Grasses and flowers are blooming; the sun is higher in the sky.
Seeds are sprouting, the animal kingdom is awakening and looking for a mating partner, weddings and celebrations abound. Little signs in nature show that the seasons are changing, and so are we. It is the time to blossom and we to blossom in turn.
We are a part of nature, and are physically and emotionally connected to the ebb and flow of the seasons and cosmos.
According to the Hebrew calendar and other ancient calendars, spring is the beginning of the year. It is when we start anew, hopefully in a better place than the year before.
I’m towards the end of a one week carrot fast. This means I ate only carrots and drank water for a week. No salt, no seasonings, nothing, just organic carrots. It wasn’t easy. I felt very weak in the middle and craved foods. I assume I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from my different attachments to food. The end result is that I’m feeling physically and emotionally lighter, more focused and energized, clear minded, and serene.
The idea of this diet is to give the body a chance to cleanse itself by reducing food intake to something very specific. This way energy is not focused on digestion of many different foods, and our systems have an opportunity to ‘restart’ and zero out. An important part of alternative holistic medicine is cleansing your body to feel more in tune with yourself as you seek a healthier lifestyle.
Spring is the time to re-emerge and realize our potential.
In order to maximize our manifestation of potential, it is good to “cleanse” ourselves of winter toxins. In this way we create for ourselves a healthy and steady base, and become clean and open vessels for creation.
In a way, we resemble the poisonous snake—many snakes are most dangerous come springtime, when they emerge from winter hibernation. This is because, over the course of winter, they have been building up and concentrating their venom.
In a manner of speaking we do the same. Over the internal winter we build up ‘venom’—Our so-called ‘venom’ is due to the depression and suppression that thrive in the winter when there is less sun and it is cold and rainy. Like the venom of the snake we are most potent in the spring, and can blossom, just like the herbs and trees.
Like the many hibernating animals, our bodies build up layers in order to stay warm through the winter. This is true both on the physical level as well as the emotional and spiritual level. These layers may play a role in protecting us, but they can also weigh us down when it is time to emerge.
In order to enhance our performance it is best to begin with a personal exodus—a sort of internal spring cleaning to liberate oneself and shed these winter layers. Cleansing the old residue and making way to shine anew.
A personal exodus requires first and foremost belief that one can be truly free, and next a conscious decision to move in this direction. It also involves cleansing oneself from toxins on all levels of reality. As individuals our conditions are different than one another and so for each there is a different “cleanse”, yet there are some basic guidelines that are common to most human conditions.
The best place to start is with nutrition, what goes into our body. Eliminating intake of processed foods and intoxicants, for most- reducing intake of animal products, (some need these products for health reasons), changing over to a diet based on whole-organic foods, and eating lots of leafy greens and vegetables will improve the function of the different organs and ultimately enhance our growth, health, and transformation.
There are also diets and fasts for more extreme cleansing such as the Ibn Sina diet, the only rice diet, vegetable juice fasts and many others.
Although these diets are valuable therapeutically, slower and milder processes foster a consciousness of patience and a faith in the wisdom of living with gentler cycles.
Alternative herbal remedies tailored to one’s specific condition can also be of great benefit. Together with a good diet these can get rid of parasites, candida and other foreign invaders and toxins that take harbor in each and everyone of us, and are the root to many health problems.
Another important piece of the puzzle is physical and mental activity. If you eat great, and take a good herbal formula, yet sit in front of the computer in the office all day—of course, you’re missing an important piece of the puzzle. An everyday activity of walking, running, or yoga gets one’s blood and organs moving. Also, any other activity that you enjoy and produces regenerative energy such as spending time with good friends or meditating in the evening sun will be great for one’s process.
Cleansing is a crucial root for the tree of a healthy life–out with the old…
In the words of the ancient prophet Moses, and the modern prophet Bob Marley- Exodus!