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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Day 60

Day 60 and I'm feeling really great.

Where things stand at this point.
  • No allergy attacks - at all for the past month - amazing!
  • Much more clear headed/centred
  • Happier
  • More energy
  • Released 23lbs (I've gone from a size 8 to a 6)
  • My eyes have changed colour! People have been commenting on how clear and bright they are.
  • Children and animals seem to be drawn to me (strange but true) - maybe it is because I'm feeling so focused and at peace.
  • I'm feeling more passionate about my dreams and goals
  • I feel like I've woken up to a degree. Like I've stepped outside the mainstream and that I'm okay with it (more than okay). I'm no longer interested in eating/behaving a certain way because that is what is expected.
  • I have a much deeper respect for food.
  • I find that I'm acting more in situations I find stressful (trying to find a solution) and reacting less.
  • I've started taking bee pollen because I felt like I needed a change from the Blue Green Algae
  • My skin has been really irritated dry and spotty at the same time. I've been taking hemp oil every night and it seems to be helping.
  • I started taking paracleanse today (arrived in the mail yesterday - perfect timing!)
  • I'm craving strawberry juice but, can't find organic strawberries. Watermelon will have to do

Monday, April 27, 2009

Places & Ideas I love...

#1...
Dogpatch Biofuels is a sustainable biodiesel filling station and eco-friendly convenience store located in San Francisco. They are a public, retail biodiesel-only filling station, carrying biodiesel from local and recycled sources.



#2 BIXI a public bicycle transportation system in Montreal (The cost is $5 for the first 30 minutes then another $1.50 for every extra 30minutes).

Friday, April 24, 2009

New Moon in Taurus

A good time to focus wishes and desires. The new moon is the starting point of the cycle of the moon's various phases making it a perfect time for seeding intentions and making new plans. I believe writing things down and/or making a treasure map (a visual collage of wishes/desires - clipped from magazines or can be a drawing or a painting) helps the things you are looking for to manifest in your life. It is thought that projects begun when the moon is in Taurus are more permanent or long lasting, especially when the moon is new. Taurus rules -money, possessions, sensuality, earth, permanence, things that increase in value.

54...

I'm not promoting the site that is flashed at the end of this video - I don't know anything about it - but the video itself has a really nice message so I thought it was worth posting - enjoy.


Thursday, April 23, 2009

Day 53 - Dreams & Goals

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours".
Henry David Thoreau

Confindently in the direction of my dreams - life I've imagined... that needs some brainstorming and clarification. I think somewhere along the way I've lost sight of what my dreams are... What direction do I want my life to take after this amazing experience is over? During this next phase of the feast I plan to turn inward and start asking myself those questions. Now that I'm feeling much more centred and at peace with myself I'm hoping the answers will come. A friend once asked me when I was feeling really low "what do you enjoy - what do you love?" - I really didn't know at the time I couldn't even come up with one thing so she gave me an example "I enjoy sewing buttons on shirts" ahh my lightbulb went on... the first thing I thought of was "I love to listen to the sound of the ocean as it washes in and out over pebbles on the beach" - and I went on to write down a long list of things I enjoy that are simple everyday things. I found writing down the list helped me to enjoy those things even more... I think I will start there again by making a new list of the things in life I enjoy - maybe that will lead me to the bigger picture of what my dreams/goals are - fingers xed...

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Poop on Enemas

Part of the juice feasting regime is a daily enema. Now I have to admit when I first read this bit I thought - no way that isn't for me. The whole idea just struck me as something I'd rather not think about or talk about thank you very much. I decided that colonics would be a better way to go - pay a professional - go every few weeks and that would be enough. As time has passed and I've become more committed to getting the most out of this experience I've started to give the enemas a go. I find if I'm feeling grumpy, have a headache or I feel like I'm going through a detoxing phase - often if I try the enema thing I feel much better by the next day. In addition to water there are several types of enemas people use for different conditions. I've listed a few below - for more information and types of enemas go to...
http://www.health-information-fitness.com/ - the information below comes from this site as well.

