Clean Your Body, Clear Your Mind

We recently did our first 7-day fast. Sure, fasting is pretty common these days, even trendy. There are huge health benefits, which encompass mind, body and spirit. 

What about urine fasting? You may not know that urine therapy and urine fasting are ancient practices, dating back thousands of years in the Vedic texts of India.

Initially, when I was first introduced to the concept several years ago, my face cringed and my stomach did a backflip. After all, we are taught that urine is a waste product of the body, right? Wrong. Urine has tons of trace minerals and can have a very healing and therapeutic effect on our cells. There are documented cases of UT clearing up many serious illnesses.

Urine fasting is comprised of several parts. Capturing urine in a glass jar, and aging it for several days turns the pH from acidic to alkaline, increasing its healing properties. It is recommended that you massage the alkaline urine into your skin from head to toe. This action not only draws toxins from the skin, but it also results in softer, clearer skin. I especially noticed it on my face. The use of urine as a rinse in hair before shampooing leaves hair softer and shinier too. Sounds too gross or strange? You may be surprised to learn that derivatives of urine (from various critters) are common ingredients in many beauty products for their youth-enhancing, rejuvenating properties. (Personally, I would rather use my own urine.) Many leather conditioners also contain urea to soften and preserve the leather (aka skin). 

The second part is using urine packs, or cloths soaked in the aged urine, and placed for a length of time on any part of the body that needs extra healing and TLC. Organs, skin rashes, wounds, burns, etc., can benefit greatly from the sterile soaking in these packs. 

Urine can also be used to balance our hormones. Pregnant mare urine (PMU) is a main ingredient in medications used to balance hormones in menopausal women. 

In order to receive the full benefit of urine cleansing, drinking your urine is crucial. Consuming urine cleans out all aspects of our bodies. First the digestive tract, and then all of our cells get a flush. Urine fasting has also been used for deep detoxing purposes. I, myself, have been seeking relief from a candida overgrowth in my body for several long and uncomfortable years. I tried so many medicines (traditional Rx's and natural) as well as cleanses, diets, and various regimens to try to clear up the candida. So exhausting. After a week of UT, I am feeling better than I have in nearly a year.  When compared to the suffering I have faced in the last few years, drinking urine seems like a small price to pay.

We began and ended our fast with a couple of days of fresh-pressed organic juice from our bountiful garden harvest to ease our bodies into and out of the fast to and from a solid food diet.

We both kept detailed notes about how we felt, any changes, any discomforts etc. I made notes of the tricks that my mind kept trying to play on me. We both also dropped to body weights that we hadn't experienced since our teens. A fascinating side effect.

A few crucial notes if you are considering a urine fast:

1.  Drinking fresh water is important if you feel like you need extra hydrating. 

2.  Fast when you have a BLANK schedule. Any extra exertion is not recommended. Your body needs rest to fully cleanse and heal itself. 

3.  Listen to your body. If you are feeling any severe symptoms, ease back out of the fast very gently. 

4. Consider retreating to a place that isn't home so that you can completely relax and be present with the magic of fasting. 

The Gift of Life: Part Two

Meanwhile, while I was completely immersed in my teenaged mutant ninja hermit phase, my family was sure I was going crazy (and some days I wondered if they were right...but now I know that I was totally fine!). So they took me to numerous specialists and eventually, after testing half a dozen meds, had me put on a one called Effexor XR. It numbed me to a place where I was neither excited or sad. Just a steady dullness enveloped my every waking moment. I even stopped having dreams at night for years on end.  I remained on that medication for nearly 7 years. I think that while under the influence of its spell, I didn't have the wherewithal to realize that I was being totally compliant with leading a very dull and unexciting existence. 

During that time, at age 22, I unexpectedly conceived with my partner. I consulted with several doctors who said that my original prescribing doctor (or any other doctor at all???) should have explained the severe risks involved with pregnancy and this medication. I was furious. I felt so uninformed and totally abandoned by the western medical system that we all accept as "normal". After weeks of strong encouragement from doctors, and with mountains of sadness and guilt, we decided to end the pregnancy. That choice still brings up many strong emotions for me. Throughout the years, I have done counseling, journaling and healing work to forgive myself and everyone else involved in that life-changing event.

