Fresh and Healthy: How to choose the freshest fruit and veggies?

• Buy Local. The food did not need to be transported and so there is a better chance it was picked ripe, that it has less waxing and coatings, and less energy was wasted in bringing it to you. Check the sticker on the fruit to see where it's from.
• Buy organic, get it the real way, the way nature planned it. The sticker on the fruits and vegetables will have a number. If it starts with a 9, you’re good to go. 9 means organic.
• Buy in season. Some of the health boosters now in season are blueberries, cherries, garlic, asparagus and watermelon.
• Go to farmers market to get the produce directly from the source. To find out where there is a farmers market near you check Local Harvest.
• Check if it is ripe. Fruit that has been ripen on the tree tastes better and has more nutrients.

Some ways to check ripeness:

• Tap on your watermelon with your hand, a deep hollow sound gives an indication of ripeness and sweetness.
• Take a look: greens should look vibrant and alive, if they have started to yellow or wilt, move on.
• For other veggies, see that they are firm but not too hard, you want them to appear vibrant and appetizing. No signs of discoloration or mold.
• With Garlic you can check the bottom to see if it looks clean or if some black mold has started to grow, Onions should have no smell.

Bottom Line: if it looks great, looks fresh and appetizing and is organic you’re good. (Some non-organic produce looks good because of chemicals or genetically modified genes, but tastes like nothing and has little nutrients). Coming soon, an article about organic. Keep it real!

Have a good nothing!

“Have a good nothing” Debbie wished Gil, and I wished him the same. “Have a good nothing” he replied.

“Now that my diet is so much better and that I exercise more, sleep is my next issue. I tend to wake up at night and just go into thoughts, planning or thinking of clients and their needs.” Gil was telling me.

Meditation was the first option I offered. Meditation is simply training the mind. Sitting still, doing nothing, allowing the awareness to drop to the belly as we follow the breath, in and out, in and out…

Like our legs; when we go to sleep we want them to be still and rest, no need for them to move. The same goes for our eyes or ears, but what about the mind? Why is it so hard to just switch off the mind? A good night sleep is a night of rest, a night where all functions of the body except for the autonomous (like the heart or breath) are resting. That includes our digestion system and our mind.

Gil seemed to be ok with the idea of meditating and was willing to give it a try. “It will be hard to fit it in my schedule” was his first reply. Since his mind is a very strong one, and since he has the capability of taking decisions and following them through, he decided to convince his mind that there is no need for it to do anything during the night. It can all wait for the next day. Simply do nothing. Indeed, doing nothing is the hardest thing for most people in the west. Yet doing nothing is really the ultimate rest.

“ This is your vacation time”, Gil told his mind before he went to bed, “ A time to have a good nothing”.

Another option I offered a friend was to breath slowly and deeply, fully bringing the awareness to the breath. If needed, counting the breath, the slow rhythm and the calming effect of the breath work to allow surrender.

Last night, as Debbie woke up at 3:00am and was about to use the restroom as she normally does, she was more aware of her pattern, and realized she did not really need to go, and staying in bed was already better, as she did not fully awake from getting up and using the toilet. She lay in bed and as thoughts were coming in, she told her mind sharply “Don’t think!” She had the habit of planning her day at that time, but by the time morning rolled in she was too tired to start the day.

This time she managed to go back to sleep and wake up much happier. Sleeping, like Savasana in Yoga is a place to have a good nothing. A place to surrender and just allow deep relaxation.

So from now on, I wish you all “ have a good nothing!

Being Ethical

After a nice dinner of falafel with tahini, and a huge salad the conversation drifted to economy and the stock market. I shifted to reading my book about Mao. When I hear discussions about corporations, the stock market or global economies, I seem to get personally offended as the protector of the poor. I learned it is best for me to shy away. Yet when the talk drifted to ethics, I could not resist and returned to the table with an excuse of getting a cherry.

What makes a stockbroker ethical? How are work ethics kept by a professor that has received tenure? What about the guest at the hotel that does not pay bills, should he use unlimited water? He did pay a high price for the room…

Gil described the laws that are there to keep the brokers ethical, and said that the main thing is to always put the clients’ interests first. This is when I could not help myself and jumped in “so if my client’s interest is to make money, I can invest his money anywhere as long as I make money for him, even if I know that I’m investing in companies that are destroying the planet?”

“What is ethics?” Brian kept asking. “It is not something we can talk about. We cannot judge ethics by the action. People tried to define this for centuries and it is very hard to put in words.” “It is the intention that counts “Sonya added. “But how can we know what the true intention of the person is? “ Asked Brian.
Indeed the intention is crucial and that is why we have courts, to know the facts and as much as possible motives and thoughts beyond the actions.

Again an example of people acting in a way that seems unethical was brought up. Seems like each person around the table had an example that bothered them. Maybe this is why this keeps coming up around the world. Reading about Mao surely makes me wonder. How can someone so unethical manage to become such a figure in controlling so many others?

Self-responsibility I said. I believe that we all know what the right thing to do at every moment is. If we look inside we know what would be best for the person involved, for society, for the planet…it is not a calculated knowledge, rather more of an instinct. First, knowing that what I think, speak or do will not harm anyone or anything, and then seeing the best interest of the other.

This summery of mine was mostly accepted yet it received some criticism that it cannot be implemented.
How does one become self-responsible? What is the motivation behind being self-responsible? Why not take care only of myself?

When thinking of how I came to act the way I act I realized that it was through education and life experience (and inherent nature?). I feel calm and true to myself so long as I know I have truly done my best with out being selfish.

Some education was from school and parents, but what always stuck with me was the saying, “Do unto others as you would want done to you.” So if I am teaching a Yoga class and I have done my duties of teaching and adjusting, but have a few extra moments to help one more student, knowing that they would like to receive the extra help (even if they do not expect it), I will take the extra effort and be of service beyond what is required. Sometimes just lending an ear, or noticing who might appreciate a hand, and being there quietly, as service, as a friend.

Education includes also self-education, sitting in meditation and asking tough questions, such as “who am I?” or “why do I do what I do?” Education served as a means to introduce the importance of caring, the significance of nature and humans. Life experience, one of my biggest teachers, included travel, meeting people from other cultures, befriending “enemies” and the choice of friends I made. Seeing the humanness in everyone, understanding the vulnerability of others and knowing where true happiness comes from help carry out a life of awareness.

Gil was happy with the solution of education yet insisted that all other measures of law and enforcement are to still be around till most humans can really act that way. At least it serves as prevention for bad ethics.

So I urge each and every one of us to be SELF RESPONSIBLE, not to look at what others do or don’t, not to search for blame or excuses, not to compare, but to do our best to be the best we can for one another. This will ultimately be very self-rewarding.

As Socrates said: “The truly wise man will know what is right, do what is good and therefore be happy” (Sahakian, William S. & Sahakian, Mabel Lewis. Ideas of the Great Philosophers. pp 32-33)

Please leave your comments below, share your ideas for how we can become Self Responsible and how can we pass this on to others without force? Why do you care?