The critical veg issue of Vitamin B12 (4)

Rejuvelac, a fermented drink
that may contain B12,
but yet scientifically proven

After so many long years in search of veg-based B12
my effort actually wasn't totally futile.

There were indeed some alternative sources of B12
which may be suitable for vegs;
just that they are not scientifically established.
Much technical effort and research are required
to establish them as true B12 food source.

Some possible alternatives but yet proven to be reliable sources are:

(A) Nutritional Yeast
- this is a kind of edible yeast which is basically same as
brewer yeast, except that these yeast are cultured in media
with blackstrap molasses.

- nutritional yeast has the capacity to produce B12, 
if the medium contains Cobalt (a kind of mineral).
Hence, the culture medium must at least contain molasses
to provide the Cobalt as raw ingredient for B12 synthesis.

- even cobalt is present, it's not guaranteed that B12 will be produced by the yeast.
So, manufacturers prefer to add in VitB into the yeast culture, to fortify it,
for the sake of consistency.
[question: is this still considered natural B12 source??]

- many nutritional yeast out there are not truly nutritional yeast,
because the manufacturers and retailers themselves don't even know
the true definition of nutritional yeasts. If one relies on non-certified nutritional yeast for B12,
it will be very risky, because the chance is that one may mistake non-B12 brewer yeast
as their source of B12, and become B12-deficient unknowingly!

- Unless research effort is put in to ensure consistent production of B12,
nutritional yeast is not going to solve the B12 issue for the veg.

- All in all, naturally grown yeast is not a reliable B12 source.
However if one decides to rely on B12-fortified nutritional yeast
as main source of B12 intake, it's important to get access to trusted brands (e.g. Red Star).


(B) Another possible candidate source for veg-based B12
is Spirulina (yet scientifically established).

- Spirulina was in early days classified as a singular-cell algae.
As mentioned in earlier post, algae produces B12 homologues which are non-human active,
but Spirulina is a very special case.

- due to its special phenotypes, scientists have recently re-classified Spirulina
as a kind of bacteria.

- this is definitely a good news, as it reflects a higher likelihood
that Spirulina's B12 is human-active. Some years ago, a research report
revealed that the B12 was indeed human-active, but the publication
was disputed by the scientific community arguing that
the research team did not adopt the gold standard B12 verification assay
to test for human active B12, but instead adopted a less familiar test.
Altho' the alternative test was still a valid one,
other scientists suspected the gold standard test on Spirulina failed,
hence the need to use alternative test.
Also the research team was funded by the manufacturer of Spirulina supplement,
naturally increasing the skepticism towards the results.

- personally, I am still hopeful about Spirulina, but
before we embrace Spirulina as a reliable source of human active B12,
that one gold standard test need to be done.
Further research (independent) will sure reveal the answer,
but so far nobody would like to fund such a research,
likely due to matters of profitability and lacking B12 awareness.

Just to make myself clear, Spirulina is still not a reliable source of B12 as of today's finding.

(C) One more likely source of B12 is Rejuvelac.

- Rejuvelac is a fermented drink made from germinated grains.

- One may find this source more credible, as it involves bacteria.
However, bear in mind, unless there are sufficient cobalt content on the grains, plus
adequate exposure to light, there is no chance of getting B12,
despite that bacteria do have the capacity to manufacture B12.

- People who made Rejuvelac before will know that
the making of Rejuvelac exposes the fermentation process to little light,
and amatuers knows even less about the content of cobalt in the grains.
One can easily guess the reliability.

- There is indeed possibility of B12 synthesis in Rejuvelac,
but again we need scientific data to verify and quantitate the amount of B12 if any.

- Before any solid scientific data is provided, Rejuvelac is a not a good source of B12.

The stories above may make some vegetarians
want to rush into nutritional yeast, spirulina and rejuvelac.
These foods do offer certain nutritional values and
but it's too dicey to think that
we can chance over to get sufficient B12 from the 3 sources above.
The adverse effect of B12-deficiency is simply too big.

This why veg authorities, up till today,
only recommend B12 fortified food and B12 supplement.
Many veg out there, just like myself,  have been hoping to find the reliable and natural way out.
But will there ever be one?
--It's not optimistic as you probably already get a good feel after reading these few blogs.

Should we resign to fate or should we continue our quest?
Let's discuss this in the next blog post.


