FLP eBook 2 - The 7 Coveted Secrets On How To Look Good, Feel Good and Stay Young
Ask Yourself. Am I Present? Awaken the Observer and Come Present to Now.
With great gratitude, appreciation and praise we welcome you to the creation space of self love, courage, inspiration and the peace of mind that comes from gently balancing and lowering your brainwaves.
Listening to this THETA wave will assist you in creating a transformative meditative state, that will quiet your mind, relieve tension in your body, soothe your spirit, and help you remember how good it feels to be fully present in this beautiful moment of now.
Listen to this THETA Brainwave as you study the following lesson.
Coveted Secret # 1 "Don't Worry Be Happy".
Find out why the theory of happiness, "Don't Worry-Be Happy", may be the best advice anyone has ever given you! From an article printed in part from the Toronto Globe, we bring you the "Theory of happiness and story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to be 256 years old. Professor Li Chung Yun was born in 1677, and in 1933 the New York Times announced the death of this remarkable Oriental whose life span had reached over two and a half centuries! Li advised that his longevity was the practice of wisdom to keep a quiet heart with a calm and serene attitude toward life (Don't Worry-Be Happy), sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog, follow a vegetarian diet, use natural elixirs to generate radiant health and keep a strong light force.
His age was officially recorded by the Chinese Government and confirmed by the investigations of Professor Wu Chung Chich, head of the Chang-Tu University and by a Professor in the Minkuo University. The correctness of Li's amazing age was also borne out by the fact that he had outlived 23 wives and was living with the 24th at the time of his death and that on his 150th and 200th birthdays he was congratulated by the Chinese Government - as well he might.
"Don't Worry-Be Happy". These simple but timeless words from a song popular in the 80's may explain the theory of happiness and hold the key to living a long life. Nothing debilitates our bodies more than broken hearts and dissatisfied, worried minds. While the slogan may seem like simple advice to follow, most of us find that it is in fact very difficult. The tragedies and pressures on us today are immense, and the resulting stresses our bodies are constantly under wreak havoc on our health. We are called upon nowadays to do more, achieve more, fight terrorism, be more, get there faster, make more money…and still we are expected to be healthy and happy through all of it. When the equation for living in the new millennium was hammered out they forgot to include living. The following may help you to understand the theory of happiness and how to feel younger, live longer and look great!
Unbelievable? Does your life seem to be a series of "Things To Do"? Do you clutch your day timer as if life without it would be intolerably unorganized? This is one of the first things we have to relax our grip on. Hyper-vigilance, a term we've recently become familiar with, describes a self-imposed belief system that never allows rest, not of the body or the mind. Do you feel that everything must be perfect (an unrealistic goal) before you can actually allow yourself rest-whatever rest may mean to you-a leisurely walk, reading, or just laying in front of a fire place day-dreaming?
Not everything we do must be accomplishment oriented. Nobody is keeping score. Give yourself permission to live your own life, not according to someone else's expectations of what you should be doing. Worrying about what others will think of you as a result of how you act, or what you have done or not done is extremely self-defeating. It is impossible to please everybody all the time. Moreover when we worry about things, we are really worrying about someone's perceived reaction.
Worrying about the future creates you missing this precious moment and creates stress and anxiety. The future only shows up now, so think about "what's the best use of my time and energy right now." This will help you stay present to enjoy life now. "Do it now, be here now" are two old sixties phrases that can be applied to all things in life. Remember to keep a balance for they are both equally important.
Coveted Secret # 2 "Daily Brisk walking Stops The Clock"
Find out why taking daily brisk walks is both a way to longevity and a sign of inner radiant health,and may be the second best advice anyone has ever given you! Buckle up as we continue the story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to 256 years old.
Believe it or not Professor Li always had a youthful appearance. Li gave 28 lectures on longevity at a Chinese University and at the time he gave the lectures he was over the age of 200. Those who saw him declared that he did not appear older than a man of 52; that he stood straight and strong, his sight was keen and he had his own natural hair and teeth. It is claimed that Li Chung Yun's longevity was due to his philosophy of keeping a calm and serene attitude toward life, using mental and emotional control to train the body and mind to; sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog, follow a vegetarian diet and use natural elixirs to generate radiant health and keep a strong light force.
