Robin Pan
Pure as lapis lazuli
Penetrating one and all,
Bright as the moon
Illuminating the entire universe
Janice Foltz, 53, looks younger than 40, jogs 2 miles each day and surfs the mini surfboard without the protection of a wet suit. She is supple enough to perform many technically difficult manoeuvres.
Janice has been eating meat in the past. She became seriously ill with an incurable degenerative disease some 16 years ago (Lapis Lazuli Light May 1997 publication). At its worst, she could hardly life one hand without the help of the other. She had to be operated on several times and was even put into a nursing home. In one year she underwent three major surgeries without improvement. She finally felt that she had enough and left the hospital, changed to an non-meat diet, resigned from a highly paid but meaningless job in the gambling city, made many new health-conscious friends, worked in a health food store, learnt cultivation skills from farmers, and ate fresh fruits and vegetables that were full of life energy. Although she did not earn much money during the ebb of her health, Janice was really happy and gradually recovered.
Thereafter, her radiant, youthful, healthy good looks coupled with her culinary skills led to many requests for her to provide food catering services at parties. Soon, Janice became the much sought-after chief cook of parties thrown by many Hollywood stars. During this period, she had her own share of glamor, being chauffeured in expensive limousines and having her own luxurious mansion. However, this kind of life style only made it more clear to her that diamonds are not important; family and friends are. Subsequently, she gave up the job and simplified her life style, living in a small house, driving a small car and leading a normal life.
The once famous cook feels that health has to be considered as a whole package involving body, mind and soul.
The most important aspect of health of the body is digestion. A healthy digestive system stimulates the regeneration of new blood, repairing of damages and restoration of general good health. Janice feels that the daily diet should contain some raw food to provide the life energy. In her opinion, chlorophyll has a remarkable similarity to the red blood cells, thus eating greens is like having a blood transfusion. Amongst spices, parsley is beneficial to blood. Excessive usage of sugar, tea and cheese nowadays has resulted in their illegitimate presence in the blood circulation. To eliminate bodily fats, a glass of lemon juice in warm water spiced up with a dash of cayenne pepper would do the trick. In her daily diet, Janice loves to have cold salad with hot soup; this is helpful in promoting digestion. Some people do not like salad and that is understandable. Modern man takes a lot of artificial sweeteners and other food additives, which dulls the sense of taste. With less than sensitive taste buds, it is little wonder that salads are not palatable. The kitchen should not be stocked with canned food or ‘instant-cooked’ food. We should eat fresh food for the sake of good health. Leftover food should be avoided as there isn’t any food value left and is not fit for consumption.
According to Janice, hospital food lacks life and therefore it is not possible to really regain one’s health there. To achieve real health, one must stay away as far as possible. In today’s healthcare practice where surgery is a popular tool, one should never undergo surgery to remove any organ even though one is very sick. The body is a complete entity and losing an organ would result in damages which cannot be repaired. In the pursuit of good health, one should have the courage to relinquish all material possessions. 90-year old wind surfer, Dr. Paul Bragg, has said that health is truly the treasure which would always be above all material success and other pleasures.
Also, the health of the mind and that of the body are closely related. One must have confidence and faith that one’s health is improving day by day. The source of sickness is grief and stress. When one is stressed, one feels tightness in the shoulders and loses the usual suppleness. Thus, mental stress is harmful to the body. To achieve a peaceful mind, one should avoid bad company; forsake watching TV shows that are frequently critical of others and totally unrealistic; and avoid reading ‘thrash’ in the newspapers, which gives greater stress. As illness originates from the mind, treatment should start from the mind.
One must learn to forgive those who have intentionally or unintentionally hurt oneself, changing anger to peace. When overcome with anger, one should try to transmute it and not allow it to explode. India’ great hero Gandhi practiced this. He transmuted fear with courage. Evil thoughts became great thoughts. When one is not in a good mood, one can plant a tree or a vegetable, so as to distance one’s mind from bad thoughts. Some people like to recall their painful past; whether the memories are sweet or painful depends on the state of the mind. One can take care of someone or some plants in the garden so as to take the mind off unpleasant memories.
