Hi folks,
This week I have been mostly…
Contemplating:
“I’m going to tell you something: thoughts are never honest. Emotions are.” - Albert Camus
And Decartes' Error - the idea presented by Antonio D’Amasio. Neurological evidence suggests that you cannot separate reason from emotion as has been the belief since Decartes. So those of us that are comforted by the notion that they are predominantly rational creatures are unfortunately naive:
"That new neurological evidence suggests that no emotion at all is an even greater problem. Emotion may well be the support system without which the edifice of reason cannot function properly and may even collapse."
"I even suspect that humanity is not suffering from a defect in logical competence but rather from a defect in the emotions that inform the deployment of logic.”
Rejoicing:
In the fact that finally a large study has been published (in the Lancet) investigating the far too long held believe that fat, especially saturated fat is bad for us. What has always been bad for us is refined carbohydrate intake not fat. This study suggests that low fat diets could raise the risk of an early death by as much as one quarter! Glad I commented on my fat cheese habit in last weeks post.
However, not all fats are created equal. Good fats are for example: Avocados, oily fish (omega 3 : EPA and DHA), Grass Fed Butter (organic or Kerrygold), Nuts like Macadamias, Fat from Organic Meats, use saturated fats to cook with e.g. Ghee. Bad fats are those that have been processed: trans fats, hydrogenated fats, veggie oil cooked (crips) - fats denature under heating so don’t cook with veggie oil (polyunsaturated fats) or olive oil but coconut oil is ok.
Mmmm butter...
Reading:
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
A short book by a Roman emperor. Fantastic philosophical nuggets written as an older man to himself for himself.
“What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee either.”
Listening:
Looking forward to seeing BadBadNotGood live in Bristol in November. Can't get this song out of my head this week.
Stretching:
My hamstrings: arms out in front of you thumbs up, bend at the hips only (not the spine) as in a squat until you feel the tension in your hamstrings and hold for at least 30 seconds. Repeat every day.
Have a great weekend,
Simon
Finemore's Five for Friday
Hi folks,
It's a welcome return (I hope!) for Finemore's Five for Friday! This week I have mostly been...
Exercising:
I have been chatting with a few clients about appropriate training exercises so here is a link to a good basic spinal stability routine by Stuart McGill Phd.
Contemplating:
Listening to Chris Ryan’s podcast in conversation with Stanley Krippner concerning consciousness. Chris mentions his personal metaphor for life and describes life as like a falling raindrop. The beginning of life is the birth of an individual raindrop from the mass of water in the cloud. The end of life is the impact of that raindrop but there is a mergence back to the body of water.
Listening :
Can’t stop playing this cover of a Gil Scott-Heron song this week from Esther Phillips Home is where the Hatred is. She also does a great cover of Bill Wither’s classic Use Me. Listen on Spotify here.
Eating:
Fresh English samphire. Very easy to cook. Tastes great and is good for you. Just throw it in boiling water for a couple of minutes or steam it or pop it in a closed pan with butter and pepper. In season now and great with fish or shellfish.
Quoting:
This week I have found myself mentioning this quote from the Dalai Lama, ‘Love is the absence of judgement.’ This simple wisdom applies to everything in your life that you appreciate but also importantly to your appreciation of yourself and the things that you do.
Thanks and have a great weekend,
Simon
Finemore's Five for Friday (10)
Hi folks,
Welcome to the latest edition of Finemore's Five For Friday. This week I have been mostly ...
Listening to:
‘is a woman’ by Lambchop. Finally been released on vinyl. Sounds great and brings back memories of one of the best concerts I have ever been to following the release of this album back in the day.
Watching:
Twin Peaks - The Return. On Sky Atlantic at the moment. If you loved the first 2 series then you will also love this new series some 25 years on even though the story escapes the town of Twin Peaks. David Lynch being his fantastic surreal self with most of the old cast. Love it. Not for the faint hearted or squeamish however.
Remembering:
A quote from philosopher Alain de Botton, “When people seem like they are mean, they’re almost never mean. They’re anxious.”
