What is the difference between biohacking and Ikigai Biohacking?
The definition of biohacking
First of all, what is biohacking? Although the term biohacking appears here and there in the last few years, most people don’t know exactly what it is.
There seem to be different ways of biohacking and some are quite different from others and we don’t know whether we can place them in the same category.
Intermittent fasting, HIIT, saunas and cold baths, diets, stem cell therapy, blue light blocking glasses, microchip implant, and blood transfusion are all terms you may have come across as a form of biohacking.
Depending on what methods you are referring to, biohacking has different meanings and connotations.
One simple definition of biohacking is do it yourself biology. It is the act of understanding how biology works and applying optimal measures to maintain your body in perfect condition.
The purpose of biohacking
Some people biohack to live longer. They want to expand their lifespan and are aiming to live to 150 or 200.
Others want to improve their performance, improving their athletic ability to be better athletes, or improving their brain function to be more productive at work.
Shizenha Bio-Hacking
One difference between biohacking and Ikigai Bio-Hacking is that Ikigai Bio-Hacking is Shizenha Bio-Hacking, meaning naturalists’ biohacking. Shizenha in Japanese means naturalists and they approach many things as naturally as possible. When they eat food, they eat organic food, when they wear clothes, they wear clothes made of natural materials, when they raise children, they breastfeed them and take them to forests.
If you apply Shizenha style in biohacking, it naturally excludes anything artificial. Therefore in Ikigai Bio-Hacking, you don’t do things like microchip implant and blood transfusion. As for stem cell therapy, I don’t know what to think of it, I don’t know enough about it to be certain but I would avoid any form of genetic engineering at this point. I wouldn’t say there are side effects in it, yet, the question is why do you want to do it? Do you need to do it? No animals or insects do it, and neither do the centenarians in blue zones. There are natural alternatives that are proven to be safe by people practicing for thousands of years.
The purpose of Ikigai Bio-Hacking
Another difference between biohacking and Ikigai Bio-Hacking is the purpose. Why do you want to biohack?
You don’t aim to extend your lifespan in Ikigai Bio-Hacking. You don’t try to live to 150 or 200 years old. You are happy to die at the age of 100 or 12o, if that is your destiny. You don’t want to change the course of nature. What you aim is to stay sick-free until the final moment. You will continue to live healthily and happily into old age and eventually die a natural death at the age of 100 or 120.
Because of that, I don’t think it is necessary to go as far as altering your genes to live longer. Some might argue that generic engineering is more effective than natural methods to expand your lifespan, but if you are not trying to do it, there is no need. Your goal is healthspan extension, not lifespan extension.
Is there life after death?
Another question we need to address when we talk about lifespan extension is whether there is life after death or not. Scientists who conduct longevity research usually don’t believe in life after death and therefore it doesn’t even become an issue, but you are different. About half of the population believes in some form of life after death.
Depending on your belief system, lifespan extension has a totally different meaning.
Ikigai Bio-Hacking doesn’t necessarily believe in life after death or promote this concept. Anyone can practice it regardless of your belief system. I am just providing an alternative opportunity for those of you who believe in life after death to tackle the spiritual aspect of your senior life, as well. You want to stay young and healthy into old age, but you also want to raise your spirituality if you believe in life after death. You want to achieve your soul purpose to die beautifully, don’t you?
Then, you are in the right place.
A holistic approach to tackle your body, mind, and spirit
Whether to include spiritual development or not changes the ways you biohack. One reason for sticking to natural methods is this spiritual aspect. Fasting, natural diet, exercise, hermetic activities, and meditation have all been part of spiritual practices around the world.
I provide biohacking methods to improve your physical, mental, and spiritual condition all at the same time, based on Japanese natural health, which is a thousand-year-old tradition and the foundation of Japanese longevity.
The meaning of Ikigai and Ikigai Bio-Hacking
What does Ikigai mean? Why is it called Ikigai Bio-Hacking?
Ikigai means daily joys or pleasures that motivate you to live or life purposes that drive you to live.
Iki means to live or a life.
Gai means worth or value.
A life with Ikigai means a life worth living for.
Therefore, in Ikigai Bio-Hacking, I want you to feel that your life was worth living for at the end of your life. I want you to die happily without any regret.
Like I said Ikigai Bio-Hacking doesn’t necessarily believe in life after death and therefore it doesn’t have to be spiritual, but a life that is congruent with your source or satisfaction coming from the bottom of your heart.
Yes, I want you to lead a fulfilling life whatever the meaning it is to you, based on your values and beliefs. That is what living with Ikigai means.
Ikigai Bio-Hacking optimizes your life
Ikigai Bio-Hacking optimizes your physical, mental, and spiritual condition to lead a fulfilling life.
You’ll be physically vibrant to move around, you’ll be mentally positive to be motivated, and you’ll be spiritually alert to stay on track, the course your soul designed, to fulfill your life mission.
Planetary Bio-Hacking
Ikigai Bio-Hacking supports your physical, mental, and spiritual health, and there is one more critical element.
Planetary health.
There is no point of staying sick-free into old age, if the earth is destroyed. To biohack yourself in this era means to biohack the planet to maintain the health of the planet. Biohacking the planet sounds a little arrogant, so I prefer the term bio-harmonizing. Bio-harmonizing the mother earth to live long is inevitable.
That means finding sustainable ways of biohacking. The reason I don’t take supplements or at least don’t rely on them is I am not sure about the sustainability of their production.
Environmental sustainability isn’t the only factor of planetary wellness. A healthy social structure is imperative for us to lead a happy life. You want to make sure that the world doesn’t shift toward a totalitarian, dystopian state. You need to find biohacking methods to shift the world towards a freedom valued system.
Can you change the world through biohacking?
Yes, everything you do makes the difference. Ikigai Bio-Hacking helps you transform to be the change you wish to see in the world.
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The Ikigai Diet and Bio-Hacking