MY ORATIO BEATITUDES #6 and #7

Beatitude #6 Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see God.

Aligned with the One are those whose lives radiate from a core of love; they shall see God everywhere.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF IS THAT I RADIATE FROM PURE LOVE. I SEE GOD EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING WITHIN ME.  I KNOW THAT I AM OF GOD. I SEE AND EXPERIENCE MY GOODNES. I SEE AND EXPERIENCE MY GOD-NESS.

Beatitude #7 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are those who plant peace each season they shall be named the children of God.

AS THE REVELATION OF THE TRUTH OF WHO I AM GROWS BRIGHTER,  I AM MORE AT PEACE WITH MY BODY EVERY DAY.  I WANT TO TREAT MY BODY WITH LOVE AND CARE.  I NO LONGER PRACTICE JUDGMENT, CRITICISM OR COMPARISON. OTHERS RECOGNIZE THIS PEACE AS THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING. IT IS THE PEACE OF GOD.

I guess it had to happen this week. The let down. I’ve been cruising on my Lectio Divina and my personal affirmations and eating right, exercising, drinking water and then out of the blue comes a bad day.  Actually, not out of the blue but the gray. It's cool, cloudy and rainy. I’m tired because I didn’t sleep well. I didn’t sleep well because I have an unresolved disagreement with someone close to me.  So, I spent a longer time in prayer this morning but now I’m behind schedule. When I get to work I am greeted by a comment at the elevator. “This day sucks.”  And I heard myself agreeing, even though I completely understand that the day is neutral. It is my attitude about the day that sucks. 

I need to pray.

Once off the elevator I began to think about the Beatitudes-seeing God everywhere and being in peace. I realized that Living the Beatitudes is not a “normal” way to live. I am going to have to be willing to be “not normal”. 

I need to pray to want to be "not normal."

Being “not normal” is one of the most difficult things for the social human to do. We all want to fit in. We don’t want to be considered  “weird” or “strange” or  God forbid “new age.” However, make no mistake, in order to adopt a healthy life style we will automatically be different from the unhealthy culture in which we live.  It will be like thinking that everyday is a “good day." People will think you are strange.

Today my Oratio is about praying to be positive and praying to adopt all of the healthy habits. I know that I will appear to be selfish or weird or not normal.  However, I realize that this is the price I am paying for the peace of being well and avoiding illness into old age.

If Dr. Shealy is correct (see newsletter below), then by being selfish now I prevent my family from a decade of caring for someone who is sick or debilitated. I may not prevent myself from having a health condition in old age but I certainly reduce the chances by adopting the Dr. Shealy's Basic Health Habits.

Today I  can begin by being “not normal” and thinking positively about this good day.  I can consider the rain a good thing. After all, we do need the rain. I can stop a get a cup of coffee. I can make a decision to resolve my disagreement or to just put some space between us.

I pray to stay in peace.

Living the Beatitudes helps to keep my mind in a higher more positive place. While doing Lectio Divina I am less stressed because I am constantly monitoring my thoughts.  I am filling my day with scriptures. I am reminded to pray. I am vigilant about eating and exercise.  To be Sacred and Fit is about adopting a new lifestyle and that means a new way of thinking. The new thinking is just that "new." It's a new thing to be conscious of your thoughts about yourself and your health. No more sleepwalking. Other people may not understand it or even like it. Adopting Sacred and Fit means not being normal.

The FIVE  BASIC HEALTH HABITS (my additions in parentheses)

   By C.  Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

1.     Think Positively(.... about Everything and Everyone- Especially yourself ; Eliminate Stress including criticisms, bitterness, unforgiveness etc.)
2.  BMI 18 to 24 (This is a normal weight range, 2/3 of Americans are either overweight or obese)
3.  No Smoking (This is obvious)
4. Eating a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and  veggies daily (A single serving is 4 oz, if you can't eat that much green take a good multivitamin)
5. Exercise at least 30 minutes 5 days a week

Dr. Shealy goes on to write in his Newsletter-

The April 26, 2010 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine  stated that people who smoke, drink excessively, rarely exercise and skimp on fruits and veggies die prematurely. In fact, those with these misbehaviors are THREE times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease or cancer; FOUR times more likely to die of other causes; and die an average of 12 years earlier than those with better habits!

THE BOTTOM LINE IS:
These unhealthy habits are significant components of the Death Wish!  Expressed or not, the choice of ignoring common sense health habits seems compatible with Freud's concept that most people have a death wish and my surveys which conclude that only 20% of people are reasonably happy! You cannot afford the luxury of ignoring health!! Death may not be so bad but most of the time unhealthy--sickly disease--leads to at least a decade of suffering before death.  Why is it that a huge majority of people fail to accept the simplicity of essential healthy habits?  Suffering should be optional. Premature death should also be optional and mostly avoidable!.

My Meditatio on Beatitdue #6

My students usually balk at having to read a book that’s about reading a book but I have them read it anyway. The book is called How to read a Book: The classic guide to intelligent reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. It was written in the middle of the last century and it is still in print because it addresses the different types of ways to read for understanding. One of the most important criteria is to read the book from the author’s perspective. According to Adler and Van Doren, you cannot understand a book until you have read it at least twice, outlined it in detail, compared it to other similar books and deciphered the words that the author uses in a unique way. Then and only then are you prepared to engage the work for the deeper meaning that the author intended.  Fortunately, not all books require that much work. Only those books that you wish to know well enough that they become a part of you are worth this kind of deep analytical reading. 

For the last six weeks, we have treated the Beatitudes in a similar way. We have read them deeply and introspectively. We have allowed ourselves to interpret broader meanings. We have personalized them with our own affirmations. We have memorized, meditated and contemplated them. We have prayed them.  We have, in effect, sought the author’s perspective.

Studying the sacred texts should not be only an academic exercise. If we presume that the words have the power to affect our lives than we must be open to not just “knowing” more but actually “becoming” more.  I believe that this is what the Beatitudes teach us, that our spiritual walk starts with us wanting to change but ends with us making a change in the world. We bring love, grace, mercy, compassion and peace into whatever situation we find ourselves.  The more we study and grow, the deeper the love, the kinder the grace and mercy, the more wondrous the peace. 

From my years of teaching and my lifetime of being a student, I understand that words do not teach.  Words get memorized. Words can be recalled and tested and regurgitated but true learning is an activity, an experience. To experience the teaching of the Bible we need more than the Left brain because the author did not write for just the Left brain. This is obvious to me because it takes more than Left brain understanding to “see God everywhere,” especially when we are looking at God within ourselves.

As I meditate on Beatitudes #6, I feel like I’ve traveled a great distance from where I was when I meditated on Beatitude #1 six weeks ago.   I find that having a practice of keeping the scriptures present through out the day has had a profound effect on me. True, I relate to my body differently and I think of eating in a different way than I did when we started. But there’s more, I feel less stress. I don’t move as fast. I don’t feel pressured by my TO DO list, in fact, I’ve actually been more productive and focused over the last six weeks.  My desk is organized!  

Maybe, just maybe, utilizing the Left  brain and Right brain while studying/experiencing the Beatitudes has made it easier to bring an expanded awareness to the rest of my life.  My meditation today was the thought that if I look for God everywhere I see God everywhere....so did God just get there or is it me?

