Health Is Not an Intellectual Debate
photo credit: iron fillings
I’ve experienced some interesting instances of human behavior since starting Balanced Existence. On a number of occasions during the last three months a couple of people have questioned the health related information presented on this website. To tell the truth I would be surprised if the articles here at Balanced Existence didn’t garner any such responses. If all I had in response was agreement or silence I would feel like I wasn’t doing a very good job.
The problem however is that such questioning often lacks practical intelligence. More often then not the questions are not about how the person can best test out the information to discover the truth for themselves. Instead it’s about debating validity in an intellectual arena. What’s worse is the people doing the critical asking ironically also want me to force feed all the answers to them.
As the very first sentence on the homepage says the purpose of Balanced Existence is to act as a signpost that helps guide you towards taking courageous responsibility for your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The key point is I created Balanced Existence because I wanted to help you by showing you that you must take responsibility for yourself. If in fact you want and need my help.
The very best thing I can see I can do for you is help you to realize that to be healthy and well you need to take total responsibility for your physical body, your behavior and your life. This means you must step up and take responsibility for informing yourself and running your own experiments and trials so you can make your own informed decisions about your life. It is you who must do something. It is you who must take action.
The Reality of What We Know
I’m happy to give my references to anyone who asks so that they can go and read the source material. Though they are only going to read the same information again. I guess it shows that my information is from legitimate sources but beyond that it strikes me as pointless. Scientists conducting research can produce almost any result they wish if the funding happens to be coming from this or that particular interest group.
Truth, references do not make. The only final arbiter of truth is reality and the only way you will experience the reality of something discussed here on Balanced Existence is if you actually take responsibility for yourself and do something about it.
For example if you wanted to lose some weight, be less brain-fogged and have more energy then you could trial the suggestions in Make One Easy Change and Lose Weight for 7 to 14 days and during that time pay attention to your body. Afterward try going back to what you were doing before and again listen to your body.
In this case that would mean going back to eating unsprouted grain products such as bread and pasta. If you notice that you feel fatigued, put some weight back on and generally don’t feel as well when you go back to eating things like bread as you did during the trial then you have your answer. This is the reality for you and your body. However, instead if all you did was read the related literature and debate this or that you would in reality know precisely squat.
Balanced Existence is a Finger Pointing to the Moon
When I’ve given out references in the past I couldn’t help but feel that those who ask for references are really only doing so because they want to debate. I couldn’t help but feel that the chance of them actually reading the books and the research papers that I reference to is rather unlikely. I say this because I never hear back from those who so inquire.
Regardless of what hand we are dealt in life the only way positive growth and change will be achieved is if you accept where you are right now and accept that what happens next is in your hands. In this way Balanced Existence constitutes a finger pointing to the moon. If all you do is fixate on the finger you will never experience the light of the moon.
The whole point of Balanced Existence is to present health and wellbeing information that is beyond the mainstream in the hope to spur you on to taking responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. Force feeding people the sources of my information does nothing more then show them more of the same information. It does nothing for independent self-informing thought and experimentation.
Health, like spirituality, is not an intellectual debate. To make the transition from poor health to good health one must actually do something to arrest the downward slide. Health is a state of being. That state of being is the moon. Balanced Existence is just a finger pointing the way. If you never get past the finger you’ll surely never reach the moon.
All the scientific research in the world is pointless if one is in poor health and continues to do what one has always done. Doing the same thing and expecting different results is craziness. Debating points of order is a hiding place for those who are not yet ready to face the reality of themselves and their problems.
In many facets of life we get caught up in examining the finger. As a result we don’t experience the light of the moon.
My thanks go to Myrko of Awake Blogger whose article on The Meaning of the Finger Pointing to the Moon spurred me on to write about this subject.
If you have found this article useful please consider donating. Your generosity will help me keep Balanced Existence constantly updated with new articles and information. Thank you!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Hi Stephen
I think your health posts are well researched and appreciate the effort behind them.
I experience your website as one for building up, not breaking down.
Juliet
November 24th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hi Stephen,
As a graduate of a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy, and completing a Masters degree, I understand the importance of referencing statements. I also understand that you can reference any statement with anything and that doesn’t really improve its real credibility, only the perception that it is credible.
I agree with your willingness to provide references when asked, and I wholeheartedly agree that “truth, references do not make”.
I agree that health is not in the reading as in the doing, and often we need reading to stimulate the doing, so you are doing a great job.
Well done.
Greg
November 25th, 2008 at 5:56 am
@Juliet – That’s just the thing, my posts are based on research but also they are based on my personal experience of my own experimentation after reading the research. I’m not attacking doing and discussing research. I just feel that if we get stuck exclusively in that head-space we miss the point.
It’s always nice to hear expressions of appreciate. Thank you for taking the time to tell me.
@Greg – Always good to hear from you. My academic training isn’t in the health area. I have a Bachelor of Accounting and am currently studying a Masters of Technology (business systems design and management). So I to have an understanding of referencing within academia.
What I’ve noticed about many studies is that if one doesn’t take the time to thoroughly understand exactly how the study was designed and undertaken then taking the researcher’s conclusions at face value can result in one being taken for a bit of a ride at times. So if I reference to a news report regarding the release of the findings by a study if has some meaning and at the same time it doesn’t.
Also far too often the controls and assumptions of ceteris paribus in studies belie the complex vicissitudes of real life.
In the end my message is that people cannot expect to be able to wallow in infantile reliance on doctors, nutritionists, personal trainers, medical researchers, and personal development bloggers such as myself and enjoy long-term health. Such people can be a wonderful help but they can’t do it for you.
At some point each of us must step up and take responsibility for ourselves.
Stephen
November 26th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Good post.
Could you describe, perhaps in a post, your unsuccessful experiences with raw veganism? I am aware that you’ve tried it before and it hasn’t worked. I want to know, from your experience, what happened and why. I get the feeling most of the criticism comes from that camp.
November 28th, 2008 at 2:06 am
Hey Fullcrum,
What you should know about my experience with cutting out animal products is that like just about everyone else I initially felt a lot better when I changed over to eating vegetarian. The problem was I was still eating grain in the form of rye bread (which was organic) and pasta, etc.
I did this for quite a while and then I discovered Paul Chek and listened to what he had to say. Particularly about metabolic typing and going organic, but many other things as well. I tried it for myself and I felt better again then when I switched to vegetarian from normal home prepared food.
Not only did I feel better but I lost weight without doing anything else different. I had even more energy and even more noticeable was how clear my mind was. I was studying at the time.
My father is probably the best example. He eats what I eat and when we shifted from vegetarian to organic with plenty of animal protein and fat he lost at least 1kg (2.2lbs) each month for 8 or 9 months straight without exercise or drinking more water or anything different. He has no problems at all keeping it off. He enjoys his food and doesn’t feel restricted or anything like that. It’s just healthy living that feels good and natural. He wasn’t very fat to start with and is now a lean 60-odd year old. His cholesterol is perfect as is his blood pressure and so forth.
The thing with going vegetarian is that if you cut crap out of your diet and start eating more fruit and vegetables it would be stupid to not expect to feel much better. It’s just obvious. But long term I don’t think it is viable.
According to some interesting hair analysis studies that tell exactly what a person has been eating most people who profess to be stringent vegetarians eat animal products. Even people in long-term Hindu or Buddhist spiritual retreats. Lying to yourself and others is not a very congruent and healthy way to live.
December 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
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