Peace and Happiness

It is easy to say, “But I can’t help the way I feel.” An important principle is that you can and do control your thoughts and feelings.

 by Dr. Larry Wilson — 

An overall healthful lifestyle is often the most important aspect of maintaining health. Here are some simple ways to live well and find more peace and happiness in your life.

Sleep and rest

Sleep at least eight or more hours every single day. If you require an extra hour to fall asleep, go to bed an hour earlier. Optimally, bedtime should be between 8 and 9 p.m., or as early as possible. The hours before midnight are much more restful for most people. The reasons for this are complex; however, the natural sleep cycle is from sundown to sunup.

Many people have a sleep deficit. This means you may feel even more tired at times — for several years, perhaps — until the body catches up with its need for rest.

Napping is also excellent and, at times necessary, especially while you are healing. If possible, plan your day so that you can nap for an hour in the afternoon, the late morning or perhaps both. This is challenging for many people, but often can be arranged if planned carefully.

To plan for a nap, even at work, eat lunch quickly so there is time for a rest afterward. If there is no couch to lie down on, you may be able to sit comfortably in your car for 15 minutes and take a short snooze. At an early job in my career, the man who sat next to me ate lunch at his desk. He then relaxed in his high-backed chair and took a 10-minute nap.

When driving long distances, stop your car safely off the road, lock the doors, roll up the windows and nap for 15 to 30 minutes. You will wake up refreshed and have a much safer trip as well. Even if you don’t sleep, just resting and closing your eyes is very helpful.

Toxic exposures

Ingested toxins. Reduce or avoid all toxic food additives, preservatives, colors, flavors, artificial sweeteners, flavor enhancers and other harmful consumables. Also reduce or avoid all toxic medical drugs, over-the-counter drugs and even prescription drugs — unless absolutely needed. Also, avoid most surgeries, due to the anesthesia and other drugs used.

Contact and airborne toxins. If possible, live and work in clean, safe and comfortable surroundings where you can relax. Wear gloves if you handle metals or chemicals. Minimize exposure to toxic new carpets, many new building materials and synthetic clothing that has not been washed to reduce its chemical off-gassing.

Ventilate your working and sleeping areas. Do your best to avoid contact with pesticides, solvents and all toxic metals and chemicals. Also, avoid crowded and confined areas due to the many bacteria and other germs in the air. Unfortunately, this includes theatres, stadiums and aircraft.

Electromagnetic toxins. Avoid, as much as possible, all X-rays, CAT scans, GI series and even unnecessary dental X-rays. Also minimize cell phone and portable phone use, unless you use a headset.

Some people do not feel well working under fluorescent lights all day, though they are often the only light source available. Placing a small full-spectrum bulb or lamp shining toward you will help with this problem at times.

Waterborne toxins. Reduce your use of swimming pools and especially hot tubs, unless they are privately owned and/or you know how they were purified. Hydrogen peroxide, silver or copper are preferable to using chlorine or bromine.

However, all bathing in pools or hot tubs exposes you to dangerous bacteria and viruses that are not killed by any purification method. In addition, you will absorb many toxic chemicals found in nearly all municipal water supplies and even well water today. Public pools and hot tubs are the worst.

Drinking water

Ideally, adults should drink three quarts or more of spring or steam-distilled water daily. This is about 100 ounces or about 12 medium-sized glasses per day. This will often assist your healing and general health more than any other lifestyle factor, besides rest and sleep.

Plastic bottles used to package spring and distilled water appear to be far less of a problem than all the chemicals in tap and filtered water. In hot, dry climates or while traveling on airplanes, you need to drink even more water.

Other beverages, except for mild teas without sweeteners, do not count toward the three quarts of water. Well water, carbon-filtered and reverse osmosis water are not as good, in my experience. I do not recommend alkaline water machines, as they use tap water and for other reasons. Tap water is usually not a healthful water to drink.

Ideally, do not drink much with meals. Wait an hour afterward before drinking water, and don’t drink 10 minutes before eating your meal. Also, do not drink after 5 or 6 p.m., if it will keep you awake going to the bathroom at night.

Basic eating habits

Eat at least three regular meals every day. If this is not possible, eat at least two excellent meals. Skipping meals for convenience, to lose weight or for any other reason generally leads to poorer overall nutrition, stresses the adrenals and does not help with weight loss in most cases.

Eat four or five times daily if you have adrenal imbalance or hypoglycemia to a significant degree. This will keep the blood sugar level higher and greatly reduce stress on the adrenal glands. However, avoid just snacking all day. Sit down when you eat, even if you are partaking in lighter or snack-like meals.

Eat slowly and chew each mouthful at least five or more times. Chewing 15 to 20 times is actually beneficial for one’s health. If you are overweight, it can often lead to eating less food and some fast weight loss.

Personal hygiene

Cleanliness and neatness in personal habits promotes healing. Personal hygiene is mostly about periodic bathing, changing clothes and washing hands at least four or five times daily, especially before eating. Dental hygiene is also critical for overall health. The most important procedure is usually flossing the teeth once or twice daily to remove food particles.

Exercise

Most everyone is safer and better off with gentle exercise a few times a week. Some examples are: slow walking, bicycling, swimming (without chlorine or bromine if possible), weights, mini-trampoline or other exercises that are easier on the body.

Reasons I do not recommend vigorous exercise for almost everyone are:

• People are exhausted. This is often evident from most hair analyses. Vigorous exercise, while it has definite benefits, eventually weakens many people.
• Exercise performed too often acts as a stimulant that makes one feel better temporarily, but at the expense of general health.
• Exercise always uses up vital nutrients, and stresses the adrenals and thyroid glands.
• Most people have structural and chiropractic imbalances that often become worse with exercise.

