Anxiety

Anxiety

Pay attention to your thoughts: see if they are changeable throughout the day. If they are, probably you are suffering from anxiety, which often results from nutrient deficiency, toxins, and food allergies, according to Dr. Abram Hoffer, an expert in orthomolecular psychiatry. Dr. Abram Hoffer recommends the following:

Eliminate processed foods loaded with additives, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, and food colorings and preservatives. These chemicals may be responsible for food allergies in certain individuals. A healthy diet should eliminate these toxic chemicals.

Eat whole foods, such as brown rice, green vegetables, which seldom cause food allergies. Your healthy diet should be made up of whole foods, not artificial or processed ones.

Avoid all the sugar: blood-sugar disorder (hypoglycemia) is the basis of most anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks, and food allergies.

Check your food allergies. Yeast infection may lead to food intolerances and food allergies.

Over the years, your body may have accumulated heavy metal toxicity: lead, cadmium, and arsenic put in animal feed to remove germs; aluminum in baking powder, table salt, vanilla powder, and emulsifiers in processed foods; and mercury in dental filings.

Perform simple hair test to determine the level of toxicity in your body.

Other metal toxicity from foods and the environment may result in depression, headaches, lack of concentration, and forgetfulness.

Water has pesticides and heavy metals. Drink only filtered tap water or distilled water from glass bottles, not plastic ones.

Keep your body allergy free.

Antioxidant vitamins

Get all antioxidant vitamins from your healthy diet, preferably not their supplement counterparts.

Vitamin B complex

The vitamin B complex consists of eight water-soluble vitamins. The B vitamins work together to boost your body’s metabolism, enhance your immune system and improve your nervous system. Brewer's yeast is one of the best sources of the B vitamins.

B1 enhances your mental functioning. Rich food sources high in B1 include liver, heart, and kidney meats, eggs, leafy green vegetables, nuts, legumes, berries, wheat germs, and enriched cereal. Include them in your healthy diet.

B2 is abundant in mushrooms, milk, meat, liver, dark green vegetables, and enriched cereals, pasta, and bread.

B3 may help avoid irritability and mental confusion, which are often symptoms of mental depression. Food sources rich in B3 are chicken, salmon, tuna, liver, nuts, dried peas, enriched cereals, and dried beans.

B5 deficiency may result in allergies, fatigue, and nausea, which are often associated with mental depression. B5 is most abundant in eggs, whole grain cereals, legumes, and meat.

B6 helps your body absorb and metabolize amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids. Whole grains, bread, liver, green beans, spinach, avocados, and bananas are rich food sources of B6.

B7 (biotin) helps your body release energy from carbohydrates. Generally, your body has no deficiency in B7.

B9 (folic acid) deficiency may lead to mental depression. Studies have shown that more than 30 percent of depressed patients have folic acid deficiency. Good food sources of folic acid include leafy green vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and organ meets.

B12 is critical to the optimum functioning of your nervous system. B12 can be found only in animal sources, such as eggs, milk, fish, meat, and liver. Therefore, vegetarians are strongly encouraged to take B12 supplement if they cannot obtain it from their healthy diet.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, according to a previous scientific study, had been implicated in depression: patients suffering from major depression had lower levels of antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin E. However, it was not known whether it was due to inadequate antioxidant vitamins, or a result of the depression itself.

Other scientific studies found that the lower vitamin E in blood not only increases physiological stress as well as oxidative stress during mental depression, but also protects your brain against damage caused by free radicals and other reactive oxygen species produced during basic cellular metabolism. Antioxidant vitamins are potent against free radicals for optimum mental health

Good sources of vitamin E include egg yolk, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and vegetable oils.

Remember, it is often difficult to obtain sufficient vitamin E from foods even in a healthy diet. A daily supplement containing 400IU is highly recommended.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, another one of the important antioxidant vitamins, plays an important role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, which enable efficient nerve impulse transmission between nerve axons. Vitamin C is important and necessary for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin. It catalyzes the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine and the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin.

Vitamin C can be found in many fruits and vegetables. Remember, vitamin C cannot be stored in your body, and is easily destroyed in cooking.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Why You Need to Fast

Why You Need to Fast

Having an autoimmune disease means having a toxic body. All these years you may have accumulated toxins in your body, making it toxic. A toxic body leads to a dysfunctional immune system, and hence the development of an autoimmune disease, including myasthenia gravis. Western medicine uses toxic drugs, such as steroids, to control the many disease symptoms of an autoimmune disease. But the long-term adverse side effects are more toxins in the body. The only solution to improve the disease symptoms is getting rid of the toxins.

