Move well.
Move often.
​Have fun.  

That's it.

Move well-  Pay attention to posture, being safe, stretching and staying strong, fit, and balanced.

Move often- Do something active every day, and stand more than you sit.

Have fun-  Work hard, but enjoy what you do, whether it's sports, fitness, or just being active.  

If you do this, you will be so much healthier than if you don't.  This little 3 part philosophy is all you need.

It occurred to me recently that junk food can be found in more ways than what we eat.  I was flipping through TV and I saw Jerry Springer.  A lady with pink hair and 3 kids from 3 different men was yelling at someone. ESPN had basically the same type of “entertainment” except it was two men in suits, yelling at each other and arguing over some banal sports topic.  Both channels are mental junk food.  I get to the news channels and I hear identity politics- the “other” is wrong, not because a serious debate has taken place and one side has won the debate, but the “other” is wrong because of who he is.  Junk food.  I check out at CVS and see People magazine, or GQ, with the latest celebrity gossip or fashion trend.  Junk food.  I see fashion mags and car advertisements, and Facebook posts, about meaningless things with phony outrage.  More junk food.  I hear music produced in computer factories by algorithms which are proven to draw me in, like a slot machine draws in a gambling addict. More of the same.
 
Am I ever encountering structures, institutions, or people which make me a better person, healthier, more fit, and more aware and conscious of what’s going on?  Am I encountering people who encourage me, who are positive, and who want the absolute best for me?  Who am I surrounding myself with?  Are they feeding me “junk food”?  What am I taking in to my system?  The #3 Burger with fries and a coke and other fast foods are not the only type of junk food I can consume.  I can consume all sorts of junk food, getting my dopamine fix, and instant gratification high in all sorts of ways.  I can easily consume enough junk food so that I never leave the lowest common denominator of existence, or ever question anything I’m doing or the people around me are doing.  Junk food comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms, but it all has one thing in common- it’s completely lacking in nourishment. 

​Read Next: Movement is Motivation
 
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What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed?
A beast, no more.
-Hamlet
 
Study after study after study tells us that religious people are happier than non-religious people.  I think there are several reasons for this- faith, hope, a sense of community, meaning, less anxiety and worry, and because religion (and philosophy) can build character, if approached the right way.  Focusing on being a good person and being a good man or good woman, and not explicitly on being happy, will ironically lead to happiness.  The main problem is this: focusing on being happy in the moment can often lead us to neglect the long-term goals, values, and principles which do lead to happiness.  Religion keeps people on a path that might be harder, but which ironically brings people back to an even greater happiness called joy. 
 
Two basic mindsets one can take in life are the therapeutic, or the religious.  This is something I was not fully aware of when I was writing my first two books, but this is the clear case.  I particularly noticed this when I was traveling in the Islamic world, Turkey, Morocco, and Jordan.  I kept noticing that I had an unexpected amount of high respect for the Muslims there.  What I was feeling was a bond with them, in respect to a generally religious mindset- respect, particularly for older people, tradition, community, and values. 
 
Now that’s not to say that I want to become Muslim, or that everyone needs to have the same faith I have, or even necessarily actively participate in a religion formally, but one can basically choose one of the 2 following ways of living or viewing the world:

1. Religious Mindset- Have faith, trust, or awe in the culture, institutions, God or gods, and sacred places and experiences available to you, and try to live your life to a high standard of accountability set by those revealed and traditional things within your community and have respect for the past, and your ancestors, family, and tribe. 

 

1. Therapy Mindset- Focus on yourself and on being happy.

 
The religious mindset and the therapy mindset are two different ways of seeing the world.  The thing that I came to see from my experience, as well as research, is that people who try to be “good” people, which is synonymous with the religious mindset, are happier than people who just try to be happy.  In other words, people focused on being accountable to some standards higher than themselves, or their own ego, are people who in the end, through faith, are happier people.  People that are obsessed with pleasing themselves, and stroking their own ego, may spend their whole life chasing an elusive target, because the therapeutic mindset does not offer long-term gratification for the ego, ironically. 
 
Of course, there is a place for therapy and I’m generalizing, but in general this dichotomy is true.  I know countless people who have benefited from therapy but to have a therapy mindset is self-defeating because it is too tied up in the moment, in instinct, and in short-term instant gratification.  Everything I’ve ever done worthwhile took some time.  In the big scheme of things, it makes more sense that the therapy mindset (making oneself happy) would play a secondary role in a larger framework of values which places things other than the self at the core of existence. 
 
