This trip was the next in a long series of ascents Aron Ralston and I have shared over the years. This one in particular to RMNP, was to return to where it all began 20 years ago when we summited Longs Peak, the fourteener that sparked our lifelong passion for mountaineering.

What I love about climbing in the high country is that the mountains are full of life lessons that are taught viscerally and dynamically as one foot is placed in front of the other with your head in the clouds. When you hit altitude, legs and lungs burning, the body wants to stop. That is when the mind pushes on, and when the present moment requires maximum focus.

Going with the flow

Plans for a 2 am departure for Longs Peak were derailed by heavy rain. Knowing this was a possibility we pushed the departure back to a relaxed 7 am, destined for Glacier Gorge around Black Lake between the towering Longs peak to the east and McHenry’s peak to the west. While there was no lightening in the morning we wanted to avoid at all costs getting caught at high altitude without a quick walk off.

From the trailhead we departed with plan B, meaning we didn’t know what the destination was but we’d find out how high in the peaks the weather would allow us to get. No expectations, only discovery and adventure.

We were deep in the clouds all morning, when mist transitioned to rain we donned what was initially a joke but is now the tried and true Mountaineering Umbrella. Not a good tool when electricity or wind are likely but in today’s east coast-style drizzle it was perfect—and hilarious!

#MountaineeringUmbrella photo by Aron Ralston

The Path Emerges

At about 11,000′ altitude and 5 miles into the ascent, Aron and I pulled over to intermit over coconut chocolate Pro Bars. We stopped about 500 feet above Black Lake amid a misty flower-filled run-off. Aron spotted the perfect perch across the stream and I endeavored to join him. The weather had been misting and raining all morning so I approached the rock perch round-aboutly to avoid walking through calf-deep grass that would soak my shoes with dew.

I made my route along some river stones while I patted myself on my back for being clever enough to find such a creative route—until I turned the corner and there was no more route, only running water. I hesitated, looking around at the prospect of getting myself back out of the streambed and seeing only soaking wet options all around me.

How many times does that happen in life? You’re going down a path and all of a sudden you don’t know where to go? Progress hits a standstill. What do you do?

About to give up and backtrack, I took one last step forward onto a small stone protruding just above the glassy meniscus. I looked around the bend and as if the universe was playing a joke on me, a big boulder appeared, previously just out of view when I was in my doubt state.

Where there was no path, a path appeared.

Ahh, I remember. Faith in the flow.

Avoiding the Krummholz

As we continued above tree line, the existing hiking trail came to an end at the base of a tundra marsh on the way towards the boulder field. We did our best to navigate on the wet slabs instead of the marshy grass to preserve what dryness remained in our shoes but at times we had to tally-ho through.

Krummholz is a type of tree that grows just at this subarctic zone that protects itself from the fierce freezing winds by clumping together behind rocks and in large groupings.

You do not want to get caught into a large batch of krummholz! It is a thick quagmire of branches just below the surface of fir needles. You can’t see your feet, there are tons of tripping hazards and you may or may not even be stepping on the ground depending on how deep you are.

As we traverse towards the most amicable route against the steepening ascent, Aron explains his experience once falling through what seemed like the ground, sinking in over his head and splayed in between branches in the darkness. It was a real mess to get out of.

Instead, he said, you have to look for the existing path through the krummholz. The elk and moose thankfully have the sense to cut through the most friendly patches of this knee timber so look for their path instead of forging your own.

Lesson in business and in life: If you can not avoid the krummholz find an existing path through it, else you may be stymied, potentially enough to jeopardize your whole ascent. Do not take such patches—proverbial or otherwise—for granted, they can be a resource-sucking quagmire.

SUMMITING

Just as we approached the col, where the ridge line breaks to a steep cliff, the cloud bank began to swirl and lift! After not seeing more than 50 feet all morning against the mist-ical clouds, the craggy arête appears! The fiercely exposed summit of The Spearhead emerges!

Spearhead emerges from the lifting clouds

The cloud cover swept out of the valley in a swift gust of clear air, seemingly just for us. Now with a window of increased visibility, no rain and the summit in sight, we reflected on the amazing timing of our arrival at the col during the only weather opening all day. I took that as a little wink from the universe.

Having the perspective now of 1000 feet below and 1000 above, I took in the magnitude of the alpine cirque all around me. The sight was totally overwhelming. At that moment I felt a deep fear about the exposure along the summit ridge.

Photo by Aron Ralston

It has been a long time since I’ve been that afraid, but I did not come this far to not attempt the summit—especially after the miraculous parting of the clouds.

Photo by Aron Ralston

Arriving at the peak, I see what Aron has been telling me about. The actual peak of Spearhead (12,575’) is what appears to be a pile of queen-bed sized boulders perched precariously above a straight 500 foot drop into the shadow of neighboring Longs Peak (14,259’) and Chiefs Head Peak (13,579’). “Ho-ly shit!”

