Cleanse Journal Day 14

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of SEXUAL INTEGRITY.

What does this principle mean to me?

See notes from Cleanse Day 4.

Every facet of human experience, including sex, offers the potential for personal transformation and self-actualization.

Commonly translated as celibacy, practicing brahmacharya means that we use our sexual energy to connect to spirit. It also means that we don't use this energy in any way that might harm another. Brahmacharya means merging one's energy with God.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
I’m still thinking. It would be beneficial to experience the world sensually, such as enjoying more art. Most importantly, I am also discovering and being called to examine themes in my history and character of authenticity, risk, truth, tempo, tone, service versus debauchery.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 14 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. My skin is clear and glowing. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Daily food/elimination comments:
I am on a liquid fast today to prepare for Varisar Dhauti tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.

Sleep record:
I was not tired Thursday night, yet slept long, again.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
Otherwise, this is easy. Regretfully, I had to decline an attractive offer today and that hard decision has slightly shaken me. Shortly, thereafter a more favourable opportunity was cancelled, which really destabilized my morning. Otherwise, I continue to be generally quiet, at peace and optimistic about the future.

Ayurvedic Cleanse: Mid-Term Summary of Learnings

Describe my understanding of personal cleanliness thus far, on the ethical, physical, mental, and spiritual levels.

Pancha karma is a seasonal Ayurvedic cleansing plan traditionally designed for Indian rulers to help them to lead healthier and longer lives. During this preparation phase, my activity shifted to a more internal focus. This means a lot of journaling and spiritual with a focus on contemplating the yamas and niyamas and releasing obsolete ideas, emotions, and blockages. I ate only fruits and vegetables and conducted nasal cleaning, oleation and other austerities.

What is Personal Cleanliness to Me?

Balance. Instead of focusing on the spirit, we over-indulge and imbalance the mind and body. Personal cleansing returns balance to the mind and body, without ahimsa. It is an organic, dynamic process that could go out of balance again at any time. Personal cleanliness goes beyond a superficial cleansing of the skin, positive thinking, or eating a clean diet, and involves prevention of future imbalances.

On a practical, physical level, personal cleanliness promotes a host of benefits: youthing, flexibility, healthy weight, immunity, the release of toxins stuck in the tissues, regulated breath, and the free flow of Prana.

On the mind-body level, personal cleanliness triggers the healing of negative emotions. When administered prudently, personal cleanliness is a safe way to unfold spiritual awareness, unconditional love and compassion.

Patanjali says in Sutra II.40-41. "Through its effective practice of physical purity, attachments to toxins and corruptive forces disappear naturally as natural instinctual or intuitive catharsis or revulsion and as such one rids oneself of their noxious influence directly proportionately as to the development of the inner wisdom. Also through both internal and external purity (saucha) of the body, psychic environment, and through the removal of the occlusions of consciousness, there is achieved balance, cheerfulness, one-pointedness, harmony of the senses, and yogic vision. Here one is no longer attracted by corruptive influences because one has established (and is happily rooted within) an inner energetic freedom."

Personal cleanliness of the body has an easy, direct influence upon spiritual consciousness. In The Sunfood Success System David Wolfe suggests that as you cleanse within, you express the virtues and become beautiful without. Outer beauty is a reflection of inner beauty. You will look more beautiful. You will attract beautiful events and experiences and realize instant karma as amazing synchronicities occur.

My understanding of personal cleanliness was broadened to include the body, mind, emotions and ethics. Each day, I spent a great deal of time in daily contemplation and study of the principle for the day, the external disciplines.

Yamas

• Ahimsa: non-violence, kindness.
• Satya: Compassionate truthfulness
• Asteya: Non-stealing
• Brahmacharya: Sensual self control
• Aparigraha: Greedlessness, Simplicity

Niyamas

• Shaucha: Purity/Clarity
• Santosha: Contentment
• Swadhyaya: Self-Education, Study
• Ishwara-Pranidhana: Surrender to God

In contemplation of the yamas and niyamas, a number of insights and distinctions became clearer to me. Following are some of my favourites:

Bodily Purification

Knowledge (Jnana) does not come about from practice of yoga methods alone. Perfection in knowledge comes after the expression of virtue (dharma) through the means of yoga. The practice of yogic methods is not the exclusive means, yet it is only out of that practice of yoga that the perfection in knowledge comes about.

Truthfulness

The philosophical meaning of the word “Satya” is “unchangeable,” “that which has no distortion,” “that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person,” “that which pervades the universe in all its constancy.” There is a more subtle meaning of the word, “Satya,” which is Citsvaru’pa, the Supreme consciousness or Purusha. In sadhana, or intuitional practice, the meaning of “Satya” is “Parahit'artham' va'unmanaso yatha'rthatvam' satyam” i.e., Satya is the benevolent use of words and the mind for the welfare of others.

Not Getting Without Giving

All the wealth of the world will be drawn to one who has mastered the practice and discipline of Asteya: not stealing, not coveting, nor hoarding, not taking what was not freely given, as well as not obstructing other people's desires in life.

Sexual Integrity

Sex is a potential modality for personal transformation and self-actualization. It is my intuition that sex can be experienced at a deeper level, even as a spiritual path, when one tests boundaries ... to experience the world in a more ecstatic and “life enhancing” way. I am also discovering and being called to examine themes in my history and character of authenticity, risk, truth, tempo, tone, service versus debauchery.

Keeping Needs Simple

The term “need” is deceptive. What do you need anyway? If it is a true need, how could you keep it simple enough to “keep simple needs”? If you can keep it simpler, was the need not then actually a desire? What is the difference between a need and a desire?

The necessity of each is open to interpretation. From a spiritual point of view there is only spirit. We are all spirit. We have everything. Therefore we need nothing. One good reason to keep your needs simple.

The other good reason is that mundane desires distract you from the Divine. Should we then be counseled to keep our needs simple? Or be counseled to amplify them infinitely to express a desire for experience of the Divine, which is not a “simple need.”

Contentment

The second niyama outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras is santosha , or contentment. It is a condition for enlightenment. Jesus urges his disciples not to be anxious about what they eat or drink or wear but to remember that, because their heavenly Father knows all their needs, they should "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matt. 6:31-33).

“What is contentment? Contentment is serenity, but not complacency. It is comfort, but not submission; reconciliation, not apathy; acknowledgment, not aloofness. Contentment is a mental decision, a moral choice, a practiced observance, a step into the reality of the cosmos. Contentment/santosha is the natural state of our humanness and our divinity and allows for our creativity and love to emerge. It is knowing our place in the universe. It is unity with the Divine.” Swami Shraddhananda

To be desire-free and content, is to express patience, not only externally but mentally, towards home, clothing, food, body, mind, intellect, pleasure or pain.
Passionate EffortThere are a lot of levels to yoga practice from studying the Yoga Sutras themselves, meditation, hatha yoga practice. One must be passionately motivated to practice, otherwise the study will shrink or terminate. In I.21, Pantajali says that spiritual consciousness is nearest to those of keen, intense will.

Self-Study

Self study (Sanskrit name: Svadyaya), most crucial of the niyamas, results in the discovery of our spiritual identify. It includes the study of sacred texts or potentially all expression. For me, this is the slipperiest of the principles studied. It seems most precarious, even dangerous, (to the ego or self with the lower case s) to actually discover the source of the “I thought.”

Surrender to Life

Surrender to life, the final or tenth niyama, means turning the heart completely to God. It means “let thy will be done.” It is the highest virtue. It is the highest state of mind, the culmination of jnana, bhakti and karma. Mastery in this brings Samadhi, or divine bliss.

