Within/Without

Family.... I am so freaking happy this is over!!!!!! I have learned a lot. 1. Diet and exercise does work. Who knew? 2. Raw food diet is so doable. It's not impossibly crazy 3. Where as raw food is doable, I don't necessarily want to do it 4. I love yoga 5. I like the way I feel after walking 6. I want to continue 4 & 5 7. I will continue on high (80% or more) raw 8. Drinking large amounts of water isn't all that bad Since today is my final day on this cleanse, I ain't going out like a punk. In the past, the last day of a fast is usually the day before I planned to end. This time I'm carrying it to the morning. I have already decided how and which what I'm going to break it. A chai latte and maybe a scone from Starbucks. Yeah baby! I did a cardio workout (it was raining) and yoga. It was a heavy upper body session and it lasted 45 minutes. I drank 100 oz of watermelon water. This is what I ate today.... Raisins celery dehydrated watermelon apple Yeah. I know...

Today I start my 5 Tibetan Rites challenge. For those of y’all who are unfamiliar with the 5TR here is a link that explains how it’s done. http://www.freedivers.net/documents/The%205%20Tibetans.pdf This is a form of yoga not to be meant to a substitute for the yoga practice I have come to love and that I’m getting better and better at. These are 5 poses that are designed to rejuvenate not exercise per se. Right now I think I’m going to do it in the morning. Y’all know with me that’s subject to change. Especially since June is going to be a crazy month for me. There is S&P mid month and then less than a week later…… ! I’m keeping that to myself for a minute. Let me just say I am ecstatic! So this month as far as fitness goes, I’m still walking and still doing yoga. I’ve put the weights down. They did nothing. All that walking has to be some type of lower body muscle workout. I mean joggers don’t necessarily do a lot of lower body work. I used to run in high school and I never did a...

Peace family! I am a long time vegetarian. A decade at this present writing. I have been vegan and a raw foodist during the decade. So I'm healthy, Right? Let's see.... I eat food from the grocery store and farmer's market. Not so much organic. I'm not loaded. But I do what I can. I drink a lot of filtered water. Why filtered? Because other water comes in plastic and plastic is bad for the environment and toxins leach into said water when it gets warm. But the filter works right? Face value because I have no clue how to check. I try not to use household cleaners that are just a chemical potion. I mix my own stuff. Is it better? Who knows. Am I really preventing toxins from entering my home? The bottom line is this.... As healthy as I try to be, the way life is, is that there chemical, toxins and impurities that are unavoidable. Face it. The planet is screwed up. So What of my health? Fingers crossed. Peace

It's almost over y'all!!! I am really very excited that I'm almost through with this cleanse. Yes I feel better. Yes I look better. But I am craving all manner of cooked foods. It's worse than it was at the beginning. Then the detox was all physical. Now I'm feeling tortured by the loss of food. Sigh...... Back to business. Last night I started a liver flush. I've done it before and got stones. Now I just get powdery looking stuff. I always do a liver flush at the end of a fast or cleanse. Fasting can cause the liver to retain stones since you generally don't ingest foods that need bile. That bile backs up in the liver and causes stones. I got stone release the 1st time I did it, but every flush since then yields only chaff. Its cool. I'll take the bowel cleansing as the best part. I do it quarterly. Here is the recipe I always use. http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/huldas_recipe.asp Since I got the booty squirts, I have not exercised today. I'll mak...

Peace, I started out strong and piddled out. I got in all the workouts early this morning. Then I fell asleep. I am just coming into full consciousness and I am hungry. Know why? I haven't eaten all day. 45 min of walking, 30 min of yoga, and the lower body/ab work with no food. I am rightfully dizzy. I'm getting up going to Wendy's for a salad and then to Kroger for some grapefruit for the liver flush I'm going to start tomorrow evening. I'm a end this cleanse right. I see pancakes in my future..... This is what I plan to eat......... Wendy's Cesar side salad, 2 of 'em Apple Grapes And more sleep.... Peace

