Paramahansa Yogananda was to the westernization of Eastern religious thought what L. Ron Hubbard was to the Hollywoodification of religion overall. In the 1920s, Paramahansa Yogananda began to make Hinduism cool, which paved the way for all sorts of ridiculous shit, such as American Buddhism (which is laughable, considering that these hippies are STILL scratching the herpes sores they first received in the late 1960s, thanks to hedonism run amok). Anyway...
I remember reading the yogi's "Man's Eternal Quest" in my late teens, and I was struck by how goddamn awesome he was and how much contempt I had for him - mainly because I didn't believe a word he said, and also because I was not awesome.
I was weak. I was an addict. Addicted to everything I ever touched. Paramahansa Yogananda was all about self control, and I had none.
On one hand, I tend to dismiss all things Eastern because I hate China. But on the other hand, I'd like to believe that every human is capable of really controlling himself or herself. ALL of us...without sacrificing who we are.
I bring this up because I am getting fat (in relative terms). I'm 6'1", and I usually weigh about 190. I have cracked the 200 mark (which I have not done since 2003), and I am not fucking happy about it.
I know why I've put on weight. It's obvious: I quit dipping, and the only thing that has made me feel any better is eating.
Even knowing that food will make me feel better, I still haven't eaten everything I've wanted whenever I've wanted. I still try to moderate my intake. I try to exhibit self control.
But I am starting to think that I need to do what I always do: all or nothing. I either need to get on the food wagon or get off it. I should either eat like a lowly Five Points hooker or go back to the nutrition regime I usually follow (and then some).
I'm really torn.
Eat healthy, have a cup or two of coffee in the morning, and a cup or two in the afternoon. Actually, this has helped the "FUUUUCK! Can't go to the bathroom!" issue with me. I'm on two ritalin per day for ADD, and I usually have an incredibly stiff dose of caffeine in the morning, one at lunch, and sit and drink herbal tea to calm down before bed at night.
I'm finding I don't go although I know I should. I don't get that "Ahem. I'm nature. I'm calling." feeling. I just know it's going on. I always say to myself "Nah. Just imagining things." Six hours later, I get "I'M NATURE! I'M CALLING GOD DAMMIT! You have around 30 seconds before you commit the social faux pax of the millennium, the dreaded brown rain of doom. What are you waiting for? RUN, damn you!"
Aside from that VERY unpleasant side effect, I'm finding that my weight is stable at 225. Since I came home September of last year, I'm at 225, compared with the 28X (Whatever it was. Two-eighty-something-or-other) that I was when I walked back through that door. I lost a good twenty pounds in the last month. Part of it was starting dipping again... Then I quit, gained five pounds back. Then I actually bothered to take my ritalin instead of going on-and-off with it like a moron.
My weight started to drop... Then I got ahold of Mt. Dew and coffee, and then Monster (bad idea, but still fun as hell) and my weight started to plummet. Now I'm having trouble losing more. Exercize moar! I find that, oddly enough, I have almost no appetite now. Strange, isn't it?
Watch your diet and do some cardio/muscle building exercises, and you'll probably be good. One night I mowed over an acre of yard with a pushmower in 85* heat, and I found I was three pounds lower the next day. I said "No, not all water weight. I haven't had more than 24 oz. of water to drink per day in the last three... I wanted to lose more weight, but... Damn... That was quick."
Good luck to you, brother.
I'm a Christian man, but I find some very interesting things in eastern philosophy. Not "WOW THIS IS THE MEANING OF LIFE!" interesting, but still... interesting...
