The Power of Love

Yesterday was my daughter, Margo's 32nd birthday. As I was preparing for my morning yoga classes I ran across this letter from Albert Einstein to his daughter on the power of love. When I first read this I remember feeling somewhat angry and judgmental that Einstein wasn't there for his daughter, as my father was absent for nearly all of my young life.

This morning, I reread his letter in another, more human, light. We all make mistakes. To err is human. This is how we learn our biggest lessons. Margo is now a young Mother. She too will make mistakes, as I did. We can remain angry and bitter or we can choose to forgive ourselves and each other. 

In my case, I need to forgive both of us. I still grieve my father's death, because I never fully forgave him when he was alive. I missed precious time with him. I need to forgive him for my own heart health.

Here's Albert Einstein's letter:

“When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.

When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.

This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.

To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.

After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…

If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.

Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.

However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.

When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.

I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! “.

Your father,

Albert Einstein

One thing I know for sure is the power of love. It wasn't until I gave birth to Margo and her siblings that I fully understood this. I agree with Einstein that it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with this powerful healing energy. What negativity do you need to release in order to be able to receive this love? To receive nourishment? Is there someone you need to forgive in order to do so? Perhaps even yourself for past mistakes? Please remember and know that no one comes into this life without baggage. We can continue to be weighed down by it, or we can choose to let it go. We can carry past generational burdens with us or we can choose to break the chain. 

How do you do this? As with everything, it starts with your willingness and commitment to do so. Begin the conversation with self and others. Make amends with important people in your life. Most of all, start exploring ways to feel and act in self loving ways. There are so many wonderful tools to help you. If you suffer from a disease, know that your body is self healing and self repairing. Do not fall into the "war on ....(cancer, diabetes, etc)" mentality. Instead ask what is the message your loving body is trying to tell you through the dis-ease? What needs to change for you in order to heal? How can you maximize what your unique body needs, minimize toxicity and inflammation, and prioritize self care? 

Wednesday mornings I teach at Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston, whose soul mission is to cultivate wholeness. I feel loved the minute I walk in the door. Six days a week there is a wonderful variety of classes and teachers. Please consider joining us! Here's my new schedule at Rise on Wednesday mornings:

7:30-8:30am: Carpe Diem Dance, a fun combination of movement to music that anyone can do. 

8:45-9:45am: Yin Yang Yoga, a practice for anyone to find flexibility and equilibrium (the calm within chaos) 

10:00-11:00am: Meditation for Beginners. I am a student, this is Rise's gift to me to practice self-care

11:15-11:45am: Street Clothes Stretch. Come on your lunch hour and then have lunch in the beautiful garden space or attend one of the monthly lunch and learns. 

May we all learn to give and receive this universal energy of love. 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained, health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to inspire, educate and empower individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing yoga and Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Intermittent Fasting Kick-Start- An Invitation

Thank you to all that joined us last evening for the Intermittent Fasting Kick-Start Webinar. here are my cliff notes from the ebook that is included in our upcoming program. Plus, an invitation to join us! 

Intermittent fasting is offering a unique, scientifically proven way to shift your body’s cellular and metabolic processes in ways that promote optimal health. The benefits include:

Ø  Reduce and maintain healthy weight sustainably

Ø  Reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system,

Ø  Reduce blood pressure and resting heart rate, and

Ø  Trigger a metabolic switch whereby the body starts to use fat and ketones for energy.

It is an eating pattern for you to regain and sustain your ideal weight.

This is not about dieting or deprivation. This is a way of eating that honors your unique needs. We believe that life and food should be pleasurable, delicious and decadent. Real food that is nutrient dense is yummy, nourishing and life affirming. Pleasure and nutritious food are powerful ways to boost your metabolism. These send messages to the brain that it is ok to burn fat. It’s important to ditch the guilt and enjoy every bite of what you choose to eat. Our goal is to help you choose wisely without worry or deprivation.

This is not about eating less.

This is about eating less often.

This can be emotionally freeing and save you time and money. You may feel more energized and have more mental clarity.

