Our Sun

Our sun is hot. Because of its hotness, it produces heat that travels to Earth as electromagnetic radiation. This radiation bounces off Earth’s surface and goes back towards the sky. As it travels back up, atmospheric gases trap the heat and Earth is warmed.

There’s a big difference between the sun being hot and the sun producing heat. Because the sun is hot, it produces heat. But the sun does not become hot because it produces heat; therefore, the sun’s hotness is a cause while the sun’s heat is its effect.

Our bodies are typically warmer than our environment. All the heat in our bodies came from heat (or energy) generated by the sun that’s travelled to Earth. Once here, it’s been been stored in the chemical bonds of plants through photosynthesis. When we eat these plants (or animals that ate these plants), we breakdown the chemical energy and use it for various reactions within our bodies. These reactions produce heat, so we produce heat. In this way we hold the power of the sun within us, but we are not the sun. We produce heat like the sun produces heat, but our likeness to the sun doesn’t make us the sun.

Instead, we are extensions of the sun’s rays that have made it to Earth. The warmth you feel while standing is the sun is the same warmth you feel when you touch your skin. This once unbounded, untethered solar energy is now inside you. Though seemingly contained, this energy is still free to change its environment by bonding unlike substances together. This is how bridges are built.

We are not the sun, but we can be like the sun (if we try to be).

Musical Medicine

Last night Camille and I went to experience Nahko and Medicine for the People at Union Transfer. This wasn’t a concert but an an encounter with healing medicine, medicine not just capable of healing the world but ourselves. We’ve been Nahko fans since about May, right when two people very close to me transitioned. Nahko’s musical medicine helped me gain perspective in a challenging time, turning my focus towards love instead of loss.

We were in the front as Nahko & MFTP played their battle cries of peace, unity, and unwavering love for mankind. Together we proclaimed “Aloha” and “Mahalo” so all of Philly could hear us. We were building bridges between races and cultures, between belief systems and waking consciousness. We were encouraged to advocate for our common home and support our brothers and sisters trying to protect it, like the people of Hawaii trying to save the sacred Mauna Kea. Together, we can make a change. Together, we will make a change.

There was one potent moment last night that changed me for good. After a long build up, Nahko was singing, “What a Beautiful Life,” over and over. I raised my hands, closed my eyes, and began to cry. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was filled with God. I felt the full embrace of my body and my soul. I became One with all that is, and I’ve never been happier. I’ve felt this before, but it’s always a fleeting moment. These few experiences are the best moments of my life.

My physiology professor and whoever else says “the heart is just a pump” have clearly never had an experience like this. The heart is what connects our conscious soul and our earthly experience. It’s home to the soul, the dwelling place of our very being. It’s where the Kingdom of God is—right here and within us. Nahko and Medicine for the People helped me remember that again.

To all who made last night so magical and healing, Mahalo. We are in this together. You will be in my heart forever.

Laughter

Put yourself in position to laugh. If you treat life too seriously, joy will be hard to find. Love and let live—allow yourself to be the fool capable of inspiring laughter in others and yourself.

Laughter is my favorite medicine.

You’re not Sick; You’re Healing

After 2 weeks of being back at school, I came down with a GI bug and a sore throat. It’s temping to give in to the “sick” bug and claim that I am sick. I could be the victim to this illness and allow it to win, altering my identity along the way. The worst part is that everybody would support this choice. They would be okay with me taking a few days off to be sick.

But I choose wellness over illness. See, sickness is a state of mind. So is healing. I am Aaron, and I will not allow a virus or bacteria or parasite to change who I am. I may have an illness, but I am not sick. I am Aaron, and I am healing.

I wasn’t able to do much today. I could’ve taken this opportunity to have people care for me and—to the delight of my subconscious—feel bad for me. Instead I chose to rest, recover, replenish, and heal. I can already feel the illness subsiding. My mind told my body to fight back, and my soul jumped on board. My whole being is winning the fight.

As cold and flu season dawns on us, remember the choice you have: you can choose to be sick or you can choose to be healing. In harmony with belief, this choice will change everything.

Find your Medicine and use it

I really dove into Nahko & Medicine for the People’s musical medicine this summer.  I learned a lot, I felt a lot, I smiled a lot, and I cried a lot.  The song in my heart of late has been Manifesto, especially the following verse:

“They sang, ‘Don’t waste your hate,

Rather, gather and create.

Be of service,

Be a sensible person,

Use your words and don’t be nervous.

You can do this—you’ve got purpose.

Find your medicine and use it.'”

from Manifesto

And so I’ve been trying to find my medicine.  I’ve come to believe that medicine isn’t something only certain people have access to. It’s not necessarily a pill or a plant or a cure or a good meal; it is all of these things and more.  Medicine is what works.  Everything can be medicine at the appropriate time.  Some medicines will work better than others, but it’s set, setting, and internal state dependent.  It’s not one philosophy of medicine vs. another. Medicine is more.

