Walk of Life

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" - Lao Tzu

Walking into Greatness

Humans by nature of evolution are designed to Walk. Sounds strange but anybody who is anybody has walked into greatness. Deep thinkers, world changers, paradigm shifters, poets and writers chose to walk alone long distances*¹.

Walking for Health

I believe walking charges the brain like a dynamo. The more you walk, the more you walk to a healthier you.

Reflexology states that walking is beneficial to the mind, body and soul. Every point on your feet is connected to your mental and physical state*².

Walking rejuvenates the mind...walking through nature rejuvenates the soul. Research shows that regular walking in a park or around trees reduces stress by increasing Cortisol and also boosts short-term memory.

Walking and Earth Frequency

I did a little research on this as I found this topic particularly interesting. Vibrations have a profound impact on your mind and body. Early generations were particularly strong and blessed by great health. The reason being, they walked barefoot in fields and mud roads.

But why? What’s the logic?

Professor W.O. Schumann predicted that the earth is a giant electromagnet which gives out a constant frequency of 7.83 Hz. In simple terms, it is a magnetic field that is beneficial for human health. The more you are exposed to this magnetic field, the better is your health. The only way you can stay in touch with this frequency is to walk and if possible walk barefoot without any electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, as they disrupt this magnetic field).

Dr Wolfgang Ludwig, using the theory of Prof W.O. Schumann on the Schumann resonance*³ did a wonderful experiment, he took a bunch of people and put them in an underground shelter, in a month everyone showed symptoms of not being too well. He then introduced the frequency of the earth, the Schumann resonance 7.83 Hz in the underground shelter. The entire group recovered and were healthy again.

Experience the 7.83Hz Schumann Resonance (put your headphones on)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn6m7Zz87L4

Benefits of walking at specific locations around the globe

Walking at specific locations recharges your physical and mental dynamo with more energy than other locations. Earlier temples, churches, mosques, pagodas were built on naturally occurring magnetic hotspots. Check-up 33rd parallel north*⁴ on the globe. It runs through the major religious centres. In these places, the magnetic frequencies are concentrated and when you place yourself in these areas, its clears the blockages in your frequencies, resulting in better spiritual health.

My tryst with Walking

I used to walk 8000 to 8500 steps a day. Then I took on a challenge and averaged 17002 steps in a month sometime in September 2016. I realised soon after, I had an urge to write down my thoughts. I felt fit, but these walks did much more for my mental state.  I did not feel lethargic or lazy once I reached home after work, but felt energetic. I felt a great sense of calm every time I walked home, as these walks generally ensured I had a conversation with myself.

The Walking experience

The first steps of a walk are surrounded by external chaos, you see people moving helter-skelter, you navigate amongst the crowd i.e. you swerve, stop, skip, side step… your senses are on overdrive.

Slowly but surely, you start to drown out this external chaos. You see and predict patterns of movement and your walk smoothens out ~ yours senses relax.

The next phase of the walk is where you are faced with internal chaos - small issues that need closure. You think about issues oblivious to the external surroundings. Your mental process starts to peak, digging deep to find solutions to trivial issues in your life.  You are seemingly walking out your stress points.

The last phase of the walk is when you go on to autopilot mode, drowning the internal chaos. Here walking is more of effortlessly gliding over roads, there is no thinking associated with walking. I call this deep walking mode ~ in this phase, your subconscious recalls information stored that your senses have received, but you have overlooked. True thinking takes places at this juncture, away from the clutter of your mind, away from the cobwebs marketers sew to influence your choices & away from your own constructed biases.

Try it out, go for a walk, keep your mobile on flight mode for the duration, lose the headphones.

Why These Nine Famous Thinkers Walked So Much

*¹ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-these-nine-famous-thinkers-walked-so-much/

Why the most famous people in history took long walks

*¹ http://blog.scribblepost.com/why-the-most-famous-people-in-history-took-long-walks/

The healthy effects of walking barefoot

*² http://remedydaily.com/2016/05/06/the-healthy-effects-of-walking-barefoot/

The Discovery of Schumann Resonance

*3 http://www.earthbreathing.co.uk/sr.htm

33rd parallel north

*⁴ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33rd_parallel_north

Dark!