Internal cleansing is detoxification, which involves dislodging your body toxins and waste products from within and between cells and joints, and then transporting these wastes from your body for removal.

Fasting is internal cleansing and rejuvenation—one of the most efficient ways to detoxify your body of toxins. Fasting is to recovery, as sleep is to recuperation.

Fasting is voluntary abstinence from food and drink, except water, for an extended period. Fasting is the best way to detoxify your body.

The benefits of fasting:

Fasting accelerates the self-healing process of your body because fasting temporarily stops the continuing work of your digestive system, and therefore instrumental in reserving that energy for your self-healing. By conserving the energy otherwise used in digesting food, fasting provides you with more, not less, energy, contrary to the myth that fasting makes your body weak. Remember, eating and digesting food expends your energy too.

Fasting activates the immune system in your body to protect you from disease.

Fasting relieves the burden of not only your digestive tract, but also your liver and kidneys, which have to work extra hard to remove additives and toxins accumulated in your body through improper eating. Fasting removes the underlying cause of any chronic disease you may have by removing the toxins, not just the symptoms, as in the case of medications.

Fasting may alleviate your body pain and rid your body of any drug dependence. Fasting facilitates you, if you are a smoker, to quit smoking during a fast. Nicotine damages the immune system.

The process of fasting

Eat more vegetables and fruits prior to a fast. Reduce the consumption of meat, and refrain from eating any meat the day before a fast.

On the first day, you may feel pangs of hunger, with a white coating on your tongue. This is just a natural response of the body to the cessation of eating. On the first day, you may experience physical weakness, which is also a natural response of your body

On the second day, you may begin to feel gradual dissipation of hunger, with more white coating on your tongue.

On the third day, you may feel complete disappearance of hunger and the clearance of coating on your tongue.

The first three days of a fast are most challenging. However, once the challenge is overcome, you are well on the way to rejuvenation of your entire body. Remember, Jesus, too, fasted for forty days.

What to do during a fast

Drinking plenty of water is required since your body may easily become dehydrated due to the discharge of body fluids.

Continue your normal daily routine activities, but avoid all strenuous activities, especially those outdoor ones. Exercise as normal.

Bathe more frequently. Brush your body to stimulate your skin to rid toxins from your body.

Stop taking your daily vitamins while fasting.

Stop smoking if you are a smoker. That is as good a time as any to quit smoking for good.

How to break a fast

Break a fast on fruits and vegetables juice. Eating an apple is ideal for breaking a fast.

Gradually increase your intake of solid food. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Overeating too soon may cause abdominal pain and even vomiting.

Avoid taking salt and pepper immediately after a fast, lest they damage your stomach lining.

Continue to drink plenty of water after a fast.

Remember, the longer the fast, the less you should eat at the first meal.

Duration of a fast

A clear tongue and clean breath are a good indication that the cleansing is more or less complete.

The length of a fast depends very much on an individual.

The following is just a general guideline:

A one-day fast, as often as required, preferably weekly, for good health maintenance

A three-to-four-day fast for general health and well being, several times a year

A two-week fast for complete internal cleansing, every year or so

A three-week fast (or even longer) for curing a specific disease, under the supervision of a physician.

It is suggested that you begin with a short fast, and then proceed to a longer fast for complete internal cleansing.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Letting Go to Live in the Present

Letting Go to Live in the Present

Humans have wants and desires which generate expectations that necessitate judging, picking and choosing. Disappointments and frustrations are their byproducts. According to Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, the ancient classic on human wisdom, everything in life is to be welcomed and embraced, but not avoided.

“Everything that happens to us is beneficial.

Everything that we experience is instructional.

Everyone that we meet, good or bad, becomes our teacher or student.

We learn from both the good and the bad.

So, stop picking and choosing.

Everything is a manifestation of the mysteries of creation.”

(Chapter 27, Tao Te Ching)

According to Tao wisdom, the root cause of all human miseries is pride, which is to satisfy the ego-self delusively created in the flawed human mind.

“The Creator is above,

and we are below

The Creator is in front,

and we are behind.

Because this is the nature of things,

humility is only natural to us.

Yet many are desirous of the top

fearful of lagging behind.

Humility is the Way.”

(Chapter 66, Tao Te Ching)

“Dependent on the Creator,

our horizons broaden and expand,

our souls inspire and nourish,

our relationships grow and flourish.

Everything around us becomes oneness with the Creator.

Dependent on ourselves,

our horizons contract and shrink,

our souls wither and die,

our relationships break and crumble.

Everything around us becomes depleted and damaged.”

(Chapter 39, Tao Te Ching)

Humility initiates the process of letting go of everything that distracts us from our pursuit of true human wisdom.

