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*** QUESTION FROM READER ***
Dear Andrea,
Thanks for all your help so far. Your newsletters
really are helping me. I'd like to ask you
something if you don't mind.
Recently, I read your news letter about the secret
to faster metabolism, and the section that says
zen out. I was wandering if reading and maybe
listening to some music counted?
This might not be the most intelligent question
asked, but I didn't want to begin trying these
things and end up doing them wrong. That wouldn't
exactly do much for my self-image.
Well anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this.
Bye.
Sincerely, Heidi
*** MY COMMENTS ***
Dear Heidi,
First of all, this is a very intelligent
question and I'm really glad that you asked it.
When it comes to getting healthy there are NO
wrong questions. That's why I'm here - for you
to get what you need to start understanding your
own health in YOUR body, mind and spirit.
Pursuing health is a life-long commitment and
the more questions you ask, the deeper you will
be able to explore your own health AWARENESS.
This is how you start (and continue) to get the
HABIT of making healthy choices for a LIFETIME.
I've been pursuing health for over a decade, and
I'm still asking questions... and I don't think
I'll ever stop.
So onto yours...
When I suggested that you take time to "zen out"
this is because I often meet women that are
determined to lose weight and they believe that
the harder they can "push" themselves, the faster
this will happen.
They work out until they drop, they starve
themselves until they are dizzy and never take
time to relax. They feel like relaxing time is
wasting time where they should be sweating or
starving those pounds off.
I understand this thinking because I've been
there. I've been on more than my share of
extreme exercise and diet programs, and I've
noticed in myself and other women that go about
it this way that two things happen:
1. You get burned out and can't keep up this
exhausting pace.
2. You get sick either in your body, mind or
spirit.
>>> THE MODERN LIFE CREATES STRESS <<<
You probably spend every day of your life being
bombarded with stimulation through all of your senses.
There are billboards, tv commercials, magazines
and millions of other visual images flooding through
your eyes and into the visual region of your brain...
There is so much noise pollution from cars, tvs,
radios and computers in your modern world... do you
even know what SILENCE sounds like?
Your sense of smell is being continuously
stimulated by fast food restaurants that line every
block of your city and fill the air with it's smells
of fried fattening junk food...
So in other words, YOUR SENSES NEVER GET TO REST!
And this is NOT how the human mind and body was
designed to live. Such extreme stimulation used to
be RARE, and now it is hard to escape from it.
But in order to be healthy, you must take the
time to quiet your sensory stimulation... this in
turn, will quiet your mind.
When your mind is quiet, it can "re-set" itself.
It's like erasing the writing from a chalk board.
If you just keep writing over and over without ever
cleaning the chalk board, do you see how this will
cause stress, confusion and chaos?
Your mind wants to be erased, but not in that
scary science-fiction way.... it wants to be CALM
and PEACEFUL, so it can RESTORE itself to it's
original state of HEALTH.
And the only way it can do this, is to stop the
sensory overload, close down the senses from the
outside world, and use your AWARENESS to start
exploring what's INSIDE of you.
When you turn your awareness INWARD, you begin
to develop a relationship with a deeper part of
yourself and the HEALTH of your entire body will
expand.
So this is what I mean when I said you should
"Zen Out".
It is CONSCIOUS relaxation. Meaning, you are
awake but all your senses are relaxed, and you are
turning your attention INWARD.
You will know when you have reached this state
because you will emerge from it feeling ENERGIZED
and REJUVENATED. This is the result of the healing
that is taking place INSIDE of you.
Now, there are lots of ways to do this.
And you will know when you are doing it, because
you will feel a profound sense of renewal and
rejuvenating energy.
It is my observation that the eastern cultures
seem to place a higher importance on this aspect of
healing than we do in the west, and therefore they
have many sciences devoted to awakening this
internal life energy.
This is why I called it "Zen Out" because the
word Zen seems to best describe the blissful,
euphoric feeling you get when you practice this.
Some examples are Ti Chi, Qigong, Yoga,
and Meditation.
Now if these eastern sciences are unfamiliar
or uncomfortable to you, you can still reap the
benefits of conscious relaxation by doing
activities that you enjoy.
The KEY is for your mind to be alert but
relaxed.
When you are daydreaming or watching tv, your
mind is in "neutral" and there's no active
participation... so sorry, but this doesn't count.
And although sleeping is very important for your
health, you get more of this internal energy
production and healing if you practice mindful
relaxation AND get a good night's sleep.
