The value of ritual is in its expression, rather than its content.

Life is a succession of often unconnected, disparate encounters, interactions and relationships, managed, more or less, through habituated patterns of conscious and unconscious behaviour.Ritual represented a break from the everyday and an entry into a different realm of ritual space. It gave us the freedom to respond differently in everyday life.

Ritual as a Break

Puett and Gross-Loh argue that ritual is a kind of make believe, a form of play, or an art form that people tend to forget as they grow out of childhood.When children play, they consciously pretend and lose themselves in alternate realities, exploring imagined and different sides of themselves, and finding new and creative ways of being in the world.Confucian ritual was a cultivated form of play or performance art that could have the same effect on adults as play does on children.

Ritual as a playground

Puett and Gros-Loh say: “Our patterned behaviours and rote habits – not rituals – are what really dictate our lives and get in the way of our caring for other people. But through life spent doing as-if rituals that break these patterns, we gain the ability to sense how to be good to those around us.”To deliberately engage in ritual is not to behave like an automaton. On the contrary, it can bring about a recognition of how many of our everyday, unexamined patterns of behaviour truly are the places where we act like automatons.

Habits vs Rituals

If we’re to perform ritual as if it’s true then we will need to do it wholeheartedly, which is to say, with body, speech and thought. When the whole self is engaged in activity, we participate selflessly, because no part of us is left out from the activity. Body, speech and mind are ambivalent agents. They are gateways to both enlightened and deluded activity.To put things simply, we could say that the role of the body, is to bring the hands together or to adopt the posture of meditation; understood as speech it is remain silent; and understood as thought, it is to concentrate.

Practicing Rituals - Body, Speech and Thought

Rituals from a Zen peerspective - Some reflections and ideas 

philosophy

Philosophy

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

mindfulness

Mindfulness

health

Health

meditation

Meditation

Body, Speech and Thought - The Transformative Power of Ritual

You’ve probably already heard sone one telling you to eat healthy, but what is healthy food? To put it simply, the less processed the better. Things like meat, eggs, fruits, are very natural foods and our body knows what to do with them. The more our food gets processed, the worse it is for our bodies. Look at the ingredients, if you can’t recognize half of them, it’s a sign that it’s not fit for consumption.<ul><li>Start eating healthy</li><li>Avoid processed foods</li><li>Stick to natural sources </li></ul>

Proper Nutrition

People talk about staying active, but what does that really mean?To stay active, you need to actively be pursuing fitness goals. Wether it’s to run a slightly faster mile, or hit a new PR in the gym.Having goals and things to strive for motivates you to want to follow through with them. Combine this with consistency In actively chasing those goals and you have all you need.<ul><li>Set fitness goals</li><li>Follow through on your word</li><li>Chase your goals</li></ul>

Daily Exercise

It’s not enough to get 7-8 hours of sleep. you need more than that, your body works best when you have a consistent routine for when you sleep. Try not to deviate more than an hour in between bed times. Set a goal to go to sleep at that time, and do it. Set a goal to wake up at a certain time, and do it. <ul><li>Have a consistent sleep schedule </li><li>Get 8+ hours each night</li></ul>

Your Sleep Schedule

Most people are chronically dehydrated all of the time. Our bodies need half a gallon to a full gallon of water each day. Anything less than that will yield sub optimal results for your health.<ul><li>Half a gallon to a gallon of water a day</li></ul>

Hydration

Humans are very social creatures and we need the attention from other people. Spending too much time alone leads to a variety of mental health issues such as depression and social anxiety.<ul><li>Stay social</li><li>Don’t remain in complete isolation for too long</li></ul>

Social Health

Your health is your greatest asset, we don’t want to lose it. Learn what your body needs and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

food

Food

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

longevity

Longevity

The Absolute Basics to Health

First, determine your baseline level by measuring your HRV at rest for 4-6 weeks. Measure it the same way every day, preferably first thing in the morning because that's the most stable part of your day.After this, compare your HRV to your rolling average and to the same day in the previous weeks:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">If it drops too much, you're in fight-or-flight mode likely due to a lot of stress</li><li class="ql-align-justify">If it rises too much, you're in rest-and-digest mode, but you're experiencing too much recovery due to accumulated stress, overtraining or sickness</li></ul>Either way, if your HRV is outside your baseline levels, you should rest.