Peace Family (and all other lurkers good or bad....) I have vowed to not be lazy today. I may not be updating on this fast until after it's over. I don't do the meat of my updates at home. I'm usu sally too tired and just relieved to be home that I can't think like that. I just pull up what I wrote at work and make any needed adjustments and change the tenses around. I am beginning this update bright and early at work on this day 26. Since I'll be off starting tomorrow for the holiday, its unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely that I will be updating until Tuesday. Tuesday will be that party day!!!! As far as today's workouts went.... I did the Crazy 690 this morning, and did yoga when I got home. I will be done with working out by 7 pm. I'm really tired. The thing that always kills me is I will be so tired and falling asleep early every day preceding a work day. But on the day that is the actual end of my week, I am chilling like a villain. I don't kno...

Good Morning Good People, I'm a bit tired this morning. But I have some catching up to do so I shall do it..... Why did I wait until the end of this cleanse to get all lazy? That is what I have been. I normally start my post sometime during the day and post it at night. Yesterday I just ain't feel like it. I'm so close to the end, I would be less accepting of messing up now than closer to the beginning. Well I did my exercise and I did the yoga. I didn't walk. And that's the part I like almost the best. I drove to work yesterday.... had everything to do with the fact that my MARTA card ran out on Monday and I refuse to add a weeks work of fare to ride it only 2 days. It would cost $8 to ride for 2 days and $4 to park. If I added a week that would be $15. So you see... I know I should walk when I get home, but once I'm in the house I ain't leaving. Plus evening yoga makes me tired. If it ain't done before I settle in, it ain't happening. But I'm n...

Helloooooooooo.............. I'm feeling surprisingly goofy this morning. For real. It's surprising. Not so much that I feel goofy, I feel that often but that I feel it this morning. I have had drama this weekend. I lost one of my step mothers. My family dynamic is very different from the average family. I had 2 stepmothers that I was close to. 1 is still alive. This step mother I have known the longest. I don't remember not knowing her. Her daughter and I are the same age and we were raised like sisters, going to the same schools and activities. this stepmother and I used to go swimming together, just the two of us. And she used to volunteer at my school. But she was VERY sick and suffering mightily so the best thing was for her to return to the Essence because there was nothing that could be done to relieve her pain. So I am happy that she has been released from it all. But now I worry about my sister and feel trapped by the 1000 miles that separates us. I had other dram...

Peace Asiatics! (Teehee) And all the positive people out there.... Today is day 20. Wow. Almost 3 weeks into this and I don't feel punished. I feel good and strong. I am more impressed with the mental clarity that I have. I don't see any other big changes. God says that there must be changes since I am losing inches. Other than slight ease in my clothes, I don't see them. Two of my patients said that I look like I'm losing weight. The female doesn't come int he office frequently so I really like this comment. The male was macking so I'm thinking..... Someone finally said, I'm glowing. I was waiting on that one. But the zit between my eyes is all I see when I look in the mirror. My carpool friend says that I walk faster than I used to. I remember having to run to keep up with him. Now he begs me to slow down. Earlier this week I ran up a flight of stairs to catch a train. That was really unlike me. I want that trend to continue. I really like the kundalini yo...

Peace! Do y'all remember the Eddie Murphy stand up routine where he was joking on older women? Eddie Said they usually say one of 2 things over and over again: "What time is it?" and "I'm cold." Well it's official... I'm cold. I have been cold for the last few days. I'd say a week or so. I took my oral temperature twice this morning. When I woke up and after yoga. I am not 98.7*. More like 98* and holding.That explains a lot. I have been freezing at work to the point where I have gotten vociferous about it and really got my complain on with the building contractors. But a cold body temperature means slow metabolism. I don't want that. Curious... Isn't all the exercise supposed to warm me up? And not that I'm trying to lose weight, but one of my 2010 goals is to normalize my metabolism from all the chronic dieting I have been doing throughout my life. That's why during this fast I have been nibbling food all day long, to keep my bl...

