Infinite Gift

Yaay! We have a lucky winner of our gift bag give-away! The very first of many! I am putting together Jenny's gifts as we speak. This is so exciting and I am almost bubbling over with joy! There's nothing like giving. It is true that giving is far greater than receiving. Did you know that the mark of  true wealth is not how much you possess or accumulate, but how much you give. That means that the next time you give anything to anyone, be it money, objects, hugs or kind words, see it as an outward manifestation of all the abundance that you are. It is not an act of depleting your resources, but is in fact a tangible expression of the infinite opulence within you. According to Joel Goldsmith in his book, Living the Infinite Way, this is a spiritual LAW and the truth of prosperity is a giving forth rather than an acquiring from without. Assuming that what goes out to others limits what we can maintain for ourselves is a fallacy of our culture. Believe it or not, just the opposite is true. When you offer any good thing from your heart or hands, you increase it in your own experience. So today, bless everything that goes out from you, every dollar you spend, give or even use to pay for parking tickets. Because your gift is an infinite wave enriching you and countless others.

If you are like me and do not want to lose weight during a cleansing fast. Here are some tips. Drink vegetable broth during your fast. Last evening, I prepared a wonderful broth made with raw and organic celery, parsley, mushrooms, carrots, garlic and ginger. I added a bit of Miso which is a fermented soybean paste and some cayenne pepper sprinkled on top. I put all in the blender with four cups of hot water and made an instant delicious and fiber, chlorophyll, antioxidant rich elixir. Each day, I will try a different combination of vegetables. I loved it and I have a feeling you will too.

My morning Yoga was delightful. I love this pose because it is so simple, yet so restorative. You can feel the pull in the back of your legs which is great for loosening up and ridding your system of the deposits that cause cellulite. It is so easy to do this pose that there is really no reason not to do it every morning. Then flow right into Balasana or child's pose.

Fasting need not be about deprivation. Although I wouldn't recommend a fast for longer than 4 days without the supervision of a holistic health consultant, I do believe it is natural for the human body to thrive during rests from the digestive process. Certainly, I am experiencing this fast as so full and satisfying. There is also a strong spiritual component to it that envelopes me in the early morning hours. At this time, I feel so close to God in a tangible, palpable, overarching kind of way. I can hear the birds chirping outside of my window and see the beams of sunlight cascading in. My skin feels dynamic and alive. In these moments, I understand completely being here in this life now. However, the first 3 days of a fast can be challenging, especially if you have yeast or parasites in your system. They will most certainly be clamoring for more food to feed off of. But if you can get through this period, by taking a high quality fiber cleanse like the Rainbow Light Everyday Fiber and drinking a lot of water to flush all the old matter out of your body, then the days to follow are true bliss. Many fasters experience something like a runner's high on the fourth day or so. Experts on fasting say that you can actually continue on from this point until your body experiences true hunger. This is when a lot of the undigested, toxic, diseased material in your body is broken down and eliminated and your body has used up it's fat reserves. Then it is ready to start afresh, to begin anew. Some experts suggest doing an extended fast every few years.One thing you can do to cancel the feeling of deprivation if it arises during your fast is to pamper yourself with a home spa. Here are some of the products that I have been luxuriating with...

I  dry brush my body with a natural loofah and sea sponge. This is so good for exfoliating and releasing toxins through your skin. Then, I wash with this delicious smelling and feeling Indigo Wild - Frankincense Lavender Zum Bar that I buy in bulk from my favorite health food store. After, I do a luscious scrub with this incredible Lavender salt scrub from Trader Joes.

To top it all off, I light these all natural scented candles from Crystal Candles and Wax Works...

...and then begin a wonderful meditation that I learned this past summer where you sit comfortably and imagine all the pictures of past circumstances, experiences and people being sucked into a infinite void of nothingness, to be purified, healed and let go of. The key is to actually visualize the pictures that are stored in your mind, all the images and then let them go, see them being powerfully drawn into this universal hole, and feel the burden being lifted from your mind, body and spirit.

Tree of Life

This morning was incredible. I woke up feeling light as air, as if I was floating on my bed. There was a certain spaciousness about everything so that I and all seemed to blend together seamlessly. I began to think of myself as a tree. The body of my tree being the trunk, bark, branches, stems and leaves. But the essential self that I am being a presence deep inside the tree. For years, I have been feeling as if my essential self is trapped inside beneath layers and is not fully expressing through to the outer core. I envision all that I am being manifest easily and effortlessly outward into every branch, every leaf, every bloom. This morning I felt this expansiveness and at one with all levels of my being. I know that God is the source of the presence within and that my path is to awaken this presence absolutely, so that it can shine forth with no hindrance or block. Fasting does clear the small self, I am sure, to make way for a greater self to come into realization. And so, I flowed into Tree Pose (above) and then into child’s pose and it was just blissful.

This position is so close to how we all were for 9 months in the womb and I believe it is the height of comfort, security and love for the body and spirit to relax into it. My energy level has gone through the roof. I am in no ways hungry. I have read that true hunger is not the uncomfortable feeling you get after your body has a night's rest from digestion - this is actually detoxification setting in, but true hunger happens when your body has assimilated all that it can use from the substance in your body and eliminated the rest. While fasting, it is essential that you keep your body very hydrated and make sure all your eliminative organs are flowing freely. Drinking lots of water is imperative. Look at how much I’ve had in 2 days...

Luckily my local health food store, Mom's Organic Market, offers free refills of reverse osmosis water. This water is delicious and has been processed by what is being called the finest water filtration method known. Also, herbal teas are great while fasting. Here are two types that I’ve been enjoying from Republic of Tea and Trader Joes.