The fallacy of many diets is that cutting calories works. Research has found that if you cut too many calories, you signal to the body that you are in starvation mode and force it to hold onto fat to slow your metabolism. You need to eat enough nutrient dense food to stoke the fire. Think of a wood burning fire. When you add more wood, the fire burns hotter. You have a unique biochemical makeup.  What is important is how you burn the food and distribute the energy. Most need to eat more, not less. Most need to increase healthy Omega 3’s and other good fat in the diet.

When your body utilizes fat for fuel, less inflammation results. Sugar is inflammatory so the body prioritizes sugar metabolism. Not because it’s the preferred energy source, but in the body’s infinite wisdom, to lower inflammation. Forcing the body to switch from burning sugar to burning fat automatically lowers inflammation.

Cells will uptake sugar over fats so if you are eating donuts or croissants for breakfast, a sandwich on whole-wheat bread (which has more sugar than table sugar) for lunch, and pasta for dinner, then you are keeping your body busy metabolizing sugar and you do not get a chance to burn fat.

This creates mood swings and cravings for more sugar and simple carbohydrates. Studies in rats and mice have proven that sugar is more addictive than drugs. The food industry is well-aware of this. There are hidden sugars in everything from baby formula to salad dressings.

Data suggests that Intermittent Fasting, when done properly, can help extend life, regulate blood glucose, control blood lipids, reduce the risk of coronary disease, manage body weight, help us gain (or maintain) lean muscle mass, reduce the risk of cancer, create more clarity and energy, and more.[1]

The IF Kickstart will help you eliminate sugar and nutrient poor, processed carbohydrates so you can lower insulin and utilize fat for fuel. 

The IF KickStart is in line with the Anti-Alzheimer’s Diet described in  in Dr. Dale Bredesen, MD’s new book, “The End of Alzheimer’s”.

Here is a quote from his book:

“…fasting for at least twelve hours between your last meal of the night and your first of the next morning. Consuming fats such as MCT oil (medium –chain triglyceride oil) or unsaturated fats such as olive oil or avocado or nuts also promote mild ketosis. This will switch your metabolism from carbohydrate-burning and insulin resistant, which promotes Alzheimer’s disease, to fat-burning and insulin sensitive, which helps prevent it. Remember: As metabolism goes, so goes cognition.”

The goal of the IF KickStart is to help transition you away from the Standard American Diet and provide a gateway into the Intermittent Fasting lifestyle – one with proven benefits for health and longevity.

In the beginning, you may go through 1-3 days of transition where you may feel some symptoms of low blood sugar; symptoms such as cravings, light-headedness, hunger or headache. Potassium, minerals and B vitamins can help minimize this - Tasty6 green juices are packed with these key nutrients. In fact, you may need as much as 4700 mg of potassium – the equivalent to 7-10 cups of salad.  This is a lot of salad for the average person to digest. Juicing solves this problem by providing the nutrients without the need to digest all this food! You get the phytonutrients without so much fiber. Your body gets the benefit while allowing the digestive tract to rest and repair. Juiced nutrients are easily absorbed – it’s like receiving a nutrition IV! 

High nutrient, bioavailable nutrition also helps to turn off hunger. 

Fat does not make you fat. Sugar makes you fat and sick.

Fat is an essential key macronutrient

The IF KickStart includes MCT oil, Medium Chain Triglyceride – in the form of a daily dose. This is an essential fatty acid that can penetrate the cellular membrane even in the presence of glucose. It is less likely to be stored as fat and is made immediately available for use in the body. Remember, fat burns hotter and longer than sugar in the body. Multiple studies suggest that MCTs support better brain and memory function, energy boost and endurance, weight loss and improved weight

management, lower cholesterol and lowered blood sugar levels.[1]

Lower’s the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Lowers inflammation and joint pain. Loss of excessive belly fat. Up-regulates cellular repair.

Changes hormone levels to make stored fat more accessible for energy. Feeds the brain.

Studies show that when you surround yourself with healthy people, your health improves. 

Join Tasty6, and myself in a 7 day Kick-Start to Wellness. Sign up today and get 14 green juices, 7 power almond milk's with 20 grams of protein, 7 MCT and Turmeric shots, 7 fresh organic soups, teas and ebook, guidebook, recipes, plus group guided webinars and support. 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

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[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320251.php

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[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23582559, https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1743-7075-9-98  and https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/1/7/4633143