When one is sick, one should not be reminded of the condition. Some people like to talk about their sickness. One should try to change the topic or avoid their company. One should love all living things. Janice cited as an example that when she first met her husband, he used to hate spiders, bugs, snakes, etc., but not any more now. He loves all kinds of living things and has changed his diet resulting in a 100-point drop in his cholesterol reading. Previously, medication could only achieve a 10-point reduction. One must understand that all living things are interrelated, each is a part of the ecosystem of life and would only harm those that are harmful to itself. Anger and hatred are damaging to one’s good health.
Besides emotional health, spiritual belief is also very important. Without spiritual faith, one is likely to succumb easily to obstacles in life; and this is the source of physical ill health. Thus faith in a religion is the source of good health. With faith only can one believe that the world is there for us. With faith one can face the world with confidence. If one has to quit a promising career for the sake of improving spirituality and health, one would not expect to encounter any problem because one knows that one is moving in the right direction.
To relinquish materialistic desires, only a simple life can release one from the jailhouse of money. One should always focus one’s attention on one’s self and not to be envious or jealous of others. Each and every person is unique and has his or her specific value in this universe. If whatever one does is for the good of others and is what one is happy to do, one shouldn’t worry about lacking in happiness and riches. The more one has, the more worries one possesses. Most residences of the rich are protected by tight security systems, complete with safes and constant telephone surveillance. Generally, people think that security comes hand in hand with wealth and tight security systems and services. Aren’t these mere products of one’s desire to feel secure? One should not live to amass wealth but to enrich the self as well as one’s life. Janice feels that enrichment of one’s life starts from ground-planting. One comes into existence because there is earth; we grow because there is earth. According to Janice, Einstein had said that mankind, no matter how great they become, can never supersede nature unless man can make plants. Janice likes to meditate to improve her spirituality. She advises that one can begin by trying to be quiet; say, refrain from speaking for a day. Then only can one discover how totally unimportant was the whole day’s speech. Also, it is only during such quiet moments can one hear one’s own voice and realize one’s own identity and understand the meaning of one’s life. In Janice’s opinion, life is like a Marathon race; the importance lies in trying one’s best to finish the race and not in finishing it first.
She mentioned that Franklin once said that we have our dreams and aspirations everyday so that when we wake up in the morning, we feel that there is meaning and value in living. Someone once asked Janice what her aspiration was. She answered, “My dreams are happening every day, I wish the world to be more beautiful and more healthy. I understand that I have to start working from the garden to convince others. Although I have no children, I wish that this world would be a beautiful place for your children and theirs to enjoy. I do not want a long life, but I do want a full and perfect one. I sincerely feel that if I should die this very day, no one should cry for me because I have had a wonderful life!”
Yes, when you are brimming with compassion, there will be no room for grief, nor fear, even in the face of death.
Below is a collection of Janice’s stay-fit remedies for your reference: –
Intake of nutrients
Water: Drinking water must be filtered; do not use portable water.
Oil: Use olive oil for cold dishes and walnut or sesame oil for hot dishes. Other oils are not good for consumption. Chemical processes are used for the manufacture of most oil in the market presently. This kind of oil product can cause blockages in fine capillaries. If this happens in the brain, the thinking process would be affected. This is one of the reasons for amnesia in old people. Pear is good for the skin; it is also a source of oil.
Minerals: Sprouts contain a lot of minerals. Sprouting is also easy and therefore we can eat more sprouts such as those of alfalfa and sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds contain zinc which helps to strength the sense of taste and smell. In winter, when fresh vegetables are not available, sprouts would make a sensible alternative. Generally, magnesium can be obtained from green vegetables, iron from red vegetables and calcium from carrots (do not peel). That milk can provide the calcium is a misconception. Large quantities of cellulose is present in milk and it is also the important component of the horns and hoofs. The calf needs cellulose to hold up its heavy 600-pound body frame. For mankind, taking milk only adds on to the body weight without increasing the life energy. The large quantities of protein in milk need to be digested by absorbing calcium from the bones and this, ironically, is one of the reasons for osteoporosis. So long as one eats correctly, one should not be afraid of suffering from osteoporosis. This is because our body is totally renewed every seven years; and one would have a completely new body after seven years. Janice drinks 85cc of barley green every day. Barley green is a perfect food and is especially good for the blood.
