Austin and the "Healthy Living Revolution"

Hey, I helped start this Healthy Living Revolution.

I moved to Austin in the 1970s. The population back then pushed 300,000 souls. Now we are pushing a cool 1,000,000. And I do mean a cool million! Austin wreaks with coolness, hipsters everywhere you look. Went to see a film yesterday at the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater so hip, while you watch the film, a beer you can sip. Just don't talk or look at your cellphone during the movie! Tattoos, beards, and youthful energy flew freely.  The Law of Attraction at work....

Austin had an early reputation as an open-minded outlook, deep in the heart of Texas. Texas seemed a  "loose-limbed" place, as stated by songwriter Michelle Shocked. Texas offered more space and psychological freedom than my crowded Long Island, New York, my point of origin.

Austin proved to be fertile ground for progressive thinking and a relaxed lifestyle. Willie Nelson helped the hippies and rednecks get along on speaking terms. Relaxed lifestyle for me meant working 20 hours a week as a waiter. I had serious free time-- for  enjoying my own thoughts and sharing vegetarian meals with friends.

Those hippie roots helped turn Austin into an "Idea City," a phrased used to describe Austin  GSD&M, a  homegrown advertising agency. One of Austin big ideas-- Living a Healthy Lifestyle-- means we learned how to eat well, from mustard greens to lentil beans, and to exercise.  And, yes, we got too self-absorbed, extreme and overly precious about our beliefs.

Portland, Oregon is our sister city, the northwestern version of Idea City.

I am amazed at how other places took so long to catch the wave. But they do catch up. Word has gotten out. Information travels quickly these days.  A few big ideas:

1) Healthy living could help solve the diabetes crisis.
2) Healthy living could remedy the obesity crisis in a hurry.
3) Healthy living is more cost-effective than doctor visits and hospital visits.
(Though doctors and hospitals are great when they are most needed.)

It ain't rocket science... but 1/2 hour or more of exercise per day and eating a plant-based diet and you've punched the ticket to a more enjoyable life.

I'm glad I live here!

Cheryl Richardson-- More To Life Than Meets the Eye

Cheryl Richardson (best-selling author)

Notes from Interview

You Can Heal Your Life --DVD—interview portion -- #7

Unconscious in my early years

Influenced by Louise Hay

Cheryl has an attractive presence, expressive, relaxed and nice voice

Met Louise Hay

·      liked that she teaches from her own experience

·      practical nature of book

·      w/ specific ailments, affirmations

More to Life Than Meets the Eye

·      picked up Louise at airport

·      came out like a Queen

“The way I think may be influencing my life.”

Sticky Notes

·      wrote exact computer I wanted

·      and I wanted “free travel”

·      got computer from boss

·      friend took her on free trip to Boca Raton

·      no longer sees Universe as Santa Claus

·      but master of my own destiny

Challenges w/Purple… laughs, means something else…. Challenges w/Purpose ?, w/People

Lack of Clarity

·      we think in generalities

·      know what you want

·      clarify what you want

Lack of Information

·      we say… “I must be afraid”

·      we say… “I’m sabotaging myself.”

·      But really People Don’t Have The Info

But we will take action w/help

Isolation is a problem

Intention—“I want to write a book”

Make it into smaller steps—

·      go to the right people for suppor

·      Don’t go to the hardware store for milk

·      (wrong people)

Spiritual Growth—relationships

·      dated a man’s potential

·      forced me to grow

·      unbalanced relationships

·      “tried to get them on board”

Got my own apt (33-34 years)

Craft Myself a Great Partner

·      Please allow this or something greater to occur—that supports my highest and best interests.

Treasure Map

Affirmation + Action= Miracles

Personal Ad in Paper—Took Action

Michael—13 years ago

Strong Affirmation

Intentions & Affirmations—we don’t know the power

Emmett Fox—early 20^th century philosopher

·      deepest desires—don’t want to say things aloud

·      say things out loud

·      Action plan—make the space to allow in what we want

Affirmation + Emotional Power

(step into that state)

Living in the –

Powerful Emotional State

And

Energetic State

·      love

·      Abundance

Install these affirmations

(program yourself)

Make a John app!

Make a (Your Name here) app!

3 Keys to Longevity-- Diet, Exercise, Involvement

Anatomy of an Illness
by: Norman Cousins

Dr Rene Dubos:
from the Introduction to the book

Dr. Alexander Leaf, of Harvard Medical School, has recently made extensive clinical and social observations on very old people in several parts of the world. His studies have led him to suggest the longevity is correlated with a rather frugal diet but of well-balanced composition, vigorous and continued physical activity, and involvement in community affairs to the end of one's life. Complete retirement from active life life does not seem to be a good way to reach a very old age.

Health v Health Care

Got this off the JH Kunstler blog-- from one of his readers:

Steve

sprawlcapital
March 1, 2016



Health, as opposed to health care, is something that a person earns for him or her self through good set, physical exertion and avoidance of toxins.

I can only speak for myself, but I want health, not health care. I know from experience that health care rarely provides health.

Golf Course-- a duffer's journal

Thought about calling this "A Hacker's Journal"-- but somebody would have come looking for a computer hacker story. This about an inept golfer-- AKA "a duffer."

