...While caffeine from coffee and tea dull the brain.
I do not remember that. It would be true if caffeine is ingested in excess, with high concentrations being above about 300 mg per day on average. But such an excess would not be the primary cause of the brain dullness, rather it would often disrupt the ideal sleep architecture in such a way that the brain functions would not be optimized.
Caffeine is rajasic and moderate rajas is very useful outside an Ashram, but after 12 AM or 2 PM it may become unhealthy, for the above reason.
Also, some qualities of coffee, the ones I'm consuming now, light roast, high altitude, arabica variety, have mixed rajasic and sattvic qualities.
Yes it took me a while to admit my love for coffee and face off this issue with myself and others but I believe it is important to be honest even if we don’t live up to all our expectations.
I had some of these issues with Eric recently on political issues. When people make fun of people who sacrificed their life for freedom and democracy, it just got too much for me. And Trump has not just done that once but numerous times. And that element is still strong in this country (United Clones).
But this issue is comparatively mild. I’m quite sure of what I read Lucca but I’ll provide the info when I read it again. After reading it in the lessons I actually went to an SRF monk to discuss the matter. I told him that I could hardly stay awake without some stimulant, driving a truck as much as 11 hours with one half hour break. And when I was driving a van, I had to drive sometimes 15 hours or more.
He advised me to attempt balancing out the caffeine with some energization exercises. Sometimes we have service that requires us to stay awake and alert. It can be dangerous to relax while providing such services. I recognize that many dietitians promote the benefits of coffee and caffeine but Paramahansa Yogananda’s advice was to curb the use of stimulants in preference to increase brain function. And that they dull memory and other functions of the brain.
Wow 😮…. What a temptation… see below
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