Winter Wonderland Cleanse Days 2 & 3

Yesterday Day 2 The Master Cleanser:
8:00 AM Salt Water Flush (1 Quart warmed water with 2 teaspoons sea salt)
8:30 AM - Elimination
No exercise to allow my body to flush
9:30 AM 1st Quart Master Cleanser (1 quart warmed water with 6 tablespoons lemon juice and pulp, 4 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup and 1/10 - 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (I always go heavy on the cayenne)
2:15 PM - 1/2 of 2nd Quart Master Cleanser
7:00 PM - 3rd Quart Master Cleanser
8:00 PM 4th Quart Master Cleanser
Lots of extra sleep
Today day 3:
Lots of extra sleep
10:00 AM Rebounder - a bit dehydrated and weak
10:20 AM- 11:45 AM 1st Quart Master Cleanser
1:30 PM - 2nd Quart Master Cleanser 
6:00 PM - 3rd Quart Master Cleanser
7:20 PM- 4th Quart Master Cleanser

 February 2nd yesterday:
I Just got back from NYC. I was wondering how I would navigate my energy through the day of activities and family. Normally, I clear my schedule of any major plans during a cleanse, especially ones that involve lots of other people and outside venues, till I'm in it and decide what my body actually wants. I did my salt water flush this morning, drinking the quart of liquid at 8 and reading a good book while laying on my right side. At 8:30 I eliminated and waited awhile so see if I was complete. Then I took a warm, soothing bath with lavender sea salts, giving myself more time before drinking my first quart of Master Cleanser, which I drank around 9:30. I only got to drink half of my next quart in the car at 2:15 (given the day's plans) and finished it up back home at 7:00. So, I was not spacing my Master Cleanser as I optimally would. I actually did really well on both energy and blood sugar the whole time. No hunger, though when I got home and saw the Organic Black Truffles made with coconut oil that I bought to send my niece/nephews for Valentine's Day, I did have a pang of food lust! I'm drinking my two evening quarts now. Typically, I like to finish up a little earlier, but I had to go with the flow of the day. I'll probably get extra sleep tonight as well. I would love to hear about other people's cleanses, or if you've let go of a food or added one in...please write it.

February 3rd today:
Today was a day of honoring my body, spirit and goals. Last night, I got lots of extra sleep and still needed more this morning. It's interesting for someone who typically wakes up without an alarm at 6:30  (in the Summer it's often 5:00 or 5:30) to be sleeping so much this Winter! My body does eat, sleep and exercise with the seasons, and Wintertime I often honor whatever it needs with sleep. This Winter my body and spirit are wanting a lot more sleep, and adding on the cleanse is certainly continuing this trend! Early Winter was sleep time for processing and integration and now it's more sleep from the cleanse. Remember my post about "Meeting Ourselves Where We're At??" This a really good exercise for me in that teaching. It involves letting go of the noisy thoughts that tell me it's not OK to stay in bed; that it means something is wrong and it's not making good use of the day, and it's a telltale sign of my emotions. So what if it is??? For me, telling that voice loving words and giving that little girl a big hug are the answer. These days, I need to do it most every morning.
After waking up and making my first 2 Quarts of Master Cleanser, I did my 20 minutes jumping on the rebounder/mini trampoline (also known as the lymphosizer, as it's the only exercise that detoxes the lymph and organ system) and noticed both dehydration and weakness. I am typically never noticeably dehydrated, so I know it is connected to cleansing. I love all these new sensations we only get to experience during this time. I bounced at a speed that honored my body's muscle weakness and fatigue, giving it some strong spurts during moments of energy. When we start to detoxify, the first place that energy is pulled from is from our "wei chi," the outermost part of our bodies, so we often will feel incredibly fatigued in our muscles and tissues. Don't worry...this means the body is taking its energy and directing it toward the organs for core healing. When I did the 31-day Juice Feast, there were many days early on that I didn't exercise, and 3 weeks into the cleanse, I ran miles! 
I did a chakra balance tape to let go of any emotional blocks inside my body and align my spirit. I have used this one for thirteen years and absolutely adore it:
 Chakra Balance CD 
 Aleta St. James is a true healer in her ability to help us open up blocked power sources.
I focused on a project that was my goal today, from notebook to computer. I was watching the snow fall the entire day, and when I finally went outside in late afternoon to clean off my car, I was wonder-struck by what appeared to be a foot of snow (but was around 7 inches). The forecast was for only 1-3inches, so this gift was a pure miracle. What came up next for me was the desire to have a playmate with whom to have a snowball fight and build a snowman. This truly was my little girl, my adolescent and my teenager all wrapped into one. I wanted a playmate so badly! Though I missed not having one, I loved that part of me that was ready to play, and I loved that she came out so strong during the cleanse. I remember sledding with my best friend hundreds of times as children, and the rush of going downhill, not knowing exactly how it would turn out, a little scared but excited to go. I remember having warm soup and hot chocolate after coming in from the cold. For a moment, I really missed that, questioning my decision to Winter cleanse - no playmate and no food?
Happily, I let the emotions just Be, and had a juicy conversation with a girlfriend, who promised she would play with me over the next few days, as we are expecting more snow. I just drank my last 2 Quarts of Master Cleanser at 6:00 and at 7:20 and feel completely content.
The most fabulous and sometimes difficult part of a cleanse are the ups and downs as we detox and feel it all. There are moments of exhiliration and moments of sadness, and it's an opportunity to naviagate the largeness of life through the lense of a cleanse.

