Hygienism is not just about detoxifying cells and providing them with a favorable environment (oxygen, nutrients, etc.), it is also about purging destructive thoughts and emotions.
Reminders on the essence of hygienism
Through the article “Definitions of hygienism” I have overviewed all the natural health practices that allow one to take care of their being as a whole. However, the approach was focused on the physical body, and this complementary article aims to shed light on the other bodies: mental, emotional, and energetic.
As a reminder, a practice or substance is qualified as “hygienic” if it participates in the natural mechanisms of life such as homeostasis and hormesis. These are innate mechanisms that can be observed in nature and thus serve as natural Laws. This is why they are also called Laws of the living. For comparison, it is amusing to observe that in Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”, the proper observance of The Law guarantees animals peace and harmony in the forest. It is also written that all animals conform to The Law except for one, the monkey, the animal closest to us. Is it then a coincidence that we have become masters in the art of not bowing to nature? Has nature itself ultimately favored our predispositions to thwart the established order? Perhaps to ultimately appreciate it even more…
Indeed, following the Laws of the living confers a state of being free from conflicts, diseases, and a harmonious body. This is a theoretical state referred to as “Optimal Health” that all wild animals living in a preserved natural environment know. However, encountering illness is not the best way to appreciate health and bow to the wonderful beauty of life?
The attentive observation of nature and listening to our feelings are the main sources of all wisdom, and we have everything to gain by seeking answers within ourselves, where everything is present. You may be wondering, what is the right environment to live in? What is the most suitable diet for humans? The answers, according to this spiritual approach, are that a good place to live is where you do not need heating in winter, and the foods that suit us are those we can catch and eat without artifices such as weapons or fire, these precursors of processed food. A “reasoned diet” (that is to say, one that will bring benefits) is a diet that is less concentrated in toxins than the cellular environment, as it allows the organism to gradually regenerate. That is why our food cravings are the barometer of our cellular state. How do we know if we are on the right path? It is the case when we observe our diet lightening (tending towards raw plant-based) and simplifying (with fewer mixtures) year after year.
However, it would be simplistic to consider that for a human being, having a lifestyle that optimally supports the various organic functions, those that tend towards optimal health, guarantees, as is sometimes heard, a life free from conflicts and diseases. As Dr. Robert Morse says (cf “The Detox Miracle Sourcebook: Raw Foods and Herbs for Complete Cellular Regeneration”): “To enjoy a state of optimal health and vitality, it is necessary to cleanse (detoxify) your body, your mind, and your emotions, and thus you will free yourself.” This is what we will explore in the continuation of this article.
Our different bodies to agree upon
The human body consists of a physical body (visible in matter, and still partially to the naked eye) and other so-called subtle bodies because they are not visible (such as the mental body, emotional body, and other energetic bodies). It is indeed on this supposed representation of our different bodies that the observed benefits of “magnetism” or laying on of hands are based. The widespread use of this type of care since time immemorial is not the only element that lends credibility to the existence of these subtle bodies. In the wonderful book “The Secret Life of Plants” by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, it is demonstrated through numerous experiments that plants have the ability to memorize information and feel emotions (or at least an equivalent) even though they do not possess a nervous system. This could be explained by the presence of a mental and emotional body that every living being would possess regardless of its biological constitution.
All these bodies would be interconnected, and the state of one would influence the state of the others. For this reason, the practice of hygienism, by bringing life to the physical body, will “move” the other bodies and vice versa. The physical body can also be seen as the crystallization, in matter, of all the other planes & states that constitute the incarnation of the Spirit. This explains why, as Jacques Martel has admirably detailed in “The Great Dictionary of Disease”, each disease has its mental, emotional, and energetic correspondence. Thus, changing the way one thinks, reacts, sees the world, etc., will positively impact the physical body through various biological mechanisms, many of which are linked to the immune system.
You have probably noticed that we live in a particular time with great changes that we struggle to conform to because they disrupt our belief system inherited from childhood and even before. Our belief system, at an energetic level, is as stable and structuring as the skeleton is to our physical body. The current period shakes us up because we must update our old beliefs about ourselves, about life, about the order of the world, etc. This involves the gradual rectification of our energetic structures, with its share of consequences on the physical body to better allow the light of our essence to pass through. This alchemical process (in reference to the different works) does not happen without certain ruptures in our lives that are part of the natural order of events. That is why, in my opinion, it is necessary to optimize and harmonize all our bodies without leaving one behind. Otherwise, we might have the false impression that nothing works.
In light of all these considerations, it is clear that a sensible lifestyle cannot be limited to that of the physical body. We will now see concretely an introduction to what I call “Holistic and Humanist Hygienism, the 3H.
5 plans to harmonize for radiant health
Plan 1: The environment and habitat
- Live amidst preserved and rejuvenating nature.
- Limit sources of pollution (water, air, light waves, sound, etc.).
- Have a house connected to the earth (cf this article on grounding) and arranged according to the art of Feng Shui.
