The Power of Touch--We do in fact transmit energy to eachother

http://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/head-heart-interactions.html

The Electricity of Touch: Detection and Measurement of Cardiac Energy Exchange Between People

Rollin McCraty, MA, Mike Atkinson, Dana Tomasino, BA and William A. Tiller, Ph.D.

Key findings: When people touch or are in proximity, one person’s heartbeat signal is registered in the other person’s brainwaves.

Summary: The concept of an energy exchange between individuals is central to many healing techniques. This concept has often been disputed by Western science due to the lack of a plausible mechanism to explain the nature of this energy or how it could affect or facilitate the healing process. The fact that the heart generates the strongest electromagnetic field produced by the body, coupled with our findings that this field becomes measurably more coherent as the individual shifts to a sincerely loving or caring state, prompted us to investigate the possibility that the field generated by the heart may significantly contribute to this energy exchange. This study presents a sampling of results which provide intriguing evidence that an exchange of electromagnetic energy produced by the heart occurs when people touch or are in proximity. Signal averaging techniques are used to show that one person’s electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is registered in another’s electroencephalogram (EEG) and elsewhere on the other person’s body (See Figure 18 for an example). While this signal is strongest when people are in contact, it is still detectable when subjects are in proximity without contact.

This study represents one of the first successful attempts to directly measure an energy exchange between people, and provides a solid, testable theory to explain the observed effects of many healing modalities that are based upon the assumption that an energy exchange takes place. Nonlinear stochastic resonance is a mechanism by which weak, coherent electromagnetic fields, such as those generated by the heart of an individual in a caring state, may be detected and amplified by biological tissue, and potentially produce measurable effects in living systems. Evidence that the cardiac field changes as different emotions are experienced, combined with this study’s finding that this field is registered physiologically by those around us, provides the foundation of one possible mechanism to describe the impact of our emotions on others at a basic physiological level. One implication is that the effects of therapeutic techniques involving contact or proximity between practitioner and patient could be amplified by practitioners consciously adopting a sincere, caring attitude, and thus increasing coherence in their cardiac field.

The Role of Physiological Coherence in the Detection and Measurement of Cardiac Energy Exchange Between People

Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., Mike Atkinson and William A. Tiller, Ph.D.

In: Proceedings of the Tenth International Montreux Congress on Stress, Montreux, Switzerland, 1999.

Key findings: When two people are at a conversational distance, the electromagnetic signal generated by one person’s heart can influence the other person’s brain rhythms. When an individual is generating a coherent heart rhythm, synchronization between that individual’s brainwaves and another person’s heartbeat is more likely to occur.

Summary: This investigation was designed to determine whether cardioelectromagnetic communication between individuals is affected by the degree of subjects’ cardiac coherence. In this experiment we looked at heart-brain interaction effects across larger distances in subject pairs who were not in physical contact. As in the previous study, subjects’ ECGs and EEGs were simultaneously monitored, and signal averaging techniques were employed to discern heart-brain interaction effects. In addition, heart rate variability patterns were analyzed to determine the degree of heart rhythm coherence for each subject.

Data showed that in subjects separated by several feet, synchronization can occur between the alpha waves in one person’s EEG and the other’s ECG signal. However, in this experiment, whether the "receiving" subject’s brainwaves synchronized to the "source" subject’s heart signal was determined by the degree of coherence in the receiving subject’s heart rhythms. Subjects who demonstrated high heart rhythm coherence were more likely to show alpha wave synchronization to the other subject’s ECG. This effect was not apparent in subjects with low heart rhythm coherence.

Figure 19 shows the results for one set of subjects who were seated four feet apart, facing each other. Note the change in Subject 2’s brainwave patterns (onset of alpha rhythms) that is synchronized to the R-wave of Subject 1’s ECG. The bottom-most trace displays Subject 2’s heart rhythm patterns, which were highly coherent during this experiment.

This study’s findings have intriguing implications, suggesting that individuals in a physiologically coherent state become more sensitive to the subtle electromagnetic information encoded in the heart signals of others around them. Interestingly, this also supports extensive behavioral data and experience with a HeartMath communication technique called Intuitive Listening. This technique involves focusing on the heart and maintaining a neutral or appreciative attitude while listening to another person. When individuals apply this tool, they often not only report hearing the speaker’s words with more clarity and focus because of a reduction in their own internal dialogue, but also acknowledge becoming more aware of deeper and more subtle aspects of the communication that are not contained in the words alone. This is often described as an increased sensitivity and intuitive awareness of the other person’s underlying feelings and the ’essence’ of their communication. The results shown above support the concept that this deeper, more sensitive form of communication, which establishes a heartfelt connection between people, may occur based on the increased heart rhythm coherence generated by the listener (receiver) when using the Intuitive Listening technique.

