A Crying Shame

The China StudyI have to admit to having shed a few tears this afternoon, whilst reading how the epidemic levels of heart disease caused by our western diet, can be easily and effectively reversed by simple changes in that diet.

Why tears? Well it was heart disease that took my father from us all too soon, and because maybe, just maybe, knowing then what I know now, might have saved him. The evidence has been around for decades, but it has been buried by the food companies, under a deluge of marketing ‘science’, simply to protect their obscene profits.

When you add cancer, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease to the list of conditions being caused by what we eat and amazingly, amongst other things, the Casein protein in milk, it makes you wonder what the hell you have been taught all this time.

So what was this book I was reading, what scientific basis has it to make these outlandish claims? Written by the renowned Dr T. Colin Campbell and his son, The China Study has a simple title, coined from the research project that revealed some of the shocking truths.

For more than forty years, Dr T. Colin Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research. His legacy, The China Study, is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted. Dr Campbell is Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. His son, a 1999 graduate of Cornell University, Thomas Campbell is currently pursuing a career in medicine.

The China Study itself was the culmination of a twenty year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. It details a monumental survey of diet and death rates from cancer in more than 2,400 Chinese counties and the equally monumental efforts to explore its significance and implications for nutrition and health.

Now we are all taught to take things like this with a pinch of salt, although following a great deal of research into my HCRV diet, I avoid salt whenever I can. I just feel that when I come across something so potentially life-changing, like Nichiren Buddhism, it is my duty to try to inform others, or at least bring it to their attention.

I know that some of you will not go on to explore the information in the book, preferring to fall back on the accepted ‘truths’ we have all been taught. But if a single person reads the book, and having done so, alters their diet, or that of their children and that change averts the onset of any preventable disease, I will be satisfied that I did my bit.

Another Lost Cause?

Defeat Your Dark PassengerChallenges we set ourselves can be easy, or they can be hard. Generally speaking, the challenges that are worth setting, take us well out of our comfort zone. So what is the secret of success in such a situation?

Well speaking from my own experience, it is all about confidence and determination. My weight loss ‘regime’, if you can call it that, was set in motion through a determination to get into shape, both physically and in terms of my own self image. This time there is a further challenge, to stay that way for good.

It’s easy to put off till tomorrow, that which you should start today, and to give in today, promising that you will put things right tomorrow. Feelings like that are normal. It is our Fundamental Darkness talking us into wrong thoughts and deeds. The only weapon we have against it, and we all have those thoughts, is our determination to succeed. By imagining that our Dark Passenger,  as I prefer to call it, is actually something outside ourselves, we can mentally argue our case and, through determination, change our actions.

Success is sweet, failure is bitter and the only difference between the two is determination. Any goal, no matter how large or how small, is only unattainable if you lack the determination to go on. No cause is lost until you decide that it is lost. So ignore, or better still defeat your Fundamental Darkness, have confidence in yourself, be determined, and never, ever give up. In that way, you will always be a winner, will achieve your goals, and be forever tasting that sweet taste of success.

Go On, Just Do It !!!

Nice Cycling PosterAs I whizz around on my bike each day, it’s easy to forget that I am in my late fifties.

I don’t feel any older than I did forty years ago, in fact, my stamina is far better now than it was then.

I know that I have been fortunate enough to avoid serious illness, but maybe all this exercise is the cause of that.

Daisaku Ikeda, in his daily encouragement, sees things slightly differently, but the principles are very much the same …

In the twinkling of an eye we grow old. Our physical strength wanes and we begin to suffer various aches and pains.

We practice Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism so that instead of sinking into feelings of sadness, loneliness and regret, we can greet old age with an inner richness and maturity as round and complete as a ripe, golden fruit of autumn.

Faith exists so that we can welcome, smiling and without regrets, an old age that is like a breath-taking sunset whose dazzling rays colour heaven and earth in majestic hues.

So if, like a few of my friends, you are thinking ‘I should really be doing more to stay fit, to look after this aging body, but I just don’t have time … maybe tomorrow’ don’t put it off another day. It’s not all about Buddhist Practice, though I do chant, in time to my breathing, as I cycle my way to wherever.

Here in the South, we are enjoying a welcome extension to the summer, but it won’t last. They are promising rain for the weekend, so get your bike out, get your running shoes on, get into those speedos (ok, maybe not), but whatever you decide to do, get out in the fresh air, stretch those legs, fill those lungs and make the causes for a longer, fitter, happier life.

P.S.
If you haven’t done any exercise for a while, maybe you should go and talk to your doctor before going nuts and doing some lasting damage. A little WCC goes a long way.

Keeping On Keeping On

Check out this super eco-friendly coffin“It isn’t the cough that carries you off, it’s the coffin they carry you off in” so says the quaint old saying, but right at this moment I would like to argue that the cough should have a little more acknowledgement in the ditty.

Not that my current ailment is really that serious, but it is the constant nagging wheeze and occasional uncontrollable hacking cough that is wearing me down. Fortunately, way beyond time, I took some very wise advice and visited the doctor a couple of weeks ago. Although the cough has changed from a deep chesty hack, it still isn’t defeated.

