nancy @ cromulent

Via the new blog: mysaladdays:

The Hidden Messages of Water*

Health Facts:

Water makes up approximately 60% of the weight of human body, 77-8% of our brains, 82% of our blood, and 90% of our lungs.

Drinking 5 glasses of water a day (vs. drinking less than 2 glasses a day) decreases the average American’s risk of heart attack by 41%, risk of colon cancer by 45%, risk of breast cancer by 79%, and risk of developing bladder cancer by 50%.

It is estimated that 37% of Americans’ thirst mechanism is so weak that they mistake dehydration for hunger.

Mild dehydration slows down the human metabolism by 3%

Aside from the cache that a designer plastic bottle brings, water may be one of the most undervalued ‘health beverages’ on the market. That’s in part because aside from fancy packaging and remote and natural origins, water in its original ‘two parts hydrogen one part oxygen’ state need not be improved upon by man. In fact, many modern experimentations often cause dehydration or include sweeteners as a means to instigate you to consume more while getting benefits less.

The FDA recommended daily amount of water stands at ‘8 X 8’ (8 8-ounce glasses a day). Other studies recommend 9 8-ounce glasses for women and up to 12 8-ounce glasses for men. I, however, suggest taking a more intuitive approach: drink a glass (with lemon) first thing in the morning, one at night, and during the day to gut check whether what you feel is true hunger or just misdiagnosed thirst. In the event you are drinking coffee or tea (diuretics), assume you are normally processing two-thirds of what you drank.

Like Bruce Lee, however, I think water provides greater importance to us than just another drink option. Philosophically, you can learn how planetary life’s fundamental source has persisted by being so amenable to any situation, yet quietly steering its own course. So very Taoist.

*Please note this is also the title of the most adorable metaphysical book by Masuru Emoto and David Thayne.

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November 3

Via my new blog: mysaladdays:

Good morning! Your Monday Moment of Zen…

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November 3

Via my new blog: mysaladdays:

Last weekend, post-single-speed road bike hunt (mission status: success pending), my friend Jeff and I went to see Banksy’s first New York installation, The Village Pet Store & Charcoal Grill (as mentioned in a previous post). To all those who forgot to see it before it closed Halloween night - which would have probably been an awesome time to view it, with ghouls and ghouls alike - I compiled this video, as promised.

Enjoy!

On a separate note, I think it’s interesting that Banksy decided to comment on our interactions with animals this time around given that he painted (non-toxic!) an elephant pink and gold for his last installation in the US.

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November 2

“ When I think about it, having the kind of body that easily puts on weight was perhaps a blessing in disguise. In other words, if I don’t want to gain weight I have to work out hard every day, watch what I eat, and cut down on indulgences. Life can be tough, but as long as you don’t stint on the effort, your metabolism will greatly improve with these habits, and you’ll end up much healthier, not to mention stronger. To a certain extent, you can even slow down the effects of aging. But people who naturally keep the weight off no matter what don’t need to exercise or watch their diet in order to stay trim. There can’t be many of them who would go out of their way to take these troublesome measures when they don’t need to. Which is why, in many cases, their physical strength deteriorates as they age. If you don’t exercise, your muscles will naturally weaken, as will your bones. Some of my readers may be the kind of people who easily gain weight, but the only way to understand what’s really fair is to take a long-range view of things. For the reasons I give above, I think this physical nuisance should be viewed in a positive way, as a blessing. We should consider ourselves lucky that the red light is so visible. Of course, it’s not always easy to see things this way. Pg. 42, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. In honor of the ING NYC Marathon. (via mysaladdays - update your bookmarks to my new site!)

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November 2

New Resolution: NaBloPoMo

Via the new blog mysaladdays:

Rabbit rabbit! So it is November, and the 10th anniversary of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Every year, thousands of people sharpen their pencils, uncap their pens, and boot up their computers to write 50,000 words in the upcoming 30 days.

While I will not be engaged in the writing exercise myself, I decided to show my fellow literati a pumping fist of solidarity by participating in its new media offshoot NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month this same November. Same concept, different twist: participants post blog entries every day, weekends included. So this month, please expect at least daily blips from me in all forms: text, photo, and video. (Still haven’t figured out the audio thing). I think this will be a great exercise for me to get back into the blogging groove - stay tuned!