It means I give up.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna said to the warrior Arjuna:

"I consider the yogi-devotee - who lovingly contemplates on Me with supreme faith, and whose mind is ever absorbed in Me - to be the best of all the yogis." (B.G., Chapter 6, Verse 47) "After attaining Me, the great souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world, because they have attained the highest perfection." (B.G., Chapter 8, Verse 15) "... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... For those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter." (B.G., Chapter 12, Verses 6-8) "And he who serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities is ready for liberation in Brahman." (B.G. Chapter 14, Verse 26) "Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear friend." (B.G., Chapter 18, Verse 65) "Setting aside all meritorious deeds, just surrender completely to My will. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not grieve." (B.G., Chapter 18, Verse 66)Several gurus teach surrender to God.For Patanjali, surrender dissolves endless agitations of the mind, and a means to the unified state of yoga: samadhi. Ishvara pranidhana shifts our perspective from the vritti-activated "I," that creates a perpective of separation. Surrender reunites us with the true Self.B.K.S. Iyengar states in his book Light on the Yoga Sutras:"Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and . . . grace . . . pours down upon him like a torrential rain." Like the descent through layers of tension to rest in the release of Savasana, Ishvara pranidhana provides a pathway through the obstacles of our ego toward our divine nature-grace, peace, unconditional love, clarity, and freedom."

Prem Rawat, formerly Guru Maharaj Ji, was quoted in 1978 as:

"But there is nothing to understand! And if there is something to understand, there is only one thing to understand, and that is to surrender!"

How would you like to change your life using these principles? What challenges will you face in implementing these principles? What do you imagine the ultimate result will be?

This change of life for me is an easy, enjoyable and a conscious choice. I do not anticipate many challenges other than logistical issues or finding time to do everything I wish to do when I return to work. I have no idea what the result will be, other than I anticipate something sweet.

For my world to change, I have to change. Everything is connected. As above, so below. It seems I have to learn to tune my energies to avert war, both within and outside of myself. Here are a few action items I am seriously considering to integrate into my life:

• Acknowledging and honoring the Divine. Before any action, offer it to God.
• Dedicate practice to something or someone other than self, like an offering. I always forget.
• Recognize my own personal relationship with the Divine and use personalized language, imagery, and names of the sacred. I do this anyway.
• Love. And clean food, clean air, bathing, exercise, pure thoughts, visualization or dharana, sweating, fasting, tapas, vairaga, pranayama, asana, meditation, nature to cleanse. I love all this.
• Asana practice. No brainer.
• Stop and appreciate the beauty of the earth and life more. Be in an environment of friendly animals and natural flora. My best friends.
• Finding the connection to my inner voice and listen to how it guides thoughts, speech, feelings and actions.
• Setting intention.
• Chant.
• Visualize.
• Noticing attachments.
• Accepting what is, instead of struggling.
• Retire from warring. I feel an urgency around this one.
• Explore kindness, gentleness, non-violent psychological and ecological solutions.
• Improve my relationships. Ensure others are not dissatisfied or feeling pushed. Ask others about their feelings. Ensure I respect everyone’s role.
• Conduct “intensity” checks.
• Incorporate ahimsa and diplocmacy into the discipline of truth.
• Experiment with silence.
• Incorporate ahimsa into asteya, and avoid being self righteous about my giving.
• When appropriate, give less or don’t give at all. This is a personal issue.
• As much as possible, place one-pointed focus upon the eternal.
• Reduce desires to our actual possessions and situation.
• Be hyper conscious of contented moments, sustain them for longer, even when embroiled in chaos and disharmony.
• Make time for what is really important.

Cleanse Journal Day 13

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of NOT GETTING WITHOUT GIVING.

What does this principle mean to me?
Achaurya is the Sanskrit word for “avoidance of stealing” or “non-stealing.” In Jainism, it is one of the five vows that all sravakas and shravikas as well as sadhus and sadhvis must take. Asteya is one of the 10 core principles that Hindus try to abide by. The concept is frequently confused as being equivalent to the Biblical commandment "Thou shall not steal" although in principle it means more. Asteya refers to not stealing, not coveting, nor hoarding, as well as not obstructing other people's desires in life.

Asteya presupposes that misappropriation arises from a perception of lack which arises from a belief that happiness hinges on external circumstances and material possessions. It is not uncommon to spend an entire lifetime hoping for better and imagining that others have better. We do not perceive the abundance, health, other riches and the joy and love , that exists.

The practice of asteya asks us to be careful not to take anything that has not been freely given. This can be as subtle as time or attention.

Swami Jyotirmanda of Miami's Yoga Ashram frequently states that "all the wealth of the world will be drawn to one who has mastered the practice and discipline of Asteya." Life's real treasures begin to flow our way.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Incorporate ahimsa into asteya, and avoid being so internally self righteous about my giving. Sometimes I feel I should conserve more, give less, give to those that specifically want my contribution, and not exploit myself.

I can cultivate self-sufficiency to avoid looking to others, our family, or our community to meet my needs. Do not take more than is needed.

Avoid subtle ways of taking from others:

• Being knowingly tardy to an appointment.
• Speaking on behalf of another.
• Directing the outcome of a mutual challenge.
• Taking all the credit.
• Focus on my abilities, gifts and strengths so not to rob myself.
  

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 13 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. My skin is clear and glowing. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse. My forgiveness ceremony with Leslie went well Wednesday night.

Sleep record:
I was not tired Wednesday night, yet slept long, again.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
Otherwise, this is easy. I am at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 12

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of TRUTHFULNESS.

What does this principle mean to me?

See Cleanse Journal Day 2.

“Knowledge (Jnana) does not come about from practice of yoga methods alone. Perfection in knowledge comes after the expression of virtue (dharma) through the means of yoga. The practice of yogic methods is not the means by itself, yet it is only out of that practice of yoga that the perfection in knowledge comes about. And so it is said by the teachers: ‘Yoga is for the purpose of knowledge of truth’” Shankara.

The philosophical meaning of the word “Satya” is “unchangeable,” “that which has no distortion,” “that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person,” “that which pervades the universe in all its constancy.”

There is a more subtle meaning of the word, “Satya,” which is Citsvaru’pa, the Supreme consciousness or Purusha. In Sadhana, or intuitional practice, the meaning of “Satya” is “Parahit'artham' va'unmanaso yatha'rthatvam' satyam” i.e., Satya is the benevolent use of words and the mind for the welfare of others.

Truthfulness has always been important to me, even articulations of “brutal realities.” I find being truthful with myself has allowed me to accelerate my growth. But now, to incorporate ahimsa, I’d like to routinely express the greys, the softer and subtler, shades of truth. Being a communications professional, do I ever know how to bend the truth to be persuasive. Also, does one have to express their truth at every opportunity? I think not.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?

• But now, to incorporate ahimsa into the discipline of truth, by subtler interpretations and expressions of truth.
• Experiment with silence.
  

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 12 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. My skin is clear and glowing. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not too tired Tuesday night, yet slept long, again, now about 20 minutes less.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
Otherwise, this is easy. Glowing from the good news received yesterday. Have to try to see into the future as I deal with making best career choices. I am at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 11

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of NON-VIOLENCE.

What does this principle mean to me?
See my comments for Cleanse Day 1.

A chief yama, ahimsa, means to lack of intention to hurt others on the physical, mental and emotional level. Here the attitude of ahimsa is more important than any actual act and includes intention.

