish to be, the way we handle our basic needs is then reflected on the grander scale, on our bigger and more visible actions.
Personally, since having changed my diet not only do I feel much better, but I also tend to give more importance to details, to small things that in the past I would simply ignore. It's as if the act of paying attention to the food I eat is branching out to other aspects of my life.

On a side note, an acquaintance of mine was telling me the other day how disgusted she feels when observing people literally shoving things that we nowadays call food down their throats. The fastest the better, no care for savoring the flavour or the moment. This made me realize that we can also observe more and more people eating while walking on the street, being glued to the tv, newspaper, basically doing something else that takes their attention away from the act of eating. Interesting how we lost all respect for the very substance that gives us life.

 

[Dorothy Minder]

Fifthed.

Data, I especially agree with your linking diet to the way of the Fakir. Presumably, many of us have tried diets or dietary modifications based on incomplete and even intentionally misleading information. Physically speaking, some of these diets may have done us more harm than good. Nonetheless, a change in eating habits is always an exercise in willpower, and success redounds to our "being" -- provided nasty side effects don't cancel the benefits. In any case, if you can change your diet once incorrectly (say, adopting the mainstream low-fat, low cholesterol guidelines), you can probably change it again based on better information, and that's where the magic happens.

When I first started posting on this forum, I despaired at the extent to which environments and information are manipulated by STS. For years, based on many mainstream sources, I thought I had been eating right, taking the right pills, etc. I had been very health conscious, but many of my conclusions were based on flawed data. The realization that not only mainstream nutrition info but most of what I'd "learned" in general was a sham, initially pushed me to resign and say, "I guess I'm doomed to deception in physical things. Only the soul matters." In retrospect, I didn't want to do the hard work of researching health and nutrition again and completely changing my diet to match. Thankfully, a few insightful mods set me straight.

Diet is one of the areas where through research, networking, effort and experimentation, we can reach reasonable conclusions and begin to exert some control over our own physicality. As we clean our machine, we not only grow stronger but, as Legolas pointed out, we begin to think and see more clearly. And as Gertrudes said, a healthful and conscious diet pays respect to life, which connects us to our deeper selves.

If "it" craves a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, too bad for it.

 

[RedFox]

How many more of these major assaults are there? Which are new and which have been around for millennia? It seems like it would be useful to have a list.

A recent SoTT article may well help with the time line of the twisting of the human diet. Agriculture: The Worst Mistake In The History Of The Human Race

It is interesting note how proper diet through the exercise of will power leads to the correct working of the body by freeing up/providing more energy and reducing stress on the bodies systems. And how EE is also an exercise is strengthening will and breathing correctly which frees up energy and reduces stress.
Perhaps the same could be said for proper working of mental and emotional functions through reading the recommended psychology books and putting it into practice through self observation and exercising will power too?
From personal experience each of these seems to effect not only the body, but mind and emotions too. I can recall some emotional releases from the act of changing my diet for example.

 

[mcb]

...
When I first started posting on this forum, I despaired at the extent to which environments and information are manipulated by STS. For years, based on many mainstream sources, I thought I had been eating right, taking the right pills, etc. I had been very health conscious, but many of my conclusions were based on flawed data. The realization that not only mainstream nutrition info but most of what I'd "learned" in general was a sham, initially pushed me to resign and say, "I guess I'm doomed to deception in physical things. Only the soul matters." In retrospect, I didn't want to do the hard work of researching health and nutrition again and completely changing my diet to match...

I have been going through similar realizations. I went for a long time without doing the "hard work" of which you write, assuming that there was no way to make sense of the jumble of available conflicting information, but then I did begin to do it, and I have been doing it for over 15 years. Only to find out now that the best information that I was able to find is in fact riddled with errors and hopelessly flawed through the equally diligent work of pathological "authority figures." And it's not just food -- that was my point -- the problem is larger than that, and what we are seeing with distortion of dietary information is just once facet. We need to see the other facets as well, because they affect us as well.

But these realizations, though they may not feel good at first, are valuable sources of lessons, and discovering how to be healthier teaches us about more than just health.

 

[go2]

I am currently reading the book Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha (_http://www.sexatdawn.com/). I find it very interesting because the authors attempt to expose our misconceptions about human sexuality and "monogamy" much the way other authors are trying to expose our misconceptions about diet. This is yet another direction from which we are under assault from the forces behind "monogamy" and "monotheism."

