How to detox my brain?

by **Lizzy Dearborn** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:22 pm

Any advice? I'll take all to heart...diet, religion, meditation. I want to clean out after years and years of having my brain shrunk from too much TV, internet, video games and movies. I guess I just need a bit of encouragement. Thanks

by **chillin** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:05 pm

I like Robert Anton Wilson books. He has some very interesting ideas and encourages readers not to believe anything he says. I haven't read Illuminatus! because he's referred to it as 'project mindfuck' and I feel I've had my share of that already.

by **Ted the dog** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:14 pm

For diet, eat plenty of fiber in the morning...like almonds or oats, not wheat. For exercise, start jogging or walking and stretch out your entire body a few times a day. You'd be surprised at how much stretching can affect your overall mood. I have a really stiff lower back and upper legs...and when I haven't stretched out for a few days, I'm grumpy, easily annoyed and not very productive. When I stretch out two or three times a day, I'm just in a better state all together. I have more energy and my mental state is much healthier. I bought an inversion table in December and it's great for just relaxing and "letting the blood flow". Just my 2 cents.

by **thoughtographer** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:31 pm

I'm with Ted the dog, with the diet and exercise suggestions. Also, for you mind, try <a href="http://www.subgenius.com/">www.subgenius.com/</a>. That should unfuck your head if you're wary of Illuminatus! A copy of The Book of The SubGenius in your bathroom will make a great companion for all of that fiber. "A crooked stick will cast a crooked shadow."

by **PeterofLoneTree** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:04 pm

The text at "Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan's Teachings" <a href="http://www.prismagems.com/castaneda/">www.prismagems.com/castaneda/</a> (scroll a little and click on "1. The Teachings of don Juan") begins: "I am going to teach you the secrets that make up the lot of a man of knowledge. You will have to make a very deep commitment because the training is long and arduous. "A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war, wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it will live to regret his steps. "When a man has fulfilled those four requisites there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his acts lose the blundering quality of a fool's acts. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that."

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:11 pm

Sorry, not a menu so much as a process- A fair thumbnail- Take what the 'mainstream media' tells you to do and multiply times negative one. That is, do the opposite of what power and 'authority' tell you. Humans are social animals who need coherent narratives that have their minds and bodies not in contradiction. So to know a coherent narrative about people learn the physics of the brain and body, evolution, and child/family psychology. Then you will recognize who and what is harmful to people and you can avoid and deter those harmful actors from hurting others, the moral thing to do. "The strong must protect the weak." Not too much to ask of a person, right? lol. "All the world's a stage so don't stand under heavy objects." Fascism is the heaviest object we are under nd the single worst Toxin we need to purge and heal from. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=hughmanateewins>Hugh Manatee Wins</A> at: 4/5/06 1:16 pm

by **havanagilla** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:30 pm

ayurveda food diet, and massage with sesame oil in the morning, before shower. drink lots of water and dandelion root/leaf tea.

by **4911** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 4:20 pm

Smoke a fat hooter, sell your tv, make some paintings, get really laid, practice love. Nothing else makes sense anyways. Be creative. Produce produce produce. Whenever you sense yourself getting "The Fear", think - what would Love do? Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=4911>4911</A> at: 4/5/06 2:21 pm

by **madeupname452** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:25 pm

do some gardening ,grow some veg,fruit and flowers. it works for me.

by **Col Quisp** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:00 pm

It's pretty easy to give up TV, and TV is the worst offender as far as rotting your brain. Just turn it off. If you have cable or satellite TV, get rid of it. If you have only the local network TV, you'll find it much easier to leave the tube off. I only watch it occasionally now and I feel MUCH better than when I subscribed to cable. Since I was paying for it, I felt like I wasn't getting my money's worth unless it was always on. I have to admit, I do miss certain shows, like the Sopranos. The other stuff is harder to give up. The internet is a useful tool. Games are hard to resist and are definitely a waste of time. With food, the best advice I can give is to stay away from artificial sweeteners, which not only rot your brain, they cause illness. Try to eat and drink natural foods as much as possible. I like the Naked or Odwalla juices -- they really boost my mood! Good luck, and welcome to RI!

