9 fundamental lessons in ‘The Science of Being Well’

This post is based on the lessons taught In a book by Wallace D Wattles, a thought leader in self-help in the early 1900s. Whilst we are well beyond that era, and thank goodness we are because I couldn’t imagine a life without hot showers and comfy Nike trainers, the lessons from ‘The Science of Being Well’ are as relevant today as they were then. I actually try to live by the general principles Wallace (we’re on first name terms now) outlined and I think I live pretty well as a result.

THINKING

Our thoughts provide our power

Now please bear with me, because the next bit can sound a little voodoo if you don’t pay attention. But you should know something about me before we continue. I’m not airy fairy. I’m not a hippie. I am a reasonably pragmatic individual. I believe in things that have proof. Full disclosure, I did succumb to Santa Claus as a youngster; I mean who doesn’t want to believe in something that means you get presents, but aside from that there’s little ‘fantasy’ I’m willing to endure. I’m a pretty straight down the line kind of character and I believe in science and evidence. So remember this as you take on board what I say next…

Science proves that everything in life is made of energy, including ourselves; we are effectively just a series of atoms. This is an indisputable fact. And energy, whilst it can change form, it cannot be destroyed. Hopefully you’re still with me.

On the above scientific fact, it is not too much of a stretch to see that if you create good energy through positive thought, in the same way a magnet attracts the same energy particles, you will attract more of the same energy you are putting out — this is the whole premise behind ‘positivity attracts positivity’. And by the same token, if you think badly/negatively, that’s the energy you put out and you begin to attract, so voila bad things happen.

Thinking about thoughts as a source of energy, which they are, provides you with more power, because you have the ability to change the energy, which form as things, you attract.

Now I’m not saying it’s easy to maintain positive thoughts all the time. In today’s world we are bombarded with negativity, it’s what the media thrives on, but if you can remove yourself as much as possible and try to stay positive in any situation, I bet you’ll find life improves. And, if you focus positive thoughts on perfect health, removing thoughts of disease and ailments, and your actions are aligned with your thoughts (i.e. you can’t think you have perfect health while deliberately smoking 40 a day; knowingly poisoning your body) you’ll see a change.

So the first lesson — how you think provides you with the power to achieve perfect health. Then we get into the actions you take beyond thought that support your ability to make the thoughts reality.

Wattle talks about performing the voluntary functions of life: eating, drinking, breathing and sleeping. If you know you are not performing these functions in a healthy way, you cannot think of perfect health with the focus required, because you are contradicting yourself — as I have demonstrated with my smoking example. Only when each of these functions are performed in a healthy way can you find perfect health consistently in your mind and therefore your body.

The fundamental advice for performing each of the voluntary functions well is as follows…

EATING

Be guided by hunger not cravings or habit

Wattle states you must never eat unless you feel an ‘earned hunger’. Since I read this, I started to look at when and why I was eating, most of the time I ate simply because it was lunchtime or dinner time, or I was eating as a preventative measure because I didn’t want to be hungry later or because of some other reason, such as boredom or a social event. By encouraging you to consider whether you have genuine hunger, Wattle’s theory kicks most eating habits into touch. I bet if you do this exercise, like me, 9 times out of 10 you’ll find you don’t start eating because you’re hungry.

Simple ways to test if what you are feeling is hunger or something else is to first ask yourself the question, ‘am I actually hungry’ — this alone made me realise just how robotic the act of eating had become for me and I rarely felt genuine hunger. I never allowed my body to get to that stage. I f you ask yourself this question and the answer is yes, the second test is to have a glass of water, sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger. If after drinking a glass of water you still feel hungry the likelihood is you are actually in a state of ‘earned hunger’.

Here’s an interesting takeaway in the hungry stakes — The Science of Being Well tells you that genuine hunger is never present after natural sleep, only thirst is. The need for breakfast for many of us is simply a matter of habit and appetite. If you eat according to the natural law and wait for earned hunger, it’s likely you won’t eat until around midday. Which contradicts all the arguments for ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’, but actually it makes a lot of sense. And since reading the book and really thinking about whether I am hungry before I eat, I no longer have breakfast!

In considering the above, remember that fasting for several hours after you are hungry will do you no harm, but eating and filling your tum when you are not actually hungry will have a detrimental impact on your health.

Ultimately if you follow the advice to eat only when you are genuinely hungry, and you check this is the case by undertaking the two tests I’ve outlined above, you can’t go far wrong.

Eat what you find in your zone

In a bold move to ignore ‘food science’ Wattle simply states you should choose to eat the real/whole food which is available to you where you inhabit.

In today’s words it simply means, eat fresh and local produce; avoiding luxuries, imports, processed and doctored foods. You shouldn’t then worry about the calories and portions of your food, because if you only eat what is provided to you in your own environment or you grow your own, you will be functioning in a perfectly healthy way.

And, the good news is, if you have waited until you have earned hunger, rather than succumbing to cravings and habit, you’ll actually find more pleasure in these whole, local foods too.

Remove distractions when you eat and slow down

In today’s busy environment it’s not uncommon to eat on the go, in a hurry or mindlessly whilst doing something else. This is bad news for your health, a lack of focus results in eating too fast and chewing too little — which harms digestion, reduces pleasure and can result in overeating too.

To eat healthy you need to concentrate on the act, tasting and chewing well. This one is a work in progress for me, but I am starting to slow down.

