For life cultivation practitioners like us, mind cultivation is broadly interpreted to be the preservation of the heart and its extension, the mind. Besides the physical organ, the heart, we also strive to have a mentally balanced mind.

Once we are mentally balanced, we will have good functioning internal organs, our vital energy and blood will be abundant and smooth. We will be in a homeostasis state, and we will lead a life of longevity.

How do we achieve mental balance?

Peaceful, void, null.

Huangdi Neijing

Less desire.

Mengzi:

As practitioners of life cultivation, we spend a lot of time interpreting and practicing the meanings behind the quotes.

Influencing factors on Mind Cultivation

As practitioners of Life Cultivation, we know that our habits are developed over many years. It is impossible to get rid of all the health problems at once. We have to adjust our lifestyles over time and gradually eliminate the bad habits that have been developed for many years

Therefore, we need to nurture our mind. We must learn to nurture our mind like a tree or a bonsai.

The best way to cultivate a mind is through reducing one’s mind to less desires.

Mencius-Dedicated Heart

By reducing unhealthy desires, we can achieve the effect of self-cultivation. If we compare our mind to a plant, then we can say that to eliminate greed and selfish desires from our mind, we should maintain a pure mind and develop the good side of our character. Similarly, we need to water and fertilize a plant to ensure its proper growth.

Mencius also emphasized we must be dedicated and persevering in order to cultivate our mind. Mencius proposed two slightly different concepts related to Mind Cultivation.

He emphasized that we should hold on to our conscience, focusing on short-term behavior. He also emphasized that cultivating a healthy mind required time and patience, and could not be accomplished overnight which required carefulness and experience.

If you visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, you will see a palace called Palace of Mind Cultivation, which is the place where the emperors cultivate their minds. Thus the practice of Mind Cultivation has a long history and is practiced even by the emperors.

Basic food in Mind Cultivation

Lotus seeds are sweet and flat in nature. They have the functions of invigorating the spleen and stopping diarrhea. They help to nourish the kidneys and strengthen the essence. They help to nourish the heart and soothe the nerves.

In addition to a lot of starch, lotus seeds also contain beta-sterols, alkaloids and rich minerals and vitamins such as calcium, phosphorus and iron.

Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed that lotus seeds have a variety of efficacy such as sedation, cardiotonic, and anti-aging.

For example, Taiping Shenghui Prescription:

Ground thirty grams of lotus seeds into powder. Use one hundred grams of japonica rice to make porridge. Then add the lotus seeds powders and mix well. It is reputed to strengthen the heart and benefit the eyes and ears.

Here are other ways to eat lotus seeds.

01 Prepared a stew with 30 grams of lotus seeds and 30 grams of lean meat. Eat the stew.

02 Prepare a soup with 30 grams of lotus seeds, 30 grams of lily bulb, seasoned with rock sugar. Middle-aged and elderly people, especially mental workers, often eat it, which can nourish the heart and soothe the nerves, enhance memory and improve work efficiency.

03 The green and tender germ in lotus seeds is called the lotus heart. Lotus heart is bitter in taste and cold in nature, different from lotus seeds. Its functions are to clear the heart, remove inner body heat, stop bleeding, and astringe the essence.

Like lotus seeds, it has the effect of clearing the mind and calming the nerves, and the taste is very bitter. The lotus heart can be soaked in water as a drink, suitable for the body of fire, and it can also be ground into powder and swallowed.

The combined product of lotus seed and lotus heart has a compound effect, which can clear the heart and calm the mind, keep fit and prolong life.

Call to Action

Folks, that is all for now. If you think this article may be beneficial to your friends and loved-ones, feel free to forward this article to them. Life cultivation is mostly for older people with declining body health. If you are young and energetic, this may not be your cup of tea. However, if you have family members or friends who are middle-aged or older, they may want to practice life cultivation to maintain a life without pain or medication.

This is an extract of the full treatise published in the Mustang BodyWorks Series, a paid-subscription. You may buy this full treatise for the price of US$10.00, using your PayPal account.

Stay tuned for the next episode: Mind Cultivation Part Three.

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