Regardless of of lies people tell themselves and others, fear is the main force preventing positive change in the world. Fear of consequences from "authority", fear of less comfort, fear of losing the ability to provide for your family, fear of the opinions of others; fear of fear. The reality of this matter is that positive change is easier to maintain than a lie and living within your own power is more secure than handing it over to others to delegate back to you.

I have compiled a list of 10 ways to take your power back and unplug from the matrix. Although many may seem trivial, I encourage you to give any, or all, of them a try for 3 weeks minimum and judge the results for yourself. No cheat days, no "rewarding" yourself - a 100% commitment. I recommend giving any life-style change a minimum of 3 weeks. If you are beginning to achieve the end you are seeking, take it to 3 months and go from there. Don't take my word for it, don't take someone else'. You can find the information online to prove any theory you see fit, results speak louder than theories. I guarantee; if any one of these solutions does not improve your standard of living and increase your power over your own life, it is because you have not given it 100% or you have "cheated" on yourself.

^Source

The Decad Of Taking Your Power Back

Unfortunately there is no magic potion you can drink or political official you can count on to improve your state of being. There is no quick-fix to health, wealth and freedom. The only way to obtain something is to take the steps required to do so. You can not rub two sticks together and expect to eventually produce ice-cubes, the laws of our universe dictate otherwise. As such, is it not futile to expect that we can continue on our current path as a society and obtain a state different than that in which we currently exist?

If you are happy with the way everything in the world is, this post is not for you. If you are interested in ways to positively impact the world around you through improving your own state of existence, you've come to the right place. I won't claim to have all the answers but I do have some. Take what resonates with you and leave the rest. Feel free to make some contributions in the comments below, I'm always looking for new life-hacks.

1. Improve Your Diet

• Giving your body the proper fuels it needs to function seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, most of us are not truly educated on our bodies nutritional requirements and much of the food we consume is virtually devoid of nutrients. Taking into account Ayurvedic Medicine, the nutrition requirements of individuals varies from person to person. Nutrition is definitely best evaluated on an individual basis, by the individual. Do your own research and incorporate what works best for your physiology - without lying to yourself.

• Any diet change will inevitably result in an initial reaction from your body. This will usually include excessive gas and bowel movements, feeling hungry more frequently or sooner after meals, acne, sweating (especially while sleeping), possible mood variations and more. Many people conveniently take these to be signs that your body does not agree with your new diet choices. The fact is that this is typically your body beginning to heal the damage already endured and expel the toxins already present, not a negative reaction to a healthy change. The trick is to push past this and remember: anything worth doing takes time and effort and you can not repair years of unhealthy living in a few days. Don't fool yourself by "rewarding" yourself with an unhealthy meal or cheat day, every time you do this you are back to square one.

^{Photo: Jay Anarchon}

Some easy ways to improve your diet are;

• Cut out processed food completely. If you can not pronounce, or do not understand what an ingredient is, chances are it's bad for you.
• Buy organic/local whenever possible. Buying organic is great but this is another subject that necessitates research and and wisdom. Organic produce that is imported may have been sprayed in transport or cross contaminated. Sometimes local is better.
• Reduce meat/dairy consumption. Even if you choose to consume animal products, the science is in on the fact that we should not be consuming meat at the level most North Americans currently are. That being said, do your research and listen to your body honestly. If you choose to eat meat, acquire it from local free-range producers. Don't forget to get your protein and fats from good clean plant sources, this is one thing lacking in many veggie-based or meat-reduced diets. I shoot for about 30% protein sources, with some exceptions.
• Do not drink fluoridated water. It is proposed that the first place fluoride was introduced into a drinking water supply was in the Nazi concentration camps. Some anti-depressants are fluoride based, such as Prozac. It's okay, it's good for your teeth - but only if you live in the U.S. or Canada, not the E.U. Reverse osmosis is affordable and recommended. I got my system with 1 year of filters for a little over $200.00 CAD.

Although specific individual requirements may vary, every human can benefit from the improvements listed above.

2. Take Control Of Your Physiology

• While improving your diet, it is important to recognize the power you have over your own cellular biology and begin to use these resources to improve your physical being. I am constantly recommending the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton on this regard. Become physically active, but ease in slowly if you are not already in a healthy physical condition. No gym membership required, calisthenics and H.I.I.T. training are great places to start. Be sure to include full body stretching on a daily basis and always listen to your body in regards to pain and improvement. A good pair of shoes can go a long way in reducing knee and back pain from cardio.

^Source

3. Meditate

• Without getting all metaphysical about this one, think of it simply as a brief period each day when you can focus on and visualize your goals and desired states. A time when you can forget about everything else and get in touch with yourself. Begin to realize where you need to make changes and confront issues you may not have in the past. Give yourself 5 - 10 minutes a day and feel the difference!

4. Set Goals

• Analyze yourself and your world-view, make changes as required.
• Set yourself real goals, written on paper in the present hence and try to be specific. E.g: Do not write "I will have a successful clothing business", but rather "I have a successful clothing business that focuses on up-cycling old clothing". Read your goals aloud in the affirmative every day.
• Be flexible, remember these are your goals and you can change them as you please but do not become easily discourage and never give up on something you are passionate about.

