The SHN #55: Emotion Code, Bioenergetics, and Digital Minimalism

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, I invite you to release some trapped emotions with me.

After that, another look at the bioenergetic approach to health.

Then comes a look at digital distractions.

Finally, I’ll include some links to things I’ve found particularly interesting recently.

Joe Burt

🇪🇸 Greetings From Barcelona!

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for me, as I've encountered a myriad of new ideas about reality, energy, history, consciousness, and more. This has prompted deep reflection on my lifelong fascination with seeking answers—constantly challenging both my own beliefs and those of others in pursuit of truth.

I've come to realize that questioning has always defined my approach. Blindly accepting things without inquiry has always struck me as, and continues to strike me as, ludicrous.

It's evident to me that there are countless ways we've been indoctrinated, programmed, and conditioned to adopt particular beliefs. This indoctrination happens on various scales, from subtle influences like advertising to larger influences like interpretations of world history.

I intend to explore these ideas further in the future, but currently, I believe it of the upmost importance to nurture critical thinking skills. It's necessary to question both internal and external narratives, safeguarding one's life force energy from being fragmented by a multitude of distractions.

This demands the capacity to impartially consider multiple perspectives, engage in wide-ranging reading, maintain physical well-being, suspend judgment, have unapologetic authenticity, recognize unconscious behavior, and maintain an open, adaptable mind.

In a world that seems desperate to steal your attention and energy, the responsibility lies on each individual’s shoulders to protect their autonomy and clarity of thought.

If this sparks an interest and you would like someone to discuss these ideas with, I would love to chat.

🙏 The Emotion Code

Last September I wrote about my experience using The Emotion Code system, developed by Dr. Bradley Nelson. It’s a form of energy healing that finds and releases trapped negative emotions in the body.

I’d like to offer anyone reading this a complimentary session. It only takes around 10 minutes and it could really be a game-changer. Just reply to this email and we can set something up.

🍊 Another Look at Bioenergetics

I’ve discussed the bioenergetic approach to health countless times in this newsletter and want to revisit it based off a post Danny Roddy recently made.

In it, Roddy mentions that “almost the entire health world operates on a combination of nutritionism and the rate of living theory.”

He defines them like this:

Nutritionism: An organism's health is dictated by the presence or absence of specific nutrients and compounds in the diet.

Rate of Living Theory: The lifespan of an organism is inversely related to its metabolic rate.

Bioenergetics negates both — suggesting that the rate of metabolism is responsible for the quality of life and longevity in a given environment, and that nutritional status cannot be understood outside the context of thyroid function and its inverse relationship with metabolic stress.

Basically, the bioenergetic approach to health posits that a higher metabolic rate, driven by optimal thyroid function, is preferable for overall health and longevity. This contrasts with the common belief that a slower metabolism leads to a longer life.

Here is the reasoning:

• Energy production: A higher metabolic rate means that the body is producing energy more efficiently. This energy is crucial for various physiological functions, including cell repair, detoxification, and immune function. When metabolism is low, these processes may be impaired, leading to an accumulation of damage and dysfunction over time.

• Nutrient utilization: Thyroid status significantly impacts the body's need for and utilization of various nutrients. When thyroid function is optimal, the body is better able to absorb and use nutrients effectively. Focusing solely on nutrient intake without considering metabolic context may not provide the desired health benefits.

• Stress resistance: A robust metabolism may help the body better cope with various stressors, both internal and external. This is because a higher metabolic rate is associated with better energy production, which is necessary for adaptive stress responses. In contrast, a low metabolic rate may leave the body more vulnerable to the damaging effects of stress.

• Hormonal balance: Thyroid function is intricately connected with other hormonal systems in the body, such as sex and stress hormones. Optimizing thyroid function may help promote overall hormonal balance, which is crucial for health and well-being.

• Quality of life: A higher metabolic rate may translate to better overall function, vitality, and quality of life. This is because the body has more energy available for various activities and processes that support health and well-being.

So, the bioenergetic perspective suggests that focusing solely on nutrient intake without considering the metabolic context may not provide the desired health outcomes. By prioritizing thyroid function and metabolic rate, the body may be better positioned to utilize nutrients effectively, combat stress, and maintain optimal function over the lifespan.

I am certainly not qualified to say for sure that this approach is hands-down the winner for optimal health outcomes, but at least can say that having proper thyroid function is a worthwhile goal. Taking your body temperature upon waking and again mid-morning is an easy way to roughly gauge your thyroid function and metabolic health.

Check out past newsletters to learn more.

📱 Digital Minimalism

Cal Newport is a New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including “Deep Work”, “Slow Productivity”, and “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.” His 2019 book “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” was an easy read that serves as a good reminder to be diligent in protecting yourself from digital distractions.

