Written by: Laurie Levin, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Just like the rock that falls from the mountain or drops of water from the ocean, human beings are inextricably linked to the universe we live in. Understanding this can change your life.
Here are a few fun facts:
The majority of our planet is made up of water; about 70%. Water makes up most of the human body—approximately 60%.
Our planet has systems key to its stability including air, water, land, and the life residing on it. The human body has systems that support its health and stability, such as the respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems.
Our planet has rivers and streams that circulate the water necessary to keep its ecosystem stable and balanced. The human body has blood vessels that carry blood to its ecosystem, circulating oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
The universe is designed for that which inhabits it. Everything we need and want is right here. The challenge for human beings, as we oftentimes will hear, is to get out of our own way, so that we can enjoy all that is available to us, moment by moment.
Living in sync with the universe (and one another) is key. We hear a lot today about raising our energy, raising our consciousness, and the benefits of meditation. We’ve come to understand, as we take the angst out of our daily lives, fuel our bodies well, nutritionally and emotionally, compassionately care for ourselves, and others, life gets better. We are more likely to achieve goals and have what we want and need.
Here are a few more fun facts that provide a roadmap to living in sync with oneself, with others, and the extraordinary universe we live in.
1. Our teeth are mostly flat.
We’re omnivores so our body needs mostly plant food. We have come to understand the overconsumption of beef is a significant factor in obesity, poor health, and climate change. Reducing the level of animal consumption, in general, to that which is healthy for the human body will also help restore health to the planet.
2. Adult human intestines are 20 feet or longer.
Therefore we need lots of fiber—found only in plant food—to flush waste through the digestive tract and optimize our immune system which is found mostly in the digestive tract. Fiber is key to preventing stomach and colon disorders, reaching and sustaining a healthy weight, a healthy immune system, a healthy heart, and a healthy brain.
3. Your body is made up of mostly water.
So, we need to replenish water throughout the day; about 64 oz/day. Anything less consistently and you are likely to be in a state of chronic dehydration—like a drought on the planet.
4. You’re made to move.
Getting exercise four to five days a week is recommended, including cardio, weight lifting, and stretching over the course of the week.
Remember, we lose muscle mass as we age—so we gotta keep moving, lifting, and stretching.
5. Your body needs a good night’s sleep.
Around seven hours of sleep with no electronic stimulus 60 minutes before going to bed is ideal. A bedtime between 10-11 PM can reduce heart disease significantly.
6. Reach and maintain your optimal weight.
A critical component of achieving optimal health, well-being, and longevity is a healthy weight.
Losing just 10% of your current weight (if you are overweight), can reduce your risk of illness and disease by more than 50%!
7. Always remember, you fuel your body nutritionally AND emotionally.
Many leave out their emotional diet when evaluating their health, and well-being. It is our emotional state that is at the heart of every decision we make, and just like our nutritional diet, it is a series of choices we get to make all day long.
Event + Response = Outcome. It is your responses, not the circumstances and events in your life, that create your outcomes.
In a stress state, you are more likely to over-care, over-eat, over-spend, and/or overwork. These are all stress- and fear-based responses which create poor outcomes: poor health, poor communication, poor listening skills, low productivity, and poor performance, plus a lot of cortisol.
In the optimal state of heart coherence, (I recommend the HeartMath® techniques), your responses are positive, and in sync with your values and goals, which will create positive outcomes for you and those concerned. In this state, you will live at the cause of your life rather than at the effect of it. That’s a powerful, purposeful, and meaningful life—created response by response.
8. Work to Level the Playing Field
To truly thrive, we all need equitable access to opportunities and resources, equal pay, equal representation, and safety.
The lack of safety, equal pay, equal representation, and equal rights that women and people of color endure leave millions of people living with undue hardships and struggles on a daily basis, and costs society trillions of dollars.
Paying women the same wage as men will cut poverty rates in half for employed women with children—one powerful example of leveling the playing field.
Inequality hurts us all, diminishes our lives, our potential, our health, and our well-being. In my 2021 book, Call Me A Woman: On Our Way to Equality and Peace, I share a list of habits of inequality most of us plug into every day that perpetuate inequality. By unplugging from these habits of inequality and plugging into the 7 Habits of Equality, each of us can make a positive contribution to our own families, our communities, and the world.
As we crowd out habits of disease and habits of inequality with Habits of Health and Habits of Equality, we live in sync with our authentic, healthy, and purposeful selves; with and for one another, and with and for the planet. Win-win.
Beam me up.
Laurie Levin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Laurie Levin is an author (Call Me A Woman: On Our Way to Equality and Peace) and Transformation Coach. She specializes in optimal nutrition, healthy weight loss, and the leading HeartMath® stress reduction techniques. She has been a featured speaker on each of these topics. Laurie has an MBA, is a Certified Coach, and HeartMath® Certified Coach, supporting clients globally to achieve their health and well-being goals. Her new book, Call Me A Woman: On Our Way to Equality and Peace, provides real life experiences, global studies, and insights, and the 7 Habits of Equality that will reshape the world into one where all children have equal opportunities, from the beginning to the end of their lives. Healthy Happy Equal: It takes all 3 to thrive!