Li Chung Yun ran away from home at the age of eleven with three travelers. These travelers were in the herbal trade. Together Li and his three teachers traveled throughout China, Tibet and Southeast Asia, encountering many dangerous situations, but all the while studying the herbal medicines of the times. As Li Chung Yun grew older he was well known for his excellence of health and amazing vigor. But one day, when he was about fifty years old, he met a very old Tibetan herbalist who could out walk him. This impressed him greatly because he believed that "Daily Brisk Walking was both a way to vibrant longevity and inner radiant health". Li inquired as to the old sage's secret. He was told that if he took daily doses of herbs that caused the body to keep its inner fire burning and its senses alert, he would soon attain a new standard of health. Li continued to do so until his death. These ancient elixirs were designed for one purpose: to generate radiant health and to aid one in the search and achievement of "immortality".
We know today that the herbal food Li Chun Yun was using, contained in part, natural occurring Amino Acids such as L-Lysine, L-Glycine, L-Arginine, L-Glutamine, L-Ornithine, Melatonin, DHEA, Proline, Leucine, Methionine and Alanine plus Ginseng, all longevity ingredients that the body makes naturally and/ or is found in many foods that we eat daily. The problem is, the amount of these ingredients we need in our diet for longevity are lost through cooking, poor soil and processed foods and are therefore insufficient to combat these stressful times and also insufficient to slow down the age clock.
"Daily Brisk Walking Stops The Clock"!
Alice, 76, looks 20 years younger than her age and walks two miles a day - her grandchildren have trouble keeping up with her! Yet her 63-year-old neighbor, Sally, looks years older, is crippled with arthritis and plagued with stress and failing memory. Stories like this pop up everywhere and remind of us that 70% of aging's effects are due to factors, which can be controlled and shaped. Exercise like brisk walking has been shown to increase life expectancy by 8.1 years says Dr. John Rowe of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. In almost every piece of literature on slowing down aging or increasing longevity, daily brisk walking as a boost to the life force, aerobic fitness, strength and stamina has been shown to have dramatic healing effects on Arthritis, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Depression, Heart Disease, Cholesterol Problems, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Prostate Problems, PMS and Menopause, most all of which are controllable problems that end our life early.
"The Story Of The World's Oldest Woman." She smoked, she drank, and she ate what ever she pleased. So how did Jeanne Louise Calment live to be 122? Scientist credit "good genes" with extending the life of Calment, who until she died in France in 1997, was ranked the world's oldest person. But was it just genes?
Calment was born on February 21, 1875, in the southern French Town of Arles, where she remembered fellow resident Vincent Van Gogh as being "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable." A long time cigarette smoker, she gave up the habit in 1995, not because of health fears, her doctor says, but because she couldn't see well enough to light up herself and hated asking someone to do it for her. Although blind, nearly deaf and confined to a wheelchair, Calment remained mentally sharp until the end. At 85 Calment took fencing lessons, and at 100 she was still riding her bicycle. Her secret for a long and vibrant life? Stay active, keep the light force strong, positive thinking and dream, go over your life, appreciate it and dream of the future. Calment told one interviewer, "I never get unhappy or bored."
Coveted Secret # 3 "Knowing Where You're Going Is All You Need To Get There".
Find out why "Knowing Where You're Going Is All You Need To Get There" is the necessary mental imagery for extreme longevity and may be the third best advice anyone has ever given you! It's kind of like the old saying: The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!
The fact is everyone is getting older, at least chronologically, but can we slow down the biological clock with mental and emotional control. It is certainly evident that Professor Li Chung Yun who was reported by the Toronto Globe to live to be 256, didn't have a ho-hum attitude about longevity. His calm and serene attitude toward life was a big part of an ancient formula that helped him master the understanding of how the human mind, body and spirit work. Wise sage's then and scientists today know that whatever we can visualize we can actualize into everyday reality. By using the ancient laws of mental and emotional control Professor Li was able to fix his mind on extreme, healthy longevity and master the inner will to expand his light force, carry out his brisk daily walks, keep a quite meditative heart void of fear, anger and sadness, maintain an ability to sleep like a dog whenever he needed energy replenishment and to stick to his vegetarian diet which was probably no easier then than it is now.
Are We Entering The Age Of Longevity?