“Possessing little, we become content.

Having too much, we lose the Creator.

Having no ego, we become humbled, and our actions are enlightened.

Having no desire for perfection, our actions are welcome by all.

Having no expectation of result, our actions are selfless and non-judgmental.

Having no goal, our actions are under-doing and never over-doing.

Accepting what is, and finding it to be perfect is not easy.

But that is the only Way to the Creator.”

(Chapter 22, Tao Te Ching)

Indeed, distractions in modern life come in many different forms.

“Distractions are many,

in the form of riches and luxuries,

They allure us from the Way.

Accumulations are like extortions of the poor.

They bring only disaster and suffering.

Do not deviate from the Way.”

(Chapter 53, Tao Te Ching)

Letting go of control, we no longer strain, strive, and struggle, and thus enabling us to live in the present moment—which is a luxury to many in this day and age.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

 

29 Smart Steps to Teach Your Smart Kid to Read

29 Smart Steps to Teach Your Smart Kid to Read

This 117-page is based on how I taught my daughter to read some 30 years ago. 

Like all proud parents, I was and still am proud of the fact that I could teach her how to read when she just turned three (most children learn at the age of five). The TV and all electronic devices may not be as effective as YOU, the parent, to teach your child through everyday intellectual interactions, games, and activities. 

This book provides 29 steps that could begin as early as your baby is one-month-old. My daughter became a proficient reader when she was five (reading books with little or no illustrations). By seven, she would not let me teach her anything -- she could find everything from books. It paid off and it's worth all the initial efforts in teaching her to become an early reader. Now she's an attorney in the United States.  I wrote this book because she has recently become a mother herself, and that's why I wrote this book to share my experience some three decades ago.

Also, read my book" Make Your Smart Baby Super Smart.

Stephen Lau

Injustice and Spiritual Wisdom

We are living in a world in which injustice and vengeance are rampant. Many of us are in the midst of this storm of unfairness that causes unhappiness.

A Case in Point

In 1984, Archbishop Valerian Trifa was deported from the United States after being accused a Nazi supporter, who not only had incited attacks on Jews, but also was responsible for executing many Jews in World War II.

After World War II, the Nazi supporter came to the United States as a refugee immigrant. He assumed the name of Valerian Trifa, and was ordained as a priest of the Rumanian church soon after his arrival in the United States. He rose quickly to the rank of bishop and archbishop, and lived in comfort in a 25-room farmhouse on a 200-acre estate maintained by his church.

Later on, a dentist, who was a Nazi survivor, recognized the Archbishop as the Nazi supporter. The case against him was then pursued for more than a decade by survivors of the Nazi years, Jewish organizations, journalists, and the Justice Department of the United States. Their efforts helped focus public attention on Nazi war criminals who were living in the United States.

At first, the Archbishop vehemently denied his former identity, despite some handwriting experts confirming that his handwriting was identical with that in some of the execution orders he had carried out while he was a Nazi supporter. As luck would have it, with the advancement of forensic science, some experts could incredibly still retrieve some DNA from those execution orders. That was his undoing, and his final judgment.

The Archbishop was ultimately ordered to leave the United States in 1982, but spent two years trying to find a country that would give him refuge. Portugal admitted him in 1984, and he finally settled in Estoril, where he died at the age of 72 of a heart attack.

Spiritual Wisdom

Do not avenge yourself; instead, leave it to the wrath of God, which is a repayment to man for something man has done wrong. Do not carry with you anger, bitterness, resentment, and revenge—they only make you unhappy.

“Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord,
 and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

(Psalm 37: 1-4)

Bottom line: Be happy and not depressed because there is so much injustice around.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Decision to Erase Aging

There is some point in life that you must make a decision—the decision on what you believe to be the best course of action for you to become younger and healthier for longer. Everything begins with belief. What you believe is the most powerful option of all.  Nobody can help you if you do not help yourself make that decision to believe.

Make that decision to change now—not tomorrow, or any time soon. If you keep on doing what you have been doing all your life, then you will continue to be what you have been for the rest of your life.  If you want to be younger and healthier for longer, you must make that decision to take appropriate action right now!

Your decision is present, so is your determination to succeed, no matter what. Make it your goal in life, not just a wish. There is a difference between a goal and a wish. Many people may wish for being younger and healthier for longer, but not too many actually see that happen to them, because they have never turned their wishes into goals. A goal is something realistic and achievable. A goal has a time frame, and is measurable in one way or another. On the other hand, a wish does not require commitment, energy or discipline. A wish is merely a thought. A wish alone, without action, will not make you younger and healthier for longer.

