Hee hee, thought I'd better start a new thread with a more positive subject line. I've been drinking grapefruit juice, carrot/apple/ginger juice and MC lemonade lately, and the hunger stage is over. (Lasted a day.) I didn't want to do the lemonade, but I couldn't find the Valencia oranges I wanted, so I decided lemonade was the next best thing. One of my best friends just came over today and gave me with a $25 Whole Foods gift certificate for a belated Christmas present (woopee!!!), so I'll be going to Whole Foods to hopefully get some oranges and other fruits today.

It's 61 degrees in Cambridge today!!!! I'm going to drop Jonathan off at the gym and go for a walk. These weather patterns are SO strange, aren't they!? It's in the 'teens one day and then 50s and 60s another day. Very erratic, but kind of interesting.

Sharrhan:


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Yeah, can you believe this weather??? We broke a record yesterday. And the sunset!!! I'm glad you're not feeling like you're wandering around lost. Remember though, not all who wander are lost!! (Spoken like a true space cadet!) I'm slowly becoming "unlost" too; getting back into the swing of it; going all raw on the first. And getting back to the gym (haven't been in a month!).

yay you !!

this weather is stinkin i tell ya .. the only thing holding me together at the moment is the fact the days are getting longer

for 3 days the stupid snow plow ignored our road so i was pretty much housebound and stircrazy by today

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Whole Food gift certificate! Luuuuckyyyyyy!!! Sounds like you're drinking lots of juice. Love juice. How do you make your lemonade?

Mona

A coincidence is a miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.

Sundancer--
Not to worry-- I'm always going to be a 'wanderling' from time to time, and that's okay too.

Jodi--
Did you guys finally get to dig out of all that snow? We had another blizzard all yesterday and last night, so we stayed in. We went out today (it was about 16 degrees, but my parka is so warm I sweat like a pig in it!) for a short jaunt to do basic local shopping, and now we're back in our jammies, warm and snug. Blizzards are romantic-- lots of snuggle time.

Mona--
(I like your quote.) Well, I used to make my lemonade with 'raw' agave nectar, but I've been reading not-so-favorable things about that stuff, so I'm back to using maple syrup. And I'm usually too cheap to buy tons of lemons or limes-- instead I buy bottles of Santa Cruz brand organic lemon juice and use that. Since I'm more concerned with detoxifying than absorbing a lot of nutrients during my cleanse, the bottled juice and (cooked) maple syrup seem to work fine for me.

I don't use cayenne generally, because it irritates my bladder. Same with ginger. I'm pretty sensitive to certian spices and herbs after all these years of mostly raw.

Sharrhan:


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yep sharrhan finally got out yesterday an woke up to more snow this morning

i swear the next person that tells me they wished for a white christmas im gonna give them a serious wedgie

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Now Jodi, that doesn't seem like the behavior of a true banana eating Buddhist!!! ;p

I'm on day 5 of a juice fast. I've tried some other cleanse routines with limited success in recent weeks, but this seems to be working real well for me. Plus I have history-- memories of past juice fasts that were wonderful experiences-- to spur me on and motivate me. I signed up on the Global JuiceFeast website and have a blog there, and although I won't be doing all the supplements and super-foods and stuff they recommend (it just makes you hungry and slows down your cleanse, in my opinion), I love the energy, inspiration and people on the site. I plan to juice fast for a LONG time, release the last vestages of 'babyfat' from my body and emerge from my coccoon a more vital and vibrant version of mySelf.

Sharrhan:


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cool sharrhan im gonna go check out that site too

im so proud of you girl your mood and spirit has definitely taken an upswing

even i am feeling so much more energy now since the chaos of christmas is over, knowing that spring is just ahead

and OMG i got my first SEED CATALOG IN THE MAIL YESTERDAY ROFL !!!! that to me is a sure sign of spring

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hi Sharrhan,

I'm really excited to hear about your experiences on your juice fast. It's really cool that you doing this.

Love,

Mona

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

I'm on day 10 of my juice fast, and I'm feeling really good. I'm quite amazed at how warm I am when I go outdoors in the cold. All I can stand wearing under my parka is a long sleeved shirt-- no sweater-- because I get SO hot. I remember in the past being chilled when I juice fasted, but it just isn't happening this time. It's nice! I've been pretty much trying to give all the vegetables and fruits equal time, so to speak, but I'm leaning more and more toward citrus. Really, if they weren't so expensive I think I'd have grapefruit juice all day every day; I love the stuff. Right now I'm having 'V7' (Najuma I'm copying you!)--a mixture of red pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper, carrots, leek, and onion. It's a little too heavy on cucumber but I can handle it.

