The Art of Love

What better subject to touch on then the art of love during the Valentine’s Day holiday?

The art of love is the second of a series relating to Valentine’s Day, and is one to check out with someone you love. It’s told in images and music, with thanks to Bob Dylan for his heartfelt song. So watch it and enjoy.

Remember this: When it comes to the art of love, we’re all artists.

Valentine Day’s and Sugar – Is it the Sweet Life/La Dolce Vita?

With Valentine’s Day approaching, what better subject to discuss than sugar, the substance that can create the sweet life, or as they say in Italy, La Dolce Vita.

Today is the first article in a series on love and relationships, in honor of Valentine’s Day and the sweet life.

Unfortunately,  too much of a good thing is not a good thing, and so sugar is something that can be detrimental to your health, and lead you into a High Density Lifestyle, which would not be the sweet life you want.

In the U.S., it is estimated that the per capital consumption of sugar is 175 pounds per year.  The current recommendation is a maximum intake of 8 teaspoons of sugars a day, yet one 12 ounce can of soda or a 20 ounce bottle of Vitamin Water puts 9 teaspoons of sugars into your body. So you’re already maxed out before you’ve gotten going.

Then add onto that all the other potential sugary things you might eat: cookies, salad dressings, processed foods, soups, juices, fruit-flavored foods; heck, even a lot of natural and organic foods are sweetened with sugars.

So as much as you may like sugar, and like living the sweet life/la dolce vita, you are probably sugar-overloading your body. And whether the sugar is from corn, fruit, sugar cane or beets, they’re all simple sugars that the body doesn’t process or metabolize  very well at all.

It takes a pound of oranges to produce eight ounces of juice, which concentrates the simple fruit sugars and strips away the appetite-satiating fiber and bulk of the fruit. “An eight-ounce glass of juice from oranges, apples or grapes has about five to eight teaspoons of sugar,” said Dr. Barry Popkin, a professor of global nutrition and author of the book, The World is Fat. “Calorically and nutritionally, it’s much better to eat the fruit.”

Simple sugars cause weight gain, which then leads to obesity. And obesity, at least in the U.S., is at epidemic proportions. Simple sugars are metabolized in the liver, and the liver will then store them and transform them into fats. The result of this, besides obesity, is also diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, auto-immune disease and other chronic and degenerative ailments.

Plus it stops you from living a Low Density Lifestyle, and if anything is going to lead you into the sweet life, it’s a Low Density Lifestyle.

The answer is to focus on eating complex sugars, the natural occurring sugars found in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and other whole foods, and then when you want something sweet, to look for something sweetened with barley malt, rice syrup, maple syrup and honey.

So this Valentine’s Day, when you and your sweetie are looking to live the sweet life/la dolce vita together, remember that there are many ways to do this, and eating simple sugars isn’t the best or only way.

Integrity and the Maintaining of the “Self”

Maintaining the integrity of the “Self” is an essential part of living, and we must be mindful to stand guard at the entry of the soul to keep our integrity intact.  To live a lifestyle that resembles that of a Low Density reality, we must be able to realize that we are in the world, but not of the world.

Maintaining integrity is so very important nowadays, especially within the context of the economic climate. Just last week a client  mentioned to me that in one day approximately seventy-five thousand people in the U.S. had lost their jobs. Now, I  particularly don’t listen to the news that intently, so I had to look that up before writing this article. Well, wouldn’t you  know it? It was true. This is the headline I read online:

Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy!

With this kind of news, there is no wonder the world in general is feeling the stress and strain of the present economic situation. The world has shrunk, as they say, so it’s not hard to believe that news like this seeps into the fabric of society and begins to affect our collective consciousness.  Well, in my opinion, and it is always only my opinion, the antidote to making it through this present negative reality is to remind yourself that “this too shall pass.”  In the meantime we need to also remember that we need to maintain the health and integrity of the “self.”

To maintain your integrity and authentic nature, you have to remember not to become the event, or to become your title. So in the unfortunate event that your position at work comes to an end, or you lose some material possessions during this time, remember, you don’t have to lose your self as well. Keep reminding yourself that you are greater and more resilient than the present situation, so that when this passes, and it will, you will be able to reinvent yourself and start all over again.

Integrity is an important aspect of a Low Density Lifestyle. When you move in this direction it means realizing that you are not who you think you are. You are actually much greater than that!

Spread the word, live a low density life.

What a Low Density Lifestyle Can Do For You

Ok, in yesterday’s post I told you what the 12 steps are to living a Low Density Lifestyle and becoming FREE.  Now that you have mastered all those–and there will be a final exam on it–I want to tell you what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.  And believe me, it can do some really awesome, life-changing stuff.