Day 1 Winter Wonderland Cleanse

I started my first cleanse in over a year. That's a huge amount of time for me between cleanses. Typically, I would have cleansed last spring and done another Juice Feast, and if not that, definitely in the Fall to detoxify and build my system for Winter. Though I thought about it both times, meeting myself where I needed to be met, when the pull not to "quite yet" was greater than the desire to start one, I waited on cleansing and continued to eat.
Holiday time a year ago, as those who read my blog may know, I inserted a cleanse right in the middle of the season to pull my energies away the holiday foods and energies that pull us all down the rabbit hole. That cleanse ended up literally saving my life, as readers of T.H.E. Blog know. This year, I had a lot of difficult things I was navigating in my life during that exact period of time, but I chose not to cleanse. Life challenges and Holidays = weight gain and lowered energy for me. I dropped the weight simply by going back to the foods that I love and trusting my body, but the energy, moods, emotions and thoughts were still with me, taking up way too much space and pulling me away from my visions, goals and dreams. With all the cleansing I have done, including the 31-day juice feast, I have been feeling that the foods I ate during the holidays sent my body back into old "cellular memory" that surfaced in the forms of thoughts and emotions I hadn't experienced in years. Clearing those out was my primary reason for this Winter cleanse. 
I am fortunate to have clear and shining skin, without acne or major disturbances. Eating a Raw lifestyle continues to support its collagen production and clarity. I believe that a raw foods way of life, by nature of its sheer alkalinity and frequency is the only way of eating that combats aging through the skin. Over the last couple of months, I saw hormonal changes in my skin that I never experienced before, with breakouts in certain key areas that correspond to the organ system. My skin was screaming out for a cleanse. If skin could talk (after all, it is the largest organ, unlike what some men may think :) mine was chattering away.
So here I am, ending Day 1 of my cleanse. I'm doing The Master Cleanser this time - tried and true, I thank Stanley Burroughs once again for creating a cleanse that has stood the test of time.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/360680135411?lpid=82
Like my 31-day Juice Feast, T.H.E. Blog will chronicle my cleanse for the next 10 days.
Just an update and important for any newcomers to know from a seasoned cleanser:
My day started off powerfully with lots of energy for the cleanse and minimal hunger. I had vitality and an uplifted mood that carried me through till after a counseling session. I even rebounded on the mini trampoline for some movement and exercise.
In the second half of my day, I had intended to do some reading and note taking for which I had designated the time. I was clear and looking forward to spending the afternoon in what I had envisioned - cuddled on the couch with a blanket and my computer nearby.
I put myself into a couple of phone conversations that though seemingly fine, brought me back into all my "circular thinking" that has been taking me away from my body and my quietness. One of my main reasons for this cleanse is to clear out the old emotions that have been taking up a lot of space lately inside of me.
It was right after the calls that all my energy was suddenly zapped :) and for a moment I thought: Oh, I can't do this. Why don't I just eat and bag the cleanse. How am I going to do this for 10 days?? It would feel so much better to eat.
I can honestly share that this was emotional (not physical) hunger roaring like a lion!!
And then I changed my plans totally and went into bed for a long nap!
It was super hard to get up, and I thought of skipping my evening Master Cleanser quarts and staying in bed.
One foot in front of the other, here I am, up and having made my second two quarts and almost finished drinking the last one. I am no longer hungry or tired and in fact have enough energy to write this post. Note to myself and to all cleansers: Take the time to stay with your choices and remember that sometimes even talking with dear friends is not what you need. You may just need inner quiet. That is cleansing in itself. Trust your body, trust your intuition, stay with your intention and honor the cleanse. PS - If your body needs a nap, grab it!

