Negative Health Effects of Dehydration (Infographic)

How much water you need depends entirely on an individual’s lifestyle, activity levels, eating habits, and even surrounding climate. The best way to figure out what you need is to pay attention to your body’s many signals.

Dehydration actually sets in before you start feeling thirsty, and is often indicated by, oddly enough, feeling slightly hungry. If you find yourself feeling like a snack, try having a glass of water first, and see what happens.

For people who struggle in the mornings, having a couple of glasses of water right when you wake up will help boost your blood pressure to normal levels. It will also help clean out your system and get your metabolism started early.

Not staying hydrated can lead to negative health effects described in this helpful infographic:

4 Healthy Benefits of Chanting “Om” Confirmed With Scientific Evidence (Study)

Some scientific studies have explored the many mental, physical, and spiritual benefits to chanting Om. According to the Vedas, the sound of Om evolves on its own, so it is seen as the sound of the universe, made up of all that is.

To chant Om is to represent all of consciousness. – Yogananda, Indian Yogi

The Sanskrit word Om is pronounced like “Aum,” and is said to represent the threefold division of time (waking state, dreaming state, and deep sleep). It is considered the sound of creation, representing all that is in creation, and it allows for its practitioners to cultivate energy that flows upward through the chakras and then outward through the crown chakra which represents one’s connection to Source.

According to yogic texts, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Om is also the mantra related to the third eye chakra, as chanting Om can help cleanse and balance your third eye. 

Reasons to Chant and Heal

Helps Reduce Stress

A study published in the International Journal of Yoga found that Om chanting reduced activity in the limbic system, which is the portion of the brain associated with stress, emotions, learning, and motivation. By monitoring brain activity using a functional MRI machine, researchers found that Om chanting relaxed the brain, and thus could reduce stress. Another study found that it could be used to treat depression.

Improves Concentration

Yogic texts discuss the eight limbs or branches of yoga, and the sixth one is Dharana, the Sanskrit word for concentration. In practicing concentration, one can meditate and chant mantras in order to achieve maximum concentration. In this context, this means that the yogi is fully present and thus able to slow down the mind in order to either concentrate on one subject or to completely silence the mind.

Balance Your Emotions

If you’re ever feeling a little down or slightly off, chanting Om can help you connect to the Self and balance your emotions. You may find that, as you chant, your mind starts to clear. This is because you’re concentrating on one thing: the sound or vibration that Om gives off. Om holds the same frequency as that of everything in nature, allowing you to connect further and look inwards.

Strengthens Spinal Cord

When you pronounce the first part of Om, making the “Aaaa” sound, the vibration is generated in the abdomen, which can help support your spinal cord. It is said that the more often an individual chants Om, the more efficient their spinal cord may become.

Scientifically Backed Reasons to Chant Om | Collective Evolution

Smarter People Stay Up Late, Do More Drugs, and Have More Sex (Study)

Smarter People Stay Up Late, Do More Drugs, and Have More Sex (Study) | Third Monk image 2

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Sex. Drugs. Late nights.

You may be reading the first four words of my memoir. Or you could be simply listing three things that show signs of being a genius, according to various studies. There’s evidence that shows that if you’re spending less of your nights hitting the books and more time smoking weed and getting laid until 3am, then you’re probably wiser than the rest of us.

Researchers in England have found that students studying at prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge spend more on sex toys than their peers at other universities. Cambridge and Oxford’s sex toy sales on just one website (Lovehoney.co.uk, who funded the research) totaled a staggering $31, 461. No word on what products they ordered, nor whether they kept their glasses on while they used them.

“The correlation probably has something to do with the open-mindedness that comes with intelligence,” says Annalisa Rose, 23, who works at Honey, a high-end sex shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

I think that the ability to engage in an open sex life comes with the abilities of introspection and logical thought, and those require some level of intelligence. If we’re talking about an open sex life that comes from an emotionally healthy place, sexual mores are mostly made up anyway and intelligent people can rationalize past them. – Annalisa Rose

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The 2nd part of our “genius trifecta” is drugs.