There is a Sex at Dawn thread in the book section of the forum. Perhaps, you could add a comment on your impressions of the book, Megan.

 

[Dorothy Minder]

And it's not just food -- that was my point -- the problem is larger than that, and what we are seeing with distortion of dietary information is just once facet. We need to see the other facets as well, because they affect us as well.

But these realizations, though they may not feel good at first, are valuable sources of lessons, and discovering how to be healthier teaches us about more than just health.

Agreed.

At the same time, there is a balance when it comes to all the potential threats to our minds and bodies. I've seen many people on the internet get so paranoid about the threats and events out there that they never focus on what they can do within themselves. Laura, the QFG, and this forum have really impressed me with how, through a very reasonable and practical approach to research and self-work, they have balanced the external and internal so well that the distinction often dissolves entirely. One obvious example would be that as one understands psychopathology and narcissism in politics one also begins to understand how they operate in the family and even in oneself. Bringing the external and internal together is a strong sign of objectivity (or something close) I think! :)

 

[curious_richard]

On a side note, an acquaintance of mine was telling me the other day how disgusted she feels when observing people literally shoving things that we nowadays call food down their throats.

Yes, I think that I understand now. In the past, I also did that quite often. I sometimes do it, but I think that I pay more attention to my food now. I have started a low-carb diet, and I prepare almost everything I eat. I know what goes onto my plate, and I taste the ingredients. Since I eat off a plate (or bowl), I must sit down. Also, I have to choose my food carefully. The ingredients must be low (or no) carbs, and they should taste okay, and hopefully be interesting. So I really have to spend some time thinking about every meal, and then spend some time preparing it.

Maybe if everyone had to prepare their own food, they would enjoy it more?

The fastest the better, no care for savoring the flavour or the moment. This made me realize that we can also observe more and more people eating while walking on the street, being glued to the tv, newspaper, basically doing something else that takes their attention away from the act of eating. Interesting how we lost all respect for the very substance that gives us life.

Yes, you state it very well.

Nonetheless, a change in eating habits is always an exercise in willpower...

Yes. Every day, I look at the dozens of foods that I love but are now "off limits". Those foods can not make me break my diet. But I do feel some sadness that I will not eat them and enjoy them. I think that some day in the future, when food is scarce, when we are _really_ hungry, then I will be glad to have those high-carb foods to eat. But for now, they sit on the shelf staring at me while I say, "NO".

 

[Gawan]

Nonetheless, a change in eating habits is always an exercise in willpower...

Yes. Every day, I look at the dozens of foods that I love but are now "off limits". Those foods can not make me break my diet. But I do feel some sadness that I will not eat them and enjoy them. I think that some day in the future, when food is scarce, when we are _really_ hungry, then I will be glad to have those high-carb foods to eat. But for now, they sit on the shelf staring at me while I say, "NO".

Definitely agreed that it forms willpower. And what is also interesting remembering the taste of forbidden food.

What I also find interesting, when it comes to questioning the diet I'm/we're using that the questions most often framed in that I have to defend myself, why I'm eating this or that. That means, it is dealing with beliefs: fat is unhealthy, wholemeal bread is healthy etc. and that many people are not asking open questions.

At least this is my experience in the last months.

 

[SeekinTruth]

And it's not just food -- that was my point -- the problem is larger than that, and what we are seeing with distortion of dietary information is just once facet. We need to see the other facets as well, because they affect us as well.

But these realizations, though they may not feel good at first, are valuable sources of lessons, and discovering how to be healthier teaches us about more than just health.

Agreed.

At the same time, there is a balance when it comes to all the potential threats to our minds and bodies. I've seen many people on the internet get so paranoid about the threats and events out there that they never focus on what they can do within themselves. Laura, the QFG, and this forum have really impressed me with how, through a very reasonable and practical approach to research and self-work, they have balanced the external and internal so well that the distinction often dissolves entirely. One obvious example would be that as one understands psychopathology and narcissism in politics one also begins to understand how they operate in the family and even in oneself. Bringing the external and internal together is a strong sign of objectivity (or something close) I think! :)

I also agree with this. I've been eating a diet very high in fat and very low in carbs for the last couple of months and the results are just amazing. As I was dealing with my father's illness and passing away (discussed in a thread on the private FOTCM members' board) I had to deal with extreme sleep deprivation. After sleeping in complete darkness for about 1.5 to 2 months before my father had a stroke on March 7 and sleeping in the hospital with him, my sleep schedule and conditions were severely interrupted. It's still not back to the quality it was before my father's stroke, even after 10 days of my father's passing.

