Mental work causes hunger... The "Mind" in TCM

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gratefuldeb67
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Mental work causes hunger... The "Mind" in TCM

Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Sep 07, 2005 2:05 pm

Hello there!
I'm out of my worried state and now able to think better, so I decided to address Sibyl's query about why her hunger, all of a sudden, increased when she had to go back to work....
Nota Bene: This is quite long, and it might be confusing, though I hope not.. So, go and get your coffee ready! :lol:

It also may challenge some peoples personal belief systems, so feel free to read it with a grain of salt, (or not at all...) I love this subject, but it might bore your to tears (again hope not! LOL...)... My goal isn't to confuse, but to present a view which, though very foreign, is very fascinating... :D

As most of you know already my personal hobby is using my knowledge of the Eastern view of the body, and it's functional relationships...
I see correlations in my work as a massage therapist that are so incredible, they can't simply be coincidences, so I have complete faith that these relationships are real...

Every organ in our body has more than a structural relationship, according to ancient Chinese wisdom! The reason it's so fascinating to me, is that everything is included in this picture of health, not just the physical... Our emotions, and psychological, and even ethereal beings are connected...
Well did I confuse of scare you yet??? LOL... I'll just get to the point! LOL..

In TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) the "Mind" can be found in a few places... The brain, is considered to be an offshoot of the Kidney Chi we are all born with, and a manifestation of this Chi, aka "Jing"... So, our brains, are definitely circutry, which needs to function, but it's not the seat of the "Mind".... (have you ever wondered what the mind is anyway? LOL It's a pretty interesting concept here, so suspend your disbelief for two minutes....) Keep in mind that all my quoted stuff ahead is all a rough approximation of translation from the Chinese concepts, so that may be a bit strange at first...

Infact, the brain is simply referred to as "The Sea of Marrow"... This makes sense when you realize most of the people got their information after watching terrible battles where people got hurt and their brains were hanging out of the skull ( a big bunch of bones) and saw that it was attached to the spinal cord, (also encased in a bunch of vertebrae) and figured, "okay, so it's marrow"....

Now back to hunger.... The Mind has two generic divisions in this system...
One is the Spiritual "Mind", and one is the cogitive or, thinking, "Mind"...
The Spiritual mind is called our "Shen"... This is actually moving around through our body, as carried by the Blood...
So it's found, pretty much everywhere, but especially in certain organs...

The Heart "Houses the Shen", but the Spleen, which actually is involved in the transformation of food to Blood, is the "Residence of Thought"...
When you think about it (no pun intended.. heh) it's pretty hard to think clearly when you've got lot's of "mental work" in front of you, without having some food... It helps our concentration... It then goes to reason, that when you have a lot of work, you then may become very hungry...
When you are worried, as well, you may crave sweets, because the emotional component of the Spleen is "Pensiveness"...when there's too much of that, it could be renamed "Worry"...
I know that if I have a really big task at hand, which involves a lot of thinking, like when I used to have to write term papers, and take exams every week, and such, I was constantly craving sugar!

It's also, no coincidence that "worryworts" and "neurotics" tend to obsess about food and also be the ones who have the "Stomach and Spleen" issues....(ie: eating problems...) When there is too much of any emotion and it becomes really out of balance, it causes physical disharmonies and imbalances... This is where we really need to tip all our hats to Reinhard, because NOS takes the worry out of the picture and in both a physical and mental way, improves the overall quality of our food experience!
Yay!!!!

So, in addition to possibly being bored to tears, at work, and thinking of food as a means of breaking up the monotony! LOL, I am proposing this idea as an addtional way of answering the question about hunger, in Sibyl's recent thread...

I agree with Justin as well, that the body might not recognize a "hungry stomach" when walking all over Vancouver, because, at least from a Western explanation, the sympathetic nervous system is chugging along when we exercise (Fight or Flight) and it's only when we stop running around again for a few minutes and relax that our parasympathetic nervous system, (Rest and Digest) can then kick in... They don't function well together... another reason to listen to your Mom when she tells you to wait twenty minutes to go swimming after lunch!

I don't know what your type of work is Sibyl, but if it's not a purely physical type of job, like a carpenter or landscaper, or professional athelete, you are probably doing a fair bit of mental work, and this, I believe, may be the main factor in your hunger... If I eat the exact same breakfast every day, it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be enough for me, depending on what I am doing that day... Our lives affect our physical bodies and vice versa... It's a yin yang/chicken egg, sort of deal....
Cool!
Are you all hungry from reading this now??? LOL....
Did I mentally fatigue you!?? ( Kevin??? LOL..)
Where's that donut??? LOL...
Hee...
Sibyl? Any light bulbs go on here??? :D
Have a great day all and remember, when you are eating, to
*not worry* or think!!!! Just relax and focus on enjoying your food!

Peace and Love,
8) Deb

cvmom
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Post by cvmom » Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:51 pm

Deb:

This is not boring. It is quite interesting. Our bodies are in a constant state of change so it stands to reason that our patterns of hunger change throughout our lives.

I have found out that in doing the dirty deed (exercise) everyday that I am a little hungrier.

Also your reference to worry and pensiveness makes sense. When we moved house two years ago I was shoving things into my mouth constantly. I think Escrow makes you gain weight. LOL

So my question to you is: how do we seek balance in our lives? No S is healing and so is exercise. What about other forms of self -care? Massage? Prayer? Healthy relationships?

Let's get the Chi flowing baby!!!!!!!

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sibyl
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Location: Guelph, ON

Post by sibyl » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:16 pm

:lol:
Wow, Deb, I didn't realize my little problem would turn into such a long (and interesting) post.

Nope, all I do at work all day is sit in front of the computer and run reports and push paper. None of it is physical, unless you could running to the printer to grab your stuff before someone else does, and its not very intellectual either. By the end of the day, sometimes earlier, I am bored to somnolence.

Well, at least you've given me something to think about for the rest of the day, which is a good thing. :wink:
"I have no idea what you're talking about, so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head".

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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:22 pm

Ha ha ha ha!!!
Thanks Sibyl! Sorry you have such a boring job! :P
Glad you liked the post! :wink:
Love,
8) Deb

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