Day 24 Juice Feast -- The Pause

As I learn more about acceptance I find myself enjoying the process--and the results. In Radical Acceptance a precursor is to pause.  Brach says: "When we pause, we don't know what will happen next. But by disrupting our habitual behaviors, we open to the possibility of new and creative ways of responding to our wants and fears." Is this why a pause feels so wonderful--the exploration of possibilities? "A pause is, by nature, time limited. We resume our activities, but we so do with increased presence and more ability to make choices."

I'm delighted to have a four day weekend ahead of me without excessive responsibilities. With a smile I begin my weekend by embracing the pause. 

Day 21 Juice Feast -- Guilty Pleasures

Even though I woke up this morning feeling great I raced home with the intent to get in bed as soon as I could. I love sleeping, I always have. As each day on the JF (after grad school) progresses I feel my energy levels filling back up. Still, I'm in the recovery phase and I know this pattern well. I often feel bursts of vitality and I choose to gather these moments to myself to allow for healing. I know the JF allows for the continuation of life at high speed and I certainly don't knock that--but I have a different approach right now. I try and conserve that energy to let my body and (fried) brain heal.

Resting Tiger (Courtesy of Aaron Hockley)

I'm personally not one to find lounging by the pool (as an invited guest or not) as a guilty pleasure, nor do I think resting in bed is a crime especially when healing. But I decided yesterday evening I was going to indulge in a past time that is hard to say is anything other than a guilty pleasure. I made myself work for it; I accomplished a lot today at work and I took a nice long walk at lunch. Over the course of the day I was trying to process any guilty feelings over my desire to be lazy and I wondered if I could lessen the impact at all by including some other detox tool while I lay inert in bed engrossed in the guilty pleasure. Since my liver is still having a spasm here and there I thought a castor oil pack would suffice.

My vow of acceptance helps me every day and today was no different. Practicing acceptance has helped me clear away any "guilt" associated with what I am about to do. Even if I make choices like these I deserve to experience the pleasure of it--and I choose to do so. I've made a Warrior Juice with ginseng tea and after I wrap on a castor oil pack...I'm dismissing everything else and watching the Arnold Schwarzenegger that came out on DVD today, guilt free!