In conclusion, this study represents a further step in uncovering the physiological underpinnings of subtle, ongoing energetic forms of communication between people. Results have countless implications, and invite continued scientific exploration of the relationship between emotions, physiology and human interactions.
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The Fruit Doctor's orders: 10 hugs a day and call me in the morning!

Mysteries of the Heart

A lot of deep soul-searching has been taking place in me lately. Grieving will do that to you. You assess everything in new eyes.

What Pepperoni's passing did to both me and my husband was hit us in a very vulnerable and personal space. We've had Pepperoni almost our entire married lives. Our 20 year anniversary will be the end of next month and we got Peps 2 years into our marriage....he symbolizes that early special time when we were newly weds and has been with us through-out all of our ups and downs. Having him gone means anything can be taken from us even each other and that's scary. It's like losing your innocence and sense of safety in the world.

So whenever I'm in deep pain I search deeper and look for the lessons and the gifts. The video above shows us that the heart has an electro-magnetic field from what I understand of up to 6 feet. And it's stronger than the electrical currents that are sent by the brain.

Pepperoni used to lay on my chest...it's been said when newborns are first born, laying them on a mother's chest helps strengthen their own electrical heart beat current since their hearts are close to their mother's hearts.

I am reading a very interesting book called Positive Addictions. Basically, it's saying that we are strengthened by positive addictions like running and meditation and weakened by negative additions like drug, alcohol, food and smoking which dull our senses and creativity.

The reason these positive additions strengthen us is because they put us in an altered state of consciousness where we lose sense of self and that takes us out of the here and now and brings us in alignment with our creativity and "flow". Self-criticism is the opposite of this state and constricts us. We get plenty of that in our environments and it can tear us down and weaken us.

The reason I find this book so fascinating is because Pepperoni had that affect on me. It's been said that pets calm us down and lower our blood pressure. I had a daily "meditation" with Peps, in fact, it was like he insisted on it and he was probably put in my life to teach me this....to slow down, relax, get back into the moment...and, most importantly, he accepted and loved me unconditionally even more than I love myself. Whatever had happened, whomever had rejected me, there was this loyal friend that reminded me that I was okay no matter what and everything would turn out.

Now that that's gone, I realize that I need substitutes. Sure, my other cats are stepping up to the plate; Pesto and Rigatoni have been way more lovey lately, but the book says it's important that these positive addictions be something that we can do ALONE such as running or meditating. We need to learn to self soothe and create pathways in our brains of how to calm down, quiet the inner critic and relax.

All of this not only affects our health, but dramatically affects our happiness and success in life. So, this was the gift that Pepperoni brought into my life. It is a great one and I am deeply grateful.

I am starting on a new journey of self-discovery and endeavoring to eliminate self-criticalness. I intend to incorporate at the minimum of one hour a day to myself in the form of either running or meditation that is completely NON-COMPETITIVE and just free based. No goals or aims, just being.

I realize I have way too much structured time in my life and am way too rigid and focused sometimes. We all need time to just "be" with no expectations or goals, but allow our minds to go with the flow and decompress.

In that state is acceptance and replenishment. And we get back in touch with the truth of who we are outside of the chatter. We find creative solutions to life's challenges and we find out what we are capable of. New ideas come to us and we let go of other's negative judgments of us and find the joy of being part of a bigger purpose.

I feel animals help role model for us this way of being if we only listen and learn from them. They are forever in the moment and hardly ever exhibit any kind of self-consciousness.

I'm constantly amazed at the growth that emerges in my life and the new directions I take. It's forever fascinating, challenging, frequently scary and often amazing.

I will keep you posted as all of this unfolds......as always, it promises to be interesting. :)

And with that, I leave you a very insightful story regarding the heart and tone of voice:

"Why We Shout In Anger"
A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled 'n asked.

'Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?'

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout.'

'But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.' asked the saint

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally the saint explained, .

'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small...'

The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other 'n that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'

He looked at his disciples and said.

'So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

Being Transparent and Vulnerable

I guess the reason we all have such a hard time with transparency is fear of criticism and rejection.

We all have such a hard time with showing our under bellies and being real with who we really are. I learned this the hard way when I went to a 12-step group and saw how the well-put together on the outside people were struggling as much as I was but just didn't look like it on the outside. Boy, was I off on my initial judgements of them. They were suffering just as much as I was but had the added burden of putting on a happy face to hide it.

And just what does that look like on the outside? A bum living on the street? Someone in a body cast?

Really? We can often cry tears on the inside and on the outside look perfectly "normal". And yet, this really serves no one. When we have the courage to be vulnerable, we give others the courage to be vulnerable too. And vulnerability builds trust and safety. Love is safety. We feels most loved with those we can trust our vulnerable feelings with knowing we won't be betrayed or judged.