Jokes are made about golf. I played 18 holes today so I guess the joke was on me. I felt tired by the end. Not exactly triumphant. The bad news-- my score was 119. The good news-- I came in second place in our threesome!

Does golf provide physical exercise if you use a golf cart to go from hole to hole? Yes, if you hit the ball all over the place. I spent time looking through weeds and walking on the edges of a lake.

You do commune with nature. You're outdoors and not checking your cellphone constantly. Those two things are beneficial right there.

I drank beer and ate pizza with one of my golf partners-- the guy that won. He was pretty generous in not giving me too many tips on how to be a better golfer. Advice was the last thing I needed. The beer helped us relax and we celebrated a good day.

I didn't take my pedometer with me. I preferred to focus on the golfing and not on the steps. Even using the cart, I bet I got several miles of walking done.

My most remarkable achievement-- I left 4 clubs behind in the process of playing 18 holes. I would take a sand wedge and a putter if I got in a sand trap. I'd play the ball and then use my putter on the green. I left the sand wedge behind and rode the cart to the next hole. I kept making the same mistake-- left my 9 iron, 8 iron and then 7 iron on various holes on the course-- and only realized the clubs were missing after progressing a few more holes. Guess what? Nice golfers retrieved my clubs and I got them all back at the pro shop in the clubhouse! People are good!

So here's a golf joke from the Internet:

A golfer walks off the 18th green, hands his putter to his caddie and says, "Kid, you've got to be the worst caddie in the world."

The caddie replies, "Sir, that would be too much of a coincidence."

Walk Like a Hippie

Started this blog two years ago-- with the stated goal of walking 10,000 steps (5 miles) per day.

I began with an Omron pedometer. At a certain point I switched to the Fitbit. The Fitbit gives an electronic, digital and more high tech feel to your workout. I never wanted to wear a Fitbit to sleep. I have enough problems sleeping without a Fitbit watching over my tossing and turning!

The Fitbit fell off my wrist one day. The Fitbit was gone. I liked being liberated. I went back to the Omron pedometer. You can keep it in your pocket. It counts your steps. It lets you know how many minutes you have made at a fast pace, called aerobic steps. The pedometer is a mechanical device. It has no GPS to a satellite. It counts your steps based on the movement in your hips.

I like to put the Omron pedometer in my pocket when I go out to exercise. My main exercise is walking. I've learned that if you walk about 4-5 miles per day-- you will feel healthy. That's good news. A good portion of that walking should be aerobic walking. I walk about 116 steps per minute when I am in exercise mode.

I feel even better if I go up and down hills.

The best investment you can make towards retirement-- is to exercise every day. If you walk for health you increase the chances you will make it to retirement age still feeling good.

Maybe I like the pedometer because it measures hip movement-- and I used to be a hippie.

So eat like a hippie, mainly vegetables and beans and whole grains. And walk like a hippie-- using your hips. You will feel the benefits.

Foods That Can Save Your Life

Recently I visited New York City, the place of my birth. NYC has gone nuts with tourists. I guess I'm one of them. My favorite activity up there is reading the tabloid newspapers. Gotham is the place for scandal, insult and injury. The New York Post and The Daily News capture that wild and crazy New York vibe better than any other print format. But get this-- I read an article in the Dec. 16, 2015 on "Foods That Can Save Your Life" by Reed Tucker and it made good sense.

Tucker attributed the nutritional concepts and recommended foods in his article to Dr. Michael Greger, author of "How Not To Die" and that's a pretty compelling title.

Here they are:

1) Beans-- Yay! I'm a major legume fan. If American knew about "legumes"-- black beans, lentils, garbanzos (key ingredient in humus), split peas-- we would have a healthier country.

2) Berries-- article recommends black berries and blueberries as great anti-oxidants.

3) Red cabbage-- anticancer properties, a "cruciferous" variety. Hope you learn 1-2 new nutritional vocabulary words from reading this blog entry-- legumes and cruciferous

4) Greens-- "eating an extra servings of greens a day correlates to a 20% risk reduction for heart attacks or strokes."-- Hey, we love our stats!

5) Mushrooms-- apparently mushrooms do have magical powers. They have "an amino acid called ergothioneine that may slow cell death." Erogthioneine will not be the quiz, but mushrooms will be.

6) Flaxseeds-- they have  more lignan than anything else on the planet. Lingnan is "a cancer-preventing compound." You have to ground the seeds. I have purchased flaxseed oil rom Whole Food Market. And I got milled flaxseed, a flour-like substance from Costco.

7) Nuts-- Walnuts are "high in omega-3 fatty acids." That's a good legal high especially because it reduces your risk of stroke by 50%!

8) Turmeric-- "The spice contains a pigment called curcumin that may play a role in preventing cancer, lung disease and brain disease." The article recommends you eat 1/4 teaspoon a day-- or maybe eat more Indian food and learn to cook Indian flavored dishes with turmeric.

9) Whole grains-- help you live longer and reduces risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke. Brown rice is my go-to grain dish and been eating the dish for decades.

10) Tea-- green tea and white tea recommended for lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat. And Greger say "you should eat the tea leaves" for their nutritional value. Now that's a new one on me. Maybe you should read his book!

While in NYC-- I read a chalk message on the sidewalk-- Exercise empowers longevity-- and the same can be said for good nutrition.

Eating right empowers longevity... That's a tabloid headline we can all use.