Day 6 of the Master Cleanse

I was so happy that today was the Sabbath as I've been weak and a little woozy. Maybe it's because we always work the hardest on Fridays to try to get prepared for Sabbath. A perfectionist like me must have the house spotless; the food perfect; the barns bedded down; and myself pain free all on the same day. If it does ever happen, I usually pay the next day and this time was no different. Now I know why others who have done this cleanse before me say, "Take it easy while you're on it."
I am very glad that I have found the master cleanse and I'm determined to stick it out but it was imposable for me to sit and watch the family eat their chicken enchiladas and rhubarb cake at noon. I went in my room and did a Bodytalk session on myself. First, though, I spent some time praying for the courage to continue--to do what was best for me. I'm not used to thinking that way, but I guess if I'll ever have the health that I dream of, I need to stick with this and let the cleanse do it's work.
Then tonight, when I was the most discouraged that I've been since I started, the Lord had a dear friend post a comment. Susan and I had 2 little girls turn 4 years old at the same time and they were inseparable. :) They were both home schooled all the way through and have kept in touch. It's been a joy to see both of them committing their lives to the work of the Lord. Now her little girl is getting married. How can it be that they have grown up already? Where do the years go?
This kind of thinking is just one more motivator to stick with this cleanse. I do NOT want to get old and be a burden to my children or anybody. If I have to do this cleanse every 2 months for the rest of my life to keep that from happening, that is just what I will do. I've lain on my death-bed, at the age of 48, and it's not all that it's cracked up to be. There was no soft music playing in the background; no family sobbing; no nurses checking my vital signs--only death licking at my heels. Believe me, ANY efforts to recover my health in a natural fashion are worth it. Some of you may think it's too private a thing to write about, but I'll tell you the truth. I am committed to helping ANYBODY who is ill to have a way to go; to have something to try that can only help them; to have somebody care that they are in agony. God Himself was the only one there, as I lay gasping for breath, so it has become my desire not to ever let anybody die by themselves. He planted a dream in my heart up at the health center and that is to have my own health center some day. I believe that He is leading me to the practices and procedures that I will use then to help give hope to the hopeless. There it is again--A RAY OF HOPE!!!
Well the whirlpool is full and I'm aching, so I'll close. Thanks for your interest in my blog and may it bless, in some small way, all who take the time to read! I'll try to add some pictures soon.

Day 5 of the Master Cleanse

Today was much better. I worked up my courage to stand on the scale and I had lost 5 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not 80 pounds, or anything really wonderful, but it is a start. :)
During chores this morning, I was amazed to find myself having more energy. I've been wanting to feed kelp to all of the barn animals for weeks but have never had any strength for it. Until everybody else is finished with all of their work, they're not in the mood for extra things like carrying 5 gallon pails of kelp to everyone. We have over 400 animals here and feeding, watering, and bedding everyone in the winter takes a LOT of work. I felt so good this morning that I asked Jacob to help me carry kelp and Redmond salt to the goats and calves in the goat barn. Then, I still had some energy so I asked him to help me take this mix to the calves in the milking barn. Then, I still had some energy so I asked him to help me mix up another 10 gallons and we carried it on the sled down to the dairy cows. Then I did not have any more energy, but it felt so good to feel my body coming back to life again!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can tell you honestly that I have fasted many times in my life. I even learned recently that fasting often is a symptom of some imbalance, but I can't recall what it is right now. I have water fasted, juice fasted, milk fasted. I've fasted for 1 day and I've fasted by grinding all of my food for 2 months. The theory behind that one was that it would save the body the trouble of digesting so that energy could be spent on healing itself. I have NEVER FELT AS GOOD DURING FASTING AS I FEEL ON THIS MASTER CLEANSE!!!! In fact, I've only been hungry once and that was at 4:00 AM when I woke up famished.
Now, I have been achy and grumpy and somewhat lazy up until today. However, if today is any indication of how wonderful I will feel when I am finished, I will gladly put up with those irritations. I cannot urge you enough to check out the Master Cleanse if you have any serious health issues. I would include the web site address now but I am still so computer illiterate. I know how to get it but I cannot think of how to save this so that I can get back here when I find it. I've lost a few things in this situation before so, being I know that I will write again tomorrow, I'll look it up before I start writing and share it with you then. I'll get this computer age figured out sooner or later. :) Technology has never been very appealing to me but it sure is nice to keep in touch. :)
Well, it's the Sabbath and so we will rest after chores tonight. Thirteen years ago the Lord showed our family that He wanted us to keep the Biblical Sabbath from dark on Friday night until dark on Saturday night. I say Biblical Sabbath because we don't attend any particular denomination's Sabbath services. Actually it's the Lord's Sabbath and we rejoice that He has taught us how to rest from our labors. All of our Sunday-keeping years, Robert and I both were workaholics and had no idea what rest was, so we feel extremely blessed to lay aside our work and soak up the peace of God on this special day. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I find myself wishing any fellow Sabbath keepers, who may be reading this tonight, to be blessed with His peace. I wish that all would find this blessed rest of the 7th day which God initiated at creation. Soon chores will be over and all will stomp in the house. I will light the Sabbath lights; Robert will bless the children; we will have communion together; and then Cora and I will serve the feast of Sabbath. This week, however, I will not be joining my family as they dig in to their chicken enchildas--their favorite food. I will sit happily and drink my lemonade and dream about the day when I will no longer have this dreadful pain in my neck which has haunted me for 2 1/2 years. Now, because of BodyTalk AND the master cleanse, I have an even stronger hope that someday I will once again be pain-free.
Happy Sabbath!
Love always,
Dawn