How old will you be when you die? Have you a mental imagery of your death, a prophecy of how or what disease it might be. Be careful, for the mind will produce whatever it dwells on, according to Sage Hope, author, longevity expert, lecturer and member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Everything is the focus of energy, whatever you consciously or unconsciously place your attention on, you will get more of it. Long life or early death, the mind will carry out what ever you want or focus on says Hope.
An Exercise: "Knowing where you're going is all you need to get there" is a necessary exercise to create a road map to accomplish extreme longevity. Take a few minutes and get clear about how old you want to be when you die and what health and frame of mind do you want to be in. Any prophecies about how you might die? Any reoccurring visions or dreams of accidents? All of these questions have unconscious mental imagery that have been planted in somehow and unless you bring clarity to them, they will more than likely carry themselves out and more times than not in a detrimental way.
The Quest For Immortality!
In the last 5,000 years, no one recorded except Professor Li has come close to biblical death records like Adam at 930 years, Noah at 950 and Methuselah at 969. But many people are living far beyond their three score and 10 years we've come to expect from life. From 1900 to 1990, life expectancy increased by more than 27 years. Two-thirds of all men and women who have lived beyond the age of 65 in the entire history of the world are alive today, says aging expert Ken Dychtwald. In fact, by the middle of this century, there will be more than 600,000 people in the United States over age 100. The "American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine" reports that the human body should live to be 120 or more.
Recent surveys from the Alliance for Aging Research in Washington, D.C., show that one out of three of us wants to live 100 years or more and that we're willing to "do what ever it takes." Are you one of the three? If you want to live to be a hundred or older and in great health-and you very well may-start now to take action to look and feel younger. And remember, "Knowing Where You're Going Is All You Need To Get There."
Coveted Secret # 4 "70% Of Aging Effects Can Be Controlled".
Find out why controlling aging effects is the easiest and quickest way to achieve extreme healthy longevity and may be the fourth best advice anyone has ever given you! Buckle up as we continue the story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to 256 years old…
"Seventy percent of aging's effects are due to factors which can be controlled and shaped", says Doctor John Rowe, president of Mount Sinai Medical Center in York City. Changes associated with looking old and feeling old before your time may be much more reversible and preventable than we recently thought.
There are 11 steps you can take right now to: Feel Younger, Live Longer And Look Great! These steps may very well be some of the beginning steps that Li Chung Yun took in his quest for extreme healthy longevity.
Taking modern day vitamins, minerals and herbs may add six years to your life. Just like Professor Li when he inquired as to the old sage's secret of extreme longevity. He was told that if he took daily doses of herbs that caused the body to keep its inner fire burning and its senses alert, he would soon attain a new standard of health. Li continued to do so until his death. These ancient elixirs were designed for one purpose: to generate radiant health and to aid one in the search and achievement of extreme healthy longevity through an expanded life force.
Quitting smoking may add as many as eight years to your life. You can start now by just cutting in half then half again and then stir in the 11 steps and you are on your way to extreme healthy longevity plus more energy, clarity and vitality.
Keeping your blood pressure low may add 5 years to your life. We all love to eat fatty, high carb food, but if you eat nutritiously 75% of the time and cheat on the weekends, along with moderate exercise, great things will be in store for your health.
Floss your teeth and using supplements such as Thieves essential oil (available from many essential oil suppliers) in your toothpaste may add 6.4 years to your life. New findings link gum disease to heart disease and strokes.
Exercising to boost aerobic fitness, strength and stamina may add 8.1 years to your life. Remember Li Chung Yun's 256-year-old secret to extreme healthy longevity was to daily, "briskly walk like a pigeon".
Reducing stress in your life may add 7.5 years to your life. Remember Li's philosophy of "keep a quiet heart and a calm and serene attitude towards life". Go for things that you are passionate about in life.
Have monogamous sex to prevent disease. It's the safest and most fun you can have while you're getting younger.
Develop a personal age-reduction plan. Discover what is fun and works for you in supplements, exercise and relaxation activities.
Be proactive about your health and medical care. Prevention is worth an ounce of cure and especially if you have signs of health problems.
Keep learning, reading and studying. There are new extreme healthy longevity books, articles and seminars coming out all the time. Include them in your age-reduction plan. Retrain the old habits into easy new habits.
Take hormone replacement products and therapy. Growth hormone boosters and stimulaters have been proven to replenish the body when stress, anxiety, lack of deep restful REM sleep, menopause, PMS or low sexual energy occurs in your life.