Can you identify areas of your life, other than eating and exercise that have been affected by your participation in the Sacred and Fit program. If so,  write about what has changed in your Notebook.

Consider the question I've been pondering..Did God just get here, or is it me? In other words, As I commit to think thoughts of love I see more love around me.  What does this mean? ( I'm actually asking myself this question.)

Loving my entire self: Lectio of Beatitudes #6 & #7

We are now entering into the last two weeks of the Sacred and Feet program and the final phase of fully incorporating weight loss and health into our spiritual practice.  We have used the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount  (Matthew 5 ) because these verses out line the steps to creating a profound spiritual, mental/emotional and physical shift in one’s being.  These steps are actually repeated throughout scripture but in the Sermon on the Mount they are presented as part of a teaching on spiritual growth in a succinct and logical progression. In my view, the steps outline the following TO DO list for spiritual growth and change; an acknowledgement of our inability to change a behavior; an honest inquiry into the reasons behind the behavior;  a willingness to change an old belief system, pattern or habit; and then finally receiving grace, in the form of a new revelation or understanding resulting a radical change of actions or behaviors

 If we were to make these seven Beatitudes into the kind of affirmations used in a 12-step program, it might read like the following (IN CAPS).  Note that these affirmations are the result of my personal journey with spirituality and weight.  I understand that they will not be yours, especially since you may have used different translations or interpretations over the last six weeks. 

Beatitude #1, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven OR 

Healed are those who devote themselves to the link of spirit; the design of the universe is rendered through their form.

ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO AFFECT PERMANENT CHANGE IN THIS AREA IN THE PAST, I NOW BELIEVE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO INVOLVE THE SPIRT OF GOD AND TO CHANGE MY HEALTH HABITS ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Beatitude #2 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted

Tuned to the Source are those feeling deeply confused by life; they shall be returned from their wandering.

BEFORE NOW I THOUGHT OF MY BODY AND MY HEALTH AS SOMEHOW NOT CONNECTED TO MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. I WAS CONFUSED.

Beatitude #3 Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe

I KNOW THAT THE REASONS BEHIND MY WEIGHT GAIN HAVE BEEN HIDDEN AND DIFFICULT TO ADMIT, EVEN TO MYSELF. AS I NOW ACKNOWLEDGE AND RELEASE THE REASONS FOR MY UNHEALTHY HABITS, I AM ALSO RELEASING THE WEIGHT.

Beatitude #4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled.

Healed are those who persistently feel inside: “If only I could find new strength and a clear purpose on which to base my life”; they shall be embraced by birthing power.

Integrated, resisting delusion are those who long clearly for a foundation of peace between the warring parts of themselves; they shall find all around them the materials to build it.

ULTIMATELY, MY ISSUES WITH WEIGHT REPRESENTED FALSE BELIEFS WHICH SHOWED THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF.  THE ABSENCE OF THIS TRUTH LEFT ME WANTING. THE PRESENCE OF THIS TRUTH NOW FILLS ME. 

Beatitude #5 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

Healthy is the one who extends mercy for they shall have their prayers answered.

WITHIN THIS TRUTH, I AM ABLE TO GRANT MERCY, GRACE AND COMPASSION TO MYSELF.  WITHIN THIS TRUTH, I AM ABLE TO GRANT MERCY, GRACE AND COMPASSION TO OTHERS, EVEN MY ENEMIES.  THEREFORE, THERE IS NOTHING TO HINDER MY PRAYERS.

Beatitude #6 Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see God.

Aligned with the One are those whose lives radiate from a core of love; they shall see God everywhere.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF IS THAT I RADIATE FROM PURE LOVE. I SEE GOD EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING WITHIN ME.  I KNOW THAT I AM OF GOD. I SEE AND EXPERIENCE MY GOODNES. I SEE AND EXPERIENCE MY GOD-NESS.

Beatitude #7 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are those who plant peace each season they shall be named the children of God.

AS THE REVELATION OF THE TRUTH OF WHO I AM GROWS BRIGHTER,  I AM MORE AT PEACE WITH MY BODY.  EVERY DAY I TREAT MY BODY WITH LOVE AND CARE.  I NO LONGER PRACTICE JUDGMENT, CRITICISM OR COMPARISON. OTHERS RECOGNIZE THIS PEACE AS THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING. IT IS THE PEACE OF GOD.

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Create your own Affirmations that are based on your participation in the Sacred and Fit Program.  Do this activity slowly and take your time. This week  think about how you would interpret the scriptures  if they had been written just for you and focused on your health regimen. Utilize all of the tools that have been introduced to you during the course of the program, especially those aimed at heightening your intuitive senses; morning pages, dreams,  self-suggestion before sleeping, vision pages, mindfulness and  Lectio Divina.   During the course of this week, write down at least one Affirmation and place it where you can see it on a daily basis.

Healhy Thinking

Healthy is the one who extends mercy for they shall have their prayers answered.

The link between stress and illness has been so widely reported that it is common knowledge. Everyone knows that chronic stress makes you more susceptible to illness and people who are chronically stressed take longer to heal. Ailments that are linked to stress, not surprisingly, include depression, hair loss, anxiety disorder, sexual dysfunction and ulcers.  What may come as a surprise is that obesity has also been linked to stress.

 There are many was to define stress.  Researchers who study stress have examined the effects of “daily hassels” or conditions found in our everyday environment- things like living conditions, financial concerns, work issues or relationships.  Daily hassels are relatively small stressors but they can contribue to  an overall heightened stress level because they happen frequently. There are major life events that can be stressful.  Life events can be positive (getting married or stating a new job) or negative (getting divorced or the death of a friend or  family member). Both positive and negative life events can be stressful. Finally there are cataclysmic events like Hurricane Katrina. Researchers have measured heightened stress levels in those that were affected by Hurricane Katrina some years later. In addition, people who were not directly affected also reported stress by the constant images and news coverage during and after the hurricane.

All of these types of stressors, daily hassels, life events or cataclysmic events can cause physiological changes in the body which is another way to measure stress. Stress has a hormonal signature and it is the release of  hormones (particularly adenaline but there are others) that have adverse effects on the body over time.  What the three types of stressors have in common is that they they depend on the left hemisphere. What I mean by that is, words are the means of communication about the noisy neighbor or the bad husband that took everything or the earthquake in Haiti. Words form the basis of the narrative  and when the words are  repeated and rehearsed and replayed in our minds we can create a permanent level of stress. The brain reacts the same way to stimuli whether imagined or presented from the outside, so a rehearsed narrative will be the truth….whatever is being thought is the truth, as far as the brain is concerned. What you think about constantly you teach the brain to believe.

In my view the only way to “reboot” from the narrative or storyline is to have regular periods where the sound is muted. Create a quiet mind or at least allow the right hemisphere some action for a minute. This may sound simple but it is definitely not easy.  Meditation and mindfulness techniques are one way to elicit a quiet mind but there are others such as walking in nature or being fully focused on an activity that takes all of your attention.  There’s also the practice of “Being Present”, being fully focused on whatever you are doing. This is also known as “Be here now” or “As of now.” You place your attention on the sensations of this present moment not the TO DO list or the sense of loss or the horrific images from TV news. 

