Fasting gives the digestive system a well-deserved rest. This allows the body to use energy that it normally would to digest food, instead to heal, cleanse and detoxify the body. When we eat continually, we build up a toxic load in the body, in particular in the fatty tissue. Fasting creates the space, time and energy for the body to find these toxins and eliminate them.
I was excited about doing a juice fast – always one for a challenge – but as we moved into our transition days the mightiness of this challenge became that much more real. It began to feel rather daunting this whole prospect of not eating food. Of no longer being able to enjoy that satisfying feeling of a warm and satiated belly, and not just for one day but for a whole seven days!
The three transition days into the fast involved eating no dairy, sugar or meat, caffeine or alcohol. This wasn’t too much of a stretch for me, as I don’t usually eat dairy or drink caffeine and only very occasionally do I drink alcohol. [Read more…]
Here we are approaching the end of another year and what a year it has been!
Many of you know that I have moved to Waimangaroa, on the West Coast of Te Wai Pounamu in Aotearoa. According to Wikipedia, there were 231 people living here in 2018 so it is substantially smaller than Rangiora with its population of 19,000 people! Having only been here for 3 weeks I am still settling in and adjusting to the rhythms of life here. What I am discovering with this being a new home without fixed routines in place, is that I notice and respond to what is arising in the moment more easily. I am blessed to be living 2 minutes from the beach and after dinner last night I felt the desire to go for a stroll along the beach. Feeling the sand on the soles of my feet and noticing how the texture of sand changed as I wandered along was an enjoyable and grounding experience. By the end of my walk my head was clear and my heart open. I felt grateful, refreshed and alive.
Our flights were booked for Tuesday July 10th to fly to Pitt Island. However, the plane was unable to get out to New Zealand, from the Chathams, due to bad weather. I made the most of being at home and finished laying newspaper and straw in the garden. This is part 1 of an 8-part mission cutting out blackberry, pruning bushes back to waist height, and replanting in my attempts to tame the wilderness along the hill face directly below our house. Tuesday night I was feeling excited about returning home to my roots. However, I also noticed a part of me that was wanting to stay and use this time, whilst I’m not teaching, to continue working through my ‘to-do’ list. We live on a 15-acre property that needs loads of tender loving care and my extensive and ever-changing to-do list reflects this.