Coffee
Coffee enemas detoxify the liver, as well as clean the colon. Coffee stimulates the liver to make more bile. Bile, from the gallbladder draws out environmental and metabolic toxins, as well as the toxins from Candida albicans and other parasite-like organisms. The colon is the organ responsible for carrying away these toxins. In addition, coffee enemas stimulate the liver to produce enzymes that clean the blood. Coffee enemas also assist the colon to develop better function. In these ways, coffee enemas are an essential resource in a colon cleansing program The coffee enema should consist of 1 quart of coffee (cold of course!) & warm water solution, held for 15 to 30 minutes. Some people, can take and retain only a pint (2 cups) of coffee enema solution at a time. If this is the case, one should take 2 coffee enemas, one right after releasing the first enema, and hold each for 15 to 30 minutes.

Apple Cider Vinegar has been used as a successful remedy for a number of ailments, including a method of dissolving internal stones in horses. Apple cider vinegar contains over forty vitamins and minerals. It releases toxins from the liver and has helped arthritis patients, people with high blood pressure, and skin conditions. Other ailments helped by consuming apple cider vinegar are high cholesterol, insomnia and fatigue, liver and kidney problems, asthma, and more. In enemas, try to hold about 5 minutes before releasing it as you finish the enema. This will allow for greater penetration in the colon. Aloe or any other substance that makes water wetter will have also enhance the penetrating effects and the antiviral effect.
3 tablespoons per 1.5 qt enema bag is sufficient but you might want to try higher doses to see if better results can be obtained if you can tolerate it.


Baking Soda Generally tap water comes to us with a pH of about 7.2, from the public water utility. Body pH is normally at a level of about 7.35 to 7.45. Baking soda has a pH, of about 8.0 in the box. So the theory is that by adding baking soda to enema water will increase pH factor of the water.
Infusing higher pH solutions such as this into the colon causes the body to 'adjust' by increasing pH, and to "restore" or "re-normalize" body pH to the correct amount. It is important to normalize the body's acidity and re-normalize the pH of the blood, allowing for significantly greater oxygen saturation capacity in the blood, which helps the brain, and all tissues, to work better. Most colonic patients report an "elevated" mood or feeling of contentment after a colonic irrigation or enema. Re-normalizing the blood / body pH also allows the brain receptors which take up and process the body's naturally-occurring endorphins, serotonin, and serotonin-like chemicals to be absorbed by the brain receptors looking for those chemicals in the blood.
Enema Recipe:1 to 4 Tbl. Baking Soda 2 quarts warm filtered water ( Mix well ){ Warning } Do Not use on a low sodium diet ! Temperature 103° to 107°Fahrenheit

Celtic Sea Salt
This enema is better done at a cool temperature instead of warm.The temperature of the solution will cause peristalsis in the colon. Good for reducing fever. Enema Recipe:1 tbsp. of Celtic Sea Salt per quart of water2 qts. cool filtered waterTemperature 75° to 80° Fahrenheit
By adding Celtic Sea Salt to the water solution you increase the transfer of water into the colon. This helps prevent filling your kidneys and bladder with water. It will help eliminate the frequent trips needed to urinate after receiving enemas. Enema Recipe: 1 tbsp. of Celtic Sea Salt per quart of water 2 qts. cool filtered water Temperature 75° to 80° Fahrenheit


Garlic Juice
Garlic is used for everything to raising and lowering blood pressure, all types of infections, indigestion, headaches, also used for colds, fevers, and blood purification purposes, as well as for respiratory illnesses also for worms & bowel infections.Garlic juice, has been shown to kill harmful bacteria without harming useful ones. If you suffer from colitis, use the garlic juice enema several times a week, Or anytime pain from colitis is experienced, this enema shouldl quickly relieve the discomfort. Troubled with constipation, You can use a garlic juice enema several times a week, and then a coffee retention enema once a week. Enema Recipe:3 cloves of finely chopped garlic in 1 quart of filtered water Simmer on stove for 10 minutes Cool to 103ยบ Fahrenheit, strain and pour into enema bag Add extra warm filtered water to finish filling bag and correct temperature. Precaution - very stimulating.

