Lifestyle - 6/9 - Third Monk

Jul 1, 2013Jun 17, 2016

How Exercise Helps us Think Better (Infographic)

Exercise offers a wide range of benefits for our well-being. They are well-known and heavily supported with studies and scientific data. However, new findings are continually being unearthed that help us better understand what exercise is doing to our bodies and our brains.

After being cooped up inside all day, your afternoon stroll may leave you feeling clearheaded. This sensation is not just in your mind. A growing body of evidence suggests we think and learn better when we walk or do another form of exercise. – Justin Roberts, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois

Blood Flow

So, exercise boosts your cognitive functioning and improves your memory, but how exactly does it do that? One of the ways is through improved blood flow. Rhodes writes:

Research shows that when we exercise, blood pressure and blood flow increase everywhere in the body, including the brain. More blood means more energy and oxygen, which makes our brain perform better.

Hippocampus Stimulation

The hippocampus is a brain structure that is important for memory function, but what relation does it have to exercise? Rhodes responds:

Another explanation for why working up a sweat enhances our mental capacity is that the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for learning and memory, is highly active during exercise. When the neurons in this structure rev up, research shows that our cognitive function improves. For instance, studies in mice have revealed that running enhances spatial learning. Other recent work indicates that aerobic exercise can actually reverse hippocampal shrinkage, which occurs naturally with age, and consequently boost memory in older adults. Yet another study found that students who exercise perform better on tests than their less athletic peers.

Exercise Infographic:

> Why do you think better after a walk? | Scientific American

> Running Enhances Neurogenesis, Learning, and Long-term Potentiation in Mice | Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Jun 26, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Stoner Vacation Spot: The Maldives, Island Nation (Photo Gallery, Video)

The Republic of Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It consists of 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 reefs, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making this one of the most distinct countries in the world.

The Maldives – Surfer Video Diary

We live in a world of matter but matter is just energy and when we see it all, take it all in, there’s something resting between the lines, just waiting to be seen.

It is the spirit of love, the spirit of connection. It found me here, and in my heart it will stay.

The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometers long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south.

Maldives – Cannabis Friendly Islands?

Cannabis is supposed to be illegal in the Maldives, but the majority of the population either smokes brown sugar or hashish oil. Law enforcement usually won’t hassle visiting stoners, but it’s recommended to smoke your stuff indoors at your hotel.

It’s easier to buy hashish oil in Male’ than it is to buy a beer. As a rule if you spot 8 local youths on the street, its more than likely that 7 of them are hashish oil smokers. The best locations for stoners to go to are the famous surfing point on Male’ island and around the carnival near the ferry terminal to the airport.
Summer never ends. The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate of the country by acting as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of Maldives ranges between 24 °C (75 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated.

Crystal clear waters, beautiful white sand beaches, swaying palm trees and amazing dive sites – that’s why the Maldives, is known for being one of the best tropical holiday destinations in the world.

With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. More than 80 per cent of the country’s land, composed of coral islands scattered over an area about 850 km across the equator, is less than one metre above sea level.

Each resort in the Maldives is housed on a separate island by itself and offers an exotic blend of modern luxury and isolated serenity.

The Maldives Documentary – Discovery Channel

Jun 25, 2013Jun 17, 2016

How Cannabis Can Benefit Your Exercise Routine

A new understanding of the connection between cannabis and physical activity has emerged, coined as the “endocannabinoid runners’ high.”

How Cannabis Motivates Exercise

Science has now discovered evidence that “runner’s high” evolved in humans to take the discomfort from long distance runners who hunted animals to exhaustion.

All exercise starts in your brain, sending strong signals to skeletal muscles to contract. These stronger signals of intensity in aerobic exercise cause a spike in a natural cannabinoid neurotransmitter called anandamide, whose effects aided early hunter-gather humans to run down game over many miles by blocking pain and inflammation and replacing it with a euphoric “runner’s high.” This hard-wired positive feedback pathway is what THC also activates to produce the same mood state, activating the same CB1 receptor.

Can the mixture of marijuana plus aerobic exercise produce an aroused, energetic, tingly, uplifted, focused, creative, blissful mood state that lasts the whole day, making people want to repeat it over and over again?

The Effect of Cannabis On Workout Routines

The initial rush of cannabinoids locking into CB1/CB2 receptors causes bronchial relaxation, allowing more air to be taken in, and a mild increase in heart rate due to vasodilatation. Both the increased air intake and increased blood vessel diameter deliver increased oxygen and, when channeled into your workout, will help you slip into your cannabinoid zone.

In addition to motivation, marijuana is a fitness junkie’s best friend as a natural medicine for recovery. It’s an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, sleep aid, bone loss preventer, alternative to over the counter NSAIDs, and a great way to wind down after a big workout along with the hot shower and high-protein fruit smoothie.