You cannot expect to understand what someone else is going through at any given moment. Communication and understanding is difficult whether in contact with others or understanding who we see in the mirror every day.
Eating:
A great sweet but nutritious and fibrous treat when watching Twin Peaks. Organic dates, stone removed, split down the middle and filled with clotted cream. Yum, it works, try it.
Drinking:
Mushroom Coffee. Some clever chaps in Finland have combined certain healthy varieties of mushroom with coffee to produce interesting and tasty warm beverages that seem to boost your mental performance (I find). The company is called Four Sigmatic and I like their products. Sounds a bit weird, not cheap but tastes good and feels good plus the mushrooms are considered superfoods (whatever that means).
Until next time,
Simon
Finemore's Five for Friday (6)
Hi everyone,
Here's some music, poetry and musings for you to ruminate on over the weekend. I hope you enjoy them.
This week I have been mostly...
Listening to:
The new album by Sean Rowe called New Lore. Great voice and a good beard. Emotional stuff. Song to listen too : Gas Station Rose.
Appreciating:
I have a new appreciation of how love is giving; a letting go as opposed to a holding on and reminded me of one of my favourite poems by William Blake :
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.
Pondering:
In modern physics light is a recurrent theme, Consciousness is often spoken in terms of ‘light,’ indeed if we work hard enough we may become enlightened. In Chiropractic we often talk in terms of “switching the lights on”.
“With all your science - can you tell how it is, and whence it is, that light comes into the soul?” - Henry David Thoreau.
Attempting:
To not be afraid to make mistakes as quickly and efficiently as possible in learning something new. Make glorious, fantastic mistakes. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and become more proficient. As Michael Jordan said, he was only as good as he became because he had made more mistakes than anyone else with a basketball.
Recommending:
My Finnish relatives were over for Easter so it’s about time I ranted about the benefits of Sauna once again. There are many anecdotal accounts of professional athletes banging on about the benefits of regular sauna time. Sauna or hot baths help to increase Growth Hormone levels and endurance levels as well as reduce DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Also Sauna has been shown to produce a bump in prolactin which plays a role in wound healing. If you don’t have access to a good traditional sauna then have a hot bath until your heart rate rises and generally you feel like you want to get out. Do it regularly.
Finemore's Five for Friday (5)
Hi folks,
After a week off while I was in Panama, Finemore’s Five for Friday is back. This week I have been mostly:
Listening to...
Vinyl re-issue of Elliot Smith’s marvellous Either/Or album. Genius.
Pondering...
How fearful we are as a society. The great thing about my Panama experience is that there was no common language between the people I adjusted and me. I could only communicate with my eyes, my hands and my heart.
The Panamanians often had no idea what Chiropractic was but they were happy to put there spine in my hands. After their first ever adjustment the response was more often than not a smile or a laugh. Trust, faith and appreciation it would seem are things that may be more cultural than experiential, energetic than cognitive.
Appreciating...
An awareness of how much communication is non-verbal and how complicated verbal communication can sometimes make things.
Protecting...
My skin from the sun in Panama. 30+ degree heat and a sun that burns. I had been making sure that my Vitamin D3 levels were sufficient before Panama as low Vit D3 levels (very common in UK) have been correlated with a higher incidence of skin cancer.
Using lots and lots of organic coconut oil as protection but only having 20 mins of direct sun before finding shade. For me a good Panama hat was essential to protect my naked scalp.
Eating...
Ceviche. Yummy and healthy. Easy to make. Could eat it all day (in the heat). Try some.
Have a great weekend and if there's any questions you'd like me to answer in next week's email please send them through.
Thanks,
Simon
LED lights only in LivingRoom Chiropractic Cornwall
LED lights in LivingRoom do not emit any blue light that stimulates and irritates your brain. They only emit yellow and orange tones which allow you to feel more comfortable and relax.
Love this Quote about Healing
As a Chiropractor all we do is practice the natural art of allowing your innate healing abilities to come to the for; 'wooing nature'.
“We can continue to focus on what is the outside of us but we must prioritise what is the inside of us - healing and wellbeing does not come from the outside in but the inside out.”