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Holistic Detox
A Guide to Physical and Emotional Detox. There are a few chapters to be finished but the main body of information is to be found below. HOLISTIC DETOX. By Paul Terrell, Principal of The School of Inversion Therapy. Index. A. What is detox and why do it? B. Deciding on what program is right for you now, and in the future for maintenance. C. Commercial programs and products versus self administered methods and natural/herbal/mineral cleansers. D. Preparation. E. Fasting. F. Colon Cleanse. Herbs and colonics. G. Heavy Metal Cleanse. H. Parasite Cleanse. I. Kidney Flush. J. Liver Flush. Coffee enema. K. Replacing depleted nutrients. L. Optimizing digestion. Raw Food. M. Breathing, drinking, exercise, massage, therapies. N. Quitting and Cleansing from Pharmaceutical and Recreational Drugs. O. Emotional Detox. P. Maintaining a Clean System. Exercise, Nutrition, Spiritual Practice. A. What does detoxing mean and why do we need it? What detox means is that there are more toxins leaving the body than you are putting back in. In a natural world we don’t need help to detox. In a natural world, the human body removes the by-products of cell metabolism through the lungs, skin, urine and excrement. The organs involved are the cells, blood stream, lymph, digestive system, liver, gall bladder and kidneys. Human's original design is to be free from toxins and eat pure, mostly raw. If you are not putting any junk in, then your own cells can manage the detox without any help. What has changed? 1. There are now heavy metals, plastics, pesticides, hormones, pharmaceuticals and 40,000 new, man made, untested and potentially poisonous chemicals in the air, water, rain, all food, especially processed food, drinks, cleaning products, make-up, shampoos, toothpaste, building materials, toys, clothes, fabrics, household and office machines, plastic products, rubber products, electronics, cars, trains, airplanes, buses and air conditioning equipment to name a few. If you don’t use any of these then you don’t need to detox. The pollutants include: pesticides, weedkillers, antibiotics, preservatives, colouring agents, pharmaceutical drugs, glues, lead, mercury, radiation, heavy metals and industrial chemicals of many kinds. 2. Stress levels are higher and the body releases more toxins in the body interfering with our natural ability to detox. Why does our system not cope naturally with all these chemicals? 1. To a certain extent our systems can cope with removing some man made pollutants, but not all. After all, evolution has not prepared us for these new chemicals. 2. If we are not at a high level of good health or sick and diseased then our natural detox system is not working optimally and needs assistance in returning to a functional level. 3. Many of us are using pharmaceutical or recreational drugs, cigarettes or alcohol on a regular basis. Our bodies cannot cope in detoxing at a certain level of habitual toxic input. 4. Some people are working in environments with raised toxicity such as factories, newly built offices, or living in towns and cities or near industrial activity. The intake of pollutants will, again, be on a regular basis and may become an overload for the system resulting in a build up in the body. Are there signs that we need to detox? There are common sense signs such as: Poor input management. We are putting in a lot of toxins such as cigarettes, alcohol, saturated fats, factory produced meat, colourings, preservatives etc.. We are using a lot of chemical products in the home, shampoos, toothpaste, deoderants etc. and pharmaceutical or recreational drugs. The digestive system is not working optimally, bloating, gas, pains, diarrhea, constipation etc.. Tiredness, allergies, easily catching colds and flu, overweight, short of breath, easily getting sick, darkness around the eyes etc. The Benefits of Being Free of Toxins. Wellbeing. High resistance to disease and sickness. High energy on every level. Detox Methods. 1) Education in healthy living. 2) Resting the organs through fasting. 3) Promoting and stimulating elimination of toxins through the intestines, liver, kidneys and skin. 4) Cleansing the colon, small intestine and stomach. 5) Replacing or rebalancing the digestive systems natural flora and fauna ( bacteria, amoebas, yeasts, fungi etc. ) 6) Removal of heavy metals and parasites. 7) Flushing the liver and kidneys to improve function. 8) Improving circulation of the blood and lymph. 9) Regularly exercising and stretching the body to improve function of cell elimination, blood circulation, oxygen exchange at the lungs, elimination of CO2, reduce stress etc.. Massage, saunas, hydrotherapy, chi gong, yoga, tai chi etc. 10) Drinking plenty of good quality water. 11) Breathing well all day long as a habit...short and effective inhalation and a long exhalation, in order to maintain high levels of oxygenation in all the cells.. 12) Replacing depleted essential minerals, vitamins, enzymes, proteins, oils, microbes etc.. 13) Regularly eating clean foods that are suitable for maintaining high level health. 14) Regular and sufficient sleep. Usually at least six hours. Many people need eight. What is meant by, “ Holistic Detox” ? There are many concepts of detoxification ranging from cleaning the blood, cleansing the large intestine or more widely, removing all toxins from the body. By Holistic Detox I mean that we intend to remove toxins from the mind/emotion complex as well as the physical body. In any case, how easy is to carry out these cleanses if we do not first have the self confidence and discipline. It is unlikely that we will manage our detox program if we are depressed and addicted to coffee/alcohol/sugar etc.. If treating sickness was a matter of fixing the human bio-robot or removing symptoms then we would all be healthy by now due to modern science. At the root of ill-health and disease are life-style choices and environmental pressures. Aiding the bodies natural detox system is an easy way to increase health. The Holistic Model of the human being and health is radically different from the allopathic model. In the allopathic model, health is regarded as the absence of symptoms. In the Holistic Model true health would mean, firstly, experiencing contentment and equanimity, then having a positive outlook on life and lastly having as effective an immune system as possible, balance in the nervous, endocrine, digestive, structural and cardiovascular systems and having the skills to maintain this high level health oneself. According to this model it is awareness, education and personal growth that will take us into the realms of high level health. This can only be done by taking personal responsibility. The first rule of health for adults. At high level well-being the chances of disease are minimal or vastly reduced. The cost to the health system would be vastly reduced by education and raised awareness. What constitutes a Detox Program? Anything from: Fasting for a day ( to allow your natural detox to work more efficiently in the absence of more toxins coming in and energy lost to digestion ) to: Spa weekend detox with diet, exercise, massage, sauna, herbs etc., to: 15 day/30 day herbal detox plans with or without fasting/diet. Lengthy programs involving parasite detox, liver cleanse, herbs, colon cleans, heavy metal cleans, complete change of diet for ever with regular fasting and exercise taking perhaps up to one year or more and continuing at a less intense level for life. Exercise, Yoga, Pilates, Gym, Massage, Breathing training etc. Mental/emotional detox. Life change through meditation, mind mastery, emotional and psychological therapies, healing etc. Combinations of the above. B. Deciding on what program is right for you now, and in the future for maintenance. We are all different at many levels: 1. Degree and type of toxicity, 2. State of physical health, 3. State of mental/emotional health, 4. Age, pregnancy etc. 5. Life style habits and choices: Eating and drinking, exercise, social and work life, environmental stresses both chemical and mental/emotional. Because of these differences a detox program and a maintenance program will look different for everyone. The more information we have about our own condition and about how detoxing works the better we can be at judging what we need. This article is designed to help readers make informed decisions about what is appropriate for them as individuals and to supply the instructions on how it is done. So firstly, assess yourself on points 1 to 5. 1. Are you, or have you been taking in toxins in large amounts or regularly? Which? 2. What is your present state of health? Are you strong and well enough to do fasting and for how long or often? How would your system cope with a kidney flush for example, or a colon cleanse? 3. Do you need support in your program or are you in your power as far as understanding, making decisions and carrying them through? 4. Age has little to with detoxing in itself but children hopefully do not need to do it and special care must be taken as their systems might not be so robust or developed as an adults. Pregnant women should avoid quite a lot of the cleanses and flushes. Early elimination is not to be encouraged. 5. If stress is high and your life style exposes you to many toxins then perhaps you need to make some changes in your life in preparation for your detox. You will definitely need to make changes if you are later to maintain your cleanliness. Making life style changes always involves mental/emotional adjustments, reprogramming, self enquiry and/or therapy. Because of these individual variable factors we either need to educate ourselves which is the purpose of this text and/or to seek professional advice. That said we can use good information culled from the internet, books and magazines as well as our common sense and design our own program. Here are some guidelines: 1. For those in general good health and with good discipline. Do some fasting, colon cleans, more exercise and improve your dietary habits. If you like the results why not take it further and do the liver flush and maybe kidney flush. 