Day 4 of the Master Cleanse

I don't have much time to write, as I should be heading out to the barn, but I wanted to write a little something about today. First of all, I highly recommend getting a friend to do the cleanse with. I don't have someone on the cleanse with me this time, but my friend Ellen and I are writing every day for a month to remind each other to balance our amygdalas. The amygdala is the part of the brain that stores fear. I learned in the Advanced BT class last summer that, when a person lives in fear for a long time, the amygdala starts short-circuiting the brain. Instead of letting messages go to the cortex for processing, which would bring reason to one's reactions, it grabs the message and says, "Hey, you're in trouble lady. Better move into fight or flight response or they're going to get you." Well, this compounds the problem of exhausted adrenal glands and cortisol buildup. You may not even be in any danger but someone said something or you read something that made you think you were. This pattern can be deadly as I learned in my battle against shingles on my brain. (I know that I mention often that I almost died in '06, but I want newcomers to put things into this context too.) Anyway, thanks Ellen for being such a special friend--you seem just like a sister to me. It's about time that I got one!!!
Dr. Veltheim, the founder of BodyTalk, has learned a process to balance the amygdala so that it stops doing that!!! This is very important for everybody's health but especially those who have had shingles as shingles are brought on by stress. So Ellen is emailing me every day and checking if I've done it yet. This is sooooooo wonderful while I'm on the cleanse as it is a picker upper. I also pointed this out for other's sakes because it may help you to get through the cleanse easier too. Feel free to email if you have any questions about how to balance your amygdala. I'd be happy to share this simple procedure with you but you have to commit doing it for 30 days or it's not going to make a lasting change. After 30 days, one can look for a more relaxed approach to life which will be good for all aspects of health. Just thought I'd mention it!!
So today was a little better than yesterday, but I still was nervous. That's the best word that I can give it--not really anxious but certainly not calm either. I was grumpy AGAIN and begged forgiveness AGAIN. I felt cold today, and it's nice and warm in here, so I'm thinking it's from the cleanse. My tongue feels like it's 2 inches thick and stuck to my mouth. I had a hard time teaching today because I kept thinking that I was half asleep but my sons were patient--most of the time.
All in all, I had to do quite a bit of reminding myself that I am going to feel GREAT in a week. I AM GOING TO STICK IT OUT, NO MATTER, WHAT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT GOD WANTS ME TO DO THIS!! I want me to do this too as, from what I've read, it does hold a glimmer of hope that I may actually be pain-free someday. Many people who have gone before me have recovered from serious illnesses by doing the master cleanse and I WILL TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 3 of the Master Cleanse