Directions for Administering an Enema

Monday, April 20, 2009

Day 50 - Celebrate

Day 50 and I find I'm saying to myself - okay - so what? -what should I do to celebrate this journey I've set myself on so that it is meaningful to me? I start thinking of the Buddhist belief that I need to be present in each moment not living in the future or the past - just honouring each moment by being fully present. So with that in mind I went searching for "how to celebrate" and found the following...

Celebrate Your Life:
Celebrating the many transitions in your life, from difficult to ecstatic, weaves a thread of spirit into everything you do. It also encourages you to be in the present moment with your full, conscious attention....

Creativity and intent are the two aspects of a transformational celebration. Combining your creativity with your intent is a catalyst for alchemy. Creativity invites you to dream big, to use celebration as an artful expression of your heart. Intent gives you focus on what you want to accomplish. These two guiding forces need to be balanced in your celebrations and your life.

To apply creative intent to a celebration, start by dreaming all the places you could celebrate change in your life. Look back at major life shifts and imagine how it would be if you had consciously marked them with a ceremony. Dream big, with no limitations. The question to ask is "How?" How would you celebrate cleaning your house? How would you ceremonialize ending a relationship? Creativity comes when we look at change and explore its gifts and possibilities. Intent then brings focus and direction to our dreaming. The questions of intent are "Why?" and "What?" Why would you celebrate cleaning your house? What is your purpose? Why honor the end of a relationship? What do you want to get out of the ceremony? Why would you mark the start of menopause? What would you like from doing it consciously? The intent gives the celebration purpose, guiding its direction and outcome.

Steps to Create a Celebration or Ritual:
After you explore your creativity through sacred brainstorming and get clear on your intent, there are five steps to create a spectacular celebration: contain, release, invite, deepen, and open. These work whether the ritual is for you alone or for any size group.

Contain The first step to ritual is to move out of your daily world into a world of magic and possibility. Create a sense of the sacred by lighting incense or candles, picking smells or colors that support your intent, and/or building an altar. Use pictures, statues, natural objects, or crafts to create a place for meditation, reflection, or inspiration. Your altar can be for used as a general anchor or for a specific intent. For a general altar you may use your favorite deity or guide, an object for each element in the four corners, candles, crystals, found and natural objects, or a bowl of water with flowers. If you want to build an altar for a specific purpose, ask yourself, "What will reflect the specific thing I am working on back to me?" For an abundance altar, you may use money from around the world, overflowing fruit baskets, and pictures of what you want to manifest. For an altar to release a relationship you could use pictures, writings, and a candle with the intent to release the person. For an altar to dedicate yourself to your spiritual path, try a picture of an open road, a beautiful inspirational nature scene, or your favorite superhero (to remind you of your power to move past obstacles).Once you have set up sacred space, you can call in any guides, deities, power animals, ancestors, or teachers. Many traditions call in the four elements (air, fire, water, earth), which are the foundation of life. The elements also represent a part of our being, and hold a direction (east, south, west, north). By calling in guides and helpers and/or the four elements, you amplify the energy of your actions.

Release To create space for new things in your life, you must first release the old. It is vital that you let go of what no longer serves you, and doing so with gratitude and love encourages the release to happen gracefully. Doing release work makes the obstacle conscious, which then gives you the ability to move it out. Questions to ask:- What can you release to bring more space into your life?- What emotion, pattern, agreement, or fear is keeping you stuck?- What are you willing to let go of? Creative ideas:- Write down the fear or emotion you want to release and burn the paper (fire), bury it (earth), tie it in a tree (air), or wash the ink off (water). - Dance, tone, chant, or speak out the pattern, emotion, or fear. 3. InviteNow that there is space, what do you want to invite into your being? Inviting in the new allows the universe to align with your desires and support you fully.Questions to ask:- What do you want more of in your life?- How can you open to bring this in?- What emotion, new agreement, or perspective do you want to experience?Creative ideas: - Write down the feeling state you want to bring in and burn the paper to bring more energy (fire), bury it to ask for grounding (earth), or tie it in a tree to fly (air). - Dance, tone, chant, or speak the pattern, emotion, or state you want to create. - Hold the emotion or pattern consciously and anchor it in your body.- Visualize or meditate to ask for guidance and open to the new.

