The impact of clothing

John Veltheim wrote an interesting article called "Naked beneath your clothing" a while back. I won't claim to agree with every last point, but he presents a lot of good thoughts.

Here, he provides an argument about the negative impact of clothing on our body and mind:

"When people use clothing as a means of shutting out the world and covering up to stop the world from seeing their distorted inner self image, they create a tragedy of immense proportions. When hiding behind clothes, people are closing down their body energically and psychologically. A healthy body has its energy, nervous system, and life forces flowing freely throughout it. When shut down psychologically and physically, the body energy shuts down, distorts and flows abnormally. This manifests major kinks in spiritual, emotional, mental and physical growth."

He seems to be saying that clothing is preventing humans from reaching their full potential.

Nudists on the Family Guy

I stumpled upon this clip on YouTube - a funny clip showing the Family Guy family visiting a nudist family home.

This is the family's first time learning about nudists and they are a little shocked.

I debated about linking to this video originally. Some people think Family Guy is tasteless and crude.

Though the scene is littered with traditional Family Guy humor, the writer's portrayal is not anti-nudist. It seems more to be making fun of the situation of a clothed family encountering a nudist one for the first time. Nothing more.

Despite the normal Family Guy non sequitors, the Family Guy family gets along fine with the nudist family, sitting down for dinner and "trying" to enjoy hot dogs.

Nudist on TV: Talk show interview with a naturist

This interview with 18-year old naturist (nudist) Leah appeared on the British talk show "The Trisha Goddard show", a very popular program in the UK and beyond.

Trisha's openness to the concept is impressive as is the audience's acceptance. No gasps and awes are visible in the audience. The bloke (man) who stands up to ask a question seems positive about nudism.

14 pages of first-time experiences with nudism

Of course "first-time" is a misnomer. If you can read this, you were probably born nude.

Hearing real stories about first-time experiences with nudism is both entertaining and a great first step for those interested in trying nudism.

Though second nature in many European countries and other parts of the world, trying nudism takes a lot of courage given the historical misperceptions in American culture. Reading real stories exposes the truth about the freedom of being naked outdoors.

This 14-page forum thread provides many insights into first-time nudist experiences, from experiences at resorts and beaches to how significant others react to their first-time.

View the post.

The one downside of being naked

This is a funny video (no nudity) about the one downside of being naked.

Better public speaking advice than "imagine everyone in the audience naked"

Worried about speaking in front of a crowd?

The classic advice for overcoming stage fright when performing in front of a crowd is to "imagine everyone in the audience naked".

I'd like to suggest new advice for all nervous public speakers:

"Imagine you are performing in front of a nudist audience."

Why is my advice better? Your average audience is going to be uncomfortable naked – that's the way culture is around most of the world. The average audience will be jittery and anxiety-ridden sitting there naked with friends around them. That does not make for a good speaking experience.

In contrast, nudists are at least as comfortable nude as they are clothed. Better yet, the nudist culture is known for its open-mindedness. They make the perfect audience.

Learn about an instance where 2 clothed entertainers performed in front of an audience of nudists and how it all worked out.

How to be nude in 5 easy steps

All nudist beginnings start with removing clothes. Here's how:

1. Remove shirt
2. Remove shoes
3. Remove pants
4. Remove underwear
5. Remove socks

If you followed the above instructions, you should now be nude. If not, try again.

Practice over and over until you can remove your clothes as fast as the amazing guy in this video clip:

Nudist Myth Busting: Nudist beaches are full of naked people with perfect bodies

When I used to go to "bathing suit required" beaches, much time was spent worrying about appearance. I usually ended up skipping the beach because I didn't look as good as the guy on the cover of Men's Fitness magazine.

America, land of the free, Paris Hilton idolatry, and millions of bathing-suit-wearing beachgoers worried about how they look.

Enter nudists.

...naked on a beach..., originally uploaded by Marco Ammannati.

Most nudists see the beach as much more comfortable and natural without clothing. Looks are not going to stop an experienced nudist from returning to the beach.

"Without clothing, you are who you are," they say.

Nudists are people in every shape and size. Nudists are real people - representative of the population at large. Real people - without shame. (I have yet to see a supermodel though.)

I'm sure there are real people "on the fence" about trying nude beaches and nudist resorts. When I first learned about nudism, I was on the fence too. But perfect bodies at nude beaches turned out to be a myth.

In fact, body imperfections are ignored and seem to be irrelevant in a nudist environment. No one stares at a scar.

I saw a nudist amputee about 30 minutes into my first time trying social nudism. I was surprised that no one paid any attention. That proved to me that body acceptance among nudists really is the norm. Years later, this still seems true.

Myth Busted. Nudists are in every shape and size.