The wisdom of long-livers is invaluable for those who want to live a long life. Behind every thought is a personal experience, every conclusion is time-tested. Excerpts from the book “Many Years. Blessed years. Commandments of the 104-year-old sage Andrey Vorona for a long and joyful life.” by Myroslav Dochynets (Original title: «Многие лета. Благие лета. Заповеди 104-летнего мудреца Андрея Ворона для долгой и радостной жизни», Автор: Мирослав Дочинец). Translated into English by ©Excellence Reporter).

1. Learn to see all living things around and rejoice at everything – grass, wood, birds, animals, earth, the sky. Look into them with kind eyes and with an attentive heart – you will discover such knowledge that you will not find in books. And you will see yourself in them – tamed and renewed.

2. Make a habit even for a few minutes at any time to stand barefoot on the ground. Give the body earth until she herself didn’t call it.

3. Look for opportunities to stay by the water. It will relieve fatigue, it will clear your thoughts.

4. Drink clean water wherever possible without waiting for thirst. This is first medicine. Wherever fate took me I first looked for a well, a spring. Do not drink sweet and salty (mineral) bottled water. The first will corrode the liver, the second will wall up the vessels.

5. Vegetables should be on your table daily. Nutritious are those vegetables which are warmed up and filled with sun. In the first place — beetroot, there is no better food on earth. Then — kidney beans, pumpkin, berries, carrots, tomatoes, pepper, spinach, lettuce, apples, grapes, plums.

6. You can eat meat if you want. But rarely. Do not eat pork. But a thin slice of bacon will do good. Do not smoke it though. Why eat tar…

7. Bad food — sausages, fried potatoes, cookies, sweets, canned food, marinades. My food — cereals, kidney beans, green vegetables. The predator that ate meat — hardly creeps, is lazy. But a horse from eating oats, pulls the cart all day long. The locust feeds on grass — with that power it can fly.

8. It’s better to eat a handful, but often. In order to eat less I drink a lot of water and compotes, I eat rough food and raw vegetables. From Thursday evening to Friday evening I do not eat anything; I drink only water.

9. Fasting — is the greatest grace. Nothing strengthens me or makes me young such as fasting. The bones become as light as a bird’s. And the heart is cheerful as a young boy’s. With each major fasting I become younger for several years.

10. The sun rises and sets – for you. Work goes well after sunrise. Get used to it and you will be strong in body and healthy in spirit. And the brain rests and brightens better during the night sleep. So do monks and warriors. And they have the power to serve.

11. It’s good to take a half-hour nap in the middle of the day, laying on one’s back, so that the blood refreshes the head and face. It’s bad to sleep after meals, because the blood becomes thick and fat settles on the vessels.

12. Sit less, but sleep enough.

13. Try to be more in the open air. Accustom yourself to live in a cool room. It is enough that the legs and hands are warm, but the head — in the cool. The body languishes and grows old from heat.

14. Strengthen with herbs the weak and frozen body. A handful of herbs, berries, leaves, currant twigs, raspberries, strawberries — steep that in boiling water and drink it all day. You will benefit greatly from this in the wintertime.

15. Do not forget about walnuts. The walnut resembles our brain. It has power for the brain. It is good to use a teaspoon of walnut oil every day.

16. Be kind and considerate with people. You can learn something from each one of them, even from an empty one. Do not make of people neither enemies nor friends. And you will not get any trouble from them.

17. What you are destined for it will be given to you. Just learn to wait humbly. What’s not supposed to be yours — you shouldn’t wait for. Let the soul be lightweight.

18. Do not believe in superstitions, astrologers, do not resort to fortunetelling. Keep the soul and heart pure.

19. When the soul feels down you need to walk, a lot. Better in a field, in a forest, along the water. The water will carry away your sadness. But remember: the best medicine for the body and soul is fasting, prayer and physical work.

20. Keep moving more. The stone that keeps rolling does not overgrow with moss. Troubles hold us on the ground. Do not turn away from them, but do not let them dominate you either. Never be afraid to start learning something new — you will refresh yourself.

21. I’ve never been to a resort, nor has Sunday been a lying day. My rest is a change of occupation. The nerves rest when the hands are working. The body is gaining strength when the head is working.

22. Do not ask for little. Ask for great. And you will get even smaller.

23. Do not be cunning in order to take advantage from all and everything, but try to be useful to yourself. The vine that does not give fruit will soon wither.

24. Do not be a jerk and a mockingbird, but be cheerful.

25. Don’t overeat! A hungry beast is more cunning and quicker than a well-fed man. With a handful of dates and a mug of wine the Roman legionaries ran in full ammunition for 20 kilometers, crashed into the enemy ranks and fought half a day without respite… And from the satiety and debauchery of the patricians the Roman empire fell.