It has occurred to me that allowing yourself to be victimized by any type of violence goes against this principle of ahimsa.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Not much has dramatically changed in me in the last week; I’ve had no confrontations. I am watching my attachments to certain mannerisms: the sharp edge, critical nature, take-charge attitude, drive, choosing reason over sensitivity. I am trying not to judge, myself or others.

I continue on with my goal to be established in ahimsa equally to all: people, animals, nature, myself.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 11 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not tired Monday night, yet slept long, again.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
Otherwise, this is easy. Glowing from the good news received on Tuesday. I am at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 10

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of SURRENDER TO LIFE.

What does this principle mean to me?
It means I give up.

Surrender to life, the final or tenth niyama, means turning the heart completely to God. It means “let thy will be done.” It is the highest virtue. It is the highest state of mind, the culmination of jnana, bhakti and karma. Mastery in this brings Samadhi, or divine bliss.


In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna said to the warrior Arjuna:

"I consider the yogi-devotee - who lovingly contemplates on Me with supreme faith, and whose mind is ever absorbed in Me - to be the best of all the yogis." (B.G., Chapter 6, Verse 47) "After attaining Me, the great souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world, because they have attained the highest perfection." (B.G., Chapter 8, Verse 15) "... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... For those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter." (B.G., Chapter 12, Verses 6-8) "And he who serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities is ready for liberation in Brahman." (B.G. Chapter 14, Verse 26) "Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear friend." (B.G., Chapter 18, Verse 65) "Setting aside all meritorious deeds, just surrender completely to My will. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not grieve." (B.G., Chapter 18, Verse 66)

Several gurus teach surrender to God.

For Patanjali, surrender dissolves endless agitations of the mind, and a means to the unified state of yoga: samadhi. Ishvara pranidhana shifts our perspective from the vritti-activated "I," that creates a perpective of separation. Surrender reunites us with the true Self.

B.K.S. Iyengar states in his book Light on the Yoga Sutras:

"Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and . . . grace . . . pours down upon him like a torrential rain." Like the descent through layers of tension to rest in the release of Savasana, Ishvara pranidhana provides a pathway through the obstacles of our ego toward our divine nature-grace, peace, unconditional love, clarity, and freedom."

Prem Rawat, formerly Guru Maharaj Ji, was quoted in 1978 as:

"But there is nothing to understand! And if there is something to understand, there is only one thing to understand, and that is to surrender!"

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Before any action, offer it to God. Dedicate practice to something or someone other than self, like an offering.

Start with our own intimate connection to the universe, Ishta-Devata. Ishta-Devata recognizes that each individual self has its own, personal relationship with the Divine and that this serves as a powerful means of finding the unity. Many sadhus surrender to the traditional Shiva, Vishnu (Rama or Krishna), Lakshmi, Kali, or Durga. Sri T. Krishnamacharya, advocated the use personalized language, imagery, and names of the sacred.

Through intimate listening to this voice within yourself, have a relationship with inner guidance in all aspects of life. Finding the connection to this inner sense of direction and listening how it guides you through your thoughts, speech, feelings and actions. Surrendering in trust to the inner voice.

• Inner listening
• Setting intention
• Chanting
• Visualization
• Noticing attachments
• Accepting what is, instead of struggling against it
• Acknowledging and honoring the Divine
• Trusting/surrendering to the Divine

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 10 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. I performed the neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was really tired Sunday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 12 hours.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
Otherwise, this is easy. I am at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 9

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of SELF-STUDY.

What does this principle mean to me?
Self study (Sanskrit name: Svadyaya), most crucial of the niyamas, results in the discovery of our spiritual identify. It includes the study of sacred texts or other books. All expression is divine. Sri Ramana Maharshi advocated self-study as key sadhana to discover the source of the “I-thought.” Pantajali’s sutra 2.44 “Union with the chosen divinity comes from the study of self through the sacred texts. (Svadyaya)” Unrelenting tapas, a passionate, burning desire to execute the discipline is necessary.

For me, this is the slipperiest of the principles studied. It seems most precarious, even dangerous, (to the ego or self with the lower case s) to actually discover the source of the “I thought.” I have the least amount of experience in this area and have the least amount to say about it.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Create my own satsang. Read something spiritual every day. Ask, "How does this relate to me?" The spiritual body has directed life from an unseen position and is invited to come into the foreground. Recognize the spirit and appreciate its strengths.
Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 9 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. I missed the neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Saturday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 12 hours. I must be really tired.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
This is easy. I found myself better able to be at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 8

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of PASSIONATE EFFORT.

What does this principle mean to me?
There are a lot of levels to yoga practice from studying the Yoga Sutras themselves, meditation, hatha yoga practice. One must be motivated to practice … have passion for the practice, otherwise the study will be reduced to mechanical intellectual knowledge, facts belonging to the memory, a long running of trivia. In I.21, Pantajali says that spiritual consciousness is nearest to those of keen, intense will.

Firm will comes through effort; effort by faith. It is not enough to have good intentions or thoughts; we must act on them; we must live them.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Tapas is austere practice requiring burning, self-disciplined effort resulting in the purification of our character. Patanjali states in his Yoga Sutra that tapasya leads to perfection (siddhi) of the body and the senses. Tapasya is sustained and regimented endeavor to connect with the divine, while all obstacles are burned up and fall away.

The lifestyle of a householder makes it more difficult than for a monk to have an intense practice. Nevertheless make time for what is really important.

I love, in fact am even passionate about, my evolving, individualized, spiritual lifestyle.

Revisiting sutra 1.14, Patanjali stated that regularity and enthusiasm over a long period of time are what constitutes a firmly grounded practice. So do smaller amounts regularly and as this becomes doable, develop the practice in small steps.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 8 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. I did not perform a neti-pot nasal cleanse because I quickly left the house for the day.

Daily food/elimination comments:
I continue to enjoy the novelty, aroma and taste of the foods.

My timing was messed up today. Today I really only carried out the breakfast watery routines routine, because I was not home all day and spent a long evening enjoying Prokofiev’s War & Peace opera in Toronto. I ended up eating fruit smoothie for breakfast, fruit smoothie for lunch and some stir-fried vegetables.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Friday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I am still considering adjusting sleep patterns.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I’m getting it. My unique schedule has emerged; I can still tinker with it. Again, negative thoughts and memories did not pester me. I was often at peace and optimistic about the future.

Cleanse Journal Day 7

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of CONTENTMENT.

What does this principle mean to me?

The second niyama outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras is santosha , or contentment. It is a condition for enlightenment.

The problem inherent with affluence is, is that we tend to draw satisfaction from material things. Consequently, when we experience lack, we are dissatisfied.

The Apostle Paul advises us: "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." Phil 4:11 The word “content” in Greek means "sufficient for one’s self, strong enough to need no aid or support” or “independent of external circumstances."

Jesus urges his disciples not to be anxious about what they eat or drink or wear but to remember that, because their heavenly Father knows all their needs, they should "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matt. 6:31-33).
We over-indulge and imbalance the mind and body instead of focusing on the spirit. Material life is miserable because it expresses oppositions and reminds us that birth brings death. Desire is not squelched by the satisfaction of desire; a desire satisfied breeds another desire to experience a similar satisfaction again. The appetite comes in eating.

“What is contentment? Contentment is serenity, but not complacency. It is comfort, but not submission; reconciliation, not apathy; acknowledgment, not aloofness. Contentment is a mental decision, a moral choice, a practiced observance, a step into the reality of the cosmos. Contentment/santosha is the natural state of our humanness and our divinity and allows for our creativity and love to emerge. It is knowing our place in the universe. It is unity with the Divine.” Swami Shraddhananda

To be desire-free and content, is to express patience, not only externally but mentally, towards home, clothing, food, body, mind, intellect, pleasure or pain.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Contentment is not a virtue to be shown off. As the body, senses, mind and intellect become craving-free, contentment is experienced.