2. For those in general good health or better and who want to reach the top in terms of high level, optimum health. Plan to do the whole program set out in this text and give yourself a year to do it in so that you can do it thoroughly and without being stressed. 3. For those who are suffering some form of sickness or disease or are overweight then talk with your doctor about your plans to start a detox program and see if the advice they give makes sense to you. Take advice from a qualified nutritionalist (preferably not one whose main income is from selling one single product, or a limited range of products). Go slowly and start with the lightest, easiest form. For instance, if you do the colon cleanse with herbs, do the short, 15 day, version with the gentle herbs. If you like it and feel good you can then go for the strong pills, 30 day version later. Use your common sense. When you start exercising after a long break and you are overweight then take it very slowly because you need to look after your heart. So what follows is a cookbook of detox recipes distilled from the best of the experience and knowledge that I could discover over the last few years of my investigations and researches. Use your own experience, knowledge and discrimination in using what you find here. C. Commercial programs and products versus self administered methods and natural/herbal/mineral cleansers. Cost. If you can afford to have knowledgeable professionals take care of your program, they have a good reputation and you trust them then you will have good support . If you are on a limited budget you will find that a complete detox program is amazingly inexpensive but will require more willpower and discipline. It might even be cheaper than your normal spending on food if you incorporate regular fasting. Remember that anyone selling products has a vested interest in promoting the product so checking consumer feedback is a good idea regarding products. Time consuming. Doing your own research and designing your own detox plan requires an investment of time and study as well as discipline. If you don’t have these, the self help method will be difficult. D. Preparation. 1. Learn as much as you can about the detox process. This will help you plan to detox your body in a way that is best for you, as well as mentally prepare you for what to expect. Take the following things into consideration:
2. Take note of how you feel before the detox. Record these notes in a detox journal. Be sure to include both mental and physical perceptions, as you will want to use them to assess the progress of your detox. 3. Stock your kitchen with foods you will use during your detox. Additionally, throw out or hide foods that are not included in your detox diet. If your detox plan includes supplements, make sure you have the supplements you will need on hand. Plan your menu for the week and make time to buy groceries. If you don’t normally buy organic, look for local farmers’ markets, health food stores, or grocery stores with a good selection of organic foods. If you’re not able to buy all produce organic, get a fruit and vegetable wash to help rid your produce of pesticide residues, waxes, and other undesirable chemicals. 4. Change your eating habits in preparation for your detox diet. Scale down the amount of processed and fatty foods that you eat in favor of fresh fruits and vegetables, get into the habit of drinking a glass of water every 2 to 3 hours and cut back on caffeine, refined sugar and alcohol. The sooner you begin to acclimate your body to the changes in diet required by a detox, the more comfortable you will be as you detox your body. Drink at least 8 glasses of clean water, preferably not in plastic bottles. We recommend using water filters in your home instead. Enjoy these foods freely—all organic variety, please:
Foods to Remove from Diet
5. Quit smoking. Smoking introduces a number of harmful toxins into your system, and is detrimental to any detox plan. 6. Get plenty of rest. You will undergo physical, emotional, and mental changes as you detox your body, and these changes may cause sleep disturbances. Make sure you are well rested before you begin your detox. 7. Minimize use of chemical-based household cleaners and personal health care products (cleansers, shampoos, deodorants and toothpastes), and substitute natural alternatives. 8. Another deterrent to good health is stress, which triggers your body to release stress hormones into your system. While these hormones can provide the "adrenaline rush" to win a race or meet a deadline, in large amounts they create toxins and slow down detoxification enzymes in the liver. So it's a good idea to detox stressful life situations along with detoxifying your body. Yoga, Qigong and meditation are simple and effective ways to relieve stress by resetting your physical and mental reactions to the inevitable stress life will bring. 9. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing the water to run on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes. 10. Sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration. 11. Dry-brush your skin or try detox foot spas/foot baths to remove toxins through your pores. Special brushes are available at natural products stores. CANCER DETOX AND DIET. The best information I know of is available from http://www.canceractive.com More detox info. Short and to the point. http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/foods-that-detox-the-body/ Also good info from Cathy Wong. http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/Detox_Diet_Plan.htm The important part for beginners is...How to prepare for a detox. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/detoxcleansing/a/before_you_detox.htm For those of you who don't know about NaturalNews.com and the Health Ranger then I suggest you sign up for the regular news letters. This is the detox page and it is really thorough. I highly recommend you have this page bookmarked if you are interested in detox. http://www.naturalnews.com/detox.html Here is a great site with loads of info. http://www.rawfoodlife.com/#axzz2CKWBkiWz E. Fasting What is Fasting? Fasting is a period of abstinence from all food or specific items. Fluids are consumed in sufficient quantity to satisfy thirst and physiologic requirements. During the absence of food, the body will systematically cleanse itself of everything except vital tissue. Starvation will occur only when the body is forced to use vital tissue to survive. Although protein is being used by the body during the fast, a person fasting even 40 days on water will not suffer a deficiency of protein, vitamins, minerals or fatty acids. In the breakdown of unhealthy cells, all essential substances are used and conserved in a most extraordinary manner. There is an unwarranted fear of fasting that strength diminishes from the catabolism of proteins from muscle fibers. Even during long fasts, the number of muscle fibers remains the same. Although the healthy cells may be reduced in size and strength for a time, they remain perfectly sound. http://www.falconblanco.com/health/fasting.htm Stage 1 (Day 1 To Day 2) On the first day of fasting, the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dl. To restore the blood to the normal glucose level, liver glycogen is converted to glucose and released into the blood. This reserve is enough for half a day. The body then reduces the basal metabolic rate (BMR). The rate of internal chemical activity in resting tissue is lowered to conserve energy. The heart slows and blood pressure is reduced. Glycogen is pulled from the muscle causing some weakness. The first wave of cleansing is usually the worst. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger can be the most intense in this period unless the enema is used which quickly assists the body into the fasting state by ending digestion in the colon. Stage 2 (Day 3 To Day 7) Fats, composed of transformed fatty acids, are broken down to release glycerol from the gliceride molecules and are converted to glucose. The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem-free skin may have a few days of pimples or even a boil. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. Ketones are formed by the incomplete oxidation of fats. It is suspected that the ketones in the blood suppress the appetite by affecting the food-satiety center in the hypothalamus. You may feel hungry for the first few days of the fast. This effect is temporary. The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may last 40 to 60 days, depending on whether you are on water or juice. The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases. You may feel pain in your lungs. The cleansing organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and impacted feces on the intestinal wall start to loosen. Stage 3 (Day 8 to Day 15) On the latter part of an extended fast, you can experience enhanced energy, clear-mindedness and feel better than you have felt since childhood. On the downside, old injuries may become irritated and painful. This is a result of the body's increased ability to heal during fasting. If you had broken your arm 10 years before, there is scar tissue around the break. At the time of the break, the body's ability to heal was directly related to lifestyle. If you lived on a junk-food diet, the body's natural healing ability was compromised. During fasting, the body's healing process is at optimum efficiency. As the body scours for dead or damaged tissue, the lymphocytes enter the older, damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a reoccurrence of aches from previously injured areas that may have disappeared years earlier. The pain is good as the body is completing the healing process. The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected, as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth. Daily