CS Lewis once put it this way: “Who doesn’t dream at times of lying on the couch for therapy? But it’s one thing to analyze a painting, and it’s a whole other thing to paint one.”
 
The search for happiness is self-defeating.  Focus on achievement, character, contribution, long-term goals, and community, as well as contemplating the ultimate good.  Make time and space for sacred experiences which remind you that you’re more than a body, you’re a soul, and you’ll be happy.  Religious people have opinions.  Pious people take the sacred seriously, whether they are formally religious or not.  Therapeutic people look for a quick fix to make them happy in the moment.  
 
In our day and age, when the only opinion allowed is to not have an opinion, the only piety allowed is negative piety, and the only values left are anti-values, I recommend:

• Give up on arguing with people outside of your group or tribe.  You won’t convince anyone based on logic.  Remember, they are probably living in the world of short-term emotions and therapy / happiness seeking.  Metaphorically, you are playing chess, and they are playing checkers.  You can’t have good dialogue with people who are playing a different game.

 

• Stoicism is a philosophy which offers special benefit, as does traditional Christianity, and even Buddhist principles.  Remember, Christianity flourished as Rome was beginning to fall apart.  In our age, it is better to learn to let go of your ego and pick your battles.  The deck as a religiously minded traditional person is stacked against you so there is no need to try to change the world.  Think local and do the best you can to be healthy.  

 

• Focus on being someone who can look in the mirror and be proud of what they see, versus focusing on being happy.  Ironically, you’ll be happier.

 
The authoritative and definitive text on this topic is “Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud” by Phillip Reiff.  It’s not an easy read, but it’s worth it to delve further into the construction of a therapeutic society which is antithetical to tradition and community, and ironically, happiness and health. 

High blood pressure, also called Hypertension, runs in my family.  My Dad has it, both of my grandparents had it, and several other family members have it.  Mine had never officially been classified as high, but I would check it at times and it would be in the 130s on the top end.  I wanted to bring it down to the 120s at least.
 
Blood pressure at or below 120/80 is considered average or good, but once you reach 130/80-90 this is sometimes classified as pre-hypertension.  Systolic is the top number and represents the pressure in the aorta on the contraction of the left ventricle which pushes blood into the body.  High blood pressure is dangerous because it causes damage to the arterial walls, increasing the likelihood of aneurysm, stroke, and even heart failure.  Over time, the pressure exerted can cause a breakdown of circulation and a backflow of blood into the heart.
 
Several factors increase the risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure:

• Stress and Anxiety, specifically cortisol, the “fight or flight” hormone which raises blood pressure and increases heart rate. 
• High sodium diet, though the link here may not be as close as once thought
• Low sodium, potassium, or magnesium levels
• Dehydration
• Smoking
• Alcohol Consumption
• Caffeine
• Lack of Sleep
• Atherosclerosis – restriction of blood flow

 
The American way of life adds up to a high risk of hypertension- too much stress, not enough relaxation, too much sodium and processed food, too much alcohol, too much caffeine, and a lack of sleep are all common.   I believe what was making mine run high was too much caffeine, and not enough sleep.  I was not a big partier anymore, but I might have had on average 1-2 servings of alcohol 5 days per week.  I also didn’t pay too much attention to how much salt or calories I took in, because I was so active I thought I would burn it off or sweat it out. 
 
Just making a few adjustments, and now my blood pressure regularly measure below 110 systolic, 80 diastolic.  My most recent readings were 103 / 78.  These are the things I did to get it down:

• Potassium and Magnesium supplementation every day *More about this later, because I think I was taking in too much Magnesium.
• 10-15 minutes of deep “diaphragmatic” breathing every day, while meditating or walking, usually walking.  This causes a dilation of the arterial walls and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which combine to lower blood pressure. 
• 1 serving of alcohol per day, versus 2, 3-4 days per week and several days of abstinence.  Occasionally I break this but not often. 
• Cutting back on coffee helped a lot.  Simply put, I love coffee and I was drinking too much. I cut back to none or 1 cup per day. 
• Generally avoiding chips, and processed food.  I have a salty tooth, not a sweet tooth, so this one is tough!
• Plenty of water, and fresh fruits and vegetables. 

 
With the magnesium, I think I was overloading on it, because I started getting mysterious headaches.  When I cut back on Magnesium, my headaches subsided.  My theory is that it was working so well at relaxing the arterial walls, that it was causing too much blood flow to the brain. 
 
So there it is, try those things, and see if they work for you.  I may have problems in the future, you never know, but for now this seems to have helped!

Read Next: Walking is Meditation

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