We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit   Aristotle

We all create habits that can make us sick or make us healthier  In chronic disease such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) it’s clear as in any other chronic disease that poor choices have been made since we are all responsible for the diseases we create for ourselves

But what makes a healthy choice and what makes an unhealthy choice? That my dear reader is the essence of a health system based on a philosophy(energy science discipline) versus a system created by one that doesn’t have one(matter science) If our choices are based on a system that bases its choices on a philosophical relationship with Nature Herself not only are the recommendations always rock solid and something that we can count on but there is a weaving of the recommendations such that all support one another in the pursuit of better health

So we create better habits when we are aligned with Nature Herself  These will always be the correct choices  And when we practice them they become stronger habits that over time will create physiologic movement toward better health  Habits are lifestyle behavior patterns that either create health or move us away from it  So let’s assume that we have identified a habit like kevala(sesame oil swish aka oil pulling) that is worthwhile promoting in our lives

Formation of a Habit Like Kevala

For some swishing oil around the oral cavity is repulsive so there is resistance  But we understand that doing it from an Ayurvedic point of view is energetically valuable since it pulls Kapha from the oral cavity  So we decide to try it  First of all we have to have the unrefined sesame oil near the sink because, and this is important, we want to put this habit in our morning routine  We also have to find a receptacle for getting rid of it after we have done the swish  Does it go down the sink?(not a good idea) Does it get flushed down the toilet?(acceptable as long as we’re not on a septic system…if septic we should have a container under the sink to spit it into once done)

So as we can see there are some steps for us to do in order to set the stage for doing kevala to begin with  Now we’re ready to do kevala….but there’s this resistance about the whole thing  That’s OK  Let’s just give the mindbody a chance to settle in and do it  BUT every morning we’re at the sink thinking about doing kevala  Not yet, not today, maybe tomorrow  But every morning there’s a dialogue going on about whether to do kevala or not

We’ve got everything set up and then one day, the mindbody is ready to DO it  We take a swig of oil run it around the mouth and spit it out  WE DID IT  Voila! the first step of a habit has been created  We actually did it  Now it’s all down hill  We repeat it over and over again and a habit has been born  Notice what has happened  There was a particular cue or situation that occurred to remind us that the kevala needed to be done…the morning routine  But before we even did it we needed to have all the proper materials and thinking about beginning the habit that needed to be done  We needed to prepare the mindbody

Refining Habits:  The Journey to Better Health

The best thing about habits going forward is that there are made to be modified  Oh maybe we’ll do the kevala before brushing the teeth  After trying it that way for a while we might try it after brushing the teeth  Or maybe we’ll try doing some gum massage with the fingers while we swish the oil around the mouth  Hey this oil isn’t as bad as we thought!  Maybe we’ll try using the tongue to massage the oil around on the gums while we have it in the mouth

We get the idea that once an identifiable healthy habit is formed that playing with it in a creative way can not only enhance it but also begin engaging ourselves in the health benefits of it  We begin to notice that when we spit the oil into the toilet bowl that we notice that the longer we hold the oil orally we see that it’s broken down into smaller and finer droplets until it’s a fine well digested solution  This my friend is a remarkable energy science observation that shows that the agni is strong and well supported in the oral cavity

This happens with all positive health promoting habits that we cultivate in our lives  All we have to do is remain observant

And lastly if we want to replace a bad habit with a new healthy one….we follow the same kevala steps

Ah it’s a new year and time for your proverbial new year’s resolutions  What will they be? Or maybe this year you’ll just forget about it  What’s the use when you have chronic disease like the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromylagia)? Yogi Berra, the baseball philosopher with a great knack for simplifying life and its puzzles said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you probably wind up somewhere else” This is problematic because it may in the end get us to a place that’s WORSE than where we are right now

The Power of Intention

The most powerful force in the energy field is intention because it produces direction for the mindbody

The value of resolutions is that they provide intention or direction  It’s not so important whether they’re achieved but rather that they are stated repeated

Intention grows with repetition  The mindbody is always eavesdropping on your thoughts  Always listening to your desires and intentions  If you dont have intentions then the mindbody doesn’t go anywhere  It stays where you are because that’s what your thoughts are going….no where  But if the mindbody hears a direction, focus, intention it will gear to take you there

Now it may not take you there right away  That’s really a problem of our impatience  We literally turn into what we think, believe, and feel  By and by the mindbody hears we are serious about this intention and it will indeed take you where you are intending  Repetition repetition repetition  This sets the stage for success with your intentions

Some Intention Setting Guidelines

Think them and then ink them  There’s something magical about writing down your intentions(aka resolutions) because they are much more likely to be realized if you do so

Review them every day so life’s distractions don’t interfere with the direction

Make your intentions very specific  Saying you want all of your symptoms to go away really won’t work very well….but setting the intention about

Put your intentions in the positive and present tense  “I don’t want to eat peanut butter(coffee etc) anymore” can be replaced by “I want to find a nutritional replacement for peanut butter”

Meditate and journal  The value of meditation is to help focus one’s attention on the present  There are different forms of meditation….some actively work at quieting the mind and that’s good but combining the quieting with focus about a particular problem like the  IC bladder pain syndrome helps one link your desire of healing the problem with the intention of doing so  Things will obviously come up about the symptoms that you’re having  If you think about them long enough insights will occur  When insights come journal them because it will help with focus and making your intention(aka resolve) stronger  In our previous example “I want to find a nutritional replacement for peanut butter” when repeated over and over again will bring up alternatives that may never have occurred to you before…..or someone might suggest to you an alternative out of the blue that you had not entertained and bring that to your awareness…or you’re shopping at the store and suddenly you begin seeing all kinds of alternatives to peanut butter  The possiblities are infinite

And make your intentions a priority  In and of itself just setting the intention to DO the repetition of your intentions on a daily basis can be valuable