gargling with salt and water will prevent or heal cankers. Stage 4 (Day 16 to Day 30) The body is completely adapted to the fasting process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue is pink and the breath is fresh. The healing work of the organs is being completed. After the detoxification mechanisms have removed the causative agent or render it harmless, the body works at maximum capacity in tissue proliferation to replace damaged tissue. While a short fast will reduce the symptoms, a longer fast can completely heal. Homeostatic balance is at optimum levels. The lymphatic system is clean except for a rare discharge of mucus through the nose or throat. After day 20, the mind is affected. Heightened clarity and emotional balance are felt at this time. Memory and concentration improve. Stage 5 (Breaking the Fast) The sticky, toxic, mucoid coating on the intestinal wall is loose, and the first meal frees it from the intestinal wall. Toxins enter the blood through the colon. The gallbladder dumps its waste in a heavy discharge of bile. This can cause an instant bowel movement upon eating followed by intense diarrhea. If the symptoms are too uncomfortable, an enema will help. Masses of more information is available here. http://www.allaboutfasting.com/index.html F. Colon Cleanse The next stage will be a series of cleanses. Starting with colon cleanse, then kidney cleanse and then liver cleanse. Here is a good site for all you need to know about colon cleansing. The fast will have prepared you well for this. http://www.the-natural-path.com/colon-cleanse.html This is a good preparation document from the natural path. Good to think about a parasite cleanse if you have animals. Internal toxic cleansing, consisting of colon cleanse, parasite cleanse, heavy metal cleanse, kidney cleanse and liver cleanse routines, are key elements to an overall body cleansing and detoxification plan. Proper cleansing of parasites and toxins frees up your body’s resources to more effectively fight disease. In addition, toxic cleansing will often help clear up those mysterious symptoms that modern medicine can only hide. Why focus toxic cleansing on the colon, kidneys and liver? The colon, kidneys and liver are the primary elimination organs – they eliminate waste and toxins from your body. If they are not functioning properly, there is likely a buildup of toxins in your body cannot eliminate. Toxic cleansing of these organs and ridding your body of parasites is key to keep them healthy. The colon plays a vital role in the health of our entire body. An unhealthy colon can cause ill health of your liver, heart, brain or any other organ. Conditions such as Crohn’s disease and colitis are signs of an unhealthy colon. A colon cleanse can help prevent disease. The kidneys are among the body’s most important organs. Kidney stones and urinary tract infections are common warning signs of unhealthy kidneys. Undergoing a kidney cleanse as part of an overall toxic cleansing plan, will improve the continued long-term health of these vital organs. The liver performs hundreds of functions necessary for us to maintain good health. Due to the breadth of functions the liver performs, an unhealthy liver can affect every single organ in your body. Symptoms of an unhealthy liver include allergies, poor immune system, malnutrition, and in extreme cases hepatitis and gallstones. A liver cleanse can help your overall body function better. Why is it necessary to undergo a parasite cleanse as a part of internal toxic cleansing? Parasites are organisms that derive food, nutrition and shelter by living in or on another organism. They will naturally migrate to those areas of the body where your body is not functioning optimally. So, they can be present in your blood, your joints, your organs … you name it! If you have pets, you are more likely to have parasites. A proper parasite cleanse will kill the majority of parasites in all stages of their life cycle. CAUTION - Sequence Matters! Remember, Colon Cleanse and Kidney Cleanse, then Liver Cleanse You may notice that I keep stringing together colon cleanse, kidney cleanse and liver cleanse, in that order. Well, the reason I do this is because it is important to think of them in that order ... specifically thinking of the liver cleanse after the colon cleanse and kidney cleanse. The primary reason is that the liver is generally full of toxins, as described above. When you undergo a liver cleansing routine, the liver releases its stored toxins into the body. It is the job of the colon and kidneys to eliminate these toxins from your body rapidly – toxic cleansing. If your colon is not functioning properly – a.k.a. constipation – or your kidneys are not working effectively, the toxins will make you feel ill and will then get reabsorbed by the liver. The end result will be that you will be back to where you started, except that you will have felt sick for a day or two. Therefore, make sure that you follow the colon cleanse and kidney cleanse plans to ensure that those two elimination organs are functioning at their peak, before undertaking the liver cleanse plan. So where does the parasite cleanse fit into all of this? If you are experiencing any chronic symptoms or have not been following a natural and organic food diet, then I would recommend that you do the colon cleanse and the parasite cleanse first, followed by the kidney cleanse and then the liver cleanse. If you have a low level of toxicity (no chronic symptoms and regular bowel movements), then you can do the parasite cleanse at any time. If you're interested in more information, Cure Zone has a forum on organ cleansing and detoxification. Healing Crisis Before undertaking any detoxification plan, I suggest that you read about the healing crisis. It is important that you read this so you know what to expect during your cleansing and detoxification process. Candida. There is a lot of good information on the web about candida. I will write more here but meanwhile here is a link to good candida diet information: https://www.thecandidadiet.com/guide-to-antifungals/ G. Heavy Metal Cleanse This is important with fluoride in the water and toothpaste and fish with high levels of mercury and other heavy metals let alone what we get from canned or prepared foods. All detox strategies will help with heavy metals and then there are a few extra useful foods and herbs. http://www.trueactivist.com/4-steps-to-detox-from-fluoride-and-heavy-metals/ http://blogs.naturalnews.com/heavy-metal-detox-recipes/ Heavy Metal Toxins Certain foods contain a level of heavy metals that can build up in your system when you consume too much of them. Foods such as fish and seafood--including tuna, mackerel, shellfish, and swordfish--contain levels of mercury that, if consumed in large amounts, could be deadly. It's not only food that contains high levels of mercury. Cosmetics, contact lens solutions, plastics, body powders, and broken thermometers contribute to higher levels of mercury in our systems. Most people come in contact with mercury daily without them even knowing it. Supplements Taking detox supplements can help rid your body of the heavy metals and help improve your overall heath and well-being Chlorella is a supplement that aids in drawing the buildup of heavy metals out of your system through your urine. Chlorella is best for ridding your body of mercury, but it can also aid in removing all heavy metals. Walnut oil and flaxseed oil not only help in flushing out toxins, but they also provide your body with a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Heavy metals take away vital nutrients that our bodies need to work properly and keep us healthy. It is recommended to take a daily vitamin to help replenish the nutrients that the toxins drained from our bodies. Homemade Heavy Metal Cleanse For three weeks, take the supplements listed in the supplements section along with 2 tsp. of cilantro chelation pesto a day for three weeks. The cilantro chelation pesto is easy to make and tasty. It can be spread on toast, added to pasta, or eaten alone. Mix 2 cups of fresh packed cilantro in a blender with 2/3 cup of flaxseed oil until the cilantro is finely chopped. Add 4 garlic cloves, 1/3 cup of Brazil nuts,1/3 cup of sunflower seeds, 1/3 cup of pumpkin seeds, 2 tbsp. of dulse powder, and 4 tbsp. of lemon juice into the blender and mix until the ingredients form a paste. Store the cilantro chelation pesto in a dark glass jar. The cilantro chelation pesto freezes well, so you can make it ahead of your planned cleanse and store until needed. During the three-week heavy metal cleanse, eat how you normally would. Try to keep fish and seafood items to a minimum.Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5978226_homemade-heavy-metal-cleanse.html H. Parasite Cleans If you have pets or live on a farm you probably need to do this once in a while. If you have been in tropical countries you are not used to living in then you may have picked up some parasites. A strong immune system can deal with most parasites on its own......but not all and not always. The Natural Herbal Way A parasite cleanse is required if your body is overburdened with other toxins. For the most part, if your body is healthy, then your immune system can deal with the parasites. If your circulation is poor, or your organs and tissues are oxygen deprived, or your pH is out of balance, tissues begin to deteriorate. This sets up an environment suitable for parasites to invade your body. They will naturally migrate to those areas of the body where your body is not functioning optimally. So they can be present in your blood, your joints, your organs, you name it! While parasites may not necessarily be the cause of a disease, they are extremely opportunistic and can make a disease worse. There are many reasons to consider a parasite cleanse. It is estimated that parasites infect up to 80% of the world population, and that these infestations are not limited to developing nations with poor sanitation. Common lab tests screen for only forty of the hundreds of parasites that can live within the human body. In addition, most tests are performed on stool samples, but in reality only a few parasites inhabit the intestinal tract. Thus many people can test negative when in fact they do have parasites. What is a parasite?A parasite is an organism that derives its food, nutrition and shelter by living in or on another organism. How would I possibly get bad parasites?Malaria, giardia, and roundworm can be spread from country to country due to increased immigration and travel. Popularity of raw or undercooked foods, in particular meats and fish, can spread parasites. Until recently, the US government had banned the import of Italian prosciutto because the traditional method used to cure the pork did not involve heat of any kind. You know how certain beaches are closed to swimmers after heavy rains? This is because the bacterial and parasite levels are extremely high and create the risk of infection. If you live in high smog areas, you will be more susceptible to parasite invasion. Probably the most common method of transmission is through pets. Even if you wash your hands after petting your dog or cat or handling your scaly or feathered friends, you can still get parasites by picking up their bedding or their food dish or when they come over and lick you. This is the reason why women are advised to stop emptying the cat litter box while they are pregnant. So what is a toxin-conscious person to do? A routine parasite cleanse! Possible Signs of Parasitic InfestationSince parasites will naturally inhabit the weaker areas of your body, symptoms can manifest in many different ways. Stomach pain, indigestion, ulcers, constipation or colitis may indicate parasites in the digestive tract Uncontrollable movements, such as Parkinson’s disease, may indicate parasites in the nervous system Joint or muscle pain, such as arthritis, can be a sign that the presence of a parasite is irritating the joint or tissue and thereby causing inflammation Increased susceptibility to infections in lungs, sinuses, vagina, bladder or any mucous membrane may indicate the presence of a parasite Food and environmental allergies are often linked to parasites because as digested food is released into the intestines, it can seep through perforations caused by the parasites into the lymphatic system Dermatitis, itching, psoriasis, eczema, hives, swelling and rashes can indicate parasites in the skin Anemia, fatigue or drowsiness after meals may indicate that parasites are competing with the body for nutrients Cleansing Sequence I have seen conflicting information on when to undertake this cleanse – in conjunction with the colon cleanse or after the liver cleanse. However, the consensus is that if your body has a low level of toxicity (no chronic symptoms and regular bowel movements), then sequence is less important. If you are experiencing any chronic symptoms or have not been following a natural and organic food diet, then I would recommend that you do the colon cleanse and the parasite cleanse first, followed by the kidney cleanse and then the liver cleanse. Parasite Cleanse Guide You may have read about certain foods and herbs that kill certain parasites. Studies have shown that 4 glasses pomegranate juice daily will kill tapeworms. One-quarter cup of finely ground pumpkin seeds can eliminate many other varieties of worms. But, if you suspect that you have a parasite, but cannot rely on the common lab tests to tell you what you have, then what can you do? As with other types of cleanses, there are two way to arrive at a solution. The do-it-yourself method requires that you find and purchase all of the ingredients and then administer them in the right dosages. This task can be time consuming and not necessarily inexpensive, despite the label "do-it-yourself". Using the kit method, you can purchase a kit, consisting of a mixture of various anti-parasite supplements and herbal laxatives. While this may seem like it should cost more, take it from someone that has done a lot of cleanses, by the time you purchase all of the ingredients in their minimum quantities, you really do not save that much money using the do-it-yourself method. If you wish to, you can skip ahead to the kit method. Do-It-Yourself Parasite CleanseAll sources that I have read agree that the best parasite cleanse consists of a combination of herbs to eliminate adult parasites and their eggs. A common formula uses three particular herbs: black walnut hulls, wormwood and cloves. The walnut hulls and wormwood kill parasites in the adult and developmental stages, while the cloves kill the eggs. Thus by using the three herbs in combination, you kill the parasites at all stages of its life cycle. PRECAUTIONS:1. Be careful with your source of black walnut hulls. The hulls must be harvested green, before they decay and turn black, in order to retain their medicinal properties. Look for black walnut hulls in a tincture solution in most health food stores.2. There are a lot of different plants that are commonly called wormwood. The one with the maximum parasite-fighting capability is the one with the scientific name “Artemesia”. It is extremely bitter and best taken in capsule form.3. There are no particular precautions with cloves. However, if you are putting them in capsules yourself, freshly grind whole cloves yourself. Ground cloves found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores are often stale, which means they have lost their medicinal value. Typical Side EffectsThere are no typical side effects from these herbs at recommended dosages, though you may experience a healing crisis as your body eliminates the parasites and begins to heal itself. Drink plenty of water while on any parasite cleanse. Nevertheless, do not exceed recommended dosages in an effort to speed up the parasite cleanse! Always remember that too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily better for you. Lastly, you do not need to stop other medications or herbal therapies. Complete Parasite CleanseYou will need: Organic apple juice Tincture of black walnut hull Bottle of Wormwood capsules (200-300mg each) Bottle of Clove capsules (500 mg each) Bottle of L-ornithine capsules (500 mg each) Begin the parasite cleanse around the full moon, which is when parasites are most active. Take the herbal combination 30 minutes before meals or on an empty stomach. Plan on taking 1-4 L-ornithine capsules at night if you have trouble sleeping during the cleanse. Week 1: Add 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Drink with one capsule each wormwood and cloves. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day. Week 2: Stay at 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Increase the wormwood and cloves to 2 capsules each. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day. Week 3: Stay at 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Increase the wormwood and cloves to 3 capsules each. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day. Most parasites will die within a week, but continue for at least three weeks and for up to three months. If you continue longer than three weeks, simply maintain the Week 3 dosage for the remainder of the cleanse. Concerns About Do-It-Yourself Cleanses While I wholeheartedly believe in the parasite cleanse described on this page, and I have used it and recommended it with great success, I have growing concerns about the efficacy and variability of do-it-yourself cleanses based on individual ingredients. The efficacy can vary greatly depending on the manufacturers' quality standards, and the age / shelf life of the supplement. Kit Method of Parasite Cleanse Instead of assembling all of the ingredients yourself, you may choose from one of numerous supplement-based parasite cleansing kits available at your health food store or online. A complete supplement-based parasite cleansing kit should have some form of herbal laxative and herbs to expel adult parasites and kill the eggs. You should also make sure that the whatever supplement based product you purchase is fresh (not past its shelf life) and comes from a reputable supplier. There are a large number of suppliers of herbal supplements that produce their supplements without the sufficient quality controls and standards to guarantee purity, quality and efficacy. The easiest kits to use are ones that come with all of the ingredients pre-mixed, to save you the time and hassle of looking up dosages. I have found that while the kit method may appear to be more expensive initially, after using the do-it-yourself method on numerous occasions, it is actually not more expensive to use the kit method. After having investigated a number of kits available on the market in terms of ingredients, ease of use and supplier credibility and quality, here is my recommendation for a parasite cleanse kit. Drink Plenty of WaterRemember to drink plenty of water each day to flush the excreted toxins out of your system! Information on the benefit of drinking water will provide you with guidelines on the minimum amount of water you should be drinking. The more water you drink, the more toxins your body will be able to expel as part of this cleanse, and the better you will feel through the cleansing process. Re-infestation will occur so consider doing the parasite cleanse once or twice a year. Children are especially susceptible to parasites since they are always sticking things in their mouths. While teenagers can take adult dosages, please consult a natural doctor for the proper doses for children. |
I. Kindney Cleanse