For example, I am still grieving the loss of my cat. I'm not really talking about it very much for fear of being made fun of because people might say "it was just a cat".

But it wasn't just a cat. My cat was more loyal and loving towards me than 99% of most humans I've interacted with and that's pretty sad. I can honestly say that if all humans had the same disposition of my late cat, the world would be a drastically different place. I felt totally accepted and wanted by this cat. If I was home, that cat wanted to be on my lap or chest, not in the other room or somewhere else. Up to his last day when he could walk, he walked right up to me and even though he couldn't jump, he waited patiently until I picked him up onto my lap so he could curl up there. Totally vulnerability was what he showed. Almost too much. I often worried that if he were an outdoor cat he wouldn't make it because he was so gentle. He didn't even like to hunt.

So I go to work and I smile and I pretend that things are okay when things are not okay. My other cats are still grieving too and so is my husband. Sure, we all go through the motions. My husband at least. But we were talking tonight how we really aren't over it....and the cats are more transparent than we are but at least they don't have to go to work and live up to societal expectations.

What's happened to us as a society were grieving is something that needs to be done in 3 days or a week and then we are supposed to move on and "get over it"?

Some cultures have the grieving widow or mother wear black for a full year while they bring them meals and comfort them.

I have made a committment to live courageously and this means honestly and transparently because I've had to face my dishonesty in this area and how I don't show my vulnerable side out of fear.

And I know I'm not the only one.....I see the same fear in my workmates, my neighbors, my friends, my family, my online friends....it's a disease that we as a society have passed on to eachother.

This excerpt from Brene really spoke to me:

Want to be happy ? Stop trying to be perfect

 By Brene Brown ( Shame Researcher)

The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting, but as hard as we try, we can't turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like "Never good enough" and "What will people think?"

Why, when we know that there's no such thing as perfect, do most of us spend an incredible amount of time and energy trying to be everything to everyone? Is it that we really admire perfection? No -- the truth is that we are actually drawn to people who are real and down-to-earth. We love authenticity and we know that life is messy and imperfect.

We get sucked into perfection for one very simple reason: We believe perfection will protect us. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.

We all need to feel worthy of love and belonging, and our worthiness is on the line when we feel like we are never ___ enough (you can fill in the blank: thin, beautiful, smart, extraordinary, talented, popular, promoted, admired, accomplished).

Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be our best. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth; it's a shield. Perfectionism is a 20-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from being seen and taking flight.

Living in a society that floods us with unattainable expectations around every topic imaginable, from how much we should weigh to how many times a week we should be having sex, putting down the perfection shield is scary. Finding the courage, compassion and connection to move from "What will people think?" to "I am enough," is not easy. But however afraid we are of change, the question that we must ultimately answer is this:

What's the greater risk? Letting go of what people think -- or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

So, how do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to embrace our imperfections and to recognize that we are enough -- that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy? Why we're all so afraid to let our true selves be seen and known. Why are we so paralyzed by what other people think? After studying vulnerability, shame, and authenticity for the past decade, here's what I've learned.

A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.

There are certainly other causes of illness, numbing, and hurt, but the absence of love and belonging will always lead to suffering.

As I conducted my research interviews, I realized that only one thing separated the men and women who felt a deep sense of love and belonging from the people who seem to be struggling for it. That one thing is the belief in their worthiness. It's as simple and complicated as this:

If we want to fully experience love and belonging, we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging.

The greatest challenge for most of us is believing that we are worthy now, right this minute. Worthiness doesn't have prerequisites.

So many of us have created a long list of worthiness prerequisites:

• I'll be worthy when I lose 20 pounds
• I'll be worthy if I can get pregnant
• I'll be worthy if I get/stay sober
• I'll be worthy if everyone thinks I'm a good parent
• I'll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together
• I'll be worthy when I make partner
• I'll be worthy when my parents finally approve
• I'll be worthy when I can do it all and look like I'm not even trying

Here's what is truly at the heart of whole-heartedness: Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is.

Letting go of our prerequisites for worthiness means making the long walk from "What will people think?" to "I am enough." But, like all great journeys, this walk starts with one step, and the first step in the Wholehearted journey is practicing courage.

The root of the word courage is cor -- the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.

Over time, this definition has changed, and, today, courage is more synonymous with being heroic. Heroics are important and we certainly need heroes, but I think we've lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we're feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage.

Heroics are often about putting our life on the line. Courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. If we want to live and love with our whole hearts and engage in the world from a place of worthiness, our first step is practicing the courage it takes to own our stories and tell the truth about who we are. It doesn't get braver than that.