Day 10 Final Day of My Autumn Cleanse!

October 9 Day 9 Master Cleanser:
7:15 AM Enema
9:15 AM 1 Quart Master Cleanser with: 1 quart warmed water, 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, pulp (and seeds), 4 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne spicy
11:15 AM Core Strengthening Exercises
1:30 PM 1 Quart Master Cleanser
7:30 PM 1 Quart Master Cleanser
Total: 3 Quarts

October 10 Day 10 Master Cleanser:
9:55 AM 1 Quart Master Cleanser
1:30 PM 1 Quart Master Cleanser
7:00 PM 1 Quart Master Cleanser
Total: 3 Quarts

I cannot believe it's almost over, and that tomorrow morning, I'll be starting my day with 8 ounces of soaked organic prunes and no Master Cleanser. Moving right into my life, I'll be having a lunchtime counseling session as well, though I will be somewhere that I can eat raw and light. Still, it feels strange to think about.
Though I feel complete and in gratitude that I cleansed according to my vision and commitment, I also feel a little sad to let it go. If I weren't moving into some venues where I would be sharing meals with other people, I would keep it going for a few more days. My body feels like it is in its truth, so to speak. I am releasing old beliefs and ways of coping every day, and meeting myself in all aspects of my life without food as an avoidance masked as pleasure.
How often do we just eat for the pure joy of eating? When I cleanse, I see an even deeper layer than I was aware. As much as I counsel others in Ecstatic Eating! and what it means to purely nourish ourselves and have a passionate relationship with our food, our bodies and our health, I understand how even I can deceive myself sometimes around food. I would say that I quite often do know the distinction between eating for the unadulterated sake of eating and eating to momentarily fill, avoid, numb or push away life. But even I witnessed a number of times during the past ten days, where if I had been eating solid food, I would have reached for it in relation to my experience of my life at just that moment. It's subtle sometimes, as those moments can also correlate with true hunger or mealtime; but it's that moment when food becomes a reaction rather than an action.
In the wild, animals don't look at the clock or even the sun to gage their hunger; they feel it instinctively. Because their emotional senses are not nearly as developed as ours (though their spiritual senses are, if you've ever had a cat), the stuff of life does not cloud their instinct. Even if a lion cub gets killed by another lion, its parent does not track down food to quell the sadness. It is only the human species who acts out their life experiences with food.
Today was a particularly difficult day for me emotionally. I had a major disappointment and an expectation of something in my life that didn't come to pass. I even had what I would call a meltdown in terms of the depth of emotion, pain and frustration I felt about this. At that moment, I felt physically wiped and exhausted, with no desire to uphold all the fabulous commitments in my life. Luckily, my commitment to myself and self-love rose above this painful period of time, and I put one foot in front of the other, walking through my day where I needed to be, until the feelings passed. There is no doubt that had I been eating solid food, I would have reached for something healthy, raw and fabulous a few times during those hours; I would have used food to soothe my mood.
Cleansing not only cleans out the waste and toxins; it is also a time for us to retrain our somatic, body response in not acting out with food in reaction to the intensity of emotion; that if we remove the food at that moment, the intensity will still pass, not by numbing out, but by allowing.  Even more, the emotion will not be digested along with the food. Throughout my years of counseling, I have encountered a number of clients who, even after shifting into very aligned eating for weight loss, were not losing. Once we cleared out the old emotional waste, then the weight could come off. We digest our food with our lives, and cleansing is an opportunity to heal that response mechanism and return to our highest relationship with food; the one with which we were born and were meant to have.
I will take this gift with me tomorrow as I move into Ecstatic Eating!
I want to also thank my Facebook Ecstatic Eating! community for supporting me and one another in this adventure called a cleanse. As I finish mine, others are now inspired to start theirs. Thank you.

