InnerSights: Retraining Senses, Nurturing Intuition, Finding Your Rhythm
Wisdom beyond data
While I endeavor to bring you the latest, most pertinent, researched longevity news and ideas, I also have a growing collection of insights born from decades of simply striving to be healthy — no white papers, no data, no statistics. I hope you find some helpful life lessons in InnerSights, a new Ageosophy feature.
Retrain Your Taste and Senses
The other morning, as I ate my little bowl of sprouted nuts, I remembered a time in the 90s when it was common for me to be sprinting to the west side of LA at 6:30 AM while gobbling down a “low-fat” muffin for breakfast and eating a low-calorie frozen entree (heated in a microwave, no less) at my desk for lunch – all the while convinced I was being “healthy.” Overweight, sluggish, and unhappy, I decided to make a change. Inspired by the bestselling Zone diet, I shifted to whole foods by shopping the supermarket perimeter, simplified my culinary expectations, and retrained my tastes.
It was a powerful and life-changing lesson. The modern world has taken us far, far away from our ancestral roots, lulling our taste and senses into complacency. We crave sugary foods, accept cloying chemical fragrances, and are seduced by unnaturally bright colors and enticing packaging. Although it’s difficult to fight against, believe me, it’s a winnable war.
We can retrain our senses by eliminating and swapping offending items with ones that are beneficial, rather than detrimental. Trade ultra-processed foods laden with hidden sugars for simply prepared whole, fresh food; use minimal ingredients and all-natural, fragrance-free products instead of heavily fragranced, synthetic chemicals; and adjust our expectations to savor simple flavors, sights, and smells.
Once your body becomes accustomed to functioning as nature intended, the tastes and smells that were once appealing will lose their allure. Your new reward will be how much better you feel and how much healthier you are.
I know firsthand that this is possible. It changes everything, and if I can do it, so can you.
Nurture Intuition
College was my first time living away from home: 500 miles away, to be exact. Art Center was unlike other colleges; it had no dormitories, no arranged housing, and no formally organized assistance. Most out-of-town students rented apartments, which were relatively expensive in the immediate neighboring cities. My barely affordable, well-worn apartment was a few towns away in a not-so-great neighborhood, and this first foray from home was difficult.
I checked in with my mom often, but on one particular day, I had tried multiple times to reach her without any luck, which struck me as very odd because she was always at the small printing business that she owned. My apartment was situated close to the complex entrance’s noisy gate, which was constantly creaking open and clanging shut. Although I had grown accustomed to the annoying sound, that evening when I heard the familiar squeak and clang, I immediately thought it was my mom. As crazy as it sounds, I was right.
My thoughtful mom wanted to surprise me and help out for a few days. I have often reflected on that magical moment when I knew in my gut it was her: it was an illogical conclusion, but my intuition knew it was true. Since then, there have been times I didn’t listen to the little voice in my head, and it has always been to my detriment. In contrast, the times I have heeded the warning bells have been to my benefit.
Our intuition is an essential guide for navigating an increasingly complex information landscape, but we need to nurture and safeguard it. But between social media and an incomprehensible amount of material a keystroke away, it’s easy to accept and follow whatever the algorithm suggests…but we don’t have to. We have control over our initial reactions if we strengthen our inner fortitude.
I have found that limiting the information overload frees up bandwidth to think. So, put your devices down and walk away from the screens from time to time. Carve out time for nothingness; it cultivates curiosity, which is essential for wonder. Do simple mental calculations and don’t outsource your reasoning. Exercise your natural faculties. Purposeful contemplation quiets the noise.
Cumulatively, this will create space for instinct over information.
Find Your Rhythm
Well-known longevity researcher, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, and Lifespan author Dr. David Sinclair advocates time-restricted eating as a powerful longevity tool. His habit is to fast all day until dinner, his one meal of the day. I’ve read his book, listened to him on podcasts, and I greatly value his research and theories, which make total sense to me…except, I can’t for the life of me adopt his one-time-meal-at-dinner protocol. It just doesn’t work for me.
And you know what? That’s ok. I am a morning person. I need to eat to breakfast and lunch, but after about 2:00 PM I can totally handle abstaining for the rest of the day. Thankfully, I have found a handful of studies and health experts who concur with this habit, some going so far as to say that women must eat within 30 minutes of waking — a far cry from fasting until dinner. Does that mean Dr. Sinclair is wrong? Not at all. His basic theory is sound; I just apply it differently.
Therein lies the conundrum. I realize that for many, a contradiction like this could result in paralysis by analysis. Sometimes it is a pain point for me as well. There are just too many alternatives with equally strong reasoning. Which diet to follow, which exercise is best, how to sleep better…the list goes on and on.
To avoid the whiplash of conflicting opinions, I use my intuitive sense and rhythm when evaluating information. I’m willing to try different modalities to discern what works best for me, while still being effective. I’ve discovered that the best longevity lifestyle habits are the ones that marry with my natural cadence. These are the ones I can stick to…such as eating breakfast and lunch, and fasting the rest of the day.
Embrace your natural rhythm to live well, age great.