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!

Summer's Release (Another Liver Cleanse)

(Google Image)

Summer is officially here! When I observe nature this time of the year I see a comfortable, confident flowing relationship. It is a season where nature lets it all hang out. Naturally with the new moon on Tuesday and the Summer Solstice on Wednesday I felt like it would be a good time to do another liver flush. I was conscientious this week to drink extra detox liver tea, take chlorella and spirulina often, drink plenty of pure water and make as many wise eating choices that I could. There were no hardships or guilty feelings, instead I translated them into health-bringing moments of pleasure. To me, this indicates my reduced toxic load as cravings no longer control me. I am always amazed how much I can be influenced by toxins.

Perhaps this feeling of contentedness supported me last night as I stood in the darkness of my bedroom with my glass of organic olive oil and organic grapefruit juice, I already had the shakes knowing I was going to drink it. I have never been able to swallow the Epsom salts straight so I encapsulate them and save myself that unpleasantness. But there is no way to avoid drinking down the olive oil. It was the greatest hindrance to me starting on this liver cleanse protocol. Yes, it's difficult to get it down psychologically but it does go down. This time I chanted the Medicine Buddha mantra while I drank and I hardly noticed it. Then I immediately hopped in bed. I had put on a castor oil treatment before preparing the oil for drinking so I lay scrunched on my right side with a castor oiled cloth and a heating pad draining toxins from the outside. I remained still for a long time and finally I fell asleep.

The liver cleanse is certainly a challenge but the rewards keep me coming back for more. The best thing for me, is these cleanses release anger, irritation and other unhealthy thoughts.  When I was doing them with every new moon I felt euphoric after each one. Now, several years after the first cleanse I maintain my feeling of peace and evenness with greater ease. Each cleanse gently places me back where I need to be. My level of awareness has raised to a new level from the liver cleanse.