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

The-critical-veg-issue-of-Vitamin-B12

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

The critical veg issue of Vitamin B12 (3)

mushroom contains fluctuative
amount of B12  because of the
carry over of soil bacteria

Fortified manufactured foods and supplements
didn't sound appealing to me neither
when I first learnt about B12 issues.

I spent quite a few years searching high and low
for non-animal source of B12,
combing through vegetarian websites online,
talking to veg nutritionist/doc/professionals,
flipping through a few thick "nutritional bibles" at my teacher's cafe...
in the end
the result is still the same
-- there is no reliable plant source B12.

During the course of learning,
like many veg friends,
I got a lot of false hopes:

First,  it was seeweed and algae.
I thought they had a lot of B12 as I learnt from some seminars/mis-informing articles,
even some commercial algae products "confidently" label that they contain B12.
But only to find out in the end, those are B12-like compound
also called B12 homologue
which are not human active!
In other words, they look like B12, and share some properties with B12,
but doesn't help in nervous system repair and blood building.

Later, I was told tempeh has natural B12.
I was very very happy, especially it came from a long time veg friend
who spoke very confidently about it.
The theory sounded very credible:
because it's a naturally fermented products.
After referring to my teacher's nutritional bibles,
then only I dissapointedly accept the fact that
tempeh's B12 was due to cross contamination during the making;
not produced by the fermenting fungus :-(
Now that tempeh is produced hygienically, B12 is almost not detectable.

Next, it was mushroom.
I learnt to be skeptical now.
When I heard that mushroom contains B12,
I dig low and high for opposing remarks,
before I get "cheated" again.
I even went into a nutritional database
(that list out all nutrients content for large array of foods)
to see if B12 is ever detected in mushroom.
Guess what, B12 was detected, but it was again, due to bacteria in
the contaminating soil.
The was this scientific article that I came across demonstrated that
after washing the mushroom thoroughly,
the B12 in mushroom drop drastically
to the extent that is not significant for consumption.
-- so does it mean it's good to eat soiled mushroom to get B12?
too risky.. as B12 level fluctuates from batch to batch
(depending on the extent of soil carry over)
[I know it's gross :P]


Studying B12 sources for veg is very interesting.
Along the journey discovering so many false hopes,
it only reflects how veg (including myself) are desperate to
find a veg-proud source of B12.

My desperation doesn't get dampened by just a few
algae, tempeh and mushroom.
The quest for alternative B12 sources continue in the next blog.
(in fact they are even more argumentative!)


Well regards,
Kee Yew

The-critical-veg-issue-of-Vitamin-B12


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

The critical veg issue of Vitamin B12 (2)

Note the Cobalt ion in
every single B12 molecule.

In the past few years, I have observed that
the Vitamin B12 issue among the veg community
is actually caused by :

      i.  the lack of education/awareness
         (rather than the lack of info, as there is plenty around)  or
      ii. the unwillingness to accept proper information
         (due to personal prejudices which will be explained later)


The lack of education mainly pertains to knowing the right source of Vitamin B12:

Where to get B12?

- B12 is a vitamin that no animal and no plant can synthesize.

Hence, theoretically, it's impossible to rely on flesh or vegetables to get B12.

It has to be synthesized by bacteria and limited fungi,
under two essential conditions:
a. the presence of light;
b. the presence of cobalt mineral.

[As a special notion,
non-veg usually get their B12 from meat
which are always heavily contaminated by bacteria.]

- Other than meat (which was a minor B12 source in the past),
our ancestors usually got their B12 via
good bacteria on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables
as well as natural spring/underground water (with good bacteria).

Nowadays, our natural and major B12 sources are compromised,
due chemical farming and chemical treatment of tap water.

This is why the veg community tend to be deficient of B12
-- basically, there is little access to natural source of B12
(animal source isn't a optimal way to get B12 neither, due to the toxic trade-off)

- The reliable B12 sources recommended by veg authorities such as PCRM.org, are:
      i.  fortified manufactured foods (with added B12) and
      ii. Vitamin B12 supplements.

The inconvenient truth above,
is what causes some veg who are constantly in denial of  the world we live in,
to insist that they could get good B12 source by
the good-o-natural way.
[pardon the tone of this paragraph, this serves an important purpose, by good will]

Coming up... we will discuss about some
misleading sources of B12 (which some veg buy into under the name of 'naturalism'').
and a few alternative-but-rare sources of B12 (i.e. not always accessible and reliable)


With deep sincerity,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

The-critical-veg-issue-of-Vitamin-B12

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

The critical veg issue of Vitamin B12 (1)

A B12 artcile extracted from
PCRM's quarterly mag
Good Medicine

The Vitamin B12 issue among the vegetarian circle is not a news anymore,
but it is worrying that many veg are still under/mis-informed
about Vitamin B12.