Of course, none of the effects of a quiet mind will do much good if when you come back to your story there is hatred, bitterness or unforgiveness. Keeping the upset going for days, weeks, years or decades will hurt you in the end and will curtail any progress you may wish to make in your spiritual journey. As a matter of fact, to forgive, to release from blame to love, this IS the spiritual journey.

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Closely examine the relationship you have created between feelings of stress and the behavior of eating.  Write down in your notebook anything that comes to mind.

Being healthy requires healthy habits

Just as being spiritual requires spiritual habits, being healthy requires healthy habits.

As we complete week six of the Sacred and Fit program we have incorporated several new activities into our daily routines. The continuation of weight loss depends on the continuation of these healthy habits. NO MORE DIETS. This is about life-style eating. No more intermittent exercise bouts. This is about making exercise as much a priority as a church service. No more mindless eating or mindless not-eating. This is about caring for your body as if it were a temple.

Permanent health promoting habits will require that some other not-health promoting habits be kicked to the curb. The price of permanent weight loss and good health may be the loss of some activities that you once enjoyed.  You don’t have to do this cold turkey. In fact the Sacred and Fit program is designed to only introduce you to these health-promoting activities and then to allow you to incorporate what fits your lifestyle slowly over time. Even small steps will get you to your health and fitness goals if you are consistent.

What are you willing to change about your current lifestyle in order to continue your weight loss?  What small steps toward change are you committed to do consistently as a result of this program?

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Consider the list of intentions from the Fasting week. Note the items that you felt were answered or addressed during the Fast. In what items did you receive a breakthrough?

Make a list of changes in your life that you would have to make in order to create a healthy life style.  Place a check by those you have committed to change. Place a star by those items that you think would require a dedicated time of prayer and fasting in order to be incorporated into your life.

My contemplatio on Beatitude #5

Several weeks ago, back in week 2 of the Sacred and Fit program,  I introduced the Lectio Divina and also provided a link to the website of Jill Bolte Taylor, (insert), the neuroscientist who suffered a stroke on the left side of her brain. If you haven’t watched the video, now may be a good time as I revisit the topic of left or right brain dominance.  You can even take a test to find out which side of your brain you depend on the most for information. 

Knowing how you process information is important as you further develop your spiritual practice. As I pray for balance it become clear that just as I need a balanced diet of physical food, I also need a balanced diet of spiritual food. Left brain activities such as reading, looking up word definitions, taking notes, listening to people talk, talking and discussing are all dependent on WORDS. This in my view,  does not lead to a balanced spiritual life.  One reason for that is because words can’t possibly communicate the entirety of what and who God is. A spiritual life or a spirit-led life, by definition, is to live more intuitively. There will some things that you will understand because of the way they make you FEEL. A balanced spiritual life attends to both words and feelings.

If you examine the life of Jesus the Christ, you will see this balance clearly.  We know from the Gospels that he was well trained in the Hebrew Scriptures, even as a boy. However, we also get a glimpse into his adult spiritual practices of fasting, daily early morning prayer and listening to an inner voice. In fact he was led and directed by that voice. The Gospels clearly reveal that the disciples did not consider many of his actions, logical or rational. However those spirit-led acts were necessary for the purpose of his life to be accomplished.

The four parts of Lectio Divina represent a balanced method of studying scripture in that both sides of the brain are given assignments. The left brain is given activity: choosing a verse, and creating a prayer from the verse. The right brain is charged with meditating on the verse and then contemplating the verse thus allowing a new personal revelation to occur.  It is the new personal revelation that is needed for a life’s purpose to be realized. A personal purpose requires a personal revelation.

This week’s Beatitude has brought me to a place of seeking balance and purpose on a deeper level.  I used the WORD to learn what I was truly FEELing. I learned that I am completely unable to grant mercy, grace and compassion to others by telling myself that I should be merciful. To actually BE merciful is the destination as well as the journey. I will continue to grow in these qualities by choosing, meditating upon, praying about and listening from each Beatitude.

I have also learned that I am completely unable to grant mercy, grace and compassion to others if I am not granting mercy, grace and compassion to myself.

 If there was any area of my life where I speak to myself in ways that DO NOT demonstrate mercy, grace and compassion it is in relation to my own body.  When I despise my own thighs- when I spend untold hours (if I added up all of the moments) of negative self talk- When my constant judging, assessing and comparing my body contributes to my heighted level of stress- when my weight makes me unhappy- how can I truly be a witness of the love of God to the world?  Jesus the Christ said, “Love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF”  or in my translation-….as I love my thighs….as  I love my hips,……. as I love my stomach, love handles, rolls, muffin tops,…as I love my butt…. as I love my arms,….. as I love my breasts…., as I love my body; I will love myself.

And when you love something, you will take care of it.

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On the notebook sheet that contains all of your reasons for wanting to be thin, see if you included “loving my body” as a reason. Just notice if it was missing or present but don't you dare stress if it was missing!

Take a look at the notebook sheet (the first assignment) where you wrote about the relationship between your body and your salvation experience.  Do you have any new insights as to how the care of your body (and your thinking about food, water, weight and exercise) can be more closely linked to your relationship with Jesus the Christ?

My Oratio on Beatitude #5

Today I prayed about what to pray. 

I started out the day thinking about my verse and the connection it draws between answered prayer and extending mercy and grace. While living with this Beatitude, I have been much more conscious of all the little irritations that I feel during a normal day. Lots of people get on my nerves so there are lots of opportunities to extend mercy and grace. What am I praying for that is worth all of this extending?

 I really had to have a heart to heart with myself about this because honestly, I don’t know if I WANT to extend grace, mercy and compassion to Sarah Palin. I am not quite sure that what I am praying about is worth my having to do this much work.

What kind of work? Well, take for instance tonight at dinner. It is my turn to drive my 8-year-old friend, Chay home after his Tai Kwan Do lesson. I was hungry and tired and wanted a nice salad. Chay wanted pizza. We agreed to go to a place that served both. 

Ahead of me in the salad line was a rather large man.  Since his plate was full of salad, I noticed my thought -“It is good that guy likes salad, maybe he’s eating raw food?” However, as I watched he covered the entire plate of green with the orange goopy thousand island dressing. He was slow and meticulous making sure that every shred of lettuce and tomato was covered completely. I had never seen anything so disgusting in a salad line before. Suddenly, I noticed that the dipper spoon had stopped in mid-air. I look up and the guy is glaring at me. He had caught my look of abject disgust. I quickly changed the look on my face and re-started my own salad. Got a few shakes of olive oil and vinegar and walked to my seat. I was embarrassed and angry (at who?, why?) and the thought of extending love and compassion at that moment made me lose my appetite.

Chay arrived back at our seat from the pizza line with four pieces of cheese pizza, a puddle of ranch dressing and some carrot sticks. In between big bites he proceeds to explain to me the intricacies of the cartoon show that is silently playing on the big screen tv. I am half listening because now I’ve gone from embarrassed and angry to guilty and remorseful. I should be more loving and compassionate.  But I’m not, especially when I’ve had a long day of extending grace and I have to stand behind a fat guy eating a plate of salad dressing with a lettuce garnish….