But during the worst of the last few weeks of his life when my brother, my mother, and I were sleep deprived to a level almost equivalent to victims of torture to break them psychologically, the only way I've found to explain how well we seemed to fare is the diet we're eating. It consists of a heap of bacon that is about 50% fat fried in lots of ghee with 2 eggs sunny side up also fried in lots of ghee. And eating very fatty pork chops (or beef or chicken with a lot of ghee added for extra fat), and for me especially, very little carbs -- 2 to 3 tablespoons of buckwheat groats with lots of ghee and a bunch of lettuce.

All this has gone above and beyond eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, coffee, etc. for quite a while. While eliminating these had a great improvement on the functioning of my brain and body, generally, the high animal fat, low carbs has had a really profound effect of having high energy, mental concentration, and reduction of stress under impossible situations.

All my life, I've had a very high carb diet because I had a severe "sweet tooth" since I was a young child. And because I never got fat from eating all the crazy amount of carbs, I just continued to eat this way until I got seriously sick with prostatitis/recurring urinary tract infections (very painful and which I'm pretty sure was caused by candida) with high fevers in the late summer of 2006, a couple of months after moving from the U.S. to Armenia, which was a period of particularly high stress that culminated after nearly a decade of very high stress in NYC and insomnia for the last 10 to 12 years in the U.S. (sleeping an average of 3.5 to 4 hours a night). I cured myself with dietary changes and supplements, eliminating refined sugars, coffee (which I used to drink up to 4 large mugs loaded with sugar and condensed milk in the U.S. every day), refined grains/flours and dairy products (particularly ice cream, condensed milk, and cheese, all of which I used to eat prodigous amount) and eating lots of organ meats, especially liver and kidneys.

I pretty much kept to that diet until late 2009 when I eliminated gluten and dairy. But I still ate to much fruit in season and dried fruit the rest of the time. And after going off gluten and dairy for a couple of months and eating some once in a while to verify it's effects on me, it turned out that eating dairy, especially cheese, which I'd loved and eaten tons of all my life made me feel even more sick and for a longer time for the next couple of days than eating some gluten.

Again, while I agree that the diet is just one facet of a multifaceted assault on us from all directions, the amount of affect it has on our entire being cannot be overstated, and the amount of protective affects a truly healthy diet has against these multifaceted assaults also cannot be overstated. So it's not just cleansing and detoxifying us by avoiding these toxic diets which in turn help to detoxify our minds and emotions. I think there is a very real and powerful protective function against all the toxicity of ALL kinds in our environment from eating a very high saturated animal fat and very low carb diet.

All the bogus dietary information is very similar to the whole anti-smoking campaign. After all there is no worldwide anti-alcohol campaign like there is a world-wide anti-smoking campaign. In both cases what's really dangerous is either ignored or vehemently promoted as healthy, and what is benign or healthy is vilified as being fatal.

 

[Breo]

Yes, indeed, only the change of my diet was the beginning of serious work on my self. Before that I was not the least able to see what a devastating effect the normal diet had on my overall being: foggy thinking, depression and disease. Changing diet and keeping it, started to form my willpower, selflove and ability to "learn to separate the fine from the coarse". Only now I am able to face the deeper issues (the really painful ones) of my life. With the regular diet I was trapped in a chronic circle of repetitive self deception based on unhealthy beliefs.

