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Noble Realms → Health → Caffeine
Before I forget.
I'm drinking a cup of coffee at 5.40pm after not having any caffeine since 8pm yesterday and I'm noticing a definate effect around my temporal lobes (left of which is associated with speech recognition and the right I don't know) and the very top of my head. I don't know if the caffeine is increasing activity their or working to shut down any higher thinking.
Daily caffeine intake leads to adrenal fatigue, which wears out the heart, reduces bloodflow to the brain, increases the stress hormone cortisol, throws off other hormones, and makes you age faster. But I think there is an additional effect -- it first overexcites the etheric body, causing it later to weaken. With a weakened etheric body, your soul finds it harder to express through the body, the body ages more quickly because there is less of an energetic 'scaffolding' to keep the cells working in proper pattern, and you would become more reliant on physical-brain thinking since the reduced etheric strength cuts off receptivity to nonphysical stuff. Pavlina is right on with is observation. Your intellectual and tactical abilities may increase, but true creativity and intuitiveness goes down. Therefore caffeine might be "good" for college students, cops, corporate people, etc... who don't use higher intuitive thinking anyway. Put in terms of the Ra Material terminology, I think caffeine increases physical energy at the expense of vital energy.
In my experience, 20 mg or less per day is still okay, especially if you take a break from caffeine every couple of days. That covers light teas, some chocolate, or decaff coffee. But fully caffeinated coffees, especially from Starbucks, are absolutely the worst... I do think there is a caffeine conspiracy though, coinciding with the epidemic of sleep deprivation in this country, to turn people into zombie workers cut off from their spirits. Too much caffeine is an excitotoxin to the etheric body, that's my conclusion.
I get migraines if I have too much caffeine for a couple days and then go cold turkey. And if not a migraine, then at least a couple days' worth of fuzzy-brain, bouncing knees, not feeling like doing anything important --- all symptoms of weakened etheric or lowered vital energy. It's good as a temporary booster every once in a while when you really need it, but I wouldn't recommend it as a daily thing or else it becomes an addiction. That would be like never changing the oil in your car, and instead adding nitro to your fuel to overcome the sluggish engine... things just overheat and wear out. If I go off caffeine for a week, my energy levels even out (few or no crashes), my mind is more consistently clear through the day. A better substance for increasing energy levels, though without side-effects, is spirulina. A tablespoon a day does more than caffeine in terms of heightened alertness, but without interfereing with the intuitive stuff.
TM,i think you are very correct here, i relate it to mephyphenidate and amphetamines, both vasoconstrictors of cerebral bloodflow and stimulants.
I can't tell you how much i think i've been cut off, something i notcied recently, for a long time(6 years) i've been missing alot of emotion and had brain damage from "treatment with drugs as a kid. Since december i started relasing lots of things, soemthing i've been aware of is that, i don't have dreams like i used to, not lucids, no clear dreams not even any happy dreams, not only that, i tried to start a dream diary, but as soon as i woke up, i knew i had had a dream, but couldn't remember what about and this happens everytime i think i have a dream.
It's really sad, i don't know what this means for me spiritually and damn do i feel lost right now, all i can do is have hope , try to keep moving forwards and whatever will be will be, unless i findsome kind of control over things and direction.
Have been taking spirulina for 2 days, not really sureif i feel more energy yet, but i've also been drinking coffee and smoking lol, i think i'll quit both of them and see how i get on.
I feel lucky that my dad lectured me into quitting sodas altogether when I was a teenager. It is was hypocritical of him, of course, because he still drinks caffeinated sodas and I haven't had even half of one in 11 years.
Every once in a great while I drink coffee, but it sends me through the roof and leaves me feeling fried.
Not having had soda or being a coffee drinker for so long, I really can't understand the addiction. Even holding a soda can, or a cup of coffee, in my hand, I feel the toxins in them.
I have had other food addictions, though. I think the key to overcoming them is establishing spiritual seniority in your body. Do you want your spirit to serve your body, or your body to serve your spirit? There are probably herbs and therapies that can assist you, but ultimately the road that must be travelled is discipline and consistent willingness to follow spirit.
Listening to the body can help, too. If you really ask the body, it may not want the substances you put in it at all. And the addiction is just the result of miscommunication between mind and body, and the miseducation of the mind.