There seems to be no better antidote for discontent, but to place one-pointed focus upon the eternal. Identify as spirit, and desist in self-indulgence. See the oneness and interconnection of all. Discontent cannot co-exist with the idea that the whole world belongs to the Self; also, discontent cannot be held against anyone recognized as actually one with Self.

Use the process of elimination to reach contentment. Reduce our desires down to our actual possessions and situation. Choose to be satisfied by exactly what is provided to obtain freedom from the uncompromising desires.

Avoid enmity, anger, and distress and try to be happy. Do not work up the desire to have more pleasures. Contentment cannot co-exist with the thought that we must add something to our lives for satisfaction to happen in some future time. "I will be content when I get…." is the losing proposition that proposes something else will always become necessary.

Other ways to cultivate contentment are: practice asanas, pranayama and meditation; keep a journal of all for which I am grateful; be in the flow of life, as when communing with nature, when energies are positive and desireless; and be conscious of contended moments, to sustain them for a longer time, even in other times as when embroiled in chaos and disharmony.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 7 was, again, enjoyable. My body felt tremendously alive, once again, when I awoke. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Thursday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I am still considering adjusting sleep patterns.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I’m getting it. My unique schedule has emerged; I can still tinker with it. Again, negative thoughts and memories did not pester me.

Cleanse Journal Day 6

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of BODILY PURIFICATION.

What does this principle mean to me?
Instead of focusing on the spirit, we over-indulge and imbalance the mind and body. Purification returns balance to the mind and body, without ahimsa.

Purification goes beyond a superficial cleansing of the skin, positive thinking, or eating a clean diet, and involves prevention of future imbalances.

On the mind-body level, purification triggers the healing of negative emotions.

On a practical, physical level, purification promotes a host of benefits: youthing, flexibility, healthy weight, immunity, the release of toxins stuck in the tissues, regulated breath, and the free flow of Prana.

Patanjali says in Sutra II.40-41. "Through its effective practice of physical purity, attachments to toxins and corruptive forces disappear naturally as natural instinctual or intuitive catharsis or revulsion and as such one rids oneself of their noxious influence directly proportionately as to the development of the inner wisdom. Also through both internal and external purity (saucha) of the body, psychic environment, and through the removal of the occlusions of consciousness, there is achieved balance, cheerfulness, one-pointedness, harmony of the senses, and yogic vision. Here one is no longer attracted by corruptive influences because one has established (and is happily rooted within) an inner energetic freedom."

Purification of the body has an easy, direct influence upon spiritual consciousness. Patanjali describes the practice of Saucha (purification), as a niyama, as a beneficial aid toward realizing the goal of yoga (samadhi).

In The Sunfood Success System David Wolfe suggests that as you cleanse within, you express the virtues and become beautiful without. Outer beauty is a reflection of inner beauty. You will look more beautiful. You will attract beautiful events and experiences and realize instant karma as amazing synchronicities occur.

When administered prudently, purification is a safe way to unfold spiritual awareness, unconditional love and compassion.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
Love and clean food, clean air, bathing, exercise, pure thoughts, visualization or dharana, sweating, fasting, tapas, vairaga, pranayama, asana, meditation, nature all work together to cleanse. Asana practice affects the mind/body, creates lightness, removes dross, as well as purifies. An environment of friendly animals and natural flora living in a mutually beneficial way will manifest spiritual consciousness. There are other cleansing activities that affect the mental/emotional and energy bodies; these can be further explored at a later date.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:

Day 6 was, again, enjoyable. In the evening, I met with two other members of the Cleanse class and the instructor at Renaissance Yoga.

My body felt great, once again, when I awoke. Zero back-of-the-throat soreness. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Wednesday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I am still considering adjusting sleep patterns.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I’m getting it. My unique schedule has emerged; I can still tinker with it. Again, negative thoughts and memories did not pester me. In fact, I got a lot of work done and received more news.

Cleanse Journal Day 5

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of KEEPING SIMPLE NEEDS.

What does this principle mean to me?
The term “need” is deceptive. What do you need anyway? If it is a true need, how could you keep it simple enough to “keep simple needs”? If you can keep it simpler, was the need not then actually a desire? I'm beginning to sound like George Carlin.

What is the difference between a need and a desire? The necessity of each is open to interpretation. From a spiritual point of view there is only spirit. We are all spirit. We have everything. Therefore we need nothing. One good reason to keep your needs simple. The other good reason is that mundane desires distract you from the Divine.

Some of the schools of India say that consciousness is a mirror, reflecting, as if by magic, according to our desire, all that is perceived by the senses. Consciousness is eternal but desires experience. That desire for the perception of life instigates manifestation or the entire experienced world. Experience is finite, measurable, and has boundaries, so experience can only be illusory as compared to infinite, boundless eternal spirit. Only the Divine is real.

The debased desire (anything not focused on God is debased) manifests this illusory world. The illusion is of a cacophony of perceptions with concomitant desires which continue on to breed entire extended universes.

If instead of the chaotic psychodrama of the manifested world, consciousness is fixed on its identity as spirit, this shift is said to awaken consciousness, and by extension manifest spirit. The abstention from covetousness, in particular, reveals spirit because the root of covetousness is said to be desire to focus the will on manifested life.

Should we then be counseled to keep our needs simple? Or be counseled to amplify them infinitely to express a desire for experience of the Divine, which is not a “simple need.”

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?

Ceasing from self-indulgence is conscious mastery over the desire for sensuous perceptions. Sensuous desire is based on the longing to feel alive. However, the experience of true life comes with spiritual emergence, which often comes in silence, after the voluntarily surrender of self-indulgence.

Keeping simple needs generally keeps you out of trouble. Which is why abstaining from stealing and covetousness are often spoken against in the sacred texts of Pantanjali, Buddha, Moses, and Jesus. Likewise is the young man having great possessions counseled who asked, What shall I do to be saved? the reply being: Keep the Commandments.

Mark 12:28-34 "One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this: "Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these.' 'Well said, teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.' When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 5 was enjoyable. My body felt great, once again, when I awoke. Zero back-of-the-throat soreness. I performed a neti-pot nasal cleanse.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Tuesday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I am still considering adjusting sleep patterns.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I’m getting it. My unique schedule has emerged; I can still tinker with it. Again, negative thoughts and memories did not pester me. In fact, some great things happened.

Cleanse Journal Day 4

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of SEXUAL INTEGRITY

What does this principle mean to me?
Tantra views every facet of human experience, including sex, as potential for personal transformation and self-actualization. For the Tantric, life is a meditation. Every activity … eating, drinking, breathing, dancing, making love … can be entered into with awareness, bringing a quality of meditation into even these simplest of acts. I’m pretty sure one would have to demonstrate some manner of energetic integrity to achieve a Tantric state. It is my intuition that sex can be experienced at a deeper level, even as a spiritual path, when one tests boundaries ... to experience the world in a more ecstatic and “life enhancing” way. Tantra obscures the normal realm of existence and is said to reveal an exciting path that is all embracing, creative, and loving with a deep feeling of connection with the world and beyond. I’m confident about the transcendental, self-actualization possibilities of Tantra, when practiced holistically, because I have had my moments ... enough to trigger curiosity and desire for more.