Please update your bookmarks! I will stop reblogging my new entries here sometime in November. Visit www.saladdays.org

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October 29

Week In Review

Via the new blog mysaladdays:

Just some recent observations:

My Life is Abundance. I don’t know how it happened, but my life has recently become very full - in a good way - with family, friends, projects, and activities. The week flies by and I find myself mistakenly double- and even triple-booked with drinks, dates, dinners, and assorted social gatherings. Yesterday, for instance, I was supposed to meet Vanessa to pick up cacao butter and cacao powder (postponed, get well!); grabbed a raw dinner with Rishi at Caravan of Dreams; went to a birthday party for a yoga instructor who is going to introduce me to local 200-hour teacher training programs; and watched Gossip Girl and my first episode (!!) of Entourage with Dave. That said, I have not been feeling overwhelmed. Only recently, when friends mentioned that it is difficult to get on my schedule, did I notice that I was so busy. Otherwise, my social life has been going with ease.

I am Learning to Kill with Kindness. My social interactions have not been without hiccups. In a city like New York where personal space is limited, the change of seasons make people ill-tempered, and no one gets enough sleep, personalities including mine are not always sunshine, puppies, and rainbows. In fact, over the past few weeks there has been one particular friendship which has become strained, of which the cause I cannot identify. I have mulled over some of our mutually awkward scenarios in my head, but never been satisfied with any self-proposed solutions to fix the friendship. In large part, I think this is because I recognize the conflict exists completely in my head and instead of fixing and changing and curing things, I should just let my grievance go.

I’m learning that it is okay to be wrong about there something being wrong. So unless this escalates, I plan to kill any negative feelings that bubble up by treating my friend and myself with the utmost love and kindness. Trust me, however, it is easier said than done.

It Can Be Hard to Show Gratitude. I have to admit, being grateful is something I’ve recently been struggling with. Tonight, my roommate and I discussed how guilty we feel for both being gainfully employed in New York. Instead of being thankful that I have financial stability, my health, and my family, I feel as though these things are undeserved. There are so many good people I know in unexpected situations that the fact that things are solid for me looks completely arbitrary. I wish I could be glass half full but I feel like karma’s coming to correct this imbalance of the universe currently in my favor. Horrible, isn’t it?

Night.

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October 28

Spiritual Significance of Deepavali

Via my new weblog mysaladdays:

dhrumil:

While Deepavali is popularly known as the “festival of lights”, a more appropriate significance is “the new year of luck and wealth”.

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).

Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman).

from Wikipedia

Happy Diwali all! I love observing and learning more about holidays from all cultures. Thanks Dhrumil :)

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October 27

Update your bookmarks! Via new blog mysaladdays:

Your Monday Moment of Zen (a new weekly feature)

Via David on Vimeo.

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October 25

Saturday Field Trip! Hello Banksy

Via My New Tumblr mysaladdays:

“I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing.”

- Banksy

Tomorrow I am very excited to see Banksy’s New York installation, The Village Pet Store. I am bringing my good friend and artist Jeff Cylkowski with me to see it, he just doesn’t know it yet. While he is not my favorite street artist - those honors lie with Barry McGee (Twist) and Fafi, among stencilists and wheatpasters I haven’t had the opportunity to identify - the message he is sending definitely resonates. I would love to see his commentary on our relationship with animals: for consumption, experimentation, and companionship.

To hold the non-New Yorkers over, here are some personally documented urban love notes:

Williamsburg, Fall 2007

Misstic - Paris, March 2007

Nemo - Paris, March 2008

Other notable vandalist / locals can be found here.

The Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill: 89 Seventh Avenue South between West 4th & Bleeker. 10/10/2008 - 10/31/2008.

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October 24

Motivation & Thinspiration: Raw Food Celebrities

Update your bookmarks! I’m at mysaladdays:

Confession: I’ve recently fallen off the 70% raw vegan* wagon. As motivation, I’ve internet researched some A-lists who are committed to or have experimented with the raw food lifestyle:

Carol Alt (posing for Playboy soon, age 47)

David Bowie & Iman

Woody Harrelson

Donna Karan

Demi Moore (especially during filming of Charlie’s Angels 2)

Jason Mraz

Natalie Portman (confirmed vegan but definitely frequents liquiteria)

Alicia Silverstone

Barbara Streisand

Uma Thurman

… And Golden Girls Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan!

Of course, this is not a comprehensive or verified list. It’s just some internet research to find inspiring A-list celebs who might have ‘the glow’. On the raw food tip, I’ve personally spotted many a celebrity at Pure Juice & Takeaway - including Ann Curry who looks amazing at 51.

For more, see here.

*For me, that means no meat, dairy, eggs. I don’t include honey / bee pollen in that bucket, but recently haven’t had that either.

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