Happiness Express
Page 22
Almond milk is very versatile and makes a fantastic milk replacement in any recipe that calls for normal milk. Of course, the taste will change a bit, but not much. Drink it just like that, have it with cereal, add some cacao and make a chocolate milkshake out of it. You can heat it and add some cacao for a hot chocolate drink. . . The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
What to do with that leftover almond pulp?
Spread it out on a sheet and bake at your oven’s lowest temperature until it dries out. Crumble it and use it as a topping instead of bread crumbs. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. You could combine some chopped nuts and raisins into it, and make it into a munchy snack.
You could make a superb almond spread with the pulp. Chop 2-4 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of sundried tomatoes, and some fresh or dried herbs. Add all this, 5 tablespoons of lemon juice, and a cup of the almond pulp along with a few glugs of olive oil to a mixie and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. The spread should be smooth and moist. Slather it on toast or crackers or use as a dip with slivers of carrots or cucumber. Store in a glass container in the fridge.
For more recipes, visit www.bawandinesh.in.
Appendix 5
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE BACH FLOWER REMEDIES
As we go through life, different types of moods and emotions lodge themselves in our minds. Some of them are fleeting, like soap bubbles, others more enduring. Quite a few do not stay long enough to bother us, but some of them do.
As we go through our lives, layers upon layers of these emotions accumulate in our minds and shape our thoughts and actions to a large extent. They create imbalances in our system. They hinder us from living out our full potential as human beings. They stop us from giving and receiving love. They neither make us or others around us happy. In acute or chronic cases, they rob us of our health and our peace.
Bach Flower Remedies are prescribed depending on one’s state of mind and not on the nature of the malady that may be present in the body. They harmonise and heal, physically, mentally and spiritually. They are non-toxic, not habit-forming and can are harmless, even if wrongly prescribed. They form, perhaps, one of the simplest systems of healing that I know of. They are a gift to humanity from Dr Edward Bach.
Dr Bach was a well-known physician, bacteriologist, homeopath and researcher. He was a well-respected doctor having a lucrative practice at a Harley Street Clinic in London circa 1920.
He had great success with conventional medicine, but was put off by the way doctors were treating only the symptoms or diseases, and ignoring the person who was suffering from them.
He was convinced that it is the mind and emotions that play a vital role in maintaining health (or in recovery). He opined that a physical disease is not (merely) of physical origin, but springs from mental attitude.
He believed that if the mental condition is treated, the physical problem would resolve itself. He considered the true cause of disease to be imbalance in the emotions. Considering that the natural state of the body is to be healthy, he asserted that simply balancing the imbalances would set things right.
Dr Bach wanted to find something that would treat the cause of the malady and not only the effect. He wanted to create a system of remedies that could be used by anyone and everyone to propel themselves towards great health.
To realise this vision, the system had to be as straightforward and easy to use as possible.
It had to be simple and based on the principle, ‘Treat the person, not his disease’.
He knew that the remedies couldn’t have been found in the laboratories, hospitals or clinics. He felt they were out there, in the countryside, in the woods and the fields—in nature.
Over a period of about five years, Dr Bach tramped through the English countryside looking for his healing flowers. He found 38 remedies, and rightly felt that these and their 293 million permutations and combinations covered every single state of mind and mood possible. They were complete. There would be never be a need for a 39th.
He authored the book The 12 Natural Healers. Short, precise and compact. It was all that was required. He burned all his notes before he died. He likened them to scaffolding, required during construction, but to be removed and discarded once the building was ready.
He wanted his work to be preserved as it was, with no remedy ever to be added or deleted. The Bach Centre in the UK strives to uphold his wishes and his vision and steadfastly guards his wonderful legacy.
The Bach Flower Remedies
For the sake of completeness, here is a very brief description of the Bach Flower Remedies. There are a number of excellent books on the subject and you can find them in the Bibliography.
Making a treatment bottle is quite simple. Rinse and sterilise a 30 ml amber glass bottle. Fill it with clean drinking water and add about half a teaspoon of any good brandy in it. The brandy acts as a preservative for the delicate herbal essences.
The remedies work better when you choose fewer of them. However, if you feel more of them are really relevant, it’s fine to have up to seven. From the tincture bottles put two drops of each of your chosen remedies into the treatment bottle. If one of the remedies you have chosen is the Rescue Remedy, you will need to put four drops of that instead of two.
To take the remedy, in about half a glass of water add four drops of the mix from the treatment bottle. Swirl it around a bit and then sip the water. As you sip it, feel some beautiful energy entering your system and cleansing it. Make sure you finish all the water in the glass.
Take your remedy four times a day. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and twice in between.
When Dr Bach was asked how long should one continue to take the remedies, he simply replied, until you forget to take them.
The 38 Remedies
Agrimony: Happy outside, miserable inside, would do anything for peace, minor vices and socialising to avoid persistent worrying thoughts, downplays and jokes when ill.