This has been a topic that has concerned me for a minute. I have built with my naturoupath, I have concidered this using my background in medicine, I have read books and done online searches. I have even experimented on myself. We need to be concerned and mindful of what we advocate a s a tonic. One of the home remedies I first heard of when I was a child was apple cider vinegar. It could cure all for what ails you. But I was warned by the old people to not over do this or take it long term. As I got older and did the Knowledge to the wonderful uses of ACV, I came to realize that only a certain kind of person was advocating it's daily use. Hmmmm..... Furthermore, my naturopath did not advocate it'sdaily use. Use it as long as you needed it, and there are legitimate reasons to employ ACV, and end it. ACV is a stong acid. Our bodies are alkaline. ACV does not restore order, it forceful cleansing agent. Now.... There are some people who are more acidic by nature than other people....

What's really good? Today I actually have un-cooked meals to eat as opposed to loose fruit and vegetables. And a big salad kind of falls into that category. Yesterday I prepared food. I work in a doctor's office in a hospital building. For those of y'all that work outside the industry, one of the perks of working for physicians (which I do not) is that they get lunch or breakfast catered nearly every day by pharmaceutical companies. And not just sandwiches. They get real restaurant food from all over the city. Unless the doctor is out of the office, the employees can expect this courtesy, daily. The offices in the building where I work set up their break rooms to accommodate this. I work in a dental office. I get bupkiss. But I have befriended the people all around me so if I was truly starving, I could get a plate. I said all that to say, yesterday afternoon, I smelled fajitas. Or at least that's what it smelled like to me. And it has ben forever since I had them. When...

Peace Good People! All of y'all that's following my journey, and I appreciate it, not one of y'all have asked, "Serenity what is Raising the Rod?" What? Y'all already know? Well, for those of you who don't know, meet Precise Infinite Peace Allah.... My Educator and my God. Since I got this from him and he got it from his Educator and so on and so on..... From my perspective he is the best knower of what and how we do. Precise..... Peace to the Nation of Gods and Earths and all the positive people of the universe. I come in the righteous name of Precise Infinite Peace Allah and I've been asked by the Earth to share a little with you about the tradition of "Raising the Rod." Raising the Rod is a tradition which has it's origins in our nation all the way back to when Allah was sent to Matteawan State Hospital, circa 1965-1967. While there, Allah had a particular dream one night and from that dream he drew up the determined idea of institutin...

Yeesh! Okay people. Here is my update from Day 14-17! I have been sick. Real sick. I managed to get out of the bed on Saturday, but was in bed all day Friday and Sunday. You know. I ate very little, didn't exercise at all and drank very little water. I feel better today. Good thing since I have to work. When I'm sick I tend to hibernate and only eat enough to keep headaches at bay. On Friday I ate an apple and some nuts. Same on Sunday. Saturday, I had some rejuvelac a big salad and lots of water. I drank a lot of the rejuvelac and it really cleaned me out on Sunday. But it came at a price. Weakness. So today I'm back on the good foot When I awoke this morning, I did a cardio workout (I suspected rain and wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk) and the Crazy 690. When I got home I did some yoga. I had 20 8oz glasses of water. I supposed since I didn't really drink any water this weekend, I might have begun to be dehydrated. I checked my measurements on Saturday. I l...

You hear so much about it. It’s good. It’s bad. Basically, it’s confusing. One thing that is generally agreed upon is that it is a phyto-estrogen. Meaning it’s a plant source of an estrogen like source, close enough to act like estrogen in the body. Excess estrogen has been linked to fibroids and certain forms of cancer. (http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/FactSheet/Diet/fs1.phyto.cfm) I as a non-menopausal woman, make enough estrogen naturally. I don’t need a supplement. Men neither need supplements either. They are developing hips. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-dangers-of-soy-for-men.htm) Also think about this… if soy is acting in the body as a hormone then it is through off not only that hormone, but all hormones. Hormones run the body. So it is in effect screwing with the electrical system of the body. Soybeans are on the list for genetically modified foods. They are roundup ready. GMO’s are such a new technology that long term effects are not known. (http://www.newswith...