I'm still playing music every Sunday for 3 hours at a local jam, practicing music, doing all my usual stuff every day... no energy loss. I feel so much better and I've lost weight in the places where I needed to lose it. (Thank god!) I am still just getting started -- this fast is for the long haul. I feel that this time I am really going to get past some barriers I've never quite let myself cross before in terms of meeting my goals on a number of levels. One of them is to have the body I've always envisioned rather than the one I've always settled for. ;-p I know I can do it; I just have to push on a little more.

Time to sign off and get myself to the gym to do a steam and sauna-- I'm really looking forward to that today.

Sharrhan:


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Great job Sharrhan!! Juice Fasting/Feasting is a powerful health tool as you are demonstrating very well. More power to you!


Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you.


todd

Thank you, Todd. This juice fast has been a real enjoyable one so far, and I'm expecting it to just get better and better.

I'm now on day 12, and guess what? I had been experiencing hip joint discomfort and stiffness intermittently for about a year -- which irked me to no end since there's just no way I'm going to let something like that start up at the 'tender' young age of 59 (heehee) -- and wouldn't you know, it's 99% gone already! What a thrill! Juice fasting is amazing.

I've lost quite a bit of weight (for me-- others lose faster), I'm guessing maybe 9 or 10 lb. I have (quite) a ways to go to turn my marshmallow-y bits into summer swimsuit material, but I know it'll happen, and anyway, those are just the side benefits. What I love about juice fasting more than anything else is the way it organizes my mind, soothes my soul, energizes my body and straightens my life out. I remember toward the end of my 40 day fast back in the 90s I remarked to a friend "I feel like this is how 'normal' people are supposed to feel, and how I've wanted to feel all my life." Fasting can feel like continual meditation too. I just can't recommend it enough.

Sharrhan:


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Day 13 of my juice fast. Learned something important yesterday: DO NOT juice pomegranates in a juicer (well, at least not in a Juiceman Juicer)! ;-/ Luckily my juicer is still working fine, but the edge of bottom of the hopper is all rough and scratchy now where it was smooth before. Tonight I cut up and took apart 3 pomegranates (a real labor of love) and I made juice from the seeds by putting them in a blender with a little water and then straining the blended juice; tastes great with apple juice.

Not much going on for me this week, except... I've learned to play the soprano saxophone! Years ago I tried playing an alto sax, and succeeded, but barely-- I was pretty bad! My musician friend lent me his soprano sax to play, and I love it. The fingering is the same as the flute (which I already play), so all I have to do is get the reed and the mouthpiece technique down to the point where I'm confident there will be no more squeaks or squawks issuing forth. Whee! Perfect timing, since I'm stuck indoors anyway. Hopefully in another week I'll be able to start playing it in public.

It's so much fun to take up something totally new in art or music; it gives new energy to your creative life that somehow carries over even to the instrument or artistic medium you're already accustomed to.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Sharrhan:


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wow are you saying the seeds inside the little juicy jewels beat the crap out of the hopper?

i never woulda thought that!

the more i think about it the more i think poms just dont want to be eaten i love them so much .. i wish theyd give some love back an be nice haha

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Yeah, the thing was grinding away on them, and I started to smell this funny hot, friction-y smell toward the end-- freaked me out! When I opened up the juicer, I found that the bottom edge of the hopper was rougher than sandpaper; you could almost cut yourself on it. I'm going to have to file it down.

I don't think poms are worth it-- what a strange fruit! It takes forever for me to 'deconstruct' them-- I sit down on the sofa wich a bowl of them and, a knife, and a bowl to put all the discarded stuff into, and it takes me about 10 minute per pomegranate to separate the flesh from the seeds.

Sharrhan:


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I know this is off-topic for this board, but I have to say I'm so relieved that the Poltiical Forum has been taken down. It sure didn't reflect the views and attitude of most of us. I won't miss it at all.

Happy Inauguration Day guys!

Sharrhan:


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Im sorry it had to be taken down because it COULD have beena civil place to discuss politics

but apparently it belongs elsewhere

im still sad about the pomengranates

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

>Im sorry it had to be taken down because it COULD have beena civil place to discuss politics<

Yeah, you're right Jodi. And now we don't have any place to share our feelings about the tremendously positive events of today and the hopes we have for our world. Well, we can write to each other off-board anyway, and also spend more time socializing in *the real world* with like-minded people. Jonathan and I went to an inauguration party at our local co-op tonight, and it was just so festive! (I'm not talking politics, folks, right?,lol-- just social commentary.) There was great live music, and we ran into a lot of people we knew. Everyone seemed just extraordinarily happy and connected to one another, even if they were strangers.

I purposely had solid food for 2 evenings in a row recently, but I decided 'so what?', it's okay. I'm juice fasting again, and sometimes at night I make a hot broth by cooking a lot of root vegetables, but I skim off everything but the liquid. It's delicious. I'm about to have some now.