When you tally up the (41) years from above that you may add to your life by simple things you can control, living to be 100 or more now seems possible. Begin today, for each journey begins with a single step!
Coveted Secret # 5: "Water May Be The Best Anti-Aging Secret Of Them All"
Find out why water can take years off your life and is the easiest and quickest way to achieve extreme healthy longevity and may be the fifth best advice anyone has ever given you! Buckle up as we continue the story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to 256 years old… Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day? As an herbalist, Professor Li knew the importance of water to help keep a steamy fire burning in the body. The following insights may help you to keep in tune with Li's philosophy of keeping a calm and serene attitude toward life and using mental and emotional control to train the body and mind to; sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog, follow a vegetarian diet, use natural elixirs to generate radiant health and expand your life force.
"75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Water is the most valuable and necessary nutrient for the proper operation of the human body. It's very important to drink enough fresh, filtered water daily as regular water consumption is the only way that your body can eliminate concentrated toxins from your cells. Whether cleansing or not, a deficiency of water, dehydration, can have deleterious effects on your body, possibly leading to failing health and in extreme circumstances death. Few of us are close to that stage of water loss, but if you are experiencing heartburn, rheumatoid pain, back pain, heart or angina pain, headaches, or leg pain from walking, you may be suffering from chronic dehydration.
Is hunger really that we want food or the body's thirst for water? In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%. Water consumption is very important for your overall metabolic health. If your double-layer cell membranes lack sufficient water, enzyme movement in and out of your cells will be obstructed. Enzymes are necessary to activate all the body's cell functions, and anything that interferes with enzyme movement will have a negative effect on all your body's systems.
Imagine losing weight while you sleep! One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue! Sometimes fatigue is a good thing. Body builders push their muscles to the point of fatigue so they'll develop bigger and stronger. Playing with children or grandchildren yields a feeling of pleasant fatigue at day's end. And it's very satisfying to rest your fatigued body after a day of planting your garden, painting your house, moving furniture into your new home or running a marathon. But if you find yourself unable to get out of bed in the morning when your major exertion was walking the dog or washing your car the day before, fatigue isn't a good feeling. It's a problem and it may simply be due to inadequate water intake.
Ready to end those pain pills? Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. Through many studies it has been shown that joint movement is greatly facilitated by water. The cartilage lining in your joints needs fluid to create a cushion between your bones. Without sufficient water, an inflammatory process can develop to compensate for the lack of water. It may appear that there is an infection or arthritis in your joints, when in reality, there is only dehydration. This occurs frequently in elderly persons as many people of increasing years drink very little water daily due to other concerns caused from inactivity, such as bloating, water retention, and kidney problems.
Here is what a mere 2% drop in body water can do! It can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
Are you drinking 5 glasses of water daily? If you can it may decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, slash the risk of breast cancer by 9%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
Ending those acid reflux and indigestion days. There are many other helpful effects on the body that occur when adequate water is consumed daily. Present in your stomach and duodenum (the first portion of your small intestines) lays a mucous barrier that prevents acid penetration and damage to your gastrointestinal lining. A well-hydrated mucous barrier will retain bicarbonate and neutralize acid as it tries to pass through the mucous. Drinking proper amounts of water will provide a much better acid barrier to the mucosa than any medication on the market.
Living without high blood pressure and stress may save your life. Hypertension or high blood pressure can be helped by optimal water consumption. When you have inadequate volume in your blood stream, the vessels selectively decrease in diameter. The vascular system adapts to volume loss by selectively closing the blood vessel lumen. One major cause of blood volume loss is insufficient body water. In chronic dehydration water is lost from the inside of some cells, from the water volume held outside the cells, and from water held in the blood vessels. The compensatory closing of the lumen to compensate for water loss causes the rise in tension recognized as hypertension.
