Many of us live through our minds and emotions – I know I did before my recovery – and I also acknowledge that it takes commitment to be aware of slipping back into “mind chatter” and mind-driven behaviors. It’s a habit to let our thoughts run free in our minds, never really paying much attention to them. And yet, we have a barometer of our thoughts in two areas: (1) our body and (2) our moods/emotions.
Barometer of Thoughts
Given the mind-body connection — that continues to be studied by scientists — but has always been known by spiritual teachers, our body sends us signals when our thoughts run amok. You’ll remember from my previous posts, that the body believes whatever the mind thinks – so if you imagine yourself in negative situations, your body thinks those situations are really happening. This is one of the reasons that positive affirmations have been touted for years – as you feed your mind positive thoughts and words, your body believes it. If you start to feel pain, discomfort or tension in your body, look at your thoughts and see what’s going on in your life.
Our moods or emotions are also a good indicator of our thoughts. When you start to feel sad, depressed, angry – look at the contents of your thoughts. What were/are you thinking that led to these feelings?
Cleansing The Liver & Gall Bladder
One of my favorite books in recovery was surprisingly, a cookbook! I actually bought it as a cookbook because the recipes were healthy and macrobiotic, so with a few substitutions, I could follow the diet that Rhonda Lenair laid out for me. The book is called The Self-Healing Cookbook, by Kristina Turner. What I realized is that this is much more than a cookbook – it’s chock full of excellent guidance, tips and exercises for healing the body of imbalance and illness.
In her book, Kristina Turner addresses cleansing and the food-mood-body connection from a Chinese medicine perspective. While she covers all of the major organs, I will share what she covers on the liver & gall bladder here:
Mood Signals of Liver & Gall Bladder Stress
Body Cues of Liver & Gall Bladder Stress:
My Own Symptoms
As I read this, I took my own little inventory – and of course, I’ve found some of them are exactly what I am going through right now. I am actively cleansing through following the Body Ecology Diet and doing a series of colonics, which I will share in a post later this week.
When I started my cleansing process over a year ago, it was mainly a lifestyle cleansing and over the past 4 months, I have increased my focus on dietary and body cleansing. At the same time, I have recently moved to a colder, less sunny climate. All of this change has provoked some symptoms in body and mind. In particular, I have felt more impatient and frustrated – and I’ve been restless from 11:00 pm to 2:00 am!
Over the past month, living in my new location, I’ve been much busier than I had been previously, so I was not taking as much time to read and write. I was traveling often and not getting as much sunlight. And, I missed my mid-day tropical rainforest hikes overlooking the ocean – a built in sauna-like detox experience!
How To Change Habits
So how do we change our habits? Well, as they say, the first step is awareness. While I was aware that I’d have detox symptoms due to the active cleansing I am doing, I forgot to monitor my habits, especially after moving – an already stressful life event! As I write this, I am reminded that it’s important to take a mind, body and spirit inventory when detecting imbalances in our lives. Taking the inventory does not require a lot of time – in fact, if I had stopped for a moment to take this inventory, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised at these feelings that have been clanking around inside of me.
My action is to write out exactly where I am feeling frustration and impatience – and instead of focusing on what’s not right, I’m going to create my ideal scenario. Once I am clear on what my ideal scenario is – how I want to feel and how I want things to be – I can focus on that. This will allow me to cleanse my mind, along with my body. Typically, I know both are in synch when I am at peace, feeling bliss. This peace and joy is our true essence – our ultimate barometer of when we are living our purpose. This is when we feel a mind-body-spirit connection.
So, my commitment to myself is to spend time feeling that peace and bliss each day. For awhile, living in my tropical paradise, I felt that naturally. In this new location, my lesson is that as I’m further from the sun and the earth, I must remind myself to spend time FEELING peace and joy. Breathing it into my body. In this way, my moods are no longer dependent upon place – or external circumstances. I create that place within my body, within my heart.
Cleansing Foods & Liquids For the Liver & Gall Bladder
- Body Ecology Lemonade – 1 fresh organic lemon – squeeze the lemon into 6 oz. water and add stevia to taste. Have this each morning when you wake up. It is also a great drink to sip throughout the day for a sweet taste that does not cause a blood sugar spike.