Vitamins: Supplements of vitamin C can help to eliminate contaminants due to pollution of the environment. We could use some from natural sources to combat the side effects of environmental pollution. Janice suggested that we could consult a book about vitamins to understand what we may lack. Vitamin supplement is best obtained from natural sources.
Food preparations
Stir-frying of vegetables is preferred, observing the healthy rule of minimal usage of oil. Eat simply. Although she is a cook, Janice is surprisingly monotonous in her eating habit. Very little variation in her diet is allowed. One of the golden rules to keep fit is indeed to eat simply.
Avoid food that is not beneficial to the body
For instance, the presence of phosphoric acid in Coca-Cola would dissolve calcium in the body and is one of the causes of osteoporosis. In addition, presence of wine in the liver produces formaldehyde, which is a powerful disinfectant and preservative. The damage that it can do is obvious.
Exercise
The volume of blood that passes through the heart each day is very substantial, thus it makes sense to take good care of the heart. Janice exercises one hour every day, minimum six days a week, so as to maintain the good condition. Besides, perspiration during the exercise helps to discharge toxins from the body.
Fasting
In order to stay healthy, it is necessary to remove toxins from the body besides taking only healthy food. Fasting is a good way of removing toxins. Janice had the experience of fasting (with water) for a duration of one day, ten days and 21 days. If fasting with water only is too drastic for the body, one can also try fasting with fruits. The best result is obtained when only one kind of local seasonal fruit is used; random mixture of fruits is not recommended. In fasting with fruit juice, it is recommended that the juice of only fresh fruits be used; and again, only one kind of fruit is used. Fasting is also a good method of stimulating self-healing; however, it is necessary to fully understand the process of fasting before trying out.
Be kind to one’s digestive system
Food combination is very important. Fruits should not be taken together with rice. If fruits were taken immediately after a meal, the fast-to-digest fruits would be mixed with other slow digestive components (such as starch and proteins) and will be held in the stomach for longer than necessary before breaking down into acid, thus giving unnecessary extra workload to the eliminating process. This is one cause of bad breath and body odor. Starch and proteins are best not to be taken together e.g., rice with beans. It is not advisable to consume excessive proteins. In America, the consumption of proteins is strongly recommended merely for the sake of promoting dairy products.
Janice recommended some recipes as follows: –
Sprouts
Submerge seeds in water, cover with a fine netting material. Discard water next day. Seeds would sprout.
Sour pickled cabbage
Shred cabbage and fill up into a jar. Add water and some salt to pickle. Leave jar uncovered. The pickle is ready in three days. Some liquid may overflow during the process. The ready-to-eat pickle can be refrigerated without covering up. Although no cooking is done to the cabbage, the pickle tastes ‘cooked’.
Rice puree
Boil one cup of rice in 10 cups of water for 2 hours. Blend till the rice becomes puree; for seasoning, add a little salt and any other optional spices.
Almond milk
A source of calcium. Soak almonds overnight, blend and filter. Soaking of the almond allows it to germinate so as to release the life energy. The pulp can be kept for use in making breads and desserts.
Sesame milk
Method as for Almond Milk. It is also a good source for calcium. If desired, serve with banana, sweeten with honey or molasses. Sesame milk does not require filtering.
Ice-cream substitute
Rice puree, molasses, five American dried dates, 4 frozen bananas (frozen after being peeled), and almond paste. Blend evenly. Peanut paste is not recommended because peanut is not a hard fruit; it is a seed and would allow the growth of fungus (aflatoxin). It accumulates and adheres itself inside the body. Whenever a recipe calls for peanut paste, substitute it with almond paste.
Salad sauce
Vinegar with a little olive oil. Add a little preferred herb. Alternatively, tangerine juice can be used.