What do I want from God, really? Why am I doing all of this? What am I praying for regarding my health.  Why do I want to be thinner? Why do I want to be healthy? What is my body for? Why am I here?  What am I supposed to be doing with this body and with this life?  There must be something more to living than eating a plate of salad dressing or being thin.

It came to me that I want balance and I want purpose.

I want to have enough spiritual maturity that I won’t lose my composure because of a guy eating salad dressing. A balance of compassion, mercy and grace so that I'm still some earthly good. I also want to know in my deep heart of hearts that to be healthy IS THE POINT not just being thin. Many thin people are not healthy.  Being thin is not a purpose for my life but becoming healthy can be a mechanism to a deeper more purposeful life.  I want to know the end that this life is a means to. I want to know God’s purpose for my life.   

How do you pray for that?    

You just do.

 I pray to know how to pray for balance and for purpose.

Healthy are those that extend grace for they shall have their prayers answered.

Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.

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See how far you can get in this exercise.

1) In your notebook write the answer to the question.

“The reason I want to be thin is ____X________________________.”

2) Whatever you’ve written as the answer to number #1 make that the next inquiry.

“The reason I want X is  Y___________.

3) Continue until you run out of things to write.

“The reason I want Y is Z__________.

Think on what you’ve written.

My Meditatio on Beatitude #5

  Healthy are those that extend grace for they shall find their own prayers answered.
  From the Aramaic Translation -Blessings of the Cosmos by Neil Douglas-Klotz

Meditatio is the second component of Lectio Divina and follows the choosing of the verse for the week (Lectio). You are invited to consciously think of meditatio from 10:00-2:00pm every day..right during the noon hour, the middle of the day when you will probably find many opportunities to extend grace or mercy.

It is not surprising that there are two effects for extending grace or mercy to other people, one is “Health”- from the root word translated as “Blessed” and the other is answered prayer.  Two thousand years ago, there were no scientific studies to validate the connection between stress and negative health outcomes. However, now we know what happens when there is no grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness or love extended to others who have wronged you. The stress generated by bitterness, hatred, animosity, unforgiveness literally kills you slowly.  The hormones and other blood borne chemicals elicited by a constant state of upset will exacerbate any negative health condition and at the same time dampen the immune response. If you are sick it will be harder to get well and will take longer. Plus you are more likely to get sick. This is a huge price to pay in order to be right and make another wrong about something…even if they truly were in the wrong.

Forgiveness requires spiritual maturity and one of the disciplines involved in spiritual maturity is the ability to govern the thoughts that you think.  As someone once said, “I can’t do much about the birds that fly overhead, but I can keep them from nesting in my hair.” Thoughts will come and go but negative thoughts about yourself or someone else need not “build a nest in your hair.”  Continue to practice identifying negative thoughts about yourself or others and consciously extend grace and mercy.

The other consequence of extending grace and mercy to others is answered prayer. If you can identify an area for which you have not yet received an answer to your prayer see if you can also identify a person or group, which are in much need of your mercy and grace.  This Beatitude suggests that there may be a connection. 

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Write in your journal about a past unresolved upset. Be vigilant with yourself, bring to mind a situation where you felt you had been wronged and send grace and compassion to the person that did it. IF you can’t think of a personal incident than turn on Fox news and send grace and compassion to Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.  No seriously,  hold the thought of a staunch right wing, Obama-hating Republican and send them grace and mercy. They need the compassion and we need the practice.

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
   KJV
Healthy are those who extend grace, they shall find their own prayers answered.
  Aramaic translation from “Blessings of the Cosmos” by Neil Douglas Kltoz

 I once heard an obese woman refer to another woman who was morbidly obese as “shameful.” “Why would anyone let themselves get like that.”  She followed her comments with a reference to her own weight. “I know, I’m big but I’m not THAT big.” 

Later I crafted a theory. When so much of one’s time and mind has been given to thinking about food, diets, calories, weight, size, etc, there is bound to be negative self-talk generated from the constant attention to thin-ness. Often the negativity toward one’s self is so well-practiced it is difficult to face directly. “I know I’m big BUT….”  Signifies that it is hard to admit to the difficulty of adopting healthy behaviors but easy to blame others for being unable to ascribe to healthy habits themselves. In short, it is easier to focus on outward appearances than on inward thoughts.

The next verse comes after our week of fasting where we, in humility, acknowledged our utter powerlessness in being able to solve the issue of our weight outside of our relationship with Jesus the Christ. In making our weight a spiritual issue, we acknowledge that the reasons behind the eating are of primary concern. The real problem lies in not how we are behaving but what we deeply and most inwardly believe.  We have invited Spirit to the source of the issue, the thoughts we think about our bodies.

We now know from the fast that it is possible to change our eating behavior.  We now bring our faith to bear on the issue of our thoughts. We seek grace to make change to the way we think.

The first step in acquiring grace for ourselves is to extend it to others. The Aramaic word for  “grace” can also be translated as ”mercy” and “compassion” and it comes form an ancient root word that means “womb” or “deepest part of ourselves.”  However, the “deep” parts of ourselves are often hidden even from us. One way to delve deeper is to listen to the thoughts we habitually think about ourselves and others. Often we will find a stream of negativity.

One way to unmask negative self-talk is by learning to be aware of EVERY negative comment you think or say about your own or another person’s weight or size.  What if instead of a negative comment my friend had silently intoned a prayer for the much larger woman, “I pray that she be healthy and well.”  In so doing, she would have been uttering a prayer for herself to be healthy and well, according to this Beatitude.

What about the flipside. What happens when you notice yourself noticing thin people. ..a possible thought to bring to awareness at that moment is gratitude for the reminder that you are reaching your ideal or goal weight.  All situations, conversations and experiences around food, diets, calories, weight, size, etc can begin to serve as cues to extend grace either to yourself or another. In this way, slowly by slowly, subconscious thoughts are trained to associate weight with health. We turn from habits of giving criticism to granting compassion.  This Beatitude assures us that when we give mercy then will be blessed with mercy.
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Record three different translations of Beatitude #5 from the Bible translation website OR choose one possible interpretation from the book Blessings of the Cosmos, by Neil  Douglass-Klotz. Chose one verse to focus on for this week.

Return to the page in the notebook where you wrote down negative comments about your weight. Write over the page and cover every bit of the old writing. Cover the page with prayers of blessings to yourself concerning your weight. Don’t worry if you are unable to read it, you are attempting to reach deeper levels of your mind as you write new text over old text, new script over old script, new words over old words, blessings over curses.

Overview of Sacred and Fit- After completing the first phase

This is the final day of Fasting in the Sacred and Fit program. As we enter the final day it is time to reflect on lessons learned from eating raw food for four days, liquid foods for 2 days and fresh juice on 1 day.  A fast combined with the practices initiated for the first three Beatitudes have the potential to affect us on all levels, physical, mental/emotional and of course spiritual.

The week of fasting serves as the pinnacle of the Sacred and Fit program. The Fast occurs after three weeks of focusing on our issues around our health. The first three Beatitudes (which ever interpretation or version you have chosen to examine), were aimed at focusing on the THINKING behind the health habits and bringing our health regimens under the domain of our spiritual practice.

