A Life of Optimal Well-Being Second Edition: Ultimate Guide to Life Management, Medical Prevention, and Longevity.

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© 2012 Dr. Jacob Allen Shipon. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 2/29/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-5412-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-5414-4 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903316

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1

Mind-Body Connection

Chapter II

Stress Management Principles

Chapter III

Life Management Principles

Chapter IV

Auto-Mental Conditioning

Chapter V

Auto-Mental Dynamics

Chapter VI

Preconditioning

Chapter VII

Diet Principles

Chapter VIII

Exercise

Chapter IX

Creating Your Own World

Chapter X

Summary

Chapter XI

Disclaimer

Chapter XII

Appendix

Introduction

Dedication

Dedicated to those who have had the courage, and those who will gain the courage, to live life as above the line people.

Introduction

If you are reading this book, it may be because the promise of the title caught your attention. Either you are seeking more peace in your life and a path to a healthier way of living, or you have already achieved the nirvana of a profound state of well-being and you are interested in what others have to say about this phenomenon.

No matter where you find yourself in the spectrum between optimal well-being or a life of emotional and physical chaos, you will gain a great deal by reading this book. If you apply the principles and techniques I am going to teach you, on a focused and daily basis, you can achieve a state of emotional and physical well-being you never thought possible.

Follow me on a journey of learning, Discover how to unleash all your potential to live a life free of stress and anxiety. Learn how to slow the aging process dramatically and rid yourself of disease. Find out how you can condition your body through a unique exercise and diet regimen that can dramatically lower your triglyceride and cholesterol levels and drop your blood pressure, while simultaneously giving you exceptionally high levels of energy and stamina.

Discover the miracle possibilities of living in a world without arrogance, animosity, hate, greed, or lust—a world where people live with humility, restraint, charity, and kindness.

Sound too good to be true? It is not. If you are intrigued by the possibility of living this kind of life, one of optimal well-being, I ask of you just two things. First, before you begin to read the first chapter, decide that you will suspend all of your assumptions about medicine, health and aging for the time that you spend with this book. Just keep an open mind about the possible. Second, I am a successful medical doctor with more than 30 years of experience, so I ask that you consider me your surrogate primary care physician and let me talk with you as if you were a patient in my own office. If I have not convinced you of your infinite potential by the time you have finished this book, you will have the right to be skeptical.

The discoveries I will share with you are all taken either from the records of my own practice as a primary care physician or from those of other highly respected physicians.

I have known patients, as well as friends, that have used these principles and techniques and then have gone on to experience such profound transformations for the better in their lives that I almost did not recognize them. It was as if they had been reborn emotionally and physically. I have seen these people firsthand create their own worlds of infinite well-being.

During my 30 years of practicing medicine and observing patients, I concluded that there was a vertical sliding scale to the quality of life. At the uppermost part of this scale was optimal emotional and physical well-being and at the lowest point, despair, anxiety, stress and disease. We all live our lives somewhere along this scale. At the top, the possibilities for well-being are infinite; at the bottom, it is a living hell; in the middle between the two extremes is a line. For the purposes of my studies, I began to categorize patients as either below-the-line or above-the-line individuals. Let me describe both of these types, and then you decide how far above or below the line you live your own life.

Mindset

Below-the-line

These types of individuals are living in turmoil and chaos, both emotionally and physically. They are literally drowning in the stress of modern day life. They cannot cope with life. They are agitated and hyperactive. In addition, contrary to common belief, their hyperactivity does not translate into positive energy. Their energy is like a bonfire that just burns up fuel but does not serve any positive purpose. Below-the-line people are pessimistic. They do not harbor any hope for their own futures. They are exhausted from the moment their day begins until they fall into a lump in their beds at the end of the day.