The Get Growing has Silica from an herb called Horsetail (amazing for the skin and hair) and Peppermint is such a cooling, invigorating herb. 

Working up a sweat is crucial. Try sitting in the sauna for 10 minutes or doing a round of Hot Yoga. My best friend told me about a class she took that totally revitalized her after she became ill from a flu shot. I certainly feel like I am on a high, buzzed even. With all this creative energy, I have been busy making these...

I am able to make two or three a day on these chilly days at home and the process clears my mind from excessive thought and stills my soul. The shells dangling from each bag are from beaches I've visited in Mallorca, San Francisco, Montego Bay, Baja and the South Carolina Sea Islands. I would like to give one away to a special reader. All the yarn used is re-purposed from second-hand shops. They make me so happy when I make them, I can hardly contain my joy.  Which one do you love?

Be the first to tell me about how you have begun to bring more healing and love into your life now and you will receive one of these handmade bags in your favorite color stuffed with samples of some of the holistic products I talk about here and for FREE! I will even throw in this vegan cookbook, Fresh and Fast Vegan

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I am off to make some vegetable broth...will talk more about that later. In peace-

Raspberry Smoothie

What a wonderful morning! I woke feeling inspired by a new day. I also felt as if a lead weight were in my stomach, so I proceeded to do some Yoga stretches to encourage a shift in my intestines. Felt better immediately.

This is a wonderful pose, the Plough, for toning the digestive organs as well as the thyroid gland. After, I had a big glass of reverse osmosis water mixed with organic lemon and decided to make a raspberry smoothie. Ideally, you would want to use fresh raspberries and juice organic apples, but the snowy weather here is keeping us house bound.

I used organic frozen raspberries from Trader Joes and organic apple juice with a few teaspoons of Spirulina Azteca added in. 

It was delicious and invigorating. I can feel all of my cells singing and I am literally experiencing a clarity of mind that is breathtaking! About 15 years ago I did a 30 day fast which was so incredibly liberating for me - mind, body and spirit. After a week, I actually felt like I was 10 years old again. It was a physical memory not a mental one. My limbs moved in ways they had in my youth, I was sprightly and filled with vigor. I laughed a lot and people stopped me on the street to ask me what my secret was. This experience is what is inspiring me now. I am on a mission to be there again, now. I want to bound out of bed in the morning, dance around like a joyful being, see the beauty of the world and everyone in it - clearly and poignantly, and give of myself wholly from the inside out.

This book is my holistic-living bible and is keeping me revved up while I fast: The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe. I love David Wolfe and his energy is palpable every time he speaks. I am mentally planning for all the amazing raw foods I'll prepare when my fast is complete. Here is another great read to inspire.

Cleanse & Purify Thyself, Book 1 reveals a lot about parasite cleansing and how important this is to overall health. Beware, though, of its graphic nature on what comes out of  unhealthy bodies. I learned that no matter how healthy you eat and exercise, etc,. if there are parasites living in your body, you cannot experience optimal health. And surprisingly, according to the author, most Americans have internal parasites. So, I've been taking this Barlean's Organic Oils Olive Leaf Complex  for its parasite destroying effects.

And this Rainbow Light Everyday Fiber System to flush the parasites once they are destroyed.

I am determined to vitalize my body on all levels, so that my spiritual understanding will be great.

Rhonda Byrne's book, The Secret: The Power, has confirmed for me the power of happy, positive, high frequency thoughts and I know that a clean body is a pre-requisite for this. When I am clogged with toxins and old food residue, I feel mentally foggy and emotionally drained. And now, on my third day of not eating, my connection with the world around me feels fluid, generous, even awe inspiring. I am loving life today!

Super Foods

I woke up this morning feeling a bit heavy and sore, like I was glued to the bed. I did some deep breathing then a few yoga stretches. Downward Dog Pose really got things moving.

I know it's all the toxins in my system being stirred up after a whole day of fasting. I know that my body is prepping to eliminate all the rubbish that it wouldn't normally have time to rid itself of. So, I bounded into the kitchen to put together a concoction to help my body along.

The Artisana Organic Raw Coconut Butter is truly amazing. I love coconuts and whenever I am abroad in Nigeria or Jamaica, I eat them like candy fresh from the tree! This brand is as close one can get to eating fresh coconuts and from the convenience of a bottle. I have found that my digestion tones up, my eyes brighten and my skin shines after taking this elixir. It is truly a miracle superfood, loaded with Essential Amino Acids, all raw and it just melts in your mouth, which is perfect while fasting.

I also mixed in some Spirulina Azteca by Health Force, another incredible superfood. This is certainly flooding my cells and blood with Chlorophyll, a powerful antioxidant. This product is also mostly raw and 100% organic and so contains all of the life force of the Spirulina. I finished this morning potion off with a fresh squeezed organic lemon in pure water.

I am feeling so light and energized. So free now! I actually feel like going out to play in the snow and then doing a fun creative project...

Cleansing Fast

Today is the first day of my winter cleansing fast. I will drink only organic freshly squeezed juices, herbal teas and reverse osmosis water. While fasting, I intend to do a raw detox using herbs, vitamins and supplements. My goal is to clear out all the old waste, both physical and energetic, accumulated in my system. I will share with you all the products, strategies and tools that I use and my progress along the way. Some of the conditions that I am keen on improving are headaches, eyestrain, sore muscles and dry skin. Please feel free to join me as I would love to for you to heal with me now!