5. Stop Consuming Mainstream Media & Entertainment

• This is a tough one for many people as mainstream media includes social media platforms such as facebook. Unplug yourself and limit the amount you check emails and how much time you spend online. Don't watch news or cable TV with commercials at all if possible. Take control of what you feed your brain by selectively choosing what you put into your mind and when.

• This will improve over-all mental health, free up more time for other life-style enhancing changes and may allow you to knock a cable bill of your monthly expenses...

^Source

6. Reduce Your Expenses

• Many people accumulate new services and bills throughout the year without evaluating their expenses as whole. If you're like me (a few years ago anyway), you may have never sat down and evaluated your expenses. My attitude was "I'll just make more money". You may find there are many ways to reduce your expenses with little to no effect on your standard of living, or even better - an improvement.

Here's a great example: Me and my partner discovered when we crunched the numbers that she was only making a few hundred per month above the cost of her vehicle (which she really only needed to get to work and back) working 20-30 hours per week. We lost the second vehicle, she now works 3 hours per week and actually comes out with almost double the income she made before. Just by getting rid of a vehicle we did not need and finding a part-time job with a better time-to-pay ratio, she pretty much doubled her income while gaining almost all of her time back.

It makes me wonder, how many families have both parents working, which requires a second vehicle and child care? How many families would find that with the expenses of having no one at home, they are trading their lives for a few hundred dollars per month? Many people miss things when they calculate expenses. They think their vehicle costs them what the payment is plus insurance. What about fuel, maintenance, car washes and devaluation of the vehicle over time? When calculating what you make at your job, don't forget to include travel time and how much of your day you spend getting ready. Are you too tired after work to do anything else? Just because your employer does not value your time enough to compensate you for this, does that mean you do not value your time? I would average out your pay over the actual amount of time your job consumes. This give you a true picture of how much you are profiting and what you are trading.

Be proactive in evaluating your earnings and expenses and don't be afraid to make changes.

• Cutting out processed food and reducing meat consumption will reduce your grocery bill, even with the up-cost of organic produce. This all ties into the next suggestion.

7. Work Less

• Spend less time working for money and more time working for you. Reducing your expenses and living within your means will drastically reduce stress and give you the ability to make healthy decisions rather than making all of your decisions on a monetary basis. We've all gone in to work sick when we could have used the rest, or could not take time off because we "needed the money". Most of us work to provide a healthy secure life for ourselves and our families. Shouldn't our health and security be of primary concern above fiat currency?

• By not allowing your job to consume your life you will be able to focus more time on becoming balanced and improving your health. You will also free up time which will allow you to begin providing a service or product of your own, bringing us to the next subject.

^Source

8. Become A Producer

• Producing something and becoming self-sufficient in even one aspect of your life is very liberating. If you can manage to produce in abundance - the gifting, trading and selling opportunities become limitless! Some great examples of things to produce for yourself are; fruits and veggies, herbal medicines, wine beer and distilled alcohol, soaps and cleaners, etc.

• Providing a service directly to the end user is a great way to become less dependent on employers and more reliant on yourself. Diversity is an amazing ally and having more than one way to support yourself can be highly beneficial. Don't be afraid to follow your passions and try not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Remember that success takes focus and time.

9. Balance Your Life

• It's so easy to get caught up in any one aspect of life. It is important to remember that the requirements of a healthy human being are diverse. We need to develop our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves to achieve true balance and happiness. This does not necessarily mean that we need to spend an equal amount of time each day on each aspect of our health, but rather that we pay attention to and develop all of these aspects throughout our various activities, listening to the feedback we get and adjusting accordingly.

• I found it helpful to develop a schedule which incorporates a balanced amount of up and down time to allow for plenty of cushion for rearranging things as any given day may require. Don't lock yourself into a routine, use a schedule as a way to ensure you are keeping yourself balanced. As with anything, the longer you stick to it the more second nature it will become. Flexibility is one of the main keys to achieving balance.

• Don't let time vampires get in the way of you achieving your goals. You may find it necessary to stop associating with individuals who are not conducive to your lifestyle changes.

10. Stop Lying To Yourself

• This could have been the first suggestion. Unfortunately this is the hardest one to achieve, even with full conscious intent. As we improve our holistic health our ability to perceive Truth exponentially increases. What we consume physically, mentally and spiritually on a daily basis can cloud our logic and skew our perceptions. It's all too easy to come to a conclusion we find at least somewhat acceptable rather than face an inconvenient Truth.

• Our emotions are like a radar, letting us know if anything is out of line in our field of consciousness. If you are unhappy, in a state of anxiety or feel uneasy, this is your consciousness informing you that something is out of sync. The western medicine approach is to treat the symptoms (emotions) - typically with highly addictive, very dangerous, mind-altering substances. Turning your GPS off will not help you to navigate the terrain of life. True happiness is achieved when our thoughts, actions and emotions are all in line with one another.

^Source

Guaranteed

The inevitable positive outcome of incorporating any number of these suggested lifestyle changes is guaranteed. They are best incorporated as a whole for greatest benefit. Remember to incorporate your passions into all aspects of your life and add your full value to society.

Money has little to do with health, wealth and happiness.

Peace Everyone