Aspen: Vague and unknown fears, has nightmares and is afraid to go back to sleep after sudden anxiety attacks.
Beech: Critical, intolerant, arrogant, looks for what is wrong in a situation.
Centaury: Weak-willed, willing slave, easily exploited, can’t say no, obedient, subservient, tends to give more than he has.
Cerato: Lack of confidence in own decisions, wants more and more information, hoards knowledge but doesn’t use it, is led astray against own better judgement and typically will regret the move because detrimental to self.
Cherry Plum: Fear of losing it, of doing something violent, fear of loss of control, uncontrolled outbreaks of temper.
Chestnut Bud: Repeats the same mistake again and again, doesn’t learn, physical illnesses appear at regular intervals for no apparent reason.
Chicory: Motherliness, overbearing, over protective, needy, possessive, interfering, secretly manipulative, resorts to emotional blackmail, clingy, loves to preside, organise, take charge of her brood, feels terrible if not ‘needed’. Favourite refrain: ‘After all I have done for you. . .’.
Clematis: Daydreamer, absent-minded, vague dreamy look in eyes, not interested in the present at all, scatter-brained, inattentive, indifference to good or bad news, great for bringing someone back into the body (if they have fainted for example).
Crab Apple: Feels unclean and tainted, infected, disgusted with self, it’s the cleansing remedy, nice to give for overcoming addictions.
Elm: Temporarily overwhelmed by responsibilities, doubts his own capabilities.
Gentian: Feels discouraged and despondent when there has been a setback, easily dejected.
Gorse: ‘Oh, what’s the use?!’, given up hope, no longer has the energy to try again, looks pale with dark rings around eyes, possibility of chronic illness for years.
Heather: The talkative hypochondriac, obsessed with his own troubles, lives on other’s energies, can’t be alone.
Holly: Jealous, distrustful, hateful, envious, reven
geful, malicious, suspicious, holly can be given for even small episodes of all these emotions.
Honeysuckle: Longing for the past, wistful, not living in the present.
Hornbeam: Monday morning blues, doesn’t have enough energy to start, but once started manages to breeze through.
Impatiens: Impatient, irritable, super quick thinking, in a rush, can’t stand dilly-dallying, will take things from others to do himself if he feels they are too slow.
Larch: Feels inferior, expects to fail, lack of self-confidence, totally convinced that he cannot do it, so will not even try.
Mimulus: Known fears, shy, timid, they can name their fears.
Mustard: Deep, heavy, black gloom that suddenly appears and disappears for no apparent reason, cannot be hidden from others, sadness.
Oak: The plodder, the fighter who goes on and on past his limits, and doesn’t think of stopping, fights bravely even when brought to his knees.
Olive: Physical and mental exhaustion and fatigue because of a prolonged period of strain, this remedy can give you energy to move on, or make you surrender and fall asleep, great for recovery from jet-lag.
Pine: Self-reproach, guilt, apologises a lot, blames himself, considers himself a coward.
Red Chestnut: Excessive concern and worry about others around him, irrationally fears that things could go wrong.
Rock Rose: Extreme state of fear, terror and panic.
Rock Water: Perfectionist, hard on self, rigid views, suppressed inner needs, sets super high standards for self and pushes and forces self to live up to those ideals, excessive self-discipline, this one can show up in just a few aspects of someone’s life as well.
Scleranthus: Indecisive, ever-changing ideas and opinions, jumps from topic to topic in conversation, grasshopper mind, alternating between hunger and loss of appetite, between constipation and diarrhoea.
Star of Bethlehem: Shock, after effects of trauma, considering that trauma and shock can linger for a very long time, sometimes even decades, this is a great remedy to start with if nothing else makes sense.
Sweet Chestnut: Absolute dejection, back to the wall feeling, has reached the limits of endurance, extreme despair but no thoughts of suicide, calls to a higher power for help, still harbours a glimmer of hope.
Vervain: The Evangelist, over enthusiastic about a cause, highly strung, possibly fanatical, impulsive, idealistic, wants to convert others to his side, angered by injustice.
Vine: Dominating, inflexible, power hungry, very capable, ambitious, wants everyone to dance to his tune, feels he is always right, possibly a bully.
Walnut: The delinking remedy, dealing with change, not get influenced by others during the time of change, transitioning from one aspect of life to another, for those who have reached the new place they need to be in, but not quite.
Water Violet: Feels isolated because he comes across as superior, wants to be left alone when unwell, finds it difficult to approach others for help, doesn’t permit others to interfere in his life, stiff upper lip.
White Chestnut: Too many persistent and potentially worrying thoughts, constant mental chatter, arguments going round and round in the head.
Wild Oat: Is very good at what he is doing, but knows that there is something bigger out there, but cannot figure out what it is, cannot find direction in life, feels his talents and abilities are not being channelled. He knows he is born for something else than what he is doing, but he doesn’t know what that is.