So there is a difference between sleeping and
relaxing. Do you see that?...
But you specifically asked about reading and
listening to music.
Both can be EITHER relaxing or stimulating,
depending on what you are reading or what music
you are listening to.
If you are reading poetry or a book that helps
you tune into your spirit, it can bring your mind
into a very calm state.
And if you're listening to relaxing, soft music,
this can also change your state of mind to be more
internal and present.
I personally love to listen to sounds of nature.
In fact, I'm listening to sounds from the
rainforest as I'm writing this... but I don't
consider this my "Zen Out" time because my senses
are all still activated, and my mind is focused on
an EXTERNAL task.
Verses my meditation and breathing exercises
this morning - where my eyes were closed, there
were no distracting sounds and my mind was
focused on my INTERNAL SELF.
Do you see the difference?
By shutting down your senses, and going
INWARD you will find a profound sense of bliss
INSIDE of you...
And this in turn will give you LOTS of ENERGY
and VIBRANT HEALTH RADIATING OUTWARD FROM INSIDE OF
YOU.
This is where you will get the ENERGY to
continue to move and exercise and strive for
health in your body, mind and spirit...
This is where your internal voice will speak
to you and guide you...
This is where you will find the TRUTH of your
happiness and passion for life...
And yes, this is also part of what will speed
up your METABOLISM and give you a leaner,
healthier body.
If you've never experienced this energized,
relaxed state before, it can best be described
using your breath.
Wherever you are, you can do this with me
right now...
Pause. And tune into your breath.
On your next exhale let all of the air
out of your lungs very slowly. Completely empty
out.
Now inhale slowly, filling yourself up to the
very top.
Okay, did you do it?...
Good. Now you've experienced what I'm
talking about.
Do you see how much deeper you just inhaled?
When are you breathing really shallow breaths,
you're breathing in and out really fast so there's
not a lot of depth and you're not using the full
"ability" of your breath.
If you just pause, pay attention to your breath
and exhale as deeply as you can... on the next inhale,
you go FURTHER than if you were doing shallow
breathing.
And so exhaling down all the way and then
inhaling, you're able to fill MORE of yourself back
up, right?
The DEEPER you exhale, the FULLER you inhale.
And it's the same with "Zenning out"...
If you're just working, working, working,
working on losing weight and throwing all your
energy OUT, it's like you're taking shallow breaths.
But when you go really DEEP into relaxation,
there's this thing that happens physiologically to
your brain waves, to your heart beat, and to your
nervous system.
I won't get into too much of the science (I'm a
science geek and I think it's fascinating) but
I'll keep it simple by just saying that it's REALLY
good for you.
So relaxation, things that put you in a Zen state
are so good for your health and then they also give
you that extra boost.
You're able to go FARTHER and give more in your
output.
Just like the deeper you exhaled, the fuller you
could inhale... it's the same with the deeper you
relax -- the more energy you have... the more energy
you can throw out and use.
So this is why "Zenning out" is so important for
losing weight.
Of course, if you really want to take "Zenning
out" to the max, learn meditation. You will
literally, like the word says -- Zen out.
Meditation is an incredible way to relax your
mind. It puts you in such a state of deep relaxation
that you come away feeling ENERGIZED and REVISED
and feeling POSITIVE about yourself and your life...
Just 5 minutes of meditation a day can completely
change your life.
When you take the time to "tune in" to your
highest SELF, you carry a sense of profound peace
and happiness throughout your entire day, in every
thing that you do.
People are always asking me why I always have
such a positive attitude and a smile on my face...
I gotta say it's because of all this time I have
spent tuning in and spending time with my highest
SELF. It just feels so good!
If you want to learn more about meditation,
I delve even DEEPER into how you can use this ancient
science of exploring your internal self so that you
too can get more ENERGY and HAPPINESS from your
every day life.
If you haven't already checked out my eBook, then
you need to do that right now.
When you relax your mind, your senses, and your
body, your whole SELF relaxes and sinks deep into
that special place where there is no worry, no
stress, no pain... and there is only LOVE and LIGHT
surrounding you.
This is the state of "Zenning Out".
When you come out of this state, you will have
more ENERGY to live your life to the fullest, you
will be able to give more to the world and do more for
yourself...
And once you experience the true peace of "Zenning
Out" you will want to return to it time and time
again.
Try it and let me know how it works out for you.
I look forward to hearing your success story
of all the great newfound peace, happiness and
energy you will find.
Thanks for the great question.
Your Friend,
With Love and Light,
Andrea
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