By Perry Haldenby
In following the Six Foundations for spiritual life, it is very important to remember that each person's journey is individual. With this in mind it is helpful to be aware of transitioning and the process of detoxification. Each new level of awareness, change to your diet and increase of your spiritual practice may bring about bring about a level of detoxification.
It is important then for one to move harmoniously and make the appropriate changes for this evolutionary shift. For what once worked for you before to reach optimal health and connection to the divine may not work for you any more, thus one has to be even more conscious of how one is living. This can often be a natural process as one follows the lifestyle of the Six foundations. I for example stopped eating meat after 26 years, right after my first week of spiritual fasting. It just happened as the next step in my evolutionary stage, without my consciously realizing it was the next step until I felt that this change was necessary. After a few months of being a vegetarian I felt the impulse to eat raw foods; again, it was never my intention to eat raw, it just happened. When we allow ourselves to be lived by the Truth rather than forcing it, our spiritual unfolding occurs in harmony.
When you start to focus and eat in your 'new' healthier way, the 'old' way just seems to fall away, so there is no 'trying' to stop what does not serve you any more, the healthier choice feels more natural. Then when you start to feel better with your new lifestyle changes, it does not make sense for you to go back, and this is when you have over come your old ways and then the shift has been made completely. These shifts of diet and lifestyle changes become a spiritual practice in themselves, as it involves self study and self awareness to cultivate the right life choices to make you feel Alive.
Embracing healthier lifestyles and diets releases the stored toxins from within the body and can bring about detoxification. This happens through the process of diffusion. This process involves elements moving from a high concentration to a lower concentration. As we clean our blood through fasting and eating raw food the blood becomes less toxic, therefore the cells with the stored high concentration of toxins will then diffuse their toxins into the low concentration into the clean blood stream. When the blood is sufficiently loaded with the old toxins from the cells, it is then easy to eliminate these from the body. This detoxification process may not always be comfortable, as the stored toxins released in the body may bring about old emotions or traumas which have not been dealt with over the years as emotions are stored in the cellular memory. As the physical detoxification happens, we also get clean up our emotional body. Sometimes if this detoxification process happens too quickly then the 'healing crisis' may occur and it may appear that you are sick. You may start to feel tired or smell bad. The crisis may last for a few days or a few weeks, but do not worry, as the crisis can be a sign that the body is actually strong enough and vital enough to be able to decide to shrug off these old toxins.
It may take weeks, months or even years to transition to a 100% live raw food diet and lifestyle, so one should transition with peace, which is the most important to element to remember. We must remember to eat in a way the helps us best commune with the divine, and if that means taking it slowly, then so be it.
Here are the 4 stages of diet transformation outlined by Gabriel Cousens M.D.:
• Stage 1 diet ~ This transition means to let go of all bioacidic foods, which means all processed, irradiation, genetically engineered, fast food, junk food, white bread, sugar, frozen dinners, coffee, non organic meat, pastries, candy, baked goods, milk, cheese, refined oil, food containing additives and alcohol ~ This diet stage allows organically raised meat, fowl, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, raw dairy, organically grown foods. This stage can take time to discover the new ways of eating and the new shopping habits in health food stores.
• Stage 2 diet ~ This transition requires that we eliminate all red meats and add extra fruits and vegetables. The added vegetables increase the alkalising of the blood, which helps counter balance the acid toxic release of meat. At this stage it is helpful begin fasting and cleansing treatments like colonics and liver flushes.
• Stage 3 diet ~ This transformation introduces us into a full vegetarian diet. All red meats, fish, fowl, and any seafood or animal life including eggs are to be removed from the diet. This Diet includes fruits, grains, nuts, legumes, seaweeds, vegetables, seeds and raw dairy.
• In this stage we also become aware of food combing and vegan food preparation. We shift to 60-80% raw food diet and learn the skills of sprouting seeds. This is a stage of exploration, finding out what works and what does not work for our bodies. This stage of process can last a long time or be chosen as a maintenance diet. Over time, this diet will provide a natural detoxification process.
• Stage 4 diet ~ This is now the time that we totally transfer to a complete vegan diet. Eating bioactive foods such as raw seeds, nuts, seaweeds, vegetables, fruits and the inclusion of sprouted grains, seeds and grasses such as wheat grass. This diet will accelerate the detoxification process even further and prepare the activation and cultivation of the kundalini energy. 100 percent live raw food is of course optimal, although one can still thrive on 80-90% leaving some room for social eating. At this stage, the diet is very unique to the individual, and one may find that they are actually eating a lot less food because of the higher nutrient value. Stage 4 also includes spiritual fasting and an increase in meditation, as this helps to become a superconductor for the kundalini.
With this knowledge, you are now able guide yourself on this peaceful transformational path to Liberation. It is a journey and from my experience the shifts rarely happen over night, so remember to take it easy on yourself, although a little effort is needed. Interacting with www.gabrielcousens.com will also inspire you with your transformation and help keep you on track.
Lots of Love ~ Perry