The SHN #81: John Ott and the Will to Live

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, I will introduce you to a pioneer in light research, John Ott.

After that, I question whether we have an actual will to live or instead cultivate elaborate distractions from its absence.

Then comes the usual links to things I’ve found interesting recently.

🦃 November 28th, 2024: Happy Thanksgiving from Phuket, Thailand! I hope everyone enjoys their turkey, stuffing, and football while avoiding politics 🙂 

Apparently you need a visa to enter communist countries as an American? Who knew!? I arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport destined for Da Nang, Vietnam but was turned away because I didn't have a visa. Oh well! I've detoured to Phuket, a place that's been on my bucket list since I was in college.

I've started my tour in Patong Beach, known for its vibrant nightlife and tourist scene. The famous Bangla Road comes alive after sunset with neon lights, loud music, packed bars and clubs, and plenty of questionable characters. The beach itself is a beautiful stretch of white sand lined with restaurants and shops. Massage parlors are everywhere, with enthusiastic staff trying to “wave in” customers - it's quite an experience!

☀️ John Ott: The Forgotten Pioneer of Light Research

In an era dominated by artificial lighting and indoor living, John Ott emerged as a renegade researcher who studied the biological effects of light on living organisms. Working primarily in the mid-20th century, Ott was ahead of his time in recognizing how different types of light affect human health, plant growth, and cellular behavior.

As a photographer and researcher, Ott observed concerning trends in how artificial lighting and filtered light might impact human health. His work suggested that the wavelengths missing from artificial light sources could create what he termed "malillumination" - similar to how missing nutrients create malnutrition.

Some of his most intriguing observations involved cancer research, where he noted cases of remission seemed to correlate with increased exposure to natural light. He shares an interesting anecdote from Time magazine about a man with terminal cancer who experienced remission after spending his days reading on an open porch and tending to his rose garden.

Based on his research, Ott developed comprehensive recommendations for optimizing light exposure in modern life. Here are his key suggestions:

Natural Light Exposure:

• Spend minimum 6 hours daily in natural daylight

• Avoid looking through regular window glass or windshields when possible

• Use screened porches instead of enclosed spaces

• Consider sleeping on a screened porch

Daily Routine:

• Align with natural cycles - rise at sunrise, sleep at sunset

• Eat meals outdoors when possible

• Enjoy outdoor activities during daylight hours

• Avoid artificial lighting at night except for dim blue night lights

Home Environment:

• Install UV-transmitting windows where possible

• Use daylight incandescent bulbs when artificial light is necessary

• Choose natural fiber materials over synthetics

• Paint walls in light pastels (blue, green, gray, beige) rather than strong colors

• Add color accents naturally through furnishings

• Avoid all-pink rooms

Sun Exposure Guidelines:

• Build up sun exposure gradually

• Avoid peak hours (11 AM - 2 PM)

• Skip suntan lotions which filter natural light

• Use visors instead of sunglasses

• When glasses are necessary, choose full-spectrum neutral gray

Things to Avoid:

• Television viewing (radio recommended instead)

• Infrared heat lamps

• Microwave communication systems

• Looking through windshields for long periods

• Synthetic materials where possible

• Dark or tinted glasses

Ott’s core message about the importance of natural light exposure remains relevant in our increasingly indoor world. His pioneering work contributed to the conversation that continues today about how modern lighting technologies might affect our health and wellbeing.

Today, there is a burgeoning field called “circadian biology” which has expanded on these topics and discusses the huge impact that our “light diet” has on our health. In fact, this very area of research was the catalyst for me starting this newsletter— to tell people how important this is for human health.

Obviously, not everyone can or wants to spend hours a day outside, go to bed early, eat outside, buy new lights, drive with their windows down, avoid artificial light sources, and more. If you can do the best you can given this information, your health will be better off for it.

If you need someone to hand hold you through these behavior and lifestyle modifications, don’t hesitate to reach out, I’m happy to help.

🙏 The Will to Live vs. The Need to Want

Most of us think we have a strong will to live. After all, we wake up every morning, pursue our goals, build relationships, and plan for the future. We're constantly in motion, desiring, achieving, connecting, creating. Isn't that what it means to be alive?

But what if much of this activity isn't actually a will to live, but rather an elaborate distraction from its absence?

Consider this experiment: Strip away everything external - your job, your relationships, your phone, your goals, your daily routines, your entertainment, your spiritual practices. Sit in complete silence with nothing to do and nowhere to go. How long before the void becomes unbearable? How long before you need something - anything - to fill the emptiness?

