Do like the 12 Step programs tell you to do.  Make a list of all the people, places and things you’re mad about and why.  Forgive anyone you feel has harmed you, including yourself.  Let it go.  Make amends. Ask God for forgiveness.

If you’re eating for any reason other than genuine hunger then you’re eating from spiritual hunger.  You can call it loneliness, boredom, lack of love, worry, anxiety, depression or whatever, but the fact remains that it’s more a spiritual than a physical matter.  Granted, there are cravings that come from the imbalance in our bodies caused by toxic food (refined, processed, chemical laden) and those have to be dealt with.  A good cleanse is the place to start.  But you need a spiritual, mental, and emotional cleanse as well as a physical cleanse to get out all the negative beliefs that have been programmed in you.

Learn to walk in love.  Treat others as you want to be treated.  Cut them some slack, they’re human too.  People who are acting out are usually in a great deal of inner pain although they might not even be aware of it.  They’re just lashing out in anger.  No, you don’t have to put up with anyone’s abuse but you don’t have to throw it back at them either.

Have an attitude of gratitude.  No matter what your problems are, someone else has bigger ones.  Make a list of everything you’re grateful for and by the time you’re done you’ll feel so much better.  We are surrounded by negative news.  Protect your eyegate, eargate, and mouthgate.  Don’t let anyone else use you for a garbage can.  Don’t do it to yourself either.

Have a rawesome life!

Or can I?  Do I really have to listen to that nag?  A lifetime of learned powerlessness has kept me from many of the things I wanted.  I just didn’t know how to go about obtaining them and didn’t know I had the power within me.  Unlearning takes time.  At this stage of my life it’s real easy to fall into regrets and bitterness over what could have been but never was just because I didn’t know any better.  But bitterness and regret are not a good dwelling place.  They become like acid that corrodes your spirit and eats away at your hopes and dreams.

Life threw me a curve when I lost my cushy, well-paid job ten years ago.  I’ve floundered, cried, made huge mistakes in trying to fix my life after that disaster.  Or what I thought was a disaster.   Continuing to view it as a disaster instead of a gift has kept me in that bitter, biting place too long.  I can look back and see enormous growth but also many setbacks as I started to learn how to walk on my own as an entrepreneur.  I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to go about it.  I had always worked for someone else.

But as I’ve worked hard on renewing my mind, reprogramming the messages, learning to believe in myself and have faith in a loving God who empowers me to succeed, I find that I’m still being snared by the words of my mouth.  Oh, I’m not as bad as I used to be.  I catch myself thinking negative thoughts and beating myself up (just like I’m doing right now) and in that awareness I deliberately change my thoughts to more positive ones.  But I still balk at making positive statements, calling those things that be not as if they were.  I don’t know why.  I have seen many wonderful things come about in the past several years because of turning my thoughts and words in a more positive direction.  I know it works because I’ve seen it work in my life.

But just like a child eventually takes off and keeps walking and staying upright after many attempts and falling on her behind countless times I want to take off and stay upright and not only keep walking but start running.  I want to stop wishing, hoping and dreaming and live my life, right now, today.  Therefore, I choose life.  I choose positive thoughts and speak them out.  My words are prophecy for my life.  I speak only good of myself and how I desire my life to unfold.

I choose to make the right decisions for myself.  I choose food that nourishes my body instead of harming it.  I choose physical exercise that tones and strengthens me, increasing circulation and releasing toxins.  I choose to let go of bad habits that keep me going down that same old path that got me to where I don’t want to be.  I choose to hang out with people who share my goals and impart encouragement to me instead of dragging me down with criticism and unwanted advice.

I choose to be selective in what I allow to come into my life instead of leaving the door open to anything and anyone.  I have the right to say no.  I have the right to do what I believe is best.  I’ve made many decisions in my life that have been detrimental to my health and happiness.  I don’t know why and am not interested in delving into deep inner exploration to figure it out.  I’ve tried that and I only ended up hating myself even more for making such a mess of things.

I choose to love myself and believe that I am loveable and deserving of good in my life.  Therefore, I choose to treat myself accordingly.  No more beating myself up for not being perfect.  I choose to view myself as infinitely precious, richly blessed, loved and loving, and I make all my decisions with that in mind.  God didn’t put me here to suffer and cringe like a beaten dog at everything that comes my way.  He has empowered me to prosper and create through my thoughts and words.  I can also create disaster through my thoughts and words.  It’s my choice.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue.  Choose life!