Every now and then I come across vegetarians/vegans
facing the crisis of B12 deficiency unknowingly
(ie totally unaware of B12 issue).
It's even more worrying when I sometimes encounter
B12-deficiency-prone vegs who think that
they have taken enough care on their B12 intake.
(ie mistaken of the source of B12)

This is actually quite a risky issue to be taken lightly,
as it affects the basic health and life quality of a veg,
and may consequently affect the image of veg community as whole.

Hence would like to share
some simplified but important concepts of Vit B12 here,
in the hope of raising sufficient awareness among the vegs and
and clarifying some mis-information about B12:



What is B12?

- B12 is an essential vitamin, under Vit B family,
which is not synthesized by our body (in significant amount),
for maintence of our bodily metabolism (ie day to day body functions).

- the uptake of viable amount of Vit B12 has be from external source
(via food or via limited internal gut flora)



Why do we need B12?

- B12 plays multiple important roles in our basic bodily functions,
in collaboration with B6, and B9 and other co-factors.
e.g. nervous system maintenance, blood cell formation and body mass building

- when our body is lack of B12, our nerves will suffer from irreversible damage
(ie permanent and incurable), leading to inefficient brain functions and stress handling.

- because B12 is quite efficiently recycled in our body (except diseased cases),
a new veg will not observe much effect from gradual B12 deprivation within the first 4-5 years.
In other words, B12 will only drop to critical level after 4-5 years later,
if a person stop B12 intake from today..

- before the 4-5 years "due date", a B12-deficient individual
may also suffer from anemia (because blood formation is affected),
but it's not easy to pin point at B12, because it could be iron deficiency too.

- there are some veg after going through a long time veg diet that is lack of B12
who seem to be unable to put on body mass (lean protein mass),
no matter how much protein-rich food he/she takes in and how hard he/she trains.
This is also because the lack of blood nourishment and
participation of B12 in protein anabolism.


...to be continued




Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

The-critical-veg-issue-of-Vitamin-B12
{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Maximising the usage of a piece of paper

A friend of mine, Eric, was sharing with me
that his kid was taught at school
how to make good use of a one-sided used paper,
by doing some simple origami tricks.

Although I already have a habit of
using the blank side of used paper,
I find that this origami technique
converting a 1-side-used A4 paper
into 8 pages of all clean mini booklet
really useful.

Usually when I use the blank side of a used paper as draft paper,
I tend to write draw/write randomly
across the wide surface, hence wasting a lot blank space.
When an A4 paper is folded into a mini 8-page booket,
it kind of restraints my "font size" and makes better use of the space
-- maximising the space usage (even tho' it's used draft paper).. hehehe..

I have been using these mini booklet (pocket size) for 4 months now,
and I feel good squeezing out the maximum blank space of a used paper =)
Hence would like to share this with my friends here,
in line with environmental conservation.

This kind gesture for Mother Earth is a tiny one,
but I believe it will have a ripple effect
in other parts of our lives,
to be more environmental conscious,
when we constantly get reminded by
these mini-booklets carried in our pockets everyday!!

Here are the protocols.
If a 1-sided-used paper is used, there will be 8 clean pages,
if a totally blank paper is used, then there will be 16 clean mini pages!!

8-16page mini-booklet origami:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2281936_minibook-one-sheet-paper.html

If you really have tiny hand writing, can try the advanced version..:P :P
16-32page mini-booklet origami:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1000304/make_a_book_16_pages_just_one_piece_of_paper_100_origami_w/


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (3)

Our body manufactures
its own cholesterol,
hence void the need
of external intake. 

Another argument that my friend parroted from the ex-vegan author
was that:

E.g.3. Cholesterol is good, as it is the body's substance for self-repair.
-- Knowing that the major external source of cholesterol is from animal-based food,
the statement above was justifying that it's beneficial to take food of animal-origin.

>> same drill, it doesn't paint a complete picture:

>> Cholesterol-related cardiovascular diseases has long been
used by vegetarian advocates as a reason to advise against animal-based food.
but sometimes it is not adequately explained.

>> Cholesterol is a naturally occurring and essential metabolite
that is important for our well being (cell division, hormonal balance etc).
Our body can synthesise it ourselves.