What's the Appropriate Level of Water Consumption? A good rule to follow is to drink half your weight in 'ounces' of water every day. So, if you weigh 160 pounds, you would benefit by drinking 80 ounces of water each day. Examples: 200lbs=100 ounces of water daily; 100 lbs=50 ounces of water daily. You can also get some water in fruit juices, teas, sparkling water and sodas, but each of them have distinct disadvantages. For instance, when you drink any juices, you are requiring your digestive machinery and the pancreas to fire up and work. Drinking pure water allows your body to flush out toxins without having to mobilize and put stress on your digestive systems. Caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee and many sodas are actually diuretics. By drinking caffeinated teas, coffee, colas, and chocolate drinks, you are actually depleting the supply of water available in your body to dilute toxins and moisturize your system. Herbal teas often have therapeutic effects, but they can also make your body work, instead of giving it a well-deserved and needed rest. Some herbal teas are also diuretic in action. Having caffeinated drinks and herbal teas are fine, so long as it's in moderation, but the bulk of our daily liquids should be pure water.
Remember that adequate water consumption may be the "biggest coveted secret" to extreme healthy longevity there is and one of the single most important tasks we must practice daily in order to live a long life.
Coveted Secret # 6 "Sex Endorphins Are Vital For Stress Free Longevity"
Putting the "sizzle back in your sex life" is a great way to achieve extreme healthy longevity and may be the sixth most exciting advice anyone has ever given you! Buckle up as we continue the story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to 256 years old and out lived 23 wives…Sex is a natural function throughout your life and if you have an interesting partner and remain healthy, it's not going to go away. What's more, a healthy sex life is vital if you want to say young! Actually, it's abnormal for sex to disappear. Normal people have sex until the end of their lives.
Why is sex and love good for you? You know that "glow" you get after making love? Scientists attribute it to endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that are released into the brain after sex. Endorphins create a sense of euphoria and ease stress. And medical researchers say that regular doses of sex can even soothe chronic aches and pains, spur creativity, and rev up energy. In fact intimacy can bolster your immune system and protect you from developing age-related diseases.
Researchers have discovered a key relationship between sexual energy and two biological cycles-the 24-hour circadian rhythm and the 60- to 90-minute ultradian rhythm. Successful, sexually satisfied couples tend to have overall activity patterns, appetite, need for diversion and sexual rhythms all occurring in synchronicity.
So get in sync with someone you love and you'll feel years younger. "Anything that makes you feel good, alive and physically excited will make you feel more youthful," says Lonnie Barbach, PhD., a sex therapist and psychologist in San Francisco.
Here Are Some Simple But Profound, If Followed, Sexual Intimacy Steps That May Add Many Years Of Fun And Excitement To Your Life!
Kiss your partner whenever you leave or arrive using the sensory power of touch to realign energy cycles.
Slow down the pace of the evening meal. Enjoy each others company.
Go for an early morning walk or evening stroll together.
Spend time fixing meals together, doing dishes or puttering around the garden.
Sit together quietly, holding hands.
Listen to music you both enjoy.
Touch each other often. "Touch may be the most powerful sociobiological signal of all," says psychobiologist Ernest Lawrence Rossi, PhD. "When we are touched gently and rhythmically, our brains release the feel-good messenger chemicals called beta-endorphins and we slip into the psychologically receptive state where we're open to increased intimacy."
Sip a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of wine together.
Share a warm bath or gentle rhythmic massage for 15 minutes before having sex.
Stretch out on the sofa and hold each other.
Fantasize. Anticipate sex. Let your imagination soar.
Create an atmosphere of intimacy. Make it safe and trusting for you and your partner.
Relax. Let go of all distractions and worries.
Share your favorite sensations. Let your partner know what turns you on.
Have a hot date once a week. Even if you have been married for 70 years.
Feed yourself right. A study at the university o Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City found that the male sexual hormone, testosterone, fell bay about 30 percent after subjects ate a high-fat meal, decreasing sexual appetite. But hormone levels stayed the same for men who consumed a carbohydrate/protein meal that was low in fat.
Develop emotional strength and communication skills. Don't worry about uncovering repressed memories from childhood. Most people with problems in their relationships are basically mature and emotionally healthy. If they have relationship problems, they usually don't stem from some deep psychological disorder, but from a simple lack of communication skills.
Laugh more. A study at Tel Aviv University in Israel concluded that 70 percent of a married couple's satisfaction may depend in some way on humor.
Listen. "By learning to listen to a woman's feelings, a man can effectively shower her with caring, understanding, respect, devotion, validation and reassurance" says best-selling relationship author John Gray, PhD.
Make eye contact. "Eyes speak more profoundly than language the tenor of relatedness." Says Ruthellen Josselson, PhD., Professor of psychology at Towson State University in Maryland. "They express surely and absolutely how much and what way we matter to the other."
