Michelle Conaway

Well, today went well.  But the question whether to stay on the cleanse or get off was getting stronger and stronger.  My 23 year old daughter and my husband were both on the cleanse as well, for five and four days respectively, as of today.  They were ready to call it quits.  They felt that they were cleansed enough and were very proud that they had made it this far, as was I.  I knew I could make it for longer, but why?  That was the question I kept asking myself.

I stayed present.  I kept checking in with my body.  My body felt ready to eat, or was it just my mind?  I don’t know but at about 4:00 p.m. I found myself making the luscious wonderful vegetable soup that you are suppose to break the fast with.  I did this differently than I normally do.  I was content.  I made it slowly and paid attention to each vegetable that I cut, giving thanks that it was here.  Ironically, our vegetable garden outside had begun to bear wonderful fruits of squash, zucchini, tomatoes and green beans this week.  I had appreciatively pulled each vegetable off of it’s vine each day.  I had washed it and stored it and loved and appreciated it throughout the fast.  I was proud to have grown it and was proud to now be making a soup with clean food that I would break the fast with.

That evening, my husband, daughter and myself stood over the pot of steaming soup and savored it’s aroma.  We dipped our ladle in and sat at the table together with our steaming bowls of fresh vegetables and broth.  We took our spoons and yum, we ate deliberately and purposefully from our bowls.  The flavors were vibrant.  The appreciation for what we were eating was great.  And we enjoyed every minute of it.

I want to remember in the days ahead to savor the foods that I eat and be conscious of what I am feeding my body.  Just as I watch the thoughts that I allow to take root in my brain I want to watch the food and  chemicals that I allow myself to consume.

This fast has been good on so many levels.  My urge to say “I’m Starving” has diminished.  I know now that I am not starving when my belly rumbles and I am grateful for the abundance that is always so readily available in my life.  I feel in control of my thoughts and therefore in control of my body and spirit as well.  It is such a powerful feeling to be okay with what “is” in the world.  It is wonderful to know that I can master the art of joy in each moment and that it has nothing to do with what is going on “out there” or even how my body is feeling.  It only matters what is going on within my being.

My goal is to do this fast again in October.  Next time, I would like to shoot for ten days.  Why?  I’m not sure.  I feel that I would like the experiment of it.  I would like the challenge.  I would also like to see how my body responds to ten days on a fast.  I have read about so many people that have done it and have yielded great energy and clarity of mind afterwards.  I’m not sure if I really need a fast for ten days to gain clarity of mind but who knows, my mind could always use a little more clarity, couldn’t it?

One thing I have learned is that I need to pre-prep my kids meals next time.  The cooking of healthy meals for them each day was almost too much to bear.  I think if I could just heat things up it would be easier on myself and would elimanate a lot of the temptation and constant reminder of what good foods we usually eat.  I think if I cooked ahead of time and froze their meals, I would have a good running start.

Thank you all for reading and following me on this journey.  I have enjoyed writing this blog and posting about my experiences.  I have loved it so much that I think I will start a new category titled “A Mom’s Quest for Enlightenment”.  Ha!  What do you think about that????

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