XPOST []: Comprehensive On the Nature of Health: Food vs. Foreign Matter; Relative Rest, Fasting; Thought Forms [Supplements, Herbs; Nature's Design] (Josh's inquiry) (New subject line)

[Guest guest]

On Behalf Of Josh

Monday, October 22, 2007 4:19 PM

 

> " Elchanan " wrote:

> All dietary issues are best addressed by improving one's diet, not by

propping oneself up on supplements. These only train the body NOT to do for

itself what it is designed to do for itself ... and worse.

 

Elchanan,

 

If I'm correct in understanding what you said here, you seem to indicate

that taking supplements over time actually prevents the body from absorbing

nutrients from food. It's an interesting idea, but do you have any evidence

to support this?

 

Josh

_____

 

Hi Josh, and thanks so much for your kind question! Please note that I

choose to place a copyright upon this particular writing. The copyright

notice appears at the end.

__

First, let's examine some basic distinctions of physiology.

 

Whenever we ingest something, whether orally, by injection, through the

skin, or by any other means, our body responds to the presence of whatever

we have ingested. And our body has basically two alternative

interpretations:

 

1. It's food.

2. It's foreign matter.

 

By " food " , I mean anything that the body can use constructively. By " use

constructively " , I mean anything that the body can break down (digest) into

components that, in large measure, can be used to construct whatever the

body needs to construct and to facilitate whatever metabolic processes the

body needs to facilitate ... AND where the body can easily and

straightforwardly eliminate any unusable portion without enervation or

stimulation. (And noting that enervation and stimulation are flip sides of

the same coin. If you/anyone wish more discussion on this idea, just write

back.

 

By " foreign matter " , I mean anything that the body MUST eliminate in order

to protect itself, EVEN IF that something contains some components that

could be used constructively. In this sense, all vitamin supplements are

foreign matter, because they all contain ingredients ... usually the vast

majority of those present ... which are toxic to the body or which, at the

very least, simply trigger the body to use valuable energy and other

resources for elimination. I consider this a very costly way to nourish

oneself!!!

 

Now I'll relate a story about herbs and fasting, as best I can remember it

now, and as originally told to me by my teacher, Mr. Ray Kent

(www.OurPlaceInternational.com <http://www.ourplaceinternational.com/> ).

 

A woman once came to Ray, saying that the doctors wanted to remove her

uterus and that she was desperately seeking an alternative. After some

discussion, she agreed to fast under Ray's supervision. After several days,

a thick, tar-like substance began emanating from her vagina.

 

The woman became frightened and without speaking to Ray, went to see a

Chinese doctor. This doctor prescribed an herb(s), and within a day or so,

the flow of this substance had ceased.

 

Elated, the woman called Ray and said words to the effect that " I'm healed! "

And Ray then explained to her that the herb had been so toxic, from the

point of view of her body, that her body had had no choice but to suspect

cleansing her vagina in order to eliminate the herb. This was why the flow

of crud has stopped.

 

The woman agreed to resume her fast, and the flow of black, tar-like stuff

from her vagina resumed and continued for several more days. Then this flow

diminished and stopped, just as Ray has told her it would.

 

At this point, she was ready to exit from her fast. To my knowledge, this

woman is still in full possession of her vagina ... and much, much more!

 

Moral of this story: The body cleanses, restores, and replenishes itself in

accordance with ITS priorities ... not those we might consciously seek to

impose upon it. And whenever we do seek to impose some alternate priority

scheme upon our body, our body MUST respond with equal effort in the

opposite direction ... namely, to eliminate whatever imposed. This is

equally so whether we impose a cleanse or an herb or a steroid or an

antibiotic. It simply doesn't matter WHAT foreign matter we introduce ... in

every case, the body MUST respond in order to maintain and sustain itself.

 

How do we know this is PREDICYABLY so? Because for every action, there is an

equal and opposite reaction. The Law of Nature is what it is ... we cannot

change it, we can only demonstrate it.

 

Now let's look from yet another perspective, through yet another lens ...

the way in which we are thinking about this whole topic.

 

Today, most scientists seem to agree that the first life emerged upon the

Earth roughly 3.8 or 3.9 billion years ago (give or take a few days). And

for 99.999999+ % of the time that has passed since that emergence, not one

creature upon the Earth (of which anyone is aware) ever sat and thought

about what to " take " for any symptom. It is correct to say that many

symbiotic and other mutually supportive relationships emerged. In fact, it

is correct, so far as any scientist presently knows, to say that ALL life

thrives upon mutually supportive relationships. This is one of the

fundamental principles underlying permaculture and many other schools of

thought.

 

Yet in spite of this apparent lack of self-care, this absence of treating

any symptoms, life upon the Earth has thrived all this time, having only

been turned backward upon occasion by major events of Nature itself. (By

this, I refer to impacts by cosmic bodies, methane explosions from under the

oceans, changes in solar output, and the like.)