We used the Lectio Divina to initiate a discipline of keeping the scriptures close, not just on a daily basis but on an hourly basis, on a mealtime/snacktime basis. The four practices of the Lectio Divina, lectio (choosing a verse), meditiatio (ruminating on the verse), oratio (praying from the verse), and contemplatio (listening for revelation) were assigned to the waking hours of the day. Your Sacred and Fit notebook contains pages for the thoughts and inspirations that can be captured upon waking and during contemplatio, as you go to sleep. We resume this practice for the final three weeks of the program in order to obtain direction and insight into what is needed for permanent change.

When we first introduced the Beatitudes, we invited you to consider the Aramaic Version of the scriptures. Aramaic, is the language most Biblical scholars say that Jesus the Christ spoke. All Bible experts acknowledge that Jesus did not speak Greek. We learned that, English and Greek are similar in that there is an attempt to assign letters from an alphabet to create a single word. The word then conveys a particular idea.  On the other hand, Aramaic and Hebrew, use characters that can represent different words or ideas depending on the context.

We used the book Blessings of the Cosmos by Neil Douglas-Kotz as our Aramaic text. For each Beatitude, there can be six or seven possible interpretations in the Aramaic. We also provided a website for different translations of the Bible such as King James, New International Version or Amplified Bible.  Which ever verse you chose, you were invited to APPLY the verse to your health habits- eating (a healthy diet of your choosing that will form the basis of your life-time eating-NO MORE DIETING; water intake- a minimum of 8 glasses/ day; exercise- a minimum of 30 minutes /day 5 days per week).  The REASONS that these are not your current health practices are the focus of the verses and of prayer.

Slowly, over three weeks, the verses allow you to go deeper and deeper into self-examination. Recognizing the powerlessness over permanently changing some aspect of your health regimen. Allowing yourself to acknowledge the internal (negative) conversations you have about your body and or weight. Being willing to give up the old conversations and take on, in meekness, a renewed commitment to see yourself as God’s child, your body as holy.

Now, with this renewed commitment, we learned through this fast that it is possible to eat nothing but vegetables and fruits. We learned that it is possible to eat nothing and just drink fresh juice. We learned what it feels like to be hungry and to be refreshed by nourishing food. Some may choose to continue the fasting week for the next three weeks. In the future, the Sacred and Fit program will provide support those who choose to fast for up to 40 days.

This brings us now to the final phase of the program. Starting tomorrow we will begin by choosing a translation or Aramaic interpretation of “Beatitude #5- Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” The focus of the Beatitudes shift. We started by focusing on our own efforts to making every area, even our health/weight available to God,  After the week of fasting, our weight/health is transformed into a testimony. Here, the transformational power of Spirit is welcomed to permanently alter the reasons behind the weight. The practices used in Sacred and Fit can ultimately be used in uncovering your life's purpose. After all, the reason to be healthy and fit is so that you can best fulfill the purpose of your life, your own individual calling, the thing that will give you the most exquisite joy and the greatest sense of fulfillment in this life.

Your body is a temple only because it contains the spirit of God being expressed on this earth at this time, as YOU.

Fasting Revelations

Revelations from five days of fasting:
Food makes me happy.
Food makes me happy when I am thinking about the food I am eating.
Most of the time I eat out of habit and I’m not paying attention.
When I pay attention, I have happy moments with my food. 
During this fast, I have also had happy moment paying attention to the trees.
During this fast, I have had happy moments paying attention to breathing.  
Perhaps I could have more happy moments by paying attention.

Open letter to my Aunt Jeannette on ending our fast

Dear Aunt Jeannette-
Today is the pinnacle day of the Sacred and Fit program. Congratulations we have made it halfway. I know I introduced you to a lot of new concepts and like you said, it was "very intense" at the beginning.......but you hung with me. Thank you for having faith enough in me to give this a try. It’s one thing to trust someone enough to read a book they recommend…it’s a whole other thing to stop eating regular food for seven days!

  After today we are actually slowly ending the fast. (BTW-This is a good time for an enema-between now and Sunday.)  I hope you have gotten a lot out of your fasting experiences so far.
There are many wonderful things to be gained by fasting but the most important is the realization that you can fast. For the last three days, we have drastically cut our caloric intake.  We’ve given our digestive tract a much needed rest. We’ve turned our attention toward  spiritual food. We’ve experienced heightened sensations and a quiet mind.  I actually distinguished hunger from craving for the first time ever! We experienced the marvel of our magnificent bodies. These are all very good experiences to take back into our eating life. Tomorrow, you may introduce smoothies and soup if you desire but if you wish to extend the fast, feel free. If you can juice fast for 1 day, you can juice fast for 10 or for 21 or even for 40 days.  Just remember to reintroduce, even smoothies, very slowly to you system.  The website had an informative page on ending the fast.

So far, I have received insight on two of my three intentions. I look forward to hearing from you about your intentions.

I know you said that I don’t have to keep thanking you but I am so very grateful for you. After all, you were the inspiration for Sacred and Fit in the first place.
So, I have to say it once more, Thank you.

Love,
   Cheryl

Eating when stressed- NOT!

Today was day three of the fast and the first with no solid food and I discovered something about myself. I realized today that when I am stressed I want to eat. That was not really new news. The actual discovery was finding out what I do with my mind when I couldn’t eat to calm myself down.  It was very interesting following the narrative in my head as well as the feelings in my body.

The narrative kept jumping from blaming the other party to defending myself. In my body, I felt my shoulders and neck tense, my breathing grow shallow and this intense desire for something salty and crunchy like popcorn. NOTE: I was not hungry. Before that moment I had not been thinking about food but now thinking about popcorn, actually made me feel better…. for a second….. until I realized that I am not allowing myself popcorn or anything solid to munch on. I glanced at my juice bottle. It was NOT cutting it.

 There was nothing to do with myself after literally pacing in my office but to sit down, breathe and just BE with the discomfort. I don’t like to disappoint people. I want people to like me. I want to do a good job at my job (the issue was work related). So I just sat for a minute and let myself feel all of the feelings of anxiety and failure and hurt and fear while focusing on my breathing. This worked as well as the popcorn or candy bar or hamburger would have worked but with no calories. It did take some effort, though and time. An Almond Joy would have been quicker and would have required only enough thought to get change for the vending machine.

Learning to eat when hungry is a really important skill. Part of what we hope to accomplish by fasting is learning to sense what your body needs. When do you need to eat? When don’t you need to eat? When are you stressed?- Where is the stress in your body? What are some strategies that will deal with the stress? --not hide it, not postpone it, but deal with it.

..And just how do you deal with a stressful event. Take it for what it is…a thought. When its happening its an event. After it happens it becomes stress. After it happens, it can live only in your mind as words and feelings and images. You can think new words, you can feel new feelings and you can imagine new images…but first try to simply BE at peace with what is.
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Expect good things from the Fast

Fasting to slow down

I have a 30 minute commute and there are two routes I can take. One includes a good stint on Interstate 95. The other involves three roads, Hickory, River and Riverway. When I work late, I usually take the Interstate because it is well lit and I feel like I’m getting there faster because I drive faster. (I really don’t get home sooner- both routes take about the same amount of time.) However, tonight I decided to take the slower drive home. On day two of the seven-day fast, I'm  feeling low on energy. I’ve been slowing down all day--walking slower, eating slower. Now its late and I'm thinking driving fast would take too much energy!

