Introduction
Side Note
Right off the bat I’ll just mention that in the 1985 when I came to the US from Norway, my health just fell apart very quickly. It only took a month to go from a happy well adjusted. high energy kid to someone who felt disconnected, had low energy, lots of allergies, and all sorts of other chronic symptoms (Muscle issues, etc).
In the 1980s is also when US Coca Cola bottlers switched from Cane Sugar to High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Back to the Introduction
So there really is just one step, and that is create a baseline where you feel great and then gradually / carefully / surgically add things (Food) to it . In other words you have to get your “Baby Body” back first, and then make small changes from there to find out what you are sensitive too. The steps below this introduction will help with this.
Now lets ask a question. Why do we even need to do this?
Well suppose you were incredibly intelligent and “Aware” of the energy that is growing your body and ever since you were a baby you gave the body exactly what it needed at exactly the right time. Well in this case you would never even need to read this article, because you always did the right thing for your body and as a result of this your life experience was extremely rich and nurturing at all times.
So learn to be aware and sensitive to how your body feels from there as you make changes and make small changes one at a time.
I should say that I don’t necessarily follow this advice myself. For the reason that small changes can “Accrue”. I discovered that my muscles are highly sensitive to the amount of calcium ( Or Vitamin D) I’m consuming this way. If I get to much I get tighter. And so sometimes I do purposefully overdo something to develop a “Sense” of what the effect is. And this type of “Sensitivity” can be tricky to feel for. For example I may eat a quart of cottage cheese on Friday and feel the effect of that in my muscles on Monday.
It’s possible to apply this principle in reverse too. For example I tend to forget about salt since my diet is very healthy in general and I eat mostly natural foods. And if I don’t get enough salt, I also start feeling it in my muscles, given the amount of physical activity that I do.
In other words if I go for 3–4 days without replenishing adequate amounts of salt, I start feeling like a prune. If you’ve ever setup and maintained a salt water acquarium, you’ve notice how crucial it is to maintain the right balance of salt, and I think in many ways our bodies are similar. My personal sense of it is that salt is needed for body to both energy and the bodies building blocks to the right places at the right time. And the other thing I noticed is that when I forget about salt, my concentration slips or dips more easily. So imagine your focus and concentration being water in a garden hose. The longer I go without replenishing salt, the more it feels like the hose is being stepped on.
I think Iodine also falls into this category. In Japan they get an average of 1000 to 3000 micrograms of Iodine per day, and in the west we typically get far less, so I add 1 or 2 drops of Lugols Iodine to my water daily.
I also take Natural Calm Magnesium “As necessary” to make sure my muscles have the right level of “Tension” and for muscle recovery. Sometimes I do a table spoon each night and sometimes I can go without it for weeks. If I forget to consume adequate salt, it stops working, and things start feeling “Out of balance”.
How do you know whether there has been a “Change” in how well your body is functioning? I play soccer everyday, and do calisthenics after. And I use this activity as my measuring stick as to whether anything is off in my body.
So for example if I’ve done something like consume too much calcium I sense for this by performing physical activity like playing soccer. And on that note, taking too much Vitamin D can also cause an increase in the rate of calcium absorption in to my body, which will also cause it to get too tight.
Clear your mind about any assumptions regarding what you may or may not be sensitive too, because this can be a moving target.
Also less is usually more. If you over water a tomato plant it dies.
And the nutrients a tomato plants needs for optimal health can be different depending on where it is in its lifecycle.
One thing I’ve noticed is less is usually more. Particularly with respect to the bodies PH levels. My personal “Sense” is that if I consume too many mineral rich foods (For example sea weed), it makes my body to basic (PH levels too high) and this throws off my oxygen levels.
Also be aware of the time windows that you are making the changes within.
You are a one of a kind organism and what’s right for your body is unique to you, so make the changes slowly so that you can isolate how you body reacts with respect to the changes you are making.
Some people can have dairy and nuts. For others, its deadly. And these types of effects are on a spectrum so be sensitive to and aware of what you are consuming and how it affects you.
Remember that something you had 4 days ago could be starting to take effect now. And this is also a quantity sensitive thing.
Your “Higher Self” ( Or just you) or what’s growing your hair, healing your cuts, growing your nails, and so on knows what it wants and what it needs and most of the time it’s nothing. It really wants you to stay out of your own way, Tune into this “Energy” and pay attention to it. I really like this Alan Watts lecture for tuning into this.
Personally I keep clear of anything “Processed” or things that have preservatives. When I eat out it’s usually only Chipotle, because I think the chemicals most restaurants use to clean with are harmful to us.
One thing that I noticed and find particularly fascinating is that what is referred to as “Shadow Work” or exploring your dark side initiates itself and “Rebalances” or “Heals” past experiences since you are looking at them now with a “Baby” body or with fresh eyes or a new form of “Sensory Awareness”.