Ouspenky writes in Chapter IX of ISOM:

" 'Learn to separate the fine from the coarse'—this principle from the 'Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus' refers to the work of the human factory, and if a man learns to 'separate the fine from the coarse,' that is, if he brings the production of the fine 'hydrogens' to its possible maximum, he will by this very fact create for himself the possibility of an inner growth which can be brought about by no other means. Inner growth, the growth of the inner bodies of man, the astral, the mental, and so on, is a material process completely analogous to the growth of the physical body. In order to grow, a child must have good food, his organism must be in a healthy condition to prepare from this food the material necessary for the growth of the tissues. The same thing is necessary for the growth of the 'astral body'; out of the various kinds of food entering it, the organism must produce the substances necessary for the growth of the 'astral body.' Moreover, the 'astral body' requires for its growth the same substances as those necessary to maintain the physical body, only in much greater quantities. If the physical organism begins to produce a sufficient quantity of these fine substances and the 'astral body' within it becomes formed, this astral organism will require for its maintenance less of these substances than it required during its growth. The surplus from these substances can then be used for the formation and growth of the 'mental body' which will grow with the help of the same substances that feed the 'astral body,' but of course the growth of the 'mental body' will require more of these substances than the growth and feeding of the 'astral body.' The surplus of the substances left over from the feeding of the 'mental body' will go to the growth of the fourth body. But in all cases the surplus will have to be very large. All the fine substances necessary for the growth and feeding of the higher bodies must be produced within the physical organism, and the physical organism is able to produce them provided the human factory is working properly and economically."

"All the substances necessary for the maintenance of the life of the organism, for psychic work, for the higher functions of consciousness and the growth of the higher bodies, are produced by the organism from the food which enters it from outside
"The human organism receives three kinds of food
1. The ordinary food we eat
2. The air we breathe
3. Our impressions"

The refinement of ordinary food we eat, to learn to discern, is the incremental and indispensable basis for selfwork. The Network and Group provides the constant reminder for me to keep on track.

 

[mcb]

...All this has gone above and beyond eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, coffee, etc. for quite a while. While eliminating these had a great improvement on the functioning of my brain and body, generally, the high animal fat, low carbs has had a really profound effect of having high energy, mental concentration, and reduction of stress under impossible situations...

I am going through this discovery process now. My energy level is higher now and the constant hunger and carb craving is gone, although I am still a "carbaholic" and I have to watch out for the more subtle kind of craving that is not hunger-driven. I am find that more often than not, I am not even hungry in the evening, which seems to indicate that my appetite is finally doing its job after all these years.

People need to be careful, though. Taubes cautions that the effects of a high-fat diet are to some degree simply unknown and need more research, although as long as we stay with dietary practices that are consistent with our evolutionary past there isn't too much reason to worry (and some of us may not live long enough to see the research results, which may be decades in coming). But there is the issue of individual differences, and people that have already developed severe disease need to be especially cautious.

All my life, I've had a very high carb diet because I had a severe "sweet tooth" since I was a young child...

Many of us were raised on this junk. In the US it's "as American as apple pie" to feed children this way. It didn't just happen, either. It was orchestrated by the food industry.

All the bogus dietary information is very similar to the whole anti-smoking campaign. After all there is no worldwide anti-alcohol campaign like there is a world-wide anti-smoking campaign. In both cases what's really dangerous is either ignored or vehemently promoted as healthy, and what is benign or healthy is vilified as being fatal.

That's another health-related facet, and the highly unnatural cultural traditions around sexuality and monogamy are another (more related to emotional/mental health and well being, but can you separate physical and mental health?). Some of these are more fundamental than others, and I think its worth taking an inventory and highlighting the most important ones. I know that we are under assault on many sides from unseen forces, but I don't have a very clear picture yet of my own place in it. Maybe that is just my lack of knowledge, but I am just now at a point of seeing it more clearly than before.

 

[manitoban]

Building on Megan and Data's words, cleaning up our diet and sticking to it also sends a message to the deepest part of ourselves. A message of respect and caring not only for our bodies but also for the very food we ingest. These apparently small acts create the foundation for what we wish to be, the way we handle our basic needs is then reflected on the grander scale, on our bigger and more visible actions.

I think this is very true Gertrudes - by our actions in maintaining a healthy diet, we are indeed sending out a message, and creating a clearer signal so to speak. It's like when we eat poorly and consume all the unhealthy foods, not to mention eating tortured animals and fake food, we are sending a signal of noise, of belief or choice in lies. These beliefs in what are essentially lies may in turn strongly effect our ability to discern other lies. So it's not only about the physical and emotional effects of the diet on our health, but much more, and who knows what effect a group of people who are actively attempting to align themselves with truth can do?