Here is one highlight from each chapter of the book:

Part 1 – Foundations

Chapter 1 – A Lopsided Arms Race

Companies design technologies to be used for extended periods to make money, often exploiting behavioral addictions at the cost of our well-being.

Chapter 2 – Digital Minimalism

Digital Minimalism focuses online time on carefully selected activities that support one's values. It's effective because it reduces clutter, optimizes technology use, and provides satisfaction through intentionality.

Chapter 3 - The Digital Declutter

Take a 30-day break from optional technologies, explore meaningful activities, and reintroduce technologies intentionally, determining their value and usage.

Part 2 – Practices

Chapter 4 -Spend Time Alone

Solitude allows for self-reflection and is crucial for thriving. Take walks without external stimulation to invoke thoughts.

Chapter 5 – Don't Click "Like"

Real-world interactions are more valuable than social media. Stop liking and leaving meaningless comments. Treat texts like emails and have fixed response times. Talk to people more often.

Chapter 6 – Reclaim Leisure

Cultivate high-quality leisure to minimize low-quality digital diversions. Seek demanding activities, use skills to produce physical things, and engage in structured social interactions. Schedule low-quality leisure time and gradually reduce it. Incorporate seasonal and weekly leisure plans.

Chapter 7 – Join the Attention Resistance

Delete social media from your phone, access services through desktop, use blocking software, and develop a plan to maximize good information and cut out waste.

Conclusion

Digital minimalists see technologies as tools to support their values, not as sources of value themselves.

Of course these ideas aren’t novel and I’m sure every one of you is aware of how their technology use is probably a bit out of control. That is why some of the more hardcore practices Newport proposes, specifically the 30-day break from optional technologies, could be a necessary avenue to reset your addiction to tech. I plan implementing this 30-day break sometime soon, if I can build up the willpower!

This 10-minute YouTube visual summary of the book is great.

𝕏 Thread of the Week

☀️ Against Sunscreen Absolutism: Slowly, slowly, and then all at once. This article in The Atlantic joins the fray, asking why American experts won’t acknowledge that sun exposure is good for you. “It’s not every day that science discovers a free and readily accessible intervention {the sun} that might improve the health of so many people. That’s the real story here..”

The article isn’t perfect but it does a good job explaining how countries around the world are now waking up to the fact that the science is clearly pointing that sun exposure is extremely beneficial to human health. In my opinion, based on its super low cost, frequent, intelligent sun exposure is at or near the top of the list of bang-for-your-buck health interventions.

📃 Contract Killer: This isn’t health-related (it’s freedom related) but I’ve been going down a research rabbit hole on our status as U.S. Citizens, the government, taxation, and all that. I learned a lot from Brandon Joe Williams, who offers a free e-mail based “Contract Killer Course.” The overall themes discussed in the course are that the "government" is actually a for-profit corporation that tricks people into servitude and extracts wealth via fraud and deception.

By understanding the nature of the system, you can break free, operate under Common Law, and avoid these adhesion contracts and statutory schemes disguised as "laws." Correcting your status from "U.S. citizen" to state national is the first step to freedom. This all could lead to you legally not have to pay taxes, worry about the IRS, and a bunch of other stuff. If it makes you queazy reading about it, just forget I mentioned it. If you wanna chat about it, I’d be happy to.

♫ Tom Kenyon the Sound Healer: I’ve been listening to a variety of tracks from Tom Kenyon recently. I’ve found them to be unique when compared to other sound healing tracks, and love that he provides detailed instructions on how best to work with the meditations.

The “bio” on his home page is gold: “Neither the voice nor the man can be explained in one paragraph or in any combination of words. He is essence of, manifestation of, emanation of . . . and his vitality, his magic and his integrity cannot be articulated in electronic swipes of ink on a papyrus of light particles captured on a computer screen. So we invite you to feel his work through what you sense reading these words and listening to the sound bites, which can no more adequately capture his voice than words can portray the man.”

🔗 One Hitters

🔋 How to quit wasting your energy (Tweet)

🧘🏻‍♂️ AWAKE: It's YOUR Turn (A Documentary About Ordinary People and Extraordinary Transformation)

☢ How to protect yourself from EMF radiation (List)

📰 Watching the news is ruining your life (Video)

🇺🇸 American history is completely different than you thought? (Thread)

✔️ That will do it for this time! Hopefully you got some value out of it. If you have any questions/comments/things you’d like to learn more about please don’t hesitate to reach out.

🔗 If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link!

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.

📖 Read “Accelerated SELF-Development” and the accompanying "Resources”