Breaking Old Habits

In order to achieve spiritual health, we need to look at what thought we put into our mind. We need to catch our negative thought patterns and keep them at bay in order to feel light, free, energetic and positive.

Likewise, in order to achieve good physical health, we need to look at what we put into our body. The more you look at what we put into our body, the more we should worry. Over-indulgence in tasty food yet of little or no benefit to the body seems commonplace.

I have never doubted that a lot of our health problems arise from thoughtless eating habits. I know ultimately I would like to be vegetarian, organic, dairy-free and gluten-free. I think two meals a day would perhaps be enough. I believe that a simple life with a simple diet is not only sustainable, but is the ultimate pathway to good health and longevity.

However I also know that I need to be realistic. With thirty-four years of old habits and programming, I am certainly not going to make all the desirable changes overnight!

Although I have embarked on a new dietary regime recently, a lot of habitual activities such as shopping, dining out or holidays can be challenging. If you don’t apply will power and discipline, it’s very easy to surrender to your cravings. After all, healthy food is usually not tasty and tasty food is usually unhealthy. At times when your craving rear its ugly head, have you considered the ‘mute button’ method? Let me explain if you don't understand what I meant by 'mute button'. When hubby and I went to do shopping in the supermarket today, he was hanging around in the bakery section for ages, admiring the muffins and cakes with his eyes wide open and shining. Realising he was not in a hurry to walk away, I pinched him and said: “Honey, let’s put the mute button on!” He awakened from a state of trance and away we walked.

Yes, that mute button can be very useful at times like this. When the mute button is on, everything freezes - you may see something, but you don’t smell, fantasize, or crave. Your mind stops wandering. You regain a sense of self-control. You don’t have to fall captive to your cravings or old habits.

Last week when we went to the beach for a holiday, I also had to use the ‘mute button’ a lot as most food available could not pass my ‘ok list’. Although I had told my mother-in-law not to make any cakes in advance, she still went ahead and made a banana cake and short bread especially for us despite the warning. In all honesty I would rather run a marathon than use that ‘mute button’ in front of the cake! But one must stick to one's rules!

It is said that it takes forty nine days to cement a new habit. While it may take some effort, I know I can do it!

Health Insurance

In his previous job, hubby had health insurance provided for by his company and the insurance covers the whole family. Over the years we did benefit from our health insurance to some extent. Since he works for himself now, we’ve lost all the perks associated with his job, amongst which included the free medical insurance. Rather than continuing our health insurance at our own cost, we’ve decided to take charge of our own health. In other words, instead of focusing on cure or treatment, we now focus on prevention from illness. Why spend money on health insurance while we can spend the money on a healthier lifestyle such as eating sensible food and drinking quality water? It seems to make sense to invest on ourselves rather than to invest on a company.

Following a recent purchase of a mineral water equipment, our latest investment on health is a juice fountain. It’s very easy to use as it only takes 5 seconds to extract a glass of fresh juice. No wonder I am now a 'juice addict'! For those who hasn’t had a juice machine, I strongly recommend that you make this worth-while investment as it enables you to create a juice bar in your own home. I am sure that you’ll fall in love with it just like I did!

In the picture hubby was apparently enjoying making a fresh juice for his dear wife!

It's Time For Some Beach!

Hubby and I have just spent a long weekend at our favourite beach. Here are some pictures.

Quick Fix

Last weekend during the “Visionary Living” expo, I had an interesting experience with the encounter of Qi (or Chi, Ki, energy).

Out of the hundreds of stalls, there was one stall caught my attention immediately. There were three Qi practitioners simultaneously doing Qi healings on three ‘patients’. Some strange sounds were released from their months from time to time with altering velocity which felt kind of funny and amusing. I decided to try this healing therapy. After all it only cost $35.

When it was my turn, one of the practitioners lay me on a table. Apart from a few very gentle butterfly style of bodily contact, the whole 30 minutes or thereabout healing took place mostly by his hand movements along my body (but no contact). When I got off the table, I immediately felt much better. The aches, stress and muscle tightness miraculously disappeared!

Apparently he had unblocked some of my Qi blockage and re-directed my negative energy. When the negative energy is gone and positive energy is retained, naturally you can’t help but feel wonderful. I was thinking: How nice it would be if he had unblocked all my blockages in my channel permanently so that my body would not suffer aches any more!