Holding on, we looked over the edge to soak in the marrow of this alpine theatre. It was terrifying and exhilarating. I am a new man. I got what I needed. Hard reset—and a new appreciation for the magnitude of nature and this planet.

The energy at the peak was palpable. Before we left, I sat for a moment in my meditation where I ping love against my wife’s heart from wherever I am. When we do this it sends out ripples of love in every direction. My intention was to broadcast Love her and to Jung’s collective unconscious.

On the trip down I could not stop thinking about how amazing the summit was—but then I remembered it’s not about the past. It’s about right now.

The view from Spearhead and the cloud we had been in all day.

The high altitude puts me into a meditation where my very existence requires every ounce of mindfulness I have. The lack of oxygen, the tricky footwork through the boulder field, the wet, lichen-covered slabs—the path requires all of my energy and I don’t have time for all that mental chatter of life. And that is the point where I find complete silence. That is what I came here looking for: Absolute presence, mindfulness and silence.

Peaking–over and over again

Twenty years ago, when Aron and I first came up to this high country, we had no idea how life changing it would be. Mountaineering is not for everyone, it has to be in your blood. It is grueling, painful and dangerous but if you can stomach one step at a time, you gain the privilege of perspective from the highest peaks and bring those lessons back to life–the powerful practices of ascending, testing our limits, training our mindfulness and sharpening the sword.

- by Jon Heinrich

In the age of capitalism and convenience, the human animal encounters more toxicity and detrimental environmental conditions than ever. While you can break the core of survival down to four areas—food, shelter, heat and clothing—there are many more catastrophic elements to deal with now than ever. The age of profit margins has introduced nasty substances into our lifestyle, such as bovine growth hormones and DDT. Unless you either grow all your own food or buy it from an organic health food store, you consume these toxic substances everyday.

I didn’t fully realize the damaging potential of the disease until it hit close to home. John Hall, 25 year-old bass player for the band Addison Groove Project, lost his battle with cancer. He had been diagnosed with rectal cancer just 18 months prior but no one except his family and band-mates knew how bad it was. And no one at the funeral could understand how a 25 year-old could die of cancer.

I knew cancer was a problem in the nation, but John was only 25! This really is serious. John Hall’s story was the catalyst that drove me to investigate this epidemic. I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my findings with you, so we may all do our best to avoid the plague of the 21st century.

During my search for answers, I ran into Brian Haas, the esteemed piano player in the provocative jazz trio, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. Our paths crossed at the foot of Butternut Ski Basin among scorching sun and green grass at the Berkshire Mountain Music Festival in August of 2003. While most of the inhabitants of the festival were wrapped up in conversation about the musical lineup, Brian was deep into in a discussion on life and death.

Recently, Hass’ mom became one of 1.4 million people each year to be newly diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Fearing for her life, Mrs. Haas did what nearly everyone does, and enrolled in a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation treatment to counter the breast cancer. Her doctors emphasized that this was the best, most effective means of treatment, even though they gave her only a five percent chance of surviving the ordeal, with the “therapy”. A five percent chance of survival with the most cutting edge advances in western medicine! No wonder subconsciously she knew the MDs were wrong. “There was a ring of dishonesty in what the doctors were saying,” explained Brian Haas.

During this treatment, her body underwent high doses of chemicals and radiation that poisoned the cancer cells—along with her healthy cells. She became weaker and more emotionally destitute. There were no signs of regaining the vitality that once flowed through her body in abundance. Then she turned to Brian. After a few months of listening to his advice, she was on her way to full recovery. She had literally found the cure; it took her from deathbed, to full recovery. And that cure is available for everybody.

How do you treat your Temple?

Putting good food into your body does not end with physical benefits through healthy lifestyle. Spiritual health and physical health go hand in hand. “Like Sting said, ‘We’re just spirits in the material world,’” explains Haas. “This is the house of our spirit.” If you think of it in those terms, it makes sense. The body is the interface between your soul and the physical world. If that interface is clogged full of toxic residue, then you won’t be able to realize your full potential—neither mentally, physically, or spiritually.

Haas explains: “Jesus said your body is a temple. If you treat your body like a temple, it spreads into the rest of your life. Every aspect of your life becomes holy; everything you do is holy.”

“The mind, body and soul are connected,” Haas continues. “If you don’t allow your body to operate at its full potential, how do we even know what our minds are capable of? I’m all about living like a real human and realizing my full potential. I’m back here [on the earth] for some reason so I want to be the best human I can be. All of this is so simple.”

After hearing him behind the grand piano that night, I know why he’s here. But its even larger than spreading his consciousness expanding jazz. There is a larger purpose: All is One.

