Entering the Temple: Reverence, Purity & Kindness

We've all been there before, this tropical space of weightlessness in our spirits. Warm heat resonates inside...I picture my rib cage glowing, the tips of embers orange and burgundy red, carrying the secrets of light and dark, of lies and truth. Deep within their tiny, fire-rocket anatomy, the embers spin without end.

In the eyes of my imagination, I am transcending through layers and places of consciousnesses to arrive at the center of TRUTH. I've embarked on a water fast and my mind does not know when my spirit and my body will feel complete in their processes of purification.

It feels like I am inside a cloud - still on earth, just high above, looking down, curiously.

Some visions that have swayed across my mental movie reel: reverence, purity and kindness in the temple; this temple that I see is my physical body.

You wouldn't bring McDonald's, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Yellow Food Coloring #6 into temple.

It would be blasphemy. You would feel disgraceful, dirty, the perfect webbing in between your fingers would stick together with greed. You'd smell gasoline in your own lungs.

You come into temple with your feet washed, your wrists and nape of neck clean, then massaged with the scent of peaches, or perhaps vanilla and sandalwood.

You are inside temple. Everyone imprinted into your subconscious is there wanting -- needing to feel the royal, mercy-filled god in themselves by worshiping the gods around us. By worshiping one another.

There are bright white stars in the temple, held up by a satin black, formless abyss.

And there we lay.

And there we submit.

In your body you feel that light and dark need each other to exist. And when they co-exist, they make life profound and complete.

Among this humble-spiritual-glamour, we pirouette for the god in us.

What am getting at? I am striving to define, engrave and give us this TRUTH: it is necessary to apply REVERENCE in that which  we do.

We must revere the temple walking by day and by night.

Herein lies our liberation.

This water fast has inundated the skies of my violet imagination with images of silence, quality and peace, elongated moments...slow minutes of rhythmic peace.

We must train ourselves to possess reverence for the gift of eating; to deeply respect that which we consume.

Eat with reverence, eat with quality and care. Be kind to the temple that is your strong, and sentient mortal body.

In essence, to revisit my primary thought: "You do not bring McDonald's to temple...it would simply be blasphemy."

IN PEACE & REVERENCE,

Shebah Saturn

That Hypnotizing Sweet Tooth -- Top 10 Reasons To Pause With The Sugar Kid!

 

If you have a sweet-tooth like me, it's far too easy to be allured by the promise of palate-pleasing desserts packed with the evil-goodness of white sugar! Ahaha!

For real though, on a more sobering note, I have family members who honestly struggle with their addiction to food and white sugar on a moment-by-moment, day-to-day basis. If you're honest with yourself, you'd see that addiction to white sugar is very common, and not something to judge, or laugh at! 

I have seen first-hand how compulsively eating sugar can affect one's happiness: it can limit your mobility, cause chronic joint pain, limit your emotional resilience (a.k.a. your ability to deal with the natural ups and downs of life with a reasonable degree of clarity, keeping the "bigger picture" beyond that moment in mind) cause depression and anger, impact your sex-drive, and drastically reduce your confidence.

With all the research available, and the serious addictive qualities of sugar, it's still a challenge to stay away from that "otha white powda," especially since here in the states, it is deceptively pumped into everything! The best way to keep yourself on track is to come up with a personal strategy that keeps you motivated to make life-energizing choices. 

One strategy that I want to share with you all is keeping a list such as the one below. I tend to be motivated by logic and science, because it gives me no wiggle-room to bend the truth of the matter; hence, this list is more fact-based than touchy-feely! ;0)

If you're reading this post because you, too, struggle with consistently remembering why white sugar/fructose/high-fructose corn syrup is a no-go, I encourage you to print this list below and read it aloud once daily. If you'd prefer a list with a different vibe filled with different reasons to motivate you, create your own Top 10 Reasons and share them with us if you're feeling it!

Top 10 Reasons To Pause With The Sugar Kid!

To download this list as a printable PDF, click here

1. We now know — because it has been scientifically proven — that sugar is more powerfully addictive than alcohol, cocaine or even heroin. And if you’re thinking about going for diet soda instead, take note: Artificial sweeteners may be more addictive than regular sugar.

2. Sugar is stressful, and blood sugar spikes can promote inflammation. Sugars trigger the release of inflammatory messengers called cytokine.

