Pharma Effects

Posts Tagged ‘healthy’

Some find the term, “monkey mind”, upsetting, derogatory, and insulting. This is a shame, as the point is lost, the ego is involved, and a natural human defense goes up. After all, we are supposed to be the “king of the primates,” aren’t we?

The first time I heard the expression, “monkey mind,” in regard to meditation, I thought of Swayambhunath Stupa, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Sometimes, this is named, the “monkey temple,” and it made me laugh inside, as monkeys need supervision in human settings. The picture of unsupervised monkeys got into my head, and I was suppressing laughter during a serious conversation.

Monkeys can be nuisances, when allowed to roam without some guidance, and it is the same with the untrained mind that runs from topic to topic, without getting much accomplished. So please don’t waste time being offended by the term, and try to look at the comical side.

When you allow yourself to enjoy life, and try not to take anything too seriously, you can see that monkeys don’t have it so bad after all. Very often, the human mind spends too much time defending, worrying, posturing, influencing, fearing, and feeling embarrassed, to enjoy life to its fullest potential.

In fact, you are not your mind. You are responsible for your actions, but many things happen in the thought process before you do take action. For example: when you think, images and options are created. As a result of those images, you get a physical feeling somewhere around your heart.

Whether the feeling is, good or bad, you process it into action, or treat it as a fleeting thought that passes and may be forgotten. So if you have a fleeting evil thought and it passes – should you waste time feeling guilty about it? The natural safeguard for ethical behavior is your heart or “gut feeling.” This is the best indicator of wrong or right.

Mankind has the ability to influence the universe, and create different realities, but separating what is sacred, from what is evil, has been a dilemma for thousands of years. The disconnection from your inner self, nature, and God, has led to excessive confusion.

Thank God for meditation; it allows you to harness the power of the mind, settle down, and focus, on one subject at a time. If you take the time for a daily meditation practice, your decision-making process will be much more controlled and clear. The end result will be to look at the monkey with much more respect, appreciation, and a bit of humor.

You can be the creator of your own manifest destiny. Through daily meditation practice and focus on changing your life for the better. In fact, you have the ability to redefine yourself in any direction you desire. The power that you can cultivate is limited only by your own imagination.

As I have mentioned earlier, this will change the lives of people who you come into frequent contact with. Therefore, you must always be kind, trustworthy, and considerate to others. You should make a change in that direction at this very moment.

Why the sudden need for character improvement? It goes hand-in-hand with using power and influence wisely. Remember Lord Acton’s saying: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The power of your mind has the ability to alter reality. Therefore, this is a power that must be controlled.

How is this possible? Here is an example: If you had two identical twin boys, who haven’t eaten for two days, and you put an apple in front of them; what would they do?

Most likely, they would fight over it, and the winner would eat, most or, all of it. You and I know they should divide it equally, but each of them has really felt starvation, and that is a reality you and I do not feel at the moment. So we are not talking about imagination, but three legitimate points of view, that each becomes our own reality.

Meditation will allow your mind to see multiple points of view, without judgment. If you can see only one point of view, you haven’t meditated long enough. The best leaders, negotiators, and diplomats, know that you have to understand the opposing viewpoint, to move forward, on any issue. There is always justification, on both sides, in any conflict, but true compromise is meeting the opposition in a different reality, than you both started from.

If you had the ability to travel in the space shuttle, your view of earth, from within your space vehicle, would be much different from the person living in poverty, within a refugee camp. You could not see, or feel, that person’s pain, and each of you would have a vivid picture of life on earth.

You can meditate from a mountain top, but once you have seen the full picture, you have an obligation to help mankind, with acts of kindness. Once you have discovered how easy it is to help others, you are no longer struggling with; “who is right and who is wrong.”

Your new reality becomes, “how can I help?”

Meditation is often misunderstood by those who do not practice it. Very often, I hear meditation referred to as, “altered states of consciousness.” That sounds more like intoxicants, rather than bringing clarity to a cluttered mind.
Without going too deep into what meditation is, or is not, let’s focus on one of the many things a daily meditation practice can do for you.

Meditation is commonly seen in many Yoga classes, but it has been practiced by a variety of cultures, including Roman Catholic priests, as well as
Japanese Samurai, who practiced a form of Zen meditation. I mention this so you can see the full spectrum of meditation and its many facets.

There are many varieties and types of meditation, but the easiest form to learn is, “breath awareness meditation.” Compared to many other meditation techniques, this will enable anyone to experience the benefits of meditation in much less time.

At this point, let’s consider that meditation and Yoga teachers often compare the mind to a monkey. Many thoughts are running through your brain, at the same time, and it is hard to control all of your impulses – let alone, sit still and meditate. So why go through all this trouble?

Meditation has many rewards, and we will now consider one of extreme value. Through daily practice of meditation, you will release the unlimited potential of your mind. The ability to change, or alter the universe, starts as a single thought within your mind.

One human decided to harness the power of fire, and did he/she foresee the global warming effect? How could he/she imagine where we are now? This is just one of many thousands of examples of Karma – the law of cause and effect. Therefore, one seemingly small change, of any kind, will have a ripple effect on the universe.