The next day the aches came back. Nothing seemed to have changed. I was kind of disappointed. I was not disappointed with the Qi practitioner; I was disappointed with myself: How naïve was I to even think that a chronic problem would be solved by a quick fix in 30-minutes? What a shame for even having that thought!

I actually fully understand that a chronic problem usually takes a long time to heal because it takes a long time to develop. We never become fat overnight. It’s the dietary habit and lifestyle we adopt over the years that pile up the unwanted kilos. Similarly, we don’t happen to have ill health or experience constant low energy. It’s the pattern we develop day after day, month after month and year after year on how we breath, eat, drink, sit, stand, walk, sleep and think that leads to the current state of our health. For every problem there is a cause. For every lasting problem, there is a lasting cause. At least that's what I believe.

However, most of us don’t like this notion. We like the notion of ‘quick fix‘. Anything that promises overnight miracle grabs our attention. Our lives are too busy. We don’t have the time required for a long-term cure. Besides, it takes too much effort! It’s too hard! We can’t wait! That’s why all the info-mercial these days offer quick fix solutions. For example, today one of the office girls told me that her coach in her gym promised her that she would lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks if she followed his exercise programme and recommended diet(according to this diet, no fruit is allowed as it contains sugar). She was pretty excited about it as I could tell by her facial expression. I only hope that she achieves her weight loss but I doubt if it's a sustainable and healthy way.

I think the problem these days is that marketing has to sell what people want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Imagine an advert like this: An effective weight loss programme which guarantee a 20 pounds weight loss in 2 years and a further loss of 20 pounds in the following 2 years and by the end of the 5th year you would look like a fitness queen - would there be anyone who buys into this programme? Probably none! Yet this programme may well be a truthful and effective programme which may benefit you for a life time as you learn to master the discipline.

Having a goal is important. Reaching the goal is exciting. Yet it is the journey in pursuing the goal makes us become a better person. It is through diligence, determination, discipline and hard work that we change the very fibre of our well-being. In this way, we literally change on a cellular level; we become stronger, healthier and more beautiful naturally.

Don’t go after quick fixes in life. They’ll never work. Why? Because quick fix violates some of the most basic laws of the universe: cause and effect, sowing and reaping, action and reaction. To want a quick fix work permanently is just as ridiculous as attempting to violate other laws such as the law of gravity. Jump off a cliff, and you’re going to plummet to the Earth – 100% of the time.

A Gluten-free Diet

We have bought the water equipment. Not surprisingly, the taste of the treated water is much better. Both Hubby and I take our home water to work as workplace is where we drink most water in a day.

Another step we have taken towards healthier living is the adoption of a gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is basically an intestine-friendly diet. We have all learnt at school how food is digested and the importance of intestinal lining which prevents toxins as well as absorbing nutrients. The problem with gluten inclusive food is that, they contain ‘sticky protein’ that is artificially encumbered within our bodies to the extent that we begin to ‘gum up’. In simple terms, gluten is a glue. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if we consume a lot of gluten inclusive food it’ll add burden to our intestine wall to the extent that the intestine wall can no longer effectively absorb nutrients or repel toxins. A lot of common disorder imbalance including anaemia, asthma, arthritis, bronchitis, boils, skin disease, fatigue, flu, menstrual problems, obesity etc can be attributed to gluten although it may not be the only cause.

Unfortunately most of our daily food contain gluten, to name a few: wheat, grains, sandwiches, breakfast cereals, pizzas, pastries, buns, spaghetti, noodles, biscuits, cakes, muffins, muesli bars, crumbed schnitzels, sausages, pie…. Gluten is everywhere!

We are what we eat. Yet under this modern day lifestyle our bodies are unnecessarily exposed to abuse in all sorts of ways including eating whatever is tasty. Good health relies on sensible eating instead of buying into whatever product marketing presents to us. It’s time to take charge of our own lives by eating healthy and living healthy.

It’s not going to be easy in day-to-day life to adopt a gluten-free diet, at least initially. For example, my local super market doesn’t sell gluten-free bread. For certain items we have to look up the Internet to find where the suppliers are. And then we have to learn to read labels. But who can say that this is too much bothering? If we bother to live, we must bother to look after ourselves!

Healthy Living

I had been posting journals fairly regularly on this blog until this week. Starting from last Sunday, I have experienced somewhat 'burnout' syndrome. Whether it had something to do with stress, exam, trying to do too much, or my change in diet (vegetarian diet), I don't know. It could well be a combination of them all. When I talked to my meditation teacher yesterday, she said to me that it is usual to experience tiredness for the initial period when changing to a vegetarian diet.