Discussing this issue is problematic. Privacy, even secrecy, in this area is imperative to me as I think both intensify the experience, so I counsel and discipline myself to keep many of my thoughts to myself. Also, this subject is a huge, mysterious pool of adventure. I don’t even expect to be necessarily accurate in my perceptions, and it may be obvious, I’m winging this self analysis to begin to untangle my own thoughts and to start to unwind my obsolete conditioning. However, I offer this abbreviated and lightly censored early morning contemplation for your comments:

This principle presented the background theme of my life over the past decade, and in 2008 the theme has boldly asserted itself into the foreground. Characteristically, I have expressed myself in this area at the level of Vata dosha, which includes not emphasizing sex in relationships and consciously experiencing sensuality in an abstract way (through art, the beauty of nature, etc.). In this way a great deal of focus was expended on the depth of intimacy, such as talking and sharing feelings as a foundation for a multi-leveled engagement. This brought me great relationship stability and substance.

The way I see it, my constitution is underfed with enough Pitta-increasing sexual ideals, such as fueling the fire. The result is finicky activation of either the saint or the sinner. It’s either full speed ahead/warp speed drive or I stop on a dime. All or nothing. Extremes.

Perhaps I should add that I also have typically undervalued Kapha-increasing ideals, such as the priority of being a nurturing partner. I could always improve as a partner, we all can, I’m sure; and my husband deserves the best.

Most importantly, I am also discovering and being called to examine themes in my history and character of authenticity, risk, truth, tempo, tone, service versus debauchery.

Because of all of the above, like most human beings, I am somewhat out of balance with my Ayurvedic constitution. I predict I will be doing this discovery work lifelong.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
It would be beneficial to experience the world sensually, such as enjoying more art, nature, and other mediums that could feed my senses and spirit. Perhaps I could focus on exploring intimacy in ways that allow me to be more nurturing, compassionate and conscious. From the Pitta perspective, perhaps I could feed the flame.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 4 was enjoyable. My body felt great, once again, when I awoke. Zero back-of-the-throat soreness because I skipped the nasal cleanse yesterday.

Sleep record:
I was not so tired Tuesday night and had yet another long, satisfying rest, up to 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I am still considering adjusting sleep patterns.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I’m getting it. My unique schedule has emerged; I can still tinker with it. Again, negative thoughts and memories did not pester me.

Cleanse Journal Day 3

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of NOT GETTING WITHOUT GIVING

What does this principle mean to me?
On the surface, this principle seems like a no-brainer to me. As a Pitta, I have characteristically seen myself as a giver, putting out far more energy than I have taken. What a good, effective person am I! Maybe not so much.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
I love the cyclical nature of the principle of the day: make room for new by giving up what no longer has value. There is a finite amount of space in your life, so make room! I love the thrill of the anticipation about what will appear. Usually something really good and apparently better than before. But now, to incorporate ahimsa, and how to avoid being so internally self righteous about my giving, which expends or wastes a lot of energy? Sometimes I feel I should give less and not end up feeling exploited or neglected. Or give more strategically.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 3 so far is enjoyable. My body felt great, once again, when I awoke.

I am working through an altered schedule and altered menu of food items and drinks. So far I am enjoying the process. Did not do the nasal cleanse so the sore back of the throat is dissipating.

Daily food/elimination comments:
I continue to be fascinated by the novelty, aroma and taste of the foods.

Sleep record:
I was equally exhausted Saturday night and had a long, satisfying rest, 10 hours. Perhaps I should be sleeping less. I will work on this.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I think I’m getting it. My unique schedule is starting to emerge. It’s closer to my regular routine and easier than I thought. My negative thoughts and memories did not pester me.

Cleanse Journal Day 2

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of TRUTHFULNESS

What does this principle mean to me?
Truthfulness has always been important to me, even articulations of “brutal realities.” I find being brutally truthful with myself has allowed me to accelerate my growth. But now, to incorporate ahimsa, I’d like to routinely express the greys, the softer and subtler, shades of truth. Being a communications professional, do I ever know how to bend the truth to present the most persuasive position. There’s an entire methodology for how this is done which I will not go into here, but suffice to say, this can be problematic. Also, does one have to express their truth at every opportunity? I think not.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
But now, to incorporate ahimsa into the discipline of truth, I’d like to routinely express the greys, and subtler, shades of truth. I’d like to honour truth by experimenting with not trying so hard to manipulate it by the methods of persuasion. I’d like to experiment with silence.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 2 so far is enjoyable. My body felt amazing when I awoke. Everything is in good working order and I feel light and soft (from all the oils I consumed the day before).

I am working through an altered schedule and altered menu of food items and drinks. So far I am enjoying the process. Sore back of the throat most of the second half of the day.

Daily food/elimination comments:
I continue to be fascinated by the novelty of the foods.

Sleep record:
I was equally exhausted Saturday night (after an evening at the Opera) and had a long, satisfying rest. Perhaps I should be sleeping less.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I think I’m getting it. My unique schedule is starting to emerge. It’s closer to my regular routine and easier than I thought.

Cleanse Journal Day 1

Yogic principle for the day: the external discipline of NON-VIOLENCE
Non-Violence (Skt.: Ahimsa)
For one who is established in non-violence, all enmity ceases in his presence.
To nurture the spirit of valuing and protecting life in all of its forms. To cultivate an attitude of physical, verbal and mental gentleness towards those around you, especially when it requires effort. To never return harm with harm. To extend this attitude towards the great and the small in equal measure.

What does this principle mean to me?
Being a warrior pitta, means I’ve had my share of battles, won and lost. In the early wars, I felt deprived, victimized, and even abused by specific people, and myself. Many battles felt justified and righteous. Over time I adapted and became an advanced warrior. With a lot of effort, my survival skills evolved exponentially. Most of my recent battles have been psychological and complex. I see a sharp edge in me that now can soften. Certain behaviours have outgrown their usefulness. I’ll name a few: Criticisms. Take-charge attitude that intimidates some. Task orientation and driven focus. Decisions based on logic or what I think I should do. Neglecting what is in fact most valuable to me. Underestimating the contribution of others. Not valuing the needs of others enough. Driving others as hard as I drive myself. I hope I am overstating these traits. It would be characteristic of some Pittas.

Apparently, I have internalized some now problematic judgements and in so doing perhaps I am most violent to myself, in self-criticism. I hope that is some consolation to those I may have offended along the way. For my world to change, I have to change. I want to change and I enjoy change. Everything is connected. As above, so below. It seems I have to learn to tune my energies to avert war, both within and outside of myself. I will explore the possibility that it is unnecessary to fight, to struggle. Maybe there’s a better way. Perhaps there is a creative twist to discover. Also, it appeals to me that the principle of the day expressed above is highly democratic. Be established in ahimsa to all in equal measure: people, animals, nature, myself.

How do I honour it on a daily basis? What could I improve?
I now officially retire from warring. Truly, I would like to experience and explore the opposite of ahimsa: kindness, gentleness, non-violent psychological and ecological solutions. More often, I could take personal note and acknowledge contributions of others. Ensure others are not dissatisfied or feeling pushed. Ask others about their feelings. Ensure I respect everyone’s role. Ask myself what is truly important in the long term and whether my decision promotes that or is simply a logical choice. Conduct “intensity” checks. Stop and appreciate the beauty of the earth and life more.

Observations regarding the practice of my assignments:
Day 1 so far is confusing. I am working through an altered schedule and altered menu of food items and drinks. I have had to read the booklet on Jala Neti. So far I am enjoying the process. Sore back of the throat most of the second half of the day.