Smarter people are more likely to smoke pot or do a line than the average simpleton. This is because, according to many studies, a smarter person isn’t more likely to choose the “smarter” choice of not doing drugs but is instead more likely to pursue the more evolutionary novel choice, one that would inherently expand their horizons. Smarter people don’t necessarily ‘think smarter’ – they simply rationalize where they’re supposed to “feel.” So while a less intelligent person is less likely to pick up a heroin habit in the first place, the more intelligent person will rationalize it. (This explains every good jazz album ever made and also every Christian rock album ever made in the same sentence.)

So while a less intelligent person is less likely to pick up a heroin habit in the first place, the more intelligent person will rationalize it. (This explains every good jazz album ever made and also every Christian rock album ever made in the same sentence.)

A 2010 study that ran in Psychology Today (what, you don’t subscribe?) also states that those with an IQ of 125 or higher are exponentially more likely to use drugs. Says the study:

Net of sex, religion, religiosity, marital status, number of children, education, earnings, depression, satisfaction with life, social class at birth, mother’s education, and father’s education, British children who are more intelligent before the age of 16 are more likely to consume psychoactive drugs at age 42 than less intelligent children.

…there is a clear monotonic association between childhood general intelligence and adult consumption of psychoactive drugs. “Very bright” individuals (with IQs above 125) are roughly three-tenths of a standard deviation more likely to consume psychoactive drugs than “very dull” individuals (with IQs below 75).

Late nights, too, play a leading role in that of the smart person: an academic paper entitled “Why The Night Owl Is More Intelligent,” published in the journal Psychology And Individual Differences, says that for several millennia humans have been largely conditioned to work during the day and sleep at night.

Those that buck the trend, the paper suggests “…that more intelligent individuals may be more likely to acquire and espouse evolutionarily novel values and preferences than less intelligent individuals.”

The paper goes on to say that those who are more liberal and more inclined towards atheism are more likely to be intelligent, too.

Essentially, if you’re more of a forward thinker, if you’re trying something new and pushing your boundaries, you’re most likely more intelligent. This doesn’t mean that Toronto mayor Rob Ford is some kind of lucid genius, however. It merely suggests that smarter people are more likely to have more sex, do drugs, and stay up late.

So if you’re getting laid at 3am on Sunday morning and have a full bowl packed beside the bed and you aren’t going to church the next day, you’re probably a genius.

Either that or you’re incredibly good at living your best life.

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> Smarter People and Their Habits | Esquire

Psychedelic Trip Sitting (A Helpful Guide)

Psychedelic Trip Sitting (A Helpful Guide) | Third Monk

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Psychedelic Trip sitting just means a sober person being present while one or more people take a psychedelic drug, such as magic mushrooms or LSD.

Let’s take a brief look at some things you should be thinking about if you’re going to be someone’s trip sitter.

The presence of a caring sitter provides safety and comfort, ensuring the trip goes smoothly and allowing those tripping to immerse themselves in their experience more freely and without some of the worries or concerns they might otherwise have.

Gather Knowledge…

For starters, you must be well-informed about the substance in question. Do some research until you are comfortable answering questions about duration, dosage, effects and possible side effects.

Having personal experience with the substance is extremely useful, and although recommended, it isn’t necessary. Read reports of people’s experiences, both positive and negative, to get an idea of what an experience on this substance looks like. A great place to find such trip reports is on Erowid.

Have a Conversation…

Having a conversation prior to the trip is important. Ask what they expect from you as a sitter. One person might want you to be quietly present unless something is needed, whereas someone else might want you to play a more active role in the experience, perhaps by talking or guiding a meditation.

Additionally, ask how they would like you to respond if they feel anxious or panicked.

You can also use this opportunity to set some ground rules, such as establishing that it’s okay for the tripper to express sexual or aggressive feelings, should they arise, but that they cannot act on them.

Another ground rule could be that sexual contact can only take place between people who have a pre-existing relationship. Setting such boundaries helps ensure that the trip goes smoothly and without confusion as to what is and isn’t appropriate.

During the trip, your role is to create a safe and comfortable setting in which they can have their experience. The setting includes things like lighting, music, room temperature and, more generally, location. A good place for a trip is in the comfort of someone’s home, where the sitter can easily regulate the environment. Being outside or at a party are less ideal places for tripping, as the setting is more unpredictable and difficult to control.

