Healthwatch

 

 

 

 

Change Your Perception and the Good Life Will Follow

By Kim Summer Moon Wilson
 

People often ask about weight loss, nutrition, cures for anxiety, depression, money woes, chronic illnesses, and other modern ailments. The answers are simple, but they don’t involve ‘quick fixes’. It’s about lifestyle and attitude changes. Change your perception and your life will follow.

Eat only what comes out of Mother Earth, dump the soda and powdered sugar drinks, and drink plain water. If it comes in a box, can or carton with ingredients you can’t pronounce and was created by man - don’t consume it. If the package says “Enriched with” or “Vitamins added” - don’t consume it. If vitamins need to be added, that means they were taken out during processing. Eat whole foods - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes. If we were meant to consume the “crimes against Nature” that pass for food and drinks in today’s supermarkets and restaurants, they’d be growing on trees and in gardens. They don’t - so why do we keep buying them?  Want more information? Read “Standing Bear’s One-Time Cure” (http://manataka.org/page1497.html)

Avoid white bread, white flour, table salt, and white sugar. If it’s white - don’t eat it. Chances are it’s bleached, processed, denatured, stripped, and killed of any signs of life and nutrition that Creator designed the original food to have. All living things are created whole - man takes them apart and sells them in pieces for a profit. Don’t buy fruits and vegetables from supermarkets, where they’ve traveled hundreds of miles from factory farms, under-ripe and stuffed in crates, sprayed with unintelligible chemicals “approved by the FDA” to prevent fungi, pests and bacteria from growing, just to be sold at ridiculous prices. Patronize your local farmer’s market or co-op and purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables that are fresh and hopefully grown naturally, and picked in season. Or - better yet - grow your own produce. Nothing tastes better than food you grow yourself.  For more information on ‘hidden chemicals’ in food, check this link:  http://manataka.org/page1476.html

To reduce anxiety and depression - choose your friends and associates wisely, cut up your credit cards and don’t spend what you don’t have. America is consumed with credit cards, and this is not entirely the financial system’s fault. Just because those credit card offers arrive in the mail doesn’t mean you have to apply for them. People say they need a credit card for certain purchases - no, you don’t. Apply for a check card (debit card) that draws from your checking account - works like a credit card but you can only spend money you actually have. It uses the same system but without carrying a balance or paying interest. You won’t rack up debt and you can’t spend “money” that you don’t have.

Forget about fashion - it passes quickly and only steals your common sense. Stick with simplicity and you’ll fare better. Frequent your local thrift stores - great deals on ‘gently used’ clothing and also a great way to recycle clothing, often for a good cause. My local thrift store benefits a homeless shelter - I donate clothing and I also shop there. However, my motto is from the WW2 poster, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”- good rule of thumb for most “needs” in life that are actually just overblown “wants” when you really think about them. American marketing and advertising tells us that we need products that we lived perfectly fine without but suddenly feel we can’t do without after viewing a slick commercial or a catchy promotion. Gather items you don’t need and give them to local thrift stores. If you have a swap meet or a give-away shop - even better. Don’t buy “new” - it’s usually not needed. The exception to this is baby items (for safety reasons). Even items you think you “need” - think again. How many shirts, pants, shoes, etc., does one person really need? In America, many of us have more possessions than we need. By contrast, many are living in real poverty and hunger - especially children and the elderly. http://www.manataka.org/page1948.html

Turn it all off - the television, the websites (except for Manataka, of course), the radio talk shows - and go outside. Plant flowers, fruits and vegetables. Plant trees and bushes. Strawberries are easy to grow in containers. If you have a 3’ x 6’ patch, plant some peppers and a tomato plant, or a cucumber or pole bean plant with a trellis so they can climb. If you rake leaves, don’t bag them - gather them as mulch and place them in a garden. Better yet - leave them where they are. Water early and let the birds and insects do their work. Avoid pesticides and fertilizers - chemicals poison all of us. If you want to use a fertilizer, start organic composting with plant scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds. To learn more about organic gardening and toxic chemicals, go here: 

http://www.manataka.org/page1785.html#Organic%20Consumers%20Association  and  http://www.manataka.org/page1397.html

Finally, think of ways to give thanks and “mend the hoop.”  http://www.manataka.org/page1515.html  Most of us have been blessed abundantly - far more than we may realize or appreciate. If your garden grows, consider giving some of your “first fruits” to local food banks or elder care centers - they especially are suffering in this time of economic need. If your neighbors are elderly folk or have young children, offer them some food or help with errands - make this offer with "help in hand" if possible. Visit this page to learn about another way to give thanks or to learn about how others are working to help strengthen the whole community, not just “fixing the problem”: http://www.manataka.org/page1263.html

Little changes in your daily life will make a big difference over time. Change your perception, and your life will follow.    http://www.manataka.org/page1526.html