Even stoners who don’t exercise have benefited from the physical enhancing properties of cannabis. A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that marijuana users have a lower body mass index and a lower rate of diabetes than the U.S. population as a whole.

Cannabis Use Among Professional Athletes

Many elite professional athletes use marijuana for its amazing physical advantages. The best argument against “cannabis use negatively affecting performance” is Olympic Swimming Champion, Michael Phelps. Your lungs need to be on an elite level to rack up all those gold medals, there’s no question that all those bong rips helped Phelps achieve his goals.

Kelly Starret, a physical therapist respected for his approach to preventing injury and hacking the body for optimal performance vouched for cannabis on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. Many NBA trainers told Starret that basketball players will regularly smoke a bowl of cannabis and use the foam roller to recover after games.

The physical benefits of cannabis is not limited to just running and working out. You can integrate it into any physical activity such as dancing, power walking, hiking, swimming, martial arts, or cycling.

> Worth Repeating: The Marijuana Exercise Prescription | Toke of the Town

Jun 12, 2013Jun 17, 2016

The Principles of Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Self Defense (Video)

Rener Gracie of the Gracie Academy explains the differences between sport Jiu-Jitsu used in competition and street Jiu-Jitsu used for self defense survival.

Learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu so that when a giant walks by, you don’t think to yourself ‘oh no,’ you think to yourself ‘how interesting!’ – Rener Gracie

Jun 6, 2013Jun 17, 2016

How to Overcome Bike Commuting Concerns (Infographic)

Biking can be extremely beneficial for our well-being when being done safely. Bike commuting concerns don’t have to be a potential stumbling block when it comes to your ability to enjoy a ride through the city.

So instead of taking a big picture approach to biking, let’s take it one step at a time. Through information and knowledge we can alleviate some of the stress that accompanies a new activity. This infographic about Overcoming Bike Commuting Concerns is a shining example.

Don’t forget to also make sure your bicycle is in proper form and will offer you a safe ride. This infographic comes from the collaborative community GOOD and offers some solid advice for checking your bike before heading out. Enjoy and have a safe ride!

May 10, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Amsterdam’s Cannabis Coffee Shops Provides A Preview for California, Colorado (Video)

Following the passing of recreational marijuana use laws, Colorado and Washington have started to plan for stoner friendly establishments. California is trying to catch up with a 2014 ballot measure that would legalize recreational use of cannabis for adults.

Amsterdam’s coffee shops are an example of how cannabis culture might change in the US.

A Tour Inside Amsterdam’s Cannabis Coffee Shops

Amsterdam’s liberal attitude toward drugs has created a subculture of coffee shops and stoner fans that chill out and eat magic treats or blaze the cannabis without fearing the fuzz. – Attack of the Show

Dampkring Cannabis Coffeeshop: Home of Bowie, the Stoner Cat

A short film montage of the Original Dampkring Cannabis Coffeeshop. Filmed by Maaike Carree

California’s Push for Recreational Cannabis Legalization

The campaign behind the California Cannabis Hemp and Health Initiative, which would explicitly legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, will begin collecting signatures in May, attempting to put their initiative to a vote of the people in 2014. – The Weed Blog

Here’s a breakdown of what the Jack Herer measure would do:

-Legalizes possession
-Legalizes home-growing
-Legalizes industrial hemp
-Makes it illegal for cops to enforce federal cannabis laws in California.
-Sets the possession and grow limit for personal use at 12 pounds, and 99 plants, per adult, per year.

Apr 2, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Terence McKenna – Cannabis Edibles and Creativity, Animation (Video)

Sleep Sweepers by Flying Lotus is used as the background track for Terence Mckenna’s take on the psychedelic effects caused by eating cannabis edibles.

We in the 20th century tend to smoke our cannabis aside from the occasional holiday cannabis cookie, cannabis for us is something that is smoked. On the other hand for the 19th century and for all of European civilization cannabis was something that was eaten in the form of various sugared confections that were prepared and this method of ingestion changes cannabis into an extremely powerful psychedelic experience.

If you read the accounts of people like Theodore Gautier, Baudelaire and Fitz Hugh Ludlow written in the mid 19th century they are describing experiences that are obviously, or are for them as powerful as a 500 micro gram dose of LSD proved in our own life times, and we forget this, we tend to think of it as a social drug and a kind of a minor drug on a par with smoking a cigarette or having a cognac or something like that. Well in fact for the serious eater of hashish it is the portal into a true artificial paradise whose length and breadth is equal to that of any of the artificial paradises that we’ve discovered in modern psychedelic pharmacology.

Apr 2, 2013Jun 3, 2016

David Choe – Take a Risk By Saying “Fuck It” (Video)

In this clip from Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe, Ice T describes the inspiration that pushes people out of their comfort zone. David Choe is mostly known for his awesome street art, but he’s also respected for saying “Fuck It” and living a lifestyle full of risks, failures, and rewards.