As Hass sat and talked to me before the show, eating his organic stew, he explained: “The reason we’re here right now is to help in the healing process of the earth. So, we have to turn ourselves into superheroes, we have to turn ourselves into ultra-humans. We have to find our true potential. Jesus said ‘Don’t you understand that you’re all Gods?’ Simple; we’re all Gods, we’re all creators. We create the world around us. And if we’re toxic, if we’re poisoning ourselves, we’re going to create an awful world. Look around, we made this. The way I look at it, if you only feed yourself goodness and love, you only create goodness and love.”

How diet can affect your chances

First of all, there is no black-and-white cause to cancer, it is merely an accumulation of thousands of lifestyle and environmental factors over a person’s life that contribute to the degradation of the body’s cells. Of course there are certainly things that increase your chances such as smoking cigarettes, but regardless of your lifestyle, malignant cells exist in everyone.

Western medicine currently has about four main (and expensive) treatments to counter mutating cells spreading throughout the body. The first step in slowing reproduction of malignant cells, is to slow the hormone that commands them to replicate, estrogen. The most common drugs used for this include tamoxifen and raloxifene.

Chemotherapy is the most common cancer treatment. Chemicals are introduced to the system to kill the cancer cells. Unfortunately, instead of mimicking a “smart bomb” and killing only the malignant cells, the chemicals kill thousands of healthy cells in the process. These chemicals are so harmful to the body, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that increased chance of leukemia and ovarian cancer offset the benefits with greater risks. Chemotherapy also tends to reduce the number of blood platelets in the patient, called thrombocytopenia. Theoretically it’s similar to killing Saddam Hussein by nuking all of Iraq.

Speaking of, radiation treatment is also a very common therapy where the tumor is bombarded with high energy X-rays or radioactive isotopes in order to disable the replicating mechanism in the cancer cells, the chromosomes. As most of us know from getting X-rays at the dentist, radiation is not good for the body.

The final, and most drastic treatment is a radical mastectomy. The severity of this treatment speaks for itself.

The best way to avoid being in a place where you need to consider these severe treatments of course is to avoid cancer all together. Western medicine however, is focused on curing illness rather than preventing it.

A great place to begin your prevention regimen, is a vegetarian diet. Fill your body with vibrant vegetables, that collect vitality straight from the sun. You’ll also remove the most unhealthy ingredients in your diet and instantly upgrade your chances of not becoming one of the 42% that gets cancer. “Its so simple,” Haas emphasizes.

When Brian’s mom finally decided she had enough of the western method of poison and radiation, she began listening to what Brian was saying. She began to follow not only his advice, but also her instincts. She immediately stopped taking the chemotherapy drugs and going to radiation therapy. She began to pay careful attention to what she put into her body, but more importantly, what not to put into her body.

To begin the healing process, the first thing she did was take the following four items out of her diet completely: sugar, alcohol, dairy, and factory (non-organically raised) meat. She replaced these with regular doses of juiced wheat grass, and her recovery process began. It is as simple as that.

What’s wrong with my burger?

If there is one reason to consider a vegetarian lifestyle, it is the chemical buildup found in non-organically raised meats. As a product of the food chain, the cow that your Big Mac came from consumed hundreds of meals coated in dangerous pesticides. Unfortunately, it does not pass through the animal’s digestive tract, but rather accumulates in the tissues over time. When you consume that flesh, that lifetime of toxins are passed into your body, and the struggle of breaking them down is passed to your immune system.

There are four major groups of toxins found in factory meat that you should be aware of: pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, and saturated fat.

The advent of pesticide use in large-scale farming was introduced just after World War II to increase productivity and drive profits. Unfortunately, no long-term studies have been conducted to determine the ramifications of such use. And unfortunately we are still using such toxins today.

One such chemical present in our food chain today is dioxin, the contaminant in Agent Orange, a defoliant in the Vietnam War that was found to cause birth defects in children of exposed parents. As far back as 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testified before congress that dioxin is “…by far the most toxic chemical known to mankind.” But this has not stopped its use even today. Just last year the EPA under the Bush administration, refused to enforce a new limit to the use of dioxin-laced sludge as a fertilizer on farms, forests, parks, and golf courses. Dioxin has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, miscarriages, and in the worst cases, death.

This has been accumulating in your chicken wings and its only the beginning.

Antibiotics are used in factory farms, to keep the animals healthy despite their rancid conditions. The New England Journal of Medicine pointed out that farmers are using the same antibiotics that are used to treat human infections. This is a problem because bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics in the medical arena.

In a 1999 study on the impact of agricultural antibiotics, analysts linked a rise, from 1 percent to 10 percent, in antibiotic resistance in bacteria, to the 1995 approval of antibiotics used in poultry. Researchers at UCS estimate that roughly 24 million pounds, or 70 percent of the antibiotics in the United States are fed to healthy livestock and contribute to the antibiotic-resistance of bacteria in humans.

The next additive to your Thanksgiving turkey is hormones. One reason why the European Union hasn’t bought meat produced in the U.S. for over 14 years, is the twenty-fold increase in estrogen levels. The British Medical Journal reported harmful effects of growth hormones in meat involve developmental, neurobiological, genetoxic, and carcinogenic repercussions, and that even small residues of such hormones increase the risk of cancer.

