Day 12: Earth Day 2008

EARTH DAY * EARTH DAY *EARTH DAY

For some reason I lost a day in here somewhere (last Friday, I think) but who's counting except me, eh?

Click on the video below for some great shots of Mother Earth. Why not try to get somewhere today where you can feel grass between your toes . . . or just enjoy the outdoors in some special way . . . with gratitude for the home we've been given to hang out in for a brief time (brief, relative to eternity, that is).

JOIN ME IN SEPTEMBER at the Raw Spirit Festival in Sedona, Arizona -- where a whole lot of people will come together to celebrate nature and our wonderful connection to it!

Days 8, 9 and 10 -- Green Smoothies Rule!

Saturday's smoothie: banana, grapefruit juice and spinach;
Sunday's: banana, grapefruit, swiss chard and parsley; and
Monday's: kiwi, grapefruit, mixed berries, swiss chard and parsley.
That one turned out to be too, too tart (think PUCKERED lips)! Next time I'll add a little agave nectar to cut the sourness.

I'm experimenting with berries because of their high antioxidant content and also because they're just scrumptuous. With summer around the bend there will be berries galore. Speaking of SUMMER, have I said how thrilled I am that winter is finally over?! (It's been a "winter" for me in more ways than just the weather ... as I've shaken off a lot of sorrow and pain in the last six months or so ... NEVER to take it on again, mind you!) As a result, I'm in even more of a celebratory mood this spring than I normally am come spring time. Looking for a new place to live, as I am at present, has taken on greater significance as well, because this Spring truly ushers in for me a whole new phase of my life in all aspects: body, soul, spirit, and emotions.

I haven't a CLUE where I'm heading . . . except I know it's toward more and more wholeness (the true meaning of "salvation" btw) in all those aspects of my life. I also know that a promise I was given last autumn -- that God would be taking me through a process of deep "purification" in the months ahead -- is in full swing. (That word "purification" sounds hoaky, I know, but when I looked up the word in Webster's it was filled with positive promise) And in this process, no stone is being left unturned! From my physical body to my emotions . . . in areas of personal health to my long-stalled relationship with my daughter . . . in connection with my work and a serious vocational shift . . . in my perceptions of how to communicate better with people who matter a great deal to me, to being better in touch with my own emotions so as to express them in healthy ways rather than supress them and create inner turmoil for myself . . . there is a LOT of "house cleaning" being done! And there is a lot of BAGGAGE being off loaded in the process too: to which all I can say is, "It's about time!"

And in all of this "decluttering" -- some of it a bit "hairy" emotionally -- I'm reminded of a phrase I first heard about a decade ago, relating to God's presence: "Don't wrestle, just nestle." It was from someone who, despite our paths crossing on rocky terrain, was significant in my letting go of a lot of emotional and mental garbage I held onto about myself.

It's amazing how two people w/ quite a bit of "emotional baggage" -- especially childhood abuse and trauma in young adulthood -- are often attracted to one another. That was definitely the case w/ the person I mentioned just above. We both were subject to traumatic childhood abuses and both of us had unplanned pregnancies that dramatically altered the courses of our young adult lives. He was forced by personal obligation into a marriage w/ someone due to a prenancy; I lost a child to adoption due to my pregnancy and who I was taught to be at the time.

I've seen it time and time again -- and lived it out, first-hand -- this attraction between two people w/ quite a bit of emotional baggage. In trying to relate to one another (actually, in being woefully UNABLE to relate to one another), they end up becoming the catalysts that finally enable both to DUMP the baggage they've each carried for years! Irony of ironies. What is sad is that they often walk away from one another before the fruit of the "dumping" shows up. I think they walk away because it's just too uncomfortable and risky to stay too long in the "baggage dance" with someone (and even more impossible when only one acknowledges having any)! It is easy to miss the poignant truth that LOVING, and BEING LOVED by, one another is what lets us finally put down the baggage! The "goodies" that show up then are the very things that make for great relationships: joy, self-love and self-respect.

Day 7: Sprouts, Spinach, Pear and Lime

No. 7 smoothie was delicious, believe it or not. As I head into week 2 ... I'm noticing some important things. Adding a lot of nutrients to one's diet in concentrated form . . . as smoothies do . . . there are some noticable "detox" effects. One is tiredness. Another is dry skin and breakouts on the face. And yet another is yucky breath! These effects are not a constant, though . . . mostly one feels added energy much of the day.