When we cleanse, it's not just our bodies....Day 1

Hello World,

Today is Day 1 of Master Cleanser:
So far today:
7:30 AM 1 quart Master Cleanser, with 6 tablespoons fresh organic lemon juice and pulp (and seeds), 5 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (very spicy)
12:50 PM Quart #2
5:00 PM Quart #3
One more quart to come, but not too late.

I am sipping my third quart of Master Cleanser as I type. Figuring I'd breeze through this cleanse, after juice feasting with no solids for 31 days in the spring, I forgot that my body has been so reconditioned to food that the removal of it is causing a bit of an uproar :) Last week, I celebrated the Jewish holidays with some foods I don't typically eat, and I felt the feeling of "stuffed" that I haven't felt in a long time. When I eat solely raw foods, the molecular frequency is so high and the nutrients so dense that I get filled up without ever getting stuffed. Even though I transitioned back after the holiday, I am still letting go of those meals, as well as the last four months since my previous cleanse.
What am I feeling? A little shakiness (blood sugar), a little annoyance (having my food taken away), a little bereft (feeling lonlier than usual); all of the above.
This leads me into one of the most relevant yet rarely touched upon aspects of cleansing; the emotional component. I blogged about this over the course of the 31-day cleanse. Cleanses are so hip now; so "au courant." Everyone is on a cleanse and everyone advertises one. On the one hand, it is so great that people want to get healthier and can have access and support in doing so. The problem lies in the act of omission. What we need to know is what is left out when cleansing; that we are not only cleansing our bodies of all the food-based and environmental toxins and old debris (and this can go back a lifetime, if we have never cleansed before - more on this in another post), we are also cleansing from an emotional perspective. All the stored up experiences that get processed (or not) in our somatic (body-centered) selves are cleansing as well. Think about what has transpired in your life since your last cleanse; did you end a relationship or have it ended by someone else? Have you had loss, sadness, pain, hurt, anger or any other emotion/experience taking up space? Look at these areas; family, love, relationships, work, joy, health, finances; if you processed any of these on an emotional end, or if they got "lodged" in between your energy centers and held as "wounds" to the chakras (the energy centers we have in our bodies; just like organs, tissues and blood, these also exist and house our experiences) you might need to cleanse them as well.
I also tell clients: Our body is the higher intellect; our minds the lesser! Not that we can't be smart, but it's the body we really need to listen to, and the mind always trips us up with its intelligence. Our bodies really tell us what we need to know, if we pay attention and honor them.
If you are cleansing and suddenly, for no apparent reason feel weepy or angry or terribly sad, you are not losing your mind! In fact, most probably you are healing core issues that have been hanging out inside of you with nowhere to go. Don't reach for the pills to make it go away. Instead, ask your body what it is telling you; literally. I recommend clients speak to their bodies all the time. Then listen for an answer. Once you get one, see if is to just allow the old, bottled up feelings to move through you or whether there is an action that would help heal them. Pull your journal out and write for a few minutes about your discovery. This is the pivotal component that draws people into letting go of their commitments and going back to addictive behaviours; being uncomfortable with the feelings, the emotions, finally coming up to the surface. You don't have to eat over it! Just breathe deeply, ten inhales and ten exhales, and let the oxygen fill you.
If you have never cleansed before, and even sometimes if you have, your body might transport you back to many years ago, where you find yourself emotionally re-experiencing an event from twenty years ago. That happended to me a couple of times during the 31-day Juice Feast.
Don't be concerned; just stay with it and allow it a "voice." Once you do, it will be able to shift and move through you.
So, what's coming up for me on Day 1 as I type? I'm missing loving touch and connection. If you're the next person I see, I'll be asking you for a hug!
PS - My upper back muscles are starting to ache as I blog. This is a sure sign that the cleansing is working! As Dr. Fred Bisci speaks about, when you start to cleanse, all the energy used for the muscles and joints starts to leave those areas and go the the organs and parts of the body needing core healing. That is a good sign.

