Dr. Norris Chumley Satisfied Life

Remember how you felt the last time you ate a lot of sugary foods? You probably got a quick burst of energy, and then it let you down, way down. Maybe you felt "hung over" later with a headache. Maybe it upset your stomach? Or did you get a toothache? Or are you so used to eating a lot of sugar that you no longer feel the negative side effects? Think of these things the next time you're about to choose to eat candy, cakes, cookies, ice cream, soda, syrup, etc.

Remember what it feels like after the sugar high wears off.

A wake up call, that's what suffering offers us, according to the poet and writer, Scott Cairns.  Suffering is not about the pain and hardship, per se - we need to look past suffering to what is beyond.  "The End of Suffering: Finding Purpose in Pain" is a highly insightful and deeply spiritual guide that I found very moving and helpful. I heartily recommend it to you.

Using illustrations and examples of his life, the events of September 11th, and quotes and aphorisms from the Bible and such luminaries as Simon Weil, Emily Dickenson, Saint Isaac of Syria, W.H. Auden, Saint Simeon the New Theologian and a carefully-selected array of others, Cairns reminds us that pain and suffering grab our attention: sometimes gently, often intensely.  Through suffering, God shows us what needs to be attended to.  He writes,

Under most circumstances, then, the occasions of our suffering are capable of revealing what our habitual illusions often obscure, keeping us from knowing. Our afflictions drag us--more or less kicking--into a fresh and vivid awareness that we are not in control of our circumstances, that we are not quite whole, that our days are salted with affliction.

What do we do with suffering and affliction?  Endure it? Let go of it?  Give it to God?  Cairns suggests the first step is to set ourselves aside; let the ego be suspended for a moment, allowing grace to enter and inform.  Ultimately, though, what we need to learn is how to live, but most importantly, how to die.  Cairns encourages us to learn and live gently, almost effortlessly towards the inevitable, using our afflictions as tools.

...we must come to recognize our suffering as a means, a circumstance of our common journey that can offer us a clearer view of the task at hand. Along that journey, our afflictions and our suffering may also provide to us a glimpse of what actual virtue might require.

Virtue?  In the sense of goodness, chastity, worth, or is it to make the most of something bad or unmanageable that is inevitable, employing logic and reason as Plato taught us?  God only knows.

Cairns is a Christian, an Orthodox Christian to be precise, who has written and taught on the many frontiers and salvations available with Christ.  He has had the occasion, several times, to visit the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos in Greece, where monks have lived for over a thousand years.  Taking time in total wilderness and seclusion, Cairns has personally lived a life of ceaseless prayer and contemplation, yet returning to the challenging world of family, job, and responsibility.  On his last visit there, he reflects,

I realized--experienced, even--that the body of Christ is a good deal more than a figure of speech; it is an appalling truth and mystery, uniting us beyond our knowing with one another, and uniting us with an ever-greater mystery, the perichóresis--the circling dance--of the Holy Trinity Who is our One God.

I do not expect to comprehend--much less ever to explain--the particular mystery of, as I come to speak of it, One Holy Essence Whose Mystery is expressed in relational, interpersonal terms, but I do hope to share something glimpsed among the struggling monks on their Holy Mountain, something gleaned from their ongoing, written tradition, and something I have labored to acquire as my own.

Looking for an answer to his toil and suffering, Cairns looks to God, in the tangible humanity of Christ.  He toils to be like Christ, an adventurous, endless, joyous yet arduous pursuit seeking to comprehend and apprehend himself, bathed in the mysterious Image of God.  The point is to be like Christ, to not only follow Him, but to merge into His infinite grace; to be "at one" with Him.

Our familiar English word atonement (which, believe it or not, comes of combining at-one-ment) was coined in the sixteenth century for the express purpose of reinfusing our theologies with a more vivid awareness of how it is that Christ saves us--He joins Himself to us.

Alas, most of us squander our opportunities, Cairns laments.  We do our best, yet pain and suffering are still with us.  We get distracted.  We become perplexed, tired, uncertain, and even hopeless at times.  These are also opportunities.  Perplexity may also be grace.  Weakness becomes a virtue.  These vacillations, Cairns teaches, are the tools of God, they lead us to Him and our pain and suffering become doorways to our healing and ultimate forgiveness and salvation.

A mixture of poetry, anecdote, intelligent research, memoir and meditation, Scott Cairns' "The End of Suffering: Finding Purpose in Pain" is itself a means to an end.  This is a deeply good and beautiful essay; a useful handbook to true love and infinite care through and in God's magnificence.

Order a copy today.  Better yet, give it for the Holy Days coming soon.  Here's a link to it at the Publisher, Paraclete Press.

I can't believe how great this hot (or cold) drink is!  Sweet, tasty, no calories, no caffeine, and helps me curb hunger and lose weight.