Daily food/elimination comments:
I was told some of the items would be distasteful, but I like it all. I am fascinated by the novelty.

Sleep record:
I returned home from my Cleanse Prep in Toronto Friday night exhausted and slept long and deeply. I was equally exhausted Saturday night and had a long, satisfying rest.

Additional thoughts or feelings:
I would like to get over my confusion and find my rhythm in this practice.

(Oct 14, 2008) Personalized Ayurvedic Assessment

Prepared by an Ayurvedic RYT, AHE, in Toronto
I am a robust pitta(3)-kapha(1.5) prakriti with excellent structural stability and a vast pool of emotional resource beginning to quiver under a hyper-competent intellectual/professional persona; vata is over-excited on the level of reproductive power and manas by spiritual emergence. Pitta-type psychological drive has served me well in terms of artha but cannot stop for kama or contemplation or simple rest because of a long-standing fear that foundations are insecure. And so they are with regard to worldview: it is hard for me to believe that I am loved and lovable: such ideas are challenging to my identity.

Nourishment Fixation
Lifelong fixation upon nourishment has been a touchstone for anxiety, doubt about the beneficence of the universe, doubt of self-worth, doubt in the purpose of material life, and recently transformed into a spiritual tool of considerable value, but which carries some of the old purpose: food is a way of purifying, testing or proving or perhaps even punishing the body. It will be useful to nurture the understanding that food is just food, simultaneously mundane and divine, with the knowledge and gusto that dogs and cats have.

My Mother
My mother is in my head (this is literally true in Vedic astrological chart). It will help to examine, as I meditate “whose thoughts are these?” It will be helpful when I do my forgiveness ritual to specifically write out every single accusation levelled at me by my mother, and to see how many, if not all, have become self-accusations. Perhaps I will eventually reclaim her love by understanding her wrathful nature in a tantric sense.

My Body
My body is fairly clean. The raw diet has done well on many levels: it has eliminated many toxins (clean tongue, improved skin, feeling of lightness). However, I do have four physiological issues and one personal issue, which I will not detail here. I received a “doable” individualized diet recommendation which I also will not detail either.

Book Review (God is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism) Rabbi D.A. Cooper

The Discovery of Authentic Identity and Interconnectivity with All of Life
Kabbalah is a way of life and a way of interpretation. Things in this world are more than we think they are. This world is a reflection of, and is in symbiotic relationship with, other realms of reality. Everything is connected. As above, so below. The mundane and the sacred are connected. Even further, the mundane, physical aspects of life are dwarfed by the mystical.

The level of our consciousness plays a key role in what we manifest, the souls we attract, and our perception of the Truth.

The Lower Levels: Illusion of Separateness
At lower levels, consciousness experiences the illusion of separateness. What we see as beginnings and endings are actually segments of something without boundaries. Our identity is the accumulation of all of our illusions/experience.

Here love manifests as the yearning for completion. The sacred texts often refer to our relationship to the Divine in the erotic imagery of lovers merging. In the section on “The Divine Kiss” the author quotes the Song of Songs in which the mystic whispers about the kiss of its lover. “We can feel the aching heart of the lover.” I often feel this indescribable yearning.

Getting to the Higher Levels: Some Awareness Practices
Wisdom comes from within and through direct experience when we live in a way that invites it. The book describes a relationship process in which we partner with the Divine and we raise our consciousness (raise Holy Sparks in ourselves and in the world) to discover our authentic identity and interconnectivity with all of life.

Realize our hearts are covered with a thick shield. Unshielding involves learning how to let go of our fear, for fear maintains the barriers of separation. Break down the barriers, one baby step at a time. Let go of the inner critic. Peel away the veils and notice what was present the whole time.

At the higher levels of consciousness, the reality of oneness of all is manifested. This is the mystical epiphany. We do not need Divine intervention. We do not have to search for God, because the presence of the Divine permeates all things. The urge to call out to God is always answered simultaneously for there is no difference between the caller and that to which it calls. If there is a search at all, it is God searching for Itself. At each step we take, the Divine steps with us. Each breath we draw is connected with the breath of the universe. Lover, beloved, and the essence of love itself all are reflections of exactly the same thing. In these moments we know the presence of the Divine without separation. “Behold we are the source and the source is us. We are so intimately united with It, we cannot by any means be separated from It, for we are It.”

Ultimately, we may see who we really are. Do everything in our power to live with authenticity, live with integrity, and remove our finger from the dam of self-identity.

Book Review The Essential Kabbalah (The Heart of Jewish Mysticism) Daniel Matt

All of Life Connected to the Mystical
The Essential Kabbalah describes Kabbalah as a way of relating to the esoteric, inner, hidden dimension of life that is both concealed and revealed. Again, as in the book God is a Verb, reality here is described as a reflection of, and in symbiotic relationship with, other realms of reality. The mundane and the sacred are connected. We are advised to raise our consciousness and raise Holy Sparks in ourselves and in the world to discover our authentic identity and interconnectivity with all of life.

The Tree of Life and the Sefirot
The Tree of Life illustrates the drama of emanation, from En Sof to creation: in other words, Emanation, Creation, Formation, and Actualization. This is the full gamut of coming into being and passing away (yogic prakriti?). The Sefirot represent the stages of God’s inner life, aspects of Divine personality (although God is undifferentiated). There is nothing else but God and God animates everything. If God’s gaze were withdrawn for even a moment, all existence would be nullified.

The Path of Ascent Back to the One
We are on a ladder of ascent back to the One. The book suggests that “Grace” can intervene to help one understand God “If you are deserving, you will understand the mystery of God on your own.” (page 27). The book describes awareness practices not unlike Eastern mediation activities. Whatever one implants firmly in the mind becomes the essential thing. Wait for the secret to be revealed to you in the course of time.

Prepare to meet your God. Learn from a teacher on the path of integrity.
The methodology rewards those purifying themselves. “One that understands this secret understands the immense power a human has to build and to destroy. (page 79)
Purify your body.
Wear all white.
Hear the voice of God in everything.
Devote your heart.
Forget yourself totally (your ego?) or God cannot clothe himself in you.

The book describes an awakening that suggests a Kundalini awakening. The purpose is to maintain the endurance of the one who apprehends with the joy of apprehension. Bringing pleasure, delight, trembling, joyful exuberance. The idolatrous mirror of thought is annihilated. It is said that this awakening is impossible to articulate or describe in words.

Who am I?
The greater you are the more you need to search for yourself. (p. 124) Go to your Self. You are a channel for the divine attributes. You are entirely soul.

Monthly Reading #4 (September 2008) Live Food Nutrtion

Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, Chapters 2 and 5, established the “Live Food Nutrition” scope of the readings for the month. According to the information presented, the calorie paradigm of 1789 is completely out of date or at minimum, is incomplete and the medical community may be in grave error for ever having endorsed cooked food. It is the wholeness of a food that is crucially important. It is the wholeness of raw foods which is health-producing and non-reproducible by science. Science does not fully understand why a raw-food diet is so effective, but it is clear that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

In the reading, Dr. Cousins discusses preventing the “composting” of western civilization and points to the health-promoting attributes of live foods. Chronic degenerative disease seems to be caused by a deranged biological terrain, especially from foods high in sugars, flesh foods, grains, and dairy. Cooking or other forms of processing destroy qualities and components of our food for which the significance is not yet, or perhaps never will be, known in its totality. Not only do live foods avoid the problems with cooking (leukocytosis), live foods provide phytonutrients, enzymes, and subtle organizing energy fields. Live foods offer a natural way of calorie restriction with optimum nutrition. How we eat even affects our gene expression; activator genes are given optimal phenotypic expression with fresh organic live food.

