TAYLOR BANKS

Guide to Love and Great Health

About

This book is also an adaptation from my Non-Fiction writings. I got involved with a doctor who wanted me to write a book on health, diet and nutrition. I found the man to be a con artist, which caused me to look at why I got involved with him in the first place. So I threw out most of that book and began writing about Self Love, Self Healing and Self Motivation. I realized that this is the same path Taylor Banks has to take in transforming her life. Once I decided to have Taylor write this book, most everything I wrote regarding myself applied.

In the Legend of Lucky Two Crows the character Taylor had many problems to face. Although this is fiction, the teaching apply to every person who wishes to love themselves, heal themselves, and find the motivation to do so.

Preface

I write in praise of the human Spirit; about our power to change an ordinary life, to the life we’ve always wanted: a life of happiness, great health, and the energetic motivation to make our dreams come true.

I have no intention to write a “you should” book. I’m offering helpful and entertaining information, part autobiographic: my journey from being pretty average screwed up, to less screwed up, loving myself now more than ever. Having taken the steps, I have a much happier disposition, a much better body, and my spirit is soaring higher than ever. This is what I want for you.

Learning to love myself, for you to love yourself, is a complex journey. Hopefully my candid revelations will open a conversation, stimulate some new soul searching’s, or kick your ass so you’ll love yourself more.

Self-Healing, dealing with our body, is as complex than Self Loving. I can love the hell out of myself, but if I don’t pay attend to the food I eat, and exercise daily, I’ll be dead much sooner than later. When we love our Self, we naturally want to be holistically healthy, so we can make love, travel, dance, play, and enjoy life to the fullest.

All of what I write in this book will emphasize Self Motivation, the will to ignite our Spirit and approach life with a renewed Passion. Each morning we begin a new journey; free to choose a joy-filled life, or not. My life changed when I finally took responsibility to do whatever it took to love and heal myself: to be A Radiant New You.

Throughout this book I will spontaneously pull a card from the Osho Zen Tarot, to add to the dialogue.

Introduction

This book is an invitation for you to turn your life around, and fill it with an abundance of love, great health and happiness. 

I’m not proposing that this is easy. There are so many forces, seen and unseen, which supports apathetic normalcy: to be stressed-out workers and consumers of big corporation products, foods and medicine; to sell our souls to the company store, so to speak.

I do, in fact, own the company store: Shambala Natural Foods. I inherited it, and before that, I ate junk food. I was an exercise junkie, but that didn’t mean my health was great. I had created an illusion, like so many young people do. I looked fit, but my attitude and diet was begging for ill health, somewhere down the line.

Eating correctly and exercising correctly requires a minor rebellion from the hypnosis of consumerism; an initial effort to change our bad habits. The very nature of life on earth is change. One day we’re healthy without a care in the world, and the next we’re overweight, out of shape, and the doctor tells us if we don’t change, we will die. I didn’t and don’t want to get to that place, at least not until I’m well over 120 years old. Why not have such a goal?

Eating poorly, being stressed out and not exercising daily are simply bad habits: the truths which haunt you . . . if only you could . . . take the steps required to turn ‘could’ into ‘doing it’. Well, it really isn’t that difficult. It only takes twenty-one days to establish a new habit. Why not experiment with your body, mind and spirit for twenty-one days and see what happens? I did.

I’ve always been fascinated with the interplay of body, mind and spirit.

Self-Healing is in the realm of the Body. We’ll never get another one. It really is worth protecting. We love ourselves more when we have a strong and healthy body, one which motivates us to get out there and dance.

Self-Love is in the realm of Mind. The Mind is not ours. It’s the result of a lifetime of programming. Self Love interplays with motivation, our Heart following our dreams: with a healthy body to take us there.

Self-Motivation is in the realm of Spirit. Following our heart is good advice. We need to let our Spirit loose: to Love more, play more, enjoy life more, with passion.

If you were to read my other book, Taylor Banks, The Happy Acres Affair, you will see that at twenty-nine I thought my life sucked. But, thank God, I wouldn’t allow myself to be defeated. I asked my “spirit,” my inner guidance, for help, and then I followed my heart. That took me halfway around the world, where I found my life partner, and my fortune. Going for it was a kick in the ass, which motivated me to stop eating the foods I was allergic to, and spend more time enjoying life

You might think I have an advantage owning a natural food empire, and being wealthy, but not necessarily. I visited a place where the people had no money, but ate correctly and lived vital healthy lives well past 120 years old. And at the same time some of the wealthiest people are often unhealthy, dying in their 60’s and 70’s, because they can afford, and do, eat anything, and drink anything, they want.