So as I continue on my journey of being courageous and honest, I think of this beautiful image of how we all are coming out of our cacoons and transforming into beautiful butterflies:

Day 65: Still Think You Need Gobs of Protein to Build Muscle?

Please go to my new website to view this interview:

http://www.thefruitdoctor.com/gina-matthews-raw-vegan-still-think-you-need-gobs-of-protein-to-build-muscle/

Day 60: Heart Ache--Lost a Dear Old Friend This Morning....

As I reach two months on this juicing journey I was awoken out of bed this morning by my husband saying "You might want to come and say good-bye to Pepperoni (our 18-year old cat).

I went into the laundry room where we put his bed each night since about a year ago he got into the habit of peeing in the corner of our bedroom because he was getting so old his legs were starting to get weak and it was hard for him to squat. He had slept with me under covers every night of his life for years until we had to start putting him in the laundry room so we wouldn't have to keep cleaning the carpets. It was a heart-breaking decision but he seemed to adjust. I compensated by letting him sleep in my lap all day long when I was home which he loved to do.

This winter his legs really started giving him trouble and it was hard for him to jump so I'd have to pick him up when he wanted to sleep in my lap which was always. He was such a faithful and loyal and loving companion....and had such a sweet and gentle disposition. He used to love to wrap his arms around my neck and snuggle on my chest. My husband called him a "cat necklace". He used to curl up on my chest just like these little otters:

Just yesterday he was snuggled in my lap along with my youngest, Pesto, our newest kitten, both on my lap as I was on the computer. I almost took a picture of it....However, I noticed that when I had to get up to go use the restroom and put him down that he normally repositions himself and he didn't do that...he just laid there. Same thing when I put him to bed last night.

When my husband went into the laundry room this morning he was in his bed twitching....I went in and picked him up and laid him on my chest. I wasn't able to be there when my mother died and Pepperoni has always met me at the door when I came home and was such a loyal cat that I'd be darned if he was going to die alone. I wanted him to know he was loved down to his last breath.

He stopped twitching but his breathing became labored....he hung on for a few hours until he finally passed at 10:27 am as I lay alongside him on the bed...he died peacefully and at home. I adored that cat. The other three cats were scared I could tell. They would go by Pepperoni and smell him and then run away. They eventually settled on the bed with us...Pesto is curled up on my chest right now as I type this. He's my new "momma's boy" as my husband calls him. Pepperoni was the ultimate "momma's boy" and we put him in a cardboard box and will bury him in our backyard tonight near our blossoming plum tree.

I put his bedding in the washer and started crying as I realized that even though his peeing was a nuisance and I had to constantly wash stuff, this was going to be the last time I needed to do that for him....he was my little Velveteen Rabbit...he was old and tattered, but he was MY Velveteen Rabbit and worn and old, I loved that little guy. I already miss him bunches. I will no doubt never find a cat that was so loving, so gentle so loyal an sweet as him....he was and is simply irreplaceable.

As I lay there as my cat was gasping for air....I knew I wanted my cat to be out of his suffering, but also knew I wanted nature to take it's course. As I lay there letting him die naturally, I couldn't help but reflect on fellow humans who would willingly take the last dying breath of an animal for sport or for food. I simply could not do that to another living thing. Life is sacred and my cat and I were bonded down to his last dying breath. He knew I was there for him and hung on as long as he could because he loved being with us. My husband had come home briefly and we both lay there on the bed petting Pepperoni while he slowly slipped away. He died five minutes after my husband left for work again....

I am so glad I had the day off to be able to be there with him unrushed and to say good bye...and I thanked him for being so sweet and welcoming and loving to our newest baby kitten that the other two hissed at and swatted at....it's gonna take awhile to mend this broken heart. He was a wise old owl with beautiful lime green eyes and white paws with black pads that looked lie dominoes....Good-bye dear friend. You gave us a lot of loved and we will miss you....

Day 58: It's hard being a survivor....

We are a nation of addicts.

Food is #1.

Caffeine is #2.

Alcohol is #3.

And Cigarettes are #4.

And prescription drugs are now #5

And they kill people in that order.

I was recently listening to Christine Northrup's "Igniting Intuition" CD's and they made a statement that stopped my heart:

"The Emergency Room exists solely as a response to deal with the fall-out from our nation's ADDICTIONS".

People joke about being addicted to chocolate. Did you know that one Mr. Goodbar chocolate bar has as many saturated fat grams as a 3 oz steak? And, aside from annoyingly staying "forever on the hips" it also adheres to your arterial walls and causes heart attacks just like a steak would?

Did you know that coffee causes ulcers which lead to anemia and resulted in a dear friend being admitted to a hospital this weekend and she almost died? They don't advertise that in Starbuck's commercials do they?