Sauna therapy, which I highly recommend, can provide many of the same benefits as exercise, as well as other benefits, with much less depletion of energy.

If you desire to build strength, pick up a book entitled The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution by Frederick Hahn, Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D. This book can help you become stronger with just a single one-hour workout every five to seven days.

Posture

Many people have poor posture that restricts their breathing and other organ activities. Here is a simple method for correcting posture.

Imagine a string tied to an eyelet that is screwed into the crown of your head. The crown is not the middle of the skull, but is slightly nearer the back of the head. Now imagine supporting your head and body by this string alone. (Otherwise, the body hangs loosely, like a puppet.)

Visualize this often while walking or even sitting down. It may seem odd at first. However, with a little practice, it will help remind you how to sit or stand in a relaxed, healthful posture.

Habits of thought

Here are a few basic principles of correct thought:

• The Ten Commandments are valid today. If you have not read them lately, review them. They may be out of fashion for some, but they are not out of date.

• Take full responsibility for your life, rather than playing the victim. To be a victim is always a lie from a spiritual point of view. This is probably the most common error millions of people make. A victim is powerless. If you feel you are a victim, you have automatically handed power to your oppressors, whatever or whoever you believe they are. Sooner or later this often results in physical and mental illness. In contrast, if you take full responsibility for everything and everyone in your life, you are always empowered. If problems exist, you still have the power to change them.

It is easy to say, “But I can’t help the way I feel.” An important principle is that you can and do control your thoughts and feelings. However, it often takes catching yourself thinking in victim mode — many times, even — to remove this weed from your mental garden. Anything that can help remind you not to be the victim is helpful, from books and movies to counseling, affirmations, meditation and other methods. If you set your intention clearly, you will slowly climb out of the victim role.

• Think positively. This is not the same as positive thinking, which is often denial of the truth. Thinking positively means to look on the bright side as much as possible. It does not mean to ignore the obvious or to believe that things will work out when all the facts argue against it. Remember that it is as easy to think positively as it is to think negatively. However, most people only see the dark side of life.

Negativity is subtle and can masquerade as realism. For example, one may say, “I am just viewing the situation realistically.” However, this is often not the case, and the person is confusing his own perception with the actual facts of the matter.

To assist in learning to think positively, try to be around people who tend to be happier and more upbeat. Let go of the naysayers in your life. If it is your partner or a child, work to remind them of the positive without getting into “Pollyanna talk” (all is well when it is not).

At a deeper level, listen to CDs, read books and watch DVDs that are genuine and positive. For more complex issues, the Roy Masters meditation, in my experience, will help anyone sort out facts from perceptions and will bring an honest positivity to those who practice it daily. (To obtain this meditation exercise, I offer it on CD for nine dollars, plus shipping. Roy Masters offers it on CD at www.fhu.com.)

• Think wholesomely. This means to watch your lower impulses at all times. These include anger, rage, lust, greed and the idea that others are here to serve you in some way. These problems have plagued humanity forever and are discussed in all the major religions and philosophies. They are natural impulses, but not helpful in the slightest degree. They must be controlled in some way, whether by government laws, moral codes, fear of punishment or other methods.

In some circles today, controlling your emotions and thoughts is considered repression or an impediment to expressing who you really are. This, I maintain, is always a lie. We live at many levels. We choose our altitude, so to speak, by our attitude. Everyone, without exception, has lower impulses and ambitions. They are always unhelpful and the cause of many illnesses.

To help overcome unwholesome thoughts and feelings, substitute more wholesome ones. Let go of friends and work situations that expose you to those who are coarse, angry or engage in unwholesome behaviors. Plenty of people are out there who seek pure, wholesome lives and will accept you into their groups and workplaces.

• Let go of all grudges and resentments. Holding on to grudges and hateful thoughts toward others is associated with all chronic degenerative diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease and many others. Learn to let go, even if it hurts and you feel terribly alone or cheated by life.

Useful techniques to assist you in letting go of grudges, resentments and all negative thinking include the Roy Masters meditation. Others are affirmations, relaxation techniques, more rest and improving your overall physical health. You are then more able to live freely, without the need to dislike or resent others for any reason at all.

• Gratitude is always best. Gratitude is one of the healthiest attitudes to adopt. It is the recognition that all of life is a gift, as are the seemingly adverse circumstances that often are a part of living. Therefore, one can and should be grateful for whatever comes along.

Gratitude is not the same as a Pollyanna attitude or what is often considered positive thinking. In other words, one must not invent positive reasons for difficult situations. Also, one must not overlook and ignore facts. It is still possible to be grateful, however, for all that you have and all that you are. This perspective will help you through health challenges more than any other.

If you cannot see or feel gratitude to this extent, I recommend that each night before retiring, make a list of at least five people, places or things for which you are grateful. Review the list often. Practicing gratitude as much as possible can lead to more healing — of the liver, in particular — than from most other therapies.

Dr. Lawrence Wilson has a medical degree and has been in the health field for more than 25 years. His books include Nutritional Balancing and Hair Mineral Analysis, Legal Guidelines for Unlicensed Practitioners, Healing Ourselves and Manual of Sauna Therapy and The Real Self. He also co-authored Toxic Metals in Human Health and Disease and contributed to The Dangers of Socialized Medicine. www.drlwilson.com or 928-445-7690.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 28, Number 1, Feb/Mar 2009.