A great deal of information was given about the attributes of enzymes. Enzymes are not simple chemical catalysts, but vital life forces that initiate a host of biochemical interactions (digestion, nervous system, detoxification, RNA/DNA repair). There are about 50,000 different types of enzymes. The body’s capacity to make enzymes, however, is exhaustible. Hence you find a lower enzyme count in the elderly, and those that are sick or afflicted with chronic disease. Live foods bring their own living enzymes to the body so it does not have to dip into its limited enzyme reserve.

I am quite interested in the electrical theories provided in the readings about live food:

• Organisms are made of patterns of resonant energy. We are proverbial live wires. Subtle nutrients enhance electrical potential with micro-capillary charge (Dr. Israel Brekhanan)


• There is an ultra weak photon emission from living systems and a discernable coherence in 97% of DNA (Dr. F.A. Popp)


• Live foods are able to awaken inert molecules by the give or take of electrons (high redox potential). Electroluminescence is demonstrated in Kirlian photographs (Nobel laureate Szent-Gyorgyi)


• We can raise our micro-electrical potential (Professor Hans Eppinger)


• Electron rich foods act as solar resonance fields in the body to attract, store, conduct the sun’s energy in our bodies. (Dr Joanna Budwig)


• Processed foods may act as insulators to electricity (Dr. F.A. Popp)
  

So we are light beings. At the micro level, we are human photocells; our cell metabolism acts as a battery. All of our cells are fully charged with light (or electricity) when healthy. The ultimate bio nutrient is light. Light is the umbilical cord to the universe. Food with light brings that light into our bodies. Live foods bring light.

Light and consciousness are interconnected. The more conscious we become, the more we become that light. Food deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel and behave. The virtue of beauty is a function of inner cleanliness or light. The more perfectly clean or light your body, the more perfectly it will radiate the super-natural powers of an extraordinary human being with unlocked dormant powers.

That is the “secret” of conscious eating.

The secret of conscious eating, or the spiritual implications of the living foods lifestyle excite me most about this month’s reading. “We live in an environment of excessive stimulation, empty calories and negative thoughts. We are a country of overabundance in which overeating has become a major way of avoiding unwanted feelings such as intimacy, sexual desire, loneliness, feeling unloved, and anger. It can also be a form of self-sabotage and self-abuse, as well as a slow form of suicide. Overeating food has become one of America’s most serious addictions.” (Conscious Eating, p. 532)

Living foods provide prana to the body and mind, allowing us deeper perception of Truth and Oneness. “To heal oneself requires the ability to love oneself enough to have the intention to reconnect with the Culture of Life which is our birthright. In that way we perform an Act of Love for oneself as an individual person, and as part of the living planet. This results in the healing of the planet and all species. The healing of diabetes in this context is an Act of Love, Compassion, and Consciousness.” (There is a Cure for Diabetes, p. 359)

On a practical level, the optimal diet apparently is one that is organic, vegan, at least 80 percent live-food, high in mineral content, 15-20 percent plant-only fat (no animal fat), high-fiber, low-glycemic, low-insulin index, well hydrated, individualized, and prudent food intake ... a cuisine that is sustainable for the duration of one’s life, and prepared and eaten with love.

Monthly Reading #3 (August 2008) Vegan Nutrition

Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, Chapter 1, outlined how bacteria, yeast, fungus, and eventually mold develop, feed on vital body substance and produce mycotoxins resulting in degenerative disease symptoms and composting action. David Wolfe called these organisms nanobacteria, I believe. Protits form colloidal energetic fields, within cells, and also in extra-cellular fluid and the lymph and the blood. To this is added Dr. Cousins’ theory of Tachyon energy and subtle organizing energy fields (SOEF). So the whole biochemical experience becomes quite subtle. In disease, as a result of acid-producing conditions, red blood cells lose the normal, healthy negative charge that keeps them repelled from one another and turn positive and begin to clump. And hence disease progresses. Flesh foods further act as a sludge to the flow of Kundalini. Hence Dr. Cousins recommends people eat whole, natural, organic (poison-free), low-protein, primarily living foods, be conscious of subtle sources of energy, obtain adequate sunlight, and breathe, bathe and work the earth.

A great deal of the readings this month focused on the nutritional, economic, socio-cultural and spiritual reasons to be vegetarian or vegan on a low-protein diet. I note with interest the quote that “because food is more primary than sex, whatever changes we do make have a deep impact on an emotional, mental, and spiritual level. With each change of habit, a little more consciousness is liberated. Part of the self-discovery process is that as we change, old thoughtforms must be brought up, examined, and ultimately discarded.” (Conscious Eating, p. 413) Negative thoughtforms are stored in the subtle system of the body at lower vibrational rates. At the same time, “When we eat, we are biting into the living planet. What we eat is the consciousness of the living Earth. If our eating process is not based on Love and compassion, all of our other actions are bound to suffer. Anna, or food, is the first name of God or Brahma in Sanskrit. In the act of eating, we are partaking of the entire universe and demonstrating our Oneness with God or Life. Everything in the universe is food, therefore what we eat is God, and therefore feeds our souls.” (Spiritual Nutrition, p. 251-252)

Much of the reading this month was so disturbing I could hardly read it, let alone describe it now. The books, Beyond Beef, Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution, and Genetically Engineered Foods were terrifying. They did not have to convince me to be a vegan, I am already there. But I did wish I had known the information sooner. Slaughterhouses, factory farms, the chemical controls of crops, fishing, hunting, the sociological injustices of meat eating, and the health problems disgust me. Clearly, people are poor stewards of the earth and each other. Especially, when the world can already grow enough food to feed everybody. To simplify and summarize, as David Wolfe says, “What we eat deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel and behave. We are what we eat, and we eat what we are. Food affects every aspect of our being. Food is the foundation of our physical body. If the foundation is stable, all that is built upon it will be stable. Everything you physically are was once the air you breathed, the water you drank and the food you ate. The colloidal mineral structure of your body is built out of the foods you have eaten. If there is an alteration in the food, then it is reflected in the look and function of the body. Improve your food choices and you dramatically improve the foundation upon which your body is built.” The Sunfood Diet Success System, p. 78)

Monthy Reading #2 (July 2008) Food Effects on Mind, Body and Spirit

This month, I noted yoga and the Kabbalah similarly describe the multileveled body-mind-spirit. It is said that aspects are interrelated; when you affect one aspect, such as the body, you also affect the other aspects, such as the mind and spirit. I also noted in myself that as I change personally a number of levels change simultaneously as in a Domino effect. Also, I see these interrelated aspects manifesting in myself first and then read about them later, as if the books and teachings are confirming my experience.

The 1988 statement by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), quoted in Eating for Beauty, on page 14 suggests a positive relation between a vegetarian lifestyle and the decrease of several chronic degenerative diseases like obesity, heart/coronary disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, colon cancer, and other conditions. The virtues of this lifestyle are rewarded on other levels of the body-mind-spirit complex; the cause and the effect become blurred.

The Sunfood Success System reading articulates that you will begin to attract beautiful events and experiences and realize instant karma as an amazing synchronicities begin to occur. You will look more beautiful. In Eating for Beauty Wolfe also adds, “you are what you eat” Your food choices will paint an accurate picture reflecting refinement of character. You will enjoy life and love more fully. Improved appearance and increase in synchronicities are some of the phenomena I experienced first in my transition into yoga and the living foods lifestyle.

