Morning Prayer

What is morning prayer? To me this is tough without a god, or knowing god is just a concept. We need to know where we are going short term. Morning prayer is a time to set out today's plan, nothing more.

Am I willing to recover, am I willing to what is necessary, (No SGO6EE, 301+1 or 311)? Am I willing to all those other things, exercise, work (what ever that is as a semi-retired person)? Do I have a plan for today, that complies with my values of what I think future life of this species will look like? What will future community look like long term?

We are living as society and growth is expanding. This is a time of excess for some, of food, of choice, of growth, of prosperity. This too will end. What will our future society look like? I think, first a time of wearing out the existing assets, then a relearning of gardening, subsistence farming, understanding the human psyche  as never before in the general population, understanding what drives us. We are evolving.

The authentic self is a concept that somewhere inside us is a true self, what we really are, and there is a growing movement to find that self. Buddha found himself, and laid out one path. Many other have laid out what they think is the path, even the christian and moors have a concept of a path to the future, but have no ability to express where they are going in modern terms. For those of us who have grown up in modern times, out grown religion, we need a clear concept of what we need to evolve into to survive, without being excessively wordy. We need to understand the best of what we have, recognise the limitations, shortcomings, and move forward as individuals and as a collective.

Meditation, time set aside for quite thinking, clearing the mind of other thoughts, and practice controlling our own mind is a wonderful thing. Learning to take a few minutes at a time of non-thinking, which usually is really thinking about only one thing, is wonderful, intense  and insightful process. Some people like visualization, others like listening to music, or some other distraction. Exercises, to some also does the same thing, at the same time, strengths the mind housing organelle. Yes, I do suggest that the mind is the ultimate next phase of evolution. It will be all about concepts, and learning.

I will also suggest that we humans will go through a process of belief and value changes. A godless "religion", in the form of good laws, behaviours will be codified and taught to the young, who then can progress without the need of unlearning and relearning, that so many of us have had to do. We got sidetracked with greed philosophy, but the reality is we need to live in the society in which we live in, the community of our peers per-say. So we as a species, need to evolve to something more. At the same time, we need to keep the pressure on all the individuals to continue to evolve to grow, and how do we do this, to me, is unknown. At the same time, wasting resources on those who do not demonstrate the capacity to develop or the desire to devlope is just foolish. But this is often an attitude, and when the attitude changes, development happens. Desire and willingness to do are powerful agent of change.

Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to post your own thoughts or opinions on this subject or any other.

      

Moving beyond god

http://innerpilgrimage.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/imagine-all-the-people-living-for-today-12-step-atheism/ got me thinking---

I had to go look up the lyrics, so here they are:

Artist: John Lennon Lyrics

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say 
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

You, you may say 
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one

We as a species are evolving, just as we always have. Belief in a higher power has got us to where we are, a species in trouble in may ways, yet a successful species. Now where do we go from here? I will suggest the first step is to learn to live self-disciplined, frugal life  in a time of abundance, of food pushers, of drug pushers, of self indulgence, and of self delusions.

Letting go of a god concept, puts the responsibility on us, to set our own course, knowing where we want to go as a species, and also not knowing how to get there. Looking back on where we have been, evaluating the process, discontinuing what does not work, and trying new unproven methods is all good. We need to evaluate those new concepts as well. 

We move through a series of attitudes. What we are doing now is working, why evaluate, is the general status quo. When we identify that we have a problem, we begin the drift to something else. We drift from an attitude of apathy to desire for a solution, which is the requirement to enter the program, a desire. Until then, we are just adrift. Once we have desire to recover, we need to figure out what recovery looks like, we need willingness, first to recover, then to do what is necessary for recover, then moving on to willingness to do all those other things involved in recovery. When we become program people, we have a few guiding principals laid our before us. We can chose to live them, as they are or as they fit our life's. We begin to grow along spiritual lines, into something else.

Where we are headed is not known, however we discontinue behaviours that cause us immediate problems. Food issue cause us immediate and longer term issues. Short term, we can understand this as just high blood glucose. Long term, the scales is the issue.  

Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to post your own thoughts or opinions or this subject or any other.     

  

Commitment

The OA+ program is a willing commitment to follow spiritual principals. One of these principals is a reasonable food program, which I now define as No SGO6EE, 311+1. These spiritual principals rank up in priority close to ethics or any other higher values, noble motives, or similar ethical principle.

Note that upholding this principal is not possible for me without abstinent from SGO6EE. Without avoiding those, I become a craving being  and cannot abstain for long. It is circular illogical argument, but true.

Cleaning of the remainder of defects is a life long process. Some of these defects are self inflicted, and are not really defects, but weaknesses. It is just self improvement in areas which before now, did not matter. I can still become vicious when annoyed. I still have reluctance to talk to others. I still insist on freedom of will to follow or not.

Ultimately, it is all dependent on if I am willing to recover today, am I willing to do what is necessary today.

addiction to exorphins

First, there are two separate parts, one chemical and one behavioural. Deal with the chemical part first, and then look up Schwartz and deal with the behavioural part using both the program and what else may be necessary after dealing with the chemical part.

