nutrition and the path

[Golden Dragon Shining]

Nutrition is a significant/ near total factor in my experiences. I feel it's effects greatly. I am unsure why it is not addressed more seriously as part of the path.

Recently feeling elevated, light, mild bliss, heighten emotional state, clarity, lucid dreaming. After a couple of weeks of no wheat/gluten products. I have 1 meal with a high quality pasta, and blah, buzz is gone. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Golden Dragon Shining

[vonkrankenhaus]

Food is another word for "environment".

 

It is a compaction of the overall environment that we internalize.

 

Like the way we carry a personal "ocean" in/as our blood.

 

So any practice of interaction with the overall environment could be measured against how that environment has been internalized, and how it is being expressed.

 

Bending the knees and waving the arms is a very inefficient way of dealing with poor quality choices.

 

Developing accurate discernment in nature, with nature - is how we are naturally evolved.

 

This has been derailed, made artificial and controllable.

 

"Nutrition" is a concept associated with, and serving, that artificiality.

 

But the natural way can and must be recovered by cultivators, if they are to understand both traditional teachings and modern realities.

 

 

 

 

 

- VonKrankenhaus

[silent thunder]

Dairy, Sugar and Wheat.  I'd love to go back and get my younger self to let those go long before I did... It's amazing, their impact.

 

No doubt my cultivation benefited deeply when I became more aware of what I put in my body.  It brought enormous benefit and led me to then bring more awareness to what I was putting on my body, my skin and teeth.

 

But far beyond the benefit of either of those... in my experience is awarness of what happens in my mind, what I foster there and what I allow to grow in that place.  This far outweighs the impact and benefit of either of the others by many factors. 

 

Silence, emptiness and compassion. 

[Papayapple]

Dairy, Sugar and Wheat.  I'd love to go back and get my younger self to let those go long before I did... It's amazing, their impact.

 

No doubt my cultivation benefited deeply when I became more aware of what I put in my body.  It brought enormous benefit and led me to then bring more awareness to what I was putting on my body, my skin and teeth.

 

But far beyond the benefit of either of those... in my experience is awarness of what happens in my mind, what I foster there and what I allow to grow in that place.  This far outweighs the impact and benefit of either of the others by many factors. 

 

Silence, emptiness and compassion. 

Why dairy, actually?

[silent thunder]

Why dairy, actually?

First, it was recommended by a teacher and I resisted, basically dismissed it due to my love of it, its persistence in my environment and my habits.  Then what my teacher said was reiterated by others around me who cultivate and whom I respected and saw them thriving.  Finally it was also in the news and so I cut my intake down drastically.  Then I recommended it to my wife, who looked at me like I was from another planet.

 

A couple years later, my wife needed to stop all dairy due to a health issue and suddenly, it wasn't in the house at all.  We have not looked back again... though we do still look sideways at say lasagna and cheese cake with longing and love. 

 

Not long after not having it for a while, I realized that when I ate dairy, there were clear inflammation issues for me and that brought me back to my teacher.  As he explained it, cow milk is for baby cows.  Adult cows don't drink it... why would adult humans?

 

For me, I'm better off without it.  My sense about it now is that milk is a reproductive enzyme, to turn baby cows into adult cows; so it's filled with hormones and antibodies help a baby cow fight infections and establish a healthy bacterial colony for its newly forming digestion system.  None of that has anything natural to do with me, so I leave it be.

 

Though I'm not a tea totaller about it.  I do still enjoy some from time to time, but it's a once in a while treat kind of thing, not a normal part of my diet.

 

edit to add:  I find goat's cheese to be milder on my body than cow, for what that's worth.

My wife won't touch it any longer and she's so much better off.  For her, it was causing severe cramping, bloating and even ulceritis.  Not good. 

Edited December 28, 2016 by silent thunder

[Golden Dragon Shining]

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Golden Dragon Shining

[beingnature]

I try to make it short,when i started practicing i planned to eat more natural (meat from wild animals, fish that my father had captured, older forms of grains,lots of veggies wild herbs and so forth but after a few month practicing (standing meditation and zuowang) meat seemed like a stone to me it just didnt want me to eat it.So i became vegan.After some years of practicing i was literally forced to stop eating grains( they started to smell really bad and a gave me a strange feeling in my stomach) so i mainly ate buckwheat and potatoes with lots of veggies and wild greens.Also i was drawn to raw foods they saturated me much more.After maybe eight weeks like this my body started to feel really light and i had lots of energy(sometimes i ran around just for fun) then i was made to go completly raw for almost one year.It was really intense in both directions (amazing energy and consciousness but also heavy detox symptoms.I also started fasting but it was more like i had to do it , i just couldnt eat and found it disgusting,interestingly it was always the three days before full moon when it happened.After that i started to eat only in the evening and that felt great, i was never hungry had great energy and a clear mind and in the evenings always some good meals . Also had some minor mystical experiences at that time but after a year i just couldnt handle the energy and forced myself to eat some noodles .It was like taking a drug, brought me down to earth or something.Since then i never again managed to do it for so long because i got the impression that it seperated my from the people around me.But i am still eating grain free and lots of raw food,mostly nuts seeds and fruit, sometimes i eat sheep chease and meat from wild animals or good quality grass fed meat.The few times i ate grains i always noticed a huge shift in consciousness (everything looked darker and more physical and i felt more seperated from the world.I dont want to say anybody whats the right way, just want to share my experiences.Cow cheese is also a no go for me its like alcohol and makes to much slime in my body.Have a nice meal everyone! and sorry for my english...