Currently, my changes seem more on the emotional or heart level. My emotions demand to be authentically claimed/recognized by me, even if I formerly would have judged them “illigitimate.” Some of these are ecstatic, some are painful and some are a mixture of pain and joy and not all are directed towards God (that I am aware of). A number of quotes speak to me: “Until the first three chakras are balanced and our consciousness is merged and integrated with their higher functioning, the consciousness of the heart, or Love chakra, and the superconscious fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras cannot completely emerge or be fully integrated in a way to create the alchemy of meditation. (Spiritual Nutrition, p. 169.) It will be easier for the pranic energy of the system to be drawn into the upper vortex field, the goal being the superconductivity of Kundalini and directly experiencing the ecstasy of God. “...there arises an experience of an extraordinary, exquisite, gentle flow of the Divine spirit, God’s light, and Divine sound filling the body.” (Conscious Eating, p 172.) I feel moments of this state and am excited by further prospects. Apparently, noncausal joy should run through every cell and be omnipresent.

Awareness (Toxemia Explained, p 10), the path of the heart, our holy rhythm and lifestyle can be affected by the biochemical stress and post-stress response and addictions involving neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, glutamine, GABA), endorphins, lack of EFAs, excitotoxins, and other biological chemicals. These can shift the consciousness of identity and consciousness of the nature of the world. At least on the physical level one can try to dietary approach of an individualized, organic, vegan, live-food, high-mineral, low-glycemic, well-hydrated, sattvic (holy), moderate-intake diet prepared with Love as a powerful aid in the process of spiritual evolution. (Spiritual Nutrition, p. 198.) I look to wake up to a new level of awareness and joy.

Monthly Reading #1 (June 2008) Anatomy & Physiology (Physical & Esoteric)

In June 2008 I contemplated the energetic and consciousness aspects of live food mastery and yoga. I can now appreciate the subtle details of the cosmology described. The book Spiritual Nutrition defined Kundalini as the inner spiritualizing energy that takes us to the experiences of non-causal ecstasy, joy, peace, love and God awareness, none of which I really “believed in” or thought possible in the past. The notion that the body is energized and transformed by prana and stabilized by the Six Foundations (nutrition, prana, service, satsang, silence and shaktipat) is becoming real to me. The experience of the three knots opening, chakras transducing energy, and body-mind koshas evolving from food focus to non-causal bliss, all conducting a form of seemingly electric energy, is I think possible. As my physiology changes in accordance with my lifestyle, I watch my thoughts and emotions change in tandem. Subjectively, I notice all kinds of wonderful synchronicities. I have even had brief glimmers of non-causal happiness that have surprised me. I intuit that I am on this pathless path. I definitely want shaktipat.

I also note the unconventional idea that the adult needs spiritual energy more than tangible food energy. “Once the adult form of the crystal, the human physical body, has completed its growth, we only need a minimum of nutrients to maintain the homeostasis of the system. The main purpose of nutrition at this point becomes primarily the supplying of energy to maintain the subtle organizing energy fields of the overall system. … The idea is to eat the minimum necessary to keep the energy and conductivity of the body at a maximum. As we shift toward absorbing less condensed energies into our organism, we need less and less material food even as a source of energy.” (Spiritual Nutrition, pg. 167.) David Wolfe echoes this radical idea in his book, The Sunfood Diet Success System, (pg. 345) “little energy comes from food, stimulation comes from food. The digestion of food takes energy away from the body. Energy comes first from the spirit, and then primarily from the air, from oxygen, and from a lack of obstructions in the body.” Experientially, for me this minimalist recommendation for eating is also now true and very important.

The monthly reading also described subtle organizing energy fields (SOAFs) and the subtle organization of the physiology and how disorganization could lead to fermentation, entropy, aging, and disease.

Food stimulates inner forces. To improve the eating experience and energy organization, Conscious Eating suggests one should look at food as a love note from God, that provides a spiritual message that affects the entire body/mind/spirit complex. The body is not exclusively a mechanical organism but an organism undergoing an alchemical energy-release process that involves step-downs of energy from solid to liquid to gaseous and to etheric forms that could potentially trigger mind/body states of ecstasy. We want that.

Finally, the sections on water also reframed how I understood the function and character of water and energy organization. Apparently, water is the solvent that regulates all functions of the body including the solutes that are dissolved in it. The readings describe water as having various functions: hydrolysis, hydroelectric energy generation, adhesion, transportation, viscosity reduction, information transfer, chemical reaction trigger and antioxidant. Water has the added cosmic qualities of being a carrier/retainer/transferer of consciousness and solar energy. Water is the great communicator of consciousness. When it is blessed, water can mirror the soul.

History: Background of the Cleanse

∞ Health History
My father died in 1964 of a massive heart attack. My mother died in May 2002 of colon cancer.

2002 was a major turning point in my life from a health/spiritual point of view. I made conscious changes to manifest my physical/spiritual potential. I took up Ashtanga yoga and immersed my self in Yogic philosophy.

Immediately thereafter, I decided to simply improve my diet. My entire life I felt that my diet was nutritionally inferior and I strongly resisted the (Czech and Slovak) eating traditions of my family in which I was raised. First, I transitioned to a standard American diet (SAD) and within about three months experienced radical and provocative physical improvements.

As I contemplated the relationship between food and various aspects of life, I explored via the web some of my emerging fundamental questions and interests. On the web in 2003, I discovered an upcoming lecture given by David Wolfe in Montreal. I travelled to the top of Mont Royal to hear the talk which would change my eating habits forever. It was an evening of shock and awe. His passionate commentaries on raw foods resonated with and excited me. When I returned to Toronto after that weekend I began to study his books, consume his products and went on to examine the related works of Gabriel Cousins and the Hippocrates Institute, and I began regularly attending raw food events in Toronto.

Living Foods Health Educator, Wayne Gendel of Toronto helped me to enliven my diet. Since then, I became immediately vegetarian, then vegan, then in 2005 60% raw, and in 2008 95-100% raw (mostly, and most happily, at 100% raw).

My changes feel like they are taking place less on the physical level and more on the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level. I more often feel luminous, clear headed and better than ever before in my life. I continue to be passionate about studying, understanding, and experiencing every nuance of the raw vegan lifestyle. I feel I still wish to further refine myself biochemically and spiritually. I have experienced numerous changes, synchronicities, magic and miracles that I believe have arisen from this discipline exclusively. Since it is impossible to pinpoint causes, I have come to the conclusion that I don't care if this is all pure imagination. It's working for me.

∞ Current Issues/Holistic Aspirations I feel I am being led on a path customized for me. I yearn for more knowledge and experience. I would like to purify my body optimally (whatever that means) and express myself with authenticity and integrity both in my personal relationships, in my career, and with the Divine. I aspire to experience myself as a superconductor for communication with the Divine (a Gabriel Cousins' concept). I am exploring the phenomena of happiness, peace, compassion and bliss, ... all of which challenge me.

I would love to experience God directly, Samadhi. And I don't. Scared.

Plans and Actions

Studying Ashtanga yoga and Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutras since 2002. Try to keep yogic hours. Every Sunday, I contemplate the next sutra, compare several translations and apply my own interpretations.

Working on my second Masters degree: Spiritual Nutrition: Vegan and Live Food Mastery program, University of Integrated Science California (UISCA) (two-year, distance learning). This entails a 27-day retreat at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in 2009. The back view of the Tree of Life Cafe is shown to the right.

On Friday, October 17, 2008, I am starting a 21-day cleanse supervised by Renaissance Yoga.