Archive for March, 2012

Video Podcast #4: Fasting/Detox: Journal #2 – 3/20/2012

Since the beginning of the month of March, I’ve been working on an in-depth cleanse. This cleanse started with a detox diet for the first two weeks, consisting of loads of organic vegetables as soups and stir fries as well as nuts, fruit and dried fruit. This was followed by a week of juice fasting, consisting of fresh raw fruit and vegetable juice diluted 50% with water; this is the stage I am at now. A water-only fast will be beginning this weekend and should last for at least one week, perhaps longer if things work out well.

So far this week, I’ve primarily been drinking juices with some combination of the following (citrus is always taken separately as the guidelines of trophology suggest):

  • carrot
  • bok choy
  • celery
  • cabbage
  • italian parsley
  • ginger
  • garlic
  • kale
  • oranges
  • grapefruit

So-far, I’m feeling good, I have loads of energy and I don’t feel much in the way of withdrawal symptoms from coffee, dairy, bread, etc. In the past I had a hard time getting through the day without a few coffees, it was quite an addiction. Now I am able to get through the day without feeling the need for coffee. I’ll still have some caffiene in the form of a green tea, perhaps, but the overall dosage is much lower than before.

I’ve been able to go about my life with more sustainable energy than before and aside from missing out on the enjoyment of food, I am feeling better than ever. I think this opportunity I’m giving my body to really rest and repair, is really helping a great deal. So I’ll keep a good attitude, which has a huge influence on the results of this kind of endeavor, I’ll be mindful of the effects of whatever I am engaged in and I’ll push forth doing my best to maintain and improve my life as I go.

I went to a Yoga class followed by a Tai Chi class on Tuesday, which turned out to be an above average class in terms of difficulty. Despite having less energy to burn, I did well and I pushed myself in ways that I had not previously pushed myself. I was able to hold difficult poses like scale pose for 30 seconds on each side, which is a record for me and I was able to do poses like half bound lotus forward bend with less difficulty. Overall, I was stronger, more flexible, more disciplined and motivated than I had been in previous experiences.

One of the great things about these kinds of experiences, is they help you to apply the discipline that it takes to engage in fasting/detox, to other parts of your life. It really gets you thinking and introspecting, so you have the potential to really weed out toxic habits and motivational issues that you might have otherwise been complacent with, had you not done a fast/detox.

I did an hour long video podcast, which goes off on alot of tangents; but touches many areas that I felt inspired to discuss. I hope those of you who have the time will check it out and share your thoughts if you are so inclined.

What is “Government” and How Can it be Understood Rationally

Ever step back and think, “what is this mysterious yet seemingly all-pervading force in our lives we call government?” Oftentimes, we are so conditioned to seeing the workings of “government”, that we fail to see the bigger picture; we fail to see it for what it truly is.

A noted anarchist named Lysander Spooner once wrote a brilliant piece called NO TREASON. No. VI. The Constitution of No Authority., in which he lays out the rational and legal framework for what “government” actually is and can be.

You may think to yourself, “I know what government is, that’s an easy question”; but I trust that you will think differently if you review Lysander Spooner’s work. There are so many aspects of this thing we call “government” that you take for granted as being true and just. Further analysis, using simple basic logic, shows that the accepted logic of what government is and can be, is indeed quite fallacious. In fact, most people haven’t a clue what the government is, why it is here, who is behind it and why.

‎”…Go to A……… B……… [a particular person whom you wish to tax], and say to him that “the government” has need of money to meet the expenses of protecting him and his property. If he presumes to say that he has never contracted with us to protect him, and that he wants none of our protection, say to him that that is our business, and not his, that we choose to protect him, whether he desires us to do so or not; and that we demand pay, too, for protecting him. If he dares to inquire who the individuals are, who have thus taken upon themselves the title of “the government,” and who assume to protect him, and demand payment of him, without his having ever made any contract with them, say to him that that, too, is our business, and not his; that we do not choose to make ourselves individually known to him; that we have secretly (by secret ballot) appointed you our agent to give him notice of our demands, and, if he complies with them, to give him, in our name, a receipt that will protect him against any similar demand for the present year. If he refuses to comply, seize and sell enough of his property to pay not only our demands, but all your own expenses and trouble beside. If he resists the seizure of his property, call upon the bystanders to help you (doubtless some of them will prove to be members of our band). If, in defending his property, he should kill any of our band who are assisting you, capture him at all hazards, charge him (in one of our courts) with murder, convict him, and hang him. If he should call upon his neighbors, or any others who, like him, may be disposed to resist our demands, and they should come in large numbers to his assistance, cry out that they are all rebels and traitors; that “our country” is in danger; call upon the commander of our hired murderers; tell him to quell the rebellion and “save the country,” cost what it may. Tell him to kill all who resist, though they should be hundreds of thousands; and thus strike terror into all others similarly disposed. See that the work of murder is thoroughly done, that we may have no further trouble of this kind hereafter. When these traitors shall have thus been taught our strength and our determination, they will be good loyal citizens for many years, and pay their taxes without a why or a wherefore.

It is under such compulsion as this that taxes, so called, are paid. And how much proof the payment of taxes affords, that the people consent to support “the government,” it needs no further argument to show…”

–Lysander Spooner

If this interests you, I’d encourage you to read the full text, or listen to the audio version of the full text on the player below.

Video Podcast #3: Fasting/Detox: Journal #1 – 3/1/2012

Before and After Seven Days Fast

Before and After Seven Days Fast

For the month of March, I am engaging in a truly transformative experience, a fast and a detox, phased in a week at a time and starting today.  

This experience is going to be a thorough cleanse of my entire body/mind/spirit through fasting, detoxification and meditation (Tai Chi, Yoga, Sitting Meditation, Breathing Exercises). I am using a phased approach, so I can gradually work my way into an eventual water-only fast, over the course of a a month; so the overall experience will produce the greatest benefits, in terms of bodily detoxification, spiritual development, and dietary improvement.

In past fasting and detoxification experiences, I’ve had profound revelations on many different levels of significance.  Since I am taking the time to go through preparatory pre-fasting stages, over several weeks, I expect the benefits to be far greater than in previous experiences, where I only pre-fasted for a few days prior to the fast.

In all of my 30 years, I have encountered few experiences that are as powerful and transformative, in such a short period of time, as these fasting experiences. I want to make this one the best fasting experience yet, so I can feel more alive, more aware and more in touch with my spiritual and experiential reality.

Here is the plan for this experience, as it stands right now:

  • March 1 – March 8 – Begin a detox diet, eliminate meat, bread, (most) dairy and sweets.  Diet consisting mostly of stir fried veggies, sprouts and fresh raw vegetable juice.
  • March 9 – March 16 – Similar diet to the first week; but more emphasis on vegetable juice.
  • March 17 – March 22 – Juice only diluted 50% with filtered water, also coconut water at times.
  • March 23 – ??? – Water only with some tea.

I’m leaving the duration of the water fast open ended, but the goal is to listen to my body and go for somewhere between 5 and 14 days.  I’ll be updating with future journals, possibly with videos, whenever time permits. I am looking forward to documenting this transformation as it progresses. I’d like to document this in a much more significant way than I have during past experiences. I really want to take the lessons learned during past experiences and apply them for this ordeal, so I can again be astonished by what may transpire.