Above all, remember that you are there to facilitate someone else’s experience, and not to have your own. Don’t treat their trip as your novelty by asking them how they’re feeling, what they’re seeing or trying to show them things that you think might be “trippy” to see how they’ll react. It’s not that you shouldn’t talk at all, but be mindful that you are enhancing someone else’s experience.

Stay Open-Minded…

Try to keep an open and receptive mindset. If you meditate regularly, those skills will come in handy here. Rather than actively searching for whether you should intervene, try to remain uninvolved unless you’re needed. Make it clear that you are there to help and that they shouldn’t hesitate to ask if they want snacks or water, to talk or have a change of setting, or if they feel anxious or uncomfortable.

If the tripper finds themselves in a state of panic or anxiety, the presence of a caring sitter is itself very comforting. A gentle touch on the arm or shoulder can be reassuring, and a change in setting can also help, but be sure to ask and get their consent prior to either of these.

Unless agreed upon before the trip, it’s best not to probe them about what they’re going through, as having to do mental excavation in the moment may become an added stress. Instead, remind them that they’re safe, that you’re there with them, and that it’s okay for them to let themselves experience whatever they are experiencing.

28 Days Later…

In the days following the experience, make yourself available to discuss it.

Psychedelic experiences can be profound and rich in content, and you can help them understand and integrate this experience by providing a space for them to process it. Talking it through can ensure that important aspects of the trip are not forgotten.

Sitting for someone’s trip is a privilege. Being asked to be someone’s sitter is an expression of their trust and of their willingness to have you be part of a highly personal and intimate experience, so approach it with care and respect. Done right, it can be an insightful experience for both parties. And who knows, they might be willing to return the favor.

Safe and happy travels!

> Trip Sitting | Link Newspaper

What a Shaman Sees in a Mental Hospital

What a Shaman Sees in a Mental Hospital | Third Monk

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The Shamanic View of Mental Illness

In the shamanic view, mental illness signals “the birth of a healer,” explains Malidoma Patrice Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born.

What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.” The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm.

Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field. – Dr. Somé

These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm.

One of the things Dr. Somé encountered when he first came to the United States in 1980 for graduate study was how this country deals with mental illness. When a fellow student was sent to a mental institute due to “nervous depression,” Dr. Somé went to visit him.

I was so shocked. That was the first time I was brought face to face with what is done here to people exhibiting the same symptoms I’ve seen in my village. – Dr. Somé

What struck Dr. Somé was that the attention given to such symptoms was based on pathology, on the idea that the condition is something that needs to stop. This was in complete opposition to the way his culture views such a situation. As he looked around the stark ward at the patients, some in straitjackets, some zoned out on medications, others screaming, he observed to himself…

So this is how the healers who are attempting to be born are treated in this culture. What a loss! What a loss that a person who is finally being aligned with a power from the other world is just being wasted.

Another way to say this, which may make more sense to the Western mind, is that we in the West are not trained in how to deal or even taught to acknowledge the existence of psychic phenomena, the spiritual world. In fact, psychic abilities are denigrated. When energies from the spiritual world emerge in a Western psyche, that individual is completely unequipped to integrate them or even recognize what is happening. The result can be terrifying. Without the proper context for and assistance in dealing with the breakthrough from another level of reality, for all practical purposes, the person is insane. Heavy dosing with anti-psychotic drugs compounds the problem and prevents the integration that could lead to soul development and growth in the individual who has received these energies.

On the mental ward, Dr Somé saw a lot of “beings” hanging around the patients, “entities” that are invisible to most people but that shamans and psychics are able to see. “They were causing the crisis in these people,” he says. It appeared to him that these beings were trying to get the medications and their effects out of the bodies of the people the beings were trying to merge with, and were increasing the patients’ pain in the process. “The beings were acting almost like some kind of excavator in the energy field of people. They were really fierce about that. The people they were doing that to were just screaming and yelling,” he said. He couldn’t stay in that environment and had to leave.

In the Dagara tradition, the community helps the person reconcile the energies of both worlds–”the world of the spirit that he or she is merged with, and the village and community.” That person is able then to serve as a bridge between the worlds and help the living with information and healing they need. Thus, the spiritual crisis ends with the birth of another healer.

