Three gentlemen from the west along with a translator went to visit an Indian Holy Man to seek guidance.
They had attended such sessions in previous years but on this occasion the Holy Man appeared clad only in a loincloth.
Seeing this the translator suggested that in deference to the Western visitors the Holy Man may like to put on a robe.
The Holy Man reportedly responded;
"The world is full of ignorance and you wish me to add another layer of it?"
As Naturists we have out practical experiences to confirm the truth in this statement. As once we have experienced social nudity we know that clothing is indeed a layer of ignorance!
The largest organ on the body is your skin and yet we cover most of it with clothing!
Would we limit ourselves to only using 90% of our eyesight or 90% of our hearing when we could use 100%?
Of course not. Yet that is what we do with our bodies. Anyone who has experienced the joy of walking naked across the countryside or along the beach will affirm the experience.
Our senses are turned outward and we engage fully with our environment by feeling the movement of air on our skin, the warmth of the sun and the texture of the grass or the sand underfoot.
Why would we deprive ourselves of these experiences when they are so readily available to us?
I read a comment from Cec Cinder PhD, the naturist writer, the other day where he talks of the hypocrisies of human society where we hold in high esteem the nudes of sculpture and painting enshrining them in museums and galleries and yet a naked body outside these places would be arrested.
Oh that we were so comfortable with our bodies that we used clothing only for protection.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
VITAMIN D deficiency is putting Australians at risk of developing diabetes, a landmark study has shown.
The largest study of its kind found people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with lower levels. It could lead to at-risk patients using vitamin D supplements along with diet and exercise to stop their development of the potentially deadly condition.
The study's co-author Ken Sikaris, a pathologist at Melbourne Pathology, said the research could have a big impact in slowing increasing rates of diabetes in Australia. "It's hard to underestimate how important this might be," he said.
Between a third and a fifth of the Australian population could be vitamin D deficient and rates were highest in the southern states, which received less sunlight, Dr Sikaris said.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care and presented by Dr Lu at a conference of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, retested blood samples taken as part of the major AusDiab study of risk factors for diabetes.
It found vitamin D deficiency was an independent risk factor, even after adjusting for others, such as weight and physical activity.
Anyone who has experienced the joy of the feel of the sun all over their body will tell you the inherent benefits, both mental and physical of the experience. Of course Naturists are also mindful to avoid sunburn by applying good quality sun screen.
The "Slip, Slop, Slap" campaign run by government is again a case of a message of caution being taken to a message of fear, in this case the fear of melanoma. If one does some research you will find that some melanoma occur where the skin is not exposed to the sun.
Also in the book "The Vitamin D Solution" Dr Michael Holick states that the action of Vitamin D can actually help prevent internal cancers and even skin cancers with a healthy immune system and that sensible exposure to natural sunlight the benefits of increased levels of vitamin D are many.
They have the effect of bonding people together, to make us feel included, unified, part of something larger than ourselves. Whether it is for a sporting team, a corporate office or a specific profession.
If we expand the view of uniforms we can include fashion because it does the same. If you are not wearing the "in" brand of running shoe then your not part of the "in" crowd.
I believe that Naturists also experience this sense of unity and inclusion when we all remove the shackles of our clothes and we see the similarities rather than differences in people.
Of course the Naturist "uniform" is accessible to everyone, it is our body that defines us uniquely as individuals and yet at the same time it shares the unmistakable hallmarks of being human.
As the senses are limited by the encumbrance of clothing, so being freed from them allows our senses to relate more fully to the natural environment, as we were intended to, and thus we feel closer to it also.
That is why the Naturist philosophy resonates so much with us as it uses this fact to reinforce the Naturist creed of respect for self, respect for other and respect for the environment.
After two weeks of rain and cold it was great to get out and enjoy the beauty and the warmth of the sun at Cobblers Beach today.
Yes, you had to keep out of the light breeze but the sun had sufficient warmth to make for a beautiful day reading and relaxing propped up against the warm rocks and viewing the sailboats out on the harbour. Unlike some hardy souls I decided not to take a dip!
Only about a dozen others were there to enjoy the mid-morning to early afternoon sun as the day only reached a top of 17 degrees, but that was more than enough for this sun deprived Naturist.
