The Business of Fast Breaking

Credit: Maxfield Parrish

After a 3 Day Green Juice Feast I broke my fast on a medium cucumber sliced in thin chips and sprinkled with a pinch of dulse flakes. I allowed my body to digest that then warmed a quart of water and blended that with a spoonful of miso.  A couple of hours later I felt hungry and I sliced another cucumber and topped it with a bit more dulse. Finally after two more hours I wrapped up my eating extravaganza with a medium salad, no dressing. I added many water-containing vegetables (a tablespoon each of beets and carrots for flavor) and nutritional yeast. This is the best fast-breaking I've done in awhile.

Unbelievably for breakfast this morning I had kale salad (kale, garlic, sesame seeds, lemons, miso, nutritional yeast and a pinch of Celtic sea salt). I took it to work for lunch and it became breakfast. I ate another helping for dinner and I decided I am going to go with greens for breakfast for awhile and see where that takes me. I don't know if I have a crush on greens right now or if it's truly the breakfast of champions.

I am always delighted by fasting because of the surprises it brings.  This green juice cleanse took away a lot of cravings for things I've been trying hard to give up. If a bowl of kale salad satisfies me more than sugary snacks well then for better or worse it looks like I'll help myself to a big bowl of kale salad in the AM. I amused myself tonight as I made my salad and I thought back to the things I ate as a kid for breakfast (pancakes, sausage, eggs, cheese, coffee) and all too often I was admonished for not eating enough. I wondered and called my mom to ask her what she would have done if I'd asked for kale salad for breakfast. She laughed--neither one of us knew what kale was until green smoothies!

Kale Salad (Breakfast of Champions?)

3 Day Green Juice Feast

Credit: Maxfield Parrish

I picked up my second set of juices from New Family Naturals on Friday. On the first full day I questioned myself over and over: Why am I fasting? I had persistent thoughts to eat. It's always a bit funny to track my irrationalities; shortly after the last fast I wanted to fast again and now that I'm doing it, my thoughts say they want to eat.

After not fasting for a period I decided I wanted to prepare myself better for my upcoming Juice Feast and do several short fasts to gain more experience in breaking the fast properly (my biggest challenge) and I realize that short fasts, while they provide this opportunity, are more difficult for me because of the constant adjustments to false hunger pangs that rise in the few initial days before going away completely until it's time to break the fast. For this reason oftentimes it's simply easier on me to do longer fasts.

All in all, this is a unique fast for me in that it is a strictly green Juice Feast. I simply couldn't stand the idea of drinking anymore carrot or beet juice so I called Toya and upgraded my package to the low glycemic green juices. The juices were made with: cucumber, celery, kale, zucchini, parsley, lemon, lime, spinach, spring mix and cabbage. They are tasty and satisfying.

I opened my fast by lighting soy Evergreen candles and reciting Gabrielle Alizay's Self-Healing Flame and another candle to recite her Home Purification Flame ritual. My day goes a bit like this: the first thing I do is take a quart of warmed water with lemon juice and MSM. Actually I put the powder MSM in my mouth and swallow it with the first drink. For me, it seems to ruin a good glass of lemon water when it's mixed in with it. While sipping on this I soak my feet in an ionic footbath. During which I also drank a quart of herbal tea. While soaking I read Bernardo LaPallo's (111 years of age and still going) book Age Less, Live More. I appreciate his practical approach to living a good life. After the footbath I do a coffee enema. While doing the coffee enema I oil swish with coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil and read some more.

I've been taking two digestive enzymes before each juice and taking probiotics occasionally. I'm also taking 1 TBL bee pollen,  1 TBL hemp oil and wearing a B-12 patch. I have also been using the rebounder for 15 minutes daily and the FAR infrared sauna for an hour (at lower temperatures which cause me to sweat nicely but not wear me out). I've been doing light housework and school work and I feel great. My goal for this short Juice  Feast is to appreciate my environment and clear any blockages in my home.

My evening consists of dry skin brushing, an enema and oiling my skin before scrubbing it off in a cool lukewarm shower. Finally I enjoy some down time and put on my magnetic sleep mask and take a melatonin nugget. As I am vegan I am mindful to take melatonin which states it's suitable for vegetarians. This melatonin is synthetic however other forms of melatonin are made of animal products.

So far, so good.

Reversing Gray Hair

Source

I love inspiring stories. A few of the beautiful healers I continue to be inspired from are: Ann Wigmore, Tonya Zavasta and Donna Gates. What do these three ladies have in common? Even in their 50's and onward they all continued to retain their natural color--sans gray hair. As I wind down from graduate school I am getting more serious about reversing my gray hair.