Here’s what it can do:

Health and Longevity: It can help you be healthier and live a long and robust life.
Happiness and Joy: You can be happier, more joyous and more passionate about everything.
Better Relationships, Better Sex: A Low Density Lifestyle can help you to have better and healthier relationships with family members, friends, loved ones and your significant other. It can also enhance you sex life. Ah, three cheers for Flow!
Focus and Clarity of Thought: You will become more focused and have more clarity of thought, as opposed to being scattered, forgetful and fuzzy-brained.
Creativity and Genius: You will use more of your mind’s potential and be capable of tapping into your innate genius within. You can then become a visionary!
Productivity: It can help you to be more productive at work, home or anywhere else you choose to apply yourself.,
Success: You will definitely become much more successful when you embrace a Low Density Lifestyle.
Intuition: Your intuition will become razor-sharp, and you will trust the feelings you sense.
The Law of Attraction: Being in the Flow will help to unlock the obstructions in your energy system that block the law of attraction from coming into your life.
Inner Peace: As you find your stillpoint and your center of balance, your entire being will calm down and inner peace will come your way.
Enlightenment: This is the ultimate extension of a Low Density Lifestyle, and it is not outside the realm of possibilities.

So, there you have it.  Yesterday I talked about the 12 steps to living a Low Density Lifestyle and becoming FREE, and today I discussed what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you. I would suggest reading these again and again.

And remember, if you want more in-depth understanding and knowledge of the wisdom behind the Low Density Lifestyle, sign up for the free 5-day email course. You can sign up in the box in the upper right hand column, or in that crazy little box that pops up on your screen from time to time.  You will be really glad that you did, because it is jam packed with easy to digest material.

Now that a good foundation about the Low Density Lifestyle has been laid, next up on the horizon is delving into all these categories. So buckle your seat belts ladies and gentlemen, because you are about to go on the ride of your life.  You will never know what the posting will be about and what category will be discussed, until you read it. But I promise you it will be topical, relevant, informative and interesting. You will definitely not be bored.

Tune in tomorrow…

How to Achieve a Low Density Lifestyle: The 12-Steps to Becoming FREE

I’ve talked about the Low Density Lifestyle, High Density Lifestyle, and the concept of FREE (Flow/Relax/Effortless Effort).

Today I want to outline the 12 steps to becoming FREE. These are the things that if you put into practice, will help you to live a happy, healthy, vibrant, successful and enlightened life.

In tomorrow’s post I will tell you what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you, and how it can make your life a whole lot better.

After this post and tomorrow’s, the postings will shift in format. What will happen next is that instead of the posts explaining what a Low Density Lifestyle is all about–which is pretty much what we’ve been doing so far–we’re going to bounce around from category to category.

What I mean by a category is one of the 12 steps listed below, along with what is covered in tomorrow’s posting about what a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.  Once we go in that new direction, we will be covering a lot of ground and a lot of interesting topics, so fasten your seat belt

If you feel like you still need to get a handle on the fundamentals of a Low Density Lifestyle, sign up for the free 5-day email course on this website. You can sign up for it by entering your name and email address in the box that occasionally pops up in front of your eyes, or you can put your info in the sign up form that appears in the top right column. I can guarantee you that you will learn a lot from the email course.

Anyway, here are the 12 steps to becoming FREE:

Diet and Nutrition: Eating a whole foods oriented diet.
Health and Wellness: Being proactive with your health and becoming empowered and educated as to how the body and mind work and what it takes to be healthy.
Movement and Exercise: Take up a regular practice of movement and exercise, especially the types that emphasize flow.
Flexibility of Body and Mind: Being able to be flexible with your body and your mind, so that you don’t hold onto dogmas and become rigid and unyielding with the way you think or move.
Mindfulness: Being aware of your actions and reactions in your daily life.
Integrity: Being ethical, being willing to do the right thing, being true to yourself and being authentic.
Attitude and Emotions: The way we see the world is the way the world operates based on our perception, so it’s important to be aware of your attitude towards yourself and others.
Abundance: Are you willing to share of yourself, because you believe there is plenty to go around, or are you immersed in a scarcity mindset, where you believe it’s every person for themselves, and you have to get yours before someone else takes it?
Laughter: Laughter and humor is so good for our health and well-being.  ‘Nuff said on that.
The Dreamer: Are you using your dreaming abilities–your creative intelligence and imagination?  Are or you thinking the same old same old, and going along with the tribe?
Do What You Love: When you do what you love, and love what you do, life has profound meaning.
Connecting to the Spiritual Dimension: There is a sacred aspect to life, and the more connected you are to it, the better off you are.

Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness, Effortless Effort and Non-Doing

Not too long ago, Jon Kabat-Zinn, the author of Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, You Are There, gave a talk at Google on the subject of mindfulness and effortless effort.

The phrase effortless effort comes from the Chinese term wu wei, which is directly translated as non-doing.

Mindfulness and effortless effort are important tools for living a Low Density Lifestyle.

The concept of non-doing is a very difficult one for us Westerners to get, because we are used to doing, doing and even more doing. “How can we not do when there’s so much to do,” Westerners who contemplate wu-wei often ask – or at least this Westerner (me) did when I first learned of the term and tried to wrap my brain around it.

Anyway, I thought it would be best if I let Dr. Kabat-Zinn do the talking, and so I have posted his video from his talk at Google.

Watch it, and enjoy!