I've battled with caffeine addiction off and on for many years. Dreamosis, what you said about who is serving who, body vs. spirit is something I've thought about a lot lately. I think taking pleasure in doing certain physical things, like consuming coffee, is a way of negatively using the body. The immediate effect feels very positive, and the ego on some level wants it but it is so clear that the body itself cannot want it. The mind may want to be alert, to keep going through the double-shift, but the body knows it is tired and wants sleep.
I've often found it strange that I would crave so powerfully that which I truly know to be bad for me. I'm not a brain floating around instantly connected to the internet! I've read some theories that sometimes spirits in limbo attach to people to enjoy and "egg on" their addictions. So then I wonder, do I have a coffee fiend and a chocolate fiend spirit hanging out with me, saying "Go on, go on, it'll be delicious!!!!" ?
Over 2 weeks ago I decided I had no choice but to give up, cold turkey, the caffeine and processed sugar. I've had issues with my hair falling out over the past year (you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me, there's no "bald spots," but I have less than half the hair I used to have a year ago.)
When I was doing research online months back regarding reasons for hair loss, I stumbled onto this health site that had this quiz that you could take regarding your various health ailments. I didn't have most of the symptoms they mentioned, however, I did have a few clustered in one particular group. That groups turned out to be centered around the adrenal glands. The unofficial diagnosis based on the symptoms I checked off on the list was overtaxed adrenal glands.....most likely due to too much caffeine and sugar.
I laughed, because that was so me, and over these past months I've had half hearted attempts at "no caffeine" and "no sugar," but by the end it had just gotten out of control. I was drinking teas, coffees, sodas, Red Bulls even, with sugar added to my teas and coffees (and into everything else practically) along with the alcohol, ice cream, cookies, and lots of junk food. I'm skinny so I can eat all that and not gain the weight, but it seemed to be taking its toll in other areas.
So, here we are, 2+ weeks later. I've only had 3 decafs in the past 2+ weeks, and only because our internet conked out on us for almost a week and so we'd go to the local coffeehouses to use their WiFi. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even had that. No teas though, no regular caffeinated coffees, no sodas. And no sugar junk/alcohol, only natural sugar in the form of fruit.
It was hardest during the first week. Old habits die hard and I didn't realize how much of a habit drinking coffee and tea had become. That first week it was like, Oh..................I can't have the soda I'd normally have with my pizza. 
Oh.........can't have the ice tea with sugar. Can't go to the Mudhouse or Greenberry's for a coffee. How annoying! haha Drinking coffee is fun, the whole experience of it at the coffeehouses.
So after the first week choosing plain water instead started to become the new habit. Now, I just drink that all day long. My digestion is lots better, and I'm sure my adrenals are much happier. In the past I couldn't ever stick with these good diet changes, but now I pretty much have no choice. It's amazing what the threat of going bald will do to you. You can stop anything cold turkey under those conditions! haha
I think the whole caffeine thing is a conspiracy. Coffee is pushed on the masses, not just in this country but all over. It doesn't help that we live in a society that wants us to pack the equivalent of two days' worth of life into one, always on the GO! GO! GO! with most people trying to juggle work, family, errand running and personal time, and usually only barely keeping up with it all and not getting enough sleep as a result, necessitating the need for drug "uppers" to keep them going when they really should be sleeping. I understand when people are adamant in their refusal to ever even consider going off it, but I don't think people are really stopping to think about how their organs and glands are handling it all. Lack of sleep, coupled with regular usage of upper stimulants probably ages people faster than normal. The heart is beating faster, the organs are taxed, all of that drains on the body.
Going off caffeine for me wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was mostly just breaking out of the *habit* of it all.
Coffee is out then, how about the herbal tea known as Yerba Mate it contains caffeine, but supposedly doesn't have any of the drawbacks of it, such as lethargy and dependance, it's also the national drink of Argentina and i think other South American nations, i was contemplating it's use as a replacement for coffee to give me the boost i need generally, for things such as exercise, going out or being social.
Anyone familiar with it?
Lyra, about the hairloss, this is also a sideffect of vasocontriction to the brain and scalp, i've had terrible dry skin issues with my scalp ever since i started taking Ritalin a potent amphetamine like drug, indeed hairloss is a sideeffect of all known vasocontrictive stimulant-type drugs, like amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine(although i don't know for sure, but if coffee is a vasocontrcitor and so are other stimulants...).