Since these are negative people without hope, they consequently do not have any drams or goals. They are like a ship without a rudder whose motor is revving wildly as it keeps turning in circles in the middle of the sea, going nowhere. Below-the-line people are illogical. They deal with their impulses, fears and stressors from strictly an emotional level. They rarely take the time to calm down long enough to think their problems through using logic instead of emotions. Instead of being loving individuals who know how to love themselves, they are filled with animosity, aggression and even hate. In addition, they are totally egocentric with either too much ego or none at all—completely out of balance. Moreover, because they are this way, they rarely do what is right by others and the rest of the world; instead, they dwell on themselves and their own woes continually. What makes this bleak picture even more dismal is the fact that they are clueless about it all. They do not have the faintest hint as how to begin to change their predicaments or themselves. They would not even know where to begin to acquire the knowledge, even if they wanted to and, of course, they would never think to ask someone else for help or guidance.

Because below-the-line individuals are so consumed with trying to deal with day-to-day life, they are not the types you see at the gym riding bicycles, or hiking, or enjoying any other kind of recreation or exercise. Their bodies are so de-conditioned or out of shape, they do not have the physical ability to cope with their environment—and since they are not engaged in any aerobic exercise (i.e., are not aerobically conditioned), they lack physical flexibility.

A gloomy picture, isn’t it? Yet many of the people around you live this kind of life, day in and day out. These are the people who are always ill, with everything from colds to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels; who suffer from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and any other disease you care to mention. As a result, they gold old and infirm before their time or die prematurely.

Above-the-line

Now contrast those types of people with others I call above-the-line individuals. When I speak about living a life of optimal emotional and physical well-being, I refer to these types of individuals as the best example.

As opposed to below-the-line individuals, above the line people are calm; in fact, infinitely calm. They are not hyperactive but they do possess phenomenal levels of energy. Rather than being pessimistic, they are optimistic, infinitely optimistic and full of hope.

You will not hear these people speaking negatively, nor will you find them acting in a negative manner. They are positive and goal-oriented. They have the capacity to dream infinitely and to make their dreams reality. Rather than finding themselves exhausted all the time, they are full of vigor and vitality and they use their energy in positive ways. They are fully empowered to control their own lives by using logic and the powers of their minds. They do not deal with potential stressors in their lives on an emotional level. They are calm and they take the time to think through each of the situations they are presented with. Above-the-line people have learned to replace the word problems with the word situation. When confronted with a challenge, they consider it a situation that is to be dealt with in a calm, rationale and logical manner.

Rather than being filled with animosity, they are just the opposite. These individuals are full of love. They love themselves, and they always forgive themselves for any shortcomings, as they do everyone around them. They do not hold grudges. They love not only their families and friends but also their business associates and even their enemies. These people appear to have no egos because they are always thinking of everyone else before themselves. They do, however, have a strong sense of who they are, what they can accomplish, and where they are going. In other words, they have egos that are in balance and a good sense of self-esteem.

In addition, above-the-line people know what doing the right thing means. They know there is goodness in themselves and others, and they bring it out. These people know that light is knowledge, and they seek it out with a thirst from everywhere and everyone around them. They are aware that they do not need to know everything, only the right knowledge to fulfill their own particular dreams and goals. Therefore, they are wise, and they have learned the ultimate secret of creating their own world to live in, which they do: their own world of optimal well-being.

As you might imagine, these are the same types of people who tend to be conditioned physically with ideal body weights and muscle/fat ratios. They are aerobically conditioned, flexible and rarely get sick. Most of them live long, fruitful, infinitely happy and peaceful lives.

This is what is meant by living in the highest possible state of emotional and physical well-being—infinite well-being.

The good news and the bad news

The bad news is that more people are below-the-line in varying degrees than are above. The good news is that it does not have to be this way. All of us have the ability to live in an optimal state of emotional and physical well-being. Each of us can live a life devoid of stress, illness, disease or premature aging—a life that is vibrant and fully energized. Why should you believe that all of this is possible?

Do you want to live longer? Do you want to rid your body of illness and disease? Would you like to live a life without stress? What do you have to lose? Let me begin by telling you about myself and how I made my discoveries.