THEN...eventually I had a spark of awakening and inspiration in 2007, at age 25, and weaned myself off of Effexor, which took me nearly 6 months of pulling one more micro bead each day out of the tiny capsules (my own idea). I learned what patience meant. It was very powerful stuff and the withdrawal symptoms were horrific when I tried to wean off of it the way that the doctor instructed me to. I still wonder to this day what long-term effects it may have had. Anyone know about this??

In summarizing this info, I urge you to avoid unnecessary Rx medication of ANY KIND.  INFORM YOURSELF AND SEEK  NATURAL ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMECEUTICALS WHEN POSSIBLE. They may save lives as a last resort, but please, please do your homework before handing over that little Rx sheet. There are dark sides to many, many common medications. 

Since those Rx days, which ended in 2007, I have been excitedly rediscovering my special gifts and skills as if for the first time. I liken it to relearning to walk or talk, or use motor skills after a severe injury. I had squashed them down in a deep, guarded compartment for many years and tried to pretend that I was "normal".  

In fact, until a month ago, I still didn't fully realize the full extent of who I really am and what I have to learn and share with humanity. In early June, I attended a workshop that I happened to see advertised locally titled "highly sensitive children". It was geared toward parents who are raising kids with special abilities such has telepathy or clairvoyance. I knew immediately that I had to attend. All I can say is that the day was a huge game-changer for me. I spent at least the first hour in tears from a wild combination of reassurance and disbelief that there are probably millions of others on the planet who share a similar experience of life with me!

By the end of the workshop, I was full of excitement and eagerness to learn more about this human phenomena and to build connections with others from the group and beyond. 

I have since been asked to host some workshops on this topic myself, which was an unexpected turn of events. I have heard numerous times that whatever our deepest hurts have been, that these are the things that we can share with others to help change the world. My calling seems to lie somewhere between guidance counseling and supporting fellow HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE.  

Do you or someone you love share similar experiences with what I have described? Please pass this on to those who may benefit from reading this. I  am always happy to work with anyone who is interested in learning more. 

Alongthehearttrail@gmail.com

24 Hours of Gratitude

Let's start with the irony of this experiment. I found this image while mindlessly scrolling through Facebook,  which I have complained about plenty of times. (I try not to spend much time staring at my phone screen these days, but sometimes it just sucks me right in. Especially when I know I have something else to get done that I am not excited about.)

Anyway, I am so glad that I stumbled upon that little green square. I said out loud right then and there, "What an awesome concept. I'm doing this. Starting now."

Ahahahahaha!!!

Yeah, right. About 5 minutes later I grumbled when my iPhone wasn't doing what I wanted it to. I said "Does that noise mean that I'm complaining?!" I made a self-reffing call on that one. So, I started over. I think I made it about 10 more minutes before complaining about something or other that humanity does that irritates me. I laughed at myself and realized that this would prove to be much more of a challenge than I initially thought! Pure determination and full presence was what I needed.

Going a bit deeper, I realized that some of my unspoken thoughts were equally as negative as the ones that escaped my lips. How many times in a day do you let yourself be annoyed, irritated, judgemental or just plain bitchy? Yikes! If we all said everything that we were thinking out loud, we could all be labeled as sociopaths and avoid each other like the plague! Ahh. Well, thank goodness that most of us have built-in censors. 

So. I decided that if I DID notice a negative thought arise, as long as I caught it, corrected it to be more true, and moved on, it could count toward the 24 hours of positivity. 

I eventually made it through 24+ hours without being a whiner or negative thinker. The funny part about this whole thing is that I would consider myself a very positive person to begin with. However, when I really got present within my own thoughts, I became frighteningly aware of the reality of the human mind.  It likes to seek out negatives or injustices or unfair things or people that are "wrong" or weird, or little stuff that isn't up to our standards, or, or, or...

I was listening to Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth (literally, for like the 10th time) on the morning of my successful 24 hour stint...it may have been part of my success that day... He said, "the mind wants to want, more than it wants to have." It's so true. We need to be grateful for what is and what we have now and stop the thwarted wanting! Geez!

I will sometimes meet people who I refer to as "having an Eeore cloud over their heads". You know, the cute little donkey from Whinny the Pooh that has a pet rain cloud that follows him? Nothing is ever good or fair or fun for these folks. They always seem to find the negative in everything. This. is. so. exhausting. For everyone. It's simply unattractive to other humans. Like a natural repellant. These are the times when I wish I had the art of teleporting mastered. For now, I will try to listen fully. Ask yourself if what they (or you) are being negative about is really the issue. Usually there is something deeper happening that they (you) haven't resolved. 

Sometimes a poor choice they (or you) have made way back has manifested some ugly realities for them in the present. If you feel brave enough, ask them (or yourself) if they are willing to look at the issue at hand from a different perspective. How did they get here? Are they willing to change their thoughts or habits to create a more positive outcome? What is their intention by being so negative? Are they seeking attention, sympathy and commiseration? Don't give it. This will only confirm that being negative and whiny works in their favor.  Compassion and empathy is what is needed here. Listen. Acknowledge their feelings of anger, sadness or discomfort. Then, in a kind way, ask what they plan to do to turn things around for themselves. This might help to turn that cloud into rainbows and sunshine. Or at least a fluffier, happy cloud?

Anyway, to sum up this whole idea: try it yourself. Do a 24 hour gratitude challenge. Invite a friend or your spouse to do it too. (Then you can help keep each other on track.) Ooooh. See if your kids can do it, if they're old enough to understand self-reflection. It will be a great learning experience for all of us. 

Like me, you will be exponentially more aware of those pesky negative thoughts that arise. So we can trap them in a jar, examine the heck out of them, then release them back into the world as positive, loving thoughts. After all, everything is connected, so let's make this life better for everyone. 

I took this photo in NYC back in October. It was painted on a building in an alley. I knew I would use it eventually. 

I am so grateful that you just read this piece of my whirling thoughts.

Have a beauty-filled day. 

Ps. If you have 10 more minutes, watch and listen to this beautiful piece of art. It's worth every second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgP8LkEopM

More Power...but not the kind you think.

Last night, reading by headlamp, I could hardly put down a new-to-me book that a friend recently recommended. It's called Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, PH.D... and it's amazing. In a nutshell, it is about recognizing emotional and spiritual patterns in ourselves and learning how to correct them to avoid/heal illness and disease.
First thing this morning, I did a quick exercise inspired by the first few chapters. She talked about how we each give up personal power over a lifetime of everyday experiences, and how each of us can learn to regain our personal power to boost health and wellness. Here's what I came up with:

Things that Self-Empower Me
Exercise
Creativity
Nature
Reading books
Helping others with love
Staying informed
Growing my food
Learning new things
Listening to my intuition
Doing what feels right
Healthy cooking & eating
Honesty and clear communication
Surrounding myself with loving people

Conversely, here are the things that I find DEPLETE my Personal Power:
Fearfulness (this is a broad topic, amazing the subtle things we all fear)
Believing and/or sharing false information
Exposing myself to negative energy (people and situations)
Not respecting my body (ie. consuming foods that are not supporting my wellness)
Not speaking up about injustices or fallacies in our world
Undervaluing myself

This exercise was similar to the "Things That I LOVE" exercise, but also made me reflect on the things that I allow myself and others to do or say that are depleting my Personal Power.  I am certainly intrigued by my lists and hope to dig a little deeper to discover more.  I hope that this will be useful to some of you also.

It's SO interesting what humans will say and do to each other to steal each others personal power. Children learn this at a very young age through observation of the adults in their lives.  In Gary Zukav's life-changing book, Spiritual Partnership, he likens all human relationships as being like two weights on an old-fashioned scale.  We should all be working to keep the scales balanced, which means we don't see ourselves as "above" anyone else, and at the same time we don't undervalue ourselves and see others as "above" us. I also recall a passage in another book that was referring to the auras, or energy fields, around any two people interacting, and that there is a visual vacuum-like effect when one person is stealing power from another.  In the ideal human interaction, each person will be expanding the personal power of the other so that no one walks away drained or inferior.  Think about that the next time you speak to a stranger on the phone, stand at the checkout counter or have a flare up of road rage. Turn your thoughts around and give a little. It won't hurt you, and it could mean a whole lot to someone else.

"We all share a type of physical body that becomes ill or heals for the same reasons. We also share emotional and psychological crises common to the human experience. Everyone fears abandonment, loss and betrayal; anger is as toxic within a Jewish body as it is within a Christian or Hindu body; and we are all drawn to LOVE. When it comes to the health of our spirits and our bodies, we have NO differences." - Caroline Myss, PH.D.

Get up. Stand up. Yes, you.

I have spent many, many hours, which translates to hundreds of kilometers, riding my bicycle around the county roads of rural Alberta. It's field after field of genetically modified organisms (GMO's), being repeatedly sprayed with a toxic chemical cocktail (made largely of petroleum byproducts), which feed us, our families and the livestock that ends up on your dinner table. Amongst nearly every farmer's crop is an oil or gas well. Often both. At night, huge flames light up the skyline, flaring off the waste gases from the wells. It stinks. In more than one way. 

It's evident to me that the oil and gas industry has an upper hand, and that BIG agriculture has the other upper hand. They're giving each other a big, sweaty high five right over top of Alberta's heartland.  I would even go as far as saying that they have a secret handshake, and a treehouse where they meet with the banks, insurance agencies, public health providers, government "officials", pharmaceutical companies...and Walmart (to name a few). I am yet to actually document this...but stay tuned. 

What I'm getting at here is that every choice YOU make (by using your inner wisdom...yup. it's in you. I promise.) that uninvolves all of these huge organizations brings you one step closer to your innate birthright of freedom.  

(Canada, don't fool yourself, most of the same things apply to us too.)

For me, things like riding a used bicycle, growing my own food, bartering (really?! Yes!) educating myself on natural health solutions, supporting small local merchants and most of all, speaking to other people about what I believe and about my hopes for a better tomorrow are bringing me ever closer to the life I imagine for our future generations. 

There is a big difference between being awake and aware of what is really happening in the world (starting in your own home) and then actually doing something about it.  So many folks say "I don't want to know! I'm happier not knowing." Or "I can't make a difference anyway." Then there are those who say "well, I sure do my part! I recycle!" Or "I use a cloth grocery bag".  Well, don't get me wrong, those things are great, but honestly folks, that simply is not enough to turn this sinking ship we call humanity around!

We North Americans (and probably all corporate-run countries) have a tendency to pack every moment of our day so full that we won't take the time to notice the bigger picture. We are so absorbed in work and "obligations" (or so we like to tell ourselves) and made-up busy stuff. Working day and night to earn enough for that shiny new vehicle and that all-inclusive holiday and toys and new clothes and appliances  and...and...AND....when is enough going to be enough? 

In 10 years of not owning a television, I have been able to think for myself, have more free time, get outdoors, meet new people, find out what really matters to me (and to others) speak my truth and make a difference, even if it's a small one. The down side of not having a tv is.......(*crickets chirping*.....)

Do yourself and your families a HUGE favor and get rid of your bossy talk box.  Your kids will probably cry. Maybe for days or even weeks. It's called withdrawal. TV and video games (and smart phones, iPads, etc) are a serious addiction. They will recover and on the other side, they will become happier, healthier, less moody, more creative, more active, more like kids are supposed to be! These things are robbing us humans of so many key components of thriving!  Not to mention that no matter how you slice it and dice it and try to justify it, you are being told what to think, how to act and what to consume consciously and subconsciously every single time you turn these things on. And pleeeeeease don't give your electronics to someone else! They need to wake up too! Smash them with a baseball bat and/or chuck it into the local electronics reclamation site (making darn sure that it shatters and is unfixable). I'm serious. Help yourself. Help your loved ones to break the cycle of a mindless existence. Get outdoors. It's nature...natural. Where we are supposed to be. 

Once you have started doing these things, we can make up our own secret handshake and build our own tree houses and enjoy the beauty and freedom we deserve. I don't know about you, but when I was born, I don't recall signing anything that said I agreed to taxation, vaccination, food poisoning, or slavery. We have all come to accept this as normal. Just like our parents did and their parents did. Well it's not normal. So stand up and speak up. Start living. 

Ps. On a lighter note, check out this super creative music video about living simply. And riding a bike. Love it!

http://m.music.cbc.ca/blogs/2013/5/Video-premiere-Jeremy-Fishers-Built-to-Last

PPs. Ignore this box. I can't make it go away. Hahaha. Ha. Technology. Pssssh.