How to interpret your HRV at rest stats

A higher HRV is generally a good thing, but there are exceptions that the app picks up on. You want your HRV to gradually increase over time (weeks, months, yea

Is a higher Heart Rate Variability always better?

Harm Reduction is to help reduce negative consequences of doing drugs, which doesn't require complete and total abstinence.Understanding that person isn't ready, able or willing to stop, harm reduction can help them make positive change to protect themselves AND other people.It relies on the fundamental level, recognizing that people who use drugs (PWUD) deserve safety and dignity too. It does not treat drug use as a moral failing.

What Is Harm Reduction?

Harm Reduction (H.R.) uses a practical and transformative approach that includes community-driven public health strategies such as prevention methods, risk reduction, and health promotion. These things are to empower PWUD and their families. It gives them the choice to live healthy, self-directed, purpose-filled lives.H.R. works by addressing broader social issues through improved policies, programs and practices.Organizations that practice H.R. incorporate a spectrum of strategies that meet people where they are.

What Does Harm Reduction Do?

H.R. focuses attention in engaging directly with PWUD to try preventing overdose, infectious diseases like viral hepatitis and HIV from spreading, along with offering low barrier options for accessing health care services that include mental health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment.Organizations that use the H.R. practice may also serve as a pathway to additional health and social services, including prevention, treatment, and recovery services. H.R. offers opportunities to reach out to those who aren't otherwise accessing healthcare services.

What Is The Goal For Harm Reduction?

Some examples of services offered include offering FREE Naloxone (Narcan) to reverse overdose or helping connect people to other needed services like treatment. Treatment Services like medication for people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) could be co-located with H.R. services and offered as an option. Potential connections to treatments are CRITICAL, as data shows that:<ul><li>Only about 1 of 10 people that suffer from SUD have received treatment.</li><li>Nearly ALL people with SUD that didn't get treatment at a special facility did not think they needed it. </li></ul>

What Types Of Services Are Offered?

The U.S. is currently experiencing the MOST SIGNIFICANT substance abuse and overdose deaths it has ever faced. The epidemic is believed to be exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 worldwide pandemic and driven by the rapid increase of HIGHLY potent synthetic opioids (Fentanyl) and horse tranquilizers (Xylazine) into MANY types of drugs, like stimulants (Crack, Cocaine, and Methamphetamines) and counterfeit prescription pills.In 2022, there were more than 100,000 overdose deaths.

Why Is Harm Reduction Needed?

H.R. services SAVE LIVES by being available and accessible in a way that promotes the need for humility and compassion towards people who suffer from addiction. H.R. has many benefits to help PWUD stay safe. H.R. services have 8 principles that help prioritize giving love and care to PWUD, without judging or shunning them

Harm Reduction Sites And Practices.

<ol><li>Accepting, for better or worse, that illicit drug use is part of our world and choosing to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn.</li><li>Understanding drug use as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from servere use to total abstinence, acknowledging that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others.</li><li>Establish quality of individual, community life and wellbeing – not necessarily cessation of all drug use – as criteria for successful intervention and policies.</li></ol>

The Principles Of Harm Reduction Practices (1)

4. Calling for the non-judgemental, non-coersive provision of services or resources to PWUD and the communities they live in order to assist them in reducing attendant harm. 5. Ensures that PWUD and those with a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them. 6. Affirms PWUD themselves as the primary agent of reducing the harms of their drug use, seeking to empower PWUD to share information and support each other in strategies which meet their actual conditions of use.

Principles Of Harm Reduction Practices (2

7. Recognizing that the realities of poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past traumas, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect both people's vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug related harm. 8. Does NOT attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger that can be associated with illicit drug use.

Principles Of Harm Reduction Practices (3)

“One of the principle harms of the drug war is that society fails to treat people with dignity. And to me, a prosecutor disrespecting the wishes of a person who dies of drug overdose would just be one more act of turning their backs on people who needed help”

"Harm reduction does not coddle the drug addict... what's better, that people should inject with dirty needles using puddle water from the back alleys, or should they use sterile water and given human contact which would encourage them to seek help?"

Here I will be discussing what harm reduction is, its functions, why its beneficial to people with substance abuse and statistics.

education

Learning & Education

problemsolving

Problem Solving

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

What is Harm Reduction?

