Mind Over Body

Without oxygen we suffocate. So is our soul without love.

Without food we become sick, weak, and die. So our souls without joy.

Without water our bodies grow dry and burn with fever. Yet our souls are more thirsty for peace than our bodies for water.

(BeWellBuzz) Research shows that tranquility and joy are keys to vibrant health. There’s evidence that laughter causes hospitalized children to heal faster, and that tortoises can live to be 30, 50 or more than 100 years old because they regularly slow their breath, lower their heart rate, and rest. Tortoises don’t age.

Research has also shown that depression and stress wreak havoc on our bodies.

Nearly 3,000 years ago the famous King Solomon wrote, “A heart of peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Before there was any science to back it up, he saw the relationship between the life in our hearts and what manifests in our bodies. Toxic emotions can be a cancer inside us. The implication of this truth is that we may have to make difficult choices in order to honor our priorities. If your pursuit of money is beginning to steal your peace, you have to consider first of all whether it’s worth it, and second of all, whether this could possibly be your destiny.

Choose peace, peace gives life.

When the desire to be thin and beautiful, or fit, or powerful consumes all of you, yet you have no peace because you’re constantly afraid to lose what you cling to, you’ve paid a high cost. You’ve traded peace for some worldly thing. It’s good that you have the power to reverse that decision. We must learn to choose peace.

You Are What You Eat (in mind and body)

In this generation I believe we’re remembering that humans are high maintenance beings, not just machines that run businesses or make babies. Our souls, that is, the part of us that is our mind (heart), will and emotions, need attention and care. We’ve got to pay attention to the effects of our choices. It’s okay if it turns out that eating meat and no carbs makes me want to be a vegetarian. So much of life is trial and error. There’s no guilt in discovering your personal fit lifestyle. Exploration is a part of the healing!

However, some things don’t need to be left to chance. Just as you refuse to eat foods with harmful pesticides because it’ll poison the body, so refuse to feed on media and thoughts that destroy your peace, joy, and love for self and others.

We can’t let our minds be filled with dark thoughts absorbed from the environment and expect to be bright. We need to choose what we consume with eyes, ears and heart.

Rules vs. Relationship

Tending to our bodies is like caring for our cars, friendships, children or the plants in our garden (whichever you relate to). If they’re not thriving, if they’re breaking down, we don’t want to stiffen up and start throwing out more rules for them to break. We want to better understand the challenges. The best response ministers to the need rather than simply requiring a level of performance. You can try and force a car to go but if the transmission needs some love, ain’t nothing else gonna fix it.

So, good stewardship of my body requires:

• relationship, where I pay attention to my body, noticing what does and doesn’t work, trying different things, getting to know what really makes me happy;
• knowledge, where I seek to understand how my body works, both by study and careful experiment;
• consistency, where I faithfully tend to the body temple not sporadically but, with practice, as a lifestyle; and
• quality fuel, where I consume the best life has to offer.

And knowing that if I’m suddenly exposed to an artificial ingredient, I’ll live.

Compelled by Desire

In a relationship, the man woos the woman without putting any pressure on her. She comes to expect that every time she meets with him she’ll be blessed. Little by little he wins her heart. So it is with lifestyle. A lively way may win you over not because of some religious ambition, but because of the promise it holds. An excellent lifestyle isn’t established by force or striving. It becomes appealing.

Being physically fit is not morality any more than eating a brownie is “sin.” But it is the fruit of a person determined to live.

I hope you will stop and smell the eucalyptus. Get the massage. Laugh heartily at the occasionally terrible result of a health-food experiment. Health is a heart attitude and a lifestyle. But I’m preaching to the choir!