Thursday, August 16, 2012

Mental Nutrition

Here's another extract from Dr. Weil's latest book:
"We know a great deal about nutrition and health in regard to dietary choices and their influence on well-being and risks of disease. Most people, however, do not consider that what we allow into our minds is as important as what we feed our bodies and significantly influences our emotional well-being. It makes sense to be as careful about mental nutrition as about your diet."
...
"If you habitually and unconsciously listen to sad music, read sad stories, and watch sad movies, chances are you will be sadder than if you choose happier input. If you habitually tune in to news programs that make you angry and distraught, chances are you will spend less time in the zone of serenity and contentment. The challenge is to exercise control over what you pay attention to. The world is both wonderful and terrible, beautiful and ugly. At any moment one can choose to focus on the positive or negative aspects of reality."
He's not prescribing a particular mental diet, but says it's a good idea to pay attention to how our mood is affected by what we read, watch, and listen to.
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The photo is from an article about how to keep the brain healthy. It was on, of all places, The Business Insider. Some great ideas there.

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