It's Day 4 of the 21 Day Cleanse.  I am feeling great!

More and more I realize and accept the truth that we make things SOOO much harder for ourselves, in all aspects of our lives, when we try to fuel our bodies with crap.  You know, those boxes of chemicals they call food you get at the supermarket?  Forget that ****.

I am all about giving my body things that are actually BENEFICIAL!  Imagine, food as fuel, not entertainment, emotional support or drug.  When we try to use food for what it is not meant for, we get the opposite effect of what we think.  Example.  Think sugar is going to boost your mood?  Sure it will…for a few minutes…Soon enough, however, you'll be worse off than when you started…Now what are you going to do, eat more sugar?  I am so glad to be off that train to nowhere.

Are there people out there considering hiring a coach?  Do yourself a favor and start treating your body right first.  You'll be jump-starting your transformation.  Then hire your coach!

This is going to be huge.

Together with Soul Coach Madeleine Marentette, founder of Grail Springs, Wellness Coach Barb Shaw of Grail Springs, and Chef Moira Nordholt the "Feel Good Guru", I'll be participating in and helping lead a 21 day full body, mind, life and spirit detox like no other!

Yes, you read right, 21 days of pH balanced eating, including a five day liquid fast.  We, the guides for this adventure, will be participating right along with you.  We'll be right there with you, twittering, on the blog and with special teleconferences.

This is more than just about cleansing the body, it is about detoxifying your whole life.

Learn how to join us:

21 Day Cleanse…

Bluey is the blue coloured green frog (Rana clamitans) that lives in the pond beside our deck.

He is 2-3 years old.  He is more skittish than the rest of the frogs, so it is hard to get a good pic of him, but every once in a while he will stay still for a shot.

Last year I was looking at my frog pond and saw something really weird.  A frog's great big white belly was face-up (I guess that's what we'd call belly-up!) and it was kind of rolling around in the water.  I ran over to see what was going on, and I saw that a great big garter snake had him by the foot under the water.  I thrust my hand under the water, grabbed the snake and it let go of the frog.

That spring I had a few more dramas of chasing away snakes, even going toe-to-toe with one big guy that bit me (no big deal) when I tried to get him in a paper bag for transport.  Finally, I realized that I needed to forget about the snakes, stop worrying about them, and I did.  I didn't see snakes again that year.

Now, in theory, I got it that nature is nature and a snake is no less deserving of a tasty frog dinner than the frogs are deserving of a tasty fly dinner.  But, I still didn't like the idea of one of "my" frogs getting eaten.  I admit it, I am attached to them.

So, the other day, I go out to the pond and see a smallish garter snake, nicely poised at the pond's edge, ready to strike any frog that appeared.  "Aah!  A snake", I yell, and try to grab him and he jumps under the water.  There was no way to find him or chase him off now.

For the rest of the day, I was struggling with myself.  The snake was out there, and it was quite likely going to eat a frog or two.  Because of my standards of how I want to feel at all times (peaceful, happy, joyful), I knew something had to change.  It did.  I evolved.  I finally got it.

What makes me so smart, and such a dictator, that I would tell a frog what it can and can not experience?  Maybe the frogs are bored with me blocking natural predators from them.  Maybe they'd be healthier individually and as a population with natural challenges.  Maybe it's wonderful to die by the mouth of a snake, especially when the cannabinoid system kicks in at death.  Who knows?  And, that's the point…I don't know, and it is none of my business!

Now, I am really starting to get it…I actually like snakes!  They are another wonderful part of nature.  If I don't bother them, I'll have a more complete ecosystem.  I wonder who likes to eat snakes?…Maybe they'll come around!  Maybe I can get some more great nature pics…

Oh, but there is one last attachment…What about Bluey?  My uncommon blue-coloured green frog.  (Notice the "my" again.)  Yes, Bluey is special.  Yes, I love him.  But should his specialness and my love for him make him any less qualified from living a full life, snakes and all?  I need to let Bluey fight his own battles and live his own life.

