Life after Fasting

It was daunting to begin eating again on Sunday. I was sensitive to tastes and am feeling fuller on much less food. Less flavoring is needed and many foods are simply not desired. It is truly like starting fresh. I have habits of how much to eat and when and now all those previous assumptions are renewed. Give thanks.

I began slowly with green fruit smoothies and vegetable drinks. I was craving fat and ate a coconut as well as a few avocados. After eating them I felt heavy, a sensation I was not accustomed to feeling all last week. Heavy but grounded and the lightness returned.

The lightness brings with it clarity. I could and still can see through veils and decipher the meaning of situations more sharply. People and feelings which are no longer serving the greater good are ruled out and no energy is wasted.

This clarity comes with new realities. People and situations which have become part of my day to day life are shifting. It is all part of the evolution.

Today I was swimming and swimming for me is like a meditation. People speak of meditation all the time. What do they mean exactly? What do they really think it means to meditate? One pictures a person sitting cross legged on the floor with their eyes closed in bliss. Has anyone tried this?

Most people sit on the floor cross legged and immediately fell stiffness in their groins. Their mind goes to the discomfort. "When can I change positions", they think?

The next person may sit and feel comfortable and then the mind starts. Perhaps the mind thinks about the breath and then it begins to wonder about the neighbor and then it thinks of the cat or what they will have for lunch....

Meditation for me is an advanced practice for evolved minds, bodies and nervous' systems. Patanjali speaks of eight limbs of Yoga: Yama (individual discipline), Niyama (social discipline), Asana (postures), Pranayama (science of breath), Pratyahara (control of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (devotion), Samadhi (union with the divine).

We see through this that meditation occurs after ground work is laid. This system of Patanjali's is flawless in my opinion. Once the body and mind have been prepared and a foundation has been cultivated and fertilized, the individual is ready to merge into meditation.

Just as nature has its rhythm, we too have ours. The autumn leaves will fall once they have ripened and not before.  To swim in the ocean, one has to respect the tide or you will be overcome.

When we are ready life unfolds.

Techniques exist to bring us closer to that oneness of a deeply immersed meditative state. The sense organs have to be brought inward. Sight, sound, taste, touch and smell all focus inward to connect to the true self.

As often as I can I swim. For me it is a way to practice breath control and a calming of the mind through the inward focus of the senses. When you are swimming the senses are brought inward automatically.

Today I practiced visualizing. I was seeing the body I choose to dwell in and how it looks and feels. I visualized the home I am planning to build. How the floor feels under my feet and the texture of the counter tops in the kitchen. I visualized the center I will open and how it feels walking into my office. I saw how my office is organized.

Practicing visualization in detail is enthralling. I found it challenging to fill in all the corners with furniture and art as well as lighting. I will keep practicing.

In one of the books I recently read in the Ringing Cedars Series by Vladimir Megre, Anastasia (the main character), asks Vladimir to design a car to the most minute detail and a machine then created it for him. Vladimir was surprised when the car was complete, because it was not what he had imagined. He was disappointed, but the car was precisely what he had imagined – to the detail.

Our lives are no different. We create everything in our lives through our thoughts. Everything.

I will keep practicing.

Seven Day Full Moon Fast

On Sunday I began a juice fast with a few friends after hearing Dr. Brian Clement from the Hippocrate's Institute speak at Zia's Cafe in Towson, MD. He did not address the benefits of fasting in his speech, but we felt impelled to improve our health and spontaneously decided to fast for seven days. Brian Clement and his wife are accomplishing monumental tasks in holistic healing at their Institute educating, healing, reversing diabetes, and putting caners into remission, only to mention a few...

In the past I have had unsuccessful attempts at fasting. With high expectations of long juice or water fasts, after the third day, I was confronted two years ago with high fevers and excessive flu-like symptoms. Last year I experienced dangerously low blood pressure after day 5 of a juice fast. I had almost decided that fasting was not something my body could handle.

In the mean time, I have done weekly one day fasts as well as short three day detox diets to help my system naturally cleanse without the destabilizing effects of a juice or water fast.

This was a leap of faith and I wanted to give it a try especially with such a great group of motivated friends who are supporting and encouraging me.

This is day five and I am feeling well. I am completely energized and highly productive and my skin is looking great.

I made a healing juice tonight:

1/2 lb dandelion leaves
3 oranges
1/4 lb cilantro
3 red bell peppers

After this cleanse, I have decided to commit to increasing my raw food intake from 85% to 100%. I am looking forward to how this is going to feel and effect my life.

My Yoga practice has deepened and twisting has reached a whole new level. Give thanks.

I have accumulated knowledge on fasting both short and long term, and I have always genuinely wanted to have this experience. Fasting is not only what I drink or do not eat, it is also the clarity that comes along with it. I am clearer about everything from how I want my house and life organized to how people are interacting with me to a more peaceful and grateful approach to the environment.

Coupled with the fast are steam and sauna baths as well as long, hot salt baths. I am also doing two ionic detox foot baths and a series of colonhydrotherapy. Daily Yoga, breathing and exercise is a must and I am feeling really great.

The first day I did have a headache and the second day I experienced mucous conditions. But these symptoms show me that the body is liberated to do its work.

Tomorrow will be a juice of Kale, lemon, apples, ginger and celery.

It is truly wonderful to learn each day more and more about the body and its inner workings both mechanically, organically and energetically.