Dissolve Kidney Stones In One Step. Kidneys are among your body’s most important organs. Undergoing a kidney cleanse, as part of an overall toxic cleansing plan, will improve the continued long-term health of these vital organs. Why are the kidneys so important? Your urinary system produces and excretes urine from the body. Your urinary system consists of your kidneys, your bladder and urinary ducts. The kidneys are the most important organs in this system. Think of your kidneys as filters that cleanse toxins from your blood. If it were not for their constant filtration of our blood, we would be poisoned by our own waste products. Your kidneys also provide an important function in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are substances such as salts that dissolve or break apart into ions when mixed with water. Good health depends on maintaining a proper balance of water and electrolytes. Healthy kidneys are key to good health. Kidney cleansing can help you improve the health of your kidneys. Just as our bodies produce waste from the food we eat, each of our cells produces waste as a result of normal metabolism. This cellular waste, along with drugs and other toxins, are picked up by the blood and carried to the kidneys for toxic cleansing. Your kidneys are located just above your waistline – above the bony parts of your hip – under a layer of muscle, on either side of your backbone. Sometimes lower back pain is actually a symptom of kidney problems. As with the colon cleanse, a kidney cleanse can sometimes cure seemingly unrelated symptoms. Metabolic waste must be removed from the blood, or it quickly accumulates to toxic levels – a condition called uremia. Bacteria can infect an unhealthy urinary tract, which leads to prolonged illness and fever. When someone with poor kidney health goes on a high protein diet, uric acid crystals can form in joints and kidneys – called gout – and in other parts of the body – called acidosis. By far, the most well known kidney problem is kidney stones – crystallized mineral deposits that develop in the kidneys. These stones are very painful when evacuated through urination. If kidney stones are sufficiently large, they can block the urinary flow, thus backing up the urine. Kidney cleansing can help dissolve kidney stones, to allow them to pass more easily through urination. Kidney Cleansing Guide. As you can see, kidney cleansing is an important of an overall toxic cleansing program. There are many herbs and juices that will detoxify your urinary system and dissolve kidney stones. Here is a simple kidney cleanse formula that you can conjure up at home to dissolve kidney stones and pass them painlessly. It will also improve the overall health of your kidneys. To 8 ounces of unfiltered (preferably raw or unpasteurized) organic apple juice add 20-30 drops of Hydrangea root tincture Drink 1 cupful ( 8 ounces ) 3-4 times per day for approximately 3 weeks. If you have a history of kidney infections or kidney stones, then you should probably increase this to 5 weeks. You may also combine this with any of the following ingredients in order to improve the efficacy of your kidney cleanse formula. Just the apple juice and hydrangea root are likely sufficient, but if one of these other ingredients is readily available, add it to your kidney cleanse routine. 1 capsule Gravel root (also known as Queen of the Meadow) 1 capsule Parsley 10-15 drops Marshmallow root 20-30 drops Bearberry (uva ursi) 1 capsule Ginger root Additionally, to help prevent kidney stones in the future, take one pill each of Vitamin B6 and the magnesium oxide once a day. The magnesium oxide may have the side effect of causing loosened bowel movements. 100 mg pill of Vitamin B6 300-500 mg of magnesium oxide Water is Crucial Remember to help with your kidney cleanse drink plenty of water each day to flush the excreted toxins out of your system! Information on the benefit of drinking water will provide you with guidelines on the minimum amount of water you should be drinking. The more water you drink, the more toxins your body will be able to expel as part of this cleanse. J. Liver Flush. Liver and Gallbladder Flush by Flint Flintoft © 2006 www.awaken.cc Revised 2010 The Liver Flush - One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Body The liver is the largest organ in our body and perhaps the hardest working, responsible for many functions, including the cleansing of toxins. Many health problems that appear throughout our body stem from a toxic liver, clogged with stones that eventually make their way into the gallbladder. Removal of the gallbladder is one of the most common surgical operation in most hospitals, and yet this simple age-old recipe can remove stones overnight and restore your health in many, many areas. Liver and Gallbladder Anatomy Gallstones were once associated with "older" people but younger people today are also developing gallstones due to poor diet and stressful lifestyles. People in all age groups have benefited from this cleanse with astounding results. Common Gallstone Symptoms A weak liver and congested gallbladder can result in many symptoms including: • depleted immune system • increase in allergies • poor digestion and constipation • endless fatigue and exhaustion • front right side pain below the rib cage • poor skin condition • back pain under the right shoulder blade • emotional outbursts • weakened eyesight • depression • weak alcohol tolerance • increased desire for sugar • tendency to put on weight • debilitating stress on other organs Removing Gallstones from the Body Several good websites listed below explain the medical detail regarding cholesterol and gallstone formation. They also include many variations of the same cleansing recipe by Dr. Hulda Clarke. However the purpose of this page is to provide a simple, safe and effective recipe to cleanse stones, with flexibility for lighter body types. This recipe has been adapted from several sources after many practical trials. The liquid measures are flexible as a smaller person may require less, a larger person more. The first time you do this cleanse you'll likely follow the recipe like a pharmaceutical chemist due to the unfamiliar ingredients, but after your first or second flush you'll find you can adjust the ingredients intuitively to suit your body type. Question Most Often Asked Q: Isn't this painful? Where do the stones exit? A: This cleanse is painless, not to be confused with kidney stones. The gallstones will be coaxed into the small intestine and eliminated through bowel movements. Pre-Cleanse Start 3 days before your flush to reduce fat and meat intake and include plenty of apples and apple juice. Drink 1 to 2 liters of high quality apple juice each day before the cleanse. Mixing in a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar each day is also very beneficial. Eat raw apples when you get hungry. Your liver loves apples! The malic acid in the juice helps to open the bile ducts that run through your liver and begins to soften and release the stones. The final day before the flush, reduce your fat intake to as close to zero as possible. Example Schedule Wednesday, Thursday -- Light diet including salads and plenty of apples and apple juice. Friday -- Reduce fat intake to zero. No oils, no dressings, no meat, nothing with fat in it. Continue light diet including plenty of apples and apple juice. Saturday Morning -- Big breakfast to get you through the next 24 hours. Saturday afternoon after 2 pm -- Don't eat anything -- it's time to fast. Let your digestive system rest completely. Saturday Evening -- Olive Oil and Lemon Cocktail Sunday -- Don't plan to go ANYWHERE. You may feel weak and will be busy cleansing. Sunday afternoon -- Break your fast with juice and fruit, light soup and steamed vegetables. You can eat regularly Sunday evening. The Liver And Gallbladder Flush DAY ONE - Morning of the Flush (Saturday example above) Eat a substantial breakfast to get you through the next 24 hours. You may not feel hungry during the fast but you will need energy. Fruits, vegetables, miso soup, bread and rice are all OK. Eat no fat, oils, butter or mayonnaise at all. 2:00 pm - Stop All Food Stop eating all food. No snacking at all. Let your digestive system empty and rest completely. Water and herbal teas are recommended through the afternoon. Mint tea and Japanese hojicha are both excellent. A little apple juice, fresh lemonade (with honey) is OK if kept to a MINIMUM. Drink plenty of water so that you are well hydrated (the Epsom salts will dehydrate you.) If you start at 4pm. then the times are 4,6,8pm. Start at 6pm, then 6,8,10. 8:00 pm - 1st Epsom Salts Mix 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of Epsom salt into 200 ml (1 cup) of high quality apple juice. Stir thoroughly and drink back quickly. (You can drink this through a straw if it helps.) Follow this with a cup of plain water. 10:00 pm - 2nd Epsom Salts Drink again the same as 8:00 pm -- Epsom salt and apple juice, and a cup of water. 