An exploration in becoming Limitless – part 1

unclehermit (54)in #health • 6 years ago (edited)

An exploration in becoming Limitless – part 1

Introduction

Limitless is a movie starring Bradley Cooper, based on the novel Dark Fields. If you haven't already seen it it's well worth a watch for it's entertainment value if nothing else. It also calls on a deep desire within us to hack our physiological system and become somewhat super human. In Limitless the main protagonist, Edward Morra, receives a smart drug or nootropic called NZT48. Reluctantly he tries it, but after a couple of minutes his brain comes alive. The suggestion being that if we only use 10% of our brain NZT48 gives you access to 100%. Incredible powers of perception, analysis and memory. NZT48 literally makes people super human. So this is all fiction, but it sparked in me an interest in the optimal state of being. Building a life where you are sharp, aware and the absolute best that you can be all of the time. I'm interested in health and fitness anyway so it was really just an extension of that, although I made some discoveries along the way. While the obvious effects of optimal living are subtle, the long term resulting benefits are every bit as good as Edward Morra's experience.

Check out Edward Morra's first experience of the drug here:

Limitless also has a spin off TV show, I can't say that I found it particularly inspiring, so I wouldn't bother, just go and watch the movie instead.

Part 1 – Removing the crud from your life

NZT48 is about adding something to make your brain perform to it's maximum. This sparked an interest in currently available nootropics, such as Modafinil, but from my research it seems that these are not without their side effects and the positive effects are relatively subtle, at least compared to NZT anyway.
The point that many of these people who are trying out different nootropics to help them think better is that your body is perfectly made to perform at it's optimal level, but we hold it back by incorrectly fuelling it. Imagine putting agricultural diesel into a sports car, it wouldn't run very well would it. Well that's what so many people are doing, eating shite that doesn't give their brain or body a chance to perform at it's optimal level.

We put so many things into our body that are really terrible for us and result in our body chugging along belching out fumes and slowly, or even quickly, degrading it to such an extent that it eventually dies.

Here are some things that I avoid, which has helped to clear my mind, made me sharper and resulted in a much more productive and happy life.

Pharmaceutical drugs – The last time I took a paracetamol was when I got a bad case of flu approximately 10 years ago. If I have a mild headache or other aches and pains I will just feel the pain and accept it. I also used to take antacids which I found out are terrible for bone formation and cause other problems in later life. I gave them up and found that removing certain things from my diet got rid of the heartburn, along with eating regular fermented sauerkraut, which is very high in pro-biotics. The only time that I will take pharmaceuticals in future is if I have no choice and it's a life or death situation. Even then I will only take them as a temporary interaction.
Removing the causes of disease rather than suppressing the symptoms is always a far better approach to becoming Limitless.
Sugar is something else that you will need to remove from your diet if you want to become limitless. Sugar messes about with your hormones and interrupts normal insulin function. Anything that messes with your hormones will have a negative effect on the brain as all of your hormones effect each other like a waterfall effect. If one hormone gets out of balance, all of the others will get out of balance. Giving up sugar really does clear brain fog and helps you to think more clearly. I'm not 100% there yet, I get the occasional craving for dark chocolate which has some health benefits, but it does have a fair bit of sugar in it which probably undoes those health benefits.
Processed foods should be avoided and removed from your diet as much as possible. They are full of all sorts of chemicals and preservatives that make a mess of your bodies natural ability to function. Food that goes off is good for you, food that doesn't go off is bad for you. Preserving food is like embalming it! There might be a few vitamins left in it, but all of the living organisms and enzymes that create life are killed off. It's best to focus on preparing your own food from healthy living organic fruits and vegetables. Minimise your meat intake too, and make sure meat is organic. Non-organic meat is pumped full of steroids and antibiotics that will get into your body if you eat it.
Drugs, alcohol and smoking – simply don't take illegal drugs, unless it's something that you have grown yourself so that you know it's source. Drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and speed are cut with all sorts of terrible chemicals to bulk them out while giving a high of some sort, so that it's difficult to tell they've been cut. Fentanyl has recently been finding it's way into cocaine, which is a highly dangerous drug if too much is taken. Illegal drugs don't just cloud your mind, they obliterate it as does smoking. No-one can perform at the highest level who is regularly taking drugs or smoking. Alcohol should also be minimised or completely avoided if you really want to up your performance. I'm into month 2 of zero alcohol and I feel like I'm on top of my game. I do intend to drink again in March after my 2 month break but at a much reduced level and far less frequently, perhaps once every couple of weeks. I really feel so much more 'with it' that I don't want to damage my productivity too much by going back to drinking.
Stress will also prevent you from thinking straight. Stress is also a choice to a large extent. Breaking it down, stress is simply the fear of something that has not yet happened. If it hasn't happened then really there is little to fear. Practice living more in the moment and forgetting about the future. Do your best right now and the future will look after itself. If things don't work out then maybe it was time for a change and embrace a new direction. Meditation can help with stress, although I've never been particularly good at it myself. Meditation is really just the practice of getting present. When you are alive in the present you are not thinking. Your mind is quiet and you are simply observing and doing. When you reflect back on the best moments of your life you will find that they were also the most present moments. So give up stress and swap it for living in the now.
Household cleaning chemicals and unnatural soaps and other things that we put on our bodies. The skin is very absorbant and chemicals along with all of their toxic ingredients can be absorbed into the body through the skin. Minimise contact with these things as much as possible. Buy organic natural toiletries and wear rubber gloves if you really must use strong chemicals. Some girls are really bad at this, excessive make up, perfumes, body creams, face creams, and all sorts of other chemicals designed to beautify you. For girls reading this, let me tell you, I knew two girls who used no make up or soap throughout their lives and they had the youngest, clearest, healthy looking skin I've ever seen. Take a leaf out of the rugged men's book of health and beauty and wash in cold water with no soap. It's not only refreshing but it's also much better for your skin.
Toxic people – I've talked about toxic people before in my blog. They need to be eliminated from your life as they will cause stress and make it difficult to think clearly. Anyone who does not have your best interests at heart should be removed from your life. Just walk away and move on and you will soon find healthier, nicer people to be around. As soon as you start to feel happy and confident you will start to attract happy confident people into your life.

So that's about it for now. What else would you remove from your life?

Look out for future limitless articles on sleep, healthy foods, supplements, beliefs, self talk, environment, flow state and even the mystical side of the higher consciousness.