[Golden Dragon Shining]

I experience similar before a full moon, you are first i've heard/read to speak of this also, though mine will be difficulty in sleeping/ burst of creativity *shrugs* ha, so it seems there is more energy at that time, less need/want for food.

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Golden Dragon Shining

[beingnature]

Here where actually some posts about full moon and its effects on energy.What wondered me is that its written that it is considered the "old way". There is also a story about somebody who did eat like that in a cave , his eyes where shining so much that people got afraid of him and then a monk came by and told him to come with him to eat some rice again .Maybe its really a method that is not fitting in modern society.But i think there must be a way because i didnt want to do it, it came naturally.I always found very interesting that my interests change so hard with the diet.I think its really like how you described it.cooked food and salt make you domesticated what do you mean by 2017 ? Is it a special year for you?

Edited December 28, 2016 by NATURE BEEING

[Papayapple]

First, it was recommended by a teacher and I resisted, basically dismissed it due to my love of it, its persistence in my environment and my habits.  Then what my teacher said was reiterated by others around me who cultivate and whom I respected and saw them thriving.  Finally it was also in the news and so I cut my intake down drastically.  Then I recommended it to my wife, who looked at me like I was from another planet.

 

A couple years later, my wife needed to stop all dairy due to a health issue and suddenly, it wasn't in the house at all.  We have not looked back again... though we do still look sideways at say lasagna and cheese cake with longing and love. 

 

Not long after not having it for a while, I realized that when I ate dairy, there were clear inflammation issues for me and that brought me back to my teacher.  As he explained it, cow milk is for baby cows.  Adult cows don't drink it... why would adult humans?

 

For me, I'm better off without it.  My sense about it now is that milk is a reproductive enzyme, to turn baby cows into adult cows; so it's filled with hormones and antibodies help a baby cow fight infections and establish a healthy bacterial colony for its newly forming digestion system.  None of that has anything natural to do with me, so I leave it be.

 

Though I'm not a tea totaller about it.  I do still enjoy some from time to time, but it's a once in a while treat kind of thing, not a normal part of my diet.

 

edit to add:  I find goat's cheese to be milder on my body than cow, for what that's worth.

My wife won't touch it any longer and she's so much better off.  For her, it was causing severe cramping, bloating and even ulceritis.  Not good. 

OK, but what about your calcium intake? I find it hard to get that 1000mg+ a day even from eating cheese and yoghurt, not to mention vegs.

After I dropped eating dairy completely I started to develop dental caries due to slight demineralization.

After about three months of introducing dairy it slowly starts to get better... 

Besides that, I agree it is weird food. It kind of gives me diarhea, I feel a bit bloated and slugish indeed. Potatoes much worse though.

[beingnature]

Almonds have lots of it. Search the net you will be astound.

[Papayapple]

Almonds have lots of it. Search the net you will be astound.

279mg per 100g. Not bad. Lots of vit E and Magnesium too.

 

Too bad I'm allergic ;/

[liminal_luke]

OK, but what about your calcium intake? 

 

Sources of calcium in common foods:  http://www.dietitians.ca/getattachment/f739d485-d113-4a46-8122-eb2d33730c64/FACTSHEET-Food-Sources-of-Calcium.pdf.aspx

[dust]

OK, but what about your calcium intake? I find it hard to get that 1000mg+ a day even from eating cheese and yoghurt, not to mention vegs.

 

I think the key isn't to find one food that's high in a couple of nutrients, and another food that's high in another couple of nutrients, etc etc, but to eat various foods that are all full of various nutrients.

 

If the bulk of your diet is veg, roots, legumes (beans, chickpeas, peanuts), nuts, and fruits, the only thing you might need dairy for is B12. But you can get it from various fortified foods, or naturally in certain mushrooms and fermented foods (tempeh).