The other world’s relationship with our world is one of sponsorship.More often than not, the knowledge and skills that arise from this kind of merger are a knowledge or a skill that is provided directly from the other world. – Dr. Somé

The beings who were increasing the pain of the inmates on the mental hospital ward were actually attempting to merge with the inmates in order to get messages through to this world. The people they had chosen to merge with were getting no assistance in learning how to be a bridge between the worlds and the beings’ attempts to merge were thwarted. The result was the sustaining of the initial disorder of energy and the aborting of the birth of a healer.

“The Western culture has consistently ignored the birth of the healer,” states Dr. Somé. “Consequently, there will be a tendency from the other world to keep trying as many people as possible in an attempt to get somebody’s attention. They have to try harder.” The spirits are drawn to people whose senses have not been anesthetized. “The sensitivity is pretty much read as an invitation to come in,” he notes.

Those who develop so-called mental disorders are those who are sensitive, which is viewed in Western culture as oversensitivity. Indigenous cultures don’t see it that way and, as a result, sensitive people don’t experience themselves as overly sensitive. In the West, “it is the overload of the culture they’re in that is just wrecking them,” observes Dr. Somé. The frenetic pace, the bombardment of the senses, and the violent energy that characterize Western culture can overwhelm sensitive people.

Schizophrenia and Foreign Energy

With schizophrenia, there is a special “receptivity to a flow of images and information, which cannot be controlled,” stated Dr. Somé. “When this kind of rush occurs at a time that is not personally chosen, and particularly when it comes with images that are scary and contradictory, the person goes into a frenzy.”

What is required in this situation is first to separate the person’s energy from the extraneous foreign energies, by using shamanic practice (what is known as a “sweep”) to clear the latter out of the individual’s aura. With the clearing of their energy field, the person no longer picks up a flood of information and so no longer has a reason to be scared and disturbed, explains Dr. Somé.

Then it is possible to help the person align with the energy of the spirit being attempting to come through from the other world and give birth to the healer. The blockage of that emergence is what creates problems. “The energy of the healer is a high-voltage energy,” he observes. “When it is blocked, it just burns up the person. It’s like a short-circuit. Fuses are blowing. This is why it can be really scary, and I understand why this culture prefers to confine these people. Here they are yelling and screaming, and they’re put into a straitjacket. That’s a sad image.” Again, the shamanic approach is to work on aligning the energies so there is no blockage, “fuses” aren’t blowing, and the person can become the healer they are meant to be.

It needs to be noted at this point, however, that not all of the spirit beings that enter a person’s energetic field are there for the purposes of promoting healing. There are negative energies as well, which are undesirable presences in the aura. In those cases, the shamanic approach is to remove them from the aura, rather than work to align the discordant energies

Alex: Crazy in the USA, Healer in Africa

To test his belief that the shamanic view of mental illness holds true in the Western world as well as in indigenous cultures, Dr. Somé took a mental patient back to Africa with him, to his village. I was prompted by my own curiosity to find out whether there’s truth in the universality that

I was prompted by my own curiosity to find out whether there’s truth in the universality that mental illness could be connected with an alignment with a being from another world. – Dr. Somé

Alex was an 18-year-old American who had suffered a psychotic break when he was 14. He had hallucinations, was suicidal, and went through cycles of dangerously severe depression. He was in a mental hospital and had been given a lot of drugs, but nothing was helping. “The parents had done everything–unsuccessfully,” says Dr. Somé. “They didn’t know what else to do.”

With their permission, Dr. Somé took their son to Africa. “After eight months there, Alex had become quite normal, Dr. Somé reports. He was even able to participate with healers in the business of healing; sitting with them all day long and helping them, assisting them in what they were doing with their clients . . . . He spent about four years in my village.” Alex stayed by choice, not because he needed more healing. He felt, “much safer in the village than in America.”

To bring his energy and that of the being from the spiritual realm into alignment, Alex went through a shamanic ritual designed for that purpose, although it was slightly different from the one used with the Dagara people. “He wasn’t born in the village, so something else applied. But the result was similar, even though the ritual was not literally the same,” explains Dr. Somé. The fact that aligning the energy worked to heal Alex demonstrated to Dr. Somé that the connection between other beings and mental illness is indeed universal.

After the ritual, Alex began to share the messages that the spirit being had for this world. Unfortunately, the people he was talking to didn’t speak English (Dr. Somé was away at that point). The whole experience led, however, to Alex’s going to college to study psychology. He returned to the United States after four years because “he discovered that all the things that he needed to do had been done, and he could then move on with his life.”