Did you know that alcohol is the major causal factor in all kinds of accidents such as:

69% of all drownings
50% of car fatalities
30% of all traffic injuries
47% of industrial injuries
44% of aviation accidents (read plane accidents)
83% of fire and burn fatalities
86% in homicides
and 64% of suicide attempts

So the next time you watch the news and hear of a house burning down, or a car accident or even a plane accidents, there is statistically a great chance that alcohol was involved somehow.

That is sobering. No pun intended here.

And now we have this information about what prescription drugs are doing to the nation's health:

In Ohio, fatal overdoses more than quadrupled in the last decade, and by 2007 had surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death, according to the Department of Health.
The problem is so severe that Gov. John R. Kasich announced $36 million in new spending on it this month, an unusual step in this era of budget austerity. And on Tuesday, the Obama administration announced plans to fight prescription drug addiction nationally, noting that it was now killing more people than crack cocaine in the 1980s and heroin in the 1970s combined.

Apparently the drug of choice for prescription drug addicts is Oxycontin. I took Oxycontin during what was supposed to be a painful recovery from surgery. While it wasn’t fun when I actually felt it, on Oxycontin the recovery was foggily pleasant. That disjuncture freaked me out, and I got off of them before I finished the prescription. 

Is “Prescription drug” defined as a drug that is gotten by the addict through a prescription? Or is “prescription” a trait that adhere’s to the drug itself, such that Oxycontin is a prescription drug even if you steal it? If it’s the former it suggest a pretty scandalous failure on the part of the medical profession. From the article, though, I’m guessing it’s the latter (though let’s not take the specter of scandal off the table):

Nina and Chad’s father, Ed Mannering, said he caught a 74-year-old friend selling the pills from his front door. The sales were a supplement, the man said sheepishly, to his Social Security check.

Great. We now have senior citizens that are drug dealers.

My mother actually died from prescription drug overdose after she relapsed from sobriety of 26 years of abstinence from alcohol. She had 5 anti-anxiety medications in her system. Her doctor didn't even know she was an alcoholic.

I have to confess. I'm not totally honest all the time with showing my vulnerable feelings. In fact, sometimes it's very hard for me to show vulnerability. So the way I cover it up is that I control and I nag.

I harp on people's diets and I give facts, figures and statistics hoping that "they" will change. It's my way of coping with my fear of loss and my grief and my sadness. I nagged my parents about their smoking until it killed them with emphysema....it obviously didn't work.

And yet I simply cannot sit by and watch all of this and be silent. It's too painful. It's excruciatingly painful to watch someone destroy themselves and become a hollow shell of what they once were. I ended up having to walk away since it was too painful to watch them destroy themselves...

So I passionately give out information to other's in the hopes that it lands in a receptive heart and someone will avert a tragedy like many I've already had to face. Some do listen. Many still do not.

The denial runs deep, folks, and we are a society of enablers with the "pushers' being the tobacco, food, pharmaceutical and alcohol industries and celebrities, sports and rock stars being the poster children making all these substances look fun and cool and consequence-free. And yet it even catches up with them. Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson. Farrah Fawcett.

The void that is left in the wake of the death of a once young, vibrant, beautiful person is like a sharp yet dull belly ache. It hurts and hurts.

I have a hard time accepting that this in inevitable and unavoidable. It's so completely senseless and useless I am amazed sometimes...kind of like I'm am living as an alien on another world and I speak a different language.

And yet I do. I speak the language of truth and honesty and many I am surrounded with speak the language of denial:

"Sure, I'm overweight. but I'm really healthy otherwise" (Being overweight isn't a risk factor for ME)

"Okay, so I need to lose a few pounds. So what? There's plenty of time to go on a diet." (Um, there is probably either cancer, heart disease or diabetes growing inside your body RIGHT NOW and you will shockingly wonder "where it came from all of a sudden" when you get your diagnosis. It was growing inside of your body for YEARS but you didn't want to listen then while it was a small whisper and had to wait until it got to be a SHOUT).

"I'll be okay, no matter what I weigh. I have good genes. My grandmother lived to be 92 and she smoked and drank her entire life." (Interesting. Was she independent those last few years or living off of disability? The Japanese have the best longevity genes in the world and they don't do so well when they move to the U.S and eat the SAD diet...funny how their genes don't protect them when they change their environment)

"A new study of the evils of obesity? Listen, I'd rather not hear it! One day they say chocolate is good for you, the next day they say it's the devil. Everything in moderation I say." (No, chocolate is not good for you just like doctors don't recommend cigarettes like they used to. You can't believe everything you read and hear in magazines, the newspapers and on TV because food and pharmaceutical companies often pay for these studies extolling the virtues of their products):

How about some cocaine toothache drops.....?

or everybody knows that TV benefiting your kids and making them more well-behaved, right???:

Or Beer being good for momma and baby:

Or...and this one boils my blood because I've seen it recently.....Soda Pop does NOT belong in baby bottles and yes, it rots their teeth and YES it DOES matter even if the rotten teeth are their "baby teeth" because the same chemistry that causes tooth erosion also causes type 1 diabetes:

But, hey, if you are going to let advertising dictate your health decisions and you think just 'cause it's in print or on TV it must be safe and government or doctor-approved (which we've already shown the fallacy of THAT) then why don't you just buy these?

