Why Religious Groups Wear What They Wear

Why These 6 Religious Groups Wear What They Wear

It's more than a piece of cloth.

Antonia Blumberg -  08/18/2015 

Clothing worn by religious leaders and people of devout faith often is much more than a fashion statement. A simple robe can make a Buddhist monk feel closer to Buddha, while a modest sweater can help a Mormon missionary project a professional image as she proselytizes.

Below are dress guidelines of six religious groups and why they wear what they wear:

Buddhist monks and nuns

Sri Lankan Buddhist monks walk in line as they seek offerings of food in Colombo on July 25, 2015. 

The robes worn by Buddhist monks are said to date back to the Buddha’s time. There are commonly three components to the robe: an inner garment or waistcloth, an upper robe, and an outer robe. Buddhist nuns typically wear a vest and a bathing cloth. In the Buddha’s time, monastic robes were patched together with scraps of cloth to reflect the simple life monks had vowed to live. According to some Buddhist clergy, the robes create a “uniformity of intention” visible at first glance. Though the colors of these robes vary by region, the earlier garments worn by Buddhist monks were likely a yellow-orange color from being dyed using vegetable matter and spices like turmeric or saffron. 

Catholic priests

Catholic priests gather outside of the Cathedral of Brasilia while celebrating the holiday of Corpus Christi on June 4, 2015 in Brasilia, Brazil.

According to the Directory for the Ministry and Life of Priests, prepared by the Congregation for the Clergy and approved by Pope John Paul II in 1994, clergy must dress in a way that distinguishes them from the laity. “It is particularly important that the community be able to recognize the priest, man of God and dispenser of his mysteries, by his attire,” the document states. Catholic priests have traditionally worn a cassock, or long robe, though modern clergy often wear simple black suits and a Roman collar outside of liturgical functions. Many priests also wear a clerical collar, a narrow, often white band that attaches to the clergy shirt. This can be worn with a tab-collar shirt (revealing just a small square of the collar at the front of the throat) or a neckband shirt (revealing the entire collar.) Though this style of dress is common for Catholic priests, it likely originated in the Protestant tradition, circa the mid-19th century.

Orthodox Jews

 Members of the Jewish Orthodox community talk on a street in a Brooklyn neighborhood on June 14, 2012 in New York City.

Orthodox Jewish women are encouraged to cover their hair and wear skirts below their knees as a sign of modesty. Orthodox men typically wear long black garments to indicate a “lack of concern for color and other dictates of fashion, and thus helps keep priorities straight,” according to Chabad guidelines. Orthodox men also wear a kippah, tallit, or shawl, and tzitzit, which are strings tied in a particular pattern that fall from the four corners of the tallit. Clothing styles vary somewhat from sect to sect. For instance, Haredi men typically grow long beards and wear wide-brim black hats. Some Orthodox men also wear payot, or sidecurls, in reference to a Torah passage that prohibits men from “rounding off the corners” of the head.

Jain monks and nuns

Jain Sadhvijis (Jain Nuns) attend the 'Vadi Diksha' of Indian millionaire-turned-Jain-monk, Bhanwarlal Doshi.

Jain monks and nuns are encouraged to live austere lives. Many show this by wearing plain, white robes. In the Digambara sect, however, monks reject all forms of worldy possessions, including clothes. Acharya Kundkund, a revered, 1st century Digambara monk, reportedly wrote that monks must do more than remain naked in dress. “Oh monk!” he wrote. “What is the purpose of remaining naked (or clad) if you indulge in malicious behaviour, laughter, jealousy, delusion and untamed desires. Being full of blemish, you deserve disgrace.”

Sikhs (traditional)

 Sikh pilgrims offer prayers at a Sikh shrine in Lahore on June 29, 2013.

 

Sikh spiritual clothing, or bana, includes a turban, modest attire and the five articles of faith. The turban, or dastar, acts as a symbol of piety and dedication, according to the Sikh Coalition. Sikhs often wear their hair unshorn as the founders of the Sikh faith did and in keeping with religious requirements. The five articles of faith include: the kachhera, or loose undergarment; the kanga, or wooden comb; a kara, or iron bangle; kes, or unshorn hair; and a kirpan, or ceremonial sword. Guru Gobind Singh introduced the five articles in 1699 as a way of identifying members of the faith and binding them together.