Imagine this – your city’s garbage collectors are on strike and it’s right in the middle of the heat of August.  Just the smell will make you queasy.  Flies are buzzing, food is rotting, strange creatures raid the trash cans for dinner, all manner of parasites, bacteria and other unsavory organisms are chowing down.  That’s their job – eating decomposing materials.

Now imagine this – your body, especially your colon, is that same garbage heap of rotting food and opportunistic organisms.  No wonder you feel tired, rundown, and even sick at times.  You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, exercising, drinking water, getting adequate rest, gobbling handfuls of vitamins – but you still don’t feel good or haven’t achieved the results you hoped for.

It’s called toxicity.  Toxic waste is constantly produced in our bodies by our natural metabolic processes.  The body is designed to deal with it and take out the garbage regularly through our eliminating organs – colon, kidneys, lungs, skin, liver.  But our bodies can’t handle the additional toxins we are ingesting or breathing daily.  Pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, etc. are in our foods.  The air we breathe is filled with pollution.  We are surrounded by synthetic materials that outgas.

Toxin buildup is dangerous and some suggest it can lead to cancer.  The type of stress on cells caused by toxins can result in inflammation.  Cancer can arise in sites of chronic inflammation and so can many other diseases.  It is believed that when inflammation occurs the body is in a fighting mode and ready to fight off germs.  But when toxins set off inflammation, which is an inappropriate response, the oxidants produced by the body to attack the bacteria instead attack our own DNA and lead to mutation.  Toxins can enter one part of the body but also cause disease in another.

So what can we do?  If we want to add more quality years to our life we must take control of our health.  By doing that we can avoid the ravages of disease as we get older and the financial ruin of a major illness.

Our level of health is determined at the cellular level.  Our bodies are made up of about 100 trillion cells.  Each cell is designed to take in nutrients and eliminate the toxins that are byproducts of metabolism.  When they receive optimum nutrition and eliminate toxins in a timely and efficient manner then the body is healthy.  When that process is impaired by low quality “food” and backup of toxins in the body the gradual decline toward illness begins.  Those parasites and bacteria that are attracted to the garbage can sitting outside in the heat also love to dine in your body.

Those toxins need to be removed from your body so that it can utilize the quality raw materials you’re hopefully putting in.  Although changing your diet and lifestyle for the better will benefit you regardless, the benefits of those changes will be greatly enhanced by removing your toxins first or at the same time.  Your cells will love you for it, believe me.

So what do you do when, for example, your toilet won’t flush and is overflowing, causing a stink and a mess.  You call a plumber!  In the case of your body, you would call your natural health practitioner to find out what your options are for cleansing your body of toxins.  There are many different things out there from herbs to colon hydrotherapy to fasting.  Many of them are harsh and require you to experience a great deal of discomfort.  Some of them can make you feel much worse than you already do.  One of the reasons for that is because when toxins are released from your cells, as they make their way out through the eliminating channels you are going to feel the effects of them until they’re gone.  Detoxification symptoms can include headache, excessive mucus, nausea, aches, fatigue and moodiness.  Because you may feel worse before you feel better many people give up quickly and never complete the process.

Keeping all that in mind, I have created a program called the Rawesome Living System that is designed to slowly and gradually take you through the cleansing process and help you implement healthier eating habits without the pain and discomfort of many of the detoxification programs available.  Please feel free to call me and get more information about how it could benefit you.

Whatever you decide to do about your health just don’t forget about that garbage can sitting out by the curb day after day.  If the garbage collector doesn’t come and take it away, it will only get worse.  Start doing the research and find out how you can make your cells sing for joy.

Our bodies were created to heal themselves when given the necessary requirements – nutritious food, sleep, water, clean air, sunshine.  So when we keep giving them substandard ingredients then of course they are going to start breaking down over time and things will wrong.  People used to die from old age, infectious diseases, or accidents.  A lot of the degenerative diseases showing up today in growing numbers had never been heard of 100 years ago.  Now even small children are getting them.  We’re killing ourselves with our forks for just a few moments pleasure.  Is it worth it?  I think not.  But people keep clinging to their junk food and staying in denial even in the face of pain and disease.  What’s that about?  I’ll talk about that in the future.

In the meantime, choose Life!!  Just eat an apple!!