5 Girls Juicing Week 2 Days 10 - 13 Juice Feast

Hello World,

Juicing:
Day 10:
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon honey
2 quarts beet, oranges, mustard and dandelion greens
1 teaspoon bee pollen
25 tabs chlorella
1 teaspoon honey
3 teaspoons bee pollen
30 minute sauna
8 oz. water with lemon
Total: 2 quarts

Day 11:
16 oz. lemon water
1 teaspoon honey
1 quart chard, celery, golden delicious apples, parsley and coconut oil
2 teaspoons bee pollen
Exercise: rebounded 15 minutes
3 teaspoons bee pollen
1 teaspoon honey
1 quart chard, celery, golden delicious apples, parsley and coconut oil
1 teaspoon bee pollen
Total: 2 quarts

Day 12:
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon honey
16 oz. parsley, cuke, beet and carrot with ginger
2 teaspoons bee pollen
30 tabs chlorella
2 teaspoons bee pollen
8 oz. strawberries, grapefruits, orange, beet greens, red chard and mesquite powder
1 quart chard, celery, golden delicious apples, parsley, coconut oil
Total: 1 quart 24 oz.

Day 13 Today:
Exercise: Ran 2.1 miles
2  1/2 quarts chia "milk" with mesquite, shilajit and vanilla bean powders, with 3 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons bee pollen
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons bee pollen
2  1/2 hour nap
18 oz. broccoli, celery, apple, lime, fennel, dandelion greens, carrots, ginger, cuke and zucchini, mixed with strawberries, grapefruits, orange, beet greens, red chard and mesquite powder
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon honey
Total: 3 quarts 2 oz.