by **Rigorous Intuition** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:28 pm

I've found music a good detoxifying agent. Bach, Mahler, Eric Satie, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen are some who've worked for me.

by **Gouda** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:52 am

For hangovers, physical or meta: - Mozart's Piano Concerto # 20 in D minor K 466 - Bach's luscious and perfect cello suites, especially Suite # 1 in G Major - Phillip Glass, otherwise pretentious and redundant, does great good with his "Solo Piano" and "Etudes for Piano" (Vol. 1 no 1-10). Perfect for driving in a traffic jam or floating on your back - Mingus, "tonight at noon" - Greg Brown, "Dream Cafe", "Slant 6 Mind" or "Further In" - Cowboy Junkies, "Trinity Sessions" After the hangover is cleared up, a big part of detoxing is fired-up inspiration: - Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" - Beethoven's 9th - PJ Harvey, "Stories from the City..." ("The whores hustle and the huslters whore..." !!!!!) - The Police "Regatta de Blanc" - U2 "War" and "Unforgettable Fire" - The Clash "London Calling" - Marley - And sometimes you just have to bump with disc # 2 of George Michael's "Ladies and Gentlemen, Best of" with the sun in your face and your ass a-shake. - and if Neil Diamond does not detox, nothing can! Get thee with books - start researching, reading, digging...and see where it takes you. [edit: sorry here - on re-reading, not meaning to imply you are not reading or researching! I am was thinking of my own case.]  Buy a stack of paper and an expensive pen. Also: running, stretching, swimming, cycling, and cooking more often - cut down or cut out wheat, dairy, soy, sugars, msg, hydrogenated oils, multinational banks, stocks, bonds, funds. I've tried yoga on and off - seems to work, though I prefer inventing my own stretching asanas after a good run. That's the detox. The best part of it all is reaching the point where you feel you are 'detoxed', feeling better - then you get to dream up ways to engage your reclaimed health. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gouda@rigorousintuition>Gouda</A> at: 4/6/06 10:51 am

by **Ted the dog** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:46 pm

On the topic of music, I can recommend an artist known as Ray Barbee...he's an older pro-skateboarder and he makes great music you can relax to: <a href="http://www.op.com/music/musicians.aspx?id=16">www.op.com/music/musicians.aspx?id=16</a> <a href="http://www.midheaven.com/artists/barbee.ray.html">www.midheaven.com/artists...e.ray.html</a> Both of those have samples. You can get both of his records on itunes or on amazon. also, this is a website for a great independant record shop in San Francisco: www.aquariusrecords.org just figured I'd throw that in there as an alternative to amazon....give these guys your business instead.

by **resonantmonkey** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:30 pm

I was "forced" to do this once for a class(9th grade). I have since, done it any time I feel like I needed it. It really does work! Go to a quiet place, preferably outside, alone. Take with you a spiral or other notebook, and a pen or some pencils. If you enjoy art, take what you normally sketch with. The important concept here is quietness. Sit alone, quietly, and think. Do this for six hours. Every half-hour or so make a journal entry into your notebook, or sketchbook. Draw and or otherwise do quiet things to keep yourself busy. Look around you and see what happens. If you are outside, and are quiet for a few hours, and observant, chances are you'll see splendid wildlife and note things you never have before. Also important is to make journal entries, of course, if you start writing and can't stop, don't.

by **Lizzy Dearborn** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:05 pm

Thanks for all the great ideas! I will look into them with an open mide and heart. This really makes me feel better. Last night, after I posted, went home and stayed off the intenet, went to sleep. I had the worst nightmare of my life. It was vile in every sense of the word. It was bad, but I'm taking it like it is a part of the process. I seem to have less nightmares than most...my dreams are sort of boring in fact. But I do believe that they play a huge part of mental health. I think just my asking the question did something.