What causes gray hair?

There are many beliefs on the causes. Some common beliefs included heredity, toxins, stress, poor nutrition and a natural part of aging. For me I notice when the gray hairs come in it is usually because I am not taking the best care of myself. I have to tell you, at the moment I've never had so much gray hair!

Source

My plan of action starts with More Precise Hair Care and continues with daily Scalp Tonic. I also finger massage my scalp with some therapeutic pressure when I wash and also when I use scalp tonic. One key ingredient in stimulating new hair is mustard oil. If you try mustard oil be sure to dilute it with another oil first.

I am adding in more scalp stimulation with the Rolling Bed of Pins (also good to help rid the body of cellulite when rolled on the thighs) and occasionally I run the Tei Spa Oxyderm over my scalp. Sometimes this seems like a lot of things to do! When I think that I also recognize I am willing to do more. I heard a Donna Gates interview in which she talks about implanting minerals at night before bedtime to reverse freshly sprouted gray hairs.

I tried it last night and I began to think I might be getting either a little crazy or I've just become more driven to have even better health. I once tried Ann Wigmore's secret to maintaining her natural color into her 80's: wheatgrass implants, but I found wheatgrass too strong for me at the time. Perhaps my quest for no gray hair will lead me back to wheatgrass. Only time will tell. One thing for sure, in my instance I believe my gray hair is reversible. In fact gray hair coming and going is a good indication of how I am treating myself and the current state of my health.

Random (Post) Updates

Short Fasting Update:

On Monday I completed my first 3 day Juice Feast with juices picked up from New Family Naturals. After I finished it I rolled into a 3 day raw foods cleanse from Khepra's. I feel great and ready for the next short Juice Feast. I'm still enjoying a juice here and there and my next 3 day JF is scheduled in two weeks.

2013 FSVB

 Feng Shui Vision Board Update:

I completed my second FSVB and I am posting it because I listened in on a Denise Linn class where she specified how she makes her vision board and that we should share our vision boards with others and when we encounter others we should send love into them. She also recommends you make a smaller version to keep close by. For me this means I will occasionally pull up a picture of my board throughout the day on my phone or computer and spend sometime visualizing.

I noticed some serious differences between this one and my first one. This one is rather sparse. I have spent a lot of effort simplifying my life and it is showing in my desires and thought patterns. There are lots of gaps in the pictures and words (you can even see the grid colors!). I'm slightly embarrassed to admit in my first FSVB I layered pictures and packed massive "things" in it. Finally this one includes a lot of animals, trees and affirmations.

Apple Cider Vinegar Challenge Update:

I am stunned how much ACV did to clear up my facial skin in particular. Within the first week I got an unexpected glow and clearer complexion and the results continued. I still don't like the taste of ACV and undiluted it's strong going down; however I am working on an ACV shot to make the process easier.

Ionic Footbath Update:

I still love my ionic footbath and I want to provide some helpful hints. If you do purchase a machine with replaceable arrays, the life can be extended by keeping the operating system at 1.5 and after use immediately wrap the array in a cloth. Others store it in a plastic bag. The trick is to keep the array from being exposed to air. Also, there are other types of footbaths that do not require arrays. One such product can be found here.

100 Days of Schizandra Update:

Another beauty tool which gave my skin the healthiest dew drop glow. I have also noticed these tonic adaptogen herbs keep me on an even keel. I am mellow and not disturbed by the pettiness of others (a needed skill at my work). I am continuing to take this herb for liver assistance and continued improvement in my well being.

More Fasting...

With the Juice Feast coming closer and closer (I am undecided on the actual start date but it will be sometime this Spring or Summer) I wanted to get in the swing of fasting. I am in my last course for graduate school and it is a capstone class requiring about 3 hours a week. This gives me a lot more time and energy for healing.

As I prepare I feel a bit like Hebert's Amazon Preparing for Battle which I saw last weekend at the National Gallery of Art. I fasted on tea and water for two and a half days two weekends ago, I am fasting for three days this weekend on teas, water, and Blue-Eyed Spirulina Goddess Juice. These were planned fasts. I decided to throw in an unplanned for juice fast next weekend after I saw New Family Naturals Juice Cleanses. I am so happy to find these services in this area!