And, finally, as close to home as my frog pond, I accept the same philosophy as I do for humans.  The philosophy that I believe leads to the fastest evolution and highest good for all:  Live and let live.  It's not up to me to make opinions about, dictate or control how anyone else lives…Friends, family, "foreigners"…Even Bluey.

I highly recommend this book…Courage:  The Choice that Makes the Difference, Your Key to a Thousand Doors, by Dwight GoldWinde.

Dwight is an amazing man, living the life of his dreams, because he has oriented his life around choosing courage.

Here is an excerpt from his book:

What is the common denominator, or focus, of all the belief systems that shape our lives from cradle to grave?  Our parents, teachers, culture, peers, religion, philosophy, and government have thrust upon us the importance of, and strategies to achieve, (feelings of) security and safety.  No matter their differences, the common denominator among these beliefs and life rules is that they make us feel safer.  But we confuse feeling safe with being safe.  And what is the end result?  We're actually in more danger, especially the danger of not having the life we truly want.

Do you have a feeling that you could be choosing courage more in your life?  This book will convince you that courage matters, and inspire you to choose it.

Everyone seems to be OK with the concept of "Mother Nature".  A benevolent force/source that organizes and creates towards the highest good of the natural system(s).  We may not understand all of how Mother Nature works, but we intuitively know that She has her ways of balancing things for the best for all in the long run.  Some of her immediate effects may seem unpleasant to us (animals dying due to disease, for example).  But ultimately, we understand that these effects fit into a larger picture (a large die-off has lead to the healthful balancing of several species).  Some attribute the workings of Mother Nature to God, others to scientifically measurable workings (and some to both!)…But regardless of what we think is behind the workings of Mother Nature, we can all use the concept to communicate.

I like to use the concept of Mother Universe, to describe a similar sort of force, that is benevolent, and is behind a similar sort of organizing and creating force behind all systems of the world.  Maybe with this concept, we can get past debates about God, creation, evolution, etc., and just focus on what most people can agree upon:  There seems to be some method to the madness of what happens in this world, even if it is difficult to see from up close.  Massive challenges do create powerful new solutions.  When you are in "the flow" there are "coincidences" that support you in your growth, and your abilities to contribute positively to the world.  (By the way, if you have not experienced this, you are probably struggling a lot, and you might be going against the flow, against the tides of Mother Universe!)

I believe Mother Universe does organize events and activities such that we are all growing towards being our best as humans, our best as stewards of the Earth, and our best as stewards of the Universe.  Of course, we all have meaning (spiritual) thoughts behind why this is, but by using the concept of Mother Universe, maybe we don't have to get in a debate about them.

I guess all I'm asking people to consider is that all of human activities, and all events that come into our experience, are part of a natural order.  So, Mother Nature doesn't just apply to "nature", it applies to all of our experience.  Mother Universe.

How does this concept help us?  When we work with Mother Universe, things are easy, and naturally progress towards the highest good for ourselves, our families, our communities and our planet.  When we work against Mother Universe…We see strain, stress, things breaking down…Things not working in general!

When you are struggling, as a person, system or society, you might ask yourself…Am I trying to move against the tides of Mother Universe?  Where do those tides seem to be leaning?  Can I reorient in a new direction that seems more in alignment with the larger patterns I can discern?

Believe it or not, it is possible to live life as follows:

- You know what to do in any given moment

- You want to do it

- The thing you WANT to do IS the thing best for you and the world at large

- You don't procrastinate

- You don't suffer mentally and emotionally around tasks

Sound attractive?  Sound like you could save some time?  Sound like you could make better use of your energy?

I've got a surprise for you.  We are already built like this!  This is our natural state of being, our natural system, let's call it the Motivation-Action System.  We are naturally built such that we know what to do, we are motivated to do it, and we do it.

