Vitamin Supplements
Stopped by to visit Warren today. We went for a walk and promptly we started talking an audio book that he’s been listening to by Deepak. We also spoke of multi-vitimins and and another audio book, where the author was talking about supplements. I mentioned that I had significantly lowered my meat intake and Warren recommended (based on a few different sources, including the current audio book) that B12 would be a good supplement to look into.
I stopped by a local organic shop and picked up some B12, Folic Acid & Milk Thistle. Just got home and have been reading the wiki writeup on folic acid.
“Folate is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells.[8] This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Folate is needed to synthesize DNA bases (most notably thymine, but also purine bases) needed for DNA replication. Thus folate deficiency hinders DNA synthesis and cell division, affecting most notably bone marrow and cancer, both of which participate in rapid cell division.”
The wiki entry goes on to describe associations found with mental health and cancer. Basically, is sounds like a good balance of folic acids in the body is certainly a good thing.
Milk Thistle is your liver’s best friend, especially against damage done by toxins. It’s a blood cleanser and also can aid the healing of sebaceous cysts.
Vitimin B12, on the other hand, is essential for,
“…the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins. It is normally involved in the metabolism of every cell of the body, especially affecting DNA synthesis and regulation, but also fatty acid synthesis and energy production.”
“A common synthetic form of the vitamin,cyanocobalamin, does not occur in nature, but is used in many pharmaceuticals, supplements and as food additive, due to its stability and lower cost. In the body it is converted to the physiological forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, leaving behind the cyanide, albeit in minimal concentration.”
Cyanide? OH MY!! Well, apparently we eat more cyanide than we realize, and in small doses, it’s harmless. Since I’m lowering the meats, it sounds like a good idea for me to start taking this supplements.
Oh, and back to Deepak. Apparently he recommends sesame seed oil. Further googling reveals that it’s apparently a good anti-fungal treatment. Huh… go figure.
Dance Practice Party
So, I started learning Ceroc about 3 weeks ago. It’s basically a modification of modern jive. It’s a hell of a lot of fun and easy to learn. Not intimidating for beginners (like me). However, after three classes, I was a little concerned with the footwork. There really isn’t any. This can be good or bad, depending how you look at it. It’s good, because it’s easier and you can makeup your own style. The focus in Ceroc is the moves. Notice that I capitalized it, that’s because it’s trademarked.
Here’s a video of Ceroc in action. Note: After about $25 and two two hour lessons, you could be doing this. Again, it’s easy and fun.
Anyhow, my goal was to learn more traditional dances styles. I’ve already spent too much of my life, on the dance floor, swinging my arms around like a fool. I’ve been trying to move that dancing to lower parts of my body. That’s what brings me to the private lessons. Last week I met up at one of Vancouver’s premier dance studios for a free consultation. The consultation included 15 minutes of lessons and a little chat about why I’m doing it, what I want to get out of it, etc.
This past Wednesday was my first official 45 minute private lesson. If you have not taking dance lessons before, I cannot stress what a difference it makes to have a little one on one time with a dance instructer (keep sly comments to yourself). You focus on the core steps and you have someone there to make sure you don’t learn incorrectly. Biggest problem I had with big classes, is there’s a lot of potential to learn it wrong, and there’s one thing that’s harding than learning… and that’s unlearning. If you are unsure about certain steps, they discourage you from practicing on your own. My teacher simply said, “You’ll know when you’re ready to practice certain steps on your own.” Again, don’t want to have to spend time unlearning incorrect form.
Today was my first dance party, which was preceded by a 45 minute group lesson. They really do stick to the basics, but this really helps in getting your muscles trained for autopilot. In the group class, it was similar to the style of Ceroc classes, where you’re constantly rotating partners. Anyhow… now the dance party!