Plan 2: The physical body
- Care for breathing, nutrition, rest, and eliminations, the 4 pillars of health.
- Practice hormesis, movement (essential daily), and other hygienist techniques that we need day to day.
- Be physically touched
- Seminal retention (for men) to preserve creative energy.
- Spend time in contact with nature and the elements.
- Avoid all synthetic substances, including those that can be applied to the skin.
Plan 3: The mental body
- Develop intellectual honesty, critical thinking, curiosity, non-judgment, common sense, logic, coherence, be in a search for truth, inform oneself, question oneself, cultivate positive thoughts, etc.
- Do not feed ruminations, obscurantism, dogmatism, non-responsibility or victimization, conditioning, cynicism, narcissism, misinformation (the media), pornography, etc.
Plan 4: The emotional body
- Learn to know oneself (cf article 5 wounds), to welcome one’s emotions, equanimity, acceptance, forgiveness, unconditional love, etc.
- Cultivate gratitude, service, wonder, quality connections with the living (humans, animals, plants, minerals, spirits).
- Give oneself love, gentleness, listening, empathy, and compassion.
- Find within oneself what one needs, everything is inside.
- Learn to be true rather than nice (cf Nonviolent Communication).
- Know one’s needs and limits.
Plan 5: The other energetic bodies
- Develop faith or trust in life, consider that there is a higher order that divinely guides the great dance of life (cf the article “Are we guided by life?”).
- Cultivate a spiritual life.
- Align one’s body, mind (head), and emotions (heart); align one’s dreams, thoughts, words, and actions.
- Be on one’s life path.
- Free oneself from certain ties, attachments, parasitism & memories.
Practices that benefit all bodies
According to my experience, the following hygienist practices are beneficial to all bodies and their use brings significant benefits:
- Meditation
- Fasting
- Cold bath or cold shower
- Living Nutrition
- Singing and music
- Connection (heart to heart) to the living
- Movement
- Rest and contemplation
Conclusion
Lifestyle hygiene cannot be reduced to a list of bodily precepts, even if their effectiveness is undeniable. This is for at least two reasons:
- We are at a point in human history where our organisms have reached an unprecedented level of intoxication, even at the core of our cells. That is why it is not feasible for the majority of us to cleanse a body in a single lifetime (see the article on the limits of hygienism).
- Since the dawn of time, our education and culture have been filled with erroneous information, bad habits, even at the heart of many sayings & some philosophies. That is why our mental and emotional bodies also need cleansing in the same proportions as the physical body. Moreover, many signs indicate that this information may be stored at the level of toxins, which would explain why we can relive certain strong emotional states during detox.
And it is not because hygienism and its constraints (to be weighed against all its advantages) do not yield all the expected results that the direction taken is not the right one. As Dr. Morse, a biochemist who has produced colossal work on Living Nutrition and detoxification, says: “If we seek true healing, health, and vitality, we must think in terms of cells. Healing can only occur at the cellular level if one desires real and lasting health and vitality.”
We all seek the cessation of suffering and access to better health. This is the promise not always admitted but in any case implicit in naturopathy and hygienism. So, what disillusionment when the results are not there despite the efforts made. However, I know of no other paths, and I do not believe in miracle solutions. Since the cleansing work on all levels will not end in this life, it is therefore vain to want to escape illness which, on a certain level, is not the problem but the solution. On the other hand, hygienism grants us the grace of no longer fearing it, of understanding it, and of knowing the tools to truly support our body when it goes through a healing crisis, without being in denial of what is happening inside (by suppressing symptoms with medication), nor in victimization (it’s genetic).
Given the current state of our organisms, we cannot consider Living Nutrition & hygienism as a method to no longer be sick and live in peace until the end of time. That is probably what awaits us once we are dead. However, we have access to an incomparable natural method to reconnect with ourselves, with nature, and with the living. It is in this that hygienism inevitably heals us. The physical healings that are observed are nonetheless very real and even frequent, but I see them more as collateral benefits of following a spiritual path of which the body, this temple of the soul, would be the gateway.
So? Disappointed? Might as well go eat a “good” pizza or beer with family or friends to “treat yourself”? Why not, if it doesn’t make you sick! Personally, I do not enter into that scheme either because I do not see how something undesirable for the physical body could bring me overall well-being. An opinion not popular at all, I know, it is so much simpler to say that eating consciously will be okay for the body. However, I am aware of the addictive mechanisms and the automatism that hide behind these “friendly” habits.
I am learning to find conviviality elsewhere, by developing this quality of connection with the living that I mentioned earlier, and I discover joys of which I was unaware. Not everything is rosy, but it is my path, the one I cherish and that speaks to my heart. And the right path, since none is ideal, is indeed the one that contributes to true joy. That is our share of responsibility amid all these theories on health and nutrition: to carve out the path that is ours, and to access the holy grail, when the head, heart, and body are in harmony and we taste a delightful feeling of inner peace.
To go further
- Read the article: Living Nutrition and vibrational frequency