I’m FREE: Sing along with The Who!

I asked my friends Roger and Pete to put together a little ditty to help you understand FREE (remember Flow/Relax/Effortless Effort). I hope you enjoy their efforts.

Sometimes it’s easy to just let images and music tell the story. So this is a good way to get FREE.

Click on play and see what you think. I think Roger and Pete got potential. Maybe they should consider forming a band!

Being FREE: Flow/Relax/Effortless Effort

The secret to living a Low Density Lifestyle is becoming FREE. In an earlier post, I explained what the acronym FREE means. It stands for Flow, Relax, Effortless Effort.

Because it is a very important concept, I want to discuss FREE a little further at length.

The Flow state is known to athletes as being “in the zone.”  To an athlete, this is where everything just seems to go their way. And athletes will be the first to tell you that when they are in the flow state, they perform at higher levels.

Shawn Phillips, the well-known athlete, bodybuilder and author of Strength for Life, had this to say about the subject:

From the beginning, what I was connecting with in the gym was a universal energy source. I would just feel it flowing. Even when I was twenty years old, I called the gym my church. When I was there, it wasn’t about being social; it was about doing my practice. I was in it. I was in the zone.

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, said,  “Be like the fountain that overflows, not like the cistern that merely contains.” In essence, this is what Flow is about. You become a circuit of energy, flowing infinitely, much like an unimpeded electrical circuit in which the electricity freely courses throughout.

Relax is something that doesn’t always come easy for many people. Sure, everybody knows how to veg out. But do you know how to profoundly relax, to tap into the stillness within and the center of your being?

To find that calmness and stillness within, you can do any number of things or techniques.  These can be meditation, prayer, walking in nature, speaking silently, listening to quiet engaging music, yoga, along with many other mind-body techniques.

A recent scientific study even found that relaxation techniques can beneficially affect your genes.

Relaxation is about finding your peace within the turmoil and hubbub of everyday life.  Some of you may do workshops or go to retreats or go on vacations to help find that inner quiet. And that is a good thing. But the trick is to embed that knowledge into your body and mind and integrate that understanding into your daily routine, so that everywhere you go, wherever you are, you are immersed in your stillness.

When you are acting with Effortless Effort, you can labor for hours on end, at times functioning on little sleep, and yet feel full of energy and life. You are firing on all cylinders, and the universe seems like a giant playground. You love what you do and you do what you love.

Interestingly enough, there are times when stress has a positive connotation. There is a term, eustress, which is the positive aspect of stress. In this case, a person is very busy, doing many things, but they are thriving in the midst of it, and loving how productive they are. A person in this situation is in full Effortless Effort mode. To an observer, it would seem as if this person is pushing themselves far too much and burning themselves out. But to the person immersed in Effortless Effort, they are thriving because they are firing on all cylinders and feeling alive, vibrant and awake.

And so, this is what being FREE is all about. Remember the formula? It’s LDL = FREE.  Keep that in mind–it will help you to live a Low Density Lifestyle.

Stress: A Major Impediment to a Low Density Lifestyle

Stress is a major impediment to living a Low Density Lifestyle. It will stop your ability to be in the flow and find your center of calm and stillness.

Stress can negatively impact your health, well-being, happiness, and ability to live a productive and successful life. Stress will keep you living a High Density Lifestyle.

One of the things about stress is that for a lot of people, because they’re not in touch with how they feel, they aren’t even aware that they are stressed out.

And so, with that in mind, I’d like to offer you some helpful advice to recognize some of the signs of when you are over the edge with too much stress:

1. You get sick often. Stress can depress the immune system, making you more susceptible to various upper respiratory ailments.

2. You have digestive problems. One of the places that stress is felt in the body is in the digestive tract. You may have trouble digesting food, you may get stomach pain, you may have acid reflux, or you may have irritable bowel sydrome.

3. You suffer from pain. It could be back pain, joint pain, or even headaches.

4. You easily get anxious. Stress can affect the nervous system and make you very wired, so that things can easily set you off and cause your heart to race, your chest to become tight, and your breathing to become shallow.

5. You are easily angered. Stress will cause you to have a short fuse and to unload on people, even loved ones, often times for reasons quite trivial.

6. You can’t sleep. You go to sleep, but your mind is still racing, still thinking about everything. Or you go to sleep, but then you wake up, and can’t fall back asleep.

7. You act erratically. You do things impulsively, or you do things that you normally wouldn’t do.

8. You are drinking or using recreational drugs a lot. You need a way to unwind, and so you turn to drinking or drugging as an outlet to help you release all that pent up energy.

9. You are using pharmaceutical drugs to enhance/stabilize your mood. Stress can negatively impact your mood, attitude and emotional health, and so if you are not aware of how stressed out you are, you will be turning to prescription drugs to help you.

10. You lack focus and clarity. You forget things easily, and can’t think clearly. You also can’t focus on any one thing and mentally flit around.

I strongly suggest using the above 10 signs to help you manage your stress. Your life will improve greatly for doing so.

Low Density Lifestyle: Keeping It Real!

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