Peace Y'all... Day 13 was not a good day. In fact it was pretty bad. Very very bad. Is 13 a bad omen? I have been feeling great all week long. But I don't know what happened last night. Remember when I said I felt like I was coming down with something? This is it. Yesterday, I was walking to the station from work like I have been doing for the last 3 weeks, and I felt ridiculously tired all of a sudden. Superimpose that with the errands I had to run yesterday. Now I feel like hog shit! Not just nasty, but despised. I have no appetite today. No energy and if I see something nasty I will gag a bit. This morning I tossed my cookies into a trash can because there was a man behind me cough up something that you could here rolling around in his chest first. When he did spit it out finally, I could hear it hit the ground! It was over. The water and banana I had for breakfast went in said trash. I snacked the rest of the day. I did no exercise at all. I felt so bad upon awakening that ...

Peace Folks! Alrighty now! I'd like to welcome y'all to day 12. Knowledge Wisdom abbt Understanding. Peeeeace! I am in a good mood today. I feels good! I wanna sing, shout and dance. I should go looking for a revival. I used to like them joints before KOS. You can go and act a fool and folks give you fried chicken! What's got me in such a good mood? Turtles! Yes Goodness! I knew that you could make raw desserts. I have made a few in the past. But none of them were any good. I don't care how much chocolate you add to an avocado, it doesn't make a convincing mousse. But turtles have given me a new outlook on this diet. I was never going to be happy living without convincing chocolate. And I am all about doing things myself rather than paying for stuff so it had to be something I could make myself. Y'all are unfamiliar with turtles? Let me explain... Turtles and Katydids are candy. Pecans topped with caramel topped with chocolate. Mmmmm..... It is really an adult k...

Peace! What is the Science? Can you tell I'm finally doing better. Much better. Everything seems to be getting easier. I'm a long time faster and I know that after the initial detox you feel much better afterward. I finally hit afterward. The spooky thing is I'm not really hungry. My appetite has severely decreased. Severely. Last week I was eating anything that was raw that happened to come in snatching distance. Now I am becoming more discriminate. I can tell you this.... I am sick of salads. Salads will always be the fall back food. But I an sick of all the damn crunching. I do feel some ease in my clothes. That's a plus, but not the goal. The goal was to get healthy and clean myself out. If I should happen to lose a few pounds in the process that's okay. I'm not getting on the scale though. If I do then it will turn into a diet rather than my intended. I have come to the foggy point. My mind is not useful land for my employer or anyone that wants to have a w...

Peace Good People! I am very encouraged!!!! I had a good weekend with my mother and god(non-righteous)-sister. It was Mother's Day and normally my mother doesn't respect my decisions. When I walk into a room where she is, I become 6 years old to her. It's disgusting. When I was married I was able to become a little older for a time, but when my marriage ended I went back to being 6 again. But I stuck to my guns this weekend, despite her every effort to get me to eat her food and I maintained! We went up there on Saturday, and I packed food for that. On Sunday, I was still asleep when she wanted to go to Shoney's (with their breakfast bar!) for breakfast. I brought my own food for breakfast. For dinner we went to Golden Corral. Normally, I hate buffets, but there were extenuating circumstances. But I ain't mad.... this time. Back to the grind.... I think the detox is over. I finally feel good and am getting all that good goodness that one gets after a long fasting se...

Day 6 is here. Whoo hoo! This is going to be a more complete synopsis than usual. I work a half day tomorrow; and since I usually do these updates at work, I won't have time to write one. This weekend is Mother's Day and I will be traveling to bless my mother this weekend and won't have time to do my updates then either. So I am going to get all my thoughts out now. Daily this is becoming easier. Detox has been terrible, but I believe I'm over the hump. I think it took longer to detox because I'm not fasting but changed my diet to a more healthy one. When I fast from all food, I usually have a hellacious 1st 3 days but everything else is gravy. One of the things that have really slapped me upside the head is that the prescribed laws that I have made for myself will work better if I allow myself latitude. Who said that yoga must be the 1st thing in the morning? The reason I put it there was because I wanted to open my day with some stretching and flex-working. But yo...