Ever been at a bar and heard someone say to the bartender, "make it a double?"  That's what this drink is about.  Double flavor, doubly sweet. NO alcohol, fat, or sugar, though.

Here's the very simple recipe:

Dr. Norris Chumley's Double Sweet Tea

8 ounces boiling hot water
2 tea bags of berry herbal tea (I like Celestial Seasoning's Black Cherry or Raspberry)
2 packets of Stevia no-calorie sweetener

Add all the ingredients at one time.  Let it steep double the time (6 minutes or so).  This makes the tea rather strong; the flavor is doubled and very candy-like.  If you want it iced, let it steep a little longer and add some ice cubes, or better yet -- let it cool in the fridge overnight (perhaps make a lot more, in a pitcher).

This tea is amazing!  I'm drinking it every night: the times when I so strongly wanted carbs or sweets, difficult to handle threats to throw my weight loss and/or maintenance off-track.  This tea satisfies my sweet-tooth in a big way, with no calories.

It's healthy as it hydrates the body.  It curbs hunger pangs.  It helps one get a full-feeling.

Try it, you'll like it!  Let me know what you think by commenting below.

Please share this treat with your friends.  Email it to them by clicking the email button below.  Or tell them to go to www.beliefnet.com/drnorris every day!

I'm always encouraging everyone to drink a lot of water.  Water is important and when you're losing weight, it's essential.  Is it possible to drink too much water?  Yes.

We heard the news that a jury awarded $16.5 million dollars in damages to the family of a woman who entered a Sacramento, California radio station water-drinking contest.  Called "Hold your wee for a Wii," the radio station invited contestants to drink as much water as possible and not urinate.  Jennifer Strange, a mother of three entered to win a game console for her kids.

She drank as much water as possible, some two gallons in a short time.  With a bulging belly, and complaining of severe pain, the radio dj's allegedly laughed at her.  Callers on-air, expressed concerns and said it was dangerous. The contest went on.

Yes, it is possible to drink too much water.  Jennifer died from water intoxication.

How much is enough?  I drink at least 3 liters of water a day.  That's a lot for some people, so I recommend a minimum of 3-6, 8 ounce glasses a day to my clients.  That's not much.

Here's an article and video from ABC News about Jennifer's story, and the lawsuit.

Please invite your friends and colleagues to subscribe to my daily blog!  www.beliefnet.com/drnorris  Thanks!

We know why we're fat: too much food in general, especially fats and sugar-laden food.  Now, "This is Why You're Fat" is a book and website of a collection of recipes and photos of really crazy fatty, sugary food.  This may give you pause, or at least prompt you to think about what you put into your sacred body.

Take a look at the website www.thisiswhyyourefat.com and you'll see photos of "The Meat-Up" an insane casserole of (and I quote) "Ground Beef, topped with 2 pepperoni logs, stuffed with Cheez Whiz, topped with a layer of bacon, topped with a layer of mozzarella cheese slices, topped with more bacon, topped with meatballs and served with brown gravy."

There's Twinkie pies with whipped cream, caramel, and extra butter.  A special 3-layer pizza of pepperoni, ham and sausage, not just one crust and cheese topping, 3 (three) pizzas stacked on top of each other!

How about deep-fried chocolate cake with whipped cream?  Try the Japanese 7-hamburger Whopper with cheese, to celebrate the release of Windows 7!

My personal favorite is the (and I quote again) "Redneck Quiche:
Eggs inside individual bologna cups topped with mayo and Velveeta cheese."  Mmmmm.

Take a look and have a laugh.  Buy the new book from HarperStudio.  Just DO NOT EAT ANYTHING LIKE THESE RECIPES, please God!

Do YOU have any wild and crazy high-fat, high-sugar recipes guaranteed to give you a heart-attack and severe obesity?  Share them below in a comment, and share a laugh, please!

And do your friends a favor - share this daily blog - www.beliefnet.com/drnorris

What if doing something you dread could really be fun and pleasurable?  What would happen if you did not have a lot of fear, anxiety and trepidation?If you simply don't believe the old mental programming that losing weight, becoming healthier,...

Today, All Saint's Day, I'm thankful for the wind, today. I love how it blows life into everything - especially me! I love how the wind moves the clouds, and the leaves on the trees, and how the birds ride...

Can prayer help with weight loss? I believe owning a weight problem and having the courage to surrender and ask God for help is the best way possible. Call it prayer, spiritual communication, meditation, or simply belief--just do it--because...

We know Halloween comes every year on October 31, and it's Hallowe'en - short for All Hallow's Eve.  Halloween is actually an old Pagan feast, a Celtic New Year called Samhain, or "summer's end."  What is it all about, other...

Halloween is about food and candy, I always believed.  Halloween recipes for treats like Halloween scary body parts and Halloween frightening bugs, spiders and goblins are a lot of fun.  Would you serve vegetables?  Would you give fruit like apples...