Wild Rose: Apathy, has resigned even though situation is not that bad, no joy or inner motivation, believes he has inherited ill health, accepts fate—unhappy home, relationships, job, chronic illness, etc, has no energy, is always tired and resigned to it.
Willow: Bitterness, poor me, victim, never takes responsibility for bad things that happen in his life, always blames circumstances and others for his fate.
Rescue Remedy: Star of Bethlehem (shock, trauma, numbness), Clematis (grounding, prevents from passing out, brings person back into his body), Cherry Plum (keeping it together, not losing it), Impatiens (irritability, eases coming back into the body), Rock Rose (terror and panic).
Rescue Cream: Rescue Remedy + Crab Apple (feelings of being unclean).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sleep
There are many books on sleep out there. I found these to be the best reads. Matthew Walker is highly recommended for an in-depth knowledge of sleep and dreaming.
Walker, Matthew, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, Scribner, 2017
Huffington, Arianna, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time, Harmony, 2017
Winter, W. Chris, The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It, Berkley, 2018
Learning, Memory and Mind Mapping
Ready, Study, Go! has helped thousands of people to learn and study effectively. It explores the importance of attitude towards studying and has tips and techniques to turn studying into an interesting, enjoyable activity instead of the dull grind that it seems to have become for most people.
The Simon Singh books and Journey through Genius are very well-written books on the beauty and elegance of mathematics. They are not leisurely reads though.
Fluent Forever must be read by anyone who wants to learn a new language or is interested in the Spaced Repetition System (SRS).
Brain Rules is a superb lay-person-friendly look at the brain.
Batliwala, Khurshed and Ghodke, Dinesh, Ready, Study, Go!: Smart Ways to Learn, HarperCollins, 2016
Singh, Simon, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, Bloomsbury, 2014
Singh, Simon, Fermat’s Last Theorem, Fourth Estate, 2002
Dunham, William, Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics, Jossey Bass, 1990
Singhal, Aditi and Sudhir, How to Memorize Anything: The Ultimate Handbook to Explore and Improve Your Memory, Ebury Press, 2015
Wyner, Gabriel, Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It, Harmony, 2014
Medina, John, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, Pear Press, 2014
Lorayne, Harry and Lucas, Jerry, The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play, Ballantine Books, 1996
Oakley, Barbara, A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science, TarcherPerigee, 2014
Meditation
Everyone should read all these books again and again throughout their lives. They will enrich you beyond measure.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker, Sri Sri Publications, 2010
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Sri Publications, 2016
Narasimhan, Bhanumathi, Gurudev: On the Plateau of the Peak, Westland Books, 2018
Swami Venkatesanada, Vasishtha’s Yoga, State University of New York Press, 2010
Srimad Bhagawad Gita, Gita Press
Happiness
Shawn and Emma talk about the science of happiness and positive psychology, giving solid steps to achieve it.
Achor, Shawn, The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, Virgin Digital, 2011
Seppala, Emma, The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success, Piatkus, 2016
Food
The first two books are enjoyable reads about why you should eat vegetarian food and what happens to food once you put it in your mouth. Russ Parsons talks about the alchemy of food—quite an interesting read if you want to know the science of what happens when you dice an onion instead of slicing it.
The other books are my favourite recipe books. Some have non-vegetarian recipes in them, but with a little bit of innovation these recipes can be made vegetarian. Vidhu Mittal’s book is outstanding for Indian food recipes and Niloufer’s passion for food and cooking, especially Parsi recipes, is evident on every page.
I own almost all of Jamie Oliv
er’s books. I enjoy his style and his recipes. His book of Italian recipes is my most favourite.
The Moosewood Cookbook has many interesting recipes to experiment with. Oh She Glows is an exclusively vegan cookbook, one of the finest I have seen for vegan recipes.
Robbins, John and Ocean, Voices of the Food Revolution, Conari Press, 2013
Enders, Giulia, Gut: The inside Story of Our Body’s Most Under-rated Organ, Speaking Tiger, 2015
Parsons, Russ, How to Read a French Fry: And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001
Mittal, Vidhu, Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, Lustre, 2008
King, Niloufer Ichaporia, My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, University of California Press, 2007
Oliver, Jamie, Jamie’s Italy, Penguin, 2010
Katzen, Mollie, The New Moosewood Cookbook, Ten Speed Press, 2000
Liddon, Angela, The Oh She Glows Cookbook, Penguin, 2014
Exercise
These books are for reference only. Please don’t try to learn exercise from a book. Get a good personal trainer, at least to begin with. Or you run the risk of seriously injuring yourself.
Campbell, Adam, The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises, Rodale, 2010
Campbell, Adam, The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises, Rodale, 2016
Rippetoe, Mark, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, The Aasgaard Company, 2011