Spiritual Portal

i think in another post you mentioned yogananda as someone who enjoyed coffee and later realized he was addicted.
i am sensitive to the effects of coffee and understand the subtle ways the addiction creeps in and leaves you wanting a cup. the feeling for me is similar when i want a beer. it's ok to enjoy these things moderately but over consumption of anything can have adverse effects on ones health. here's an interesting and easy to read debate i discovered this morning describing the ups and downs of coffee
check it out
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/is-coffee-bad-for-you_n_1895557.html

Thanks for sharing. Did not know some of the benefits.

One of the reasons to avoid stimulants is that they get you hyped up-a difficult state to be in if you are making attempts at the
meditative state. They also raise blood pressure levels. There is a time and place though.....

https://www.bing.com/search?q=does+caffeine+release+cortisol&qs=SC&pq=does+caffeine+reliese+corti&sc=2-27&cvid=A091FF238F214455848DBFDC4097706E&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1&lq=0

Caffeine triggers cortisol release
Caffeine triggers cortisol release12. Although some people argue that coffee itself triggers cortisol, it is actually the caffeine in coffee that causes the increase in cortisol levels1.

Cortisol levels can impact memory in the following ways12:
Short-term cortisol exposure can have positive effects on memory.
Chronic stress and prolonged cortisol exposure can lead to detrimental outcomes.
High cortisol levels over an extended period can impair memory formation and retrieval, making it more difficult to learn and remember new information.
Cortisol affects the cells in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain linked to learning and long-term memory.


Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress. However, too much cortisol can have negative effects on the body’s processes and health12345. Some of the dangers of cortisol include12345:
Blood sugar imbalances, diabetes, and weight gain
Decreased bone density, muscle tissue, and immunity
Higher blood pressure, heart disease, and inflammation
Impaired cognitive performance, memory, and healing
Sexual dysfunction and osteoporosis
Cushing syndrome, caused by a nodule or tumor that triggers excess cortisol production

What do you think? See photo ⬇️ below.


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I would consult specialized literature on the subject. For example, the following article is a good review article, although not so recent.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2249754/#:~:text=Caffeine%20may%20elevate%20cortisol%20by,peripheral%20metabolic%20mechanisms%20in%20women.&text=Caffeine%20is%20a%20widely%20consumed,in%20response%20to%20various%20stressors.

Steve, what researchers typically do when they want to dive into a topic such as 'effect of caffeine on memory' is a thorough search on Pubmed or google scholar or other search engines which scan the medical literature. They collect a number of articles on the topic, read them, study them, evaluate them, and often write an executive summary.

Some people, called 'fact-checkers', do that as a job to support doctors and writers on medical literature.

For those like us, who often do not wish to delve very deep, sometimes a wiki voice may suffice, with all its possible shortcomings. By quickly reading the voice, the topic soon appears to be pretty complex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_caffeine_on_memory#:~:text=Working%20memory%20effects,-Learn%20more&text=Older%20research%20suggests%20that%20caffeine,to%20general%20%22alertness%20effects%22.

Another legitimate choice for us could be to adhere to the words of Yogananda and forget about the others, on the basis that a great master is naturally attracted to the right sphere of thoughts, whereas even researchers are often biased for various reasons.

I am convinced though that Sri Yukteswar would encourage us to dive deep into the scientific minutiae of a topic of interest, although it requires usually time and sometimes may turn out to be a rabbit hole.

When I was a kid growing up … I never had an inclination for coffee but will admit to drinking pop which has caffeine in it— but Root Beer generally does not. Even though I seem to remember some monks drinking coffee—I think I’ll attempt to revert back to my younger inclinations (that may have followed me from past incarnations) and see if there are ways to awaken memories; perhaps 🤔 even from other incarnations. Hope to break down the walls of space and time eventually. Maybe it’s not to far off, if I just keep practicing meditation with a few other disciplinary measures. Some our pursuits ring with the time/space limitations we are attempting to transcend, among them are meditation, Sky watching and astrology.

We are heavily influenced by our culture and the push and drive to keep the body awake and work long hours attempting to stay awake and get back going the next day with whatever means are available. This ‘sphere of thought’ you often refer to; I’ve seen people and myself more attracted to higher vibration music and food that is more indicative of our present thought waves or conversely to more darker thought patterns associated with stimulants and murdered life forms.

It seems no coincidence that as I’ve quit drinking coffee for now that I’ve suddenly found blueberries and strawberries at a dollar a pint to make smoothies and offset the desire for caffeine daily. I think I’m getting a little encouragement from higher quarters! I believe I should take all the opportunities given to me to increase my chances of success at spiritual life.