12:00 Midnight - Drink Olive Oil Be totally ready for bed around midnight. Put on your sleepwear and be ready to lie down after drinking the olive oil. Prepare your optional bathroom tools for morning, including a flashlight, colander, a stir stick or chopsticks and a jar if you want to collect your stones. A water pitcher or pail to flush the colander is also handy. Preparing the Olive Oil and Citrus Juice Small - if you weigh less than 50 kg (110 lbs) 80 to 100 ml - organic extra-virgin olive oil Half to equal amount of freshly-squeezed organic lemon juice or grapefruit juice (1 -2 lemons) Regular - if you weigh more than 50 kg (110 lbs) 120 to 180 ml - organic extra-virgin olive oil Half to equal amount of freshly-squeezed organic lemon juice or grapefruit juice (1 -2 lemons) Large persons may require up to 200 ml of oil for a stronger flush. Replace the lemon juice with freshly-squeezed pink grapefruit juice if you prefer. The quantity of citrus juice is not so critical -- you may like to take an equal amount of juice as oil. It is a cleanser and also helps you swallow the oil. Organic olive oil and lemons are always best for cleansing. If they are not obtainable in your area, choose the best quality available. Use good quality olive oil - the difference is magnificent. You can drink more olive oil if you like! Shake the oil and citrus juice together in a jar until frothy. Take a deep breath. Drink the mixture "briskly" or take sips over 5 to 10 minutes. Sipping this "salad dressing" through a straw is the easiest for many people. You may feel a little nauseous, which is natural. Breathe deeply! Some people who appreciate good olive oil, like to sip each liquid separately, using the lemon or grapefruit juice as a chaser for the oil. Brush your teeth well and head for bed. Don't clean up the kitchen. It is important that you lie down immediately after taking the oil in order to release the most stones. Lie on your RIGHT side with your knees tucked if you can (fetal position). Stay still for at least 20 minutes before you change positions. You will likely hear a lot of gurgling "down there" which is a good sign that the oil is at work. Of course you can change positions during the night. Go to sleep and stay in bed as long as possible. DAY TWO - Next morning (around 7 am) - 3rd Epsom Salts Take a 3rd Epsom salt drink, a little stronger this time to get your bowels moving. Double the Epsom salt to 10 ml (2 teaspoons) in 200 ml of juice. Don't take this before 6:00 am. You can go back to bed. You will have diarrhea sometime during the day after your flush. Do not plan on going anywhere. You can expect strong bowel movements in the morning usually between 9 am and Noon. The first bowel movement may be regular and the second may be dark green diarrhea. Each flush is a little different. 10 am - 4th Epsom Salts (optional) Depending how you feel (if you have strong diarrhea then DON'T take the 4th dose of Epsom salts and juice). If your bowels aren't moving, you can take a 4th Epsom salt drink. (5 to 15 ml, depending on how your bowels are.) *After following this regimen the first time you can adjust the amounts of Epsom salts to suit you. Everyone is different - some people like to take 15 ml (1 tbsp) of Epsom in each glass, but others only need half that amount. In my experience, you don't need all that Epsom salt. 12 Noon and later You will likely feel weak during your cleanse. Just rest and do what you need to do to help your cleansing. Don't eat anything until you've had at least two to three bowel movements and you start to feel naturally hungry again. You may drink a little juice 15 minutes after you take your last Epsom salts in the morning. Then move to fruits or soup for a light lunch and solid food later in the day as your body begins to normalize. Continue with a light vegetarian diet for 24 hours after the cleanse to allow your body time to adjust and harmonize. You're done! The effect of Epsom Salt on the body is to dilate smooth muscle. This means it will dilate the bile duct, making it almost impossible for the stones to get stuck. Epsom Salt will also dilate the smooth muscles lining the digestive tract. This will cause a purging of all the things in the digestive tract. This helps to quickly eliminate the contents of the gallbladder when they are dumped. The Epsom Salt is the cause of the diarrhea. It will only last for a portion of the day. The diarrhea is a good thing as there will be toxins, stones and who knows what emptying into the digestive tract. The sooner these are out of the body, the better. How many stones are normal? You may not see any stones until your second or third bowel movement. Some may not appear until the next day. If your gallbladder is full, you may only pass a few stones during the first flush. During a second flush you may see hundreds of stones right away, and a third flush could bring out over a thousand smaller stones and "grit". Everyone is different. Some people expel their largest stones on the first flush. Some people don't see large stones until their third or fourth flush. Some people expel all their stones after six to nine flushes, other take up to twenty flushes. You may not notice the stones immediately, but they usually float. They can be large, blue green and "fuzzy" or they can be like small pebbles and anywhere from blue-green to tan in color. They are generally the consistency of semi-hard rubber. Many people put a plastic colander into the toilet and go into that then flush it with water from a bucket or pitcher to check the stones. You can collect them into a jar to see their volume and size and even freeze them to remind you of your cleanse. You may hesitate at this collection step, but it's easier to gage your progress during early cleanses by looking at the size of your stones. So follow your curiosity, otherwise you will never know! What happens during a cleanse? Eating no oils or fats for 24 hours prior to the cleanse gives the gallbladder a chance to fill up with bile salts. The reason you do not eat after 2:00 pm is so there is no food in the digestive tract that still needs to be digested and absorbed. Having a full stomach when you do the cleanse can cause nausea. If the food has moved into the large intestine and has been completely digested and assimilated, you will have no problems at all. Olive Oil and Lemon Juice Oil and lemon juice stimulates the emptying of the full gallbladder. It will strongly contract as a reaction to all that oil, and because the bile duct is dilated, the stones and most of the contents of the gallbladder will empty into the small intestine. The lemon juice is alkalinizing and helps to cleanse and neutralize toxins that will be purged from the gallbladder. Lying on your right side puts a little more pressure on the gallbladder so you get a little stronger emptying of the contents. Lying down is especially important to get good results. How often should I do a cleanse? Flushing stones is a painless, relatively easy preventative health care treatment for yourself that can extend your life through prevention of disease. From the first time, you will feel renewed energy and vitality. Do a minimum of six cleanses to release most of your stones. You will not like the taste of oil for some time after each cleanse! Some people do it every month or perhaps two, at the start. Your body will let you know when you are ready for the next session. As you continue, smaller stones will filter down from the liver. Don't stop until the stones become like sand. Continue with this flush at least once a year and enjoy your good health! Gerson method liver cleanse using a coffee enema. http://www.naturalnews.com/022905_coffee_body_water.html K. Replacing depleted nutrients. Coming soon L. Optimizing digestion. Raw Food. Coming soon. M. Breathing, drinking, exercise, massage, therapies. Coming soon. N. Detoxing from Pharmaceutical, Prescription drugs and Recreational drugs This was a big gap in the detox information I have been posting until I found my self doing cold turkey after five weeks of high doses of Tramadol, a prescription pain killer, that I realised how necessary this information is. There is plenty of specific information for the particular drug you are addicted to on the web. I am not going to cover specific chemicals but rather general strategies. In early February 2014 I received multiple injuries from being hit by a taxi while walking in the road. Broken bones included12 ribs, collar bone, shoulder blade, ankle, elbow, head cuts, internal injuries including the liver cut in half and the top of the left kidney cut off. Let's just say that I needed really strong painkillers for some time. I had four days of morphine in the hospital and then five weeks of about 1000mg. plus of Tramadol/day. I never thought I would get withdrawal so I just stopped! That night I didn't sleep a second, my body shook, I had terrible itching in the whole of the inside of the body, headache, emotional swings..fear, sadness, anger! Luckily no diarrhea..phew, but vomiting. The symptoms persisted for two weeks slowly subsiding. Even after a few weeks I didn't sleep so well and my arms and legs would jump at any time of day or night. All this on just five weeks of medication! So now, after this experience and a fair bit of research I would like to post some very general info on detoxing from drugs, both pharmaceutical from the doctor and recreational. Here is my best take on the subject 1. PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS. If you are taking prescription drugs for pain then do your best to treat it as a very short term solution, get off the pharmaceuticals and onto a natural, herbal or plant pain killer as soon as you can. The side effects of long term use of pharmaceutical pain killers can be bad enough let alone the fact that many are strongly addictive and have horrible withdrawal symptoms. If you have chronic pain and you are not finding a way of curing your problem then there are plenty of herbs to test without risk.. I have read an enormous amount of testimonials as to the effectiveness of cannabis for pain relief. So there are alternatives that might be illegal where you live but there are probably plenty that are legal and effective. In Sweden there is a magical herbalist called Janne Halqvist who makes teas that treat the nervous system and produce pain killing relaxation. Maybe there is another Gandalf near you. Best strategy is get to the root of the cause of the pain. Keep working at finding ways to shift the story and do a lot of research. Try all the safe things and stay away from the untried pharmaceuticals. 2. RECREATIONAL DRUGS. These can, of course, be pharmaceuticals as well as natural ( or more close to natural ) highs. The main problem is addiction to the victim strategy. If you can get some great therapy to turn this early life story around you will kick the ass of any drug. That said there is a class of medicines that have consistently been proved to be up to the 90% successful at curing addictions. These are the psychedelics. The best results clinic EVER for curing alcoholism was at a London, England hospital in the 60s using LSD. This was done under supervision. The treatment courses were relatively short. Similar success is claimed for the African medicine, Iboga. Again, the effectiveness is not about the actual medicine itself. It is about the healer/witch doctor/shaman who holds the energy of the healing ritual, the attitude of the addict, the environment of the treatment, all add to the effectiveness. 