It has come to my attention, that I might be a tad negative about this RtR experience.... I'm a try to be better. Deep breathe....... >>>BIG SMILE! The 5th day was better than the previous 3. The 1st day was the best, no detox. Things are starting to come back to normal. No headaches, minor exercise related aches and pains. Not as tired. Not as hungry (although I ate all day long!). Drank all the water too. I had a minor morning snafu, where I forgot to take the water jug off the roof of the truck and put it inside the truck. So you know what happened. It fell off and I drove over it, accidentally. Oh well. I have like 8 more of those containers I have noticed that I am not ravenously hungry at night. Not like in the morning. Actually my appetite wanes once I'm off work. So when I go home, I can get stuff done. That tomato sandwich I have been eating in the mornings with reckless abandon, will sit for me unrecognized at night. What's up with that? Also, I drank 15 ...

What's the science good people? Me? I got one word for you... And its a biggun.... Exhaustion! Yo... I am not a newbie faster. I get gully with my fasting. 2 years ago I fasted on just juice for 46 days until I fainted. I ain't new to raw either. I was raw the better part of the Summer of 2006. So why am I sooooooooo tired? For real. I feel like I'm drugged. I was less tired yesterday. I went to sleep last night around 10:20. I was watching a new Law and Order and I didn't even get to the DA part. I woke up at 4:30 and hit the snooze until 4:50. I awoke tired and nothing changed that. I did 30 minutes of yoga and and that didn't wake me up. I want to skip everything and go to sleep. But you know that's not going to happen. I got work to do. Detox sucks. I fell asleep at 8:30! Right in the middle of a History channel program on Ancient Aliens. It was a new episode referencing Zecheria Stichin (sp?). I read his book on the 12th planet and they were building about...

Welcome to day 3. So far so good. This was my first day to work with all this going on. This is where the eating 6 times a day is clearly implemented. When I'm at home, I can eat when I feel like it therefore I don't follow any strict eating plan. But at work I can only eat when the boss allows. So I have to eat when I can, rather than when want. Maybe I should at home. Might prevent those headaches. The headache is gone. I'm so thrilled about that I almost thanked the mystery god. You don't get how much I dislike headaches. I mean I really do. Can't escape them. I drove to work today because there is a flash flood warning/watch out there until nightfall. I looked like night fall all day long. That means no walking to the station (1.5 miles). I managed to walk 5 days last week and logged in 8 miles total of power walking for the week. I didn't expect to walk everyday and even told myself that when the weather was bad I wouldn't walk. So that was there alread...

This is my official first update. I will do the updates the day after so I can journal what actually went on. Even though its still Day 2, I'm done eating and getting ready for bed. So here goes.... I feel like crap and I wanted to share. I have a headache. A bad headache. An all day headache. I only get headaches a day or two before my period. I have always joked it is a reminder for me to go buy pads. My cycle isn't due for 2 weeks so this is detox. My body hurts too. Thighs are killing me. Sunday is a complete rest day. So no yoga, no weights, no walking, no nothing. Just rest. And I need the rest because I am exhausted. From what? No clue. I slept a good part of the day yesterday. I assume its detox. I saw a picture of my face that I took on Friday and I must say. I look tired. I didn't feel tired when I took that picture, actually I had recently woken up, but I had dark circles under my eyes. I'm hoping that the raw food and exercise puts a kibosch on that foolishn...

And here we go…… It’s May 1st! My first day of officially Raising the Rod. Whoo Hoo. I’m being facetious btw. Just because I now it’s good for me doesn’t mean I like it. Yesterday I REALLY said goodbye to food. Really. I went to Burger King for a veggie burger combo and then went across the street to McDonalds for fries floating in mayo and a hot apple pie. I had lots of coffee, a muffin, a bag of chips finished off a casserole and drank about 2 L of Coke. I love coke. I awoke bloated and still full. The one thing I did not do, was prepare for today. I was mentally prepared but that’s it. I had nothing ready as far as food goes. And the one thing about raw fooding is you MUST prepare or you will end up eating 5 bananas. So the better part of my afternoon was spent un-cooking. I’m shooting for 6 small meals a day. I started fermented nut cheese, flax chips, marinated mushrooms, fruit salad, and kimchi. I will be in a good spot come Wednesday. One of the thing I find interesting is since...