How do you like your steak, medium or well done?

The final element in meat that increases your risk of cancer is saturated fat. There are no shortage of scientific studies that connect animal fat with cancers of the lung, colon, rectum, breast, endometrium, and prostate. One such study done in Britain over 12 years found vegetarians to have cancer rates 40 percent lower than non-vegetarians. The study tested 6,000 vegetarians against a group of meat-eaters similar in body weight, social class, and smoking patterns.

A vegetarian diet is one way of ensuring only goodness gets into your body, by minimizing the toxic chemicals entering body. However, now beyond the industrial revolution, we live a poisonous lifestyle and no matter how much we try and avoid it, toxins still wind up in the body through the air we breathe and the water we drink. Because of this, it is a good idea to consider cleaning house once and a while to allow your body’s natural processes to combat enemy free radicals and malignant cells in the body.

One of the best ways to allow your body to clean house, is by fasting. By abstaining from food for significant periods of time, your body has a chance to turn its immune attention towards breaking down toxins in the system that, if left unattended to, could manifest into any number of cancers.

The Cleansing Fast: Detox for your health

One of the best ways to allow your body to cleanse is by fasting. By abstaining from food for significant periods of time, your body has a chance to turn its immune attention towards breaking down toxins in the system that, if left unattended to, could manifest into any number of cancers.

Traditionally, fasting is viewed as a spiritual experience. By abstaining from all solid food, you are taking control of the robot that is your body, by not letting it control you. When this occurs, you begin to see through the cycles of everyday life and realize what is truly important in the world. By choosing to let the spirit guide us, and not the flesh, you break through materialism and realize the body’s addiction to food and harmful substances we consume everyday.

In the Essene Gospels, Jesus explains, “the body is the temple of the spirit, and the spirit is the temple of God. Purify, therefore, the temple, that the Lord of the temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is worthy of him.

As Paul Bragg explains in The Miracle of Fasting, there is a Vital Force that is used every day of your life to maintain your body’s processes. In addition to pushing blood through millions of filters in your kidneys and exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide in your lungs, a large percentage of this energy goes towards digesting food through your 30-foot digestive tract. Once you stop eating, this Vital Force begins recharging and is freed up tove move throughout the body breaking down poisonous residues that have built up. Even after just 24 hours, the body is able to begin rebuilding Vital Force.

With the aid of lots of water and a herbal laxative, fasting also allows your body to pass the remaining food that has accumulated in the colon over years. The average person on a western diet has up to eight partially digested meals residing in their digestive tract at any time. Think about that! This undigested food does exactly the same thing it would if it weren’t in your body: it rots. If you’re wondering what that would look like, try taking a bowl of freshly cooked food and instead of eating it, put it in a moist 98.6 degree environment and check on it in three days.

Fasting is certainly one option among many, that allow your natural body to take care of itself. The most important thing to realize, is that your vessel has remarkable healing capabilities. Next time your doctor prescribes a pill for a common ailment, consider that the human race has not made it this far being dependent on pharmaceuticals. The flip side of the coin however, is that we have never been bombarded by such a health-caustic environment. Drastic measures may be required for such drastic environmental conditions—like pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and saturated fat.

You Choose

Think of it this way: what if every morning, instead of having a cup of coffee, I banged my head against a brick wall to wake up. I would quickly begin to experience splitting headaches, scratches on my head, and soreness in my neck. If I went to my western doctor for a solution, he would listen to my symptoms, and probably prescribe Aspirin or a stronger pain killer to deal with the pain. After the pain did not go away, I would get X-rays, maybe a MRI scan and perhaps some stitches to deal with the laceration caused by my forehead smacking against the brick each day. If I went to my eastern medicine doctor, he would tell me to stop hitting my head on the wall.

This may sound ridiculous, but when you consider what we, as Americans, put into our body, it may not be that far-fetched. Consider that each year 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides are sprayed on American crops, and we feed 24 million pounds of antibiotics to farm animals to aid in meat production. Where do you think that goes? We are constantly bombarding our body with unnatural chemicals that can trigger DNA breakage, cell deterioration, and immune system suppression.

Luckily, you have a choice. You can begin reading the labels on your food and eliminating chemical-laden flesh from your diet. Remember, the choice is yours.