Folks, the reason we don't see ads like these any more is not because they've taken them off the market (okay, I don't think they are selling tape worms anymore...they've moved on to vaccines....) it's because they realize they are dealing with a more sophisticated audience and they've become more sophisticated themselves in how they market this stuff to you..they buy off "experts" to endorse their products because they know that people buy from people they like and trust and they don't realize how much these experts are being paid off to sell their stuff to you....

I have done a lot of research on subliminal marketing and I can tell you that they will stop at nothing to figure out the psychology inside your head in order to get into your wallet and NO they don't care about your health....

It's time we came out of denial and started seeing who is really benefiting from our sicknesses. There's a huge food, pharmaceutical, medical, diet-industry complex that profits enormously from our denial and addictions....

Not to mention the funeral industry and insurance industry and many other peripheral industries.

I am tired of the lies, deception, denial and greed. We need to go back to a simpler way of life when people grew their own food in their backyards, exercised through getting outside in their yards and went to sleep when the sun went down or soon thereafter. (Lack of sleep and rest is the #1 reason for addictions to stimulants--to mask the profound sleep debt from overwork and under sleep).

Some technological progress has not been progress and needs to be handed back....sometimes, progress for progress' sake is not good. Processed foods and most pharmaceuticals fall into this category as well as pesticides and fungicides.

I remember the first time pharmaceutical drug commercials started playing on TV in the early 1990's. I started laughing when the TV announcer started listing off all the possible side effects at the end and was like "Who, in their right mind, would BUY this stuff???"  Evidently, I was wrong...there's a lot of people who bought this stuff and are paying the ultimate price for it.

I want our culture to be more like Okinawa Japan where the Okinawan elders still grow their own vegetables at age 120 years, are fit enough to ride bikes and value social support enough to meet together once a week to catch up on each other's lives....

You CAN change your life and you CAN choose not be be another statistic. Susan Powter in her book "Politics of Stupid" talks about how women control the nutrition in their homes because they do the shopping....and she warns against being "lobotomized" by the food processing industry by choosing to not be aware just to go along to get "approval" from society. It's amazing how stupid they think women must be...

I hope that my rant touches at least ONE person and averts just ONE more tragedy....I realize we can't run people's lives for them and there's many complex and deep issues at the core of addictions, and yet I also realize that most people want good truthful information to make educated decisions and most people just arent' getting that these days.....it's one thing to really know something is bad for you and choose to do it anyways, but quite another to be deliberately misled by industries wanting to make a profit off of you....and you should be ANGRY....VERY angry.....

Day 56: Who Do you Take Advice From?

Today is Day 56 of my juice feast and I am learning daily new insights on this journey. I've had some recent happenings and conversations that brought up the topic of today's post.

One, I have a friend who's recently been admitted to the hospital and two, a few friends who have shared with me their reluctance to listen to advice from a well-known raw food author due to that author's  overweight appearance.

In the first instance, I am attempting to share health information with my friend who is also getting multiple inputs of well-meaning advice from many other people. Of course, if you've ever been in this situation, I'm sure you remember how overwhelming and confusing it all was.

In the second instance, I was recommending a book of a raw food author and both friends shared with me that they couldn't find the information credible due to the appearance of the author of the book not being the picture of health and slenderness.

Here's some common sense wisdom that has helped me over the years and perhaps it will help you, too:

Doesn't it make sense to take advice from someone who has achieved what you are looking for?

Whether it be a medical doctor, personal trainer, hair dresser, landscaper, house cleaner, financial advisor, or advice on parenting, wouldn't you want to know that the person giving you advice in these areas was a stellar example in health, fitness, had beautiful hair, a beautiful garden, a clean house, had a good savings, and had well-behaved, balanced children?

If you are in the hospital and the doctor writing out a prescription pad for some powerful drugs was obese and had pasty skin and went outside during break to smoke a cigarette, is that person really the best person to give advice to you on how to get healthy despite the credentials at the end of their name?

One of the reasons that so many people were touched by the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" was because the Before and After transformation in Joe Cross was palpable and visible. He clearly was someone in the "before" photograph that they could identify with and mirrored their own reality, but his "after" was undeniably HEALTHY....he had been there, done that and could show the way...AND, he wasn't advocating dangerous expensive drugs, but was recommending juicing Fruits and Vegetables!

