You are not your body.
The moment you truly understand those words is the moment your entire life will change.
This is not some esoteric religious or philosophical concept.
It is a fact.
Think of it this way:
You are your consciousness.
Your body is a vehicle that you have temporary use of, like your car.
It is yours to use for a certain amount of time. If you take good care of it, it will serve you well.
When you understand that you are not your body and that it is here only to help you get around and help you interact with other humans, it completely changes the choices you make and relieves much of the interference that comes from identifying directly with your body.
We have been trained to tie ego to the physical traits of our bodies. Some traits are the model of this vehicle on loan. Tall, short, with limbs, without. Hairy, bald. Some traits are reflections of the care you give that vehicle. Fat, thin, wrinkled, smooth, tired or energetic.
When we experience pain, be it physical or emotional, it is simply a built-in warning system alerting us that something is wrong and needs our attention.
Being too fat, too wrinkled, too tired, too angry or depressed are all alerts from our warning system that we need to adjust or change something in this borrowed vehicle, this body, so it can run smoothly again.
Imagine driving your car with the emergency brake on. The car will seem like it doesn’t have enough power and you will start to smell the smoke of the burning brake. These are alerts that something is wrong. We are driving with the brakes on and we need to change something, like release the brake! If we have been driving around for a while ignoring the smoke signals, we may have done damage that requires us to take the car to the garage for repair.
A body is an ingenious assembly of systems that are in a state of constant purging and renewal.
Individual cells die, are flushed away and replaced with similar new ones. Given the opportunity, and without interference, your body will fare amazingly well at taking care of itself.
Imagine what happens when you cut your finger.
It is not you who repairs it, It is your body and its self-care systems that leap into action. With or without your assistance, and with the least amount of interference, your body will heal itself.
When properly cared for, your body will find balance and strength and beauty all on its own.
Your happiness and success in life is tied directly to your awareness and the attitude you cultivate regarding the care of your body. That attitude becomes flagrantly visible in the condition of your body. That is why the condition of your body becomes a factor in how attractive you are to others and yourself.
It is your attitude we are seeing, not your body, per se.
Strength and caring are hugely attractive to others of the same species. This includes our assessment and appreciation of ourselves. Life supports the perpetuation of life. Anything that supports life is attractive to us and anything that takes away from it is repulsive to us. This is the built in survival and growth mechanism in all life forms, including the bodies of which we are temporary custodians.
Our DNA carries a record of millions of generations of trial and error that has made the systems that make up what we call our bodies. The way that your body exists today is the result of innumerable successes. The failures died off and were left behind.
That’s a lot of words to describe a very simple concept that will change your life when you truly get it.
You are the custodian of your body. Your body is not you. Your body is a powerful system of perpetually renewing systems and will do well and serve you well if you take care of it.
Whatever your hopes and dreams, whether you are young or old, the care you give your body will directly affect your body’s ability to serve you in moving towards and achieving those goals.
All the systems of your body are tied together and affect each other.
When disease or dis-function exists in any part of the body it affects all other parts of the body. The health of your brain affects your body just as the health of your body affects your brain.
Your brain is the part of your body that hosts conscious thought. Like any other system in your body, if it is cared for it will operate more successfully and serve you better than if it is not.
The tragedy of not taking care of your brain is that your own consciousness of you as you is at risk. Have you ever seen someone suffering Alzheimer’s Disease or some form of dementia? Perhaps you have seen how an entire person can disappear when their brain function fails. The memory of who they were persists in the minds of others, but their consciousness of themselves as themselves has been altered or destroyed.
There are no guarantees.
I have friends whose entire lives have been focused around helping themselves and others optimize their health who still got cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Lou Gherig’s Disease, etc. There are no guarantees that improved lifestyle adjustments will guarantee that you never face the many health challenges that can arise, but there are habits that can support having the odds stacked in your favor for survival and making the best of each day that you have.
When you experience truly feeling good, you will never go back!
The good health of your body and brain comes down to three key factors that are easy to manage and easy to maintain, especially once you discover what it is like to truly feel good and think clearly.
- Put good things into your body and keep bad things out.
- Keep your system well hydrated and move things around so the good can get where it needs to go and the bad can be flushed out.
- Rest so your body and brain can take care of maintenance and grow.
That’s it. It’s simple. Nothing new. People have known this for thousands of years. What makes it hard is not recognizing the enemies that work against this.
The worst enemy of all is your belief system and habits often disguised as harmless tradition.
Another way to look at the list is:
- Eat well.
- Exercise and stay hydrated.
- Sleep and play.
age 57
Unfortunately that list looks too familiar and familiarity breeds contempt. We say, “I know that. I thought you were going to show me something new!” and, in our arrogance, miss seeing the very thing right under our noses that could actually change our lives!
Don’t short-change yourself. Let your child-like curiosity keep you open and growing.
I will show you some new things as well as shine a new light on some old things. That’s what BEST IS NOW is all about. Science and my own experience and the experience of many others has shown that your biological age and your apparent age, in looks and how you feel, are usually not the same.
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