©The
Macrobiotic Guide - May 2005
Things we have to do to live.
1:
We have to be with what is.
In every moment of every day, we must be
with what is.
No matter what is happening, or what we want, we must be with
what is.
We can not change this. It is always what is, and only what is. What
is, is all there is.
2: We have to breathe.
If we don't breathe,
we die. It is simple.
3: We have to drink.
We must consume
liquid in some form.
It is possible to get all our liquid from our food, but
we still need to consume liquid for our survival.
4: We have to eat food.
There
are those who do not eat physical food, but even they are consuming energy that
sustains their bodies in one way or another. We must eat.
5: We have
to discharge.
If we take in, we must give out. Because we consume air,
liquid and solid food, we must also discharge it. There are many forms of discharge,
and in fact, everything that we do is a kind of discharge. Every movement of every
moment no matter how subtle is a discharge. Consuming is discharging desire and
emptiness. Being is a discharge. We have to discharge.
Some kinds of discharge
can be blocked, and this leads to sickness, and eventually death if the blockage
is not cleared. If we are constipated for too long, then a toxic condition starts
to build in the intestines and the blood. If we block our expression, then a mental/emotional
disease will follow. If we stop moving for too long, then our body will atrophy.
If we choose not to follow our heart, then the quality of our life starts to decline.
Blocking any kind of discharge is the initial symptom of illness.
These
are the essential things we have to do in order to live. These things are common
to all living creatures. Each one of these things is so simple, yet infinitely
vast. There isn't a single thing in existence that isn't directly related to these
simple Truths.
In addition to this, we can add conscious awareness. Awareness
is like light. Where there is light, there is change, growth, and life. Awareness
allows each of these things to grow, and evolve. This only a partial have to since
we can ignore conscious awareness for a limited time, but eventually, awareness
touches each one of these things more and more.
Being aware of awareness
allows us to consciously choose to serve the evolution of each one of these things.
This is our life. We are here to grow through experience, facilitated by the awareness
and evolution of these Truths. Please become aware of everything.
~
Question
asked by one of our readers to Joe Waxman
Q: What inspired you to write
Rules for Living?
Joe: It was quite a spontaneous event,
where I was thinking about something like that. What are the things that we absolutely
must do to live? Forget everything else, these are our only "have to's"
in life.
I was inspired by life. I guess I could've expanded on it a lot more,
but perhaps it is nice to fill in the rest on your own. Add conscious awareness
to all these "have to's" and where does that lead you? Conscious being,
conscious breathing, drinking, and eating, and conscious living. That's life as
far as I know it. What else is there?
Also, I wanted to create a more
complete view of the source of macrobiotics. It isn't just food. It is every aspect
of life that falls under the great umbrella of macrobiotics. Conscious life is
macrobiotics, and macrobiotics doesn't stray that far from other True ways. This
totality of existence just is, and the expression of it we call macrobiotics,
but it isn't really different from other paths in their totality.
Perhaps
other paths haven't fully discovered their complete totality, but that doesn't
mean it is not still the same. Macrobiotics still has yet to fully discover its
completeness, and this is something that never really ends, but keeps on growing.
These "rules for living" are just the most fundamental aspects of life
and sources for consciousness to activate. Each one of these things is endless
in its depth and ability to be penetrated. Lets penetrate all of them simultaneously
Read
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