Whew! This is the most fantastic ride of my life! The ups are exuberant; the downs are deep. Today I ran for the first time in eight days. When I awoke and saw that it was sunny and beautiful, and rain had been predicted, I felt it was a gift and sign that today was my day to run. I didn't look at speed or even think about it; just got out the door and ran by the water for a couple of miles. I was actually in a "zone," feeling kind of surreal and dreamy. Of course, that got me a tiny bit worried, as I thought, "Am I physically OK? I don't want to be too detached." I trusted my body and my intuition. Towards the end, I began to feel the fatigue in my body, so I kept repeating, "Look at how far I ran. I did it!" as if I had completed my run already. This helped me tremendously. When I finished, I was wiped! Then I went into some sort of new zone and was completely spaced out as well as being tired. Karita came over for a couple of hours and we shared some juice and conversation, comparing our personal experiences of juice feasting over the past week. I felt totally ungrounded, filled with anxiety and a little unstable and unsure of my wellbeing; I guess I could call it feeling "fragile." The funniest thing actually shifted my energy. Karita got up and accidentally tipped over her glass jar of plum-colored juice, and it all spilled onto my living room carpet! Believe it or not, the act of cleaning the carpet and focusing on something outside of myself cleared my brain and grounded my body. I thanked Karita for spilling her juice, and we decided that now even my carpet was juice feasting! This does remind me that when we are focusing on something beside ourselves we heal most profoundly; like giving service to another or being there for a friend or loved one; this takes us out of our own stuff and into gratitude. It also reminds me of being a rebellious teenager and smoking pot with my friends. When I would get a little too stoned, only something completely outrageous like that could pull me back down; like one of our parents knocking on our bedroom door! I actually thought that my body might be going back that far to do its core healing.
The last few days were the hardest of my juice feast. There is still no physical hunger. In fact, I am decreasing my juices and just honoring the amount my body tells me. At night, I feel a need to stop entirely and allow my body to start detoxing even before sleep. There are slight feelings of gas in the evening, which let me know my body wants rest. What is most difficult is the emotional hunger and the "raw-ness" of my emotions. As I was moving through a couple of trying things that were going on for me this week, I so wanted to be cradled in food. Whatever I was missing; whatever I was struggling with made me long to be embraced, held and loved by the food. I think it was Fat Cat pizza I kept imagining eating. Fat Cat Pie Company is a restaurant that makes organic crust pizza with farm-sourced veges. The thought of it kept calling to me.
Day 10 was the hardest, in that I felt "bottomed out" emotionally. The whole day, I wanted to crawl under the sheets and sleep the day away, being able to validate it by the fact that I am juice feasting and need extra rest. What did I do? I took my day moment-by-moment, renewing the contract to sleep after each counseling session or task I was doing, and that is how my day progressed. At some point later in the day, I decided to clean out a cabinet where I have been accumulating papers for many years, as my vision this year is to clear out all my drawers that have been gathering for years and shift what remains into a file cabinet. So, on the worst day of the feast, I cleared out this entire cabinet and threw away three bags of my old life, including emails from past relationships, performance reviews from so many years ago, before I had gone into counseling and was still in the corporate world, and a myriad of other previously meaningful papers from my past. What a purge! I felt energized and light after doing this. It was a feeling of letting go of who others thought I was and reconnecting with who I am now. It was melancholy and beautiful, affirming my choices and validating me far more than the day of sleep might have. When I went to bed, I realized I made it through the day more powerfully than I could ever have anticipated. This being said, I am also being super gentle with the myriad of intense emotions coming up for me, and the wax and wane of my energies. There is no doubt that I am in the process of transformation. 

Glass Half Full

Yesterday's Food:

No Breakfast

Large Lunch at The Stand, Norwalk, CT:
Raw smoothie with cacao, dried cherries, nutmilk, banana
Curried collard wrap with curry almond pate, red peppers and sprouts
gazpacho with veges and sprouts

Snack;
a piece of a banana

Late Dinner to Ease up a Long Day:
Non-raw at Lime Restaurant, Norwalk, CT
3 pieces homemade whole grain bread with olive oil
pink bean and chipotle soup with 2 grain crackers
salad with tahini dressing
grilled eggplant parmesan with Vermont organic cheese on top of whole wheat penne; broccoli and string beans

Today's Meals: after a spectacular 6 mile run
Breakfast:
32 ounces lemon water
3 bricks 'Two Moms in the Raw' goji berry granola

No Lunch
(non-raw and raw: small tastings of all kinds of beautiful veges prepared in different ways to bring to a friend, from Andy's Vegan Cafe, Rye, NY)

Dinner:
salad with romaine, cabbage, carrot, daikon, sprouts, cuke, 1/2 avocado with dulse, nutritional yeats, olive oil and Herbamare
Dessert:
bowl of Organic Nectars raw pistachio ice cream