 

Now enter Those-Who-Would-Provide-Treatments. These self-proclaimed

" experts " in this or that would have us believe that they have somehow

transcended Nature's own knowledge of itself. that they have somehow

discovered how to control Nature in ways that produce better results than

Nature itself can produce.

 

Now, I am one who believes in a probabilistic Universe ... anything that can

be conceived of can occur with some probability, however small. But when I

consider Nature's track record ... sustained life thriving in every

conceivable location on the surface of the planet for nearly 4 billion years

.... and when I compare this track record to that of

Those-Who-Would-Provide-Treatments ... illness, disease, substitution of one

symptom for another to the point where cause-and-effect relationships become

obscured and our very capacity to comprehend plummets ... well, I'll go with

the former, 100% of the time.

 

No one has ever become sick due to a clay deficiency.

No one has ever become sick due to an herb deficiency.

No one has ever become sick due to a psyllium husk deficiency.

No one has ever become sick due to a medicine deficiency.

 

And almost all of humanity that lives in " civilization " is ALWAYS sick, to

some degree, due to simple, plain, straightforward malnutrition.

 

What is the solution to malnutrition? Better nutrition!!! It's really that

simple and straightforward.

 

And perhaps because we have been raised in a civilization that seems to

emphasize complexity, we often have no idea what to make of Nature's

straightforward and simple ... but NOT simplistic ... ways.

 

Thinking about it will not get us there. No amount of analysis will ever

take us where we truly wish to go.

 

Acceptance WILL take us there. Acceptance of Nature's design, not only in

terms of what we see, but in terms of Nature's underlying processes.

 

Let's explore from yet another perspective, let's look through one more

lens.

 

I can show people how to create outrageous health for themselves without

using any stimulants or additives, no herbs, no clay, no urine, no

supplements or treatments of any kind (allowing for exceptions in the

presence of trauma).

 

I am not alone in this. Others can and DO accomplish the same. And so can

every single person here. Why? Because there is no magic, there is no

special brilliance or insight. There are only expanding self-awareness and

outward awareness, expanding self-love and love, ever-improving self-care,

ever sharper clarity and focus, and so forth.

 

In this sense, the very best evidence I know for not using all these

treatments and additives ... herbs or otherwise ... is simply this: We can

accomplish all that we require without using any of these things, and we can

do so quickly, easily, and with grace. Therefore, it is unlikely that these

things do or even can add to our success. And we KNOW, from straightforward

chemical analysis, that all these substances contain matter that is foreign

to the human body, that the body MUST respond to the presence of such matter

by expending valuable energy and other resources to eliminate it.

 

Now, to address your question directly. Josh, you ask, " ... you seem to

indicate that taking supplements over time actually prevents the body from

absorbing nutrients from food. It's an interesting idea, but do you have any

evidence to support this? "

 

The body acts upon each substance we might " take " based upon what that

substance contains. For example:

 

- Some " superfoods " (e.g., some of those taken from the sea) and " vitamin

supplements " contain vitamin analogs. These occupy receptor sites designed

to recognize real vitamins, blocking those receptors from recognizing the

real thing. Over time, a " deficiency " might occur. Why? Because we have

interfered with our body's innate capacity for awareness of signals from its

environment ... where the signal, in this case, is the real vitamin showing

up at the cell membrane. This is well documented in the scientific

literature.

 

- Cacao/chocolate (and many other substances) contain chemicals that evoke a

fight-or-flight response within the body. Again, this is well-documented in

the scientific literature.

 

- When we place a leaf from any FRESH (unprocessed) " medicinal herb " in the

mouth, the lag time until we spit it out approaches zero. Why? Because our

body immediately recognizes foreign matter. That is, our innate intelligence

" knows " just what it is designed to know ... the knowledge of the eons. Of

course, many believe that their conscious mind can do better. So they

process these leaves, mix them with other things to mask their awful flavor,

and sell them for " health " reasons. To obtain such evidence, we require no

scientific literature at all. We require only our own mouth.

 

My intent here is to provide a few examples, not to list the body's

responses to all possible ingestible items.

 

And finally, Josh, one more perspective, let's look through yet one more

lens ... relative rest, with fasting our example.

 

To the best of my knowledge, all living organisms ... all of life ... are

designed to thrive in the presence of abundance AND to survive IN EXCELLENT

HEALTH in the presence of scarcity. This has been a necessary outcome of

adaptive evolution, because Nature itself ebbs and flows over time. (For

those with strong religious beliefs about the Creation, by " adaptive

evolution " , I do not mean the creation of new species via some random,

mythical links. Rather, I mean the capacity of all life to adapt, which I

perceive as part of Nature's design, part of the Divine Design. The emerging

research field of epigenetics is beginning to provide, for the very first

time, a glimpse into HOW creatures may adapt, from the inside out.)

 

I can think of no human-created experience where our capacity to thrive in

excellent health ... in fact, to IMPROVE our health ... in the presence of

scarcity is more evident than when we choose to fast. (I refer to genuine

fasting, as it is done throughout Nature, on water alone. I do not include

various approaches to eating that have been commercially labeled " fasting " .)

