Linus Pauling would have us believe and perhaps correctly, that enough vitamin C will have us live another 20 or 30 years, I think the strongest power in the world is not vitamin C but the power of our own thoughts.
In the Orient we have known for thousands of years that the most powerful tonic for ill health is a happy and clear mind.
Several very good friends of mine have died of AIDS. I spent a great deal of time with them when they went through that process.
Eternity becomes more beautiful as we age, if we age well. If we age poorly, then we don't improve our minds; we don't refine all the aspects of our being.
I recommend for everyone the study of some type of sports or athletics, particularly martial arts. Always check with your doctor first, naturally.
All success in sports and athletics, from the Zen point of view, comes from the mind. No matter what kind of shape your body is in, there is disharmony in the being.
There are lots of people who work out and aren't at all powerful in terms of their mind or their spirits.
If your intent is that athletics and sports are tools or devices to reach higher levels of mind, then your workout sessions become meditation.
Allow the emptiness inherent within actions and experiences to guide and shape your choices. Let your actions direct you, the actor, not the other way around.
One or two of my friends set longevity records for people who had AIDS. What they did, incredibly hard though it was, was to practice meditation, positive thinking and they worked out physically quite a bit.
Diet is highly individual. You have to see what your body wants and what is healthy for it.
Diet is a matter of personal preference, but if you're interested in the advanced states of meditation, eating mammals should be avoided. They have a more evolved consciousness and can affect your attention field greatly.