3. COLD TURKEY, SLOW REDUCTION, GETTING HELP, MEDICINES FOR WITHDRAWAL. COLD TURKEY. Generally for the stout of heart or those whose family and friends are prepared to lock you in a room and sit on you for a few days. I did cold turkey after a short period on fairly large daily doses of strongly addictive prescription drug. I actually did not like the, so called, high ( no really ) and I felt often dizzy and sick so the decision to stop was easy. Many people want to get off the pain killers or other drugs BUT... the withdrawal is so unpleasant they find it easier to stay on. This is despite often very high cost to the economy and family relations. However, once you have really made up your mind to quit, get good support from a friend who is not going to let you fail, clear the house of any drugs apart from cannabis or equivalent herbal relaxant ( to give a little break from the really unbearable bits...but not too much and not all the time ). Have your friend lock you in and keep you hydrated using electrolytes if necessary ( salt and sugar/honey ). Under medical supervision is best if you have a weak heart etc. The heart can have a tough time. If you are able to prepare by doing a colon, kidney and liver cleanse you will be in even better shape. Also try and quit easier drugs that you also use like cigarettes if you can and do a cleansing diet for a few weeks. The net is full of helpful info on doing cold turkey and the vitamin and mineral support you need. Cold Turkey is good for self esteem ( afterwards....definitely not during). SLOW REDUCTION. Many people do well at this. At the same time there are many who get to the last few mg/day and find it really tough to make the last stage. If you are fragile then this is the only approach because cold turkey is tough. SWITCHING MEDICINES. Many people try going over to another drug to help them reduce or quit. This can make things worse because the new one has worse side-effects or costs more. Basically you are not really quitting are you? However, the safe herbal relaxants and highs really help. Having a cannabis habit instead of a heroine or cocaine or Tramadol habit works out better according to many people sharing their stories on drug help sites. GETTING HELP. If drugs were not caught up in the insane and destructive political "war on drugs", then it would be much easier to help people who want help. Decriminalisation of ALL drugs, in my mind, will help everyone except the drug cartels, the mob and the government agencies, prisons, lawyers and politicians who all make a living from drugs. It is also tragic that the best medicinal cures for addiction are very often illegal themselves and therefore the experts in this line of healing are risking their liberty, not for profit, but because their Soul's mission is to heal and empower others. Alternatively there is the 12 Step method, cognitive therapies and Mindfullness Training as well as many other strategies, some better than others to cure addiction. For best results in curing addictions the psychedelics come out on top whether the politicians like it or not. O. Emotional and Mental Detox This could be regarded as the most important detox......clearing the mental/emotional complex of repeating loops of negative patterns. Many natural health systems regard emotional/mental health to be more important than physical health because the body will align itself with the vibrations of the mind. In this view, being happy is the most important thing you can do for your health. The Raja ( royal ) Yoga technique is simply to ' slow down and stop the choice making movement of the mind'. Simple, but not easy. Thus choosing and making judgements, are regarded as tensions and to be avoided for good health. If you check your thoughts you will find many of them to be worrying about the past or the future. A still mind leads to a healthy body. What do we mean by Emotional Detox? A short definition might be to say that it is patterns, conditioning and programs that could be called, "thought forms", that we allow to run unconsciously and affect our behaviour in negative ways. Most of our conditioning is good and useful. Some, though represent negative programming from our childhood and later or the result of unresolved traumas. There are many approaches to emotional detox. One approach, the yoga method, is to slow down and stop the choice making movement of the mind. Then all mental tensions disappear. There is no place for thought forms because the judging mind is not moving. In this state it is easy to see the thought forms as they arise and, as long as there is no attachment to them, they fall away. Another approach, and I believe that it is useful to combine them, is to become interested in the old thought forms, investigate the root causes and deprogram/reprogram the old story. This we call therapy. The quickest method I know is to investigate the root dysfunctional programs at childhood which are encapsulated in the deal that the parents ( and perhaps grandparents or adopting parents ) make with the child at birth and the choice of power strategies chosen by the child to survive the family deals. These power strategies that I call weapons are five:- violence, rebellion, control, silence and victim. I will continue with this discussion another time but I recommend that as a start to emotional detox that you do the following:Every day, for a chosen time, while carrying on your normal activities, see if you can identify when you are opening your energy body or closing your energy body. You will also see your physical body straightening and your eyes more open and your mind more relaxed and your passion increasing when you open. Then, as you close, you see your body slouch, your head go down, your breathing tighten. At the moments when you catch yourself closing, take a deep breath in and straighten the body, let the breath go like when you sigh and immediately see if you can identify the root energy in the thought form that made you close. Watch and identify the emotional energy behind the words, thoughts, judgements, preferences, beliefs, habits and behaviour that you see yourself doing. Is it Violence? ( I feel strong from making you feel weak ) Did you just criticise someone, judge them or give them advise? Did you raise your voice? Is it Rebellion? (Don't tell me what to do!) Were you late for a meeting, breaking the traffic rules, telling a lie? Is it Control? ( I feel strong because I am in charge ) Are you having difficulty sleeping, anxious that people don't do what you want, worried that someone will upset your plans? Is it Silence? ( I feel strong because I am a rock and feel nothing ) Have you just swallowed your anger, sadness or fear, had a panic attack or exploded with rage or crying? Is it Victim? ( Poor, poor, poor me.) Are you "tired", complaining about the situation or pointing the finger and blaming another person, institution, family member or friend? Do you use the expressions, “ I must, ought to, should, have to, I can’t.” Are you depressed or burnt out? Do you swear when things go wrong? Are you indulging your addictions and eating sugar, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or numbing yourself in any way? Once you get good at spotting your weapons you are beginning to build up the spiritual muscles that are needed to discriminate between what is true and what is a mind game/thought form/hungry ghost/bullshit/story/ego/negative personality trait..call it what you like. Some of us are good at all of the weapons and others have favourites. See if you can spot your favourites. Good Luck. Toxic Emotions & Non Toxic emotions. To be present. To be in this moment. To be, authentically who we really are means that we are not in our heads. Emotionally toxic programs can only run in the head. On the other hand, non-toxic emotional activity is taking place in a natural and healthy way all the time.....unless you have a toxic program for blocking listening to feelings. What is healthy emotional activity and why do we have emotions...what are they for? Any of you who have read Marshall Rosenberg's book, ' Non-Violent Communication, NVC' know that emotions are the confirmation or warning signal that tell us that our needs have been met, or not met. In either case, the emotions and your awareness of them is good. There can be no such thing as a bad or negative emotion. Let's put it this way. If you have the habit of repressing your emotions then this makes about as much sense as smashing the petrol gauge warning light on your car when you are low on petrol because you don't want to be bothered by the lamp. It is not the lamp that is important, it is the lack of petrol. Similarly, it may not be pleasant feeling frightened but it stops you being run over by traffic. If you did not feel frightened at an approaching car as you cross the road you would die. All our emotions make us safe and give us information that is useful to us for looking after our needs. What are these needs? In short (there are of course more but I suggest these are the major ones). On the physical level: air, water, food, clothing, shelter, physical safety and comfort. On the social/spiritual: respect, touch, friendship, love, sex, beauty, communication, respect and meaning in our lives. If we listen to our emotions then we are easily able to take care of our needs. If we have labelled some emotions as bad, and we refuse to allow them to rise up to the level of the conscious mind or allow our bodies to respond to them, then we will suffer the consequences of needs left unmet. There are three, strong popular misconceptions about feelings I want to mention here. The first is that we think other people or circumstances directly affect our feelings. We say, " He made me angry". Actually that is impossible. What he may