Walking hastily, Latika glanced at the watch on her wrist, it read 2:15 am Sunday morning. The streets wore a desolate look. She reassured herself " 500 metres more and Home sweet home". Her mind kept wandering off all the things that could go wrong. Her mother's words of warning " Don't pass by or look up the banyan tree near Salma's beauty parlour, you would attract unholy spirits". Her father's advice "Don't try to be a hero, scream, shout and run in case you're in trouble". Her friends shared knowledge " Never look back in the dark of the night, if anyone calls your name, just keep on walking"  Her personal phobia of the dark arising from the years of punishment " locked inside a dark restroom, weeping inconsolably". The 500 metres walk felt like a marathon.

Why are we so afraid of the dark?

Why do we shudder when we stand alone engulfed by the dark?

Black is the fabric of choice of the heavenly skies. The stars shine the brightest in the dark. For the first nine months of our lives, we evolved from darkness into the light. If you notice the kind of evolution in the 9 months is nothing short of miraculous as against the slow growth in the first 9 months post birth.

When you are in a hopeless situation and you feel helpless there is one last thing you do " close your eyes and pray to God it's a dream" Closing your eyes is a signal to the mind that you are ready to release control to the autopilot, and the mind takes over.

Sleep in the dark

Researchers always recommend that we sleep in pitch black room to ensure that we rejuvenate every night. There are two essential triggers to a good sleep. One we close our eyes and invite the dark, the second our skin senses the absence of light. The logic being, our skin is photo(light) sensitive. This is a natural age old trigger - darkness outside and darkness within. The pituitary gland situated deep within our heads ( also known as the eye of Shiva or third eye) releases the rejuvenation crew called free radicals. These free radicals in this period of darkness start repairing cell wear and tear. In the presence of a strong light, this process never initiates. Hence we feel lethargic once we wake up when this rejuvenation process is stopped or stalled due to disturbances in sleep.

Complete your sleep

The danger of sleeping light or waking up with a start (using an alarm) resulting in a jerk which wakes you up from a deep sleep, is harmful. The free radicals generally do the rejuvenation and replacement of damaged and dead cells when one is in deep sleep. On a break in this deep sleep pattern, the free radicals do not get time to return to the pituitary gland. That's when these free radicals start attacking and repairing healthy cells. This attack increases the chances of cancer (as per research).

Light and Night

Night and day have an effect on humans far more than we imagine. Night signals sleep across cultures and geographies. Our ancestors used to wake up at the break of dawn or at the crowing of the cock. Breaking this cycle causes havoc. Things like early to bed and early to rise were written to highlight this particular phenomenon. Now let's try to understand the impact of night shifts, overnight parties under neon lights and then staying awake the whole day. The body has no chance to recover, as you have dismissed the recovery crew for the day.

Afternoons

The body also has built-in switches that tell you when you need to sleep. Ignoring these results in a feeling called fatigue. A power nap, a quick rest in the noon does wonders to increase energy levels and concentration spans. The afternoon has such a profound effect on humans. In the noon the sun is at its brightest, the effect of light is at its highest. Our ancestors used to retreat to under the shade of a tree or a cave to reduce the impact of light and heat. Too much light can also drain you out. Hence afternoons are generally low action periods. We feel drowsy post lunch, a trigger by nature to ensure we wait out the noon and get back to activity in the evening.

Physical and Mental Recovery

Recovery is always in the dark or inaction. People who have suffered severe trauma (mental trauma, physical incapacitation etc.) slip into a temporary coma or darkness and have no recollection of the event post waking up. For the pituitary gland to work on overdrive shutting down photosensitive skin sensors is a must. So hence the body enters into a temporary coma, then it gets to repairing the damage.

Latika reaches home and closes the door behind her. She has a sip of water and then recalls the memories of the late evening. Her thoughts rambled to the one memory that made the late night walk in the dark totally worth it - Her first kiss with  Shantanu. She recalled the exact moment how when their lips met "She shut her eyes, her skin tingled at his touch and her breath froze"

Darkness is stronger, 
because light struggles to exist, it needs a source; 
but darkness exists, 
even though it requires nothing.