That's why I've given myself an Internet-free break. It actually helps. When you think about the hours you spend on Internet, it could easily add up to 10 hours a week. This 10 hours could alternatively be spent on going out for walks, having a stroll in the park, reading a book, or having an aroma-bath, doing meditation, giving or receiving massages etc.

I started to feel much better yesterday. After being to the "Visionary Living" expo yesterday, hubby and I simultaneously agreed that it is time for us to take a more proactive approach to a healthy living which will include regular detox, more self-education on food science and spiritual wellbeing. Talking about food, common sense is that a low fat and low sugar with high protein is a good diet. However, this is just the beginning. There are so much out there which we think is good for us while it's not (perhaps I'll write on these later). Also we are going to buy a water machine which not only filters and sterilises the heavy metals and chemicals in the water but also activates the minerals and make the 'dead' water 'live'.

It’s all about living a life in harmony with nature and create a sustainable future individual and the society. Why am I saying looking after ourselves can create a sustainable society? With the health problem deteriorate worldwide due to our increasingly stressful lifestyles, the health sector is going to cost too much to maintain for a state. Health, is a too important issue to ignore!

Becoming A Vegetarian

Having considered for a while, two weeks ago I decided to take vegetarian diet. During this period I have been on vegetarian diet most of the time except two occasions. On one occasion, I ordered a fish meal on our holiday because it was easy and handy (I just didn‘t want to be too pedantic while we were on holiday). On another occasion, I added a small portion of pork mince when I cooked tofu (hubby would not eat toufu unless there is meat in it). Having said that, I haven’t eliminated eggs from my diet yet because I still value their nutrition. Also cooking and eating eggs doesn’t seem to cause the dramatic emotional effect on me like the case with meat. But ultimately I think I will eliminate eggs from my diet. As to milk, I stopped consuming animal milk about a year ago. I drink soy milk stead. Not only soy milk is more nutritious, it also tastes much better.

So this two-week’s trial experience has been relatively successful as I haven’t experienced any struggle or difficulties at all. I haven’t needed to test my willpower, as following a vegetarian diet seems the most natural thing to do, just like taking up physical exercises for me. I have never needed motivation to exercise vigorously on a daily basis, why would I need motivation for a new diet if I believe in it?

While I haven’t experienced much changes physically (given the short period), I have certainly discovered something interesting, which is, cooking becomes more enjoyable experiences! I have become more mindful and patient during shopping, preparing for food and cooking. As a matter of fact, I get very absorbed in cooking just by thinking about the nutrition I am going to get from them and playing peaceful music in the background. I love cooking! This finding came as a surprise as I had always dreaded cooking in my entire life! The moment I stopped shopping and processing meat, I became calmer and happier in the kitchen! Amazing!

I think this two weeks trial is a very positive start. While I certainly have no agenda to be a complete vegetarian, I believe it’ll just happen naturally. It seems the God within me wants me to be a vegetarian, so I’ll just follow my intuition and go with the flow.

Karma

I participated in an on-line forum where someone asked if he would receive punishment as a result from his hating someone. He was somewhat a believer of the law of karma.

Below is my answer. I think they might make sense to some.

Whether you believe karma or not, I believe our consciousness would still tell us what emotions of ours are positive and what are negative. Emotions that make us happy, light, uplifted, inspired and give us sound sleep are positive emotions whereas emotions such as hatred, envy, jealousy…I can’t imagine they can bring us any of those aforementioned feelings.

When we experience negative emotions, it’s not a matter of having reasons and justifications to back up those negative emotions (I am sure we are all very capable of doing that); rather, it’s a matter of "do unto others as you would have others do unto you" as an application of law of karma. If you don’t like being hated, then hating others is just not right. Make sense?

The Universe is pure energy. So are we. Negative emotions such as hatred suck our energy and bring us down. If we are trapped in negative emotions, it’s very harmful to us because we are ‘poisoned’ and ‘de-energised’. Rather than looking for people to blame; the healthy approach is to look inside for answers such as: have we mastered the skill of letting go? Have we learnt the power of forgiveness? Forgiveness doesn’t just mean to forgive our enemies. We sometimes need to learn to forgive ourselves.