Blood Sugar Crash Course

Though blood sugar has a dramatic impact on your life, you may be one of the people that doesn’t understand it at all. If this is you, be not afraid. I’m going to give you a simple explanation of blood sugar, insulin, and its effect on your behavior in a few paragraphs. No scientific jargon or necessary data. A basic, plain-spoken blood sugar crash course.

You take a bite of chicken and rice. As your stomach begins digestion, signals are sent to your pancreas telling it to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone necessary to allow cells to use glucose—the simple sugar that makes up carbohydrates—for energy. Insulin ensures that blood glucose / sugar levels don’t rise too rapidly. As food digests and blood sugar levels rise, so does insulin. Eventually, insulin causes blood sugar to fall.

Have you ever just had orange juice for breakfast? You were probably hungry in 10 minutes. Orange juice is full of easily-digestible simple sugars. These spike blood sugar levels, making the pancreas work hard to rapidly produce insulin (blood sugar this high isn’t safe for your body). Insulin is produced and blood sugar, quite dramatically, crashes. You begin to feel hunger—food will surely raise your low blood sugar back up again. You grab a snack, like a bagel. And so the roller coaster continues, keeping your body in this never-ending, stressful cycle.

Is it any wonder why Type II Diabetes is at epidemic levels in America? Our breakfast staples are pancakes with syrup and cereal with milk—food containing massive levels of simple sugars. The insulin roller coaster of the Standard American Diet (which tells you carbohydrates are good and fats are bad) is devastating Americans every day.

Here’s three surefire ways to make your pancreas happy and avoid the insulin rollercoaster:

  1. Eat less often – Suppose you eat 3 meals a day and have only 2 snacks. This means your blood sugar and insulin will only spike 5 times.
  2. Eat balanced meals – Instead of only eating a bagel, maybe you eat a more balanced meal, like avocado last with an egg. Fat and protein eaten with carbohydrates slow down blood sugar levels, so eating healthy fats with carbs is a simple way to regulate blood sugar and produce less insulin.
  3. Try intermittent fasting – Take the concept from number 1, but this time skip breakfast and the snacks. If you finish dinner at 8pm, don’t eat until the next day until 12pm or 2pm. Your body has loads of energy stores it’s just waiting to use. It’s easier than you think.

In the end, the goal is for you to become cognizant of your food choices. Maybe only eating an apple for breakfast may sound “healthy” but isn’t metabolically appropriate. That coffee full of sugar might be a bad first choice of the day.

Start to experiment. See which meals provide you lasting energy. Notice which meals make you feel like crap in an hour. Become your own scientific study. It will help you out in the long run.

Made with Love

You’ve heard it said a thousand times from mom, grandmom, and that snarky barista: “I made it with love.” But what if the attitude of the chef or creator actually has an impact—biochemically—on the food we eat?

It’s not an unreasonable claim. My anatomy professor says the heart is merely a pump and that all emotions, be it love or anger, come from your head. But there’s millions of people around the world who believe the heart produces electrochemical, magnetic resonances that extend into the space around a one’s body.

What if those people are right? Suppose it’s true. Suppose the aura emitted by your heart is dictated by emotions. Suppose that aura has electric and magnetic charges. All food is made of elements and molecules (like water) that change in structure and behavior if charged. Thus, the aura of the chef changes the meal while it’s being prepared.

Maybe that aura resonates different frequencies for gratitude and distress. Maybe food responds likewise.

Maybe “Made with Love” makes more of a difference than we think.

Fasting For a While

This weekend has been full of love and laughter. My family and I have been coming to spend time at Lake George with our extended family ever since I was a baby. Every time I’m here I feel so much joy and my carefree spirit is reignited. The conversations have been good and the food has been better.

But every good vacation must end, and now it’s time to get back on track. Senior year of undergrad starts a week from tomorrow, and I’m not quite ready yet.

To prepare, I decided to do a 70 hour fast. That means from Sunday at 7:43 pm until Wednesday at 5:43 pm I won’t eat any food. I am allowed to drink water, herbal tea, black coffee, and take mineral supplements, but that’s it.

The benefits of doing prolonged fasts like this are immense. From boosting cellular atophagy (while promotes healing) to healing the digestive track to giving your blood sugar a break from being tortured, fasting has proven benefits. Recent studies indicate fasting may also have an impact on increased longevity and a lessening the probability of contracting a chronic disease. My longest fast to date is 43 hours. I’m going above and beyond here. I want to see what I can do.

It’s completely healthy to fast. It’s a healing modality, and I want to learn how to heal in any way possible. It’s my mission on this earth. Here’s to. Successful 70 hours!

Medicine

Medicine has to be practical in order to be helpful.