Step 1
Fix your gut. The below youtube has good advice. The gut is your root system. Imagine you took a tree, pulled it out of the ground (Damaging the roots in the process), and taped over 90% of the roots, then replanted it. What happens to the tree? Many of us have done this without really knowing that we have done it.
And if you follow her advice take probiotics (I would take this on a regular basis as it helps in producing Vitamin K2, etc. which is produced by bacteria for the body) in the process to make sure your gut flora are balanced out. Probiotics and gut bacteria are somewhat magical in their effect on the body and if an imbalance is created it can be difficult to sense and isolate what effect it had on the body.
Also B Complex may be a good idea as well, as in addition to the Vitamins core purpose it complements the health of gut bacteria.
Fresh lemon juice is great too.
Also make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D. Especially in the winter months when you are getting less sun. And Vitamin D usually goes with Vitamin K2 in order prevent buildup in arteries and enable metabolization by your bodies bones. Vitamin K2 is produced by bacteria, so I also take probiotics regularly.
The first place I notice a deficiency is in the lower back. Also I’ve noticed that if I consume too much calcium, it will “Collect” in my body and tighten up my muscles, especially in the lower back area.
This is what caused me to “Discover” what Vitamin K2 does.
Also if I eat too much dairy (Cheese, etc.) and I end up being too tight.
I use Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm is the brand) to balance out my calcium levels and I also tend to forget about Salt, which given the amount of soccer that I play, for me is especially important. So I usually add extra to the bone broth that I drink.
If I consume way too much Calcium other areas of my body start tightening as well (Even around the eyes and side of the head), but the back is the first place I notice it.
Step 2
Maintain your PH. If you body has optimal PH your tissues will also have optimal oxygen absorption.
One thing that’s easy to do if trying to be super healthy like me is to forget salt. I usually eat a salad and chicken or steak at night, and that’s my only meal and it’s very easy for me to forget salt, and it’s crucial in maintaining PH and maintaining the right balance of fluids inside and outside of cells.
As I mentioned I feel like a probiotic is a good idea to make sure that the gut flora are balanced.
From there how do you get optimal PH? First are you too Alkaline or too Acidic or just right? Do you feel tired all the time? Do you have focus issues? Trouble sleeping? Feel restless or anxious?
Just Right
Do you wake up every morning with high energy that is consistent all day? If so screw you! Go away, nobody wants to talk you.
Too Acidic
You might be too acidic if you like to party. Beer is especially acidic. In this case eating sea weed snacks or sea weed which is very mineral dense can help.
Ginger Root can also help.
Too Alkaline
Do you consume a lot of sugar?
Do you consume a lot of minerals?
Do you have a skin condition like Eczema? Eczema is a bacteria of the skin that gets through crevices in the skin and bacteria love an Alkaline environment. Do you have trouble digesting your food and do you feel very tired when you eat?
Asthma?
If you are like me and the hard core party days are behind you you might be too Alkaline (Basic) and you need to balance your acid levels.
First adding Vitamin D if you are not already taking it may do the trick. There are only two natural sources of Vitamin D. Sunlight and Cod Liver Oil (Not fish oil in general).
Iodine is another mineral that may be low in your body depending on where you live. The Japanese get 1000 to 3000 milligrams per day in their diet and they have the lowest cancer rates in the world and basically skipped the Covid Pandemic.
A simple test is drink Seltzer Water (Carbonated Water) if you feel more energy and less body stiffness there’s a good chance you were too Alkaline.
I also drink Bone Broth, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (Be careful not to get it on your teeth and rinse your mouth after).
Other things that can be tried are eat Ginger Root, Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Pickles, Tomatoes, Onions, Black Pepper ( Helps to stimulate hydrochloric acid in your stomach ), etc. I like black pepper with Turmeric and I usually just swallow the peppercorns whole and mix the Turmeric into a banana.
I was intermittent fasting with one meal of Chipotle a day, and realized I really was not getting enough salt either, so that’s one thing the bone broth can help with, all though it has lots of other great properties.
Here’s a list of alkaline vs. acid forming foods.
Dr. Berg has a few good tips for normalizing PH in this youtube.
Summary
So if you’ve read all of it up to this point, you’ve noticed that my body is a little bit like a house of cards.
And I’m experimenting with it quite a bit to find out what creates balance and what throws it off.
So there are times when I’ll be playing soccer twice a day and doing calisthenics after just to make sure I empty the tank, and sometimes when I hit a stretch where I feel really good I’ll play around with one of my “Fuel Ingredients”, in order to see whether it throws anything off. And by doing this carefully I’m learning to be more sensitive to how my body reacts with respect to my “Fuel Formula”.