Mormon missionaries

 

Mormon missionaries walk through the halls at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.

Full-time Mormon missionaries, called elders and sisters, are required to wear modest clothing and plain hairstyles. Women must wear either blouses with skirts, or dresses that cover to the knee. Men must wear business suits. Sweatshirts, backpacks, tattoos and body piercings, other than ears, are not allowed. The clothing guidelines are meant to ensure that missionaries look “professional” and “attractive,” according to the website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The church recently announced that elders in countries with hot climates were no longer required to wear suit coats while proselytizing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-these-six-religious-groups-wear-what-they-wear_55ce7bcae4b055a6dab07ad0?kvcommref=mostpopular

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/robe_txt.htm

Natural Ways To Boost Your Brain Power 🧠 Sharpen Your Mind

7 Natural Ways To Boost Your Brain Power  +

Sharpen Your Mind

 

by Dr. Eva Selhub  - August 2015

Sure, there's not much you can do to stop time. You can however, improve the quality of your life within the time you have — and that includes keeping your mind sharp and vibrant.

Just like working out your muscles helps your musculoskeletal system stay strong, any activity that involves practice causes the brain to transmit signals in a specific pattern over and over again, allowing for connections between neurons to strengthen. That means your brain gets stronger, too.

But it's not just mental exercises that can strengthen your noggin. From eating the right foods to practicing "deep listening," here are my favorite simple ways to keep your brain sharp and vibrant. 

🧠

1. Practice meditation to decrease stress.

Studies shows that chronic stress can damage the brain. So you can help protect and strengthen your brain by engaging in activities or lifestyle habits that decrease the firing of your stress response.

One of the best ways to do this is through developing a meditation practice, even if it's just 10 to 20 minutes a day. You can practice breath-focused exercises, mindfulness meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, or engage in a spiritual practice or ritual, like prayer.

🧠

2. Take up cognitive training exercises.

The mind stays sharp when the plasticity of the brain is maintained. Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to constantly change over the course of a person’s lifetime. And this plasticity can be maintained — and better yet, improved — by engaging in cognitive training exercises, which challenge your intellectual capacity.

You can take up playing chess, learning a new language, or juggling. And playing boardgames can stimulate your thinking, as well as your hand-eye coordination. You can even do something simple like learn a new direction to drive to work, type or scroll with the opposite hand, or combine your senses by eating while listening to music with your eyes closed. 

🧠

3. Exercise your body — for your brain.

Research shows that physical exercise enhances cognitive function. One reason might be because it increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that improves learning, memory and higher thinking by stimulating growth of new neurons and helping existing neurons stay alive.

Walk outdoors where the terrain isn't predictable, so that you're perfecting your balance and working your foot-eye coordination at the same time. Yoga or tai chi also enable you to practice coordination, flow of movement, balance and the engagement of different muscle groups. And don't forget to fit in some aerobic exercise as well, getting your heart rate up for at least 15 minutes a few times a week. 

🧠

4. Practice deep listening.

Any time you're engaged in activities that require communication, your neurons need to fire and synapses need to function. Injury to the brain and even too much stress can challenge this communication highway and make speaking, listening, understanding cues and integrating information more difficult.

Just like a meditation practice can lower the activation of the stress response and therefore quiet the mind, you want to get into the practice of regularly quieting the mind so that the neurons can do their job of communicating.

I call this practice “deep listening,” where you allow yourself to take a pause and a deep breath. This provides you with the space you need to fully hear words and take in the nuances. The tenants of this practice are:

• Do not rush when communicating. Wait, take a pause.
• Breathe. Inhale deeply and exhale completely, allowing the mind to quiet.
• Listen with your heart. Notice how words make you feel. Try to engage all of your senses.
• Write first. If you feel emotionally charged, you may want to jot down what you're feeling to help gain clarity before you speak out.
• Find a safe place to rant. You can choose a friend, therapist or counselor whom you know you can safely speak to without worrying that you might be judged. You will find that when you release whatever is pent up, you can more easily listen and communicate.

🧠

 5. Ditch the sugar.

A diet high in sugar can be harmful to the brain, inducing inflammation, oxidative stress and poor insulin regulation.

Your goal, therefore, is to follow a diet that helps you improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. This means eating fish, some meat, a lot of vegetables, some nuts and seeds, some fruit and very little grains. 