This weekend promises to be bee-utiful, weatherwise . . . but much of my time will be taken up looking at apartments and boxing up more personal belongings in anticipation of my move at the end of May. This move is the perfect opportunity for me to massively streamline my possessions and whittle them down to just the very basics . . . if it isn't essential and doesn't add to a mood of tranquility and harmony, it get's chucked! If I haven't worn it in over a year it also gets chucked! (By chucked I mean given away or tossed . . . depending on its condition.) I'm really going to be a lot "lighter" in many ways when I settle into my new digs. Couldn't be more thrilled.

One HUGE thing I've been awakened to about myself in the last few months is just how wasteful I have been in terms of use of plastic storage bags, napkins, paper towels, and other household items, etc. that all add negatively to polluting the environment. It has to do with the abundance of the American culture I was born into . . . yes . . . but that is irrelevant at this point, becaue now I'm awake. It's as if I'm becoming more and more "trued up" to the enormous wasteful habits that I've taken on over the years. Little by little I'm beginning to rid myself of them.

I met a guy on the train last night . . . he rode his bike to the train station from his house just a coupla miles away . . . and we got into a brief discussion of this kind of stuff. He said that if we each used just one less napkin a day, whole landfills could be eliminated! That was astounding to me. That "earth footprint" thing is actually starting to sink in for me.

Anyway -- along those lines, here is a "Green Tip of the Day" from Chris Watts:

"It is important that we focus more on conservation and re-using things than recycling. Recycling requires energy! Energy requires fuel and results in more CO2 in the atmosphere. Re-use bags. Rinse and use plastic produce bags and please buy reusable canvas grocery bags. Forget soy! Soy is not all it was marketed as. Guess why rainforest is cleared? It's cut to make room to grow soy and raise beef. There are better plant protiens: hemp, goji berries, spirulina and green leafy veggies are far better choices for protein. Soy is also difficult to digest. Personally for protein, I do lots of green juice and spirulina. Spirulina is 65% protein -- making it the highest source on earth. And it is a complete protein. I work out hard four days a week and I feel great. I get plenty of protein and I eat no meat or soy. Do it for the rainforest."

Speaking of soy . . . my recent diagnosis of a large nodule on my thyroid (which I'm scheduled to have biopsied soon) has spurred me on to further research regarding thyroid disorders, and low and behold . . . I found yet another article on the extremely negative affect SOY (the modern, genetically modified, farm-factory produced kind!) has on thyroid function. (Also cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cabbage, for those whose thyroids are not in balance.) Well, I had a massive "aha" moment when I realized that from about 1985 until only about 9 months ago ... when I learned about the connection ... I had been consuming large amounts of soy ... substituting it for meat thinking it was better for me! (What a learning curve all this stuff is, really.) I had soy milk, soy crackers, soy ice cream, soy "meat" in the form of tempeh, "chicken nuggets" etc. ... basically soy everything! Now I'm wondering if all that soy intake hasn't had something to do with my thyroid presently being very out of wack. Ho hum. But the learning continues ... and so does the healing.

Footprints in the Sand

Till tomorrow.

Days 4, 5 and 6: Strawberries and Dandelion Greens? Hmmm.

Well, the last three days were smoothie days, but on Tuesday I had my smoothie for dinner rather than for breakfast and lunch. I made three different one, and two out of three were quite tasty:

Monday: pear, banana, sprouts and parsley
Tuesday: kiwi, banana, kale and spinach
Wednesday: strawberries, kiwi, dandelion greens and spinach (This one was quite a challenge!) I learned that strawberries and greens will be for me an "acquired taste." One I probably won't acquire any time soon.

I'm really enjoying a blog of a woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Penni, who I met at a dinner here in NYC recently after an all-day event called "Successfully Raw." Check out her blog here, Real Juice Daily . . . it's terrific. She just hit her half-way point of a 92-day juice "feast" ... and it's really wild stuff. She's an excellent writer ... and at the invitation of the guys that head up "We Like It Raw" has been asked to dicuss the changes she's going through -- mentally, physically, spiritually -- and write about it during their week devoted to Women. You can read her informative article here, entitled Pressing the Reset Button.