Snuggle. "Holding contains the invisible threads that tie us to our existence," says Josselson. "From the first moments of our life to the last we need to be held-or we fall."
Love your job. Passion for work keeps you excited about what you are doing, being excited about work helps keep you feeling vibrant and feeling vibrant fuels the psyche and the spirit. If you create something in your life that causes passion, then you will always be alive and more times than not, that aliveness will show up in your relationships and marriage.
Coveted Secret # 7 "Living in the Blue Zone May Take Away Twenty Or More Years Of How You Look And Feel In Life".
Re-claiming and maintaining your youthful looks and feelings may now be possible and is a great way to achieve extreme healthy longevity. Living in the blue zone may be the seventh most exciting advice anyone has ever given you! Buckle up as we continue the story of Li Chung Yun", an Oriental man who lived to 256 years old.
It seems that a whole generation of Americans has picked up a sad case of the blues. The Baby Boomer generation was weaned on "Rock and Roll" raised on "Soul" and forced to endure "Disco", now seems to be "Singing the Blues". Unfortunately, it's not Rhythm and Blues or Detroit Blues, it's called the middle-aged Blues, and it's spreading like the plague. For most of the "rock and roll" generation the effects of this "ripening" are not going unnoticed. They are experiencing new and unusual sensations, and wishing they would go away! And in some places around the world they have extreme longevity…is it the place or peoples personal habits.
Well, some place has to have the people who live the longest, right? Just random or…
Actually, no. Because they started to find other Blue Zones. Areas where people were up to three times more likely to live to 100 than the average American. And they didn’t just live long — they lived well. Healthier. Happier. Fewer diseases. More energy. Hmm. Care to take a quick trip around the world with me? (We’ll have separate hotel rooms, I promise.)
Okinawa, Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world. Their rate of cardiovascular disease is 20% that of the US. Breast and prostate cancer? 25% as often. And dementia is one-third as likely.
Men from Nicoya, a peninsula off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, have twice the chance of making it to age 90 as men from the US, France, or Japan. It took them a while to even realize this was a Blue Zone because life expectancy is so low in neighboring countries that mortality studies didn’t even bother to ask if anyone lived past 80.
In Loma Linda — just 60 miles outside Los Angeles — people live more than 7 years longer than the average Californian. When researchers interviewed a woman there she told them a story about when her father got gored by a bull. Cool story but what’s cooler is that the event happened 107 years ago. Lydia just turned 112.
What the heck is going on in these places? We know magic pills don’t work. Must be due to good genes, right? Wrong.
“Scientific studies suggest that only about 25 percent of how long we live is dictated by genes, according to famous studies of Danish twins. The other 75 percent is determined by our lifestyles and the everyday choices we make. It follows that if we optimize our lifestyles, we can maximize our life expectancies within our biological limits.”
So demographers, doctors, and scientists collaborated with the National Institute on Aging to get to the bottom of this, analyzing what these groups ate, how much exercise they got, how they socialized, etc.
These are very different places with very different people — but they found patterns. Much of the data is correlational. We can’t just say “do this and you’ll live to 100.” There’s no magic formula. But certain activities, behaviors and rituals came up again and again that seem to point to lessons that might help us all live longer, healthier, happier lives.
Quick Longevity Hints From People Living in the Blue Zone
An article from the Hawley Herald says that Jeanne Calment of Arles, France, died at 122 years old and there are people in some parts of the world that regularly live over 100. The article states that, "Centenarians are usually people who have a high light force, handle stress well, diet or fast, exercise and have a life style of moderation which all help to slow down the aging process."
Another example is Li Chung Yun who died on May 5, 1933 at the age of 256. "Keep A Quiet Heart, Walk like a pigeon, Sit Like a Tortoise, Sleep Like a Dog and keep a strong light force." The article stated that, "many who had seen him recently declared that his facial appearance was no different from that of a person two centuries his junior." Some documentation exists which tends to support the longevity claims. Wu-Chung-Chien, Dean of the Department of Education in Minkuo University found records that show that Li was born in 1677. Li received notices of congratulations by the Imperial Chinese Government on his 150th and 200th birthdays.
