This article is on the topic of cleanliness.
Defined – if we take the noun form of clean we get the following: free from dirt or pollution; free from contamination or disease; relatively free from radioactive fallout; unadulterated, pure; having no interior flaws visible; free from moral corruption or sinister connections of any kind; free from offensive treatment of sexual subjects and from the use of obscenity; observing the rules; ceremonially or spiritually pure…
[Naruto is taking a bath in the community center after having a great workout.]
Naruto: Osssshhhh yeeeeeeeee laaaaaaaa yama… where is that special soap that Zhi made for the bath… ah, here it is… dooomoooooo ashi….
Zhi: Greetings Naruto, I see you are having a good scrub after exercise. That soap will make your skin good and healthy.
Naruto: You and Waneta do a very good job keeping the community center members healthy and smelling good!
Zhi: Yes, when body function well, mind can function better. It is very important to keep the body clean. That way mind feel clean too.
Catharsis: Hey there special people. Somebody smells good in here!
Zhi: Naruto is using new soap. He not only get body clean but smell clean too.
Catharsis: Yes, there is something to smell alright. When you smell good people like to be around you. It is like they are using you as their personal aromatherapy. You show up with that special scent and they just tend to follow you around. You can see the smiles on their faces as they attempt to stay within the wake of your scent. They often strike up shallow conversations just to get you close to their noses. “How’s the weather today….sniff, sniff…how about them Red Sox…sniff sniff…”
Naruto: [laughing] That is one way to develop a following. Unfortunately, many people mistake outer smell for inner qualities. Someone who smell good and look clean may not be good inside.
[Addison and John walk in on the conversation]
Addison: Sounds like another interesting topic is starting up here. Can one ever be totally clean physically?
Zhi: That be a very good question. One can be free of dirt which most people take to be clean.
Catharsis: It seems to me that many people today, for those who actually take a bath or shower, are going to an extreme with certain cleaning products pushed on them by manufacturers. Antibacterial this, super scrub that… they will probably come up with an automated human super clean body wash similar to a carwash one of these days. For $5.00 you can have the machines take off your clothes for you, scrub you down with special chemicals, rinse you off, blow dry you off, apply talcum powder and underarm in the right places, and then put your clothes back on for you. It seems that many people are probably harming themselves more than merely staying clean.
Zhi: Yes, as in the rest of the universe, there has to be balance. Using these stronger chemicals on one’s body can actually cause damage to skin, and create stronger bacteria which the body cannot fight off when infected by them. The skin is the largest organ one has; it serves as a protective layer for the body. It has to be properly nourished and cared for to help keep bad things out.
John: Don’t you have to remove dead skin cells and clean the pores?
Zhi: It is good to scrub away dead skin cells and help to remove toxins through the pores of the skin. However you do not need powerful chemicals to do this. A good abrasive wash cloth, brush, or loofah sponge and a good natural herbal soap work well. The pores are helped by removing excess dead skin, sweating, and through special herbal applications to the skin.
Catharsis: I have always found it interesting that people apply “clean” mud to their skin in order to clean the pores. Why pay someone big money to roll me over in a mud bath when I can go out to our garden area and roll around in the wet ground for free?
Addison: I would say that most Americans for instance are deprived of quality attention from others. When they cannot get a proper dose of positive attention during the day then many people will pay big money in order to receive that special attention from others. We have established that being externally clean is important for one’s health. Can one be mentally clean as well?
John: Do you mean like being morally clean?
Addison: That can be one aspect of it.
John: I have learned from you that being moral is just conforming to the majority of society in their custom of what they feel is right and wrong behavior. Being moral in society’s eyes is not necessarily the same as being mentally clean if I understand the question right.
Naruto: It seems to me that to be mentally clean one has to remove or transform refuse that impedes the mind from functioning at its best. When one plucks the weeds from one’s mind one can grow a special garden of bliss and happiness.
Zhi: With a well-functioning mind one can be a conscious part of the integral way of life of wholeness and virtue.
Catharsis: Keeping the mind clean and functioning well takes a right kind of work. Most people do not even know they have weeds in their mind…they just know they are unhappy. Most of these unhappy people do not realize that the source of their unhappiness comes from within themselves. They created it through choices they made in life, how they perceive things to be, and so forth. That is one of the main reasons why we came together as a team…to help others to become “clean” again.
Addison: Yes, like attracts like. Those who are ready will find us in due time. Good discussion guys, now let’s get on with getting physically clean. Please pass me some of that special soap Naruto!