I am a primary care physician with a medical practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have been a physician for more than 30 years. During that time, I developed a significant interest in preventive medicine and in the aging process. More specifically, I wanted to learn how to prevent disease and aging rather than just treating the symptoms. At the time, I always believed, probably like you, that disease and aging were inevitable. Although doctors have known for quite some time that stress plays a significant role in creating and prolonging illness, they always believed that stress was also an inescapable byproduct of our hectic and complicated society.

During these early years of my professional life, I practiced primary health care in the traditional manner. That is to say, I would review the medical history of each patient who came before me, then conduct a physical exam along with diagnostic tests. The patient’s medical history combined with the findings of my exam and diagnostic tests would then form the basis of their treatment; in other words—medicine as usual.

A patient who was ill would be given medicine and perhaps some dietary and exercise advice such as the obvious admonishments to quit smoking, restrict their intake of alcohol, eliminate fatty foods, and begin an exercise regimen. We were not as concerned with solutions that would prevent the illness, as much as we were caught up in treating the illness that had already begun.

Because of my interest in preventive medicine and longevity, I began to learn that stress is not inevitable, neither are the illnesses and ailments associated with aging. As my research continued, I began to develop programs designed to treat the entire patient; methods that worked on the emotional and mental aspects of the individual as well as on the physical body.

In 1985, I became the Medical Director for the Philadelphia Police Department (Fraternal Order of Police). During my tenure at the department, and as the result of my interest in preventive medicine, I used my findings to further develop very specific preventive programs. These included enlightening my patients about their potential for emotional and physical well-being, improving their aerobic and muscle conditioning, and learning dietary habits.

Over 75 percent of the patients involved in these programs lost from 15 to 20 pounds. They also experienced a remarkable decrease in resting and stress blood pressure and developed much lower heart rates, among other positive effects. However, what was even more amazing to me was the enhancement that these patients experienced in their emotional and mental well-being and the marked improvement in their ability to cope with stress!

I began to realize that my patients’ emotional state played a far greater role in their overall health than even I had imagined. I discovered that the potential of the human mind and spirit to attain an elevated sense of well-being was essentially infinite. It became evident that my patients wanted and needed much more. They needed another dimension altogether. At that point, I decided to develop a definitive program that would rely more on prevention and longevity considerations than on traditional approaches; one that would involve the entire being—mind and body. I became completely devoted to creating a unique new program that, when followed diligently, would result in profound emotional and physical health or what I refer to as, Profound Well-Being.

In addition to being the Medical Director for the Fraternal Order of Police in Philadelphia, I have been on the boards of several public and private corporations and was the founder and CEO of Medi-Fitness, a medical corporation. I formalized much of my research while at Medi-Fitness and then several years ago decided to share my discoveries with the public. This program is the result of more than 30 years of research.

This program is unique in many ways. It is the only health program that teaches a total approach to wellness, based entirely on preventive principles of medicine. It combines the most profound aspects of both Eastern and Western thought. You will not find it in any other book, nor is it taught in any medical school, mainly because traditional curricula are based on treating disease and illness after the fact; they are not based on preventive principles, nor do they deal with the individual’s mindset.

There is a logical, practical, simple and extremely effective method for achieving optimal well-being.

In Chapter One of this book, I will demonstrate how your mind has the power to completely change the way your body works. I will explain why you have this power, and I will provide proof that all of the things I am going to teach you are possible and completely within the reach of every individual that is willing to apply my principles.

At first, as you begin to understand the potential that this program holds for you, you will be astonished. Then as you start to live by the principles and practice the techniques, you will cease to be surprised as you begin to feel better emotionally and physically. Your decision-making processes will be much clearer. Your relationships with everyone around you will be more joyous, and you will begin to find a peace within your life that you have never experienced before. Indeed, you will learn to create your own world in which to live a life free of stress, disorder and disease.

The principles and techniques in this book is the recipe for great achievement and contentment. The Life Management Principles you will learn are truly the universal guidelines for emotional and spiritual well-being and the techniques of Auto-Mental Conditioning, Auto-Mental Dynamics, and Preconditioning will serve you on a daily basis to keep you on track for the rest of your long life.

