JohnKowalsky.com
A Self Evolving Site
Renewable Energy
Apr 3rd
Have you ever been so worn out that everything in your life seems mundane or unimportant? No matter what you do, you just can’t get going again?
An abundant source of energy is a must-have to live an enjoyable life and to contribute to the joy of others. When you’re tired, you become more easily irritated and stressed out, which leads to poor relationships and poor health. Left unchecked, it’s all too easy to end up asking what went wrong, with the pieces of what used to be your life scattered all around you. Beside all that, let’s just face it — being run down Sucks!
So what are some ways that you can protect your energy levels?
1. No more coffee. The same goes for energy drinks. 99% of so called energy drinks aren’t actually giving your body energy, they are just stimulating your nervous system. The end result is usually that your body becomes more stressed out and unbalanced and tired. You can’t drug your way out of a problem that is caused by drugs.
2. Eat raw fruits and vegetables. An overwhelming amount of our energy is spent just digesting the cooked foods that we eat. There is a reason you get sleepy and sluggish after you eat a meal. It’s because your body is summoning all available energy to digest the substances you’ve just put into it. Raw food has enzymes in it that help your stomach digest it, thus giving you more energy, not taking energy away. As a plus, you’ll get much more nutrients from raw food, so you won’t have to eat as many calories, and eating less will give you more available energy and extend your life as well.
3. Get more sleep. This is kind of obvious, but all too often we just medicate our way through this with our coffee and red bulls. When you are tired, sleep. If for some reason, you can’t, see above and below.
4. Avoid negativity. This includes negative people. There are some people, you might even call them your friends, that all they do is suck the life energy out of you. They constantly complain and whine about every little thing. You might even be one of those people. All of this negativity zaps your energy faster than running a marathon. Don’t believe me? Try avoiding these people for a week and see how you feel. You don’t have to be snotty about it, but whenever they open their mouths and what they’re saying isn’t positive, just be somewhere else instead. If you’re the negative person, then try avoiding you! Every time you say or think something negative, be somewhere else instead 
5. Exercise. This seems counter-intuitive, but I promise you it works like magic. The more active you are, the more energy you have available and the better you will sleep at night (thus giving you more energy again). I always hear on this one: “I just don’t have time to go to the gym or workout.” Blah, blah, blah. First of all, I wouldn’t recommend you ever go to the gym to workout, especially when you could do it for free and get some fresh air while you’re at it. Secondly, you have just as much time as everyone else in the world. Stop making excuses, you poor little victim, you. ;( (Please read number 4 again, if this victim is you).
The fastest most effective exercises you can do are at home with no equipment. That’s right! You don’t need any equipment at all. You remember what a push-up is right? There are even a hundred different ways to do them, so you never have to get bored either. Throw in some sit-ups, and some squats and you’ve just done a whole body workout in two and a half minutes (if you don’t break in between exercises). That’s a commercial break. Maybe you need a gentler work out? You can do yoga, tai chi, the five tibetan rites, ride a bike, or just go for a walk. Don’t think about exercising, just do it.
Remember, if you’re ever going to take over the world, or the equivalent — raise your kids, then you need to have the instantly available energy to do it. There is no quick fix for constant, steady energy, the only way to have it in your life is to live a lifestyle that cultivates it. Dream that lifestyle, and then make it real. You deserve it.
In A Perfect World
Mar 21st
It was an eye opening day the first time I realized that the world is perfect. Not perfected, just perfect.
The world is perfect for us to grow. We weren’t sent here to eek by or survive, that’s part of some people’s journey. But we are here to grow and become greater than what we were before, just as a child grows to become like his parents.
Instead of seeing the things in your life that you don’t like, that you think of as imperfect, see them as opportunities to grow. Perfect opportunities. Even the withered arm on a crippled man is still a perfectly withered arm. Even pain and suffering are perfect. They exist for us because we have not been perfected yet, and they present the perfect opportunity to transcend them. How to do that… well we’re all learning aren’t we? I believe that once our hearts are perfected our world will be too. As above, so below. As within, so without.
Some people are so weighed down with trying to make it from day to day, or keeping up with the latest fashions, or making their car payments that they have never had that Matrix awakening moment where you realize that this world is not the only one, and indeed it’s a Contested World. It’s our choice whether or not we want our world to be a paradise or a wasteland. We happen to be at the tipping point one way or the other.
How much thought have you given to the world you are helping to create everyday? What kind of world do you want your children to inherit? Most importantly, what are you doing to create that world? Becoming the most successful person in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you raped the planet to get there. If your children have to grow up in an uglier world, what kind of parent are you?
