So this is a time of change for me - Spiritual, intellectual and also physical.
Let me give you a brief summary before delving into the changes.
Spiritually, I have been meditating more - Been doing mantra based meditations and deep-breathing.
Sometimes, when I go for a walk to get some food or to play Squash, I mentally repeat the mantra.
It helps me quite a bit - Brings me to the present and removes me from the seeming urgency of issues.
Intellectually, I am broadening my research horizons - Doing 3 research projects, one mostly on coding, the other mostly on algorithms, and the third mostly on theory. People say that Phd has to be very focused - You take one topic and work really hard on that and go as far as possible and advance knowledge in that area. This is definitely the ideal. However, I am coming to terms with my Phd not being ideal or perfect.
Physically, I think I am reasonably fit. I have mostly been playing squash although I was also running until 2 months back. My diet so far has been half-vegan (I have yogurt but avoid dairy otherwise).
I recently got inspired to try 100% raw food by a few articles I read, so I am going to do just that in the next 20 days. Why 20 days? Well, the 21st day I would be at a workshop and I am not sure I would be able to maintain my raw diet with all the cookies and extremely healthy baked foods they would be passing around. Too bad, it takes 21 days to make a habit, so they say :-)
Why I am trying the 100 % raw-vegan diet
First on why I am NOT trying the diet: Not to lose weight. I am at my ideal weight, thank you.
Not for beauty, although it would be good to have a good skin as a side effect.
My main reasons for engaging this diet:
a) For the "rawness" of the experience itself.
b) To see if raw foods really give me any gains in mental clarity and sleep.
c) As a process of deepening my meditations - I am giving my body more easily digestible
and closer to nature healthy foods, so I expect that there would be enough resources that the body can engage to focus on healing and creative activities.
I am not totally new to raw food. I usually have sub-way sandwiches for lunch and have a lot of Naked brand juices. But this is a totally new experience - 100% raw and a significant change in my life.
A lot of change
As I mentioned earlier, the last two weeks I have been working through changes. I have been meditating quite a lot, thinking about my research quite a bit, and also thinking about how I fall into negative thought patterns especially in my interactions with people.
There have been certain people I am interacting with who trigger something in me that makes me lose my calm thinking process. Sure, they have an attitude and can get very bossy - But why can't I be professional in my interactions with them? This is something I have been thinking about - It
made me go back into my past and look into similar issues that have not been resolved in my interactions with people. Oh man, issues do go deep.
Through all of this - I have been trying to set up positive intentions for my life and my path.
Perhaps the raw food experiment is one thing that can help align me with core self better as I explore my issues through a more active body and energized, peaceful mind.
I recorded my weight before starting out - It's 142 lbs and I am 5'11'' tall.
I hope it stays the same or doesn't drop too much (I am trying to have enough raw food every day to make it a balanced diet). Will report progress in a couple of weeks.
Let me give you a brief summary before delving into the changes.
Spiritually, I have been meditating more - Been doing mantra based meditations and deep-breathing.
Sometimes, when I go for a walk to get some food or to play Squash, I mentally repeat the mantra.
It helps me quite a bit - Brings me to the present and removes me from the seeming urgency of issues.
Intellectually, I am broadening my research horizons - Doing 3 research projects, one mostly on coding, the other mostly on algorithms, and the third mostly on theory. People say that Phd has to be very focused - You take one topic and work really hard on that and go as far as possible and advance knowledge in that area. This is definitely the ideal. However, I am coming to terms with my Phd not being ideal or perfect.
Physically, I think I am reasonably fit. I have mostly been playing squash although I was also running until 2 months back. My diet so far has been half-vegan (I have yogurt but avoid dairy otherwise).
I recently got inspired to try 100% raw food by a few articles I read, so I am going to do just that in the next 20 days. Why 20 days? Well, the 21st day I would be at a workshop and I am not sure I would be able to maintain my raw diet with all the cookies and extremely healthy baked foods they would be passing around. Too bad, it takes 21 days to make a habit, so they say :-)
Why I am trying the 100 % raw-vegan diet
First on why I am NOT trying the diet: Not to lose weight. I am at my ideal weight, thank you.
Not for beauty, although it would be good to have a good skin as a side effect.
My main reasons for engaging this diet:
a) For the "rawness" of the experience itself.
b) To see if raw foods really give me any gains in mental clarity and sleep.
c) As a process of deepening my meditations - I am giving my body more easily digestible
and closer to nature healthy foods, so I expect that there would be enough resources that the body can engage to focus on healing and creative activities.
I am not totally new to raw food. I usually have sub-way sandwiches for lunch and have a lot of Naked brand juices. But this is a totally new experience - 100% raw and a significant change in my life.
A lot of change
As I mentioned earlier, the last two weeks I have been working through changes. I have been meditating quite a lot, thinking about my research quite a bit, and also thinking about how I fall into negative thought patterns especially in my interactions with people.
There have been certain people I am interacting with who trigger something in me that makes me lose my calm thinking process. Sure, they have an attitude and can get very bossy - But why can't I be professional in my interactions with them? This is something I have been thinking about - It
made me go back into my past and look into similar issues that have not been resolved in my interactions with people. Oh man, issues do go deep.
Through all of this - I have been trying to set up positive intentions for my life and my path.
Perhaps the raw food experiment is one thing that can help align me with core self better as I explore my issues through a more active body and energized, peaceful mind.
I recorded my weight before starting out - It's 142 lbs and I am 5'11'' tall.
I hope it stays the same or doesn't drop too much (I am trying to have enough raw food every day to make it a balanced diet). Will report progress in a couple of weeks.
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