The problem comes in when we start to abuse the Motivation-Action System.  Here are some examples of how the system gets messed-up:

- You want to play outside, using your body and exploring your environment, but you are forced to go a school and sit still with your hands folded

- You always wanted be a singer, but you read that there are more job opportunities in accounting, so you took accounting in university.  You FORCED yourself to go to the classes.  You are STILL forcing yourself to show up at your accounting job every day

- You are tired and want to go to bed, but instead drink coffee and stay up late to work

- You are inspired to try some painting, but decide not to do it because you'll probably never sell anything anyway

I think you get the idea.  Most people are abusing their Motivation-Action system all day, every day.  When your system is abused it stops working right.  You don't know what to do, you have trouble making decisions, and you aren't motivated to do anything, really…except maybe escaping via TV or substances!

Knowing what to do and doing it is easy, if you invest in three things:

1. Not abusing your system.  When you want to do something, you do it, and you don't force yourself to do things you don't want to do.  This is a major change in lifestyle for most people and is an investment you'll make in yourself and total health over time.  There may be some short term losses in productivity, but eventually, you'll be more productive than you ever dreamed possible.

2. Learning to live in the moment.  A big energy drain and confusing factor to the Motivation-Action System is the ego…Stories from the past and fears about the future are blocks to natural action based on what exists at this moment.

3.  Trusting that there is a higher part of yourself, or some higher system, that does know what to do in any moment, and it will "guide" you if you let it.  Learning to listen for this voice and act on it.  Letting go of trying to "figure things out" yourself.  The right answer already exists…you just need to hear it.

What are we going for here?  A natural way of being.  You respond and act based on this moment.  You don't engage much with the ego.  You are filled with joy and enthusiasm.  Your actions are automatically for your own highest good, and the highest good of the world.  You live a life of joy, creation, love and Flow.

Fear.  The kind I deal with, and most of my clients deal with, is fear of taking action, fear of the unknown, fear of being ourselves.  When fear gets in the way for us, we really are giving into the fear of fear.  And, really, fear of ridiculous fears!

Now, being afraid of a lion about to eat you, that I can understand.  Being afraid of what people might think of you…Talk about fear of something nebulous and intangible!  We really *are* still scared of the boogie man!  No wonder our bodies and hormones are confused.  No wonder our lives are confused.

But, wait a sec.  Going back to the lion.  I imagine that if I were face to face with a hungry lion, I would experience the greatest fear of my life.  Assuming for a moment that fear is there for a good reason, the reason I come up with is that the fear is meant to help me OVERCOME the challenge I am facing.  That thing that I am used to calling fear, is really just the energy, the POWER, my whole self is delivering me to handle the situation at hand.

I've been playing with this.  Thanks to some wonderful teachers in my life, I am learning to fully acknowledge, embrace and express my fears.  You know what happens when I do?  The "fear" veil drops away, and I am left with pure excited, joyful, powerful energy.  Energy that feels much more like courage.  Speaking and acting from courage is a wonderful experience that can TRANSFORM a life.

Here's the next step I am going to play with.  What if, in each of my moments, I ask myself…What am I most afraid of doing or saying at this moment?  I suspect that my answers to that question will lead me to discovering the most powerful potential actions ready to be activated by courage.  I will embrace my fear, feel my courage, and take the actions associated with this power.  I'll let you know what my experiments reveal!

I'll be speaking at the Maine Seth Conference, in York Beach Maine.

If you like metaphysics, and being free to be you, you'll love a Seth Conference.  They are fun, intellectual, creative and joyful.  Seth people tend to be much like the conferences!

I'm not 100% sure of my topic yet, but I think it will be an exploration of lucid dreaming and lucid living, and what we can learn from both.

I'll be speaking at the Bancroft Spiritual Centre, April 26th, 2009.

If you live anywhere near in Ontario, please join us, all are welcome!

I love Rev. Rita's services…They are open, friendly, fun and profoundly spiritual-feeling creating.