My mTOR pathway weekend is over and autophagy on week has begun again.
Bio-Hacking has been a popular concept in the field of immortality and longevity, and many people have hacked their bodies to optimize their physical capacity.
It seems to have started in Silicon Valley by people like Dave Asprey, the founder of bulletproof coffee, and it has been captivating many people worldwide.
So, today, I would like to talk about it, and how I would optimize it in the Ikigai Diet way or Satoyama style.
There are many different types of biohacking, and depending on the type, it has a different connotation. I must say I can’t relate to approaches where you artificially engineer your body like pumping a younger person’s blood into your veins and stuff, but as long as it is a natural process such as changing your metabolism through fasting, a diet, or exercising, it is a good trend. The fact that many people have become interested in health and started taking in charge of their well-being is a positive thing. In other words, if intermittent fasting, HIIT, the ketogenic diet, activating your autophagy, or even taking supplements such as NMN are part of biohacking, I embrace it. Well, as for supplements, if it is done moderately. I already stated my view on supplements before.
Three Reasons Why I Don’t Take Supplements like NMN or Resveratrol
Having said that, the term biohacking is very much tech-oriented, and doesn’t match the culture of Satoyama where I personally think a new trend will emerge.
Why Don’t We Live In A Satoyama City Rather Than Living In A Smart City?
Bio-harmonizing or bio-synergizing is more suitable for Satoyama culture where people are wired to the soil.
Bio-hacking gives me the impression that there is human intervention in the creation process. Taking back the control is one evolutional step and you need to be independent from God, the creator, or the architect if you prefer the term in Matrix, which means to understand your body and mind scientifically so that you can be in charge of it. You can be proactive rather than reactive.
On the other hand, through the process of breaking away from God, you can be caught by a new architect called science and technology, which is okay for a certain period, but eventually, you want to break away from it to further evolve from that stage.
You certainly don’t want to be controlled, but you don’t want to control anything either, neither you want to fight against it.
No more controlling games. We need to do away with that mentality and begin collaborating with microbiomes both in the soil and the gut, the natural kingdom, and the celestial realm to co-create a new reality.
Microbiomes are much cleverer than we are and we need to drop our ego and surrender ourselves to the world we know very little about. We need to be humble, and they will help us access the hidden part of our brain.
The Balance of Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science
In order to bio-harmonize yourself, you can keep the balance of ancient wisdom and modern science. The Ikigai Diet is based on the lifestyle and mentality of Shizenha people, and Shizenha people value Japanese natural philosophy, which was influenced by ancient Chinese philosophy such as Taoism, as well as accepting modern scientific discoveries.
Collaborating with Gut Microbiota
Many elements in the Ikigai Diet help you bio-harmonize yourself. Eating Ma Go Wa Ya Sa Shi I can feed your gut microbiomes. So do fermented foods, especially super fermented food like natto and fermented whole grains can help organize the gut microbiota.
Chewing a lot and fasting can support your gut.
Collaborating with the Soil
Shindofuji is another element to help you bio-harmonize yourself, and it doesn’t simply mean eating locally and seasonally, it means how your body is related to the soil, and we are inseparable from the natural kingdom. It is a Buddhist concept, and was part of Shojin diet, which was practiced at Zen monasteries for many centuries.
Living with Celestial Rhythm
Living with celestial rhythm is another element to help you bio-harmonize yourself. Conducting ceremonies at new moons and full moons, using the lunar calendar, and so on.
Shinon Kansha Meditation is a Bio-Harmonizing Way of Gratitude
Shinon Kansha meditation is another element to help you bio-harmonize yourself. It is to appreciate gods for manifesting realities you feel happy about. It is like gratitude practiced in bio-hacking, but the difference is its surrendering aspects. Shin or it is often pronounced as Kami as a single character means gods. There are no singular and plural in Japanese, so a god and gods are both Kami in Japanese, but since every aspect of the natural kingdom is a god, and there are many gods, it is more like gods. On means favor and Kansha means gratitude. Therefore Shin On Kansha means to appreciate the favors gods have given to you. Usually, you appreciate positive realities gods have manifested but when you practice it you begin thanking everything whether it is positive or negative. This is because you never know if a reality is positive or negative, a positive reality might bring a negative reality and a negative reality may lead to a positive one. An ordeal can give us stress which can activate autophagy is a good example for it. Every experience is meaningful and helping you grow. So whatever gods manifest, it is beneficial to you. Shinon Kansha is to have total trust in gods, and in that sense, you surrender yourself to something bigger than yourself.
Your Goal isn’t How Long You Live, but Fulfilling Your Ikigai
Ikigai is crucial in bio-harmonizing, too, because it is the core of why you want to live long or perform better.
Your goal isn’t just to live long, but to fulfill your Ikigai, the life mission. It doesn’t matter how long you live. Whether you live to 120 or leave the earth at age 80, the important thing is to lead a meaningful life. And to live a life fully, you want to stay healthy as long as possible.
When I watched interviews of biohackers they said that they wanted to live to 180 or 250. I wondered why, but they didn’t seem to have a purpose for it. Living long itself was their goal. Personally, I don’t want to live that long. 120 is enough or I would even be happy living until 80 as long as I can fulfill my mission during my life. 120 sounds good to accomplish my goal, that gives me plenty of time. I have my purpose first, in my case that is to build a Sanpo-Yoshi society, a world where everyone is happy, and the question is how long I need to accomplish my role in it. Living long isn’t my goal.
That leads to a question what is the purpose of living? Or why do we live? It is a philosophical question that science hasn’t been able to answer, and because there is no scientific explanation, it isn’t talked about. Nonetheless, we can not think about longevity without touching on this topic. In the Ikigai Diet, there is no single view on it just like there is no rule, you can be Christian to practice it, you can be Buddhist, or have any other spiritual beliefs. You can have your life purpose based on your belief system. As long as you respect other human beings, animals, and plants and want to live in peace with others, it can be practiced.
Working on Your Body, Mind, and Spirit
Having this perception influences every aspect of the Ikigai Diet, whether it is a diet, exercise, or mentality. For example, when you exercise, you don’t just think of the physical aspect. One reason I recommend Nordic walking is it can bio-harmonize you from a psychological and spiritual angle, too. By having two poles, they can help you walk with your spine straight, and it can help you connect the sky and the earth. If you practice Shinon Kansha meditation during Nordic walking, you feel a connection with the natural kingdom a lot more. The different elements in the diet, exercises, Ikigai Mindset, Satoyama Life are all designed to synergize with one another.
The Ikigai Diet: The Secret Japanese Diet to Health and Longevity
POD Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4991064864
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JGB45HF