>> By taking in improper amount of cholesterol via animal-based foods,
it will upset the delicate balance/ratio of the cholesterol subtypes (HDL, LDL etc),
hence subjecting ourselves to the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

>> The take home message from the ex-vegan author is that
vegetarians/vegans should continue to take good plant fats
to support the manufacture of our own cholesterol
to maintain a healthy body.


Deep down, it's an endless debate between animal-based and plant-based diets.
By harping on scientific findings to prove that one diet is more beneficial/natural than another
may just be a convenient way to enhance one's pre-existing beliefs (either animal or plant-inclined).
It's not comprehensive and actually do little in convincing people (by my personal prejudice)

Going veg naturally will face some hurdles.
Instead of taking a convenient excuse to switch to flesh
(which will then bring another set of problems),
we could persist to embrace a diet that do good
to our environment, our animals and our generations to come,
while putting in effort to solve the problems of
improper eating habit, food preparation and food manufacturing.
(which are the factors that truly compromise the quality of vegetarian diet).


By good will,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (2)



Low GI whole grains protects
vegetarians from diabetes

My friend found the book convincing because the author provided a lot of scientific reasonings.
A scientific observation may be solid,
but it remains a superficial phenomenon if we do not fit a good purpose behind.
Ultimately, it's the interpretation that matters.
By good will, shall we communicate, be it through voice or via pen.

A second plant-based issue that my friend pointed out was
(as per the ex-vegan author explained):

E.g.2. "A diet rich in carbohydrates wears out the body's ability to regulate blood sugar. eventually leading to type 2 diabetes. The book claims that there is no difference between simple and complex carbohydrates."
>> based on the above statement, vegetarian who is naturally carbo-inclined (due to no meat intake), would have been exposed to high risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

>> Again, the scientific facts provided was partially true,
but it doesn't paint out a complete picture.


>> Although insulin-dependent Type 2 Diabetes
is related to constant and overwhelming sugar spike in the blood,
sugar intake is not exactly the root of diabetes.

>> It is true that scientific evidences showed that simple and complex carbohydrates
do not necessary relate, respectively, to faster and slower sugar absorption into bloodstream.
There are examples like fructose (a simple sugar) elevate the blood sugar level slowly,
while complex sugar like starch (when processed) can spike up the blood sugar level very quickly.

>> Hi-carbo vegetarians hence need to take note of
the Glycemic Index (GI) of the carbo food they are taking.
The lower the GI, the slower the sugar get absorbed into blood stream,
hence harmonising with the feedback mechanism of insulin (i.e. won't cause diabetes).
>> Foods with low GI are unrefined whole grains
(tho' they are starchy, but the fibre and minerals in the cereal brans lower the GI).
Vegetarians are absolutely safe to go big on whole grains carbo.

>> The ex-vegan author was simply reminding fellow vegetarians/vegans
not to take processed and refined carbo (be it simple or complex).

>> Ultimately, it's a matter of correct food preparation and correct eating,
nothing to do with veg or non-veg.


Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


p/s: The whole issue of Type II diabetes is more complicated than just a sugar-centric issue.
I will be writing a blog series on diabetes in near future, especially to point out,
diabetes is ironically more related to protein and fats intake!




{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (1)

Albert Einstein became
a vegetarian two years before
he passed away.

I have a friend whom I have known for quite a while
and who has been a vegetarian for 4-5 years and 
recently became a vegan.

This friend of mine is a special one,
as he started his veg path since secondary school days
and with that type of supposedly-less-supportive environment
during school days,
he persisted his ideal; -- that is very admirable.

We had  some email communication recently
and he told me that he had been reading a book from a former vegan
advising against 100% full veg.
And hence he became a bit confused
especially when he felt a bit weak after going vegan for a few months,
suspecting if his condition corresponds with the ex-vegs' experience.

He pointed out a few issues raised by the ex-vegan author
to convince that some components from the plant-based diet could be bad:

E.g.1. Unsaturated fats (from plants) are bad,  because is more reactive than saturated fats (from animals), causing cancer and damages blood vessels.

-- base on the statement above, vegetarians/vegans would have naturally and constantly
been exposed to high amount of bad fats.
>> This hold some truth to some extent. But it's not a complete story.

>> Many people nowadays have been serious mistakened
that all plant fats are good and all animal fats are bad.
Now there are some people who go to the other extreme
to twist the whole story around claiming animal fats is healthier than plant fats.
Both are not completely correct.