Stop before you are full

Most of us nowadays overeat, this may be down to a lack of mindful eating, but it is also down to the fact that food has become more than just satisfying hunger. In many circumstances as a social activity, we find luxury in food and continue to eat regardless of whether we are hungry or not. I have been known to roll around on the floor groaning because I’ve eaten too much and I can’t even remember how many hours of sleep I’ve lost because I’ve been uncomfortably full and restless as a result.

If you employ inward intelligence as you eat and stop as you feel your hunger subside you will never overeat.

Giving your body the food it needs, rather than what you want, results in eating in a healthy manner. Again, I’m working on this, eating slower is helping too, because I’m giving myself time to recognise when I’m full before it’s too late.

BREATHING

Make ‘good’ breathing a regular exercise.

Most of the time we breathe without thinking, and that’s a relief because it keeps us alive, but how we breathe can impact our health.

These days the way in which most of us work puts the body into a poor position for breathing well, at a desk shoulders are forward, the spine curves, the chest flattens and deep breathing is near impossible.

To breath in a healthy way, you need to ensure your physical machinery is kept in good condition; the spine relatively straight, the muscles in your chest flexible and free in action and no stooping; this is also important if you want to avoid a hunchback when you’re older (and I really haven’t found anyone who wants to be Quasimodo yet).

You can find an array of gymnastic or strength based exercises to counteract your working posture, even tools to help you maintain a better position during the working day, all of which have their own merits and will help, but very few will be used long enough or regularly enough to have a lasting impact. There is a simpler way.

The answer… keep yourself straight and breathe deeply; I never said the advice I had to share was rocket science, rather it’s actually more common sense. To help your posture, use the power of your thoughts to consider yourself a perfectly straight person as often as you can. When you think in this way, you will instantly expand your chest, throw your shoulders back and straighten up. As you do this, slowly draw in breath until you fill your lungs as much as possible and try to make yourself even straighter, then let the air out.

Repeat this as much as possible, wherever and whenever you can. If you need reminding pop a post-it on your desk, set an alarm on your phone, create a habit of doing this every time you boil a kettle, walk through a door or walk to your car, etc. Adopt this simple exercise and your health will improve.

SLEEPING

I love sleeping, but I know I don’t get enough and I’m not alone, according to the CDC, 1 in 3 adults are sleep deprived. Without the right amount of sleep you cannot renew vital energy and power or allow your brain to recharge and provide you with more strength, so you are doing your health a disservice.

So first things first, stop skimping, get to bed and give yourself the time your body needs to recharge. And, with that time you’ve dedicated to sleep, you can then do a few core things to help you reap the greatest rewards…

Make sure your room is filled with fresh air

Breathing during sleep is much deeper, more forcible and rhythmic than when we are awake, therefore more air is required. If you are to sleep ‘naturally’ then the air around you must be fresh and pure (as much as possible).

Physicians have found that sleeping in the pure air of out-of-doors is very effective in the treatment of lung problems as well as a range of other ailments.

Whilst I am not proposing you start sleeping outside, we’re not cavemen anymore, I am suggesting you ventilate your bedroom as thoroughly as possible. Open doors and windows wide; have one open on each side of the room, if you can. Even move your bed closer to the window.

In the winter things may get a little chilly, but it is better for your health to pile on layers and extra duvets, than close off the source of fresh air. I believe in this so much that if you are unable to introduce fresh air into your current room, move to another!

The brain and nerve centers will not thoroughly revitalise in “dead” or stagnant air — it’s a scientifically proven fact! This is the first and arguably the most important step to healthy sleep.

Prepare your mind for sleep

Next in importance is your mental attitude when you go to sleep. Think about how you will sleep before you do, as you lay down believe that you will have a restful and revitalizing sleep and you will wake up full of energy and feeling healthy and strong.

Also make sure your thoughts turn to gratitude as you head to sleep too. Before closing your eyes, think about all those things you are grateful for. Be thankful that you are perfectly healthy. I already discussed the power of the mind at the beginning of this post — that counts for sleep too.

If you are struggling to fall to sleep or keep your mind on track, meditation can be a really useful tool. Now I’ve never been particularly good at meditation myself, I always felt like it was a waste of my time and one of those hippy type practices, but I kept trying it as there’s so much scientific evidence to prove it can actually help and I finally found ; this offers a more accessible form of guided meditation that allows all the distractions to play a part in your thoughts and this actually works for me.

EXERCISE

Make exercise natural

We all know exercise should play a part in a healthy life and all-round use of our muscles daily is positive. The absolute best way to achieve this is naturally through engaging in some kind of play or activity that isn’t forced for health’s sake alone.

Ride a bike, play catch with your kids, spend time gardening; there are thousands of ways you can get enough exercise to keep your body supple and your circulation good, and yet not fall into the rut of “exercising for your health.”

Wattle sums it up nicely — “exercise for fun or profit; exercise because you are too healthy to sit still, and not because you wish to become healthy, or to remain so.”

Undertaking these voluntary functions of life as outlined above is the simplest, most natural and enjoyable way to live a healthy life. Health shouldn’t be a work of art or a strenuous and tiresome task. Think, eat, drink, breathe, sleep and move in natural ways and you will be well. Whilst I haven’t quite nailed all of the above myself yet, I’m on my way and I definitely feel a lot healthier since embracing these fundamentals. Let me know what you think in the comments below, do you agree, do you struggle with any of the above?

Originally published at https://moreology.blog on November 12, 2020.