- Daikon radish
- Parsley
- Leeks
- A lot of cultured vegetables (adds microflora/probiotics to your system to help with cleansing the liver)
- Wakame (sea vegetable)
- Quinoa
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Celery
- Rosemary – herb
- Thyme – herb
- Eat animal protein meals between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm and avoid eating them for dinner. This creates less stress on the pancreas and liver.
Cleansing Actions for Your Body & Mind
- Dry skin brush – take a natural bristle body brush and brush your skin (skin and brush should be dry). Brush your whole body vigorously, starting with your feet and moving up from there. Brush toward your heart. Your skin is a major cleansing organ and dry brushing helps circulate lymph.
- Meditate each day – just take quiet time, whether for 1 minute or 1 hour. Take the time to feel your body, surround it with love and feel the peace of the moment. Allow all negative thoughts to leave your body as you breathe out and peace to fill your body as you breathe in.
- Celebrate imperfection – love being human, take things off your to-do list.
- Walk, dance, stretch or do yoga – gentle, rhythmic movement stimulates the colon. When your colon is working well, it allows the liver to do it’s job more effectively.
- Affirmation (from Body Ecology Diet): “I have now earned the right for my liver to cleanse and become completely healthy.”
Your Actions
- Are there any symptoms of liver or gall bladder imbalance in your moods or body?
- Experiment with becoming aware of your feelings and emotions – trace them back to the thoughts you are thinking.
- Consider actively cleansing your mind and body of negative thoughts – and focusing on positive, loving, peaceful thoughts.
- Ask your body what type of cleansing it needs – let your body be your guide.
- Pay attention to how your food affects your body and moods – decide if there are foods that trigger pain in body or mind. This is not about “good/bad” labels or food anxiety – it is about body-pain, digestive pain or mood alterations. Consider educating yourself about nutrition or talking to a nutritionist or naturopath to understand ways you can cleanse your diet of foods that trigger body or mood issues.
- Instead of berating yourself for your eating habits, consider tracing your eating habits back to your moods, thoughts or body signals.
- Consider doing one or two of the cleansing actions, whether food and drink choices or actions for your body.
- Pay attention to what you learn, write it in your journal or talk to a friend about it.
Sources:
The Body Ecology Diet, by Donna Gates
The Self-Healing Cookbook, by Kristina Turner
Hi Heather,
The cookbook you recommend by Kristina Turner sounds great! I’d never heard about it. I’m going to look for it. …Actually, now that I think about it… I kind of sideways glanced at the cookbooks at the local health food store today, and now I could swear that this was one of the titles I saw!… I’ll have to go check if that was in fact it!
I am curious as to where you tropical paradise was. Sounds wonderful! Why did you decide to move?
If these questions are too personal, don’t worry about answering them.
I hope you’re getting settled into your new place. Moving can be an exciting and even energizing experience, but it can also bring up all kinds of old and new emotions! Knowing you, though, I am sure you will make the very best out of any situation you find yourself in! You’ve got that kind of spirit, and you’re such an inspiration to others that way!
with love and healing thoughts,
Emily
Comment by Emily — May 24, 2006 @ 1:14 am
Hi Emily, Funny — I bet you did see the book, it has a pink cover and they sell it at health food stores! I’m sure you’ll like it, right up your alley with the references to Chinese medicine!
I lived in the Caribbean and still live there in the winters, but we came back to our home in the US a little early this year for all of my classes & my husband’s business trips. It snowed the first week we came back and has been cold & rainy ever since! Our new rule is never come back to the States until June! Soon I will have pictures, my last name and links to my other websites up, so it’s totally appropriate to ask personal questions!
Anyway, I’m getting used to being here and now that I am remembering to focus my mind on what I DO want, it’s even better! Interesting how writing a blog, reading blogs like yours — and hearing from others is such a great reminder!!
With love,
Heather
Comment by Heather — May 24, 2006 @ 11:44 am