On balance - Chris Holt

About a year ago whilst I was writing my own blog I wrote a small bit about the balance that came to me physically because of meditation practice. I thought I'd share that here as it is still relevant today.

I recently had a blood test to assess the state of my liver. For many years I have had significantly elevated enzyme levels which if untreated over time would lead to a deterioration in my liver. The difficult thing has been that for years the doctors have scratched their heads at not being able to find out why the enzyme levels stay high. We have switched medications, diet, drinking alcohol, no drinking alcohol, no smoking, change diet, exercise and nothing worked until I lost significant weight at which point two of three enzymes balanced out, but the GGT which is sensitive to alcohol did not. I don't drink (or at least didn't drink until I went to Italy and enjoyed the Chianti).

This particular enzyme has a normal reading of between 35 and 50 (on whatever scale they use) and mine has been as high as 400 somewhat significantly out of range. Just over a year ago I was in the 200 range still four times higher than the maximum, with no good ideas as to why from anyone. So for the last year, you will have noticed that I have been doing a lot of meditation, more than at any other time in my life.

The meditation is the one consistent thing over the last year. I have not been drinking, then have had wine, I've played with diet and gone up and down in weight and hover now about in the middle between overweight and feeling a little emaciated. I have had work changes and written a lot of haiku, but only the meditation has been consistent...and I am happy to report that in the last reading of my blood, all enzymes are within normal range and the GGT enzyme is now in the 90s only about double the normal range. This is a marvelous outcome or turn of events as I was looking forward to liver disease in a few years.

We still do not know the cause, but I attribute the change to the meditation..can not prove it, but intuition gives me the signal.

Thought this might be of interest as I have always felt that the sitting practice works as much if not more in the background than it does in the conscious mind to balance one's being.