- by Jon Heinrich

Originally published 11/15/2013

Bibliography:

- Bragg, Paul ND, Ph.D, Patirica Bragg ND, Ph.D. The Miracle of Fasting. Santa Barbara, CA: Health Science.
- Gorbach, Sherwood. “Antimicrobial Use in Animal Feed—Time to Stop”. (Editorial). The New England Journal of Medicine, October 18, 2001. v345i16 p1202(2).
- Haas, Brian. Interview. October 16, 2003.
- Melina, Vesanto M.S., R.D. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Healthy Eating for Life: To Prevent and Treat Cancer. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
- Nixon, Daniel W. M.D. The Cancer Recovery Eating Plan: The Right Foods to Help Fuel Your Recovery. Times Books, Random House, 1994.
- Pianin, Erik. “EPA Won’t Regulate Use of Dioxin-Laced Sludge as Fertilizer”. The Boston Globe, October 18, 2003.
- Quillen, Patirck Ph.D., RD. CNS. Beating Cancer with Nutrition. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Nutrition Times Press, Inc., 1994.
- Robbins, John. Diet for a New America. Walpole, NH: Stillpoint, 1987.
- Tagilaferri, Mary, Issac Cohen and Devu Tripathy. Breast Cancer Beyond Convention.
Vogin, Gary MD. WebMD, December, 2001.
- http://my.webmd.com/content/article/9/1811_50449.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D
- Watson, Rory. “EU Says Growth Hormones Pose Health Risk”. British Medical Association, British Medical Journal, May 29, 1999. v318i7196 p1442.

Meniscus: Shakti, can you tell us more about the subtle effects of going vegetarian? Why do Hindus not eat Cows and Pigs?

Shakti: Every act we do affects our consciousness, and eating is an act we do many times a day. “We are what we eat,” is very close to the truth, in that what we eat greatly affects our consciousness. We may think we can see the world clearly, but actually there is so much happening around us that we are completely blind to.

The more we eat “mode of goodness” foods the more we are open to see the world and ourselves and others clearly. And much peace and happiness comes when we have the ability to see clearly.

However when we eat meat of any kind, we are eating flesh, blood and fat of a body that once was alive and currently is dead. So we are eating dead matter, and that enhances a tamasic or “mode of ignorance” consciousness. That is the yogic perspective.

To live and enhance a level of “dead” knowledge or “dead” vision is never going to enhance happiness, much less spiritual knowledge. Eating meat sadly has the opposite affect, it reduces the chance of having spiritual sensitivity and makes spiritual knowledge harder to acquire.

In fact just from a basic logical perspective, when an animal is killed, fear is running through it’s body. And that anxiety is causing specific hormones or chemicals to run through the animals blood stream. It has been proven that animals are aware that they are going to be killed. Many try to escape, and even shed tears. They know they are about to be killed. And that fear, that pain is affecting their biochemistry. So you can imagine what that means for our consciousness as we ingest the meat that contains that fear. We are a society of enhanced fear and anxiety and in many respects ignorant of so many subtle realities.

Rising up

The practice of meditation, yoga, prayer, mindfulness and genuine searching for genuine answers all helps lift our consciousness. However, just like we go to school for many many years to earn knowledge of this material world, it takes years to cultivate spiritual knowledge. And most of us are not putting in the time, energy and dedication it takes to know deeply who we are.

Now there is an analogy I love. If a mechanic and you (or any of us who are not mechanics) look at the same engine we will see totally different things. Our eyes are I taking different visions, due to knowledge or the lack there of. In that same way we need spiritual training to see ourselves and this world for what it truly is.

Eating foods that are mentioned in the “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” that are in the mode of goodness like legumes, grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and ahimsa milk products is the beginning of raising your own ability to see the spiritual subtlety in the world.

- by Shakti Assouline

If you are interested in what Shakti has to say, you may be interested in her Yoga Nidra training as well. Check out her site for more details: http://pureshaktiyoga.com/yoga-nidra/nidra-trainings

Divine Cows in India by Kurma Rupa

Each Sunday in New York City’s Lincoln Center Film Society, Reverend Wade Adkisson along with the membership of ministers and practitioners participate in Science of Mind at the First Church of Religious Science. Here is a beautiful example of a monthly treatment you’ll hear from Rev. Adkisson:

“There is only One Power and Presence expressing throughout the universe. This Divine Presence of Love is expressing as me and through me at all times. I am an outlet by which God loves and creates. I am the way and means by which God experiences and celebrates life. There is only One Life, It is perfect, whole and complete and that LIfe is my Life right now.

“Today I celebrate this One Life and I let the One Mind guide and direct my own life. Every moment gives birth to fresh new creative ideas that unfold as new experiences in my world. My word is the law unto my life and will create for me what I desire because I am at one with the great Creative Action of the universe. I move from good to greater good because of the love and givingness of Spirit. And so it is.” – Rev. Wade Adkisson

The temple of God is within you

The philosophy of Earnest Holmes supports that true human selfhood is divine and by participating in spiritual mind treatments, we can program the subconscious to accept our divine thought as a force for good within our own life and for the greater good.

In his book, The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes states “Religious Science is a correlation of laws of science, opinions of philosophy, and revelations of religion applied to human needs and the aspirations of man.”

He teaches that disease originates in the mind, and that “right thinking” can heal any of life’s afflictions.

Science of Mind: So what does it mean?

