Health

Inspiration shot April 2024

I had already written an inspiration shot about health (“What is health anyway? Traditionally, health is often seen as the absence of disease, but is that all?”) when I got dengue fever, high fever and excruciating pain in all my bones and joints, during my writing retreat in Curaçao. That brought me face to face with how even those little things that we normally take for granted are not so common at all. Things that normally don’t cost you energy, such as talking or eating, or being awake or lifting your head… In this inspiration shot we look at health.

Seeing through the eyes of dengue

Exactly two years ago I also fell ill in the middle of my writing retreat in Curaçao. Then I had corona for the first time. I wrote a full inspiration shot about the lessons I learned from it. This time around, being ill gave me great insights again.

At first, I was just sick and because of the fever, I couldn’t think about anything, only sleep. When I felt a little bit better, I started watching Netflix, just sitting and ‘waiting’ for it to be over. As a result, I actually used up all my reserves, which was not good for my body. After that I tried to ‘be in the moment’, to appreciate this unique time in which you actually float between two worlds; between consciousness and unconsciousness. I tried to enjoy that ‘no man’s land’. I also experienced that during my MDMA experience. When you are between sleeping and waking; it is actually very special if you can be aware of that consciously. So now I try to move with the disease and what it offers, instead of waiting until it’s over and then doing stupid things.

What does dengue do to your head? If someone asks you, ‘do you want a cup of coffee or tea?’, you just don’t know what to answer… (even though you never drink coffee.) Just the whole idea of having to think about it; am I thirsty and do I want something, that just doesn’t work.

Normally, I have a huge to-do list before a flight. Now my only goal was to survive the flight from Curaçao to Amsterdam. That gives so much more peace. Expectation management. Instead of trying to sleep, but not succeeding: trying to relax, breathing. Be with the discomfort.

I am still tested every day. I want to be better, but my head isn’t working yet. So just be patient…

A different view on nutrition

Amanda @rawfitnessandnutrition is one of the experts I met through the Dynamite Circle. She helps others adopt a healthy lifestyle. Not only by eating differently (eating as much pure food as possible, much more protein than you think, no snacks in between, and only eating when you’re hungry), but also how to expose yourself to light and many more unexpected – but completely logical – factors. Super interesting to follow her on social media, good tips guaranteed! What surprises me most at the moment is that I can’t eat consciously. Amanda recommends that you ‘pray’ or give thanks before eating and then eat slowly, consciously and chew thoroughly. I resolve this every day, for weeks now. I eat at least three times a day, and I still haven’t managed it! I seem to fall into some kind of trance when I come near food. It’s gone before I remember my intention. So interesting! Curious about your experiences with this.

P.S. Amanda offers her free guide “The 4 fat loss mistakes you are probably making (and what you should do instead)”.

Are your eyes also elongating?

A year ago, out of the blue, I suddenly developed a split retina in one eye, causing me to lose some vision. No one could tell me why this could have happened, so suddenly. I started looking into it and it could have something to do with the deformation of our eyes: if you look at screens a lot, your eyes become longer instead of round, which can cause retinal detachment and other serious problems. In short; Our modern lifestyle – constantly focused on screens – disrupts our natural state of being. Our eyes are simply not made to look up close all the time. Therefore, regularly alternate at least 5 minutes with another activity, preferably walking outside, with your eyes on the horizon. Experts say every 30 minutes, more practical is at least once an hour. This experience also emphasizes the need for balance and how crucial it is to spend time in nature and take time to relax, to literally and figuratively broaden our view.

Coincidentally, I discovered this podcast about it. “Body Electric Part 3: Why Our Eyes Are Elongating”

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