Seeing the Beauty of Life in its Challenges

NUFAZ SELF PRESERVATION "MY BODY CAN DO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE" (If It's Treated Right) What do you want yours to do?  - Martino Redwood

In writing these E-Mails, I share with you my opinions on many things. My remarks, observations and recommendations to you regarding health and fitness serve to support all the services that I offer, services which seek to promote mind-body unity essential to the optimal functioning of the human system.

Fitness coaching, shiatsu, the talks on spirituality and the 10 day eating experiment are all designed to be part of a whole system, one that embraces every aspect of the human experience; mental, physical and spiritual when considering health and well being.

It is very tempting to see advocates of any particular ideology (spiritual, dietary or physical) as slightly arrogant, they promote their modalities with such passion almost as if to say that when you embrace THIS WAY (vegetarianism/raw foodism/fruitarianism/macrobiotics/paleolithic /crossfit/ long distance running/ bodybuilding/ seventh day/ Jehovah witness/ Mormon/ Christian/ Muslim, etc) you will never get ill again, never suffer, you will gain eternal happiness, even live forever.

Please forgive us, we are but lowly humans, we are ninnies, who for some reason cannot see the big picture, EVER!

We forget that we start off as single cells, then divide, differentiate and specialize, this happens not only in human beings but this phenomena occurs on every level of energetic existence. This is all to say, that we are all the same at first, then become different and we are going to find different ways to express being one at the source. What would life be like if we all loved the same kind of foods, excelled at the same activities, or were drawn to the same kind of people?

People, there cannot be any ONE way,

Except to appreciate the great diversity of the life experience, be happy NOW, know thyself and love each other as ONE.

Anyway, as usual I’m rambling.

The reason why I chose to write this E-Mail is because I have close friends who are now faced with great challenges – Life threatening illness, career instability, and relationship problems.

And while I can stand here on my soap box and preach ;  think positive, eat well and workout with intensity, when you’re not in the trenches and under heavy fire, these things are much easier to say.

So I’m going to try to put into perspective the value of a “healthy lifestyle”.

The popular prescription for a healthy lifestyle usually includes not smoking, good nutritional planning, regular exercise and adequate sleep. Following these recommendations should give someone significant control over their health and well being.  Right?

Maybe…

Personally, I try to stay away from the term “healthy lifestyle” instead I promote the idea of a lifestyle that supports a life of vitality and contentment, one where you can pursue your big dreams, your passions with vigour and excitement, one of balance.

But the thing is this, in spite of what we say or do, no matter how good our diet is, no matter how physically fit we are, we share the same destiny, we were born, we will die, and we will have struggles/challenges.

We WILL get sick, we WILL lose our loved ones, our relationships WILL end, we MAY be victims of violent or property crime and we MAY lose our jobs.

How resilient will we be in dealing with these events?., is the first question

And secondly, do these events serve any purpose?


Embracing a lifestyle that makes us physically, mentally and spiritually energetic prepares us to face life’s major upheavals, but also imprints a pattern of behavior on our spirit that supports a better quality of life, a life that aligns itself with the extraordinary and not the mediocre.

 

 Illness for example is our bodies in a mediocre state usually caused by poor quality foods, poor environmental conditions, lack of activity, and poor state of mind. KNOW THYSELF!

If you choose to see things from this perspective, these challenges can give us an opportunity to slow down, to look at our lives through a microscope, to examine our motivations, to understand who we really are, to find our true purpose,  to learn and grow, and to  enhance our life experience.

We often think that we are victims, we blame people, society and fate for many of our problems, however, according to the founder of macrobiotics, George Ohsawa, “You are the cause of your own disease”, This statement might seem inconsiderate but really what he is saying is that you are responsible to understand which patterns of your behavior do not enhance your life energy, whether it be your job, your diet, your relationships, or your way of thinking.

Rushing too much, selfishness, a chronic need to please others, feelings of low self-esteem, anger, resentment, feeling burdened with the struggle of life, and inability to express oneself emotionally are just a few examples of patterns that contribute to the manifestation of illness.

We need to listen.

Daily our experiences tell us where we need to be. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, environmentally, socially, we are being guided, we sometimes stubbornly ignore the signs, a lot of times because we want to stay in our comfort zones, and so we become conflicted and difficulty arises.

Often by understanding what your challenges represent, through the pursuit of self knowledge we can change destructive habits, thoughts, attitudes and beliefs, and transcend to become a better version of ourselves, seeking to embrace our true potential.

-Live with awareness

-Train Hard

-Have Fun
Martino Redwood

Nufaz Centre For SELF PRESERVATION

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Registrar General's Department: Thieves in the temple

-Breakboy Nrg (Social Graffiti)

Defacing the clean, tidy walls of the perfect little doll house of society

 

As the new school year approaches, parents who have children about to enter primary schools have a slightly intimidating and overwhelming process ahead of them, first trying to find a school that is close to you and also one that has a good reputation , unfortunately for us in the corporate area, if you don’t have that $60-$70,000 a term to send your child to a private prep school, a government funded primary school will have to do, the problem is, as you can imagine, primary schools whose students achieve the academic performance that prep schools students do are very limited.

As a result, parents will do almost anything to get their children into a desirable school. This process as I said before can be extremely exhausting, parents have to submit applications with supporting materials which may include transcripts, personal statements, recommendations from past teachers , medical histories, immunization cards and most importantly the child’s birth certificate.
I would expect that as the new school year approaches, that the registrar general’s department , knowing this trend, would put procedures in place to address the increased request for applications.

However, I am way ahead of myself, before I ask for that, I should ask for integrity and competence, we hear every day of the JPS and other private companies overcharging for service, but why isn’t there more of a public outcry when a government agency daily commits consumer fraud.

On May 24, 2011, I made an application for a copy for my 6 year old step son’s  birth certificate for the purpose of  applying to a preferred primary school,  it was needed almost immediately as we were trying to meet a deadline so we paid the extra  $1600 for the express service which promises delivery in three days, five working days later no birth certificate, we try calling and all we get is a recording asking for a 12 digit tracking number, there are, of course only 11 numbers are on the receipt (they have since amended it to include a zero).

The school administrators try to be patient and give me an extension, they say that others parents with this experience (it seems to be many), return to the RGD to make an additional request and often receive it then, so we take their advice, we return to the downtown office, the clerk promises to do another search, one month later and after the school’s extension has long passed along with my step sons chance for admission, we receive the certificate.

In order to avoid repeating this experience, I apply for my 3 year old daughter’s birth certificate using the “late entry of name” process, I paid $2950 for delivery in 7 days, its been three weeks .

Why can’t I learn?

The Jamaican people have to put up with much in the way arrogance and poor service by those in the public sector; lack of accountability for politicians, slow police response to criminal activities, harassment of citizens by the police, long waiting times in public hospitals, the passport office, the tax office and registrar general department, and poor road conditions, these are only a few examples.

Isn’t it criminal that the arrogance is so blatant that the government can continually commit consumer fraud? Collecting money for a service that it cannot provide without any feelings of remorse.

Please boycott the Registrar Generals Express service, a ridiculous and unlawful service indeed.

 Breakboy Nrg

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