Real food is as God made it – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, meat, fish.  Our taste buds have been so over-stimulated that we don’t even know what real food is supposed to taste like anymore.  We expect our food to love us, comfort us, entertain us, excite us, etc.  What about nourish us?  Isn’t that important?  When did that go by the wayside and nobody noticed?

It’s only in recent years that a few people have started making the connection between what we eat or don’t eat and the state of our health.  Degenerative diseases are rapidly increasing because our bodies are breaking down faster due to lack of nutrients and too many toxins.  We are starving ourselves into sickness although with a full belly.

When did saving a few minutes of time become more important than feeding yourself and your family nutritious meals and having quality time together?  Are soccer, ballet, piano lessons, karate, book club, meetings of any kind, etc. more important than your health?  You won’t even be able to participate in them anymore if your body fails you, not to mention your mind and emotions which are also affected by what you eat.

I know I’m coming on strong here and you might feel offended.  Well, I’d rather offend you and make you think a little bit than to have you be ignorant and get sick.  It really doesn’t take that much time to fix a simple, healthy, tasty meal.  I do not like spending time in the kitchen.  It’s one of my least favorite things to do.  But I do care about my health and wellbeing so I look for ways to make it easier and simpler.  Read my previous blog about the salad cookbook I found. Most recipe books are way too complicated for the average busy person and non-chef.  You can also prepare food in larger amounts and freeze the rest for later.  Most meat dishes can be prepared in bulk and then divided.  Then all you have to do is make a big salad and dressing or some steamed vegetables and there you are.   If you think I’m exaggerating about what fast food does to your body then watch the movie “Supersize Me” and your eyes will be opened.

Our bodies do the best they can with what we give them and if we give them junk then our bodies become junk.  By giving ourselves superior nutrition and cleansing the toxins we are creating an environment for health, not disease.  So shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store and stay out of the middle aisles where all the boxes and cans are.  You’ll be glad you did!

When I first started trying to get more raw produce in my diet I would buy the basics then they would rot in my refrigerator.  I didn’t know how to make a tasty salad and was clueless about dressings.  Then I discovered the main meal salads that were starting to be popular in restaurants and a whole new world opened up.  Unfortunately, I am sensitive to chemicals and a lot of restaurants use chemicals in their seasonings along with preservatives so more often than not I’ll get a headache after eating out.

So that brought me back to my dilemma of needing to prepare better foods at home.  The other day I came across a book titled “Simply Salads” by Jennifer Chandler.  I looked through it and quickly knew I had to buy it.  Every recipe came with a picture (a must-have feature for me) and they were all simple using  just a few ingredients including prepackaged greens.  I was already buying prepackaged organic greens but was making the same old salads all the time. I also made the same old boring dressing all the time.

I sat down after buying the book and planned out a weeks’ worth of menus.  Some of the recipes include meat or fish with the salad and that works for my husband.  I just eat the salad.  Then I plan another vegetable side dish either raw or cooked.  I have tried the menu planning approach before and found that I rarely got past day one and also spent a fortune in the grocery store because there were so many ingredients.  I actually enjoyed the planning and was excited about trying the recipes.  I have now made three of them and they were great!

It doesn’t take as much work as you think to eat healthy.  It just requires getting some education and coaching about what changes to make and how to make them then being willing to be committed and responsible about what goes in your mouth.  You will feel so good once you get started.  Why don’t you try it?

Our bodies use a lot of water every day.  Just normal activity requires three quarts of replacement water each day and a hot climate, strenuous activity and eating salty foods increases this requirement.  A heavy, dense cooked food diet is void of water to begin with and then when you add a lot of salt on top of that you’ve got a recipe for water retention, constipation, aches and pains, and many other health issues.  There are a lot of health problems that can be solved just by drinking more water so why not start with what’s easy and cheap.  Your body will thank you.

Eating a lot of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables will not only help with the water issue but give you badly needed minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, and antioxidants.  Fruits and vegetables are almost 90% water and the healthiest thing you can eat.  They also give you much needed fiber to push things along in your colon that’s already suffering from too much processed food and not enough water.  Always remember that when you increase your fiber you need to increase your water.

By the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated.  Be proactive by drinking at least a cup of water every hour.  A good rule of thumb for the daily amount you need is half your weight in ounces.  For instance, if you weigh 150 lbs. you would drink 75 ounces of water.

So drink up and stay tuned for the next road sign.  Cheers!

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