There are drugs which can increase bloodflow to the brain, they are called nootropics and are considered mental regeneraters, they are something i am seeking, ginko bilboba(sp) leap is considered a herbal nootropic, i believe a class of compounds known as racetams are the most effective nootropics that specifically increase bloodflow to the brain.
I would consider increased CBF as perhaps the most potent method of potensially increasing ones mental function and regenrating any loss of function.
Most pharam drugs are designed to do more damage, nootropics are regenerative, which is obviosuly what we really want and the only thing that will cause a lasting change unless one wants to be dependant on damaging substances.
Peace,
Miles.
Lyra, about the hairloss, this is also a sideffect of vasocontriction to the brain and scalp, i've had terrible dry skin issues with my scalp ever since i started taking Ritalin a potent amphetamine like drug, indeed hairloss is a sideeffect of all known vasocontrictive stimulant-type drugs, like amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine(although i don't know for sure, but if coffee is a vasocontrcitor and so are other stimulants...).
There are drugs which can increase bloodflow to the brain, they are called nootropics and are considered mental regeneraters, they are something i am seeking, ginko bilboba(sp) leap is considered a herbal nootropic, i believe a class of compounds known as racetams are the most effective nootropics that specifically increase bloodflow to the brain.
I would consider increased CBF as perhaps the most potent method of potensially increasing ones mental function and regenrating any loss of function.
Most pharam drugs are designed to do more damage, nootropics are regenerative, which is obviosuly what we really want and the only thing that will cause a lasting change unless one wants to be dependant on damaging substances.
Peace,
Miles.
For me, I found that spirulina gives me a good energy boost, as mentioned in the other thread, without effecting the head in any weird ways. It's just an all around natural energy boost to the whole body, also creating a clear mind........but with no "stimulant" aspects to it. Which is good.
Surprisingly I had no issues going off the caffeine the way others have reported, which is amazing considering that I was ingesting caffeine on a regular basis in some form or another. But I was also taking spirulina every day as part of my supplement intake, and I'm thinking that might have had something to do with it.
I have done it before but i've been off cofee this time since january 07. The best substitute around is dandelion root cofee. In Australia the BonViT brand is the best. The root is roasted and fine ground and can be bought in a glass jar. BonVit also make dandelion root mixed with chicory root. They're both ground together and it's great. They are packed with minerals and act as a liver tonic, a calmative and a digestive aid. It also has a mild laxative effect.
It's better than cofee and you just know it's doing you good. You can take it 'black' as i do or you can add honey and milk. I would recommend it to everyone but make sure you get the the real roasted ground root not the instant granules. The instant granules are made the same way as instant cofee but it's really bland.
Sometimes i take black dandelion/ chicory with salted maccadamia nuts on the side. Until you have had this combination you haven't lived.
A while back, while I was camping, I realized that the gastrointestinal tract is similar to a firepit. Some people love big fires, so they pour gasoline over the logs and burn paper. Big fires are fun, but they tend to burn out quickly, and they force you to go hunting for more firewood.
If you burn the fire "conservatively," however, building a pyramid with the logs, choosing kindling and tinder that will leave long-lasting coals behind, then you can sit around the same fire all night long. It doesn't burn as bright or hot, but it is steady and ultimately less work.
The former is like eating a lot of processed carbs and candy and energy drinks that only sustain you for an hour or two; the latter is like choosing quality, high-fat and nutrient rich foods that "quietly" fuel your most of the day.
Miles, I've had a good bit of yerba mate and definitely is another stimulant. It's stimulating ingredient matiene is really superior to caffeine because it's a slower burn that lasts longer with less of a crash, but it is completely true that it is still a stimulant. It does have overall a lot of health benefits though. Guayaki is the brand I buy most often - you can get it loose or packaged in tea bags with other flavorings. http://www.guayaki.com/index.php?p=health Another herb you might be interested in that is known for helping heal the brain is ashwagandha.
Lyra, your story is inspiring me - I am now 24 hours and counting caffeine free! It is so true that our modern life seems to require people to live faster than is natural and rather than rebelling we use things like caffeine to keep running on that hamster wheel faster. And I'm with you on the coffee house problem, I not only love coffee but I love going to the places that serve coffee and the atmosphere there. I can still go to those places, but somehow drinking herbal tea isn't the same.
x 2 on the yerba mate...
it's great!
once and a while i drink it with rice milk and maple syrop
yum! and zing! gets me going
Noble Realms → Health → Caffeine
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