Can you hear it? That still small voice that nags at you.
Maybe it’s a yearning to go somewhere, do or be something else….an overwhelming desire to give up who you are now and become the person hiding inside of you.
What stops you?
Fear?
Of the unknown? Of failure? Ridicule?
There is a great deal of safety in the known. Haven’t we been told all our lives, ‘better the devil you know’ or ‘you have a good steady job, why throw that away’ or even ‘who are you to have these high flying ideas?’
Have you ever wanted to get past that?
Lots of the beliefs we have grown up with are simply that; beliefs.They established themselves in our mind over many years. We are (and have always been) constantly influenced by the opinions and beliefs of authority figures and peers. Everyone from our parents and extended family to our teachers, church, newspapers and TV have instilled in us information that we have built our beliefs on. We have been compelled prioritise these beliefs to shape a future in our mind of what a ‘successful’ life looks like.
It almost seems to be that as long as we have that steady job, a car, a house (and of course a huge mortgage to keep us in the successful situation), we have somehow proven our ‘worth’ to society.
Of course, to keep that worth, we have to keep slugging away, day in and day out, no matter how miserable we are. Of course, if we were to lose everything, then we also lose that worth; we have failed.
Nobody wants to know why you failed, only that you did. There are many ways that can happen overnight, from redundancy, recession to unexpected life threatening illness.
Sadly, the illness is usually brought on by the stress of maintaining our position….our job, house, belongings; not living a life where we feel truly happy but instead pushing on and doing the ‘right thing’.
If you were told tomorrow that you had cancer and had six months to live, how would your life change? How would you choose to live your last six months? What would you prioritise? How would your beliefs change? That picture you have in your mind of how life should look, is that built on on some inaccurate beliefs or is it built on fact? Would holding on to material things be at the top of your list? When you think about it now, how you struggled to get that something you really wanted (even if it only meant keeping up with peers), how happy were you when you finally got it? Did it make you feel really satisfied or was there suddenly another ‘thing’ to get that would really make you happy?
In six months time, things won’t mean much to you, you can’t take them with you. What do you think you would do? Probably cram as much living as you can into six months.
You may get hit by a car tomorrow as you walk back to work with a coffee for your boss. Maybe it’s time to really start living right now.
Those beliefs you live by …are they facts? or are they just beliefs?
Plantain is the ultimate ‘first aid’ herb. It grows in abundance (particularly in Australia), so is always on hand in an emergency.
Internally use 1 cup boiling water over 2 teaspoons dried herb. Take 3 times per day.
Finely chopped young leaves can be added to salad.
Chew up fresh leaf then place over bite, sting or on painful tooth to quickly relieve pain.
A decoction made from the leaves is a cleansing wash for irritated and inflamed skin, rashes and minor wounds.
Will bring relief from diarrhoea and the pain of haemorrhoids and soothes irritation from coughs and bronchitis.
It is also used internally for ulcers and to reduce fever and is a cooling herb for the sick.
It makes a particularly good poultice when used on stings, bites, minor punctures and wounds giving quick pain relief.
Know also to bring relief for toothache.
Parts Used
Leaves, seeds and root
Habbitat
Plantain grows almost everywhere. Anywhere there is grass, you’ll almost certainly find it. It will also grow on disturbed ground and even cracks in paths and walkways.
So there’s a lot of hype about fasting, but is it all just hype?
How much good can you really do your health by not eating? Well, as it tuns out, heaps!!
Fasting has many ongoing benefits but the most notable are weight loss, lowering blood pressure, decreasing insulin resistance, increasing longevity and decreasing inflammation in the body generally.
There are as many different ways to fast as there are lifestyles, so it’s easy to find a method that will help you improve your health.
The most common and very effective way is to ‘water only’ fast. As its name suggests, this simply involves drinking water only for a set period of time, usually 24 – 36 hrs. The same applies to juice only fasting, though juicing quite often follows a period of water fasting.
Daily fasting is also very effective and with a little organisation, anyone can do this regardless of their work or lifestyle. It is just a matter of having your last meal a little earlier, say 6pm, and your breakfast a little later, say 10am. Eating this way, you will be fasting 16 hours every day.
The benefits?
every day for 16 hours your digestive system gets a 16 hour break from working.
weight loss – less caloric intake – no night time snacks and more mindful eating
lower blood sugar
clear healthy gut
less brain fog
It should go without saying that meals need to be nutrient rich and consist of a good variety of foods:
Juices and smoothies – incorporating selections from above
So why not give it a go? Very little risk (if you have diabetes, thyroid issues etc, get some medical advice first), lots of gain. The key point is to ensure that everything you do eat is going to add to your health, not diminish it.
When I first found out how serious the situation with my own health was, I sought the help of a Naturopath. Those of you who know my story will also know that the doctors opinions and suggestions were frightening and delivered with healthy doses of arrogance.
So what did Lionel my naturopath suggest? Diet, of course. Really?? Some salad is going to fix this? Not even that. It was going to be nothing but water for a couple of days, then juice. Lots of it, lots of variety, mostly vegetable and organic.
It seems that even then, in 2002, we were overfed and undernourished. We had taste, gourmet, class, peer pressure, speed and convenience. We were eating for almost every reason besides nutrition.
Until we find ourselves in a situation that just may cost us our life.
Is it difficult? In the beginning, yes.
Your mind can really start to play tricks on you when you go against the grain of orthodoxy. I’m already really sick, but Im not going to eat anything for two days. Then I’m just going to drink a variety of fresh vegetable juice. Then I’ll add in a little fruit. Then some herbal wormer. Introduce some healing smoothies. We might progress to some salad with some special salad oil. In a couple of months, maybe some salmon with our salad.
You know what? Things begin to change faster than you would believe. Water only and no food for 48hrs can be a great leveller as far as your gut is concerned. You might be starving the good gut bugs but you are also starving the bad ones. Those bad ones that are used to living on sweet carbohydrates like flour and sugar, processed chips, bread, cakes and biscuits, and living in the heavy decay of red meat. The patches of weeds in the rainforest of your gut.
The good forest is still there, even though it has been repressed and over run with weeds. Water gives the whole digestive tract a rest for a couple of days, re-hydrates and flushes. Diluted fresh juice brings easily absorbed nutrients and the right type of insoluble fibre to grow the healthy bacteria. The good bacteria creates and nurtures the gut lining, feeding and healing the cells.
Of course, regressing to old ways of eating processed foods, gluten, flour, sugar etc will take you in the other direction and just as quickly.
I have always kept the practice of mini fasting. It does no harm to have one day of the month where we consume only water (unless of course you have a medical condition that contraindicates this). I also try to have my last (light) meal early in the evening and delay breakfast until 9am. This gives me a nano fast every day where my digestive system can rest for 13-14 hours each night.
Why wait until something is life threatening before we optimise our health? So much money, stress, sadness and indeed lives can be saved if we take the simple step of eating for health over all other reasons. Good food tastes so much better too.
Prove it to yourself starting with this gut healing smoothie that is a great breakfast or an equally good desert!