Begin with imagining your Perfected World, what kind of place is it? Where do people live? What is their quality of life? Is everyone equally happy, or is it an elitest world, where only the privledged have the opportunities to pursue happiness? Think about things like our food source… do we put toxic chemicals on our food in the future? What about our houses? What do they look like? Do they get even larger and more separate from their environment, or do they merge together with it? How about our jobs and school system? Do we still work 50 hours a week at jobs that we hate? Or do we get to enjoy our lives and work in the way that we choose? What about money? Do we still have currency, or do we invent something better? Do we become more commercial, consuming more products, or do we have better things to do than watch TV and play video games and surf the internet? How do we travel? Do we ever solve the fossil fuel problem? Do we go electric and solar, or do we invent some new technology? Maybe we fly everywhere instead of drive?
Really think about it. Talk about it with your friends, ask them what kind of world they would create for their children.
Then the fun part… The part that should put a smile on your face, or tell you that you need a new picture of the future, one in which you are smiling… Now that you have a picture of where you are going, you can begin to break that down into small chunks. Just like eating an apple, you can’t eat the whole thing at once, so you take small chunks of it and before you know it, you’ve accomplished your task. In the beginning, this might look like eating low on the food chain (vegetarian), recycling, organic gardening in your yard (or even on the balcony of your apartment). You might keep your old car a little longer so you can save up and buy a hybrid or wait for one of the new electric or hydrogen cars. If you live in the city, maybe you bike to work, or walk a few times a week. If you’re building a new house, maybe you build it off the grid, with solar and wind energy fueling your electric needs. Maybe you avoid toxic chemicals in your household cleaners. Maybe you petition your city to stop drugging your water supply with unnatural chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Maybe you plant some trees on your birthday to counter how much paper products you use each year.
Each and every thing in this world is perfect for you, and with your growth, this perfect world becomes perfected. Create beauty on the inside and beauty will manifest on the outside.
Think about it…
Freedom Through Responsibility
Mar 10th
What if you were to blame for everything that ever happened in your life?
Every parking ticket, every break-up or divorice, every black eye and scar… Every love, every good thing, every victory, every defeat. What if all of these things came about as a direct result of you. What if you were responsible for everything that happens to you?
This is a tough concept for people to be open to, since most people have been raised from birth to be slaves and victims. “It’s not my fault.” How many times a day do you hear that? How many times is it you who’s saying it?
Why claim responsibility for everything in your life? Because that’s the only way that you can do something about your situation. If you are just a leaf floating in the wind, or a piece of wood floating on the ocean than you are and will always be at the mercy of the wind or the sea.
If you are powerless to change your life, it is only because you have given that power away. Most likely, you’ve given it to a hundred different unseen forces (friends, lovers, enemies, tv, advertising, commercialism, bad beliefs). And so, you play the victim, because that’s the path you’ve chosen for yourself in this life.
The way out of the victim lifestyle is to take responsibility for your life. Your boss doesn’t decide how much money you will make, you do. It’s not the cheesecake’s fault it has so many calories, you are the one eating it. It’s not your body’s fault for finally succumbing to the thousands of toxins it’s had to deal with on a daily basis for the last forty years, it’s your fault. It’s not the situation that made you unhappy, it’s you who chose to be unhappy about the situation.
So, what if you were responsible for everything in your life?
Think about it…
The Life or Death of Animals
Mar 3rd
In a recent discussion with a friend, the point was brought up that the death of animals (through killing them for food) is for man’s benefit. However there is much evidence to the contrary. Most of the following scientific facts come from the Pulitzer Prize nominated book, Diet for a New America, by John Robbins.
- Each year in the United States alone, over one hundred million cows, pigs and sheep are killed in slaughterhouses. An additional four billion birds (chickens and turkeys) are slaughtered annually. THE ABOVE STATISTICS REPRESENT A LINE OF DEAD ANIMALS STRETCHING OVER 750,000 MILES — A LINE FAR LONGER THAN THE DISTANCE TO THE MOON AND BACK!
- It is more efficient to eat low on the food chain; when we cycle grain through animals we waste most of the protein and other food values. The population of the United States is: 243,000,000. The number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock is: 1,300,000,000.
- The number of people in the world who will STARVE TO DEATH THIS YEAR: 60 MILLION. The number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their meat intake by 10% is: 60 MILLION.
- Only 20% of the corn grown in the United States is eaten by humans. 80% of the corn grown in the United States is eaten by livestock.
- Only 5% of the oats grown in the United States is eaten by humans. 95% of the oats grown in the United States is eaten by livestock.
