In pre-agricultural times, when we humans lived in small migratory bands, there would often be lean times as we would move from one place of abundance to another. These times of scarcity would occur periodically and often would grow more profound while in the depths of winter. It is felt by many, myself included, that these times of intermittent fasting and occasional longer times of fasting would allow our bodies to do a deep self cleaning.
Many of our contemporary health practitioners advocate the benefits of intermittent fasting or times of significantly reduced caloric intake for our health. And the benefits of longer term fasting regimes, like water fasting have long been known within a variety of spiritual communities for the ability to bring exceptional clarity and insight to the practitioner.
I have done extensive fasting in the past, both for reasons of health and for clarity, and have found these experiences to be most profound, leaving me with a feeling of being 'preternaturally clear.' However, in recent years, I have discovered juice fasting, or 'juice feasting,' as it is fondly called by those who have enjoyed it.
A common adage in natural healing advises that we rebuild while we detoxify. And this is what occurs while we juice feast. Here, the reduced caloric intake lets our bodies remove toxins while the large servings of fresh, raw, organic, vegetable juices flood our bodies with the nutrition needed for healthy metabolism and the rebuilding of damaged or worn out body tissues.
Frank and I have long enjoyed adding a pint of fresh, raw, organic, vegetable juices into our daily meal plans. We prefer the juice without the pulp because we can consume so much more nutrition that way: lots and lots of enzymes, minerals, flavonoids, vitamins, and other beneficial phyto-chemicals. The difference is between consuming the equivalent of two stalks of celery and one cucumber versus a whole bunch of celery and several cucumbers along with any number of other leafy greens, all of which would be impossible to eat in a single sitting. Plus the juice is loaded with soluble fiber, which is what our body really needs and we get plenty of other fibrous materials with which to sweep our colons clean in our other foods. So, most mornings, it is our fresh, raw, organic, vegetable juice that we enjoy for breakfast because it gives us such a great nutritional and energy packed start to our day.
This year as the onslaught of holiday foods began to loom ahead, we decided, in early November, to take a different tact in regards to holiday feasting. Instead of risking ill health and distended organs, we made the choice to do what nature has long encouraged us humans to do and began a time of reduced caloric intake. Only this time, in addition, we decided to add the benefit of health building nutrition with juice feasting.
I must tell you, it has been great. We are feeling fantastic. All of the little aches and pains and other signs of inflammation have simply melted away. And, please pardon me for boasting, but I must share that my vision, which has always been good, has progressed to crystal clear. I've been jokingly saying that I can see a mosquito on the arm of a hiker on the mountain, which isn't quite true, but it gives you an idea of the increased level of health that our time of juice feasting is blessing us with.
Of course our loved ones are missing us at the holiday feasts, but our doors are always open to them for a nice cup of herbal tea. And we are delighting in using this time of celebration for detoxification and the rebuilding of our beautiful health.
© Josephine Laing, 2015
As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life. Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.
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