This is where we discover a startling truth: Many of us don't actually have a will to live. What we have is a collection of desires that keep us too busy to notice its absence.

The Illusion of Living

We mistake wanting for living in subtle and sophisticated ways. It shows up in how we cling to what we have and constantly seek more:

For those seeking:

• "I just need to find the right partner, then I'll feel complete"

• "Once I get that promotion, things will be different"

• "If I could just move to a better city, my life would really start"

For those who already "have it all":

• "I need to protect my wealth or I'll lose everything"

• "I must keep my partner interested or I'll end up alone"

• "I have to maintain my status or I'll become nobody"

For those focused on experiences:

• "I need to travel more to feel alive"

• "I must always have something to look forward to"

• "I can't stand a quiet weekend with nothing planned"

For those on spiritual paths:

• "I need to achieve enlightenment to feel at peace"

• "I must maintain my meditation practice or I'll lose my center"

• "I have to keep growing or I'm stagnating"

In daily life:

• Checking our phones compulsively to feel connected

• Needing background music to avoid silence

• Always planning the next meal while eating the current one

• Filling every moment with activity to avoid stillness

• Maintaining busy schedules to feel important

• Collecting likes and followers to feel validated

• Needing coffee or stimulation to feel energized

• Shopping for temporary hits of satisfaction

Even in contentment:

• "I must hold onto this perfect moment"

• "I need to document this experience to make it real"

• "I have to ensure this feeling lasts"

The common thread here is needing the wanting itself.

Whether we're seeking something new or desperately maintaining what we have, we're using desire as life support rather than letting it be a natural expression of living.

True living isn't:

• Achieving everything we want

• Maintaining everything we have

• Always having something to chase

• Constantly protecting what we've gained

It's about being fundamentally okay regardless of what we're wanting, having, or losing in any given moment. It's the difference between:

• Needing desire to feel alive

• Being alive and letting desires naturally arise and pass

This distinction becomes clear when we ask ourselves:

• Can I sit in complete stillness without needing distraction?

• Am I okay if everything I've built suddenly disappears?

• Can I experience desire without being driven by it?

• Do I need my current circumstances to stay exactly as they are?

The answer often reveals whether we're truly living or just using desires - past, present, and future - as life support.

The Fear That Blocks Healing

This is why deep healing terrifies us. We intuitively sense that healing might mean losing our desires, and we think that would mean losing our will to live. After all, if we didn't desire success, love, recognition, or achievement, wouldn't we just waste away?

But here's the key insight: True healing doesn't erase desire - it frees us from needing to need it.

The Paradox of True Living

Imagine desiring success while being completely at peace with failure. Imagine seeking love while being totally okay with being alone. Imagine pursuing goals while being content with accomplishing nothing.

This is freedom. It's the difference between:

• A drowning person desperately grabbing at anything that floats

• A skilled swimmer moving through water with ease

The drowning person needs a lifejacket. The swimmer enjoys the water without needing anything to stay afloat.

Finding True Will to Live

True will to live is being so fundamentally okay with existence that you don't need desire to prove you're alive.

This doesn't mean you stop desiring. It means your desires become expressions of life rather than life support systems. You can still:

• Fall in love, but not because you're afraid of being alone

• Build wealth, but not because you're running from poverty

• Achieve goals, but not because you need them to feel worthy

• Create art, but not because you need to prove your value

• Help others, but not because you need to justify your existence

The Path Forward

The journey to finding true will to live involves:

1. Recognizing how we use desires as life support

2. Gradually practicing being with emptiness

3. Questioning our need to need

4. Allowing desires without clinging to them

5. Discovering what remains when all props are removed

The paradox is that when we stop using desires to prop up a fake will to live, we can discover a genuine one underneath - one that doesn't need constant validation or stimulation. One that can simply be, without needing to become anything.

This is true healing: not the death of desire, but the birth of authentic living. When we no longer need our desires to feel alive, we're free to truly live - with or without them.

What might your life look like if you didn't need your desires to prove you're alive? What authentic will to live might you discover beneath the constant wanting?

The answer lies in having the courage to find out.

𝕏 Thread of the Week

🔗 One Hitters

🧴 Topical/transdermal magnesium more effective than pill version (Post)

💼 You don’t actually have to work (Video)

🧸 Honey and fruit juice gummy bears—excellent for collagen (Recipe)

🤯 "The average medical student does not hear one lecture on trauma... not one." (Video)

📚 Read my e-book, “Self-Development for Authentic Living” for free.

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

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.