Being Sahaj - Going back to basics

Clothes

Before Sahaj, what I wear doesn't really matter.  I didn't really care about the materials as long as they are comfortable.

After Sahaj, found that cotton is the most comfortable.  Sometimes silk and wool too, though natural is a little too hot for our country, so we seldom wear them.  But still preferred them over polyester, definitely.  Rayon is not bad too, airy but not as great as cotton.  Rayon is actually a manufactured fiber, but with plants, unlike polyester, which is completely plastic.  Linen is also natural.

So what's natural and what's not?

Natural - cotton, silk, linen, wool, rayon

Unnatural - polyester, tetron, nylon

Satin is questionable as it used to be made with silk.  But because it's so expensive, nowadays people made polyester satin.  So, it depends.

I didn't realised how much these materials that we wear everyday affects our lives until after self-realisation.  If I wear natural materials, the vibrations emits easier compared to unnatural.  And nowadays, if I wear anything unnatural, it itches.

The thing is, in Malaysia, it's not easy to find cotton clothes.  Most of the work clothes are polyester mixed, which means polyester with cotton.  Still not as great as cotton.  And I guess, the biggest thing is the demand here for cotton is low, probably that's why it's so difficult to find cotton.

Why?  OK, this is just my feelings about it.  Not completely sure the reasons.  Malay women wears the traditional baju kurung, which is long and non-body hugging dress that has long sleeves and long skirts.

It's a very feminine dress and I love it very much as it covers all the chakras.  Those who wear this everyday, finds it very difficult to iron if it is cotton.  Cotton crumbles very easily and not easily to iron compared to polyesters, which don't require any ironing at all.  Besides, you can't be adventurous with the design with cotton material.  And cotton ones are usually those that you wear at home, but to be dressy, it has to be bling bling polyester. They love the shiny material and some said it's not as hot when wearing compared to cotton.  Another lady told me that colour of cotton clothes get faded very fast especially in our hot sun.  Polyester last longer.  

But then, there's the smell.  Hot weather, plastic clothes, sweat, smell.  You know the combination.  So, the alternative is to cover up with lots of perfume.  True story.

But now, more and more people recognise cotton and hopefully we will have more cotton clothes in Malaysia.  This is one reason I love India.  It's just so easy to get cotton clothes.

Some people find cotton materials very tedious to wash as the colour runs, compared to plastic printed materials.  

Food

Especially with food, I feel we are back to basics.  People are tired with processed food, GMO food, non-organic food.  

This is something I don't really understand, but probably due to greed.  Why do people want to create harmful food to hurt another human being including themselves?  But then again, people are now fighting everywhere, for territory, for power, for everything and killing one another.  But to make profit by hurting another human being, something that is beyond me.

People are dying with cancer for eating all these chemical food.  

Nowadays, whenever I go grocery shopping, I will usually look at the ingredients in the processed food.  Lately, I have ventured into making my own yogurt.  In order to start, I need to buy a yogurt culture, so I usually go for those that I used to buy.  

Then found that instead of live bacteria as what was claimed, it is not!  The yogurt that I made can't be successful because all the bacteria were dead.  Although it doesn't really harm us for eating dead bacteria (or maybe I am wrong), it doesn't give any nutrients to our body either (or maybe I am wrong too about this).

Anyway, look at the bread you buy from stores.  Did you know, some of them uses margarine instead of butter?  That's artificial butter!   

How about the breakfast cereals?  If you stare at the ingredients long enough, you will be surprised!  Not only that there are many words you don't know is in your food, some claimed supposedly healthy are filled with artificial ingredients, not to mention the ridiculous amount of sugar.

And low fat products are not that great either.  

While I truly enjoy living in this modern society, there are some things I prefer to go back to basics.  Sometimes I truly wondered, if we are so afraid to give these things to our children, why would we eat them ourselves?

With my little nephew, we gave him all cotton clothes only.  The best part is cotton clothes can be found the most amongst children's clothings.  It's easier for his skin and he sleeps better.  The only plastic thing he wears is diaper.  If for me, I would prefer the cotton napkin instead of these plastic wraps.  But then again, washing can be painful.

In terms of food, we gave him organic food only and he doesn't get to eat junks.  Babies can't take anything low fat, so everything he eats are full fat, like milk.  Some people would argue that nowadays the formula milk aren't that great either, which I have to agree.  That's why breastfeeding is the best.  Or take cow's milk, the original ones, not the processed ones.  But that's not easy to buy also because it has to be pasteurized, etc or else it's not safe for drinking?  Also, babies can't eat lots of sugar or salt.  So their food is slightly on the bland side.

That's one reason why I embraced the Indian lifestyle.  Clothes are cotton, food are natural.  Every Indian dish is made from scratch, with lots of spices and whole food.  No processed.  They hardly use any sauces either, which is processed, unlike Chinese.

So, if you find yourself like me, confused about what is good and what's not, see how you treat a baby.  If it is safe for baby, it's safe for you.  And with natural products, whether food or clothes, vibrations emits better.