Steve, you're not the only one who, after abuse of caffeine, has found a better mental state without it.
I listened to Navy Seals vets who have completely quit caffeine, after drinking one can after another of Red Bull during operations. Evidently, they noticed some definitely detrimental effects, maybe on the verge of toxicity.

Bottomline, I find your determination commendable.

Thanks mccoy. i will have to see how it goes. So far i have noticed a desire to eat more and though hot chocolate does not have caffeine in it i believe it is another type of stimulant that i crave. Maybe recently as a surrogate for abstaining from caffeine.

Anyway it’s not easy giving up unwanted desire but I’m slowly getting more detached from some I’ve been working on and praying about; for help to realize what has to go.

“God will only dwell in us if we pull out the weeds such as anger, lust and other negative tendencies within us. ~Amma

Actually chocolate does have caffeine, but less than coffee, although the quantity varies wildly according to the type, commercial ready hot chocolate (tiny amounts), or prepared from cacao powder (higher amounts).
Chocolate contains also other alkaloids such as teobromine and is told to be serotoninergic (reinforces the flow of serotonin), so some direct effects on the brain are almost indisputable.

Well it shouldn’t be any surprise to me that I would suddenly want to compensate in a different direction by eliminating something I’m somewhat used to. I remember going cold turkey on all beef and pork and suddenly being a connoisseur of every fish product available. And even when eliminating both fish and meat products becoming aware of perhaps some unhealthy health foods that replaced them in taste.

I was lucky I never felt any need for meat after suddenly quitting. Maybe the brain recognized it was not a food my system would tolerate. I also quit fish because I liked to see it swimming in water rather than dead on a plate. But I ate liberal amounts of cheese, usually.

Also, I totally ruled out cacao, coffee, and alcohol and went on like that for decades.

Sometimes we make a return to some of our innocence. I hope that is what I’m doing Lucca. Recently i’ve found that some secular music I have loved is now at time’s taking my vibration down, and when I listen to the words I can see that many popular singers and writers of music and lyrics have bouts of depression. I am watching my moods when it comes to foods as well. Some drinks I’ve gotten used to I have lately found to be somewhat of a lower vibration and I’m attempting to keep my spirits high at all times. So I’ve curbed cocoa, coffee and too almost a standstill. Just experimenting and glad to hear your feedback mccoy. The only thing I find myself drinking when it comes to dairy products is milk in smoothies and kefir with all the cultures. Even some people that used to stimulate me I find that it’s ok to let them stay at a distance.

“A lot of people may hate me, after saying this…”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CocY0vzMDBV/?igsh=a2JiNjZhMHRmbWd6

Evidently, that's a phase in your development where you need, metaphorically speaking, to view your mind in a state of calmness, as viewing the flat extent of the sea in a day without any wind or breeze.

Is cocoa also deleterious to memory or our physical bodies?


https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cocoa-powder-nutrition-benefits


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NUTRITION
10 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Cocoa Powder

Medically reviewed by Imashi Fernando, MS, RDN, CDCES — By Elise Mandl, BSc, Msc, APD — Updated on May 22, 2023
Health benefits of cocoa include decreased inflammation, improved heart and brain health, and blood sugar and weight control.

Cocoa is thought to have first been used by the Maya civilization of Central America.

It was introduced to Europe by Spanish conquerors in the 16th century and quickly became popular as a health-promoting medicine.

Cocoa powder is made by crushing cocoa beans and removing the fat or cocoa butter.

Today, cocoa is most famous for its role in chocolate production. However, modern research has revealed that it does indeed contain important compounds that can benefit your health.

Here are 11 health and nutrition benefits of cocoa powder.

Yes, cocoa has so many beneficial properties, the main one in my opinion being the cardio-vascular protection bestowed by the compound called (-)-epicatechin (high in untreated/undutched cacao powders)..

On top of that, it emanates sattvic vibrations, in drinks prepared with water, unprocessed cacao powder, vanilla, a little milk, honey or eritritol.

Recently i made the determination to quit caffeine in coffee completely as a more or less experiment with Yogananda's teachings to eliminate caffeine to increase memory. It appears to me from the comments  mccoy has made that cocoa has enough beneficial qualities to not consider deleting it from my diet, besides it is not something i indulge in constantly to be a factor of concern for me. I'm not a scientist so I'm not embarked on an empirical study. i believe there are other variables that a scientist may not even warrant being factors that could confound such studies. As an example; current astrological transits of planets. I will say this though recently i have had many clear experiences of my teen age years. And my attempts to understand my own behaviors and how they arose. As spiritual aspirants from previous incarnations we may have found ourselves questioning a lot of things including the training or educational experiences we were getting at an early age. In hindsight, they were not ideal in any sense of the word, nor were my reactions to them.