Deepen Leave space for stillness and integration to absorb the effect of your release and calling in. Meditate, write, create artwork, eye gaze with a partner, or sit silently.

Open Just as you consciously created a container for your celebration, you also want to consciously open your container and bring what you learned back into the world. Make sure you open your circle by thanking and letting go of anything you called in at the beginning of your ceremony. State your intent again, and then feast or do something nourishing for yourself. Many ceremonies and celebrations end with good food and communing.

Example:
Now that you have the guidelines, let's see how it works with a specific example.
For a celebration to clean your house, your creative brainstorm may bring you the following ideas: play music and dance through the house, call your friends and pick a day to clean your home at the same time and then go out to lunch to celebrate, spend fifteen minutes every day loving your home and belongings by putting things in their proper place. When you look at your intent, it may be anything from: "Make sure I can find my keys and important items each day," to "Use my housecleaning as a symbol of clearing away my fears and mental clutter."Suppose you decide to pick a time each month to clean, and you invite your best friend to join you, with the intent to use the cleaning to clear your own mental clutter. Here is how you could use the five steps of ritual:
  1. Contain Light a candle in each room to remind you of your intent for clarity. Call in the energies of your grandmother, who was a fabulous housekeeper, and your spiritual teacher. (You may have pictures of them both in a specific place in your house during the cleaning.)
  2. Release Go through your house dusting and cleaning all the rooms, stating an affirmation to yourself, i.e., "As I clear this dust and clutter I clear my mind."
  3. Invite Go through your house again with a scented spray, bells, or flowers. Say out loud in each room, "I invite harmony and joy into this space."
  4. Deepen Sit in your favorite room and send blessings to your space. Let the silence quiet you.
  5. Open Blow out all the candles, and thank your grandmother and teacher for their support. Call your friend and make your date for lunch.
Celebrations bring joy and play into all the nooks and crannies of your life journey.
Instead of waiting for the "big moment" in the future, celebrate each day, from the simple tasks to the challenges, from the mundane to the sacred.

( http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/celebrate-your-life-infuse-it-with-joy-and-spirit-344006.html )

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Day 48 - A Few Juice Feasting Tips

  1. Carry a toothbrush. (juicing teeth get fuzzy more often)
  2. Mix lime/cilantro or mint/apple with salad green juice (much more palatable).
  3. Put lemon or lime into juice that is going to sit in the fridge for a few hours - will keep juice fresh longer.
  4. Add 1/4 of a fresh jalapeno to your veggie juice - the heat will make you sip instead of gulp - less chance of swallowing air that can lead to bloating - also helps you to remember to "chew" your juice which will aid in digestion.
  5. Use ginger or cayenne in juice if you are feeling cold it will warm you up.
  6. Blend salad greens and strain off the juice using a nut milk bag. Makes a nicer less frothy juice than putting them through a juicer. (faster too).
  7. Dark green vegetable juice is pretty strong use 1/4 to root vegetable juice until you get used to it (more at the beginning may make you feel nausated).
  8. Use plastic lids for mason jars - the metal ones get gungy after awhile - the plastic ones are easier to clean and last longer.
  9. Line the inside of the pulp catcher with a plastic bag it makes clean up easier.
  10. To get rid of froth strain juice through a nut milk bag or metal strainer.
  11. When storing juices in the fridge, minimize nutritional loss by filling juice to the top of the mason jar (as little air as possible don't forget to add a little lemon or lime as well).
  12. PMS? Drink Celery and cucumber juice (natural diuretics) - really helps with water retention.
  13. Feeling sick to your stomach because of detoxing juice a little ginger with apple.
  14. Dry skin take a tsp of flax or coconut oil daily.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Day 46 - Little Reminders

Day 46 - juice feast half way point. Amazing I'm here. Still planning to go for as long as I feel it is right for me - we'll see what my body tells me to do as I move from the detoxing stage into the rebuilding phase.
My body is starting to find its voice - or maybe I'm just becoming a better listener.... I think I've been feeling down because I keep trying to hang on to the moments of incredible energy and contentment that I've been starting to have - they come, they go - I think the problem has been a lack of faith that the good feelings aren't going to return -that just the bad stuff will be what hangs on. So I'll try to have faith because it seems as though everytime I go through a healing crisis I come out the other side feeling better than I have in years.
I found something about this on the internet earlier - I'll post it below because it really helped me to refocus on my goals.