Related Concepts
The average Japanese person gets 1000 to 3000 micro grams of Iodine per day and Japan effectively skipped the Covid Pandemic and they have one of the lowest cancer rates in the world.
This is much more than we typically get in the western world. Especially in the Goiter Belt or other areas where Iodine in the soil has been depleted.
Summary
You may have noticed that Ginger Root is just great for PH balance in general and lots of other things as well (Improved brain / cognitive Function, Anti Inflammatory, Osteoarthritis, menstrual pain, lowered cholesterol, cancer prevention, and lots more).
In general all the Indian Spices are quite phenomenal in this respect. Something as simple as turmeric, black pepper, and ceylon cinnamon bark can make a big difference.
A big lesson for me though is that fixing my gut was so huge for me that I forgot to take Vitamin D regularly. I live in South Carolina so I thought perhaps the amount of Sun I was getting down here would do the trick, but that’s definitely not the case. The symptoms of forgetting Vitamin D slowly crept up on me, and I started experiencing symptoms like my back tightening, etc. This also happens if I consume too many Calcium rich foods, as Calcium tightens muscles and Magnesium relaxes them.
However as long as I don’t overeat foods with Calcium I don ‘t need additional magnesium. And If I do feel that I need to correct my calcium balance with Magnesium, over time this fails because it makes my body too Alkaline.
I’m also a big fan of bone broth ( All kinds chicken, beef, vegetable ) for maintaining the body in general.
Since I play soccer everyday in the sun I need to replenish my salt levels, and if I don’t I feel more tired and stiffer.
I only eat one meal a day ( At night before bed as it helps me sleep better ) and after the meal I also do a shot of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. I believe this helps stabilitize blood sugar levels (Sort of like Ginger) and also helps with digestion. I feel like this helps speed recovery from my workouts also.
A good way to get in touch with yourself with respect to how your body operates is to try different scenarios of going without something for a while to develop a sensation of how that feels and how your body responds.
One thing I tried recently is Oil Pulling (20 minutes with virgin coconut oil) and I really love the effect on my gums, teeth, etc.
And don’t forget sunlight.
Your body does not eliminate poisons by knowing their names. To try to control fear or depression or boredom by calling them names is to resort to superstition of trust in curses and invocations. It is so easy to see why this does not work. Obviously, we try to know, name, and define fear in order to make it “objective,” that is, separate from “I.”
― Alan Wilson Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety
I am depressed, and want to get “I” out of this depression. The opposite of depression is elation, but because depression is not elation, I cannot force myself to be elated. I can, however, get drunk. This makes me wonderfully elated, and so when the next depression arrives, I have a quick cure. The subsequent depressions have a way of getting deeper and blacker, because I am not digesting the depressed state and eliminating its poisons. So I need to get even drunker to drown them. Very soon I begin to hate myself for getting so drunk, which makes me still more depressed — and so it goes.
― Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety
It’s really a very unorthodox and un-academic thing to do to start a discussion with a group of psychologists on the subject of metaphysics, but we have to do that because a lot of people say that their approach to life is scientific — as distinct from metaphysical — and that metaphysics is bosh anyway. But everybody — by virtue of being a human being — is, willy-nilly, a metaphysician. That is to say, everybody starts from certain fundamental assumptions as to what is the “Good Life,” what he wants, what are his — shall we (Text sourced from https://www.organism.earth/.../document/tao-of-philosophy-3) say — axioms for living? And I find that psychologists tend to be blind to these fundamental assumptions. Maybe it’s truer of psychiatrists than it is of psychologists, but they tend to feel that they are scientists. And they’re rather bending over backwards to have a scientific status, because that, of course, is fashionable in our age.
— Alan Watts
The answer to the problem of suffering is not away from the problem but in it. The inevitability of pain will not be met by deadening sensitivity but by increasing it, by exploring and feeling out the manner in which the natural organism itself wants to react and which its innate wisdom has provided.
— Alan Watts
But the categories of logic do not embrace all knowledge. And it is possible for human beings, once again, to become aware in a certain way of this substratum. Not, however, as an object — not as something you can take out and look at — but nevertheless to be very strongly and almost sensuously aware of it and, in so doing, regain a new sense of one’s own identity, one’s own being: not as one of many things, one little event among many events that are all coming and going and temporary, but a sense of one’s actual self as being this single energy field — which can’t be, however, defined or identified — and, through realizing that, to take away the frantic anxiety that we have to (Text sourced from https://www.organism.earth/.../document/ecological-awareness) secure ourselves as separate organisms, and to fight with other organisms, and play these elaborate games of one-upmanship, and — above all — to overcome the anxiety which leads us to regard nature itself as our enemy that has to be conquered and subjugated.
— Alan Watts.
Related Concepts
https://www.organism.earth/library/document/mind-over-mind