The last that Dr. Somé heard was that Alex was in graduate school in psychology at Harvard. No one had thought he would ever be able to complete undergraduate studies, much less get an advanced degree.

Dr. Somé sums up what Alex’s mental illness was all about: “He was reaching out. It was an emergency call. His job and his purpose

He was reaching out. It was an emergency call. His job and his purpose was to be a healer. He said no one was paying attention to that.

After seeing how well the shamanic approach worked for Alex, Dr. Somé concluded that spirit beings are just as much an issue in the West as in his community in Africa. “Yet the question still remains, the answer to this problem must be found here, instead of having to go all the way overseas to seek the answer. There has to be a way in which a little bit of attention beyond the pathology of this whole experience leads to the possibility of coming up with the proper ritual to help people.

Longing for Spiritual Connection

A common thread that Dr. Somé has noticed in “mental” disorders in the West is “a very ancient ancestral energy that has been placed in stasis, that finally is coming out in the person.” His job then is to trace it back, to go back in time to discover what that spirit is. In most cases, the spirit is connected to nature, especially with mountains or big rivers, he says.

In the case of mountains, as an example to explain the phenomenon, “it’s a spirit of the mountain that is walking side by side with the person and, as a result, creating a time-space distortion that is affecting the person caught in it.” What is needed is a merger or alignment of the two energies, “so the person and the mountain spirit become one.” Again, the shaman conducts a specific ritual to bring about this alignment.

Dr. Somé believes that he encounters this situation so often in the United States because “most of the fabric of this country is made up of the energy of the machine, and the result of that is the disconnection and the severing of the past. You can run from the past, but you can’t hide from it.” The ancestral spirit of the natural world comes visiting.

It’s not so much what the spirit wants as it is what the person wants. The spirit sees in us a call for something grand, something that will make life meaningful, and so the spirit is responding to that. – Dr. Somé

That call, which we don’t even know we are making, reflects “a strong longing for a profound connection, a connection that transcends materialism and possession of things and moves into a tangible cosmic dimension. Most of this longing is unconscious, but for spirits, conscious or unconscious doesn’t make any difference.” They respond to either.

As part of the ritual to merge the mountain and human energy, those who are receiving the “mountain energy” are sent to a mountain area of their choice, where they pick up a stone that calls to them. They bring that stone back for the rest of the ritual and then keep it as a companion; some even carry it around with them. “The presence of the stone does a lot in tuning the perceptive ability of the person,” notes Dr. Somé. “They receive all kinds of information that they can make use of, so it’s like they get some tangible guidance from the other world as to how to live their life.”

When it is the “river energy,” those being called go to the river and, after speaking to the river spirit, find a water stone to bring back for the same kind of ritual as with the mountain spirit.

“People think something extraordinary must be done in an extraordinary situation like this,” he says. That’s not usually the case. Sometimes it is as simple as carrying a stone.

A Sacred Ritual Approach to Mental Illness

One of the gifts a shaman can bring to the Western world is to help people rediscover ritual, which is so sadly lacking.

The abandonment of ritual can be devastating. From the spiritual view, ritual is inevitable and necessary if one is to live. To say that ritual is needed in the industrialized world is an understatement. We have seen in my own people that it is probably impossible to live a sane life without it. – Dr. Somé in Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community.

Dr. Somé did not feel that the rituals from his traditional village could simply be transferred to the West, so over his years of shamanic work here, he has designed rituals that meet the very different needs of this culture. Although the rituals change according to the individual or the group involved, he finds that there is a need for certain rituals in general.

One of these involves helping people discover that their distress is coming from the fact that they are “called by beings from the other world to cooperate with them in doing healing work.” Ritual allows them to move out of the distress and accept that calling.

Another ritual need relates to initiation. In indigenous cultures all over the world, young people are initiated into adulthood when they reach a certain age. The lack of such initiation in the West is part of the crisis that people are in here, says Dr. Somé.

He urges communities to bring together “the creative juices of people who have had this kind of experience, in an attempt to come up with some kind of an alternative ritual that would at least begin to put a dent in this kind of crisis.”

