Hello,
What's On My Mind is a weekly newsletter where I share some of my thoughts, stories, and ideas to raise awareness; enable personal growth; nourish an open mind; encourage self-discovery; and empowering myself and others with individual responsibility.
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I hope you find them of any use.
Do less
We need to do less. The most valuable resource is not money, or oil, or gold, or diamonds. The most valuable things any of us have is time. Once time is gone, you can't get it back. You can always get more money, more power, more work, more whatever. But you can not get time.
These days, most people think about how limited their time is and they try to compensate by filling up every moment, so they won't miss out. They think the answer is to do more. The think that if they work harder, work longer, they'll create some magical time-filled future where they can relax. But that never happens. Adding more means that you always have more, like an avalanche.
Imagine, you buy a tv, so then you need a tv stand, and a DVD player, and a surround sound kit, and a satellite receiver. Then you have to work overtime to pay for all of it. And in the end, you spend every remaining moment watching tv, out of some internal need to justify all the money you spend on it, and before you know it your life is over and your time is gone.
Your boss asks you to "take the lead" on a prestigious new project that will get you huge points, and you'll finally "get the recognition you deserve for how hard you work". So you overcommit your time at the office, and make up for it by cutting your time at home, your time with your family, your time with your friends, and most of all, by sacrificing all those things that matter to you.
Do better
Quantity is only half of the problem... there's also a problem of quality. All of these things that are stealing your time are meaningless.
In the blink of an eye, you wake up and you're 50. Then, it seems like a week later you're 60. With some luck, you reach 70, and 80, maybe even 90, but definitely faster than you expected, and always before you were ready. And one day you'll be sitting in a rocking chair, or laying in a bed, or wherever it is that you find yourself, and you'll think back to all the time you spent watching television, all the time you spent playing xbox, all the time you spent reading emails, or refreshing Twitter, or playing Farmville on Facebook. You'll think of the incredible number of hours you've spent sitting in an office, or sitting in a car, or sitting in front of a television, and I promise you won't feel very good about it. There are going to be things you wish you'd done, things you should have done, things you could have done, but for whatever reason you didn't. Those are things you should be doing.
Get out and live!
Stop feeding your television. Stop working your life away to pay for things you don't even need or want. Stop trying so hard to get more done, make more time, fit more in. When you are old no one will care about those things. Get out and live! Gather adventures so you have stories to tell that inspire others to go out and live.
Teachings & Insights
Tao Te Ching - 47 -
Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world.
Without looking out your window, you can see the essence of the Tao.
The more you know, the less you understand.
The Master arrives without leaving, sees the light without looking, achieves without doing a thing.
Short Video - Sit less, Squat more
Modern shoes and sedentary lifestyles are weakening our feet. Squatting is our default resting position, returning to a deep natural squat is the first to improving ankle, hip, and spine mobility.
Quote(s) to contemplate
“They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason." - Ernest Hemingway
“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” - Albert Einstein
Fundamentals - curiousity, thought, breath, water, nutrition, nature, rest, movement, relationships.
Phytoncides
Phytoncides are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or “essential oils” given off by trees. These chemicals have natural antimicrobial and insecticidal qualities that protect the tree from germs and parasites. So, a tree emits these active substances to create a field of protection around itself against harmful bugs, bacteria, and disease. Other green plants, like vegetables, do this too.
When humans breathe phytoncides in, they can produce many fabulous benefits inside the body. Some of the responses discovered by science include:
Immune response: a 2-hour walk in the forest increases natural killer cell activity that can last for days.
Anti-inflammatory: common forest terpenes temper inflammation and reduce oxidative stress.
Nervous system: forest air creates a relaxation response and lowers nervous system activity.
Mood enhancing: exposure to forest air reduces cortisol levels and β-pinene has antidepressive properties.
Sleep: phytoncides like α-pinene enhance sleep.
Blood glucose: exposure to VOCs can reduce blood glucose levels.
Visiting forests on a relatively regular basis can be a good health-promoting practice, since, by reducing stress levels and boosting immune function, it seems capable of diminishing the incidence of stress-related and lifestyle-induced illnesses, varying from cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic diseases to neuropsychiatric conditions and, possibly, even cancer.
Podcast - High Intensity Health
A new Intermittent Fasting study review suggests health benefits linked with Intermittent Fasting are amplified by exercise. We dive into these details and discuss fasting plan options to consider based upon your current fitness level and health.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Qa2EGuP4VYmV3lONFOSG8?si=u1RdJfcRqiaBc-DI3yRg&utm_source=copy-link
Did you know...
that our ancestors had better metabolic health than we do today?
It’s no secret: our metabolism is under attack. Caffeine is overstimulating us. Sugar and artificial junk are contributing to insulin spikes, energy crashes, and long-term health problems. In the past, we used to eat less sugar, move around more, and enjoy the benefits of ketones, an ancient metabolic superfuel. When we’re out of sugar and pushed to our metabolic limits, we create ketones to fuel our brains and bodies. Ketones take you to a place where everything flows: a calm, gentle, and clean boost of energy without the jitters or sugar crash. Elevated ketone levels are proven to support athletic performance, mental clarity, recovery, and more. And fun fact: ketones produce 28% more energy than sugar alone!
Thank you for your spending your valuable time on reading this newsletter. Your support is much appreciated.
Joey van Tilburg
