As I wrote earlier, I’m communicating with my Higher Self. A lot has happened since the last post. The most important one is that I’ve went from being a negative soul to a positive one, which means I get my energy from “source” instead of other people. That means a lot to me, since it was my primary motivation when I bought the book. My HS and I have also made a training plan that’s aligned with my goal of being healthy and fit.

The plan is part of my 30-day trial, starting in January 2010, as early as possible. Here it is:

Monday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Swimming; 7 minutes warm-up, then interval training (4 minutes, then 1 minute of slow swimming) for 25 minutes. Stretching.

Tuesday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Running; same as the swimming, except I run (preferably barefoot, actually).

Wednesday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Weightlifting for 25 minutes – 9 for strength, and 16 for endurance. Stretching.
• Swimming.

Thursday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Running.

Friday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Swimming.

Saturday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Running.

Sunday:

• Biking for 30 minutes, starting at about 16:30.
• Weightlifting.
• Swimming.

We’ve also decided a sleep schedule for me. I will get up at 5:00 in the morning, and go to sleep when I’m tired. Talking to my HS is so much fun! I love her (my soul works primarily with feminine energies, thus she’s a “she”) very much. Actually, since she’s me, I love myself very much, and that’s awesome. :) Time to get to work on the Third Pillar of Health!

(Updated 20. September 2009 – added a fourth pillar.)

About three years ago, I actively started caring about my own health. I had almost no clue about health, so I started running three times a week. It made me better at running, but health isn’t measured by how well you run. However, this post isn’t about that. It’s about how I presently see health.

“Four Pillars of Health” have nothing to do with the pillars of the European Union, I simply think it’s a good way of putting it. :) All four need to be taken care of, because if you neglect even one, it might come back to haunt you. (Update 23.09.09:) Note that the pillars aren’t arranged in order of importance. They were, but I realized that they are simply important in different ways. I now view them as equally important.

The first pillar: Sleep

I see sleep as the most important pillar. I have done a lot of sleep experiments, and I find that sleep is the most important pillar regarding how I feel overall. There are different ways of sleeping, ranging from the most basic ones, like free running sleep, to the most complex ones, like uberman. I have tested some, but not all. Some are so difficult that I haven’t gotten to testing them properly yet. Perhaps I never will. The ones I have had luck with are varieties of monophasic and biphasic sleep. I haven’t been able to test anything really longterm, though.

The second pillar: Food

Food is incredibly important. To many, it’s only a matter of weight – I once heard from a sports guy that exercise was so great because you could eat what you want without getting fat. To me, food isn’t about being fat or not. It’s about quality of life for myself and others. The way I see it, what does the body good tend to also do the environment good, like organic food. Good food, like fruit and vegetables, is also sustainable. So, my rule of thumb is that if it’s not sustainable, I shouldn’t eat it. Sometimes I have no choice, though. The way things are organized right now doesn’t open for much organic agriculture – vote your local green party to fix it. ;)

Remember, when it comes to food, what’s important is definitely not only what you put in – equally important is what you leave out. If your goal is to eat healthier, leaving out milk products and refined sugars is where you should start, as well as red meat. My opinion is that our ability to digest meat is simply a survival technique – we don’t really need it, and it’s not very sustainable. And yes, fish is meat as well. Concerning taste, it’s something you get used to. It is possible to eat delicious, yet healthy food – and it is possible to live a great life without chocolate and potato chips.

The third pillar: Exercise

Exercise is nice, but it’s a pillar I have little experience with. The best exercise is to keep relatively active most of the time you spend awake. That’s better than spend your time sitting on a chair and exercise occasionally, but many of us don’t really have that option. Going for walks is a nice thing to do instead – most people can do it, too. “Real” exercise is nice as well – especially if you have fun while doing it.

The fourth pillar: Love

After I first wrote this post, my dear Rose reminded me that physical health is affected by mental health as well. I have only lately come to realize what a wonderful thing love really is, but it certainly makes sense to give it its own pillar. With love, I mean all kinds of love: physically expressed love (touching, sexual…), friendship, self-love, loving what you do, emotional balance, etc. – I guess you can think of even more. :) One of the most important reasons I can think of for including the pillar of love, is because my goal is quality of life. Love improves the quality of life, as well as health. :)

Why I’m interested in health:

People often assume that my interest in health is for longevity. I even hear “I’d rather die young and happy than die old and ascetic”. This is not the case. I pursue health for quality of life (and I’ve gotten some unexpected bonuses along the way, like less body odour and a girlfriend). :) In my experience, people who say this seem to assume that I am denying myself happiness, and that, say, eating pizza, not exercise, or wake up in the morning feeling like crap will make them happy, but make them die earlier. However, eating a standard western diet won’t necessarily make you happy – maybe you’ll enjoy each meal (which I do too, even though I’m raw!), but you’ll also open the doors for all kinds of diseases as you grow older. Why go for temporary happiness when you can make it last? :)

Guacamole with salad (or Gualad :þ):

This one is based on a meal I had at a meeting in Norsk Målungdom. I started with the same ingredients; cubed avocado, olive oil, and salt. Very fatty and salty, like the stuff you might crave when starting out as a raw foodist. :) Perfect for me in the beginning, and incredibly easy. Later, I added more ingredients and changed the recipe lots of times. You could say I reinvented Guacamole.