>> As mentioned in previous blog series "The Fats of Life",
Plant fat is not always good fat, because once high-temperature-heated,
the unsaturated fats in plant will become damaged and cause health problems.
Most of the plant-based cooking oils sold out there
are already deep-fried before packaging (to preserve for a longer time).
Hence, it seems like taking plant oil nowadays is worse than
consuming animal fats (if moderately heated).

>> The point the ex-vegan author was trying to advise was
to remind vegetarians/vegans to choose quality plant oil and avoid high-heat treatment.

>>When plant fats are consumed in natural form (ie direct from food) or cold pressed form,
plant fats are definitely better than animal fats (Why? Please see "The Fats of Life").

>>The whole issue lies on the correct way of consuming fats,
nothing to do with a vegetarian diet.


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com




{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Bee Organic before too late!

2 years ago,
when I was at Shen Shi'an's talk
at the Holistic Wellness Symposium 2009,
I was first educated how
bee could be a sensitive indicator
to environmental toxity.

When more and more chemicals are used as pesticides
under the name of "efficient food production to feed the expanding human population"
we are actually worsening the production sustainability day by day.

The bees population has been reported slumping dramatically
due to the abuse of pesticides
and few people know
that bees actually contribute to majority (90%) of pollenation in the nature.
Without the bees, simply there is no fruit, no grain and no propagation of vegetation.

This ties to the emphasis of supporting organic agriculture.
When discussing organic food,
many a time people overly focus on the personal health perspective,
but pay little attention to the environmental health which is equally important.

When insufficient effort is put into maintaining the environmental health,
we are not only facing the consequence of unhealthy food, but also,
the crisis of food supply (due to lack of pollenating bees dying from harmful pesticides),
then the rocketing food prices and
eventually may be the compromised survival of humanity.

Avaaz.org recently initiated a petition to ban harmful chemicals being used as pesticides
to prevent further decline of bees.
You may want to do a bit of well wishing to Mother Earth via
this link :)
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl



Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Adjusting towards a holistic life path (8)

While my new life now is gradually settling down
after the "turbulent" last quarter of 2010,
I am beginning to feel recharged and refreshed :)

Life wise, I am getting little bit more organised,
and getting more disciplined
(waking up before 5.30am every morning!
-- how I enjoy being an early bird now :D )

Work wise, I am catching up with new skills
on how to identify diseases of trees,
learning about the life cycles of insects and fungus,
as well as the behaviour of plant viral infection patterns.
(-- I got a lot of inspiration from these small organisms!)


The next episode

When I am finally fully recharged,
the next steps would be

(||) writing my second book on Vegetarian Basics (a long overdue project),
      -- three boddhisatvas have already promised to fully fund the printing of this book
          so that this book would benefit the broad public at zero cost.

(||) designing course syllabi for The Veg School (opening in Sept '11)
      -- cracking my head to come up with creative content and
          audience-ngaging teaching techniques for the benefits of TVS students. 

 and

(||) continue to upgrade myself with financial education (which I am very weak in).
     -- will be attending intermediate level Forex trading course after CNY and
         participating in Eker's Guerilla Business Intensive workshop in June
         to improve financial wellness.


Grounded in gratitude

For the past few months,
I am very happy that I took the leap
to step out of my comfort zone,
going through some strain,
to re-adjust my lifetyle and to re-align my spiritual core
towards a more holistic being.

During the process, I am particularly grateful
to my family, friends, partners, ex-colleagues and new colleagues
who have been supportive for the change and
have been patient with the inconveniences and interruption
that I likely have imposed on their life paths.

Thank you for lending a listening ear on this series of blog.
I hope, by being honestly out-spoken in cyber public
will concrete my promise to the benefit all sentient beings
and strengthen the bond/understanding between myself and readers.

May all be well in the new year of 2011.


By good will,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Adjusting towards a holistic life path (7)

Changing job as an affirmation of spiritual faith

By changing to my current new job,
I am switching from lab-based biomedical research to
field-based plant diseases diagnosis.
It may seem silly to claim that it's a big change (after all it's still biology),
but I had to give up bulk of the leverage from my past experience and seniority
and to learn totally new skills/technical knowledge from scratch.

That was way beyond my comfort zone
(even my new employer subconsciously indicated so).
But I didn't want to give myself any excuse to grow,
for I perceive that this is the way to put buddhism in practice.

Years ago, I learnt from Master Chin Kung a precious teaching:
[translating crudely] A truth shall always tally with its manifestation and vice versa (理事相融).
On my boddhi path to gradually release my attachment,
if my inner attachment (or part of) has truly shed off,
there should be manifestation of increased flexibility and capability and
vice versa.