Some of the seeds to change the universe, rests locked up in your mind, but you have the ability to shape the future by any small changes that you make.
Let’s say you have a friend, family member, or associate, who cares for you deeply, but, up to now, you have always taken it for granted. Can you imagine what would happen if you take the time to groom that relationship?
The answer is you would have a loyal ally and all you had to show was kindness or appreciation.

You have the ability to alter your own personality and affect the world around you. Hopefully, your personality will always continue to change for the better; if so, this will alter everyone around you for the best.

You have the ability to create your own mind-set. Whether your attitude is positive or negative, is up to you. The ability to change your environment, circle of friends, and attitude, is within your control.

Just like a computer absorbs raw data, so does your mind. Within your mind a culture, within itself, has grown. Many people feel like they have no control of their own mind, because this culture has become negative. The negativity is a result of past experiences, being in a negative environment, or being under the influence of unconstructive ideas.

Similar to a computer virus, you have to identify it quickly, to avoid letting it spread within your mind. You can also pass this virus of negative thinking to people around you. As a result you are spreading negative energy around, like “weeds in a field.”

Much like a farmer, you cultivate too. The energy in your mind is the crop, and it is up to you, whether it is weeds or wheat. If you have a farm and let a field take care of itself; you will be lucky to have any kind of a crop, from it.
This is the same with the energy within your mind.

You have to option to pick quality seeds: Information, in the form of books, eBooks, DVD’s, CD’s, lectures, courses, workshops, and seminars. This is learning, for the sake of self-improvement, and it results in a positive mind-set.

However, your work is not finished, because you must still reinforce the lessons, and keep everything in a focused order. This might be compared to fertilizing, watering, and “weeding the mind.” You have to work at it continually or the weeds will grow back. This, my friend, is meditation, and one of the reasons why we meditate, in the first place.

Meditation is controlled focus on an object, thought, or task without judgment.
This process makes it possible to look at all situations objectively. You can find solutions, turn negative situations into positive learning experiences, and create your own positive mindset. As a result of this you will make new friends, reach goals, handle problems easily, and develop an indomitable spirit.

Remember the last time you made an accomplishment. That feeling, and that ability, are within all of us. It is a formula for success, but you have to take action. Action is something that the vast majority of people will never take.
Learn to separate yourself from “the pack,” through education, meditation, and action.

Cholesterol, like fat, cannot move around the bloodstream on its own because it does not mix with water. The bloodstream carries cholesterol in particles called lipoproteins that are like blood-borne cargo trucks delivering cholesterol to various body tissues to be used, stored or excreted. But too much of this circulating cholesterol can injure arteries, especially the coronary ones that supply the heart. This leads to accumulation of cholesterol-laden “plaque” in vessel linings, a condition called atherosclerosis.

When blood flow to the heart is impeded, the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen, causing chest pain (angina). If a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery affected by atherosclerosis, a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or death can occur.

Are you at risk? Cardiovascular disease is still one of the greatest health problem affecting western countries. According to the American Heart Foundation, over 70 million Americans have cardiovascular disease (CVD). The national cost of is nearly $400 billion and every 45 seconds an American has a stoke.

Certain risk factors increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease.

1. Overweight
2. High blood cholesterol
3. Insufficient physical activity
4. High blood pressure
5. Smoking
6. Excessive alcohol intake
7. Diabetes

Many people have multiple risk factors for heart disease and the level of risk increases with the number of risk factors. By reducing these risk factors you can largely prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease. On its own elevated blood cholesterol is not necessarily a problem, but coupled with one or more other risk factors for heart disease, it is often the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

It is, therefore, very important to know what your cholesterol levels are and to keep them at a healthy level before you have any problems.

High risk cholesterol
If your total cholesterol level is 240 or more, it’s definitely high. You have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, you should have your LDL and HDL cholesterol tested. Ask your doctor for advice. Close to 20 percent of the U.S. population has high blood cholesterol levels.

Borderline-high risk
People whose total cholesterol is 200 to 239 mg/dL have borderline-high cholesterol. About a third of American adults are in this group, while almost half of adults have total cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL. In fact, people who have a total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL have twice the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose cholesterol level is 200 mg/dL. Does physical activity affect cholesterol?

Other factors that affect blood cholesterol levels:

Heredity – High cholesterol often runs in families. Even though specific genetic causes have been identified in only a minority of cases, genes still play a role in influencing blood cholesterol levels. If your parents have high cholesterol, you need to be tested to see if your cholesterol levels are also elevated.

Age and gender – Before menopause, women tend to have total cholesterol levels lower than men at the same age. Cholesterol levels naturally rise as men and women age. Menopause is often associated with increases in LDL cholesterol in women.

Stress – Studies have not shown stress to be directly inked to cholesterol levels. But experts say that because people sometimes eat fatty foods to console themselves when under stress, this can cause higher blood cholesterol.

Excess weight – Being overweight tends to increase blood cholesterol levels. Losing weight has been shown to help lower levels. A greater risk of increased cholesterol levels occurs when that extra weight is centered in the abdominal region, as opposed to the legs or buttocks.