If you're a raw foodie and having a non-raw meal, do it from a "glass half full" perspective. Yesterday was a "heavy" day for me; all good, but I was processing some things and could really feel a range of emotions in my body. In the process of processing, I had a full day that ended with a session at my office.
Driving home, I realized I was a bit short on a couple of foods from the market and debated whether to go out to eat or stop at the market and eat after 9:00.
I decided to take myself out and be served.
It's so fine to do this; in fact, treating oneself to meals out is very affirming. But I was wanting to "soothe" my feelings; not to eliminate them, but to soothe them with food.
So, the food was delicious, but I ate it too quickly and my feelings were still there.
This morning I could feel the difference between truly "choosing" that meal and allowing my emotions to choose it.
By the way, I am so grateful for the feelings and for my day yesterday; it's all extraordinary insight and growth. I'm merely speaking to the subtleties of our relationships with food.
When you choose to make change with food, choose it not to fill a place but to nourish and enhance your already filled heart.
Please write in and share your choices...

Alchohol and Old Cellular Memories

Yesterday's Food: (got home tooooo late to blog)

Breakfast:
Fabulous green and yellow juice with 4 large leaves of red chard and 3 small golden delicious apples; with 1/4 lime

Lunch:
small amount of leftover sunflower sundried tomato pate on purple cabbage leaves, with 1 carrot; small amount of olive oil and nutritional yeast for dipping

Snack:
Raw Revolution chocolate cashew bar

Dinner (for my brother's birthday - Lotos Club, NYC):
Non-raw:
1 glass of champagne
a couple of handfuls of roasted mixed nuts
1 small hors d'oevre on a slice of cucumber, of I think Yellowtail sushi (this was funny, as I totally forgot what I was eating until after I ate it!)
a few glasses of superb red wine Paulliac
3 kinds of bread: 1 small marble croissant; a few crunchy grain crackers; 1 sourdough dinner roll with olive oil
Parsnip soup (vegan)
parpardelle pasta ribbons with mixed chunked veges with a sprinkling of parmesan

Dessert:
mango and blood orange sorbet

8 ounces water

OK, so my brother Richard celebrated a very auspicious milestone birthday, and our family went out for a really lovely and leisurely dinner. I decided to eat the food that was being offered, as I knew it would just be a really good time.
Here's what I'm left with: It is so rare that I do drink these days; both because of alchohol and susatined health as well as eating raw. Thankfully, I had plenty during other periods of my life! I actually really enjoy the taste. I love these experiments, as I can take them to you and share them with others. I believe there is a whole piece of this raw world that is not being touched upon; that piece is the concept of "cellular memory". People do discuss it in the context of "detox"; as in when you go raw and go through detox, your body is letting go of metabolic waste that can go back many years. In other words, you may be letting go of the metabolic waste of cigarettes you smoked ten years ago or a heavy sugar period in your life. What really isn't touched upon is that you may "re-experience" some aspect of this time period; even a faint smell or taste, or more potently, an emotion or feeling. This is called, "cellular memory". Because a large part of my practice as a Health Counselor surrounds "cellular memory", Somatic, or body-centered processing and releasing old trauma and belief systems from the body, I look at this concept a little differently. It's not just the "waste" we may detox; it may also be the stored "memory," which could include an emotional or energy-based response. This is more so the quantum physics of the body. Why would we believe it's merely the physical that would be stored and then released? We are all of our beings; a composite; physical, emotional and energy. As a result, often when "detoxing" from raw, a person may feel some deep and "old" emotional" responses; really stored energy in the body.
So, getting back to the alchohol and beautiful meal last night. Let me first say I was FULL. This is always so interesting to me, as I never feel full from raw.
I had some dreams about people from my past, and when I awoke, my body carried deep sadness and pain-melancholy feeelings. I have known these feelings before; they are from my past.I remember waking up with them years ago after a night out.
I have been tracking the responses of the body to food for a long time and am completely fascinated with this aspect of stored memory. Look how deeply these "body memories" are stored!
So, two things go on for me today: One, I get to see if there's something from my past worthy of examining a little more deeply in my present, and two, I clean out my body today, starting with a green juice. More on the subject of "cellular memory" to come.
I am wondering: Do you ever wake up and notice specific "feelings" after eating specific foods? Please write in and let me know...
PS - I also feel some reflux in my solar plexus due to the alchohol