Blissful State of Health Comes Eventually
Don't expect to go on an ascending scale of quality improvement in the diet and think you will feel better and better each day until you reach perfection. The body is cyclical in nature and health returns in a series of gradually diminishing cycles. For example—you start a better diet and for a while you feel much better. After some time, a symptom occurs, you may feel nauseous for a day and have a diarrhea with a foul-smelling stool. After a day you feel even better than before and all goes fine for a while. Then you suddenly develop a cold, feel chills and lose your appetite. After about two or three days (assuming you don't take drugs or do anything else about it) you suddenly recover and feel better than you did for years. Let us say this well-being continues for two months, when you suddenly develop an itch or rash. You still don't take anything special for it. This rash flares up, gets worse and continues for ten days and suddenly subsides. Immediately after this you find your hepatitis is gone and your energy has increased more than ever before. The rash became an outlet for the poisons in the liver which produced hepatitis. This is how recovery occurs, like the Dow-Jones Average at the beginning of a bull-market recovery. You feel better, a reaction occurs and you don't feel as well for a short while. You recover and go even higher. And so it goes, each reaction milder than the last as the body becomes purer, each becoming shorter in duration, feeling better than ever before and lasting longer, until you reach a level plateau of vibrant health. Here you become relatively disease-free and are filled with ever-increasing joy, life and the happiness which comes from sheer well-being. The mind opens up and expands to ever-higher horizons and your soul will shout for joy. You begin to love the world, the universe and everything in it. This is the natural state of the mind—blissful, joyful and at peace with the universe—and it can only be attained by alignment with biological laws. The first laws we must learn to obey are the laws of Nature. We must learn to eat simple, pure and natural foods properly prepared and combined, and our bodies in return will cast off the evil we have taken in during our lives.

More here http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/symptoms-during-dietary-transition/the-three-phases-of-metabolism.html

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation

by Paul Connett, PhDProfessor of ChemistrySt. Lawrence UniversityCanton, NY 13617

Top 5 of 50 Reasons (all 50 can be found at http://www.fluoridealert.org/ )
  1. Fluoride is not an essential nutrient (NRC 1993 and IOM 1997). No disease has ever been linked to a fluoride deficiency. Humans can have perfectly good teeth without fluoride.
  2. Fluoridation is not necessary. Most Western European countries are not fluoridated and have experienced the same decline in dental decay as the US.
  3. Fluoridation's role in the decline of tooth decay is in serious doubt. The largest survey ever conducted in the US (over 39,000 children from 84 communities) by the National Institute of Dental Research showed little difference in tooth decay among children in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities (Hileman 1989).
  4. Where fluoridation has been discontinued in communities from Canada, the former East Germany, Cuba and Finland, dental decay has not increased but has actually decreased (Maupome 2001; Kunzel and Fischer,1997,2000; Kunzel 2000 and Seppa 2000).
  5. There have been numerous recent reports of dental crises in US cities (e.g. Boston, Cincinnati, New York City) which have been fluoridated for over 20 years. There appears to be a far greater (inverse) relationship between tooth decay and income level than with water fluoride levels.

Day 45 - Blue

The last 2 days have been difficult. I'm having some pretty serious food cravings (all manner of cooked potato dishes dancing around in my head). My skin is splotchy and dry, I'm not sleeping well, my right eye is swollen/bothering me (a problem I was having before the feast that I thought was gone) & my energy is all over the place - I go from feeling like I have almost too much energy to being exhausted. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm feeling this way because I'm still detoxing.