Your heart rate is constantly changing to adapt to what you're doing and keep your body in a steady state (homeostasis). As such, your Heart Rate Variability reflects your body's capacity to adapt to physical and psychological changes.In general, a higher HRV indicates better fitness, but too much variation means you're wasting energy. Worse even, too little variation indicates chronic health problems, where the body is struggling to adapt to changes.

A healthy heart is not a metronome

Heart Rate Variability: New Perspectives

A paper published in Nature Metabolism shows conclusively that lactate is produced normally in humans after ingestion of carbohydrates. Lactate rapidly enters the bloodstream, even before glucose shows up. Far from being a toxic byproduct to be eliminated during hard exercise, dietary glucose is converted so rapidly to lactate that it preempts or shares top billing with glucose as the two main carbon-energy carriers in the body.

Lactate Rivals Glucose As An Energy Carrier

The results of the study show that the rapid conversion of glucose to lactate, starting initially in the intestines, is a way for the body to deal with a sudden dose of carbohydrates. Lactate, working with insulin, buffers the appearance of dietary glucose in the blood.Instead of a big glucose surge, we have a lactate and glucose surge after eating. And the more of it that is converted into lactate from glucose, the better it is to manage glucose. Lactate is a carbohydrate buffer.

Lactate Is A Carbohydrate Buffer

The new study confirms that lactate plays the same role during normal non-exercise activity and resting as in during intense exercise. It's evidence to show that lactate shouldn't be associated with anaerobic metabolism. It's just a normal response to consuming carbohydrates or to exercise. In exercise, lactate is utilized as the dominant fuel source. That's why our blood lactate increases as we exercise a little harder. It's not that we're making it as a waste product. It's getting into the blood because it needs to go to tissues that need it to continue their physiological performance.

Lactate Is Not A Waste Product; It Is, in Fact, A Fuel

The researchers found that the bodies of the volunteers began converting the dietary glucose into lactate before it even left the intestines. Levels of lactate began rising in arterial blood a mere 5 minutes after the meal, while glucose, often touted as the energy currency of the body, only showed up in the bloodstream 15 to 30 minutes after glucose ingestion.

Lactate: The First Responder

The first carbohydrate after a glucose meal gets into the blood as lactate because a) that's what intestinal cells do and because b) most of the glucose is captured by the liver before it is released into the blood for the muscles, where glucose is going to be converted to lactate. This shows that lactate is just a major energy highway for distributing carbohydrate—carbon energy flux.

Lactate: An Energy Highway For Distributing Carbohydrate

In his 1984 book, “Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications” George Brooks coined the term "lactate shuttle" to describe the body's metabolic feedback loop in which lactate is the intermediary sustaining most if not all tissues and organs.

The Lactate Shuttle Theory

Dr Brooks has shown, for example, that in many tissues, lactate is preferred as a fuel over glucose. During intense activity, the muscle mitochondria burn it preferentially and even shut off glucose and fatty acid fuel use. Brooks used tracers to show that human skeletal muscle, heart muscle and the brain prefer lactate to glucose as fuel and run more strongly on lactate. Lactate also signals fat tissue to stop breaking down fat for fuel.

“Cut The Glucose! Bring On The Lactate!”

One gap in these studies was what happens during normal non-exercise activity and resting. The current study fills that gap and supports the idea that when lactate levels in the blood remain high, it is a signal that something is disrupting the lactate shuttle cycle, not that lactate itself is harming the body."It's really informative about various medical conditions," Dr Brooks says. "I think what's significant about the current result is that it's just not a muscle thing. It starts with dietary carbohydrate. This was a missing piece in the puzzle."

It’s Just Not A Muscle Thing

A new paper refutes the notion that lactate is a danger sign of oxygen deprivation in the muscles or a toxic byproduct to be eliminated.

As a student competing in track and field at his Parlier high school, Robert Leija was obsessed with how to improve his performance, and in particular, prevent the buildup of lactic acid in his muscles during training. Like many athletes, he blamed it for the performance fatigue and muscle soreness he experienced after intense workouts.

sports

Sports

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Lactate: A Fuel, A Vehicle And A Highway Combined

If you are under pressure and your Heart Rate Variability is too high, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode and shuts down the brain's frontal lobe, which handles sophisticated thinking. This leads to poor thinking and hence to poor performance.Although this is an unconscious automatic process, you can control it. You have to notice such stressful situations and control your breathing rhythm. You want a smooth rhythmic breath with a fixed ratio of inhale to exhale (e.g. 4sec in, 6sec out). This regulates your HRV, making your brain's frontal lobe work better and helping you think better.

