In addition to a steady practice of meditation, I suggest a very clean diet with very clean water both for bathing and drinking. Most do not realize that the body absorbs a great deal of its necessary water through bathing. I suggest you consider filtering your water. This is going to save you a lot on your drinking water if you buy bottled water and I urge you to filter your bathing water as well.
Our physical bodies cannot handle the hormones, antibiotics, plastics, and pesticides that show up in the food industry. This is why it is ever so important to eat as organic as possible. City water as well as ground water coming from wells has many chemicals and bacteria that harm the body.
Another great toxin is sugar. Sugar has more than 200 names and is often hidden in everything from sauces to salt! That is right! Some brands of salt add sugar! This is very disturbing for the internal organs and the mind.
We must find our way to healthier living! This in turn eases the grip of the mind which in turn helps us to relax and tune into our intuition. One way I have experimented with removing hidden sugar from my diet is though a brilliant program called WildFit. I found it to be a very easy way to get off of and let go of all sugar causing foods thus changing my relationship with what I eat.
The more advanced meditators do not eat anything from the Allium family of plants. These are very disturbing to the mind. Many question why I do not eat allium and why the meditators and yogis choose to avoid onion or garlic in the diet.
Simply put, it is forbidden to eat allium as an advanced meditator. Sure you could just accept it but I urge you to do a bit of research and try going off it to get a sensation of what I am talking about.
Dr. Robert Beck a former professor at UCLA and highly respected research physicist speaks on his philosophy about the use of Garlic.
I used to begin every meal with onions and garlic sauteing in oil. I loved the fragrant pungent aroma and taste. When I worked as a Chef Garde Manger and went on the hot line to create soup stocks this was the base of just about everything with the addition of celery. Celery is a vegetable I highly recommend keeping in your diet!
Later I lived in an ashram and was asked to stop eating Allium plants for several days before arriving. I had heard about this and was prepared to handle it figuring the varied spices of India would save my palate. What I began to notice in the following weeks was that it became easier and easier to sit for an hour of meditation, that I began sleeping better, and my digestion and general outlook improved.
Over the months it was amazing to notice how my senses of smell and taste sharpened. I imagined this is what animals experienced. One day while I was standing in the ocean a shoal of small fish came around me and began nibbling at my legs. I laughed realizing I must have smelled like a friendly plant to them rather than the stench of Allium plants.
Upon arriving back in the states I ate some dolmas—a dish of rice-stuffed grape leaves—from a grab and go fridge at restaurant I frequent. They have delicious very healthy Middle Eastern food. A little while later after eating them I got a headache and for three nights and I could not sleep. I went out to my recycling bin to read the ingredients on the label and sure enough there were onions in the stuffed grape-leaves.
I decided to experiment. I cleaned out for a week and then I tried garlic. The smell was a huge turnoff and the migraine it produced almost instantly let me know that I was not supposed to eat this anymore. I stopped eating Allium and cleared it out of my system.
I travel a lot and occasionally these plants sneak their way into my food even when I specify that I do not eat them. I tell people that I have an allergy to them so as to gain more understanding from those creating and serving food to me. I have become so sensitive that if a little gets in me I feel the speeding sensation and intense headache instantly and it usually last for one to three days. Turmeric tea, lots of clean drinking water, and extra bathing in Epsom salt baths helps clean this out of my system quicker. Since the cessation of ingesting these plants my digestion has become even better and I sleep so much more deeply without these plants in my food.
We are told through the media about the benefits of Allium plants due to their chemical components and their ability to create viscosity in the blood. These chemicals are seen as helpful to the cardiovascular system however they also possess a sulfuric neurotoxin that Dr. Beck warns is a powerful weapon of destruction.
Try experimenting with letting these pungent plants go for a month to really clear them out of your body. Then try eating them again. I wager you are going to have similar experiences to mine. You do not have to miss the flavor. Try the herb Asafoetida also known as Hing. You can find it here. The powder from this pungent rhizome is super strong. A pinch goes a very long way and when tempered in oil it produces a lovely warming and pungent flavor reminiscent of the sauteing Allium plants and it is great for digestion!
Food alone is not going to take you more deeply into meditation but it does effect your ability to relax and concentrate. Breath and sound are superior to launching us into meditation. Learning the proper way to sit, breathe, and relax are important components of a steady meditation practice.
Guided meditation and creative visualization can be quite useful and are a great stepping stone to get to the bliss of sitting in silence. I invite you to visit www.MeditatewithAmbika for my hypnotic guided meditations podcast to become an even healthier and happier you. Try the Mini-break Meditation and for those of you craving the ability to sleep more deeply I recommend my Guided meditation for Dreamers.
Do you want to spend a week with me in Hot Springs, connecting with your animal spirit guides and relaxing with guided meditations? Come join me in the splendor of
Mother Nature's Magick on a retreat in Costa Rica!
Ambika in Costa Rica this April 18-24 for
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