Releasing the Unnecessary

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This has been an incredible month for me. Despite moving I did manage to squeeze in my Winter Solstice Liver Flush near the new moon. The Winter Solstice itself was spent in meditation, contemplation and journaling.  I had wrapped up the final details of the move the day before and was most interested in resting in bed. There was only a slight problem with that interest: I had given away all my furniture the day before to Homestretch, Inc. who will provide the donated items to persons recently off the street and into their new homes.

So I slept on the floor for two nights until I could put together my platform bed. After careful consideration I ordered an organic mattress. However it may not ship for another month...or two.  I've become reacquainted with the notion that change is not always comfortable.

In addition to releasing the big stuff, I've been slowly releasing the unnecessary from my household for months. I feel blessed to have a charitable organization come to my door step and pick up my donations.  Despite doing all of this--I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I've deliberately moved into a smaller space so I have to find out what I need here in this life rather than what I owned in the previous life. I used to be addicted to "stuff" and now I'm realizing with startling clarity releasing this excess stuff is allowing me to rapidly change my life course. I now have more room for healing, for kindness, for compassion.

Fall's Liver Flush

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The Autumnal Equinox is Saturday September 22nd and the new moon was yesterday, Saturday the 15th. I started sipping my liver cleanse protocol daily 32 ounce organic apple juice spiked with 2 ounces of Body Ecology's fermented Dong Quai on September 9th. In the past I have freshly juiced the apples (sometimes throwing in a little beet root) and drank it raw, however I have not been strictly raw for awhile nor have I budgeted the time to make it fresh. So I buy pasteurized local organic apple juice, leave it at room temperature and allow the probiotics to work while sipping throughout the day.

 The more I clean my liver, the better I feel. Through liver cleansing I have learned how vital it is to good health. In Traditional Chinese Medicine they say the liver is connected with anger. I found that to be true. I became a much happier person once I started liver cleansing. I also had no idea how angry I was before cleaning up my liver. Before my first Juice Feast I completed a liver flush with every new moon. This year I decided to do a liver flush four times a year, precisely at the change of the season. It's one of the best maintenance preventatives I do.

Last year after my fall liver flush I celebrated living calmly amongst angry people.  This year I am excited to discover the practice of manifesting my future. I was surprised to discover Ted Andrew's "Rite of the Autumn Equinox" in Nature Speak. He describes the beauty and magic in a new and meaningful way for me.

"Autumn is the time in which Nature's energies facilitates the process of purifying one's life and for the planting of new seeds and endeavors. The fall season is a time to determine new values, and to make new decisions and goals. It is a harvesting and assessment time for what has passed in the previous year, and it is a time for setting new goals for the coming year. It is a time in which the energies influencing all of humanity are most appropriate for purifying the mind and for transmuting that which would hinder the full and highest expression of the divine within us."

So, feeling pure from the liver flush I am embarking on a week long journey to plant new seeds and manifest my future.

Summer's Release (Another Liver Cleanse)

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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.

New Moon, Spring Solstice and Deep Cleansing

I have had excellent results when I time my cleanses with the lunar cycle and the seasonal rotations. There is something magical this time of year and my body tells me it wants to shed unhealthy choices. It's like one of those glorious cat stretches where your legs stick straight up in the air and your toes expand into lion feet (licking between toes is optional), and then you contract back to yourself and feel magnificent. Nutritionally I try to align my choices with the lunar cycle. At the new moon I am releasing so I try to assist that flow; at the full moon I am retaining so I try to eat the highest nutritionally available food I can find.

I recently watched Dr. Christy Westen's talk at the Women's Wellness Conference 2012. She is an amazing spirit dedicated to getting the word out about grounding. As I continuously educate myself on healthy, sustainable practices I sometimes realize somewhat painfully I didn't know the right information to begin with! Of the many interesting things that Dr. Westen mentioned was that grounded women have menses and ovulation in alignment with the lunar cycle. I think these cycles can greatly influence food choices--so beware and prepare!

Spring renewal

Interesting enough, this week there is both a new moon and the spring equinox. With this time for new beginnings and time for perfect balance I try hard to use these opportunities for targeted releases and requests to the Universe for improvements in my life.  This week I am physically planning another liver flush, mentally I am constantly working on reflective self-development (thanks grad school) and spiritually by chanting the Medicine Buddha mantra and finally creating a vision board. I am excited for the new sprouts that will appear in my life from this spring transformation.

I have found a way to drink the required apple juice without making my teeth hurt or tiring of the sweet taste. I add in an ounce or two of Cocobiotic to help clean up the excess sugars. Intuitively I have also felt the need to add in apple pectin to my diet. It's been awhile since I last used apple pectin. So I tapped some dry powder into my mouth to see what it tasted like (mild, almost flavorless) and without any liquid it formed something of a concrete sidewalk on the roof of my mouth! It slowly eroded without harm--but I think it's best to add to liquid first.

This week will be intense and focused on releasing the old to discover the new. It's rarely easy--especially in social situations. In fact today I dodged a very serious temptation at lunch with a friend whom almost persuaded me to eat falafels (because of the convenient location). I love those things--but no way can I eat fried food now. I try hard to eradicate it period--but a bit of advice from some scholarly work gave me a back up for when I am human. If I succumb to unhealthy fried fatty food, take astaxanthin with it to soften the blow. In the interim--when I am being good I also make sure to take astaxanthin with healthy fatty food.

It's always a fascinating experience to self-study. With each piece of knowledge, with each exploration I seek to lighten my toxic load and stretch into a healthier, happier being. My goal is to start my second Juice Feast ahead of the game so I can go into much deeper cleansing.