Another ritual that repeatedly speaks to the needs of those coming to him for help entails making a bonfire, and then putting into the bonfire “items that are symbolic of issues carried inside the individuals . . . It might be the issues of anger and frustration against an ancestor who has left a legacy of murder and enslavement or anything, things that the descendant has to live with,” he explains.

If these are approached as things that are blocking the human imagination, the person’s life purpose, and even the person’s view of life as something that can improve, then it makes sense to begin thinking in terms of how to turn that blockage into a roadway that can lead to something more creative and more fulfilling. – Dr. Somé

The example of issues with an ancestors touches on rituals designed by Dr. Somé that address a serious dysfunction in Western society and in the process “trigger enlightenment” in participants. These are ancestral rituals, and the dysfunction they are aimed at is the mass turning-of-the-back on ancestors. Some of the spirits trying to come through, as described earlier, may be “ancestors who want to merge with a descendant in an attempt to heal what they weren’t able to do while in their physical body.”

“Unless the relationship between the living and the dead is in balance, chaos ensues,” he says. “The Dagara believe that, if such an imbalance exists, it is the duty of the living to heal their ancestors. If these ancestors are not healed, their sick energy will haunt the souls and psyches of those who are responsible for helping them.” The rituals focus on healing the relationship with our ancestors, both specific issues of an individual ancestor and the larger cultural issues contained in our past. Dr. Somé has seen extraordinary healing occur at these rituals.

Taking a sacred ritual approach to mental illness rather than regarding the person as a pathological case gives the person affected–and indeed the community at large–the opportunity to begin looking at it from that vantage point too, which leads to “a whole plethora of opportunities and ritual initiative that can be very, very beneficial to everyone present,” states. Dr. Somé.

Excerpted from: The Natural Medicine Guide to Schizophrenia, or The Natural Medicine Guide to Bi-polar Disorder, pages 178-189, Stephanie Marohn (featuring Malidoma Patrice Somé).

> Shamanic View of Mental Illness | Waking Times

Power of Meditation Can Alter Human Cells (Video)

Power of Meditation Can Alter Human Cells (Video) | Third Monk image 1

Recent studies in Canada are showing hard evidence that the power of meditation can change the body on a cellular level.

Scientist found that the protein caps at the end of our chromosomes that denote cellular aging had not diminished in cancer survivors that meditate. The mind-body connection is becoming more apparent with each study.

Scientist already know that meditation can help you strengthen connections in the brain; but this evidence takes us a step further, suggesting that meditation may be useful when treating terminal illnesses.

The Power of Meditation

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The Psychological Importance of Movement and Exercise – Ted Talk (Video)

The Psychological Importance of Movement and Exercise - Ted Talk (Video) | Third Monk image 2

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Exercise is the catalyst to learning and high brain function. Kids need to move around and activate the brain but these days schools have kids sitting for ridiculously long periods of time causing an uptick in the diagnosis of ADD-ADHD.

Children get fidgety and stop paying attention when they have not had enough movement. 20 minutes a day of movement is not enough. Exercise directly correlates to the way our brain functions.

Movement is beneficial throughout a humans life. Lack of exercise and movement may lead to a lack of motivation and depression in adults.

These two Ted Talks explore the importance of movement and exercise in school children and adults, as well as the benefits to the brain, its affect on learning and its affect on behavior.

The Importance of Movement and Exercise

Run, Jump, Learn! How Exercise can Transform our Schools: John J. Ratey, MD

Wendy Suzuki – Exercise and the Brain

Properly Attune Your Body & Mind Before Using Psychedelic Plant Medicines

Properly Attune Your Body & Mind Before Using Psychedelic Plant Medicines | Third Monk image 1

Before incorporating the knowledge of advanced plant medicines, properly attuning one’s body and mind through diet and exercise is essential.

What goes into the body determines what the body will be composed of physically, mentally, and spiritually. The vessel must be adequately equipped to handle whatever may occur while in the spiritual realms. Body and mind exist in a symbiotic relationship, where the effects on one reflects on the other. Depending on which plant medicine you use, the intensity and length of body preparation varies accordingly.

Click here for our article on Shroom Consumption.

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Ayahuasca

Many traditional diets share common similarities, but each initiate will know what they need to abstain from to gain the greatest knowledge possible from the experience.