When I became the representative of natural foods, I almost immediately began eating the food I knew was best for me, and exercised at a healthy pace. I knew better all along, which led to the writing of this book. You don’t need my excuse to begin eating, exercising and sleeping correctly today.

You can read books like this, ones with many helpful tips, and Google, experiment, to find out what works best for our body, mind and spirit. We’re all grown up. We can do it all on our own, without being hoodwinked with scams, which take your money. I don’t need your money. I was you not so long ago, and I now realize that excuses like “I can’t afford it” are self-sabotaging and not worth it.

When I was lazy, I had bouts of depression and a definite lack of self-love, I knew better, for sure. You know better. You’re intelligent or you wouldn’t be reading this book. Kick yourself in the ass, with my love and blessings.

I hope this book inspires and motivates you to love yourself more and to take better care of your precious body, without falling victim to some diet or exercise scam; to someone who “knows better.”

I broke free of the terrible con of being ordinary. My prayer is that you too break free, and enjoy a long happy and healthy life, as the Master of your Amazing Life.

Chapter 1

The Dream

We begin with Love, the greatest emotion: 

I decided long ago, never to walk in
Anyone’s shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

by Michael Masser & Linda Creed
Sung by Whitney Houston

All my life I’ve been trying to love myself; though, more often than not, I’ve been confused about love. I’ve wanted to be the gal on the top of the wedding cake of love – you know, that plastic babe in a low-cut white dress next to the plastic guy in the black tux. That ideal plastic dude would love the shit out of me, whether or not I also . . . loved the shit out of my plastic self. I wanted to marry him, the ideal, before thinking about marring myself, or at least being in love with myself first. This meant, I guess, I wanted a man who would love me more than I loved myself. That seemed reasonable, in a sort of fucked up unreasonable way.

I never could understand how so many good-looking women were so devoted to screwed-up asshole men. I sort of wanted to be with a dominant man, for him to be “the man,” but that’s just not in me: being the subservient wife. I can’t play games like that.

I knew I had lots of love inside of me, and maybe that love was too hidden from a man, I don’t know. It wasn’t hidden from the few men who . . . it wasn’t hidden from Lucky.

Like most women, I wanted the cherry on top love, not considering that bright red formaldehyde cherry is as plastic as the tiny mannequins. I wanted to be the wife of a man who loved me unconditionally, loved all my good aspects and all my not quite perfect personality traits, and vice versa: a mutual recognition of our true beauty: without any of the bullshit drama. Someone who would above all recognize my pure heart, and never forget that my intentions were always, always, always good. I can say that without barfing, can’t I?

A fucking idealist, you say?

Okay, if the ideal “they” set up for us is totally ridiculous, then I would have to compromise. I don’t fuckin’ compromise. Crap. If I couldn’t find my ideal man, maybe I’d be able to find a short time boyfriend: a shorter time lover? But I’ve never been a slut. Okay, maybe my ideal only works with a dog. Shit. I don’t have time for dogs.

Thinking about the almost impossible requirements I set regarding the ideal love, my concept of a no bullshit love partner, has caused me lifelong angst, at least fifteen years of it. I sort of kinda found him for short periods, like some hunks at college, but only during the first month of short lasting love affairs. But none of those were really love at all. Just fun until they got serious.

I wanted to write a book about all sorts of love, because any path to emotional healing is relevant.

After my first significant broken heart at age 20, the end of a six-month love affair, I became like so many men and women who have been hurt. I made up shit, supported by a “poor me” attitude. After her (yes, she was my college roommate) I made some effort, probably half-heartedly, but I couldn’t find a woman to date. As my college years went by I slept with some hunky guys, but I had to accept that maybe I wasn’t supposed to have a steady love partner. Ha!

This is some advice about making your dream come true:

Attitude: Most important. We must expect something fantastic to electrify our life.
Age: Love can come in the strangest package. Don’t set limits.
Money: Love isn’t about money. A walk in the park and a romp in the hay are free.
Looks: Attraction helps, but it is really all about energy and chemistry.
Weight: Overweight is often a sign of unhappiness. Chose someone who wants to look great, and will do whatever it takes to be healthy and strong.
Desire: If you have a desire, express it. Play with desire and passion.
Sexual Performance: Help one another. Learn new positions and how to make sex great.
Complacency: Stop being complacent. Put out what you want and go for it.

But it all starts with learning how to love yourself first.