I've also been reading up on fasting. I'm reading The New Life Fasting Guide and I love this passage:

     "With fasting your quality of life increases, and many illnesses can be halted, even healed. Fasting remains a true adventure in a world where the highest mountain peaks have been climbed and the deepest oceans have been crossed.  On a fast, if you are able and willing to travel, you will discover nothing less than the amazing and beautiful landscape of your deepest self, your soul and a new you will emerge, giving way to a life lived more fully."

Yes I am fasting three short times this month which may seem excessive if you are unaccustomed to fasting, however for me in my current condition it is just right. After reading Patricia Bragg's book on Apple Cider Vinegar and seeing that she fasts one day a week, I considered trying that. So far, it hasn't happened. Maybe in February. In the meantime I am still intent on living "a life lived more fully."

Rewilding Ourselves, Rewilding Nature

Proper stance for bowel eliminations

If you've ever heard of Daniel Vitalis you've likely already heard about rewilding. He explains his rewilding views and strategies in two 2012 interviews here and here. In essence he sees the current human race as overly domesticated, resulting in the slew of degenerative diseases we commonly see today. What have you gotten away from that the ancients got right?

What's equally interesting to me is this short documentary I came across, Rewilding Scotland, regarding rewilding nature. Of course the ancients weren't always right (massive deforestation, extinction of large predatory animals, caveman bopping their desired mate on the head...), but I can assume they did the best they could under the circumstances they were in. Sometimes that means we have to question if modern people can work with ancient history to restore our natural ecosystem.

For the bulk of my years I've felt drawn to the metropolitan lifestyle, however in the last couple of years I've been drawn into nature as my lifestyle of choice. In one sense the urban jungle does resemble the laws of nature yet for me it is one with limited clean air, positive thoughts and healthy trees. I am ready for my own sacred space where one day I would like to Juice Feast on vegetables grown from my hearty garden. Until then to fend off degenerative diseases (and rewild myself) I:

eat cultured foods

use a stool for eliminations

spend quality time in nature

eat clay

sweat

Although it is not my intent to revert to cave person lifestyle ways...if that is where all this rewilding ends up, then I want to be part of Atouk's (Ringo Starr) clan. This is a goofy movie but one I find VERY funny!

Feng Shui Vision Board

I am in the process of creating my Feng Shui vision board (FSVB). I have only done one before and it was quite a remarkable experience. How is the FSVB different from a standard vision board? First I want to share the definition I am starting with. Rodika Tchi defines Feng Shui as:

It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

To apply this knowledge to a vision board, I start with the Bagua which has been reshaped to represent a grid.  Here is an example. Each area of the board represents the various Feng Shui aspects of life. This is a basic layout for colors but I also incorporate the elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) to this process through pictures, objects, etc. For instance abundance is associated with Wood. If I wanted to add abundance to my life I would add money, healthy plants, a fish photo to the Abundance section.

One of the benefits of a FSVB is that when I want to visually create my future, I do so in a balanced manner. I can quickly see the gaps and imbalances in my life and thoughts with this approach. Typically this means the area is underrepresented. In the areas, underrepresented or not, I want to add some oomph I look for expert Feng Shui advice on what to add. The advice I will be using is from a library copy of Denise Linn's Space Clearing A-Z: How to Use Feng Shui to Purify and Bless Your Home.

My First Vision Board

It takes me a long time to put together a board (My first board took months). I find it to be a pleasurable creative practice, so I don't rush it. I start by collecting magazines, picture books from the local library donation bin and any neat knick-nacks I admire which I can affix to the board. This step takes the longest. After I have a bag of visions I lay out the spatially equal construction paper, color-coded to the bagua and place it on the board. Sometimes the construction paper pack doesn't have the right color for the bagua. If this is the case I usually find  a beautiful picture in a glossy magazine vibrant with this needed color. I then affix that to a piece of construction paper.

After the layout is ready I break out the scissors, glue stick, thumbtacks and set them beside the board. Once this is all ready I take time to meditate. Meditation helps me align myself with my Higher Self. I try never to do any manifesting or divination without clearing my energy with  pre-meditation because I believe it helps me stay aligned with good energy. In my meditation I ask for assistance in creating the FSVB. After I've completed my meditation I spend some time looking at all the images and then I begin to play with the process.

When I moved a few weeks back I took down this FSVB and thanked it with gratitude before I recycled it. It's been near a year since I created my first vision board. This new one is already proving it will be different from my first one as the images which caught my attention are very different--yet true to the person I am today.

Update:

Please see my second Feng Shui vision board here.