 

 

All cleansing and restoration of the body ... what many call " healing " , but

which actually encompasses much, much more ... occurs when the body

experiences a state of relative rest. (Some might call this " comparative

rest " .) By " relative rest " , I mean any reduction in activity that frees the

body to redirect energy and other resources toward cleansing and restoring

itself. Again, this is well documented in the scientific literature. See,

for example, the literature on exercise physiology, which is based almost in

its entirety upon the continuous ebb and flow of activity and rest, exertion

and recovery.

 

- When we lie down and close our eyes, we create relative rest.

 

- When we simplify our diet, reducing the digestive workload, we create

relative rest.

 

- When we choose to eat only food and not foreign matter, we create relative

rest (in the sense that we avoid creating extra work that would deplete, or

enervate, the body).

 

- When we refrain from watching television, a most enervating activity due

to the technology used to generate the image upon the screen, we create

relative rest (again, in the sense that we avoid enervating activity).

 

- When we meditate, we create relative rest (depending upon how we

meditate).

 

- When we sleep, we create relative rest.

 

And when we fast, we create a deep, sustained, systemic state of relative

rest. This is particularly so if, when we fast, we minimize all forms of

activity and stimulation, in addition to cessation of eating. In other

words, fasting is nothing more, in a sense, than a deep state of consciously

chosen rest. And this is why it " works " .

 

When we fast, we experience all manner of improvement. Tumors cysts, and

polyps dissolve; they body recaptures and recycles what it can and

eliminates the rest. Arthritis, diabetes, " sexually transmitted diseases "

(STDs) all diminish and eventually disappear. Organs and tissues heal, and

the body, IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY INCOMING NUTRIENTS WHATSOEVER, constructs

all manner of new material and structures. " Allergies " fade away, healthful

blood composition and blood-sugar management are restored, " pathogenic

organisms " recede into the background, where they belong.

 

Of course, my comments here only begin to summarize the benefits we

experience through fasting. My point is only that we experience the most

comprehensive and sustainable improvements in health when we choose to eat

no food at all. And this brings me to the final point I wish to make here.

 

For those who are sick from living in modern " civilization " , in terms of

what we eat, what we STOP consuming contributes as much, if not more, to

improving our health than does anything at all we may choose to consume.

 

- When we STOP consuming the damaged proteins and fats and the caramelized

carbohydrates present in all cooked foods, our health improves.

 

- When we STOP consuming the flesh and milk of other species, our health

improves.

 

- When we STOP consuming grass seed ( " grains " ) and other items that MUST be

processed merely to pass through our digestive system, regardless of the

nutritive consequences, our health improves.

 

- When we STOP consuming dry foods, whether cooked, dehydrated, sundried, or

the like ... substances that remove water from us ... our health improves.

 

- When we STOP consuming Nature's poisons, such as caffeine and nicotine,

our health improves.

 

- When we STOP consuming alcohol, our health improves.

 

What is the meaning of all this?

 

Every choice we make TO do something is also a choice NOT TO DO something

else. We can, after all, only do so many things, and we really con only

focus well on doing one or two things at any moment in time. Such is the

nature of our conscious awareness.

 

So when we eat bananas, we also " not eat " , say, a hamburger, a grilled

cheese sandwich, a casserole ....

 

If we choose to develop habits of simplicity, then we never bog our system

down with unnecessary complexity, as the requirement to digest 20 foods all

at once.

 

If we choose to focus upon what CAUSES health, then we never bog our mind

down with unnecessary complexity about what to " take " for each symptoms that

may arise.

 

Please write back if you wish to explore more! And again, Josh, thank you

for your kind inquiry!

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

PS: When I refer in this writing to " the scientific literature " , I mean

textbooks ... entirely mainstream thinking. We need not have kept up on the

most recent research findings to discover what we need to know viz. the

topics addressed herein.

________________________

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

 

Copyright 5767 (2007 CE in the common calendar). The Presiding Emissary for

Vibrant Living Ministries, and Successors (hereinafter " Vibrant Living

Ministries " ) asserts a private copyright over this entire publication as an

absolute possessor of hereditaments, in accordance with the common law and

under natural law.

 

 

Permission is hereby granted ONLY to any natural man, woman, or child to

excerpt or use all or any portion of the content of this publication for any

noncommercial purpose whatsoever, subject to the following conditions:

 

1. Any portion excerpted must be sufficiently complete to assure no loss or

alteration of meaning or context.

2. The man, woman or child excerpting or otherwise using all or any portion

hereof must place the following (or substantially similar) text prominently

and in close proximity to the material excerpted or used:

 

Written by Elchanan. Copyrighted material of The Presiding Emissary for

 

Vibrant Living Ministries, and Successors, as provided in the common law

 

and under natural law. For private, personal use only.

________________________