Several people have written that the first 3 days are the most difficult on the cleanse because so many toxins are released that have been stored in the body for many years. THEY WERE RIGHT!!! Day 1 and day 2 were ok but day 3, yesterday, was a challenge. In fact I just needed to apologize to my children for being so grumpy yesterday. They, being the wonderful people that they are, forgave me willingly. Then, when I asked them if I should read a book during meals so that I don't have to sit and watch them eat, Cora said, "Go blog." She knew that I very imperfectly missed writing yesterday, because I didn't feel up to it, and that I want to write about day 3 even though it is late. HOW DREADFUL THAT I DIDN'T DO IT ON THE "RIGHT" DAY!!! Can you see how this perfectionism drove me to shingles on my brain??????????????
Well this is how it was. I was a bit groggy--not really dizzy but not right in the brain either. People bugged me and I just ached. I haven't been taking any supplements during the cleanse, which is recommended, so I started having a hot flash as I was without the Vitex (chaste tree berry). I did some BodyTalk and learned that I needed to take it because the cleanse and menopause at the same time were just too much for me. After 4 Vitex capsules, that settled down but I couldn't concentrate during school. Finally I just let the boys off and went into the whirlpool for a few hours.
What a miracle worker a whirlpool is. I HIGHLY recommend anyone who has a chronic disease condition to get one--especially if any nerve damage is involved. It soothes the nerve endings better than pain releavers and the stress reduction helps get at the root of the problem. We just plain have too much stress out here in the country. I know that many people view the country life as rest and relaxation at all times. In '06, when I was dying, my brother told my mother that he couldn't understand what was wrong with me. He said, "She lives in the country--how can she have any stress?"
Well, maybe this isn't the right time to get into this, because I find myself highly emotional on the cleanse (even more than normal), but the family farm has been under attack for decades. It's going to take the city people realizing that us country people need them to buy their food from us directly, if it will survive. I'll say more about that when I am done cleansing, I'm sure, but maybe it will get some folks thinking if anybody ever reads this.
I finished yesterday talking to a new BodyTalk client who had her first session with me on Sunday. I wanted to see how she was feeling and she made me ever so happy. She has seen remarkable improvements in her life after only one session. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!
Sometimes I get down about all of the pain; and all of the work; and all of the government intervention in our lives. However, when I think about how I am now able to help people to regain their health and their lives through BodyTalk, I am VERY glad that I didn't die in '06. I'm sorry to be so morbid today but I suppose that it is because of all of the toxins that are being released through this cleanse. Many morbid things have happened to me in my life. I am glad to finally be able to release the affects of them and go on to happiness.
Until tomorrow.

Day 2 of the Master Cleanse

This is sweet, little Shasta. She was born about 3 weeks ago on a bitter, cold night. Robert brought her to the calf barn in the bucket of the loader tractor and we weren't sure if she'd make it or not. We gave her some colostrum, just in case she had been too cold to drink from her mama. The next day she was up and drank with gusto. Shasta is the kind of critter who captures your heart minutes after you meet her. However, as all of the pens were full of bigger calves who would push her around, we left her in the middle of the barn. This means that she can come up behind us while we feed the other calves. She is a REAL PEST as she butts us and begs for her bottle. In the winter, Cora and I both wear long, woolen skirts over our regular skirts. Sometimes she pushes her head between our legs and we lock her in our headgates--in between our legs. This leaves her head covered up with our long skirts. I don't know if you know this or not but, when you cover an animals eyes, they go into a trance and freeze. It works great when you're working calves and so we subdue our little Shasta. I'll be writing about Shasta from time to time but the next critter I'll feature is Mabel who has been in the hospital for about 2 weeks. I'll have to get her picture first, though, so that will have to wait.

Now here's the news about day 2 of the Master cleanse, also called the Lemonade diet. It was a little harder day today because I was around the house and smelling food cooking. God bless Cora who has taken over most of the cooking for these 10 days!!! Still, I am determined to stick this out because I see it as something that God has led me to. He will make it possible to complete that which He has called me to. That reminds me of a special song called, "God will make a way when there seems to be no way." Anyway I wasn't really hungry, as long as I kept the lemonade nearby, but I felt a little more achy than usual. This is normal for the cleanse because so many toxins are being released. I think it's worth it because I've read that many people, who have been very ill, can't get well any other way than cleansing out the poisons with this cleanse. The master cleanse washes ALL of the body, instead of targeting a certain organ. After the 10 days, one needs to wait 2 months before you can do it again. People can do it over and over until total wellness has been achieved. What this means is that it IS possible for me to recover completely from the shingles on my brain. IT GIVES ME HOPE AND SO I PRESS ON!!

