BANABU: Principles IV-VI

In this second installment of my BANABU notes, I feel obligated to expand on the 4th and 6th Principles. The 5th Principle has its own blog page.
 

Principle 4- The Law of Attraction

        *Powerful Universal Law Explains the Reason Things Come and Go To and From Your Life. 

Principle 5- T.E.A.R. The Process Of Manifestation

 *"Building Blocks" of the Universe. Formula To "Build" Anything You Want In Life From Financial Freedom To Better Health. Thought. Emotion. Action. = Results.

See the Action blog post on this powerful process.
 

Principle 6- Awareness=Possibility

        *When You Expand Your Awareness You Expand Your Possibility.


  Here's a great illustration:


You decide that you want to go on a cruise this next year. Not just any cruise, but a 9 day tour of the Mediterranean Sea. By applying the 5th Principle things begin to happen. Here's the trick though. Doors of opportunity are opening and presenting themselves. 
ARE YOU NOTICING?
Look for the signs. They could show up as the following (and many more versions as well):

• Advertisements for that special kind of cruise

• Someone talks about the cruise they just went on and how they landed a deal

• E-mail spam box suggesting travel related offers

• A documentary show on tv about cruise lines

Nourishing Traditions (The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats) by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.

Weston A. Price, a dentist and later a researcher, found 14 societies of people (i.e. Irish, Swiss, Eskimo, and African) back in the 1930's who enjoyed lives of superb health. Compared to industrialized societies these groups were free of chronic disease, dental decay and mental illness, and ease of reproduction repeatedly with healthy children. With the industrial revolution came: refined grains, canned foods, pasteurized milk and the #1 cancer causing agent- sugar; Along with this modified food source also produced people plagued with tooth decay, infectious diseases, degenerative illnesses, infertility… the children in industrialized societies had crowded teeth, crooked teeth, narrow faces, deformities of bone structure and labeled with an array of new medical problems.

The answer isn't to just simply clean up your diet. It goes deeper. The real answer is to prepare your foods so the nutritional properties are released as well as absorbed… two totally separate functions by the way.

Whereas in mainstream knowledge, soy products are touted as healthy and is heavily marketed and commercialized; those of us in the underground knowledge understand that soy is not good for us… unless it's fermented. Secondly, most illness are linked back to gut health. In the Probiotics blog, I talked about intestinal bacteria flora and the restoration or maintenance of the good bacteria for multiple health reasons. Other complications come from undigested or partially digested foods. Supplementing with enzymes helps with side of assimilation spectrum, but the focus of this book explore the preparations of foods with intent of allowing the nutrients to be recognized and absorbed in the gut. One of the tricks to having our foods open up and release the nutrients that were locked within.

If you still microwave your foods or eat foods that are denatured or basically dead from commercialized packaging processes, this book may open your eyes to an entirely new world of food.


 
Weston A Price Foundation 

Why Sleep is a BIG Deal

How much and well do you sleep? If you seem to think you can function on 4-6 hours and not have insomnia and think it's a non-issue... Think again.


 
Remember the line, "killing me softly"?? Yeah you could be doing it to yourself.


 
Here are some disturbing facts that you should be aware of: 

Sleep deprivation is the quicker route to death than starvation.

There is a direct correlation between the diminished hours of sleep and body mass index - You know the how fat are you index.

Sleep debt builds up on you, contributing to carbohydrate intolerance and fat gain over time.

Before the invention of the incandescent light bulb, we averaged about 12 hours of nightly sleep. 

Lack of mental clarity, weakened immune system and less than desirable physical performance are also characteristics of the sleep deprived.

Glucose tolerance and endocrine function are negatively affected by insufficient sleep quality and being awake at the wrong hours of the night.

Coffee and related stimulants contribute to later bedtimes and can corrupt cortisol, adrenaline, and inflammatory markers. Extended sleep deprivation decreases leptin secretion at night, not cool seems how leptin is a good guy in the fat loss battle. And nobody wants a cortisol belly.

A study in adolescents not only showed an 80% rise in the odds of obesity for each hour of sleep lost each night, but also a 3% drop in daytime physical activity for each hour of sleep disturbance.

Sleep disturbances in part related to higher nighttime epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine concentrations, have been found in individuals who exercise hard (as in weights and cardio). Similarly, a doubling of training load has been reported to induce insomnia and depression as part of the overtraining syndrome. So those of you who are ramping up training efforts may want to get more total hours on the pillow to compensate.


 
These following tips may be especially helpful to men, women and even children who appear to get less sleep.


 
1. Get in a 9-12 hour night at least once or twice weekly.

2. Nap to compensate for lost sleep. Whether it be a full sleep cycle of 90 minutes or a 20 minute power nap.

3. Meditate for 20 minutes during the day; winding down with breathing techniques and progressive relaxation before bedtime is especially helpful.

4. Avoid falling asleep with the tv on… you know what just avoid tv altogether, the mindless programming is really unnecessary in your development as a greater person.

5. Avoid stimulants 5 hours before bedtime, in other words an evening coffee or tea doesn't contribute to a good night's sleep. Neither does a depressant such as alcohol, sure that glass of wine may help you to fall asleep initially; but the rebound effect after metabolizing depressants can result in a second wind at 3:00AM.

6. Get into a bedtime routine. Do those mundane tasks that put you into an active meditative state, fold the laundry, wash the dishes, read a book that won't allow you to go beyond half an hour, take a warm bath... you get the idea. You might be surprised how a small series of behaviors, done every night, creates a habit that prepares the mind for shutdown mode.

7. Have a small late night snack like I use to and have butter, natural peanut butter and jam or honey on multi-grain bread with a glass of whole chocolate milk. I am kidding. Don't be tempted by late evening carbohydrate/ gluten induced coma to get to sleep.

8. If you live in a noisy area, try subtle white noise at night to drown out distracting or startling noises. Sounds of water trickling or babbling brooks fountains can help ground most restless souls. I personally listen to either classical musical or a hypnosis/ meditation audiotrack to talk me down to a relaxed state.

9. If you do wake up like I have a history of doing, around 4:00 AM, try 20 minutes of breathing meditation before sleep. This elevates melatonin levels by 300% naturally within the body's own secretion pathways without supplementation.

10. If your mind races and mulls over the events of the day or what all you need to tomorrow. Do 1 or all of these 3 mind clearing activities. 1) Journal and/or reflect on the day's happenings and find the positive occurrences as well as the things we need to work on. 2) If you are experiencing a creative thoughts flow as your mind settles, by all means write these great ideas down. 3) Write out what you are to do tomorrow.

Bonus. If you don't need to function within society norms such as an 8-5 job but have projects to work on, feel you can run on a couple hours of sleep but multiple siestas per day and want to live as Ben Franklin did, of sorts; may I suggest polyphasic sleep. Google it. Warning: Not suitable or practical for most people.

Band Assisted One Arm Push-Ups

Nice work!
You can do push-ups pretty well.
Need a new challenge? Howabout one arm push-ups?
No worries, we can ease into and get your form right by using a band for assistance until you can do these push-ups on your own.