Some day I'll take on that fasting challenge . . . probably within the next six to eight months, actually. When I'm in my new apartment and I finally have a kitchen that is ALL MY OWN I'll be able to keep my GreenStar juicer on the counter and really give it all I've got. Until then ... the blended green-smoothies will do the trick for moi.

Today is my wonderful daughter's 31st birthday . . . and I'm thankful she is a part of my life. Happy Birthday, Liz!! This video is posted here in your honor - she is one of the folks just wildly adventurous enough to leap out of a plane and form this amazing diamond in the sky:

It's Magic

Until tomorrow ... keep a spring in your step: treat yourself to a green smoothie!

Green Smoothie Days 2 and 3: Two more Successes!

Well Saturday and today were both begun with delicious green smoothies: Saturday's was made with cherries, banana, parsley and spinich; and today's was made with kiwi, banana, pear, wild dandelion greens and kale

It's amazing how GOOD these taste ... and they end up being more enjoyable beyond taste because I know I'm getting live vitamins, minerals and enzymes (by way of the fresh greens) "snuck" in right along w/ the sweet fruit. Another cool thing is that they are very filling. Light but dense, if you will.

Some new (not too terrific) news on the health front ... seems that my thyroid scan was not too acceptable to my doc ... says I've a "nodule" there that needs to be biopsied. I asked him if it could mean cancer ... and he was non-committal. I've got to meet with an endocrinologist and plan out an appropriate course. (Hmmmmm. According to Louise Hay -- of "You Can Heal Your Life" fame -- the thyroid represents "When is it going to be my turn?" ... or something along that line. Not sure I remember; I'll look it up tonight. But her stuff is usually pretty spot on).

Came in to work today (Sunday) for a few hours to brush up for an in-house assessment test on software we're supposed to be masters of ... my test is on Tuesday. Lost a beautiful spring day to The Man. (Been listening recently to the Forest Gump soundtrack, and these odd, sorta early '70s, hippie terms are coming to mind as a result, I think! That last was said in jest, however. I never referred to the establishment as "The Man" (nor did I ever use the term "Establishment" now that I think of it).

Anyway ... it's time to catch that train home. Till tomorrow ... speaking of hippie days ...

Check out Scott McKenzie and an updated San Francisco

Green Smoothie Day 1: Success!

Well, I woke up early to get my smoothie made, and for Day 1 I "experimented" w/ some raw cacao. I probably won't do that again ... greens and raw cacao do not (imo) compliment each other! In other words, it was a bit yucky. Now had I had a nut milk-based fruit-alone smoothie, the cacao would've been a dream ... but NOT w/ the greens!

Here's what I whipped up at 6:30 this morning:

1+ cups of water
1 anjou pear
1-1/2 bananas
1 handful of Italian parsley
2 handfuls of curley kale
3 stalks of celery

It lasted me until about 2:00 p.m. ... It's 4:30 now and I'm a bit famished. I'm having dinner at Pure Food And Wine in about two hours, though -- I'm taking a buddy out for her birthday tonight -- so I'll hold up just fine.

Check out this brief interview with the "queen" of green smoothies, Victoria Boutenko, author of the terrific little book, "Green for Life":

Love Your Green Smoothies!

Until tomorrow ... Green On!

The Everyday Green Smoothie Returns! Tomorrow will be Day No. 1 for Me!

I'm about to begin another "green-smoothie experiment" for 30 days. I had been having daily smoothies for a while, but have recently fallen out of the habit, and so with the arrival of Spring I thought I'd get back to it. Beginning tomorrow, it's early to rise so I can do the green smoothie thang. I make enough to last through the morning into the early afternoon -- and then have a dinner open to my imagination -- but it'll be mainly green. These 30 days are going to be all about GREEN!

I'd been planning to do this for a coupla weeks, but a conversation I had today with a dear friend who is dealing with a health challenge has spurred me on. With each green smoothie I have, I'm going to see not only myself -- but my friend as well -- becoming more radiantly healthy!

I came across a list today of many benefits of having green smoothies ... Ode to the Green Smoothie. If you're not convinced by the list ... just challenge yourself to drink one a day for a week and see if you're not convinced then. You WILL be!

Enjoy the music and flowers . . . as you sip your green smoothie!