🧠

6. Nourish your brain with antioxidants.

Your brain benefits not only from a low sugar intake, but also from getting more antioxidants, which can help improve your memory, learning and overall cognitive performance.

Antioxidant-rich foods include berries (especially blueberries), fruits and vegetables like carrots, spinach and red grapes, and drinks like green tea, red wine, and coffee, as well as dark chocolate (in moderation, of course). 

🧠

7. Sleep on it.

We've all had that moment when we're sleep-deprived and can't remember where we put the keys or what we went into the kitchen to get. You can't fully operate when you're sleep-deprived — and this includes your cognitive skills, memory and ability to think clearly or communicate.

If you don't feel well-rested, see if you need more hours of sleep or if it's a question of improving the quality of sleep. Consider getting a Fitbit or other gadget that monitors how restfully you're sleeping, or have a sleep study done by your doctor. You may find that you simply have to wake up too early to get the right amount of hours in. If this is the case, consider taking naps, which can help you catch up on those zzz’s.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-21099/7-natural-ways-to-boost-your-brain-power-sharpen-your-mind.html

 

 

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Foods That Help You Sleep Better

6 Foods That Help You

Sleep Better

By Ashley Neglia

Posted: 01/08/2015

Nearly 60 million Americans – more than the population of Italy – wake up tired and irritable every morning due to lack of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Aside from feeling cranky and lethargic, not getting enough sleep can cause serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, depression, cognitive impairment, diabetes, and even weight gain.

The good news is that small changes in your lifestyle and diet can have a tremendous effect on the quality of sleep you get each night. So we rounded up some of the top foods that can help you catch those Zzz’s. Just remember, if you experience chronic sleepless nights that impair your mood or ability to function in any way, you should make an appointment to see your primary care physician.

Oatmeal with milk and honey

When To Eat: 90 minutes before bedtime
How Much: 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon honey

Heart-healthy oatmeal may already be your breakfast of choice, but it might be time to flip flop your routine. Oats are one of the few foods that contain melatonin, a.k.a. the “Dracula of hormones,” which helps you fall asleep each night by relaxing the body after the sun sets. Melatonin production decreases as we age, which is why more seniors suffer from insomnia and why it’s important to combat sleeplessness by eating melatonin-rich foods.

Add some warm milk, which contains melatonin and tryptophan – the amino acid found in turkey that makes us sleepy – and stir in a teaspoon of honey, which is a natural relaxant – and you’ve got a perfectly healthful bedtime treat to help lull you off to dreamland.

Banana with almonds

When To Eat: 90 minutes before bedtime
How Much: 1/2 medium banana and 23 almonds (approx. 1 ounce)

Chock full of potassium, which stimulates slow-wave sleep (a.k.a. deep sleep) according to new research, and sleep-inducing magnesium, bananas are the veritable superstars of sleep! Couple them with almonds also loaded with magnesium and tryptophan, and you’ve got a delicious snack that will help you get to sleep and stay asleep.

Tart cherry juice

When To Drink: One glass in the morning and one glass two hours before bed
How Much: 8 ounces
Similar to oats, sour cherries contain the highest amount of naturally-occurring melatonin compared to any other food. In fact, research from the Journal of Medicinal Food shows that drinking a glass of tart cherry juice before bed can combat age-related insomnia by helping your body drift off to sleep.

Rice and beans

When To Eat: With dinner or at least 4 hours before bedtime
How Much: 1/2 cup cooked rice and 1/2 cup cooked beans

Legumes, like cow peas and lentils, are rich in magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and B vitamins, all of which help regulate your circadian rhythm. Adding a high glycemic carbohydrate, like Jasmine rice, will help you fall asleep faster thanks to a sugar spike and subsequent fall. In other words, the rice will help you hit the hay, and the legumes will keep you asleep throughout the night

Cheese and crackers

When To Eat: At least 30 minutes before bedtime
How Much: 2/3 ounce cheese and 2-3 small crackers

If you’re looking for a light snack, a few bites of cheese coupled with whole-grain crackers can help manage sleep cycles by boosting serotonin and melatonin levels. Even though they’re in the same family, cheese doesn’t induce shut-eye quite like warm milk, but its high calcium and tryptophan content help the body de-stress and relax while stimulating melatonin production.