Sharrhan:


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Richard Blackman made some suggestions regarding workouts that finally got me out of my rut. (I've been really bored.) He mentioned that you can do ANYTHING; just do it with intensity. I translated 'intensity' into 'passion,' and started thinking about how to feel passionate about working out. I remembered that the last time I felt passionate about exercise was any time I went out to a club on a Fri. or Sat. night and danced frenetically and with total abandon for 3 or 4 hours with Jonathan to high energy Latin jazz. We used to do this almost every weekend. Voila: MUSIC!

So... yesterday I went to the gym, and applied my newfound understanding to my workout: I went up on the track to run (it's round; 33 laps = a mile). Usually I run about 15 minutes on it, but this time I turned within while running and silently 'listened' to and practiced the jazz tunes and solos I've been working on with my band lately. I ended up really enjoying my run and didn't stop till 40 minutes later. What a rush!

My next step will be to find my walkman and listen to some music tapes while running.

Sharrhan:


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kwan Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
>I purposely had solid food for 2 evenings in a row
> recently, but I decided 'so what?', it's okay.

Ive been having a bit of miso broth too the last while .. its so darn cold and i am convinced that grocers arent importing the larger selections of produce they have in previous years .. one can only eat so many apples, oranges and bananas before one goes .. umm bananas

funny you mention up ramping up your work outs .. i have been doing the same and really noticing things this week are changing with my body !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

That's great Jodi. Yeah, I'm starting to ramp things up somewhat, and I have lost a little bit of weight in the past week. And since I've joined this jazz band, I'm sometimes waking up a couple hours earlier than I used to, just because I wake up excited about getting to work on my music adventures. I used to be 'dead to the world' in the morning. I notice I'm remembering my dreams now, too.

Sharrhan:


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Hi Sharrhan, So cool that you joined a jazz band. I'm going to be teaching flute at the Episcopal school this semester until I leave for sabadical in April. The thing is, I'm really not as good a flute player today as I was 30 years ago. But, it's an opportunity to practice and improve. At least I'll be teaching in the elementary grades so I still know more than they do. It'll also be interesting because it will be in Spanish; another opportunity for learning and growth.

I'm really excited to read about your juice fast progress and changes you have noticed. That's so cool. I'm inspired by what I'm hearing from your findings. Wonderful!

Love,

Mona

Remember yesterday, dream of tomorrow, but live for today.

Hi Mona!
When you visit Cambridge again, bring your flute along!
Yes, I'm 'over the moon' about this new venture; rehearsals and practicing and listening to our tunes online are consuming a lot of my time these days, and I wouldn't have it any other way. ;-) Oh-- and I'm learning soprano sax! There are TWO of us who play flute in this band, and we have fun trading off riffs and switching off instrumments. Bill plays bass, alto and C flutes + tenor and soprano sax. I play alto and C flute, and I'll be playing soprano sax soon too. We have a Valentine's Day gig at a local club this Saturday from 9pm-2am, and I'm working hard on my 'feature' tunes: Desafinado, Wave, and Fly Me to the Moon.

Sharrhan:


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That sounds great Sharrhan!

Woo-hoo! My first major gig tonight with my new band is over, and everything went perfectly! A real love fest, it was. We didn't have a lot of time to get ready for this gig, so I was a little nervous about my feature solos beforehand, trying not to imagine embarrassing faux pas, but I flew through them with complete abandon and had a blast. We just went with the flow and played our hearts out, so of course nobody made any mistakes, and the audience loved us. ;-) And get this... the club served food, and it was FRUIT!-- just fruit. I couldn't believe it! The last time I was there they had a big buffet, and it was all chicken, macaroni, cole slaw, etc.-- all stuff I couldn't eat. I nearly fell over tonight when I joined my band-mates in the back room to sit down and to bowls of strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, melon, and grapes. I spent about 50 minutes in the steam and sauna today envisioning tonight being perfect on all levels, so the fruit thing really made me gasp: more evidence for 'pronoia': the suspicion that the universe is benevolent and is lining things up to in our favor.

We were filmed for local television tonight, and a DVD will be available at some point, so hopefully this time I'll be able to get some of it online to share.

Sharrhan:


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Wow, Kwan -- that is AWESOME!!!

Yes! Congratulations on a wonderful night Sharrhan. Sounds like a really high time!

Sharrhan, I got one of your CDs and played it in my car today. LOVED IT! You are a FANTASTIC flute player!

Thanks Suncloud! Did you buy the 'Voices from the Dreamtime?' from the livingnutrition site? I keep meaning to put all 3 CDs on CDBaby so I can get more online sales, but I haven't done it yet.

Sharrhan:


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