The first thing I noticed about the winding country road is how dark it is at night. I’m on Hickory for about 5 miles and I am the absolute only car on the entire road. I check my gas gauge just to reassure myself that I won’t run out of gas out here.

I have the window down while I’m on this dark, winding country road and I notice the sounds of the crickets. The moon is beautiful and is following me above the tree line. I can't go faster than 45 because of the curves. I feel the night air on my face. There's a scent in the air. I try to figure out what it is. I can't. It smells like the end of summer.   I’m glad I took the slow road.  I know that both roads would have gotten me home, but on the fast road, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the air, the tree line, the crickets or even the moon. I would be focused on driving fast and getting there. 

Being on this Fast and thinking about Beatitude #4, reminds me that sometimes you need to move your spiritual life on to a slow road. Not that there is anything wrong with the Interstates- moving with lots of people going in the same direction as you. However, sometimes the slow winding road allows you to see things you might miss, like trees and crickets and moons…and while these things seem so ordinary, when you notice how good it feels to notice them, it’s like having your own special time with God.

Dark winding roads also have a bit of mystery. Even though I know where I’m going, all I can see is the end of where my headlights shine.  No long line of lights before me to show me the way I should be going. I’m out here by myself, discovering the road by my self. 

If there is more to discover about country roads, I’m sure there is more for me to discover about God, about my self, about my relationship to God and my relationship with myself. Perhaps this “hungering and thirsting” is ultimately deeper and deeper seeking and deeper and deeper finding, which translates to deeper and deeper understanding, like a road with no end.

 Tonight on that dark winding country road, I forgot about fasting and being tired. I had a brief surreal moment of feeling good, actually happy, just because the moon was beautiful and the crickets were singing and air smelt so so good and there wasn’t any one else on the road or in the world, except me.

Hunger and Thirst in Peace

We take a slight departure from our Lectio Divina this week because we are on a cleansing fast. Food and the constant reminders of what you are NOT eating this week will serve as the prompt to bring Beatitude #4 and your intentions to mind. 

This is also an opportunity to pay more attention to your body’s signals. As the Fast progresses, you may actually feel hunger. Take note and remember what it feels like to have hunger dictate eating instead of  eating because of the time of day, stress, boredom or anything else. Pay attention to when you feel fatigued and the effect of nourishing foods on the tiredness. Pay attention to any digestive sensations (I.e gas, bloating) and what preceded the episodes. Notice if you sleep better. Notice your skin. Be sure to record anything noteworthy in your Notebook.

Also- notice your poop!  At the website for Christian fasting there is a section on colon cleansing.  The section on enemas is important since a cleansing fast will only cleanse if the toxins are able to exit the body. This is a week of cleansing.

This is a week of sanctifying (making sacred) your intentions.  Review them throughout the week. Have an attitude of expectation but at the same time be gentle with yourself. This Beatitude marks the end of striving and the beginning of grace. Your focus is not to change yourself but to open yourself. You are not striving but receiving. Lay the foundation for the miraculous by hungering and thirsting for the spiritual.  So, as you recall the Fourth Beatitude and as you pray this week, Pray in peace. Cultivate and create peace. Since you have to slow down anyway -receive peace. Hunger and thirst in peace.

The Beatitudes: A map for spiritual growth

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
     King James Version

Healed are those who devote themselves to the link of spirit; the design of the universe is rendered through their form.
Tuned to the Source are those feeling deeply confused by life; they shall be returned from their wandering.
Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe
     Aramaic translation from “Blessings of the Cosmos” by Neil Douglas Klotz
I define Health as not the absence of sickness but the presence of wholeness and balance. As I focus on health for the next seven days I will also be seeking wholeness and balance in my life. I believe the seven Beatitudes are a guide to wholeness and balance from a spiritual perspective. They will be have served as my guide for many years and they are the foundation of the Sacred and Fit Program.

In the first three verses the focus has been on our own actions and intentions. The Beatitudes ask that we devote ourselves fully to the spiritual quest but also promises that if we do, then we will be rewarded.  I believe that one reward will be peace, a spiritual path need not be an arduous drama-filled expedition. I believe that a spiritual path will lead to an inner space that will be so comfortable as to be familiar, like returning home after a long time away.  I also believe that as we make a conscious decision to “soften” the areas of resistance to healthy living within our own minds and hearts, the natural result will be a healthier body.

This is the first leg of the journey and it has required lots of effort, trying and intention. The final three Beatitudes have much less emphasis on what we do and more emphasis on Grace.
The fourth Beatitude marks the turn in the road.

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. KJV

Healed are those who persistently feel inside: “If only I could find new strength and a clear purpose on which to base my life”’; they shall be embraced by birthing power.
    Aramaic translation by NDK

At the very beginning of this program, I mentioned that the one reason I wanted to be healthy was so that I could fulfill the purpose for which I was born. How do you come to know your life's purpose? I believe that as I learn to grow closer to the Source of my existence I will also come to know the reason for my existence.  So, I begin this week of Fasting with an intention to #1) know in an even deeper way“a clear purpose” for my life. Also, #2) I’ll be seeking clarity about my job and the contribution I wish to make there, #3) my relationship with the daughter who had the crisis,  #4) my “ideal” weight- what is it? #5) how to love my body, by what I feed it and how I care for it, as if it really were a temple.

These five reasons are my motivation to Fast.

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Set a clear intention for your Fast.
Begin the Fast
 Day 1- Raw food,  liquid foods, fresh juice, water.
I recommend that you eat the raw foods as your regular 4 meals, the liquid and juice as your 2 or more snacks and at least 8 glasses of water all day long.
Expect to feel good.

Introspection on "Good" Rigidity

This week my grown daughter had a crisis.  When I learned of it at 11:30 pm on Wednesday night, her crisis became my crisis. Although I was tired, I could hardly sleep that night. I woke up at 3:15 for a time of meditation (for myself ) and prayer (for her). I went back to bed for a couple of hours and then got up to start my day.

 All day, my thoughts were consumed by her crisis. I felt my stomach cramp every time I thought about it which was about every other minute. I kept my phone on my lap so that I could feel it vibrate if she called….she didn’t. Even though I was sleepy by the end of the day, I prepared to drive two hours to “be with her” to “support her.” I canceled appointments for the next day so that I could dedicate the time to fully to her.

It took my husband to bring me back to sanity. He asked simply if I had asked our daughter what she needed from us?

No, I hadn’t thought of that.

Now, at 9:30 p.m. with my next morning appointments cancelled, my bag packed, my travel mug full of coffee and the car about to turn on to the freeway --his question had me pull off the road into a minimall parking lot.

No, I hadn’t thought of asking a 26 year old what she might need. I assumed that I knew what she needed. I assumed that I was what she needed.

So, there under the street light, I called her and asked. She didn’t hesitate. “I need some space. I’ll call you if I need you.”