Breathe rhythmically to improve your thinking and performance

Your Heart Rate Variability is the one that affects your performance, not your Heart Rate. You can perform well both with a high HR and a low HR, as long as your HRV is optimal. However, if your HRV gets too high, your heart rate is erratic and your performance suffers.Your HRV depends on the emotional state you're in. Positive emotions such as excitement and contentment have an optimal HRV and thus enhance your performance, whereas negative emotions like anger and apathy have an abnormally high HRV and impair your performance.

Negative emotions impair your performance because their HRV is too high

Alan Watkins Performance Model

Alan is the founder and CEO of Complete Coherence Ltd. He is recognised as an international expert on leadership and human performance. He has researched and published widely on both subjects for over 18 years. He is currently an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine at Imperial College, London as well as an Affiliate Professor of Leadership at the European School of Management, London. He originally qualified as a physician, has a first class degree in psychology and a PhD in immunology.

Website: http://www.complete-coherence.com

- About TEDx -

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere -- celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED's format and rules.

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy). 

For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com.

TEDx Talks

TEDxPortsmouth - Dr. Alan Watkins - Being Brilliant Every Single Day (Part 1)

Dr. Alan Watkins - Being Brilliant Every Single Day

Are you happy? At this exact moment, do you feel satisfied with your life?Most people won’t know how to answer this question. And I don’t blame them.We focus so much on reaching happiness we forget to think about what happiness means. So, how could you know when you’re being happy?

Are you happy?

Listen, I’m not a philosopher. I don’t have any answer to the great questions of humanity. If I did, I would be a billionaire living my best life on a private boat in the middle of the ocean. (Yes, that’s my billionaire imagery.) But I’m here. I’m writing for you, hoping to improve someone’s life. So I will tell you what happiness is for me. And I hope you can resonate or find your meaning. For me, being happy is all about the mindset. If you’re happy, you don’t have any worries but your mindset.You want to do things. You are full of energy. And there’s nothing that can stop you.

What is happiness? (1)

So, why don’t we put everything together?Here, I will share five underrated mindset hacks that will:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">leave you without any worries </li><li class="ql-align-justify">make you laugh more </li><li class="ql-align-justify">and make you work on your mindset. </li></ul>Let’s get to it.

What is happiness? (2)

You are reading an excerpt from <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com">The Challenge</a>, a newsletter where I discuss self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips and tricks.Every week, you will get the following:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">a challenge to pursue to improve your life</li><li class="ql-align-justify">an infographic to track it.</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Subscribe now</a> to help me continue publishing this type of content.

The Challenge

Laughing is often linked to happiness – and for a good reason. When you laugh, your brain releases painkillers and stress relievers in your blood. So you feel happier.But how do you laugh more?You talk and banter with people more. Going to work has been easy since I can talk and laugh with my colleagues. But I had to <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/the-art-of-confidence">become more confident </a>and <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/3-simple-rules-to-boost-your-storytelling">learn storytelling </a>to do that.

1 – The Chit-Chat Necessity

<a href="https://www.cosmopolitanmindset.com/how-to-exit-the-comfort-zone/">Leaving your comfort zone </a>is exciting. And when people never do it, it becomes a problem.If you don’t do it, you will never grow. You will never become a better version of yourself. So, what’s even the point?Yet, even if it has many advantages, leaving the comfort zone is scary.You will be happy when you reach your goals because of it. But in the meantime, it’s scary. And it would help if you had the safety of your comfort zone.

2 – The Comfort Zone Crib (1)

To live a happier life, I always take some time to stay in my comfort zone in the evening.I get back home. I prepare something to eat with my girlfriend. And we watch something together on TV.So find something like that. Find a simple place where you can turn back after a long day of grinding. And you’ll be happy.

2 – The Comfort Zone Crib (2)

All my life, I struggled to focus on one thing at a time.I used to switch from one activity to the other. And with my first job, that tendency multiplied.But there’s one thing my developer job taught me – preparation is everything. So now, I always have a five-minute breakdown before each task to prepare for it.

3 – The 5-Minutes Breakdown (1)

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">I think about what I have to do and what I need to do. And if something is missing, I get it.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">I make a fast visualization exercise in which I look at myself doing the work.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">And then, I take a deep breath and get to work. </li></ul>Do the same, and you will experience a lot less stress. You will finish your task faster. And you will be happier.