Ingredients:

• Avocado
• Lemon juice (or olive oil, etc.)
• Dried tomatoes (or salt)
  
• Tomatoes (and/or other fruits, like bell pepper. Vegetables and mushrooms should also do.)
  
• Leafy vegetables (I like lettuce or spinach. Anything will do.)
• (Optional:) Spices (like black pepper, finely chopped chili, garlic, etc.)

I usually take two avocados, one lemon, three dried tomatoes, and two tomatoes.

Simply mash the avocados until it looks like mashed potatoes, then put in the lemon juice and mix it. Chop the dried tomatoes in tiny pieces and mix them in as well. At this point you might want to add your spices. Then chop the tomatoes in as small pieces as you’d like. I like them as small as possible. Cut the leafy vegetables as small as you want. I use kinda big ones, but my mother prefers them very tiny.

I usually add mushrooms too. :)

Here with tomatoes, chives, bell pepper, spinach, and mushrooms. :) (Sorry about the bad quality.)

Summer salad:

I call it summer salad because it is one. ;) If you eat in season, you can’t eat tomatoes in winter, f.ex.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Olive oil
• Tamari
• Lemon juice
• Green leaves
• Chives
• (Optional:) Other herbs

I ate this almost every day when I was in France. It’s even better than the above recipe if you make it well. :)

Make the sauce by putting 4/7 olive oil, 2/7 tamari, and 1/7 lemon juice in a deep, little plate, preferably with a flat bottom, and mix it violently. :)

Cut the mushrooms in as thin slices as possible, and put them in the sauce. Make sure you cover them completely – they’re wonderful! Cut the tomatoes in moderately sized pieces, and mix everything together with your hands (you may want to wash them before and after). Remember to cut the chives and other herbs to a suitable size.

Pie:

Yes, raw pies are nice. :) However, they are very sweet and fatty, so you don’t want to eat too much of them.

I’ve tried this recipe, brought to us by Steve Pavlina. :)

About food in general, and specifically tomatoes:

If you can, buy organic. It’s (disputed, but) likely much better for your health, and it doesn’t ruin the soil. Sure it’s expensive, but support your local Green Party, and make that change.

I recommend so-called Andes and green zebra tomatoes. :) They’re pieces of paradise.

Some people might say I’m “dirty”. I don’t mean in a sexual sense, even though that is subjective as well. I’m talking about my not showering very often, and going barefoot for days without cleaning my feet.

During my second raw trial, in September one year ago, I first noticed that I started smelling less. At one point I hadn’t showered for a week, yet smelled nothing at all. Now I sometimes smell, and I think it’s when I eat a lot of fatty food. Last year I was going low-fat. Nevertheless, I don’t smell half as much as before. I used to smell slightly sweaty no matter what. As a consequence, when I broke my trial off after two weeks, the smell after/during P.E. classes was surprising. I’m glad to be rid of that problem. Now I only shower when I “feel dirty”, which happens every week or less.

When I first started going barefoot, I washed my feet every day… for about a week. Since then, I’ve simply used the doormat. The second week or so, someone asked me if I washed my feet when I got home. When I said I didn’t, this person was disgusted. Last weekend, I was at MDG’s stand at Karl Johan street in Oslo. Some guy walked past me as I offered him a flier, saying that he “wouldn’t accept anything from someone walking barefoot at Karl Johan”, apparently disgusted. He said something about bacteria and stuff, as well.

To me it seems like society at large is mysophobic. As far as I remember from biology in high school, contact with dirt is good. It keeps the immune system active. Children who grow up in “sterile” environments are much more likely to get sick later, and more severely at that, because their bodies aren’t used combat germs. As for me, I’m not afraid of getting sick, due to my boosted immune system. ;) I even pick up the peanuts I drop on the floor and eat them. Others could have a reason to worry, but I’m actually doing them a favour.

I used to think in the same way, and probably still do to some extent – I wash my hands after using the restroom, for example. After I started going barefoot, I’ve become more at ease with dirt. As a bonus, I save water. And anyway, it’s just dirt. :)

I recently stumbled upon the most educational movie about veganism I have ever seen! In Foods That Kill Healthy Eating, Dr. Michael Klaper explains what happens when you put meat, dairy, and eggs into your body, and shares his own experiences. For the last fifteen minutes, he informs the viewer what to eat instead.

This is the movie to watch for information about veganism and healthy living! Of course, this shouldn’t be your only source, but for me, it was the last confirmation I needed. I’ve also heard from others that they were convinced by this movie. It lasts about an hour, but the time is well invested. If you don’t have the time, you can skip to ~45:00, where he starts talking about what you should eat.

Watch this, and go vegan! :)