3. White flour products are sugar, too (breads, rolls, crackers) white rice, white potatoes (instant mashed potatoes, or french fries) and many cereals are refined carbohydrates. According to Scientific American, processed carbohydrates may trump fats as the main driver of escalating rates of obesity and other chronic conditions. These high-glycemic index foods fuel the production of advanced glycation end (AGE) products that stimulate inflammation.

4. Because sugar causes a large release of dopamine in the brain, it can cause addiction in a lot of people.

5. The problem with sugar and many junk foods is that they can cause massive dopamine release…much more than we were ever exposed to from foods found in nature.

6. Fructose doesn’t cause satiety in the brain or lower the hunger hormone ghrelin nearly as much as glucose.

7. In addition, the metabolic problems associated with sugar consumption are a known driver of INFLAMMATION, another potential cause of cancer.

8. When repeatedly eating large amounts of sugar, this process can lead to fatty liver and all sorts of serious problems. Keep in mind that all of this does NOT apply to fruit. It is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

9. Indeed, a recent study at the University of Cambridge suggests sugar doesn't help with energy at all - in fact, it makes you sleepy. Scientists found that sugar blocks the action of orexins, a type of brain cell responsible for feelings of wakefulness (orexins are also involved in telling the body to burn calories).

10. Some evidence suggests that continuously high blood sugar levels might lead to aging of the brain that's associated with dementia. In a study published in the journal of Neurology last year, researchers took brain scans of 249 people aged from 60 to 64 with blood sugar levels in the normal range. After four years, those whose blood sugar levels were at the highest end of the normal range were more likely to have shrinkage in the hippocampus and the amygdala - areas of the brain associated with memory and cognitive function.

Related Links

1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2524962/From-dementia-liver-damage-real-toll-sugar-diet.html

2. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/white-poison-danger-sugar-beat-article-1.1605232

3. http://authoritynutrition.com/9-reasons-to-avoid-sugar/

Ahimsa, The Bible, The Illusion of Separateness & Embracing Being Human

I've always loved searching for the universally applicable message within ancient codes. I was reading the bible* this morning and I read this:

Romans, Chapter 8:5-6 reads:

"For those who live according to the flesh 
Set their minds on the things of the flesh
But those who live according to Spirit
The things of the Spirit
For to be carnally minded is death
But to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace."

Sometimes the truth is so simple that it is easy to pass over without giving it appropriate regard, or letting our mind and body connect, and feel its deeper meaning. This passage is communicating that whatever concepts, ideas or thoughts we operate from, we eventually become. If we walk our path as someone overly concerned with "the flesh," the people, abundance and events in our lives will reflect this "fleshiness." 

There is nothing to judge here. We are all human beings; we are Spirit and yet, we too, are of the flesh. This reality is unavoidable. No need to try and transcend beyond our humanness; it is a part of who we are! I say, let us embrace both sides; let our Spirit dance in our very own fleshiness and let our fleshiness submit to our pure Spirit. Let us co-exist, giving into the needs of both.

When it is written "For to be carnally minded is death," I interpret this as denying your spiritual self entirely. It can mean being so entrenched in your carnal desires that you neglect or suppress your inherent connection with the mystery that is Creation, with the principle of Oneness that unites all seemingly opposing natures/things.

To add to this, everyone's purpose is different (we see this time and time again in the Occult Sciences)! More recently, I've wanted to diffuse my anger, and I have been asking my spirit-self to remind my human consciousness to relax and BE peace. I have found that it really can be that easy; closing your eyes, breathing and reminding yourself "BE peace."

This is where Ahmisa comes in. The word literally means without harm (A- absence of, and himsa- pain or harm). It is part of a set of ethical principles from the Yoga Sutra that offers precepts for peaceful** living.

Ahimsa means "doing our best not to harm ourselves or others (including sentient beings); not harming the environment; tolerance even for that which we dislike, and not speaking that which, though truthful, would injure others." 

Practicing Ahimsa has made me less angry, and more aware of the illusion of being separate from others. When we fully accept our own humanness (flesh), we are more able to offer compassion/Ahimsa (Spirit)to ourselves and those around us!

In Full Fleshiness & Spirit ;0)

Shebah Saturn


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* - We don't have access to biblical scripture in its "purest form," nevertheless, I feel it is possible to extract wisdom from its pages, keeping in mind that the scripture has been understandably tainted through humanity's lust for greed, control, pursuit of power, and the like.

**- Due to the socio-political climate of our time, I do not endorse passivity or non-violence as an effective method for change in all circumstances.