- THE PERCENTAGE OF PROTEIN WASTED BY CYCLING GRAIN THROUGH LIVESTOCK IS: 90%
- THE PERCENTAGE OF CARBOHYDRATE WASTED BY CYCLING GRAIN THROUGH LIVESTOCK IS: 99%
- The percentage of dietary fiber WASTED by cycling grain through livestock is: 100%
- HOW FREQUENTLY A CHILD DIES OF STARVATION: EVERY TWO SECONDS.
- Number of children who starve to death EVERY DAY: 40,000
- The length of time the world’s petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate a meat-centered diet: 13 YEARS. The length of time the world’s petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate a vegetarian diet: 260 YEARS.
- 40 pounds of soybeans are produced by the same amount of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef.
- The percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended to produce it) of the most energy efficient factory farming of meat is: 34.5%. The percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended to produce it) of the least energy efficient Plant food is: 328%
- Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf: Dependence on foreign oil.
- The percentage of raw materials consumed in the U.S. for all purposes presently consumed to produce the current meat centered diet is: 33%. The percentage of raw materials consumed in the U.S. for all purposes needed to produce a fully vegetarian diet would be only 2%.
- The number acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-centered diet: 260 MILLION ACRES. Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet: 1 ACRE.
- Historic cause of the demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion. The percentage of U.S. topsoil already lost: 75%. The percentage of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4 million acres, the size of Connecticut! THE PERCENTAGE OF U.S. TOPSOIL LOSS DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH LIVESTOCK RAISING: 85%
- OVER 50% OF ALL WATER USED FOR ALL PURPOSES IN THE UNITED STATES IS USED FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION.
- The water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat is: 25 gallons. The water needed to produce 1 pound of meat is: 2,500 gallons.
- The cost of common hamburger meat if the water used by the meat industry was not subsidized by U.S. taxpayers: $35 per pound.
- The cost per pound of protein from beefsteak if U.S. taxpayers ceased subsidizing the meat industry’s use of water: $89
- The current cost per pound of protein from wheat: $1.50. The current cost per pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40
- IT TAKES A HUNDRED TIMES MORE WATER TO PRODUCE MEAT PROTEIN THAN VEGETARIAN PROTEIN. One chicken slaughterhouse can use 100 million gallons of water — enough to serve a community of 25,000 persons — in a single day.
- The number of medical schools in the U.S. is: 125. The number of medical schools with a required course in nutrition is: 30. The training in nutrition received during 4 years of medical school by the average U.S. physician is: 2.5 hours!
- The most common cause of death in the U.S. is: Heart attack. The risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50%. The risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man: 15%. The risk of death from heart attack by average “pure vegetarian” man (“vegan” – no dairy, meat or eggs) is: 4%.
- Increased risk of breast cancer for women with heavy meat diet compared to vegetarian women: 400%
- Men with heavy meat diet are 360% more likely to die of prostate cancer than vegetarian men.
- The average measurable bone loss of female meat-eaters at age 65: 35%. The average measurable bone loss of female vegetarians at age 65: 18%.
- THE DISEASES WHICH ARE COMMONLY PREVENTED, CONSISTENTLY IMPROVED, AND SOMETIMES CURED BY A LOW-FAT VEGETARIAN DIET INCLUDE: Strokes, Kidney stones, Prostate cancer, Cervical cancer, Diabetes, Peptic ulcers, Hiatal hernias, Gallstones, Irritable colon syndrome, Heart disease, Breast cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Stomach cancer, Hypoglycemia. Constipation, Osteoporosis, Diverticulosis, Hypertension, Salmonellosis, Colon cancer, Ovarian cancer, Endometrial cancer, Kidney disease, Hemorrhoids, Obesity, Asthma and Trichinosis.
- The breast milk of meat-eating mothers has 3,500% more pesticide contamination than the breast milk of vegetarian mothers.
- Less than 1 out of every quarter million slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues.
- Percentage of male college students sterile in l950: 0.5%. Percentage of male college students sterile in 1978: 25% Sperm count of average American male compared to 30 years ago: Down 30%. THE PRINCIPLE REASON FOR SPERM COUNT REDUCTION AND STERILITY IN U.S. MALES IS DIETARY INTAKE OF CHLORINATED HYDROCARBON PESTICIDES. 94% of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the American diet comes from meat and other animal products.
It’s been said that hurt comes to the hurtful… perhaps we should start being less hurtful to the animals of this planet. The quality of life for everyone on the planet would improve as well.
Think about it…
