Some good points there Phil, as always.
As someone with a vague recollection of possessing character traits including reactive, anxious, quiet, shy .... I can honestly say that I'm now always the calming influence who can bring a reflective, considered mindset to situations perceived and reacted to by others as stressful.
Same here. People say that nothing seems to bother me and they are shocked when I get visibly frustrated, which hasn't happened in person in over a year, and I like to think happened only once here (in response to another blog), but do correct me if you think I'm forgetting any outbursts.
I no longer feel overwhelmed or lack confidence. They're subtle changes that have taken place over time but that I feel have been brought about, at least partly, by my RAF diets. I expect this is a result of resolution of metabolic disorders, hormone balance and digestive improvement. I no longer even feel stress.
Same here. It takes a lot to stress me now--like a superior venting by screaming at the top of his lungs at me over a year ago. Never figured such loud noises could come out of such a wee man.
I was basically an innocent bystander and when he got his way (more money for him) he was fawningly friendly later on. Yuck! I think I preferred the screaming.
I also used to be easily startled and people could easily sneak up on me without my noticing. Increasingly it is the opposite. Heh, heh, heh!
Interesting to hear your experiences in meditation, yoga and exercise Phil. I think meditation can help with many of these factors but only as part of a whole package. I see and hear of so many people who practice meditation along with what they consider 'healthy' diets in addition to practicing alternative therapies. Many seem to think they can make large gains in these 'pursuits' without following correct diets and I see them make very limited progress.
Yup. My father let his poor friend the monk know about Paleo, but he wasn't interested. Despite all his praying and meditating, he was like a high-strung poodle. The monastery he joined required that novices undergo an extended bread-and-water fast which caused his hair to fall out and his teeth to rot (which were all extracted and replaced with false teeth). My father referred him to me. Despite that history, he wouldn't try Paleo. He died a miserable death not long afterward. Very sad. I read his autobiography and it included a long litany of chronic health problems. He was a poster boy of modern food syndrome.
I agree that correct diet is far more powerful. I wonder what levels we can reach using meditation once we've nailed the diet aspect?! Do you still experiment with meditation? Have you noticed significant differences pre- and post- raw paleo?
Yes, this may sound strange, but increasingly it seems like my everyday physiology is becoming more organically meditative/yogic. When I walk, my fingers naturally attain a lotus position and my breathing flows yogically. There are no longer distracting thoughts and fog floating around in my brain. I daydream less and am more focused. Etc., etc.
Yeah, I meant high paid, high stress job or high maintenance girlfriend/partner etc i believe stress is under recognized as a cause for illness although I find those most affected by it the most likely to deny it.
IMO mental outlook is 50% of the equation, for example we have people here on eating the most amazingly healthy diets (especially compared to SAD) but still claim they feel like they are on deaths door.
I agree that chronic stress is important, but I see it as a trigger and symptom, instead of an underlying cause. For me, the stress evaporated and positive outlook became effortless and unconscious when I initially cut out gluten, and later when I went VLC and ZC. I was always more positive than avg despite my past problems, but now more so. Perhaps I am a rare case, but friends and relatives have reported similar results, in varying degrees. I'm sure I still could improve quite a bit, but I'm enjoying the improvements. Some damage is probably too severe to resolve quickly (and I think some people might need special foods or foodlements or missing nutrient replacements, or whatever you want to call them, to correct deficiencies from past poor diet), or perhaps at all, but my own rejuvenation has been better than I expected. As always, YMMV and I'm not telling anyone else what to do.