Well, to take risks you got to go, “Fuck It.” You know, most men who met their wives, it was a “Fuck It” before they walked up to her, it was that moment where she won’t talk to me, but “Fuck It,” I got to just take the risk, put myself past what I normally would do.

And there are certain people in life, like you say Hunter Thompson, that live in that – that realm of the edge, and everything else is boring, other people are like, how do you do it? You know you see mountain climbers, those mountain climbers are saying “Fuck It.” – Ice T

Mar 27, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Methods of Meditation for the Busy or Impatient (Guide)

If you are struggling with fitting meditation into your daily routine, this guide will help you ease into the practice.

Change Your Mindset About Meditation

Lower your expectations of meditation. Often the reason we are impatient about meditation is we want instant gratification. Replace that expectation with a desire to experience a “slow melt” of your stress.

Be open to non-traditional meditation. Meditation doesn’t have to be done in a seated position. Any activity in which you can slow down your mind, become more inwardly focused and more rooted in the present moment will pass the test for meditation.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t berate yourself for not being “good” at meditating. If you make the effort to meditate, then by default, you are good at it. It’s more a “do or not do” thing versus a “good or bad.”

Commit to slow down your mind for 10 minutes each day. You can obviously do this for longer if you want, but just take your time in building this habit by starting with 10 minutes per day.

How to easily incorporate meditation into your day. Transform some of the things you are already doing each day into mindful meditation:

Exercise Meditation

Any continuous physical activity over a period of time can work. Some great choices are walking, jogging, or yoga. Chores can work too such as sweeping, folding laundry, stacking wood, and washing windows.

The way to transform any of these activities into meditation is to first focus on your breath. Observe it. Modify it. Try long inhalations, holding periods, and slow exhalations if you can. Observe how each part of your body feels. When you start to feel the exercise endorphins kick in, you might also want to express those good feelings with a big smile, a raising of the arms and/or a deep “Ahhhh” sound. Silly? Maybe. Feels good? Definitely.

Bathing Meditation

The next time you shower or take a bath, create your own spa experience simply by flipping the switch in your mind. Let go of any limits. No time limits, no temperature limits. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes. Feel the water. Feel the sensations it gives your body. Allow the water to heal you by transforming your bathing time into a meditation. Focus on your breath and how your body feels. If thoughts involving the past or future come into your mind, observe them and send them packing by returning to your observations of your breath and body. What do you see, feel, smell, and hear?

Let go of words and labels by expressing your good feelings through meaningless sounds such as “aum,” “mmmm,” or “ahhhhh.”

Music Meditation

Listening to music naturally brings us into the present moment. It can also bring us to good memories or daydreams of the future. You can bring more meditative elements to your music experience by noticing how you feel while you listen, play or sing. Add full diaphragmatic breathing and some cannabis too.

Some other music ideas are to pick up that instrument you haven’t played in a while. Don’t worry if you play well or not. The point is simply to become immersed in it and to enjoy it. You also may want to try singing or playing percussion along with your favorite music. Don’t have a drum? Make one. Any object can be a percussion instrument. Just start tapping! Lastly, consider going to a music based event and enjoy. You will be engaged in meditation without any effort at all. No wonder we like music so much!

Hobby Meditation

Similar to the exercise, bathing, and music, immerse yourself in any project that you enjoy such as model building, knitting, car restoration, drawing, painting, crafts, etc. As you enjoy your hobby, add the elements of deep breathing, awareness of sensation, and focus on the current moment and you’ll be meditating. And in the end you’ll have a physical manifestation of that mediation.

Massage Meditation

Schedule a massage for yourself. As you enjoy the physical sensation, be aware of your breath. You may want to focus on one word such as Peace, Calm, Love, Ease, or perhaps a sound with no meaning such as Aum. As everyday thoughts enter your mind, pour them out with the simple mantra “empty the mind.”

> Meditation Techniques for the Busy or Impatient | Dumb Little Man

Mar 8, 2013Jun 17, 2016

An Introduction to Life Hacking for Newbies (Video)

A lot of people think of bad things then they hear the word, “hacking,” but hacking your life can actually be a good thing. We talked with Whitson Gordon, the deputy editor of LifeHacker, about how to hack your way to a better life. – epipheo

Jan 31, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Surreal Looking Travel Spots (Photo Gallery)

Here is a list of travel locations that look so unreal, you’ll wish you had a teleportation machine equipped with cannabis and shrooms.

Crystal Cave – Skaftafell, Iceland

Created by the awesome forces of the Vatnajvkull ice cap in the south of the volcanic island, the deep blue cave was formed by the glacier meeting the coastline.

The centuries old ice that has come from the slopes of 6,921 feet tall Vrffajvkull, Iceland’s tallest active volcano, has compressed all air out of the ice adding to the texture and color of the cave.