When I talk about "giving one's power away" this is what I am talking about. Your own eyes and ears are giving you information that the advice you are getting is from a hollow source and YET because you are being told by family, friends, neighbors, etc, that this is the right way to go, you OVERRIDE that input you are getting and stop listening to that inner wisdom that is telling you that this advice is not in your best interests and you find out the hard way down the road that you should have listened to that voice....

Why can't we find the courage to do that?

The inner voice that doubts is what holds us back: what if the healthy-looking person giving advice is only healthy looking due to being young or good genetics and it won't apply to me? it says.

What if I can't stick to it? What if it doesn't work? What if I die? What if? What if?

Also, we often doubt ourselves if the answers we hear deep down conflict with the "majority" even though common sense also shows us that the "majority" are just as fat, sick and nearly dead as we are...the "follow the crowd" mentality is deep-rooted and strong and it takes courage to swim upstream and be different.

 Even if it means getting us healthy, we often think we'd rather be unhealthy and surrounded by friends than healthy and lonely...however, this also is giving away our power: our power to set a healthy example for all who watch us and then are inspired. Look at how Phil Staples became in inspiration for his initially resistant brother and then his whole town.

In your search for answers, listen to your inner voice that knows the truth and use as your criteria the standard that whomever you eventually listen to has to have success in the area that you are seeking advice in and success that was EARNED and not inherited through good genes nor monetarily from rich parents or good "luck".

Find someone who knows how to skillfully guide you back to where you want to go because they've done it themselves and therefore can speak from personal experience.

In the area of health, find someone who is genuinely healthy and who looks healthy....hopefully from someone who used to be sick themselves and found a way to rebuild genuine health.

Your life depends on it....I hope you find it before it's too late. You can't afford to be taking advice from those who really can't help you. I've seen too many people waste precious valuable time in this area only to have it be too late when they find out the wrong way that the person they placed their trust in didn't have the answers.....

Day 54: What Dreams are made of.....Life is Beautiful

Today's blog is about dreaming. BIG. Daring to dream. Creating your world and your reality by visualizing and then taking MASSIVE ACTION TOWARDS YOUR GOALS! Boy, have I been taking massive action towards my goals lately and they are all manifesting BIG TIME. The universe rewards courage and it rewards ACTION. Nike was right: Just DO IT.

I love the photos I'm sharing with you today. They inspire me about what's possible in life...

Whether it's creating a paradise with landscaping to make the earth beautiful....or bringing the beautiful world indoors to you...

Traveling to those places or just conjuring them up in your mind when you are going about your day...

Sometimes you need to remind yourself of what's really important and fill your mental space with images that help remind you that LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL...

I am on Day 54 of my juice feast and I'm less than a week away from my 60 day anniversary. I worked out my legs with weights today and ran 1/2 hour....I also used my last pineapple so from now on it's romaine, sweet potatoes, parsley, celery, cucumbers....I do have a couple pints of tomatoes to juice until those are done...and I just went and got my SECOND case of white sweet potatoes for the week...Woot woot.

I love this journey that I'm on. Having a ball. Life is not just good, it's GREAT.

Always remember that......no matter how bad life may ever seem. Your mind is a powerful tool. Lock on to the image you WANT in your life and focus on THAT and that is what will eventually come....

Okay, down to Final THREE....

Which one is the most eye-catching and mouth watering???

I can't decide they all look so yummy. NOT a good exercise to be doing while juice feasting. :)

Thanks for you help in advance...Option #1, 2 or 3?? You decide....

Day 53: Decisions, Decisions....

Day 53 finds me writing the content for my up-coming telecourses on emotional eating and addiction and writing up the recipes for my new recipe book.

So I was working with a graphic designer to design the cover of my new recipe e-book which features nothing but raw vegan fat-free veggie recipes and after going back and forth with him a couple times trying to get it right, I figured it would probably be easier and more economical to just purchase the software and do it myself.

Soooo....here are the final three covers that I'm deciding on. I need your feedback. Which one appeals to you the most? One, Two or Three?

Here were some other choices, but they weren't my favorites. But, who knows? Maybe you like them better? So I'm adding option number four and five.

Voting down below please and thanks in advance for your help. :)

Day 52: Comparison is the Thief of Joy

It's day 52 today and I woke up feeling so much better. Yay, no more pain. :)

I am going to take an easy exercise today of just stretching so I can be strong for my leg routine tomorrow.

We humans judge our selves unmercilessly. We take one yardstick measure, when there are MANY ways to measure and use only That ONE Stick as a measure of how well we are doing. Like height. Now, I'm petite at 5'2". By model's standards, I'm laughable, but I've had tall women tell me they wish they were shorter because they feel like they tower over everyone else and feel self-conscious. See? We're never happy and nobody wins...