Or,
By learnng to increase my flexibility and capability,
it shall correspond with increased degree of detachment.

With that, I embrace this relatively drastic change in career,
as an important assignment along my spiritual learning.

Despite the hardship ahead,
I accept this growing opportunity open-heartedly and joyously.



Gratefully,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Adjusting towards a holistic life path (6)

The transposition I recently made in Oct 2010,
was a strategy to navigate around some hurdles in life,
it was also a steep learning curve for me to upgrade myself, skill-wise and spiritual-wise.


Relocation as a lesson of detachment
One of a few big lessons that I learnt/observed was
the detoxing process of my residence (also a spiritual detox).

I didn't want to move away from
the previous residence at Tanjong Pagar at all.
It was a convenient place to stay,
with access to a lot of good quality vegetarian and organic groceries.

I didn't know exactly how shifting away fromTj Pagar to Choa Chu Kang
would help improve my difficult situations then.
But strategically, by relocating,
I would encourage myself to step out of a stagnant ground
or break the viscous cycle I unconsciously fell into.

When I started to do packing up at my old place
then only I realise 80% of my stuff was actually unnecessary.
My room, my drawers, my kitchen had been substantial mess,
reflecting my inner status of confusion and lack of discipline.

Because I was shifting to a smaller place in CCK,
I had to force myself to throw away a lot of things,
including my favourite photos in Australia, Italy, Barcelona etc..
plus some very good books that I didn't had time to give away,
(altho' a good friend, Yin Hui did come to my place to adopt 4 bagful of dharma books)

Incidentally that remind me of a website:
storyofstuff.com
which mentioned that we basically throw away 90% of what we bought (within a year).

I jokingly told some friends that
the shifting expericence was one of the biggest sins I ever committed.
I trashed away so many valuable resources and blessings.

However at the same time,
I observed that it was a good opportunity for me to learn to detach from
materialistic forms.
While I was contemplating constantly to throw or not to,
I kept reminding myself, when it's time to go, it's time to go.

And, there was this little humble plastic bag that taught me a big big lesson:

I had a habit of recycling plastic bags and accumulated them in drawerS.
At the juncture of packing up, I was still undecided whether to throw them away.
Suddenly, when I picked up one very old plastic bag,
it crumbled into ashes between my fingers.
My heart ached and
whispered "even I don't give them up, they will give me up one day still".

Immediately loads of plastic bags were into the big trash bag.


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Adjusting towards a holistic life path (5)

The reason I waited (procrastinated) was that
I hoped the problems were temporary ones.

Obviously they didn't go away,
especially I did nothing to resolve them.

The situations persisted for a very long time,
up to the extent where
my performance at my 9-to-5 job was affected
and my health became compromised.
My boss compassionately asked about my delayed response at work
and everybody around kept asking why I looked so frail..

I had to recognise that my life has gone into orange/alert alert.

Most people who know me closely
probably would reckon that
I have been taking on more than I can chew.

But for I have made a vow in my early buddhism days,
that I would walk the tough Boddhi path to benefit the broadest sentient being possible,
I didn't want to give myself the excuse of overload.
Overload is basically a relative contrast of the lack of skills and wisdom.

Instead, I decided to do two things:

1. let go of unnecessary attachment in life

.o. for one will never able to run fast with a bulky knapsack,
     I would release the pursue of unnecessary luxuries and personal indulgement.

.o. This would also translate into sparing more time for spiritual practice and dharma study.


2. transpose my current 'positions' to a more empowering one

.o. this explains why sudden change of job and residence.

.o. Knowing that the research job that I held in Biopolis
     required a lot of creativity and brain-juicing,
     I decided to change to a job which allows more routine tasks.
     The current Plant Scientist post at AVA/Lim Chu Kang,
     allows me to do field works at farms, parks and nurseries,
     giving me substantial exposure to natural magnetic field too.

.o. The new residence at Choa Chu Kang is also a deliberate act,
     partially to accomodate current new job at Lim Chu Kang,
     but mainly it's a strategy to shift away from hectic vibes in Tanjong Pagar.
     I had little excuse not to make weeknight appointment with people
     (who needed my assistance/input/contribution etc)
     while I was right in the central position of the island.
     By relocating myself to less crowded area also gives me opportunity
     to heal from my over-exhaustion in the past 2 years.

Happy New Year,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}