On a lighter note, I asked Cora if I might post her newest poem that she wrote the other day It's about our new dog, Millie. We have never had such a hyper dog before so I thought that it was quite cute. Quite clever Cora. I'll write tomorrow night with the update on day 3. Many people have said that it's the hardest day of all but why should I go into it thinking that way? There is one thing I think I'll enjoy about not eating solid food for 10 days--I get to write during supper time so hopefully this will be a blessing to SOMEBODY!!! If not, at least it takes my mind off of my family happily munching beside me. :)

Millie is a pain you see,

She never likes obeying me.

She has a mind all of her own,

She's always in my comfort zone.

She pesters goats and thinks it's play,

She never lets cats have their way.

She chews our shovels, boots, and rugs,

She'd likely pester Bombie bugs!

Yet, we love her very much,

We feed her milk and bones and such,

Perhaps we'll grieve when she grows up,

But for now, she's still all pup!

Day 1 of the Master Cleanse

What a glorious day my first day on the cleanse was. I got to go to Bismarck ALL BY MYSELF!!!
After delivering 2 quarters of our organic beef to friends, I got the most incredible BodyTalk session I have ever had from my practitioner, Elizabeth Hanson. My dear friend, Ellen Schultz, was there too which turned out to be a blessing as I went into anaphalixis again. I didn't need the epipen or even the cayenne--the session took care of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The session even went into cellular repair to deal with the anaphalixis tendency that I have acquired over time. Now I have faith that it will be the LAST TIME THAT I WILL EXPERIENCE THAT VERY FEARFUL EVENT!!! I should note here that the anaphalxis was from the emotions that I experienced earlier in the session that were stirred up from the abuses of my childhood.
After things settled down, I went to the BodyTalk practice and met some new people and learned new concepts which will make me an even better practitioner. Totally neat is that Ellen had brought some of our summer sausage along for supper, which she set out to share with the group as she hadn't had time to eat her supper because my session was quite long. Out of that experience, I think we'll sell another quarter of our wonderful beef. :)
Best of all was that I only drank the lemonade all day and I felt great!!! Whenever I got hungry, I just drank another sip and my blood sugars stayed level all day. I got home at 10:30; had prayer with my family; and was too excited to drift off to sleep right away as I realized, at yet a deeper level, the wonderful tool the Lord has given to me to help others recover from the streses in their lives. PRAISE THE LORD FOR BODYTALK FOR I KNOW THAT I WOULDN'T BE HERE TO WRITE THIS BLOG AND TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS IF HE HADN'T BROUGHT IT INTO MY LIFE!!! I pray that all you who come here and read this will consider adding BodyTalk to the list of alternative health options that you are considering. PLEASE go to the International Body Talk website or the ND one, by goggling Body Talk, and find a practitioner near you. Chances are either they, or a loved one, have come to BT through a major illness or trauma and have an interesting story to tell you of their own. Feel free to call me, if you are in my neck of the woods, as I would be ever so happy to help you as Elizabeth has helped me. :)

New Year's resolutions

How can it be that January is almost over and I haven't written to wish everyone a Happy New Year yet? First we had the flue; then we were dealing with sick calves because of the temperature fluctuations; and now we're trying to hit the books more seriously. We've set Andrew's graduation date for June 8th, so that is incentive to get moving big time. Then too, we always have the milking to contend with.

We had a surprise right before the new year started. It wasn't really a surprise because we kind of had our suspicions, but we were guaranteed, "Almost 100%" that the last 3 goats we bought were not bred. This is a picture of Jed Clamp-it which proves one must be 100% positive of such things when you live in ND. The mother had triplets, 2 of which froze. We took Jed into the house and he lived in the kitchen for 2 weeks. After that we could leave him with his mama during the days. Now at night we put him, and the other kid we inherited out of the deal, in a dog kennel in the milk room so the house is quiet again and smells a lot better too. Still, I miss my baby. Look at those wonderful Nubian ears!