Common themes include abstinence from alcohol, sugar, salt, oils, meat and certain spices. Consumption of raw foods is also highly recommended as processing diminishes the nutritional content of the food. It is also common in some locales for initiates of ayahuasca to stop sexual thoughts and activities during the course of the diet and experience. There are reasons for this abstinence that are highlighted in greater detail here. For plant teachers such as Peyote and Psilocybin, a similar diet should be applied.

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Exercises Before Consumption

A short fast before engaging in any plant medicine is recommended, aim for anywhere from 8-24 hours. Attempting to digest a plant teacher with other foods in the stomach can cause the initiate to undergo physical stress.

It is recommended that initiates disengage from the integration of meat and animal products into their bodies for weeks before, during and after the spiritual journey. It is also recommended that initiates let go of whatever it is they may be struggling with in their lives.

Temporary separation from those attachments which we feel we cannot live without will serve to enlighten us. If one struggles with addictive behavior, one should surrender that behavior before encountering the plant medicine if they wish to maximize their knowledge from the plant.

Anything one can do to purify and cleanse both thoughts and action – before and after the experience – will serve to increase penetration and understanding.

Psychedelic Spirituality Podcast – Proper Diet and Exercise for Spiritual Experience

With Kundalini Yoga Teacher Mehtab Benton

> Ways to Spiritually Cleanse Before Using | Time Wheel Net

Your Brain on Porn: How Porn Consumption Changes Your Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity (Study)

Your Brain on Porn: How Porn Consumption Changes Your Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity (Study) | Third Monk image 3

porn-2 This is the first brain-scan study published on porn users, and it was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals, JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers found several brain changes, and those changes correlated with how much porn was consumed. The subjects were moderate porn users, not classified as addicted.

Your Brain on Porn

The more porn the subjects used, the less gray matter in the striatum. The striatum is a complex set of structures. It includes the reward center (ventral striatum) and the dorsal striatum, which also goes by several names. Less gray matter means fewer nerve connections (dendrites and axon terminals) in reward-related areas. Put simply, less gray matter in the striatum mean less reward activity, and a decline in dopamine signaling (desensitization).

That could mean that regular consumption of pornography more or less wears out your reward system. – Simone Kühn, Lead Author

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A second finding…

The connection between the striatum and prefrontal cortex worsened with increased porn watching. This may indicate hypofrontality (a weakening of the impulse control circuits).

A third finding…

The more porn used the less reward activation when viewing sexual images. A possible explanation is that heavy users need more stimulation, confirming desensitization.

We assume that subjects with a high porn consumption need increasing stimulation to receive the same amount of reward. Existing psychological, scientific literature suggests consumers of porn will seek material with novel and more extreme sex games. That would fit perfectly the hypothesis that their reward systems need growing stimulation. – Simone Kühn

The above findings dismantle the two primary arguments put forth by porn addiction naysayers:

  • That porn addiction is a sign of high sexual desire. Reality: The heaviest porn users had less response to sexual images, exhibiting less “sexual desire.
  • That compulsive porn use is driven by habituation, or becoming easily bored. Reality: Habituation is a temporary effect that doesn’t involve measurable shrinkage of actual brain structures.

Keep in mind that the results of this study are consistent with over 60 recent brain studies done on internet and video game addicts by addiction neuroscience experts. In these studies, the results demonstrate profound brain changes from over consumption of internet stimuli.

Brain-on-Porn

 Porn On The Brain – Channel 4 Documentary

6 Bad Habits That Drain Your Energy

6 Bad Habits That Drain Your Energy | Third Monk image 2

 

Simpsons_tiredLack of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do (and don’t do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore.

Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

You don’t drink enough water

Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine.

Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs.

To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.

You skip exercise when you’re tired

Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks.

Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you’re tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won’t regret it.

You’re a perfectionist

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Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine.

“You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction.” Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you’ll realize that the extra time you were taking wasn’t actually improving your work.

You make mountains out of molehills

If you assume that you’re about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you’re too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you’ll get into an accident, then you’re guilty of “catastrophizing,” or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine.

When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.

You skip breakfast

The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish.

“Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kickstarting your metabolism,” Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat.

You work through vacation

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Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger. “When you truly take breaks, you will be more creative, productive, and effective when you return,” says Lombardo.

14 Reasons You’re Tired All the Time | TIME