It call comes down to exorphins verses endorphins. Foods that provide exorphins flood our brains with them, and we are not comfortable with the few endorphins we produce. We need to become accustom to living with the few endorphins we produce. The only way is to be totally abstinent (or very low) of foods containing exorphins. To become a "social" eater allowing exorphins to remain in the diet is near hopeless, like becoming a social drinker out of an alcoholic.

The 12 step help those who want to be helped. Few of those who walk through the doors the first time want to be helped. Many are doctor, employer, wife/husband, socially- mandated. Until we honestly want to be helped and become willing to clean up our lives, the program is just a place to get our ticket punched.

The program is useful for recognizing that we have a problem, and understanding that there is a solution. Many of the young members have psychological and philosophical issues that need to be addressed. The programs can be a wonderful resource once the newcomer loses the belligerent attitude so many come in with, and become teachable. Until then, the old members will not waste there time on explaining much to overcharged egos, so you have not entered the program. What is the failure rate of those who have truly entered the program? Many know they have one more relapse in them, but we are not sure that we have one more recovery.

The program was there for me when there was nothing else, and we are there for those who want the program. Those that do not want it are just noise, wind in the trees. There is wind coming from inside the program as well.

Willing to do what is necessary is the first part for recovery. Becoming teachable and learning to either follow a food program or learn to build a food program free of exorphins is esential.
Be aware that many of the existing food programs contain exorphins, as the exorphin issue is not well understood.  For me, it is easier to cut out all exorphins. More can be found at my food website http://philosophyofweightmanagement.blogspot.ca/.

Struggling with the Program

Today, I am struggling, not with food or willingness to follow, but Our Invitation to You. I do not agree with "the reasons for the illness are unimportant" The illness is in question, but I do not have a better word.  But the major concern is the whole concept that "the reasons are unimportant" I know the reasons now, exorphins in the food supply. Knowing what to eliminate, how it actual works, make it so much more palatable. I am powerless over exorphins, and my life is unmanageable in this respect.

It is willingness to not intake these that is the first key step in recovery. Just for today helps. But knowing a clear reason for this issue that I have with food make the logic so much simpler. It is easy, If I want to be a normal weight, I must have the willingness to not intake. In the words of an old fellow, If you pray for potatoes, you must be willing to pick up the hoe.

Exorphin Junkie?

Are we exorphin junkies?
http://philosophyofweightmanagement.blogspot.ca/2012/10/exorphin-issue.html

references http://www.wakingtimes.com/2012/05/04/do-hidden-opiates-in-our-food-explain-food-addictions/

http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/2011/10/wheat-belly-toll-of-hubris-on-human.html

http://www.danmahony.com/bigfood2.htm

And Wheat Belly

Enough already

Changing Ourselves QS1

Recovery from obesity requires a great deal of change at the personality level. These changes can be put into categories like nutrition, philosophy or religion, psychology, psychological knowledge and other categories. An obese person does not know what they need to learn to recover. After recovery, we do not know  what concepts we needed to learn to maintain recovery, and when we start to slide back, what did we forget? Or what did we quit doing? Or what additional things do we need to learn?

Recover is a ongoing learning process of self discovery, self actualization, self fulfilment, and it does not end at normal weight. It is more difficult to maintain than lose, as recovery goes from an active stage to maintenance stage.

1. Before we can get a good foothold into the program, we need to take step 0, giving up the addicting foods or addiction like foods. No SGO6EE. We need to separate the chemical addiction from the behavioural addictions, and address both.
2. We need to develop enough fixity of spirit to follow a reasonable food program.
3. We need to adopt a reasonable food program.
4. We need to be able to adjust our food program on the fly.
5. We need to do spiritual development.
6. And we need ongoing support, which I found in weekly OA meetings.

Change itself can be broken in 5 steps, first precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. I will add that change requires willingness first, therefore change has 6 steps, willingness, precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.

Willingness involves identification that we have a problem, and that we would like to solve the problem, to the point of some recovery. I personally check that I am willing to recover, willing to what is necessary for recovery, and that I am willing to what action is required each day.

Precontemplation is a stage before we make a decision to do something. This may vary from apathy to the knoledge that we have a problem, through uncertainty as to what to do, through exploring the possibilities.

Contemplation involves some serious learning and perhaps detailed exploring the options, perhaps a decision as to which option to select. It may involve exploring the cost and time involved, and perhaps an ideally, what success looks like.

Preparation may included learning what must be done, getting the new supplies in stock, disposing of the old. Development of a food program, menus, quantities, and similar, as well as purchase of food stuffs may be included. Preparation may also include spiritual development, in terms of development of sufficient spiritual rigidity to follow your food program.

Action is the doing, the follow through, of the food program one meal at a time, with enough good life between each meal.  For today, and just for today. Action includes a morning planning secession, review of the plan, and daily/weekly reinforcement.

Maintenance includes modification to the food plan, learning additional spiritual concepts to keep you strong on the fixity of spirit, and exploring other concepts that may be of use. To go where we have never been before, to explore, and to learn about ourselves.