I've been listening to Ray Lamontange a lot this week - his voice suits my mood perfectly (and he's fun to look at - so I've been checking him out a fair amount on You Tube)




Sunday, April 12, 2009

Day 42 - Spring Cleaning

Full of energy on Thursday I cleaned house and got my taxes done (on time - which is a big deal for someone like me who always seems to file late). Since then I've been sorting through my things - trying to keep in mind what William Morris had to say on the subject "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." easier said than done - emotional attachments to some non useful and frankly ugly items keep me hanging on - I've got them in a when I'm ready box. I find that if I have a friend or a worthy charity to give my old things to it makes it easier to get rid of the old stuff that is cluttering up my life.

Yesterday's Juice:
Morning 1 quart water with lemon and msm
#1: 3 Grapefruit, 2 Oranges, 2 Cloves garlic, 1 scoop of bluegreen algae, chlorella
#2: 4 Handfulls Salad mix, 1 handful mint, 3 sprigs parsley, 1/2 water blended, added to 1 apple, handful baby carrots, 5 stalks of celery
#3: Same as above
#4: 2 Apples, 1 cup radish, 1 cucumber, 3 tomatoes, .5 jalapeno
2 Cups herbal tea
1 Strawberry juice popsicle

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Day 39 - Time to Clean House

Day 39 and I'm feeling really great. I went for a colonic last night and it seemed to clear away the brain fog I've been experiencing for the last few days. I came straight home had a hot bath and used my neti pot. I just felt so relaxed and more comfortable than I've felt in ages. No body aches, no mental fog, no cold. I spent a wonderful night reading - RAWvolution by fellow Canadian Matt Amsden. Before bed I listened to Holosync and drifted off into a deep sleep. This morning I woke up feeling full of energy. I'm ready to clean house and get started on my taxes.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Day 37

I watched the video for day 36 on the Juice Feasting pay site and was relieved to hear Katrina saying that she was experiencing some negativity as well around this time in the feast. I’m so glad I decided to spend the money for a subscription - the day by day videos have helped me through more than one rough day. I believe she was right when she guessed her negativity was being caused by the liver detoxifying. I was so tired by the end of the day yesterday that I went to bed at 7:00 - I'm sure something was releasing/healing by late in the in the day - I’m feeling so much better today .


I received my copy of Centerpoint's Holysync trial CD in the mail on Friday (recommended on the juice feast site). The claim is that you can “Meditate like a Zen Monk at the touch of a button”. The program is supposed to stimulate the creation of new neural pathways between the right and left hemispheres of your brain, balancing your brain and leading you to a high-performance state that scientists call "whole brain functioning". It does this by placing tones that stimulate the brain inaudibly beneath peaceful music and environmental sounds. They explain that it is like marathon training for the mind. Some of the benefits are supposed to include -increased learning ability, enhanced creativity, greater intuition, improved focus and concentration and the list goes on...

What a strange experience... The first time I used it my eyes started to water like mad and I felt off balance - then - I lost time - I sort of zoned out after about 2 minutes - more than a little alarming. I felt like Zoolander after the spa... Not good but, I decided to try it again and am now on my third day - by the third time I found the experience to be pleasurable and it put me into a deeply relaxed state. I’m thinking I may invest in the pay cd - I'm not sure they make a lot of claims - if it works it would be amazing but if it doesn't I'll feel like I've wasted my money.



Thursday, April 02, 2009

Garlic, Neti Pot & Elderberry


My cold rages on...
It seems as thought the cold I've been fighting off for the last few days has taken hold but, I'm fighting back with loads of juiced garlic, my trusty neti pot & elderberry extract
!

Freshly-crushed garlic. Garlic has powerful anti-viral, antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. Also a great immune system booster & kills parasites in the intestines.

Elderberry extract. Elderberry, a relative of the blueberry, has been found to have powerful anti-viral properties. Elderberry extract can be used to treat cold/flu. Sambucol is a popular brand (but mostly sugar). I take the tablet form - seems to work.

Nothing gets rid of that horrible nose tickle and stuffy stuff like a neti pot.... I started using one last year after a friend recommended that it would offer relief during allergy season. The idea is to pour warm water and salt through the nasal cavity to flush out excess mucus and debris... Neti pots have been used for centuries in India to help clear the nasal passages before practicing yoga. Flushing with salt water on a daily basis keeps your sinuses nice and moist and gets rid of irritants (and the yuck).

(another You Tube Video below on how to use).