I think about her response as I end this week of focus on the Third Beatitude. I’ve been praying all week about softening rigid areas and how that rigidity in my thoughts and emotions can have physical ramifications. But in searching for the rigid areas, the Beatitude, opened a full spectrum introspection in my areas of weakness, areas that I don’t necessarily want to see.

Apparently, there are layers of rigidity.

In Buddhism the word for community is Sangha. I don’t think you need to live in a monastery to have a Sangha. Perhaps a family can be a Sangha if you are helping each other grow spiritually. Sometimes, what looks like a daughter telling you to “give her some space” after you have arranged your life to be there for her, really is a spiritual growth moment. Is this situation revealing some rigidity that needs to be softened?

I credit my focusing on Beatidue Three this week for allowing me to get off the road and turn the car around. I had been thinking all week about my rigid places, like my temper, my being judgmental, spiritual pride, -"bad" rigidity that needs softening. It took this situation to show me “good” rigidity that also needs softening,--inviting myself into another’s crisis when all they really wanted was to tell me about it; over-mothering my grown children; reacting first without thinking things through, allowing another’s situation to cause me stress for two whole days!

It sometimes takes a spiritual community to see things about you that you don’t see or that you can’t see, about yourself.  I can easily recall a day when I would have taken my daughter’s response as a rejection, taken offense, gotten angry, even resentful. But that night, I listened to my husband’s advice and acted on it. I then turned the car around, came home and went to bed.

Perhaps it is better to be in a state of peace and pray from 150 miles away than to bring one’s own rigidity into a situation.

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Last chance to identify areas of focus for next week’s Fast.  Can you identify an area of “good” rigidity in your life? "Good" rigidity is a trait or habit that you have which is habitual, reactionary, familiar and so acceptable that it is harder to identify as stress-provoking? Be sure to write any thoughts about this in your Notebook.

There is more to a raw food diet than you think

Please add this to the list of Fast Preparation websites. It is all about creating a diet from nothing but  raw food.

Preparing for next weeks Fast

Today is Eid ul-Fitr. It is three day Moslem celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the month of fasting.  According to the website the purpose of the month-long fast is  “not only a symbol of sacrifice and purification, but also a measure of self-restraint and to teach humility and patience and for encouraging compassion for those less fortunate.” For Moslems, the fasts last from sunrise until sunset during the entire Holy Month.

But when you pray, go into your closet to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. Matthew 6:16

In the Christian tradition, fasting was distinguished from the Jewish practice in Matthew 16:16-18.  In Judaism, the motive for fasting was similar to the meaning in Islam and linked to mourning and contrition. However, in verse in Matthew, Jesus the Christ links fasting to an inner reward. When combined with the verse Matthew 6:6, there is the clear sense that prayer and fasting bring rewards (answered prayer) to those who practice them. 

Spiritual reason for fasting
During this week of focus on the third Beatitude we have had the opportunity to identify areas in which we may be the focus of next week's fast; areas in our lives that our rigid and unyielding. Through the third Beatitude, we have asked to be made aware of these areas. By making them a focus of the fast, we are preparing to do something about them. The spiritual motive is the main reason for the fast.

The motive of the fast is essential. The desire you bring to it will help your motivation to continue for all seven days.  If you did not sense a particular area OR if there are so many it is hard to choose one, a failsafe motivation is to ask for the revealing of “the next step in my spiritual unfolding”. You may even add this as an additional focus of your fast. However, this request makes certain assumptions:
1) It assumes that you are on a spiritual journey (your salvation experience was considered the doorway and not the destination). 2) It assumes that there is a next step for you, a higher level, a deeper relationship with God that can be attained.  3) It also assumes that you are ready for something new to be revealed to you concerning your own spiritual growth.

Fasting is also a mental thing
 If you are new to fasting, now is the time to begin to prepare on the mental level.  As I have said many times, most of the behaviors associated with an unhealthy lifestyle occur because they have become unhealthy habits, behaviors done without much conscious thought.  Fasting provides clarity of thought. I urge you to write every day about the fast. Your notes may be useful in the future as you incorporate longer fasting periods into your spiritual regimen.

Can you go a week without television? Unless you limit yourself to television evangelists, like my mother-in-law did, television commercials are going to be a problem. You will begin to notice the vast majority of them are around food…and mostly unhealthy food. What can you provide for your mind during this week that will be uplifiting? An inspiring book? A complete reading of Blessings of the Cosmos?  Time to rest? Quiet time to be alone?  Quiet time to write? Quiet time to pray?

Fasting provides a period for you to SLOOOWWWW DOOWWWWNNNN.  You will not be able to continue at your normal breakneck speed through life. Try to give yourself light duty….only the essential activities. If you must cook for others while you are fasting (I’ve done it, so I know it can be done). Don’t fix YOUR favorite foods! Go with simple and quick dishes so that you can get in and out of the kitchen or freeze some dishes ahead of time. Of course let your family know what you plan to do so that they can help you. So, plan now for a week dedicated to your spiritual growth.

The physical aspects of fasting
For our purposes a fast is the abstaining of the vast majority of the foods you normally eat. It is not abstaining from all food. The schedule will be:

Sunday- raw food, liquid food, juice and water
Monday- raw food, liquid food, juice and water
Tuesday- liquid food, juice and water
Wednesday- juice and water
Thursday- liquid food, juice and water
Friday- raw food, liquid food, juice and water
Saturday- raw food, liquid food, juice and water

Raw food- any fresh fruit or vegetable that is not cooked. Can include salads but try making your own salad dressings instead of using store brought items with preservatives and additives. The idea here is "light" foods. So, even when you make your own during this week, steer toward simple dressings with few ingredients.
Liquid food- any fresh fruit or vegetable that is blended to a liquid- can include cooked items such as broths, stock or soup. Can also include smoothies with yogurt or protein powder.
Juice- Fresh fruit and vegetable juice from a juicer if possible or PURE  fruit and vegetable juice if you must purchase them.
Water- Filtered Water at least 8 glasses per day.

An enema is also recommended. During a fast, toxic byproducts are purged from your body. These toxins come from all of the processed foods you have ever eaten. Having a clean colon will help eliminate them and may also alleviate some of the physical distresses associated with detoxification.
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1. Read more about fasting by perusing the following websites.  This site is packed with information about all aspects of fasting as a spiritual discipline for Christians. I found it very informative. There are even testimonials.  I also liked this site that tells you everything you need to know about juice fasting. Take your time and go through these sites carefully and thoughtfully. It is best to go into the fast with enough information to make you feel comfortable.  Also there are some good recipes at both sites for mixing your juices.
2.    Prayerfully decide on an issue that requires a breakthrough.  Remember, the “issue” could be a person or a group of people AND/OR focus on the revealing of your spiritual journey’s next step.       3.    Plan activities with the fast in mind.  Although our descent into a fresh-juice only day is gradual, you may want to plan an easier week for yourself.                                                                                  4.    Buy your raw foods, liquid foods, juice foods (or already prepared juice) and juicer, blender or food processor. NOTE: a blender/food processor are for liquefying food but these machines do not make juice. A juicer is device that separates the juice from everything else in the food.                                      5.    Investigate the kind of enema that may be right for you from the websites listed above and purchase the materials you will need.