Mt. Roraima, Venezuela

The mountains of this range, including Roraima, are considered to be some of the oldest geological formations known, some dating back to two-billion years ago. Its near daily rains have also created a unique ecosystem which includes several endemic species, including a unique carnivorous pitcher plant, and some of the highest waterfalls in the world.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat. The area, some 11,985 feet above sea level, is always a tourist playground, with salt hotels and hot springs serving as major attractions.

Zhangye, China

Early landscape formation joined together all the rock layers of colors imaginable in one place, specifically in the area known as Zhangye Danxia, thus achieving what is perhaps the greatest gathering of different pigments in natural stone in the world.

The Stone Forest – Yunnan, China

The Stone Forest is a notable set of limestone formations located in Yunnan Province, China. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, with many looking like petrified trees thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone.

Lake Retba – Senegal

The bizarre pink color of Lake Retba is caused by Dunaliella salina, a type of halophile green micro-algae, that is found in the water. The high salt content of the lake means that not only is there a booming salt collecting industry on its banks, but like the Dead Sea, you are able to float in it.

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Grand Prismatic Spring has the distinction of being the park’s largest hot spring. It measures approximately 370 feet (112.8 m) in diameter and is over 121 feet (37 m) deep. A hot spring is an area where heated water can easily rise through cracks and fractures in the earth’s surface.

The breathtaking colors are attributed to the various species of thermophilic bacteria living in the spring. The blue water in the center is very hot, but it may support chemotrophic life – a chemotroph is an organism that uses chemicals for a source of energy. As you move farther from the heat source of the spring, life begins to flourish. The cyanobacteria – aquatic photosynthesizing bacteria – that live at the edges of Grand Prismatic Spring cover the color spectrum including yellow, green, orange, red, and brown.

Door to Hell – Derweze, Turkmenistan

The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze (also spelled Darvaza, meaning “gate”), Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. The Door to Hell is noted for its natural gas firing which has been burning continuously since 1971, fed by the rich natural gas deposits in the area. The pungent smell of burning sulfur pervades the area for some distance.

The Richat Structure – Mauritania

Richat Structure is not the site of an ancient meteor crater, as many people originally postulated. These concentric circles are actually alternating layers of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks that were pushed upward in a symmetrical anticline, geologic dome, from below due to a small incursion of magma. The structure is a deeply eroded. The sedimentary rock exposed in this dome range in age from Late Proterozoic (2.5 billion years) within the center of the dome to Ordovician (480 million years) sandstone around its edges.

Jan 25, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Three Ways to Combine Marijuana and Meditation

Cannabis and other psychedelics are wonderful tools to use in conjunction with meditation. The key is to know how you wish to incorporate these tools within your practice and methods. The possibilities are only limited by your own imagination. Marijuana and meditation both bring states of relaxation, clarity and euphoria, combining them seems natural in this world.

1. Wake, Bake, Meditate

Lots of stoners wake and bake as a ritual to start their day. Pour a glass of water along with your morning toke then when you feel the relaxation of being high come over your body and mind find a comfortable place to rest outside on your porch, by a tree or in the morning sun and set your mind free for a couple of minutes.

The timing works well because you don’t have a full day of happenings to contemplate yet. Often times my days go smoother because I visualize how my day will go during this meditation and I set priorities without stress or tension clouding my judgment. Make sure you set aside a good chunk of time so you don’t feel rushed.

Marijuana’s ability to “distort” time makes it easier to sit for longer stretches of time, so light up on your path to enlightenment and enjoy the moment.

2. For The People Who Get Paranoia, Flip The Script

If marijuana makes you paranoid and brings up the doubting/judgmental voice in your head then this is the perfect time to sit and meditate. Many times when we meditate we have to go through the swirling thoughts that arise before we can reach that tranquil state full of knowing, love and acceptance.

If cannabis brings a certain paranoia or thought patterns, sit and listen. Your own consciousnesses is communicating with you giving you insights into who you are, who you believe you are and who you want to be. Embrace yourself, you are the sum of all your thoughts, feelings and actions.

3. End The Silence With A Bong Rip

Sometimes after a workout or a stretching routine I’ll sit comfortably for a meditation session. I enjoy meditation after physical activity because when you close your eyes or fix your gaze on a spot the blood flow within your body is apparent and it brings the feeling of being inside of yourself.

When I feel my consciousness return to this earthly experience and away from my meditative state I leisurely grind herb and pack my bong. I make sure to have all my utensils around me so I don’t have to go far from where I meditate. I inhale deeply and allow the weightlessness to come over my tired body, soothing my previously active muscles.

This bong rip to the dome brings, an at ease state of mind, into an euphoric existence. This helps extend and ground the meditative state I feel beyond the time of the session into my next activities and tasks.