With nights of broken sleep, not to mention days of coughing and spluttering my way around the office, I’m feeling a bit depleted energy-wise. Being unable to physically chant is also making a huge difference, the life-energy that long and loud chanting brings is being sadly missed.

So I apologise to the folks who follow TSFE if I have been a little less provocative, incisive, educational or thought provoking of late. I have another appointment with Dr Paine (how apt) on Monday evening, so I’m hoping she will have some magic potion for me, that will clear this up once and for all.

In the meantime, your kind thoughts and chanting is very gratefully received.

Namaste

Think Yourself Better

Shikishin-FuniFor the past couple of weeks, I’ve been fighting this cough and cold, hoping to be well enough to go up and see Charlotte.

Following her surgery, the very last thing she needs is a tickly cough or a bout of sneezing, it would be excruciating. So I’ve been trying to keep warm, I’ve taken my meds and struggled on despite sleepless nights.

But we must never underestimate the power the mind has over our bodies. If we can remain positive, with high life-energy and in one of the higher worlds, our bodies will respond positively. If we allow negativity to creep in, the battle will be all the harder.

The Nichiren phrase for this connection between our body and mind is Shikishin-Funi. Two, but not two, not two, but two, meaning that they are separate, but cannot function alone.

[色心不二] (Jpn shikishin-funi )

Also, non-duality of body and mind. The principle that the two seemingly distinct phenomena of body, or the physical aspect of life, and mind, or its spiritual aspect, are essentially non-dual, being two integral phases of a single reality. One of the ten onenesses formulated by Miao-lo (711-782) in his Annotations on “The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.” In the Japanese term shikishin-funi, shiki means that which has form and colour, or physical existence, while shin means that which has neither form nor colour, or spiritual existence, such as the mind, heart, and soul. Funi is an abbreviation of nini-funi,which indicates “two (in phenomena) but not two (in essence).” This means that the material and the spiritual are two separate classes of phenomena, but non-dual and indivisible in essence, because they are both aspects of the same reality. In the above annotations, Miao-lo states that, from the viewpoints of the whole and its components, life at a single moment is the whole, while body and mind are its components. Neither body nor mind is a separate entity; there is not one without the other. They are inseparable components of life. In the Lotus Sutra, the principle of the ten factors of life represents the oneness of body and mind. The ten factors are listed in the “Expedient Means” (second) chapter of the sutra, where it states that the true aspect of all phenomena consists of “appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, internal cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their consistency from beginning to end.” On “The Profound Meaning”states: “Appearance exists only in what is material; nature exists only in what is spiritual. Entity, power, influence, and relation in principle combine both the material and the spiritual. Internal cause and latent effect are purely spiritual; manifest effect exists only in what is material.” The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings reads, “[Concerning the term dedication of one’s life ] ‘dedication’ refers to the element of physical form as it pertains to us, while ‘life’ refers to the element of mind as it pertains to us. But the ultimate teaching tells us that form and mind are not two.” – Taken from the SGI Dictionary of Buddhism

Now that’s a lot to take in, but in my current situation it basically means that staying positive in our minds will help heal our bodies. Which is exactly what Charlotte and I need right now.

A Stuttering Start

SleepHaving slept like a log for the whole night, I woke this morning feeling great. I chanted, I showered, got dressed and went to the supermarket to get a few ‘essentials’, almond croissants for breakfast. Having started the day with great gusto, I dove into my works email inbox and dealt with the email enquiries that were waiting for me. I spoke to my Mom on Skype, I was feeling so much better.

But as the morning wore on, I felt myself getting slower and slower, the nasty bug was still in my system and it was starting to drain my energy bit by bit. By lunchtime I was feeling grotty again, didn’t want to eat or drink, and had that unpleasant stuffy feeling once more.

But I have to be back at work tomorrow, and I don’t want to be feeling like this as I have to deal with the trials and tribulations that have accumulated over the festive break being less than 100%, so I took myself back to bed.

It’s interesting how our bodies ‘know’ what is best for us, because even though I had decided to watch the Royal Institute Christmas Lectures whilst tucked up under the duvet, my body had different ideas. I woke up at about 7:30pm to find that my iPad had switched itself off, it was pitch black, and the day was long gone.

However, I do feel a whole lot better again. So even though it was a waste of my last day of holiday in some ways, it was probably the best use of the time in actual fact. Tomorrow I’ll be up at the crack of dawn, off to work, and hopefully reaping the rewards of the hours of relaxing, recovering sleep my body decided I needed today.

Ready, Steady, Doh !!!

Snotty NoseHaving been determined to make the perfect start to 2012, I have to report that the wheels came off almost before it began. Despite having spent the majority of the festive season in a state of self imposed solitary confinement, I seem to have acquired a dose of nasal based seasonal viral infection.

So for me, 2012 has come in with anything but a bang, more of a cough, sneeze and a sniff. Still, apart from feeling a bit achy and a tad sweaty following the ingestion of a couple of commercially available flu capsules, spending the majority of the first day of the year in bed, wasn’t so bad, at least it kept me out of mischief.

Happy New Year – 2012

Happy New Year To Everyone

I don’t think I really need to elaborate on the title, but with the passing of 2011, I wish everyone a very healthy, happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

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