3 – The 5-Minutes Breakdown (2)

Living life as a daily challenge is fundamental to being happy.Imagine waking up in the morning and feeling thrilled for the day already. You feel the freshness of the air. And you take your hot coffee, thinking about what you will do in the next 16 hours.How can you get the best out of them?How can you stick to your schedule without procrastinating?

4 – The (Daily) Challenge Mindset (1)

Everything will be a challenge today. But you’re happy because boring isn’t interesting. And you can’t wait to see what’s going to happen.With this mindset, nobody can turn off your vibe. So live your life like a daily challenge, and nobody will stop you.

4 – The (Daily) Challenge Mindset (2)

Negative emotions are addictive.Once you get in the negative vortex, there’s no way you’ll get out of it. So be careful how you deal with negativity because it could ruin your day and life.When I was younger, I had trouble dealing with it. Every time something bad happened, my whole world collapsed. And every misstep was enough to throw me back into the vortex of negative emotions.But I <a href="https://www.cosmopolitanmindset.com/the-pitfalls-of-overachieving-3-ways-to-reclaim-your-progress/">practiced mindfulness </a>for a while. And it helped me understand the fragility of our emotions.

5 – The Frail Negativity

“Be happy” would be a hell of a challenge. I know. But I can’t give you something that generic. It wouldn’t be a real challenge.So, this week, I challenge you to focus on one of these five simple mindset hacks and see if they improve your happiness.<ol><li class="ql-align-center">Talk more with people if you don’t do it enough.</li><li class="ql-align-center">Find your comfort zone where to turn when everything’s collapsing.</li><li class="ql-align-center">You can use the 5-minute breakdown trick to finish your task faster.</li><li class="ql-align-center">Challenge yourself daily to do your best.</li><li class="ql-align-center">And learn to avoid negativity or let it go as soon as it reaches you.</li></ol>[<a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/5-underrated-mindset-hacks">DOWNLOAD THE FREE TRACKING INFOGRAPHIC</a>]

If you loved the newsletter and want to support my work, subscribe and share <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a> with your friends and families!Or, if you want to read more of my content, visit the <a href="https://www.cosmopolitanmindset.com/">Cosmopolitan Mindset</a>.<a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Subscribe now</a> to help me continue publishing this type of content.

Before you go

Are you happy? Here are 5 underrated mindset hacks that greatly improved my happiness and can help you too!

What is happiness? Many people struggle to answer this question. But I found 5 underrated mindset hacks that might help you become happier.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

5 Underrated Mindset Hacks That Improved My Happiness

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
Loyalty is priceless, yet it is also free! 💟

Nurture Nature

The healthy man wishes for this and that thing,
The unhealthy man wishes for just the one thing.
Be grateful.

Priceless

"We Reap What We Sow" Those who reap the fieldsmust also sow them... ⚖️‘What goes Around ‘comes Around ⚖️

✨Laws of Life✨

No matter how thick the chain ,Its only as strong as the weakest link……..

GAME OF LIFE

EVERY JOURNEY, EASY OR HARD ONLY REQUIRES THE 1 STEP  TO START!

HE WEARS THE TROUSERS BUT SHE CHOOSES THEM!!

DADS & DAUGHTERS

“Wealth Without Health  is like a Bird without Wings……”.

Real Great Wealth is           Real Great Health

Find Your Motivation

Step 2: Set a Quit Date

Identify what makes you want to smoke. Awareness helps you prepare to face those triggers.

Step 3: Know Your Triggers

Tell friends and family about your decision. Their support is invaluable.

Step 4: Build a Support Network

Step 5: Find Alternatives

Exercise helps distract from cravings and boosts your mood.

Step 6: Stay Active

Celebrate milestones along the way. Treat yourself for every success.

Step 7: Reward Yourself

Quitting is a journey. If you slip, learn from it and keep going.

Step 8: Stay Persistent

Congratulations on starting your smoke-free journey! You're not alone. Stay focused, stay positive, and soon you'll enjoy the benefits of a smoke-free life. You've got this!

Conclusion

Welcome to "Break Free," your guide to quitting smoking. Let's start your journey to a smoke-free life!

productivity

Productivity

habits

Habits

"Break Free: Quit Smoking Today!"

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