The people of Vilcabamba, Ecuador, are well known for their longevity. Vilcabamba, also knows as the Sacred Valley, is home to a very large number of centurions. When Dr. Bernard Jensen, noted nutritionist and teacher, visited the area in 1973, he discovered that heart disease did not exist. He met many of the local citizens, many over 120 years old. These people were active with a high light force and rarely sick, and when illness did occur, they were treated with natural means such as herbs. The citizens of many countries of the world (Third World countries like Ecuador) have longer life expectancies than citizens of the United States. These countries tend to rely on natural means of medication in times of sickness. The people of Vilcabamba tend to lead simple lives and eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables, corn, cereal, few eggs, some chicken, but little or no red meat. During Dr. Jensen's visit, he became personally acquainted with a man of 140 years of age. According to Dr. Jensen, "This valley is well named 'the Sacred Valley.'" Many doctors have gone down to investigate this community and found that what they expected was true; these people lived a long, healthy and productive life even in old age.
During his world tour, Dr. Jensen visited Armenia where he met two elderly women. The younger woman (110 years old) ate a diet of mostly clabbered milk, raw vegetables, fruits and seeds from the squash, melons, sunflowers and sesame. She claimed her friend of 127 years old was just as active, alert and contented. She told Dr. Jensen that she attributed her longevity to "comfrey leaf and garlic, dried, made into a soup."
Dr. Jensen also visited parts of Russia, especially the regions of Azerbaijan and Georgia. Azerbaijan has a wealth of centurions. In fact, they have 84 centurions per 100,000 inhabitants. A 1975 Los Angeles Herald Examiner article marking the birthday of one of the Azerbaijan residents stated, "it is not uncommon for residents of the mountains in Azerbaijan and Georgia to reach 100 years."
When in Azerbaijan, Jensen met Shirin Gasanov who was 153 years of age. Shirin "was absolutely amazing. He had the skin texture, vitality and carriage of a youthful man." Shirin claimed that he did not trust medical doctors, but rather preferred more natural health-oriented doctors such as herbalists. A doctor who had recently examined Shirin found his health to be "superior to that of a normal, middle-aged person." He rose each day at 6 a.m. and went to work in the fields with the other farmers. Shirin currently ate a little meat but stated that most of his life he has been a vegetarian. He consumes milk products such as sour cream and sour milk, vegetables and fruits, and grains such as buckwheat. He states, "I believe in fasting...I am used to taking walks for about one kilometer a day...I feel exceptionally well after my walks or any other physical exercise...I have no stiffness in my joints and I am as agile as I have always been all my life...I have never observed any special rules to attain old age. A quiet family life, a happy life, a mountain climate and the long happy life of my descendants, that is what accounts for my long life." Shirin's birth certificate is on file in the Office of Notaries and Records of Vital Statistics at the Ministry of Justice, Azerbaijan. It states that he is a native of Azerbaijan and was born on July 1, 1817.
Dr. Jensen has met many of the world's oldest people. He thinks that one of the greatest factors in longevity is moderation, positive thinking and a strong light force. Many of the elderly ate very small meals. He noted that some of the elderly drank and smoked, but that those who lived the longest did not use intoxicants, did not smoke, had the least amount of meat in their diets and did not go to extremes in any respect."
Summing Up Extreme Longevity
This is how to live a long, awesome life:
Inconvenience Yourself: Build more movement into your day. Take the stairs, not the escalator. Don’t use the phone, go see a friend. If you want French Press coffee, walk to France.
Hara Hachi Bu: Eat until you’re 80% full. (The people of Okinawa seem pretty cool and I don’t think they’ll mind if you culturally appropriate this concept for the purposes of death prevention.)
Plant Slant: More veggies. Nuts are the Infinity Stones of longevity eating, Thanos.
Downshift: I’m not writing a description for this. I deserve a siesta. Taking it easy will extend my life so I can write more blog posts later.
Belong: In the Blue Zone of Ikaria, there is no word for “privacy.” Now I do enjoy my privacy — but being so supported and loved that you don’t even bother to create a word for being alone is pretty cool too.
Don’t Zone Alone: Start a “Blue Man Group” — sans face paint. Surrounding yourself with others who follow some of the Blue Zone ideas will make living longer easier and more fun.
Keep in tune with Li's philosophy: Keep a calm and serene attitude toward life and use mental and emotional control to train the body and mind to; sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog, follow a vegetarian diet, use natural elixirs to generate radiant health and expand your life force.