When juice feasting, it's easy to start comparing ourselves if we are doing it with others to compare length of time we are going for or severity of detox we are experiencing or not experiencing  or weightloss we are having or not having...and we end up feeling discouraged that we "didn't do it long enough, lose as fast or enough weight, had worse/not as worse detox" etc, etc.

The main point is that you are DOING IT and you are reaping the benfits for YOU.

We are all uniquely different with our own story to tell and our own combination of gifts we bring to the world. Eating well, juice feasting, exercising, getting enough sleep, etc. are our gifts to ourselves to keep this body that contains our gifts in peak condition so that we can give these gifts of ours away for a lifetime.

Have you ever seen an ugly snowflake? Seriously, they are all drop-dead gorgeous. They are all each uniquely different, too. Sure, someone else may be able to run farther, may have a more dramatic story, etc, etc. But so what? Who's competing here? The point is that you are healthier TODAY than you were yesterday by doing your walk, by juicing your juice, by stretching, deep breathing, etc. no matter how far, how long or stenuous. You are doing more TODAY than you did yesterday and you should pat yourself on the back for making progress in the right direction, no matter how "small". Small things add up....

We have to pat ourselves on the back for how far we've come compared to what WE USED TO DO. I was watching a video yesterday of those who went on Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Diet and he gave away an award to someone who's cholesterol came down the most in 6 days..it was like 150 points...now, that's HUGE, but does that mean that everyone else who "only" had their cholesterol come down 50 points didn't win, too?

Ridiculous, isn't it?

The point is, don't ever let your percieved lack of progress cause you to slow down, stop or not even start because you feel you don't compare favorably to someone else.

This is YOUR unique journey and you have your OWN reasons for doing this and guess what?

THEY ARE AS GOOD AS ANYONE ELSE'S AND NEVER LET ANYONE LET YOU THINK OTHERWISE!!!!

Day 51: Endurance and seeing it through to the end...

This quote was posted on I Love to Run's FB page today:

"The Marathon is not about the race, it's about commitment... It's not about instant gratification, it's about endurance. It's not about the thrill, it's about passion. To run a marathon, you need to not only commit to the sport, you need to commit to yourself. In short, to run a marathon, you need to be a runner."

For those of you who have ever undertaken a fast of any length before, I'm sure you'd agree (especially if you've also attempted to train for a marathon which I have) that there is indeed many similarities in the mental journey one goes through while on the fast as well as when you are running the marathon.

Both require your mental abilities to override the monkey mind asking you to quit and asking you "WHY are you doing this???"

Today was one of those days. It's Day 51. Not a particularly sexy number. It's passed the 1/2 way mark, but well before the finish line. I'm tired. I had a lot to do and did indeed get it done and am impatient with the results 'cause I want it NOW already...isn't 51 days long enough to do the job???

In addition, the other condition that I've undertaken this fast for, endometriosis, is also challenging me: I still have not gotten my period--it's been 17 days late now--which is fine with me except that I've had constant cramps the entire time--not so fun...I know it's detox, but it's a royal pain to say the least. They finally subsided today. My only theory on this is that as fat is breaking down on my body (and it IS breaking down, I can see it in the mirror) all the trans-fats and oils that were stored in my fatty tissues are in my bloodstream, not only making me irritable, but creating my body to make prostaglandins from them that create inflammation. Eventually, with those off of my body, there will be no further source of this as I am not ingesting them and things will improve. Stay the course, Michele...

Fortunately, in preparation for my Natural Hygiene PhD, one of the textbooks required is one on Fasting by the late Herbert Shelton. Reading about all the ways people were healed and rejuvenated while fasting is so inspirational at this time. And, he mentions that some conditions such as hay fever (one of the reasons I am juice feasting for 90 days) take longer than others and may take many weeks....I'm glad to know that I'm on the right path. I just need to continue.

So how did I manage? I took a nap for one thing and I'm also going to bed early and sleeping in tomorrow. When I get irritable, I know my body needs rest to catch up on some healing and some housecleaning.

Again, I am writing all this out so that in the future, those of you who are inspired to attempt such a journey can reread mine and know that this is normal, that it passes, and is just part of the process...

The last week or so has been tough, but I can see the discomfort subsiding and so there is hope. And the sun has been coming out and it's been warming up and there are pink and white blossoms on the trees outside....

I may have another out of town one-week trip coming up around the end of my juice feasting journey, but hey--I've already managed to bring my juicer with me and I'll be so close to the end that why in the world would I let that stop me? No sirree, doodle, not me. I'm going the distance and it's going to be  as Tony the Triger says: