2013

Year 2013 will start off with some very positive life changes for Moonbeam and I that will challenge us and help to start this new year off right. The number 13 in Goddess religions is a very lucky number which I think is not a mere coincidence :)

While Moonbeam goes on his two-week bike ride around the state of Florida (and correct me if I'm wrong), I will be doing a 10-day master cleanse known as the "lemonade diet" but it is NOT for the purposes of dieting. I was reading up on this cleanse and it seemed like the purpose for many people was to lose weight; this is not my intention. Originally the cleanse was designed to help people to flush out the toxins in their bodies and fast for 10 days. The first three days are the toughest and the fourth is the "hump day", but after you get past those days of healing, you feel an increase in energy and well-being. I think this is appropriate to start the new year off cleansing my body and my soul of all the toxins from the previous years and I feel honored to be experiencing this transformation at the same time that Moonbeam will be on his own journey. I feel as if being in these meditative states of concentration, appreciation and discipline will bring us both closer to each other even though we will not be able to talk to each other during this time.

To ease into this fast, I have bought a juicer that I plan to juice my dinners every night until I begin the fast so my body is pumped full of nutrients but is also experiencing liquid "meals" until I will completely depend on liquid meals. The recipe for the cleanse asks for:

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (organic)

2 tablespoons Grade B Maple syrup (organic)

1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper

10 oz. purified/spring water

6-12 of these glasses a day

As well as the lemonade, I have to do a sea salt water flush (2 teaspoons of sea salt to 1 quart of room temp. water) every morning and an herbal laxative tea at night to flush all the toxins out of my body. The lemonade will sustain me with all the nutrients I need (apparently citrus and real maple syrup are EXTREMELY healthy for you and have all the needed nutrients for those 10 days [well think about it....maple syrup is tree nectar] ) and then I will flush all the toxins out of my body during the entire day. 

I will blog for every day of my cleanse!

January 2, 2013

I think this cleanse will help me to love my body more than I ever have before because the pain I will have to go through will make me realize how much damage I have inflicted upon it and that damage will be leaving my body through the love I will be giving it. Maybe that is how true love really works. Maybe that is what happened with T. She was experiencing my love for her and was loving me which was bringing out all that damage out of her life. Most people, like the cleanse, experience so much pain that they give up before they are able to feel the positive results. This will be my motivation to continue - the end result.

January 4, 2013 Day 1 of Cleanse

I hadn't gotten to bed as early as I had originally planned because I was shopping with my mom and  preparing for my cleanse by importing all the Celtic music in the house onto my Ipod to help with the anticipated stress I knew I would be experiencing. I did some Stress-Relief Yoga last night and some meditation in the sauna and felt very energized last night as well. Today, I  started my cleanse with the salt water flush and within the hour  that I drank it,  the full quart left my body. It was intense! I have been experiencing some thoughts about food and what would taste good but then I realize...oh! I can't eat that!  I have also been experiencing some sharp irritability and have struggled to keep it under wraps. I warned my family what I was doing and what I would be experiencing so hopefully they will be understanding. I have also found a great article about the "side effects" of the cleanse and read other cleansers path on their cleanse which gave me some encouragement! 

January 5, 2013 Day 2 of Cleanse

Today started off great. I didn't have much hunger pains for the majority of the day and I was busy doing all sorts of errands with lots of energy. I was in an overall very chipper mood and thought to myself "I can do this!" Then the late afternoon came rolling around and I was having hunger pains that didn't seem to go away. My parents took a neighbor and I to a Mexican restaurant, which was a very bad idea for me. I realized just how much I loved food and flavor as if it was an addiction. I tried my best to look away and not pay attention to the smells but I was exhausted, starving and had little to no energy left. I did have a good conversation with my father about overcoming obstacles which made the experience better, but when I returned home, I was too tired to do anything so I just swallowed two tablespoons of maple syrup instead of making the entire concoction, watched part of a movie and went to bed.

January 6, 2013 Day 3 of Cleanse

This morning I was able to sleep in some more and get as much rest as possible to allow my body to heal. I was feeling pretty normal and did my salt water flush. I was going to the bathroom several times and I noticed that I still had something to flush even though I hadn't eat the last few days! This made me realized just how much my intestines have suffered. All that waste was still being absorbed back into my body because it wasn't able to properly leave my body. I told my folks about this and they are amazed as well. My mother has had digestive issues for years now and has even had a colonoscopy (I think that's what it is called) and still has issues. My father suggested that she try this cleanse because it might be what finally works for her. She then goes on a rampage about how much she despises Western medicine because the doctors just want our money and don't actually care about their patients nor do they actually know what really works. It makes me happy that what I do with my life, at first, it seems like my family and those around me reject it, but then they see what I make of it and the positive results and it seems to inspire them. Perhaps that is the way life works when you live a life of your own and you don't force your lifestyle on others. They first reject it and insult it but when you respond passively and they notice the positive and content life you life, they want to incorporate it into their own lives. I think that is a lesson to live by. Passive positivity.

January 7, 2013 Day 4 of Cleanse

Today has really tested my strength. I am back at work where I had my second and third day at home resting and I have had more cravings for food than I have had the first three days. I want to eat everything and it doesn't help that I am sitting at a desk, unable to leave or distract myself with running errands or something productive. It is later in the afternoon and I feel exhausted and am wondering if the maple syrup can cause sugar highs and crashes. Today is supposed to be the hump day so I sure hope tomorrow will be looking much better.

January 8, 2013 Day 5 of Cleanse

I would say that today is the kind of day of well-being, contentment and relief that the struggles I had to face before are over. I had to go through all the strife to feel this amazing later. I have a small amount of craving but mostly I feel happy and grateful for the things in my life. I was going through my new purse planner and seeing all the wonderful adventures I have ahead of me! All the money I have been making is going to pay for my debts, then after those are paid for, I am saving the rest. I spent around $100 ish on trips to see my good friends in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania (maybe NY) and the grand adventure in Ann Arbor, Michigan with Moonbeam. I think that all the stress (that I will be overcoming!) I will have with schoolwork and money will be worth these adventures I am about to have. I am so FUCKING blessed to make these opportunities happen for me and I am proud of myself  for knowing what I want and going through whatever it calls to allow myself to receive them. I feel like I am really understanding what it means to have drive and to acknowledge a strength of mine and to find joy in myself in that strenght. Thank you life for giving me such gifts of love in these people I meet and thank you for allowing myself to love them and love my Self! So happy.

January 9, 2013 Day 6 of Cleanse

Today started out being pretty tricky. I was irritated for several of the first hours of the day due to financial stress and due to my lack of finances, I fear that I won't be able to finish the full 10 days of my cleanse because maple syrup is so expensive. Actually, now that I think about it, I WILL be able to continue my cleanse, just in a different way. I might finish my full 10 days on just a vegetable and fruit juice diet. Juice fasting has the same effects and I will still technically be fasting and won't feel like I didn't fulfill my whole cleanse. I think this will be a positive way to continue what I set out to do and I won't feel like I missed out. Today I spent a lot of time researching future possibilities and adventures with Moonwolf so I am super excited for what our future holds! Today has ended up being a wonderful day.

January 10, 2013 Day 7 of Cleanse

Today I feel like a completely different person. I waited to blog because I usually start my day on this cleanse positively and later on in the day my cravings usually increase and set me back into a negative state but it is now mid-day and I feel fantastic! I went to the gym last night (the first time I tried to run on this cleanse I was only able to run a little over a mile before tiring) with the mindset that I was going to attempt to run 3 miles so I wouldn't get too behind in my running. I ended up running 4! I  was almost up to 3 miles and I thought to myself "You know, I could run a little bit more, I'll try running 3.5 miles." I ran up to the 3.5 mile mark and said, "you know, I only have 4 more laps until I would have run 4, I think I'm going to try to finish 4." And I did it! I was so happy and proud of myself that not only had I accomplished that much while I was fasting, but 4 miles is more than I have ever run without stopping. I went home and spent a good hour juicing 13 different fruits and vegetables to last me all of today. Today is just fabulous. I am full of energy and positivity and have been exploring my many different options for New Zealand! I am so glad that I'll be able to finish my 10 days even if that meant making a few minor adjustments. I am doing it!

January 11, 2013 Day 8 of Cleanse

Every day is a battle, but when you fight that battle strong and allow the goodness to come back to you, it is no longer a battle but a place where you can live in courage. I would say that today has proved that once again. I was really struggling for a couple of hours and wanting to break my fast early. I was hungry and that hunger couldn't be filled. I felt that I had done my share of fasting and it was more convenient for me to break the fast early. I felt guilty and did not want to tell Moonbeam because I wanted to prove that I was stronger than my hunger to him, my sister and my mom who were going through the fast as well. I decided to tell Moonbeam that I was really struggling and as soon as I admitted my vulnerability, it seemed everything changed. My hunger seemd to dissapate, I was learning about community living and then my boss and team members gave me a card and gift card (it is my last day of work before I head to school again) and that completely warmed my spirits. I can do this. Stay strong.