Research conducted by the British Cheese Board even found that eating cheese may induce vivid dreams. What’s more, the type of cheese you eat may determine what kind of dream you have. For example, cheddar lovers’ more likely dream of celebrities, while smelly Stilton fans experience more bizarre and wacky dreams.

Sweet potato with dark, leafy greens

When To Eat: At least 90 minutes before bed
How Much: 1 medium sweet potato and 1/2 cup cooked greens

When sweet potatoes and dark, leafy greens – like Swiss chard and spinach – combine, they create a potassium powerhouse that will help your body get that super restorative deep sleep it needs to stay active during the day.

Read more from Grandparents.com:
What the color of your snot really means 6 ways gratitude can help you live longer 9 smart ways to protect yourself from falls this winter

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10 Reasons Why You Should Eat Avocado Several Times Each Week

10 Reasons

Why You Should Eat Avocado

Several Times Each Week

 

Fruits constitute a part of a healthy diet, it provides our body with benefits in ways more than one. In fact, it is believed that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will enhance the defense of the body against an amalgam of health problems. Among others, one that will prove to be best would be avocado. In the rest of this article, you will gain insights on why this fruit is recommended to be eaten at least several times within a week.

Promoting Heart Health

All over the world, coronary heart disease is considered to be one of the most serious health problems and a leading cause of death. For this reason, you should consider eating avocado more as it has been linked into improving heart health. One of the things that make avocado friendly for the heart is that it contains mono-saturated oleic acid, which will reduce cholesterol for improved cardiovascular health.

Promoting Eye Health

Eye problems are also common for many people, especially for the aged. This should be given priority, especially given the fact that it can be actually avoided, provided that you have a healthy diet. In this case, avocado should be considered as part of your diet. It is rich in carotenoid lutein, which is the one that is responsible for the reduction of the likelihood of having macular degeneration and cataract.

Prevents Cancer

You should also consider avocado if you would like to lessen the likelihood of having cancer. The high fiber content of this fruit is known as being good for being able to avoid colorectal cancer. It also contains oleic acid, which is known for being able to fight the cells that can cause breast cancer. Certain studies in the past have also proven its effectiveness against prostate cancer.

Weight Management

Struggling to lose weight? Do not worry as you are not alone. There are many other people who are finding it hard to do so. Fortunately, avocados can help. Even in spite of the fact that it is high in fat and calories, it is undeniably one of the best food for weight loss. Its mono-saturated fatty acids will provide you with energy that will be burned slowly.

Prevents Diabetes

The oleic acid that is found in avocado is the one that is responsible for making it a good fruit for those who have diabetes. While it is able to lower the bad cholesterol in the body, it is able to raise the good cholesterol. More so, since it is high in mono-saturated fats, it holds the benefit of the reduction of triglyceride and improvement of the level of blood glucose.

Promotes Healthier Skin

Through eating avocado, you will enjoy having glowing and youthful skin, which can be also attributed as a function of mono-saturated fats. It also contains Omega-9 fats, which will reduce irritation and redness on the surface as a possible outcome of having damaged skin cells. To add, it also has Vitamins C and E, which can help to promote the firmness and elasticity of the skin.

Prevention of Arthritis

Having arthritis can lead into excruciating pain, which is caused by the inflammation of the joints. Avocado should be a part of your diet because of its anti-inflammatory compounds. The phytosterols that are found in avocado makes it able to prevent inflammation.

Cures Bad Breath

Having bad breath is surely something that you would not want as it is very humiliating. To prevent this, you can also consider eating avocado as it can make your breath fresher naturally. This does not work on the surface of the tongue directly, but it cleans the intestine, which is the actual reason on why some people suffer from bad breath.

Prevents Stroke

If you would like to reduce the likelihood of having stroke, you have another good reason to eat avocado. Foods that will prevent stroke are those that are rich in folate, which is exactly the reason why avocado is highly recommended.

Improves Nutrient Absorption

Adding avocado to your salad is also a good thing because it will help you to increase the likelihood of absorbing the other nutrients better. In fact, according to several studies in the past, carotenoids are absorbed five times more by those who often eat avocados.

http://naturehacks.com/10-reasons-why-you-should-eat-avocado-several-times-each-week/