Feeling Stuck? Fasting to get moving again....

The best way to get things moving in your life – body, mind and spirit – is to get them moving in your body. Of course one of the most efficient ways to do that is to fast….

Just ask me, I have done so many over the years and it really works.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is – what exactly is a fast and what do I eat/drink/take/do while I am fasting? You would think the answer to that is quite simple – and it is in a way.

However…it all depends on what kind of a fast you want to do and that depends on what you would like to accomplish during your time spent detoxing and cleansing.

In one way, they all accomplish the same or similar thing…a fast of any sort will move you to new ground. And for me, the most important thing about movement is to also find myself on higher ground.

Right now I am fasting…I will do a few days on only water and some herbal teas (which is basically water with nature thrown in). But, in the past I have done juice fasts, Master Cleanses, herbal tea fasts, liquid only fasts, ….you name it, I have done it.

I guess I have progressed over the years to wanting something really simple and clear when I am fasting. So, for me – water is it. Can’t get any clearer, simpler or easier then that.

The purpose of my fasting is to clear out the debris – to continue the process of unblocking, unlocking and restructuring my energy field. Which in turn transforms my body, mind and ultimately my life.

If you haven’t yet done a fast…start out slowly – try 12 hours on herbal teas, water or light juices (homemade of course!). I guarantee you will feel better, more in control, grounded and almost certainly less stuck or blocked.

Go ahead, start a fast today and see where it takes you.

April

Elemental Forces - Grasping the Nettle

I am still on a bit of a nettle, dandelion, young shoots and leaves diet here since I finished my last fast. I can’t seem to get enough of them and have found ways to include some of these delectable weeds in nearly every dish this week.

For everyone in the house and beyond – even the barn animals are getting lots in their feeds….

Tonight we just finished a meal of bean burgers – with (you guessed it) sautéd nettles and dandelion mixed into the blend. There were delicious! Of course anywhere you might use spinach or greens you can use nettles which taste even better.

Then, because I had fresh nettles this morning and did not want them to wilt I made a big pot of soup for tomorrow as well – Mung Bean Nettle Soup with pumpkins and carrots. It smells and looks lovely and I can’t wait to try it…

We even started off this morning with a jug of fresh Nettle & Dandelion juice – we refer to it here as Butterfly Juice, as opposed to Goose Juice (both of which contain my Energy Medicine Remedy) – some of the names of the juices I make for the market…..

So – right now I am taking stock of how I feel physically, mentally, energetically, after getting nettles and so many fresh greens into me over the past few days – I would have to describe the feeling as grounded yet lifted up.

If that makes any sense?

Or perhaps my body is giving me more of an indication of a rise in some elemental forces deep inside of my tissues and cells. My energy field has changed – I am stronger both inside and out and my outlook is better.

Life marches on.

April 

Spring Nettle & Vegetable Detox Soup - Strengthen Body & Energy Field

This is the time of year when the baby nettles are in full growth – but not yet gone into flower. These lovely herbs are one of natures gifts to us during our spring time detox to cleanse the blood, boost our iron and minerals as well as strengthen the energy field.

I have long used this herb in conjunction with a few others to help myself and clients bring back a damaged or broken energy field as well as to enable energy blocks and stuck areas to move up to re-pattern.

Nettle is a versatile, healthy, natural and energetic marvel of the Universe when it comes to healing herbs. I use it for everything from feeding my goats their mash, in soups and stews, herbal teas, vegetarian rennet for cheese making, herbal medicine – have I left anything out?

The growing tips and stems can easily be harvested by simply taking a pair of scissors and cutting about 10 cm off the top of each plant in a nettle patch. This way, they will regrow quickly and you get the best leaves for cooking and eating.

I like my nettle mixed in with vegetables when I make a light detox soup – I usually only have a few ingredients in this type of meal but it also depends on what I have on hand to be used up. So, you can be very creative here....

Most vegetables are healthy and healing so throw in what you have! LOL

Today I started out by washing my nettles, removing any leaves that had brown or black edges on them and then letting them sit in water to clear out any bugs or dirt. These are to be added to the soup only for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

Then I sautéd some onions, fresh baby leeks from the garden, garlic and spices (I used ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper) in a little water and olive oil. I like the flavour they give to any soup or stew.

Next I chopped, sliced and diced a few vegetables I had on hand – today I had pumpkin, fennel and carrots – these were all added into a small pot with some water and a few pieces of seaweed.

I let the vegetables cook until softened and then added the sautéd onion mixture (top up a little more water if needed). This cooked for another 10 minutes and then the nettles were added.

I like to leave the soup to cook only long enough to soften and take away the sting from the nettles. Cooking too long would also destroy some of their health benefits –so 7 to 10 minutes more is long enough.

Once the soup was done – I turned it off and let cool for a while - I blended it a little for our taste tester. This soup is nice on it’s own or with something light like couscous and a piece of crusty bread.

April

Nettle tops from the garden

More About Herbs

Today I am fasting and not cooking meals, however I have a pile of fruit that needs to be made into jams and I hope to get to that later today. Right now I am enjoying this post feast feeling of quietness after a big weekend.

I am also sipping away on a herbal tea blend that I made up for myself last night in my clinic. When I was making up some teas, it got me thinking about how I go about using herbs, selecting them and just knowing which ones need to be used and when.

My own herbal tea blend

For me, as an intuitive, I just 'know' what is right, often without needing to know why - our bodies often choose the medicine but also sometimes the herbs choose us. My daughter talks to the herbs in our garden all the time (I have an extensive medicinal herb garden) and explains to me how to listen to them.

Of course, this is something that I have been doing for a long time - and it is refreshing to see and hear from a child's perspective, because it reminds me of many things that I now take for granted. These herbs are part of our legacy as humans, we have evolved and developed together with many plants whose medicine is the only language our cells speak.

Marigold in the garden

My approach to using and blending herbs is quite different to other people because of this fact - I remember them from lifetimes I have lived and worked using herbs. But, I also hear them, feel their vibration and understand something deeper about the way energy medicine is meant to be. To me this is their magic...

All things have a vibration (even if it's a stolen one like plastic) at least at the beginning of it's life and this is what we are working with when we ingest, digest and absorb properties such as vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals especially from the highly refined energies in herbs. 

It is this vibration that can be altered, changed, interfered with and in many ways broken (the same as our own energy fields) during processing, handling, shipping and yes, through negativity. The higher your own vibration raises through diet change, exercise, spiritual clearing and detox, the more sensitive you are to energetic frequency, especially from food and anything that you might ingest.

When using herbs as medicine, they will work far better when they are handled lovingly, gently and not processed by machines. The processing of our 'foods' has taken over everything but equally has far reaching consequences when it comes to the use of herbs. 

Well, off to make some more tea with gently handled herbs!

April

My packet of herbs with my own blend using gingko, elder flower, marigold, chamomile and dandelion