I made 3 New Year's resolutions this year. The first may seem like one big DAH to you all, but it's been growing in my mind for awhile. You see, I've always had a heart of compassion for the underdogs of life. I absolutely cannot tolerate anyone being cruel to another person for any reason. Yet I have seen recently, that I have been terribly cruel to myself in many ways. I was abused as a child and I guess I thought that is how I should be treated. Although the years of recovery work have taught me to defend myself from the attacks of others, I couldn't see that I was more cruel to myself than anyone in my life now.
Last Fall I shared a very special day with some friends when the Lord showed me clearly how it hurt Him when I am cruel to myself. I had never thought of it like that before. I had never thought that God would be wounded by my self-abuse. It made me weap before His throne and , after I repented, my mind opened to the possibility that perhaps He wants me to be as kind to myself as I am to everybody else. I have been more observant of this now and have made it my resolution to treat myself as sweetly as I treat everybody else. This is resolution number 1 and it has led to much happiness in my life. :)
Resolution # 2 has to do with the farm. For a long time I've wanted to post a sort of diary about our farm activities. Years ago a friend told us that one of the biggest money makers for rural people to consider is offering city people a chance to come to the farm and see what it's really like to care for animals; to till the soil; and to produce your own food. Our friend had a travel-agent friend who was looking for farmers who would do this. The agency was charging each family member $1,000 a week to go out and work on the farms. We had pondered it at the time but decided not to get involved while our children were so young and impressionable. Still, just knowing that many city people would like to have contact with farmers has made me want to do something to help them.
I figured if I could write a journal of our activities, maybe folks could feel a little closer to the land. I wondered how to do this long before I started this blog and now I have the avenue here. I decided to track the life of this adorable little calf who is living in the barn right now. I will tell you about her, as we go along, and you can get a picture of how long it takes a critter to mature and how her personality develops. Oh yes, they all have their own personalities.
Actually we have 3 calves in the middle section of the barn which is considered the hospital.
The first is Mabel who almost died with something called nervous coccidiosis. She's big, weighing in at about 400 pounds and is looking like she may pull through. Secondly is Daisy who weighs about 250 pounds and was pulled off of a stock cow when she got sick with pneumonia. Lastly is this sweet little girl calf, called a heifer, who was born on a bitter cold night not long ago. When choosing her name, I considered my favorite flower bed blossoms--Shasta daisies. So her name is Shasta and she is a heart-breaker. I will post her picture soon and I will tell you about her antics so that you too can fall in love with this little princess.
So my second new year's resolution is to keep you folks up-to-date about farm life by tracking
activities through Shasta's eyes. By focusing on one animal, it will be easier for me to keep up with this goal of sharing the country life with those who aren't so fortunate as to be living out here in the great outdoors.
My 3rd New Year's resolution has to do with this perfectionism that rules my life. I am a melancholy/sanguine cross disposition. The melancholy must have things perfect while the sanguine just wants to be with people. This has translated in my life to mean that I think I must be perfect when I am with people--and when I am not. That's a big part of the reason that I developed shingles on my brain in 2006. I think that I mentioned this tendency in my first post.
It's so hard for me to just sit down here and write without editing everything as I go along because wouldn't it be terrible if I were to misspell a word or leave out a comma or mix my tenses? That is probably why it's January 25th and I still haven't written to wish everyone all of God's best in the New Year. Cora helped me with this today though.
I told her that I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS WRITING TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! She said, "Mom, want a tip? If you would just feel free to sit down and just write a little post, instead of thinking that it has to be a book, perhaps you would be able to keep up with it better." DAH AGAIN!!!
But I have so much that I want to say and it has to be PERFECT!!!
So I'm going to combine all of these thoughts now and, when I do, I come up with this. I don't have to be perfect, because I'm not anyway, so I'll be kind to myself and just write a little bit as the inspiration comes up. If things aren't worded perfectly, please forgive me. This blog is supposed to be therapy for me and not just one more burden.
So there, I've fessed up and I feel better. Now that I've learned how to put pictures on, things should be more interesting for you.
The last thing that I want to talk about has to do with my newest attempts to get back to wellness. The Lord has led me to a program called THE MASTER CLEANSE. It's also been called the lemonade diet. I'm starting tomorrow and I would like all of your prayers to be strong in my convictions to stay on it for 10 days. Many people have found it to be the only way to get completely well after a major illness. You can get the details by goggling MASTER CLEANSE.
The author of the book I read recommended blogging during the 10 days to encourage others to pursue this detoxification process. And so I will share with you my experiences each day of the cleanse. Now that is my goal and perfection demands that I do it every day. However, I know now that it probably won't happen every day. So I shall be kind to myself and say that I will write when I can.
Thanks for all of your support and I covet your prayers as I continue my recovery from shingles on my brain.