The Black Age and Five Pillars

I am feeling really depressed tonight, but not so bad that I can't make some bread in my bread machine (it smells great - it's one of the things on my "happy" list), and make a brief blog entry (it also makes me feel good).

At Vancouver General Hospital I was priviledged to meet a psychiatrist named Dr. Singh. In a twenty minute talk, I learned a lot about life. Here is a little piece of what he shared with me:

"There was a golden age, when people had strong relationships with each other and cared for one another.

Then there was a silver age, where people still cared for one another, but became more separate and competed with other groups.

We are living in a black age. That is why you will be rejected outside of this hospital for your condition, except for a few people who will understand. This age will pass, but it will be beyond our lifetimes.

There are five pillars you must keep strong:

The first pillar is proper breathing. Without breath, you will die in five minutes.

The second pillar is water. Without proper hydration, you will die within a day or two.

The third pillar is food. Without proper food, you will die within weeks.

The fourth pillar is exercise. Without a strong body, you will not enjoy life.

The final pillar is your mind. A strong mind ensures that all of the other pillars are strong."

You know what's really interesting? Studies are showing that doing deep belly breathing (but not holding the breath after the intake - releasing it immediately) is often as effective at reducing anxiety as medication. The hypothesis is that as long as your brain gets lots of oxygen, it knows that it's not in danger, and relaxes your nervous system.

Anyhow, I'm off to look at my bread - it makes me happy to look at bread. I'm also going to do some deep breathing.

Thanks for reading this - it also makes me happy to know that people are enjoying what I write. ;)