When participating in the Science of Mind, we are looking to understand our true spiritual self, that within us all is a divine spark. By speaking to our higher self through the mind treatments, we can achieve a realization of self.

Ideas are the building blocks of life

When we consciously move creative energy towards where we want, we take our lives into our own hands. We allow our spirit to know itself, to celebrate life and lift the consciousness of self.

We possess the ability to speak and initiate that great creative power of the universe through the law of cause and effect. We are always creating, because we are always thinking.

Consciousness = the cause
Experiences in life = the effect

As Rev. Adkisson explains, “You are the writer, the director and the actor of your own life,” he says “the only obstacle is your own imagination. The only thing that can prevent you from achieving anything, is you.”

I invite you to pick one of Earnest Holms books or visit a Center for Spiritual Living near you. And each day, remember that God is not something “out there” that you need to broker a conversation with. The Infinite Intelligence is all around us, waiting for your conscious right action to initiate the creative power and take your life from good to greater good—and anywhere you’d like.

“There is but one Life, one vitality, one energy and it is God. This is pure Mind, pure Love, pure Being.” – Dr. Raymond Charles Baker

- by Jon Heinrich

Some good books to check out:

The Science of Mind (Earnest Holmes)
This Thing Called You (Earnest Holmes)
Living the Science of Mind (Earnest Holmes)
The Science of Successful Living: The spiritual formula for a Joyous Life (Raymond Charles Barker)
Money is God in Action (Raymond Charles Barker)

Photo by Jon Heinrich © 2015

If you are tapped into social media, you have probably seen this hidden camera video of men checking out the girl in the yoga pants in New York City. It is hilarious, disgraceful, and a great topic to discuss towards being a modern evolved Gentlemen.

But first of all, give these men a break. I mean, come on, the term “red blooded male” exists for a reason.

We men appreciate beautiful things—especially in the form of God’s greatest gift to the planet, women.

But despite being red blooded men, there is a separation between gentlemen and dogs. For starters, let’s take Jerry Seinfeld’s advice to George about looking at woman’s cleavage, “Looking at cleavage is like looking at the sun: You don’t stare at it, it’s too risky. You get a sense of it and you look away!”

Joking aside, let’s talk about it.

So what are the guidelines?

The important thing to realize is that you are writing your own book. So let’s talk about the underlying aspect of all of these videos: objectification.

First of all, being a Gentleman is all about integrity. And Integrity is doing the right thing even if no one is watching. Will you be graceful and respectable? Or are you just a dog?

Of course we can appreciate beautiful women. They go through a tremendous amount of effort to look good for us. But there is a fine line. As true gentlemen, we must embrace and empathize with the concept of objectification to truly know what goes on with women.

Objectification defined

Philosophically, objectification means treating a person as an inanimate material object, without regard to their dignity.

This is one of the most poignant topics that is rarely discussed, that modern evolved Gentleman must be aware of.

When watching the viral NYC yoga pants video keep in mind that even the guys that said something polite were still seen as creepers by a lot of women. The root cause is this: If someone is reduced to just what they look like, it leaves only a very small fragment of the whole person to appreciate.

Men that are only attracted to the bottom two chakras of a woman’s body are most likely only operating from those two chakras down themselves. If you’re looking to meet a more highly evolved lady, you’re going to have to operate on a higher plane yourself.

As a man, how would you feel if someone immediately judged you by what shoes you were wearing? Or what your hair looked like that day? Or what YOUR ass looks like?!

Walking a mile in women’s shoes

Despite reading about objectivism, it is very difficult for us men (myself included) to truly internalize what it means. Fashion designer Norma Kamali has an active effort called Stop Objectification that helps women get over the embarrassment and humiliation from being judged by their looks and getting cat calls on the street for their entire lives.

Kamali also has this film short called Hey Baby bringing awareness to the fact that a lot of the gorgeous women you see walking down the street have a lot more going for them than just a hot body.

So Gentlemen, if you want to distinguish yourself, realize this: It is not if you check out a beautiful figure walking down the street or not. It is about what chakras are you connecting to. Skin deep or the whole self? We are all complex, multi-faceted human beings, not to be judged by the cover.

Appreciate EVERY woman, no matter what she looks like (or if she shops at Lululemon or not.) With your kindness and generosity, you will rise up with distinction from the pack of dogs that rule the planet. Women and fellow Gentlemen will thank you alike.

- By Jon Heinrich

Photo by Jon Heinrich,
Model is Darja Schabad (Case-in-point, here is her bio on Wikipedia.)

As usual, I prefer to cook and bake vegan and gluten free, i.e. without dairy, eggs or wheat. That way, it is easier to digest and will be as light and healthy as a banana bread could be. Plus, bananas being the main ingredient, it will offer a healthy serving of fruit.

I took a basic recipe and swapped out to wheat-free and dairy-free ingredients, to make it more healthy and delicious. I mashed the bananas, put all the ingredients together and it was in the oven in no time. The smell coming from the kitchen was divine, and it tasted even more heavenly.