 

Look at milk vs spinach, for example (taken straight from Google search page, sources include USDA):

 

 

Milk

 

Total Fat 1 g                    1%

Saturated fat 0.6 g          3%

Cholesterol 5 mg             1%

Sodium 44 mg                 1%

Potassium 150 mg          4%

Total Carbohydrate 5 g   1%

Dietary fiber 0 g            0%

Sugar 5 g

Protein 3.4 g                   6%

Vitamin A                       0%

Vitamin C                      0%

Calcium                         12%

Iron                                0%

Vitamin D                       0%

Vitamin B-6                   0%

Vitamin B-12                  8%

Magnesium                  2%

 

 

Spinach

 

Total Fat 0.4 g                  0%

Saturated fat 0.1 g           0%

Cholesterol 0 mg              0%

Sodium 79 mg                  3%

Potassium 558 mg           15%

Total Carbohydrate 3.6 g 1%

Dietary fiber 2.2 g            8%

Sugar 0.4 g

Protein 2.9 g                    5%

Vitamin A                        187%

Vitamin C                        46%

Calcium                            9%

Iron                                 15%

Vitamin D                        0%

Vitamin B-6                     10%

Vitamin B-12                  0%

Magnesium                     19%

 

 

I've highlighted good things in green and lacking things in bold

 

Per 100g spinach is almost as high in calcium as milk, and higher in all other vitamins and minerals except B12. And higher in fibre, and lower in saturated fat. And neither are high in protein compared to the amount one needs, but legumes nuts and grains are. Just a random example.

 

My favourite food, peanuts: super high in monounsaturated fat, protein, fibre, and a few vitamins and minerals (including calcium again).

Edited December 29, 2016 by dust

[Golden Dragon Shining]

Here where actually some posts about full moon and its effects on energy.What wondered me is that its written that it is considered the "old way". There is also a story about somebody who did eat like that in a cave , his eyes where shining so much that people got afraid of him and then a monk came by and told him to come with him to eat some rice again .Maybe its really a method that is not fitting in modern society.But i think there must be a way because i didnt want to do it, it came naturally.I always found very interesting that my interests change so hard with the diet.I think its really like how you described it.cooked food and salt make you domesticated what do you mean by 2017 ? Is it a special year for you?

The Old Way is the True and Only WAY the monk who told him to eat rice must have been a demon in disguise, just denied him Immortality cunning creature of shadow. It is like another tale of a woman near immortality 200+ years of age, an army to capture her, just the smell of rice was vile to her, later she ate the rice, become sick, aged and died.

 

The "new" ways are corrupt ways I think, keeping people bound. His shining eyes remind me of the Shining Ones. Most today believe we are at the pinnacle of human development/ advancement? I think the opposite and agree with ancient Taoists and the ancient Pagan Greek Hesiod, we've fallen from a Golden Age, to silver, bronze, brazen. A few have reversed this.

 

I can make it a special year ha

 

 

Edited December 30, 2016 by Sionnach

[Orion]

Dairy, wheat, gluten... probably more to do with how contaminated these foods are now. Pretty much all wheat in North America is GMO now and they saturate it with glyphosate prior to harvest. No wonder people are having eroded guts?

 

Back before the Green Revolution, all these foods were safe. People had raw milk, heirloom wheat. Gluten is a dense molecule and non-celiac gluten intolerance is likely related to a weakened GI. Nobody should be getting a hangover from eating food.

 

Food is not all you need to do better, but it's a big part. When I see what industry and out of control global capitalism are doing to the world, I wonder how humans will ever stand a chance at higher levels of cultivation. There will always be masters who emerge from the muck but beyond that, how do you enlighten when your environment is polluted and your food is poisoned?

[silent thunder]

OK, but what about your calcium intake? I find it hard to get that 1000mg+ a day even from eating cheese and yoghurt, not to mention vegs.

After I dropped eating dairy completely I started to develop dental caries due to slight demineralization.

After about three months of introducing dairy it slowly starts to get better... 

Besides that, I agree it is weird food. It kind of gives me diarhea, I feel a bit bloated and slugish indeed. Potatoes much worse though.

 

Here is a quick non dairy list that is packed full of calcium that is easy for the body to assimilate:

kale

almonds

broccoli

oranges

edamame

sesame seeds

seaweed

collared greens

white beans

bok choy

figs

 

[vonkrankenhaus]

"When I see what industry and out of control global capitalism are doing to the world, I wonder how humans will ever stand a chance at higher levels of cultivation. There will always be masters who emerge from the muck but beyond that, how do you enlighten when your environment is polluted and your food is poisoned?"

-----

 

That describes the studies we do here.

 

That is the beginning premise - how to adapt old practices to the current people and world - how to compensate for modern diminishments of varying kinds, so that various practices might actually generate some true progress and not just some sick people who learned an expensive way to waving arms around.

 

 

 

 

- VonKrankenhaus

[sittingandforgetting]

Eating very little. - Frugality. (Jian)

Eating animals products only when needed and eating organic. - Compassion. (Ci)

Not eating fancy foods, not making a show of eating. - Simplicity. (Bugan wei tianxia xian)

 

If the world did these things there would be food for everyone, no war, no need for pesticides, etc.

 

So that is how I eat, and it makes me feel better, like you all have discussed.