have done is threatened your need for respect. How do you know this? Well, because the need has a warning signal built in called 'Anger'. You feel anger and then can either react in a violent way as most of us have learnt to do in our modern cultures ( and sometimes this is life saving ) or we respond from our calm centre and take care of our need for respect rather than attack the other person as per NVC. Another strong misconception is that it is very important to express our feelings. We can even admire people who have outbursts of rage or howling ( as though that was a good emotional response to a need! ). Actually we would be exhausted if we shared all our emotions. The main point is to allow them to flow naturally inside us so that we can respond smoothly, quickly and naturally so that we take care of our needs on an ongoing basis. When we have to communicate to another person that they are not taking care of our needs and we would like them to....then it is very important that they know how we feel and what our need is and what we would like them to do. They can either do it or not but we have communicated well at least. On the other hand, endlessly complaining, crying, becoming enraged means either that you are not communicating your needs and requests....or that you and the other person need some space between you and/or counselling. The third big misconception is that " my feelings are REALLY IMPORTANT. Let me be depressed, I am depressed OK?? My rage is justified!! " The truth behind this is that depression or rage or hysteria are not feelings....they are massive lack of presence due to getting stuck in a mental/emotional loop in the thought programs. As we close down into small loops the world becomes dark. We usually do this because we are running the Control Strategy ( Can't sleep because my mind is racing. Anxious all the time that things work out as I planned ) or the Silence Strategy ( I am a rock, I don't have feelings, " I'm fine! " ) or the Victim Strategy ( It is his/their/the government's fault. I can't help it I'm depressed, sad, tired etc. ). Or a mixture of them. In conclusion, feelings are for navigation in the physical, emotional/mental and spiritual worlds. We even call one of our five physical senses feeling...touch. The others also help us navigate in the physical world...hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling. So emotional feelings are our refined sensory apparatus, no more, no less. They are there to help us orientate ourselves......not to get stuck in, lost in or endlessly express. If you are feeling angry for more than a day ( perhaps a minute ) then you are not taking care of your needs! The roots of our dysfunctional behaviour and our mental/emotional imbalance are to be found in a few, programs that we were brainwashed with as children. Most of what we learnt from our parents, family, teachers, friends, and culture is extremely useful and healthy. Perhaps some of our cultural conditioning is not so terribly healthy but nothing that a bit of consciousness and self enquiry won't heal. For instance, we may learn from our culture that national pride is very important and the dark side being that we learnt racist attitudes. Once we become aware of these hidden tendencies it is not so difficult to reprogram ourselves. However, there are a few programs that were planted early and carry a threat with them to enforce them. These I call our " Parental Contracts". At birth our parents, quite unconsciously, make deals with us. These deals are often the same or similar to the ones they received from their parents or they might be different. These deals force upon us assumptions about relationship. The mother deal gives us our assumption about relationship with mothers, women, nature ( mother nature ), food, pleasure and money. The father deal gives us our assumptions about fathers, men, authority figures, police, government, bosses and God. The parents part of the deal can be three things. One: I will take care of you. Two: I will take care of you and love you. Three: I will not really take care of you ( but I might or might not love you from a distance ). This would be the case where the biological parents give away the child for adoption, to be taken care of by the grandparents or foster parents, where one of the parents, or both, die early in the life of the child, or, the parent is so busy with work or other things that, although they might share a house, they are emotionally unavailable. The extreme contracts are, at one end, " I own you and you must do everything I say or I will beat you." To, at the other end, " Don't bother me or upset me I am very busy. See you at breakfast sometimes, stand on your own two feet. " In the middle the common contracts, on mothers side are: Don't cause me trouble, Be good, Just show me your smiling face and not your sorrow or problems, Be the success that I was not able to be, Don't upset your father, I know better than you, Stay with me and look after me, Be my friend, Help me out and so on. On the father's side: Be smart, Work hard, Be successful, Don't bother me because your mother is looking after you, Be my little princess, I wish you had been a boy, Don't think you are anything special and so on. There are more but these are some of the more common ones. They vary, but not so very much. Mostly they are fairly straightforward but sometimes more complicated and need some Sherlock Holmes style of investigation. So that you can better understand what I am writing about let me give you an illustration. At one of my workshops I asked for a volunteer to share his contracts and the man who volunteered shared that his mother contract was, " Don't upset your father, we need him and if he goes we starve." I then was able to suggest a scenario of how this man's relationship with his girlfriend might look like. I said, " When your girlfriend comes home late and tells you that she is sorry but she met a really hot man and they went to hotel to have sex, your reaction is to calmly say, " That's OK I made myself dinner and left you some in the oven, no problem." Most mouths in the room dropped but the man said," Yes, this is exactly how it is." The reason is because, he must not upset the man so that he leaves! It may sound crazy but the logic is that he is under a contract, made under threat of death, that he will not upset the woman's ( whatever woman...mother, sister, girlfriend.. ) male associate. The threat is hidden in the parent's part of the deal..." I will take care of you if you.....". As a baby we cannot feed ourselves, change our nappies and clothes, wash ourselves or put ourselves to bed. In other words, we must keep our end of the bargain or die. That is why, even though we are grown up we still frantically try to keep our end of the deal. Another instance would be where the mother deal is." Don't cause me trouble." and so the son runs around trying to please his girlfriends when actually they want consciousness and decision making, not a wimpy man who tries to fix her feelings all the time. So, from birth we realise that our parents don't see who we really are ...divine souls come to inspire, teach and bless them. They regard us as sweet and helpless animals that need showing how to behave and to be taught. The anger and sadness that comes with the realisation that we are only OK if we follow the parental rules and not OK just as we are requires us, for the survival of the soul, to choose weapons of power in order to feel powerful...and if we are not allowed the power of being who we really are, then we will choose any power available, even if it is destructive. There are five weapons of power as named above. The "Control" Strategy ( Can't sleep because my mind is racing. Anxious all the time that things work out as I planned ) or the "Silence" Strategy ( I am a rock, I don't have feelings, " I'm fine! " ) or the "Victim" Strategy ( It is his/their/the government's fault. I can't help it I'm depressed, sad, tired etc. ). The other two are "Violence" ( physical violence or criticism and unsolicited advice, stabbing in the back, judgement ) and "Rebel" ( Don't tell me what to do, I have the right to be late for meetings, pay my taxes late. Who the **** am I to tell me what to do ). In other words we don't even respect our own authority. It requires a book to give a full picture of the roots of emotional toxicity, and the book is being written, but I hope you can get a glimpse of the mechanism by which we find ourselves trapped in dysfunctional behaviour loops and find it hard to change our behaviour even if we can see how destructive it is. Emotional Detox Methods In a natural society our tribe would have a shaman, or several, who would spot the problems before they arise. They keep alive the tribal ceremonies that preserve the emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual health of the community. Those days are gone in the west, but slowly coming back. These are the classic and traditional methods for preserving and restoring emotional/psychological health:
In the end, it is just as much about who the therapist is than the therapy itself. The problems are essentially looped negative programs in the subconscious. Raising these to the conscious level already helps. Placing a more attractive program in the subconscious will also work. Removing or wiping out negative programs is a violent method and not one I recommend but some therapists like to work this way. Then there is encouraging thoughts and activities that strengthen the individuals connection to life and soul. Doing what they love more than anything else. This expands the use of functional programs and leaves less space for the dysfunctional ones. Ultimately, remembering who we really are, divine souls, trapped, for a short time in a wonderful bio-robot on this beautiful planet, tends to reduce the negative effects of messy early programming and traumas. P. Maintaining a Clean System. Exercise, Nutrition, Spiritual Practice. Coming soon. |