So, only you can be your own age eraser. Only you can make yourself younger and healthier for longer.

Of course, you need not look your age; that is to say, younger, and not older. You do not have to advance in lock-step with your years. Nothing is set in stones—not your biological age or your looks.  The health of your body cells determines your age, not the calendar. At the cellular level, nutritional deficiencies rob every cell in your body of the crucial minerals and nutrients it needs to keep you looking, feeling, thinking, and moving young. When it comes to aging, think cellular, not calendar!

Life-changing effects of aging, such as arterial disease, poor vision, debilitating arthritis and joint degeneration, chronic pain, prostate trouble, sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis, dementia, and many more are completely combatible, even reversible, once you give your body the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and other natural substances it needs to heal itself from within.

The mainstream's forever-young “solutions”—nip-and-tuck, pharmaceuticals for prostate, sexual dysfunction, bone disease—are merely band-aiding the symptoms of aging, but offering no miracle cures; Viagara® and Botox® will not bring back your youthfulness: they only temporarily mask the harsh realities of aging.

Aging is not just your physical appearance: it is your mind, your spirit, and your attitude. It is, in fact, everything about you! Yes, you could be your own worst enemy!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Letting Go to Let God

Human unhappiness comes from the human reluctance and refusal to let go—letting go of the past, which has become human attachment, and which is no more than a distraction of the human mind from living in the present, which is the only reality in life. Letting go requires human wisdom to see the reality of all things. Due to the human flaw of attachment, human wisdom is often inadequate, and has to be complemented with spiritual wisdom, which is Biblical wisdom.

God’s omnipresence is a manifestation of His creation. Seeking God means we see His presence in everything around us, both visible and invisible. God’s mystery, on the other hand, is manifested only in His wisdom, expressed in the Bible.

In the Bible, Jesus is the personification of God’s wisdom. Only through Jesus can man come to know God’s wisdom.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way,  the truth,  and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

The Bible is the Word of God, and therefore a source of God’s wisdom through reading its verses. Reading the Bible can provide spiritual wisdom to many, which is necessary for their spiritual growth in order to understand and appreciate God’s wisdom.

The human intent to seek God’s wisdom

First and foremost, the human mind must demonstrate its intent to seek God’s wisdom through specific knowledge of the Bible. In other words, the mind must be in a seeking-and-learning mode in order to grow in the knowledge of God.

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

How Tao wisdom may help seeking spiritual wisdom

Tao wisdom is the wisdom of Lao Tzu (born some 2,600 years ago), the ancient sage from China, who authored the ancient classic Tao Te Ching. one of the most translated books worldwide.

Lao Tzu believes the desire to seek the wisdom of the Creator begins with self-discovery, which s understanding true human nature.

“The ancient prophets follow the Way to the Creator,

the Way to re-discover our true nature,

which is being one with the Creator.”

(Chapter 21, Tao Te Ching)

“Living is but an expression of the life given by the Creator.

Our true nature is a reflection of that expression.

Those who are with the Creator, the Creator is also with them.”

(Chapter 23, Tao Te Ching)

Knowing the origin and the nature of things, we may begin to perceive the purpose-driven life God has created for each and every one of us.

“Seemingly intangible, and seemingly elusive,

the Way leads to the origin of all things,

both visible and invisible. 

Since the beginning of the beginning, 

this has been the Way

to the life force of all things,

both past and present.”

(Chapter 21, Tao Te Ching)

Therefore, Lao Tzu urges us to remain faithful to our true nature, which is fundamental to seeking spiritual wisdom.  With spiritual wisdom, we just let go to let God.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Happiness Wisdom

The Happiness Wisdom is a 161-page book on human wisdom based on ancient wisdom from the East and the West, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom, which may all provide guidelines for choosing the happiness ingredients for your own happiness recipe. In addition, the book also provides real examples taken from real life, illustrating how these real people perceive their realities, and thus leading to their happiness or unhappiness.

Human happiness or unhappiness is no more than a perception of the human mind, based on an individual's own life experiences. You think, and your perceptions then become your "realities"; with profound wisdom, you can change how your mind processes your perceptions. Change your mind to change your realities, and live your life as if everything is a miracle! Your life journey is uniquely yours. Make your own happiness recipe from the happiness ingredients of ancient wisdom, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom. Continue your life journey with your own happiness recipe.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Living for Life

The TAO of Living for Life

This book is about the art of living well, which is being in the material world we are all living in, but without being of this mundane world. This daunting and challenging task requires profound human wisdom, which comes from TAO wisdom, the ancient wisdom from Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, more than 2,600 years ago.

