Mind Diet
Whether we follow it or not, the media makes us aware that a healthy food diet is essential to well being. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (organic if possible), limited processing, fresh, no additives or excess sugars.
We know that if we follow a healthy diet, we will feel better, have more energy, and potentially live longer. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.
Just as overwhelming is the fact that if we do not follow a healthy diet...if we eat fast foods, processed foods, foods high in fat or sugar...our bodies will suffer consequences, like obesity, diabetes, heart problems, etc. And we just aren't going to function at our maximum capacity on an unhealthy diet.
Every day, we have control over what food we put in our mouths. This is a concrete, easy to grasp idea.
But what about our thoughts?
Whether we realize it or not, we are 100% responsible for the thoughts going through our mind at any given time. Just like choosing between an apple versus fries, we have a choice.
The scientific community does not have as much research to understand the effects of thoughts on our bodies, but I am going to share my opinion.
Thoughts, whether they are negative, positive, or something in between, effect our bodies. That much is scientific. Thoughts can create stress that releases hormones that, in excess, can compromise our internal structures.
Thoughts of well being can have a very positive effect on our body, nourishing us very much like fresh fruits and vegetables, giving us energy and making us feel at ease.
But I don't think it's as easy to control what thoughts I have versus what food I put in my mouth. Far from it.
Thoughts so easily come and go. We are really programmed to be thinking all the time. Just look at the media, particularly reality television. These people on these shows making all this drama...about what? It's fun to watch in the same way it's fun to eat a chocolate bar. But you know it's junk.
I would like to imagine that I have more control over what thoughts go through my mind, and how long I allow negative thoughts to exist in my body.
That's what I am going to call negative thoughts - junk food.
Junk food is sometimes really fun to consume at the time..but after, you are left with a dissatisfaction. Even a craving for more. But you must know instinctively that it really isn't doing you any good. It's only a momentary pleasure that fades so quickly and ultimately leaves you with less than you had before. Less health, less well being.
I don't want junk food to rule my life, and I don't want it to rule my body. Just as I know that I must eat my salad, I know I must cultivate positive thinking, or better yet, no thought.
By no thought, I don't mean being in a constant state of not doing anything or not interacting with the world. I just mean for a few moments of the day, giving my thoughts a rest.
We don't have to take in food all day. We need it to survive, but we eat it in healthy intervals. Same with thoughts. Thoughts can help us with work, when interacting with friends, when operating heavy machinery. But we don't need thoughts every second of the day.
So I propose to myself, to not only strive to watch what I eat every day, but to "watch my thoughts." Just watch. To consciously choose thoughts that are good for me, and discourage thoughts that are harmful.
This is what I call a balanced diet. But it has to come internally and externally. By externally, I mean what foods I take in. By internally, I mean what thoughts I choose to take in.
I am not a scientist and I do not know the formula for longevity. But all I can do is provide what my body needs for health right now, today, this moment.
They say a "diet" is something you don't just go on for a while. It's a way of life. That's what a mind diet is. It's something to pursue every day, not because a magazine or doctor told you to do it. You do it for yourself, and for those you love.
You do it because it feels right; it feels like the truth.
We know that if we follow a healthy diet, we will feel better, have more energy, and potentially live longer. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.
Just as overwhelming is the fact that if we do not follow a healthy diet...if we eat fast foods, processed foods, foods high in fat or sugar...our bodies will suffer consequences, like obesity, diabetes, heart problems, etc. And we just aren't going to function at our maximum capacity on an unhealthy diet.
Every day, we have control over what food we put in our mouths. This is a concrete, easy to grasp idea.
But what about our thoughts?
Whether we realize it or not, we are 100% responsible for the thoughts going through our mind at any given time. Just like choosing between an apple versus fries, we have a choice.
The scientific community does not have as much research to understand the effects of thoughts on our bodies, but I am going to share my opinion.
Thoughts, whether they are negative, positive, or something in between, effect our bodies. That much is scientific. Thoughts can create stress that releases hormones that, in excess, can compromise our internal structures.
Thoughts of well being can have a very positive effect on our body, nourishing us very much like fresh fruits and vegetables, giving us energy and making us feel at ease.
But I don't think it's as easy to control what thoughts I have versus what food I put in my mouth. Far from it.
Thoughts so easily come and go. We are really programmed to be thinking all the time. Just look at the media, particularly reality television. These people on these shows making all this drama...about what? It's fun to watch in the same way it's fun to eat a chocolate bar. But you know it's junk.
I would like to imagine that I have more control over what thoughts go through my mind, and how long I allow negative thoughts to exist in my body.
That's what I am going to call negative thoughts - junk food.
Junk food is sometimes really fun to consume at the time..but after, you are left with a dissatisfaction. Even a craving for more. But you must know instinctively that it really isn't doing you any good. It's only a momentary pleasure that fades so quickly and ultimately leaves you with less than you had before. Less health, less well being.
I don't want junk food to rule my life, and I don't want it to rule my body. Just as I know that I must eat my salad, I know I must cultivate positive thinking, or better yet, no thought.
By no thought, I don't mean being in a constant state of not doing anything or not interacting with the world. I just mean for a few moments of the day, giving my thoughts a rest.
We don't have to take in food all day. We need it to survive, but we eat it in healthy intervals. Same with thoughts. Thoughts can help us with work, when interacting with friends, when operating heavy machinery. But we don't need thoughts every second of the day.
So I propose to myself, to not only strive to watch what I eat every day, but to "watch my thoughts." Just watch. To consciously choose thoughts that are good for me, and discourage thoughts that are harmful.
This is what I call a balanced diet. But it has to come internally and externally. By externally, I mean what foods I take in. By internally, I mean what thoughts I choose to take in.
I am not a scientist and I do not know the formula for longevity. But all I can do is provide what my body needs for health right now, today, this moment.
They say a "diet" is something you don't just go on for a while. It's a way of life. That's what a mind diet is. It's something to pursue every day, not because a magazine or doctor told you to do it. You do it for yourself, and for those you love.
You do it because it feels right; it feels like the truth.
Comments
Post a Comment