So basically all the beginner and intermediate students get together for some dancing. Shy guys like myself are put in a situation where you must ask or be asked to dance. I didn’t shake with fear and I wasn’t pouring with sweat… well, yes I was, but it was the dancing, I swear! I want to get the most out of this, so I made sure I didn’t cower in a corner somewhere. Luckily, there were plenty of teachers there to come by and pull me onto the floor. I asked two people to dance, but I could swear that one of them dozed off while I went through my basic steps. Naw, everyone was pretty cool. Didn’t take too long before I could actually put a little sway into my waltz. I tried getting a little fancy with swing, but quickly noticed myself getting a little lost in the steps when I did. Stay focused! Baby steps, Jeremy.
What basic steps did I learn? Foxtrot, waltz, cha-cha-cha, single & triple swing, ramba and tango. I’m happy to say that I didn’t step on any toes. I have some slick dance shoes that are basically black sneakers w/ dance bottoms. Love sliding around on them. Best sliding I’ve had since… well… since we used to poor bottled water on the ground to loosen up the rave goo.
Speaking of “rave”, I think one of the instructors used to “party”. We had some good talks about music and DJing. Speaking of DJing, I think I’m finally getting my gear and library shipped out to Vancouver.
But I digress.
I’m addicted. I couldn’t wipe the grin off of my face the whole night. I guess I did well, considering every one’s surprise when I said I had one lesson. Though, I’d hate to think what they expected a beginner to be like. OH… I know… I have rhythm. Yay me!
What do I really want to learn? Well, the thing I always loved about swing (other than the swinging) were the steps I saw… which I guess they call the “lindy hop”? Oh my goodness. So many different types of swing. Checkout the footwork and acrobatics.
My heart beateth.
Meditation
Entering altered states of mind. A state of clarity. This is certainly one area that Buddhism has helped my life. How to focus the mind. When you discover just how focused you can be, you realize how noisy your head has always been. I blame the excessive amounts of TV and commercials (gotta blame something, no?) But seriously, our minds are too busy. There’s too many distractions and not enough time to give our minds rest. Even sleep isn’t restful anymore. We go to sleep thinking about our day, or worrying about the day to follow. I can’t tell you how refreshing my rests are now, ever since my late night snacks became a salad, my drinks became water and my mind rested with me focused on my breath.
I highly recommend How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan for a no B.S. summary of the practice. Thanks to Bob F. for that recommendation. Of course, the only real way to truly understand it, is to try it. One 10 minute sitting won’t cut it. If you’re looking for the Buddhist usage of meditation, then Turning the Mind Into an Ally is the book to run to. Both books are under 150 pages, but the second book is a much easier read.
Also, I mustn’t forget techno. 14 years old, laying in bed, with headphones on, entering the world of the grid. A world that would later have its doors thrown open even wider with the use of… other tools. Music prepared me. There’s something about that tribal rhythm that really balances out the mind.
The lead character artist at work told me that he doesn’t watch TV. I asked him how he spends hit time at home. He said he meditates 2-3 hours per night. Wow! Sitting in total silence, just focused on your mind. Most would consider this a waste of time, but if you met this guy, you would think otherwise. He’s always calm and collected.
At the very least, I would like to meditate about 30 minutes per night, and this would not include time the time needed for the sketchbook.
2am thoughts
Can’t sleep. A burst of inspiration and confusion. Seeing everything I’m doing wrong. The things I’m doing wrong is that I’m NOT doing things. Not making the changes in my life that I know are healthy. For months I would dance at the bus stop, listening to my headphones. I tried to avoid areas with people, but if someone walked past me and looked at me as if I was a crack head, I smiled and kept dancing.
I warmed up whenever I could (45 min per day, average). My “workout” consisted of pushup bars. Gotta thank Slis for the heads up on these things. I again have a pullup bar & it’s not one I need to be afraid of breaking loose. It’s a custom make and is built right into the supporting 2x4s in the framework of an extra-wide hall / doorway. Meditation/quiet time/breathing practice/dancy/stretching/yogaish type stuff is key. I was somehow able to do it without music. The music was in my head… man.