Lao Tzu was the author of the immortal classic Tao Te Ching, made up of 81 short chapters of Chinese poetry on human wisdom, one of the most translated books in world literature.

This book explains the essentials of TAO wisdom, based on Stephen Lau's own translation and interpretation of Lao Tzu's immortal classic Tao Te Ching with his comments after each of the 81 chapters. Living for life is the wisdom of living in this contemporary age. It is not easy, so you need TAO wisdom.

For more information, click here.

The TAO of Living for Life shows you the wisdom of living not just for yourself, but also for others as well --  just as the famous English poet John Donne says: "No man is an island."  Once you perceive this intricate inter-connection between people, you will self-intuit the wisdom of Lao Tzu.  After all, according to Lao Tzu, there is no word or blueprint for human wisdom -- it is all about self-intuition.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Healthy Pregnancy Wisdom

Healthy Pregnancy Wisdom

Pregnancy is more than just nine months; it is a lifelong project that requires adequate preparation to ensure better results.

    

The Dos

Do physical checkup first for both you and your partner. (why: to resolve all health issues and problems, e.g. chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.).

Do blood tests to check your immunity to German measles (why: it can cause malformations in the baby) and chicken pox (why: immunization before conception if you have not had it before); to check your antibodies from toxoplasmosis (why: an infection that may affect conception and pregnancy).

Do discuss medical conditions with your doctor: previous pregnancy problems, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature baby; genetic disorders in family; current prescribed medications.

Do dental checkup (why: gum diseases may lead to premature birth), and dental work (why: avoiding filling or extraction during pregnancy).

Do weight management (why: overweight may lead to diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy; underweight may result in a small baby, problems during labor, and after birth).

Do find out your ideal weight: to determine that, you need to know your height, and weight, as well as your waist size (i.e. your waist circumference between your rib cage and above your belly button). A waistline of 35 inches or more for most women may indicate overweight.

Do find out your Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure of your body fat based on your weight and height. Your BMI is determined by this formula: BMI = (body weight in pounds) divided by (body height in inches x body height in inches) multiplied by (703). To illustrate, if you are 5’11” tall and you weigh 165 pounds, your BMI will be: (165/71x71) x 703 = 23   The BMI numbers have the following implications:

Any BMI that falls between 19 and 24.9 is considered ideal and healthy.  

Any BMI that is below 18.5 is considered underweight.

Any BMI that ranges from 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; any BMI that is above 30 is considered obese.

You should be within 15 pounds of your ideal weight before pregnancy, and that also applies to your partner (why: an overweight partner may have decreased testosterone leading to depressed libido).

Do birth control until you are ready for pregnancy. Hormonal contraception may take months for fertility to return to normal. Natural family planning is the way to go.

Do boost nutrients for a healthy pregnancy. Important nutrients include the following:

Calcium (why: avoiding back and leg pain, insomnia, and irritability)—eat figs and raw leeks.

Folic acid (why: avoiding structural defects)—eat chives. Chives are a nutrient-dense food low in calories but high in nutrients. Always use a sharp knife to cut chives (why: avoid bruising the herb), and add chives to any dish near the end of cooking (why: avoid losing its flavor).

Iron (why: healthy growth of baby)—eat chives.

Magnesium (why: cellular development; over-coming early pregnancy discomfort, such as constipation)—eat chives.

Manganese (why: baby’s normal skeletal development)—eat raw leeks.

Vitamin B6 (why: avoiding nausea and morning sickness; metabolizing proteins, carbohydrates, and fats)—eat raw leeks.

Vitamin C (why: proper absorption of iron)—eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin K (why: healthy bone growth and proper blood-clot formation)—eat raw leeks.

All the above nutrients and vitamins are especially important not only for pre-pregnancy but also for the first trimester of pregnancy

Do get sufficient sleep (why: research has shown that the more sleep you get,  the less time of labor may ensue; getting less than 5 hours of sleep may even increase the chance of having a C-section for delivery. Do set a schedule for your sleeping hours to help your body get on a set schedule of sleep. Do go to bed earlier.

Do take herbs to increase fertility (why: drink clover flower tea and nettle tea to increase female fertility).

Do avoid unpasteurized milk and blue-veined cheeses.

Do cook all your food thoroughly.

Do help your partner to enhance his fertility. According to a Danish study, overweight men have fewer sperms. According to State University of New York, placing laptop computers on laps may decrease sperms (why: due to accumulation of heat). Certain drugs on men’s hair loss, high blood pressure, and ulcers may also affect the quality of sperms. Do increase his intake of folic acid, vitamin C, and zinc to enhance the quality of sperms.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright© by Stephen Lau