Every negative emotion is a learning opportunity for us. The point lies in what we can learn from it in our spiritual growth, as only when we have learnt how to deal with our negative emotions can we achieve peace and true happiness.

Conflicts At Work

My current role is supporting our advisors in management of family trusts. It is vital that we work as a team and co-ordinate with each other to provide quality services to our customers.

Recently I have discovered a problem in one of my files so I brought it up with the designated advisor (who is a Senior Relationship Manager) in a memo. Several weeks passed, I never received a reply. Instead, I found that the file had gone back to the filing room.

I was not very happy that the Manager ignored my memo. Perhaps he was busy, stressed, under pressure, too many other things to worry about… I decided to take it up with him again yesterday. However, I got a cold reply from him that no action was necessary and that this matter was closed. I argued back based on my experience and training. He told me that all my training had been wrong.

This happened yesterday afternoon. Ironically, this very Senior Relationship Manager had taken me out to a café in the morning to chat about a new job position created in his department. He wanted to know if I was interested as he thought I am the best candidate. I expressed my interest in the position. Naturally I appreciated his considering me in the first stance.

What was I supposed to do? Should I do as I was told, or should I uphold my integrity by fronting the conflict, risking a desirable job I was going to get? I knew I had to choose the latter. I knew that jobs are only temporary. If I can’t work with him, there are always opportunities elsewhere. But being honest with myself matters much more than a job.

I consulted two solicitors in my organisation who agreed with my approach and solution. Since the Senior Manager had already told me that all my training had been wrong, I felt that I could not talk to him on this matter any more. I had no choice but to explain this matter to my boss and asked him to take over from there. Amazingly as soon as my boss took it up with this Senior Relationship Manager, he backed off and agreed to tackle this problem immediately.

Had I burned my bridge? Perhaps. However, I did what my consciousness told me to do. There was nothing I should be worried about. In the face of a dilema like this, I must ask my Higher Self as to what I should do because while the Lower Self might want safety, security, comfort, ego etc, the Higher Self will always want one thing - the truth. I believed that I did the right thing. I held up my integrity. I didn’t need to worry about how others think of me. The important thing is: how do I think about myself?

I received an email this morning. Surprisingly, it was from the Senior Relationship Manager. He apologised for his manner on this matter. Believe it or not, in his email he actually thanked me for doing a good job and said “keep up the good work!”

What have I learnt from this incident? - You just gotta live to the truth of yourself and everything will be all right!

City Of Rainbow

If you are a rainbow person like me, you better move to Auckland.

Here rainbow is a regular scene. Not only you would see dual rainbows, there are also rainbows at the same time in different places.

When I say “at the same time”, I mean ‘roughly’ or ‘around’ the same time. Obviously I can’t be at two places at the same time. But I indeed saw two rainbows this morning at two different places within the span of twenty minutes walking distance. The first one I saw was from a street near my flat. It was a bright, long, full half-circle rainbow like the other ones I saw from this street before. It had a shadow rainbow parallel to it. It must be normal for a rainbow to have a shadow if it is bright and long (or you just need to be in the right place maybe?) as it occurred to me a number of times.

The other rainbow I saw this morning was after I came out from Foodtown, a supermarket near work. This rainbow was not the same one as I saw earlier as it was in a completely different angle. When I saw the second rainbow within twenty minutes, I thought wow that was amazing!

When I lived in Wellington, I saw rainbows a lot too. Perhaps it’s because I was out and about a lot doing running and walking. Here in Auckland the rainbows are even more spectacular. I’d call it ‘City of Rainbow’.

Weekend Retreat

One of the great things of living in Auckland is that there are so many weekend getaway places you can go within two or three hours drive, where you can enjoy the beach, ocean, bush walk, friendly town people, gourmet food and the rest of it.

We didn’t do many touristy stuff except taking a train journey on the Creek Railway which combines Art, Conservation and massive civil engineering. We had some tremendous views of the Peninsula and Hauraki Gulf on the train. Today we stopped by at the famous Hot Water Beach where people go with spades to dig holes in the sands to create hot water pools and have a good soak in the water. The rest of the time we were just resting and relaxing, enjoying each other and nature.

It was a weekend well spent. We’ve decided to have weekend retreat like this at least every three months. Next time when we go to Coromandel again hubby and I will go on a boat and do a fishing trip.

Hasn’t someone said that New Zealand is the best small country in the world? I completely agree! Oh, New Zealand is such a paradise!