I will teach you relaxation techniques and practical methods of stress management. You will learn how to dream and set powerful new goals. You will come to understand the real meaning of the words love, light, logic and what it truly means to do the right thing in life. You will also realize the full potential of your physical body by learning to condition yourself properly. In addition, you will be given the prescription for a completely balanced diet. You will even discover the amazing role that humor plays in your good health.

Visit our web site, which is an important interactive resource for you. The address is: USPmed.com. Here you will find a wealth of information on optimal well-being. The site is interactive and contains many valuable links to other resources, from stress management principles to diet and exercise topics. Using our site should become part of your daily routine. We continually up date and change material. New information is available on a daily basis.

Chapter 1

Mind-Body Connection

Our perceptions about ourselves and the world around us are learned behavior. These perceptions or thoughts have been formed through conditioning by parents, teachers, friends and society. In turn your parents, teachers, friends and society were conditioned through the same influences. This repetition of conditioning or programming has been repeated for thousands of years.

We have all been taught to believe that sickness is inevitable, aging is inescapable and stress is just a part of modern life. We have also come to accept that anger, pessimism and helplessness are inevitable to some degree or another.

We as a society have unwittingly agreed to participate in this fiction. It is time to discard these assumptions because the fact is that sickness, premature aging, stress and all forms of emotionalism are not inevitable. To understand why this is true, you must first understand the origin of negative thought patterns and impulses that cause these problems. Once you understand this, you can learn how to suppress and eliminate them from your life. To do that we must first take a brief look at our ancestors, for it is from earliest man that we began to inherit many of the negative impulses that cause us to think and act the way we do.

Paleolithic Man

Man first appeared on the earth during the era anthropologists refer to as the Paleolithic Period. For the purposes of this program, it is important to understand more about this early man, for it is here in the Paleolithic era, some 200,000 to 250,000 years ago, that modern man’s genetic codes began to form.

Most of early man’s responses to the environment were emotional and were based purely on survival. Paleolithic Man’s capacity for logical thinking was not very well developed. For example, he knew a predator when he saw one, so his emotional instinct of fright and flight allowed him to survive in most cases. Let me repeat that: his emotional instinct. Although he most certainly experienced a physical sensation in his body, its cause was emotional. Early man also knew enough to find shelter from the elements and he understood hunger—in other words, the basest survival instincts or emotions.

Early man perceived most of the events in his environment as stressors; therefore, his impulses or thoughts were mostly negative, in the sense that they caused him fear and anxiety, Impulses like fright and flight that helped him stay alive, elevated his blood pressure, causing him great anxiety. He also experienced other emotions in response to his environment such as anger, greed, animosity and pessimism, perhaps rightly so since his world was so harsh; in turn, his responses were raw. In short, he needed these emotions or thought patterns to survive. That is why we call them survival mechanisms. Modern man no longer needs these negative emotions or traits to survive; nevertheless, we remain predisposed to these genetic codes.

In addition to these emotions, we inherited the physical makeup of our ancestors, which would be a good thing if it were not for our modern dietary and exercise habits. Early man, despite all his emotional frailties, was quite healthy in the physical sense. He had to be fit to endure his environment. In fact, unlike modern man he had an almost perfect diet and exercise regimen for his needs. He ran away from predators when danger was eminent. He stalked prey and gathered various forms of vegetation for food. He walked when he needed and he slept when he became tired. In other words, Paleolithic Man never consciously thought about getting his daily exercise or worried about his calorie count. His lifestyle naturally provided him with aerobic and anaerobic conditioning—a consistent way to maintain a proper and healthy balance of muscle and fat.

Paleolithic Man’s diet was also nearly as perfect. He ate only when he was hungry and in small portions continually throughout the day, not because he was bored or depressed, but because his system naturally told him when he needed fuel. He ate when he found around him such as berries, vegetation, meat, fish and insects. His body sought out the proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. He ingested the right amount of roughage, vitamins and minerals.

As humankind evolved and life became more and more complicated, we began to lose the ability to cope with our environment. Although our lives are no longer a matter of daily survival (some would argue that point), our environment is