26. After dinner I’m strolling for half an hour in the garden.

27. Do not drink during mealtime. Do not drink before or after meals.

28. Give your child into the hands of Nature if you want avoid going with him/her to hospitals and pharmacies. From the young age teach them to walk barefoot on the ground. This is the strongest training. The child got sunburn — it will be good for him; was bit by a wasp or an ant — this is good too; got stung with nettles, got bathed in cool water, got scratched with a thorn, ate a leaf in the garden — well then, got more resistant to diseases, became tougher in body, stronger in spirit.

29. When you cut vegetables with a knife they partially lose their earthly strength and energy. It is better to eat and cook them whole. The onion is twice as useful if you crush it with your hands or with a wooden plank.

30. You don’t have to drink industrialized teas. The best tea for me is made out of young pear twigs. Such a tea is very aromatic and curative. It removes salt and excess water; it relieves pain and inflammation of the joints. But coffee, tea, sweet drinks, beer, they are
eroding the heart.

31. If you are tired, there is weakness, soreness, just let the body rest. Make your food simpler. You need to eat one meal during the day. The next day — a different meal. And so on for at least a week or two.

32. You want to stay young and live long? Once a week arrange for yourself the nut-apple day. Prepare 8 apples and 8 nuts in the morning. Approximately every 2 hours eat one apple and a nut, so that the stomach is busy during the day.

33. When you feel the body gets tired quickly, that everything annoys you, that work, as they say, gets out of hand — this means: you have to take carrots 2-3 times a day. This way you will restore the strength.

34. I cook hot meals only 1-2 times. Food should be fresh.

35. To avoid colds, do not take hot showers, eat nuts and garlic every day, walk barefoot on a sprinkled with corn floor and sleep a lot.

36. When the season of berries comes, you can deny yourself any food except the berries. Eat at least a cup every day. If the stars are the eyes of the sky, then berries are the eyes of the earth. There is no main and second among them. Each one will sate you with strength and health — from cherry to watermelon.

37. Cherish the inner feeling of joy and charm with life.

38. Find time for silence, calmness, for a spiritual conversation with yourself.

39. What is good and what is bad — let your heart tell you, and not the human rumor.

40. Do not worry about who thinks and talks what about you. Be yourself the judge in purity and dignity.

41. Do not be angry with people. Do not judge them. Everyone you forgive will add up love to yourself.

42. If your heart is filled with love, then there is no room for fear.

43. Do not compete with anything and with anyone. To each his own. It’s better to yield.

44. Poor is not the one who has little, but the one who has not enough.

45. Never hit children and do not shout at them. Otherwise they will grow up slaves.

46. Do not argue. Everyone has his own truth and his own resentment.

47. Do not teach people how to live, and what to do. I never teach, I only advise when they ask for an advice.

48. Do not consider yourself the smartest, most decent, and better than the others.

49. Do not try to be an example to others. Look for an example nearby.

50. The healing power — a sound sleep. But you have to earn it every day with some work, with effort.

7 blessings

One doctor asked what has given me so many good and blessed years. I thought and wrote to him on a scrap of paper. There were 7 blessings:

1. Moderate nutrition
2. Continuous reasonable physical work, the habit of walking a lot
3. Clean water and clean air
4. Sun
5. Self-control, self-restraint
6. Recreation
7. Faith

7 main things we need to learn

1. Find joy in this life. The joy of every minute you are given.
2. To bring joy to others. To be humane.
3. Forgive. Always. All and yourself included.
4. Repent. To free oneself from sin and error.
5. Laugh. With face and soul. (Do not take seriously people and yourself).
6. Breathe. Freely, deeply and with enjoyment.
7. Sleep. Plenty and with enjoyment.

7 treasured dishes

(They are donated to man from Above, not only as the best food, but as a medicine too).

1. Beet
2. Cucumbers and onions
3. Sour milk
4. Fish
5. Porridge (millet, buckwheat, corn, kidney beans)
6. Apples
7. Berries and nuts

If you face a difficult choice or a difficult decision, ask yourself for an answer with a light heart in the evening, then in the morning when you get up there will be an answer for you. And so it will be.

If you do not know what to do, do something that you can.

If you are afraid to do, do not do it.

But if you do, do not be afraid.

“Stupid”, useless, idle work does not exist

If you do not know how to act, act according to the will of your heart, but do not break the measures.

Not everything is subject to reason. But everything is subject to perseverance.

And nothing is impossible for you while you are alive and free.

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