My husband is my taste tester and my captive audience. I got rave reviews. That was a couple of weeks ago, I have made a few batches since then and I brought a batch to a friend’s dinner party also and got glowing feedback on this recipe.

So here is the recipe, you will love it! Get ready to be baking a lot of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. And a shout out to Mom, thank you for continuing to inspire me. Enjoy!

Wet Ingredients:
- 8 Bananas
- 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- ¾ cup Maple Syrup
- ½ cup Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Chia Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla

Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup Millet Flour
- 1 cup Buckwheat Flour
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 tablespoon Golden Flaxseed Meal
- 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- 1 bag Large Dark Chocolate Chips (or 2 bags of regular size Dark Chocolate Chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line 2 medium pans with parchment paper.
2. Mash 6 Bananas in large bowl or mixer.
3. Mix Golden Flaxseed Meal with 3 tablespoons of water and set aside until thickened.
4. Mix Bananas and thickened Golden Flaxseed Meal together with all remaining wet ingredients, put aside.
5. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, except Chocolate Chips.
6. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients into one large bowl, mix well until combined.
7. Stir in Chocolate Chips into batter.
8. Pour combined batter into pans evenly.
9. Place sliced banana chunks on top of batter, using remaining bananas.
10. Bake for 45 minutes, test by poking center top with a fork or toothpick.
11. Allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.
12. Cover pans with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator until finished.

Enjoy!

- by Judith Longo

Voila! Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, vegan and gluten free of course

Hosted by Stephanie Ruhle (managing editor anchor for Bloomberg Television & co-host of Market Makers). Speakers (from left to right): Jessica Seinfeld (author of three NY Times bestselling cookbooks on healthy eating, founder of Baby Buggy non-profit organization dedicated to families in need), Gary Hershberg (co-founder & chairman of Stonyfield Farm), and Ken Cook (president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment).

As you probably have heard, GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) food is currently not labeled here in the US. Yet citizens of 64 other countries, including Russia and China have this right.

It is believed that, GMO’s have lower nutritional quality than natural foods making the nutrients unavailable or indigestible to humans. Additionally, the effects of ingesting such foods loaded with herbicides and toxins in the GMO’s may cause diseases such as Cancer, Parkinson’s, Allergies and Autism to name just a few.

There is also speculation that bacteria living in the digestive tracts of humans and animals could build up an antibiotic resistance gene from a GMO plant. Currently 60% – 100% of the rainwater in the midwest is already contaminated with the powerful herbicides like Roundup used to grow GMO crops.

The corporations behind the GMO foods are very powerful and wealthy. They are quickly buying up established healthy brands such as Annie’s and Quaker, which was recently purchased by Pepsico. Once purchased they change the traditional ingredients to GMO’s, which is more cost effective for them and dangerous for us. But, they are currently not required to label GMO ingredients.

We deserve to know what we are buying and eating by demanding transparency in our food system, our health and ultimately our lives depend on it. We need to take a stand for mandatory GMO labeling in the US.

Just Label It!

The good news change is happening, recently the progressive restaurant chain Chipotle has committed to remove all GMO ingredients from it’s food. Mandatory GMO labeling would be a huge step in the right direction.

As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Please go to www.justlabelit.org and take action today.

by Judith Longo

Judi with Jessica Seinfeld

- by Judi Longo

tanya-b urban legend, Jamie Lugo.

Thus, the modern yogi is a brave seeking-spirit who is willing to try and fall, over and over again. As a labor of love, with each step on the mat, we grow and remind ourselves to love each and every day, moment by moment. Yoga is the practice of NOW.

Introducing tanya-b

As each yogi on the path will tell you, feeling good about your yoga instructor is very important. Meniscus had a chance to sit down with one such yogi whom a whole lot of people resonate with. Pure Yoga instructor Tanya Bolton’s intention is simple: To guide her students to stay present in their experiences—both on and off the mat. Looking at Pure Yoga NYC’s roster of instructors, you will find an incredibly deep portfolio, with each instructor having their own divine flair. Tanya holds down a very special corner of that tapestry of yogis.

Extending her creativity off the mat, Tanya is now unveiling her new line of yoga wear called tanya-b, an authentic, well-designed activewear collection for the modern woman looking for a unique way to express themselves.

When we asked why she started her new yoga line, Tanya explained “It was a purposeful calling, to bring in everything my heart and soul desired from the community, creativity, and connectivity. I wanted women to feel sexy and feminine in the clothes while keeping the brand and yoga accessible to everyone.”

It did not come without its challenges however.

“Starting a business is about getting over your doubts, fear, and shame…TRULY believing in yourself.”

Sound familiar?

Challenges, on and off the mat

The idea originally came to Tanya when she was living and teaching yoga in Hong Kong. She discovered that it was a long process of research and connecting with the right people that enabled her to bring the idea to fruition. She had a very specific sensation around what the brand was about. “It needed to FEEL right,” she remembers.

Once Tanya’s father passed away, she found herself with a greater sense of resolve and focus to make it happen.

“In trying moments, there can be great inspiration,” she explained.

With this new tanya-b yoga line, she is encouraging a paradigm shift away from yogawear brands that are mass-produced, to brands that are more personal and connected. “I believe people are craving community and connectivity, which is why many people are drawn to doing yoga in the first place,” she said.

Here are a few selects from the current tanya-b collection.

Students of Tanya’s Hot Power Vinyasa classes at Pure Yoga NYC can certainly feel her energetic state, which is why her classes are constantly packed. Tanya feels the reciprocal energy and the cycle continues.

Doing Good

One of our favorite topics at Meniscus is prosumerism, which in short, is supporting brands you believe in with your wallet instead of corporate behemoths that do not align with your personal ethics. The idea is that we can change the world in a truly capitalistic manner by supporting brands that support our own philosophy and ideals. Tanya-b is one of those brands that we feel aligned with and it is in a large part, due to that reciprocal relationship with people. She is she is leaving the planet with more positivity and wellness than when she found it.

“There’s a responsibility to stay connected to your customer,” Tany explains, “to find ways to share with others so they feel invested, and truly a part of it.”

If you are in the New York City area, please join cofounders Tanya Bolton and Anna Chung for the debut of the Tanya-b line at Pure Yoga on Tuesday Feb 24th at 6:15 where Tanya and urban legend Kay Kay Clivio will co-teach a hot power vinyasa class to officially kick it off.

Please check out the line at tanya-b.com and stay connected with her on Facebook here.

- Interview with Tanya Boulton
- By Jon Heinrich

It is that time of year when the party’s over, literally and figuratively. It’s always difficult for me to get through the darkest and coldest days of the year in NYC. Like many of us in the Northeast after the holiday season ends I crave newness, warmth, physical exercise and sunshine. But Mother Earth has me held in the natural process of winter. Like nature and the animals in the forest, we are meant to be more internal, calm and meditative as we prepare for our rebirth in the spring.

As a fashion designer, stylist and a certified Feng Shui practitioner I know it is time for me to take a sobering look my closet and my life. In the tiny walk-in closet I share with my husband I stood and stared at my coveted collection of Mui Mui, Prada, Fendi and all the rest of my friends. With not an empty space on the rail or an empty shoe cubby I asked myself what I could possibly part with, and got no answer at all. I loved all of these shoes, bags, dresses, blazers for they ARE me, I thought. And, even though I don’t wear most of them regularly I was hesitant to even touch them.

Wind and Water

I remembered what I learned in my classes that Feng Shui is about so much more than just stuff, even my beautiful stuff that I love so much. The term Feng Shui means wind and water. Feng Shui is about the stagnant and fresh chi or energy that moves in and around our physical spaces, including our closets. When areas are clogged up and cluttered, the chi or energy cannot move and becomes stagnant. It directly affects our health, wealth, relationships, future, and well, pretty much everything.

So to get the chi or energy moving I decided to start cleaning and clearing. If a space is not clean, it is not Feng Shui. I cleaned everything and anything I could get my hands on: laundry, the bathroom, the vanity, the kitchen, the magazine rack, my nightstand, my jewelry drawer and the junk drawer. Suddenly I had filled two bins of recycling and one full of trash.

At that point, I had broken the stagnant chi and was able to create two piles of couture accessories and clothing to consign. And, then the most important pile I created was the give-away pile to be donated. According to Feng Shui, what we give away will return to us multiplied.

When we make space for the fresh chi, we allow the energy of our personal space to move swiftly and make way for new energy, health, wealth, experiences, love, clothes, shoes, jobs and relationships to find their way into our lives. I know this fresh energy moving in my space will blossom into something magical in my life this year.

Five ways to create fresh chi or energy in your space:

1. Start by cleaning one drawer, go through all items contained and decide if you really need all the items. Clear out what you no longer need and put back what is necessary in an organized fashion. Starting small will help you break way for bigger projects like your closet.

2. Clean the kitchen and bathroom until they are spotless. The chi of these two areas is very important as they are vital to our overall health.

3. Clean the entrance of your space: organize shoes, umbrellas, coats in closets and storage bins neatly. Make sure the foyer is not cluttered. The chi of this area of our home is very important as it is connected with our career and wealth.

4. Make sure the air in your space is fresh, like the chi when it is swiftly moving. Open a window, even for a few minutes in the winter and let in the fresh air. Also, burning white sage and diffusing essential oils changes the energetic frequency of your entire space which connects to all aspects of your life.

5. Clean out and organize all books, mail and decorative pieces. Put in an orderly fashion that is aesthetically pleasing. Make sure you feel an open airiness in your space that is calming and nurturing to you, so you can go out in the world and create a life you love.

After all, Feng Shui is “all about the space, about the space….no clutter.”

- by Judith Longo