Contemplatio on the Third Beatitude

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

My choice from among the versions of the Aramaic translation by Neil Douglass- Klotz from Blessings of the Cosmos
Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe

In the Lectio Divina, the last practice is not contemplation as we normally think of it, but rather a type of listening ....with an inner ear. I think of this as the suspension of thinking about the verse rather than an active type of thinking. Listening for a confirmation of the Lectio, or a deeper insight from the Meditatio or an answer of the Oratio, these three other ways to engage one verse, culminate in a process of “NOT doing.”

It is very difficult to “not” be doing something every waking moment of the day. Even when it looks like I am still, my mind is whirling. It has taken years of practice to learn to turn down the volume and I have trouble doing that if there are any distractions. Today, I noticed that I was able to NOT do…but just for a moment.

I had back to back meetings all day and one was with an important administrator. When I reached his office he was not there. I stood outside his door for a few moments. I was doing. I was waiting…and thinking that I must have gotten the time wrong…maybe I’m early…maybe he forgot….maybe something came up. Then I took a seat and got out my planner. Saw that I wasn’t late. Then I started to go over my upcoming appointments. I was doing, again. I was time-managing. Finally, when he didn’t come, I closed my planner and sat in the quiet and tried to NOT do. It took some effort to not listen to the copy machine sounds or the person on the phone in the next office or the far away sounds of doors closing but I did manage to capture a single precious moment of NOT doing…and then he came.

I noticed when we began the meeting that I wasn’t nervous about this meeting with an important person, like I thought I would be. Even when he gave me some disappointing news, I was able to see some benefit in the situation almost immediately. I felt like I was more focused during our meeting and able to listen better. I wanted to listen deeply so that I could really understand what he was saying. It was far easier to listen deeply after NOT doing than it would have been in my normal rushed and pre-occupied state.

Today’s Contemplatio provided me a lesson in softening my inner voice, the voice in my head. It is not rigid but it is often loud and overbearing and needs to be softened some time so that I can hear when the “Universe” attempts to give me my “physical vigor and strength”.

Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe

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Try to NOT do for a couple of minutes. If your mind needs something to do in order to NOT do, try counting your breath on the inhale- 1,2,3,4,5 and repeat.  Notice what there is to listen to.  Notice how hard it is to NOT think. Notice how you feel.
 If this is something that you would like to learn more about, make a note of that in your Notebook. If you found it very difficult and would rather not do the NOT do, make a note in your Notebook.

Oratio on the Third Beatitude

#3 Spiritualize your Exercise 
How about exercising as a part of your spiritual practice. Exercise as an act of worship. Consider the exercise your prayer time. Carry one Bible verse with you to the gym or on your walk. Memorize it. Contemplate it while you exercise. For the duration of the Sacred and Fit Program we will be focusing on the Beatitudes of Jesus. Memorizing them and thinking about them are critical to this program....However, you need not limit yourself. What scriptures can you find that encourage a change in behavior based on the empowering presence of Jesus the Christ. --From Day 6- Exercise

“Spiritualize your Exercise” was introduced back in the first week of the program. Lectio Divina now provides a time period during the day that you can focus on your verse of scripture. How about combining the two activities?

I have tried to make a habit of using my exercise period as a time to come back to my verse from wherever the hectic pace of the work day has taken me. Now it is time for me to got to my 4:30 Yoga class. Using Lectio Divina- Oratio, I plan to “spiritualize my exercise.” Now granted, this would be hard to do if I were playing raquet ball or tennis. But because I engage in a solitary activity on a regular basis where sometimes my mind tends to wander, I have decided to try this approach.



It may take some effort to fully associate exercise with a prayer time but one benefit is that it adds to my reasons for exercise. Sometimes, getting to Yoga class merely for my health is not enough. There is also the chance that I will have a breakthrough, inspiration or revelation as I spend more time thinking about spiritual things.  I believe that as I consciously incorporate Lectio Divina into more and more daily activities I will  get closer and closer to becoming someone who “prays without ceasing”.



Today I started praying while seated in 115 degree heat waiting for the class to begin.  My prayer was for the “Softening of everything in my body, my life and my mind that is rigid and may be hindering my health.” I repeated this prayer throughout the Yoga session.

In between each of the 26 postures there is a time of rest. The rest time lasts anywhere between 2 minutes and 20 seconds. The rest period or “savasanah” was my cue to repeat the prayer again and again.



I noticed that the Yoga session seemed to go faster and afterwards, I didn’t feel so exhausted, like I usually do. I actually felt energized. This effect may be totally coincidental but it seems strange that the coincidence occurred during the session that I devoted to prayer.
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Choose an exercise period and include one component of Lectio Divina while focusing on your version of the third Beatitude? Write about the experience, including any unusual occurrences, in your Notebook.

Meditatio of the third Beatitude

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

My choice from among the versions of the Aramaic translation by Neil Douglass- Klotz from Blessings of the Cosmos.

Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe

I recently attended a seminar where the presenter was Dr Norman Shealy, MD, Ph.D. Dr Shealy was a practicing neurosurgeon whose interest in the management of his patient’s pain led him to get a Ph.D. in psychology. For over thirty years, Dr. Shealy has been teaching sick people how to get healthy and healthy people how to stay healthy. He says some pretty wild and controversial things about modern medicine or “sick-care,” as he calls it. But there is one thing he says that has been confirmed in study after study for over 40 years….Stress can make you sick. Stress can kill you.

Dr. Shealy has a list of five items that he uses a guide for healthy living. He begins the list with “Be positive.” Forgiveness, humor, having a positive outlook are all antidotes for stress, he says. I was thinking about that as I meditated today on the third Beatitude.  What is the thing that is rigid and how does it become soft?

Forgiveness, humor and a positive outlook require a softening of something rigid. To harbor unforgiveness is to be stuck, made immobile and Dr. Shealy says “trying to harm another by drinking poison yourself.”Having a positive outlook means being fluid, adaptable and willing to look for good in any situation. And laughing is always good for you.  The other items on Dr. Shealy’s list- Don’t smoke, Don’t be overweight, eat at least 6 servings of fresh vegetables a day (or the equivalent in nutritional supplements), drink plenty of good water. 

Interesting that the Aramaic translation links “softening what is rigid” to health.  What is even more interesting is that studies on race-related health disparity shows that racial minorities in the United States have more chronic health conditions than age-matched controls of the same race that do not live in the U.S.  Racial minorities in the U.S. also have higher levels of some chronic illness than white Americans. A few examples: Native Americans suffer high levels of depression and addiction. Hispanic Americans suffer higher levels of diabetes and African Americans have higher levels of hypertension.

It could be diet or living conditions. It could be poverty and the stress of being poor. It could be cultural. It could be genetic OR It could be the need for forgiveness.

We may need to forgive America. We may need to forgive White People.

In this political climate, we have our work cut out for us!

Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe.


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PREPARATION
We are using this week to prepare for a fast. We are looking for issues. Perhaps your issue is not an issue but a person. Who do you need to forgive? (It can be a person or a group of people).

REMINDER of the Daily Practice
Make the verse of your choosing the focus for Lectio Divina:
Before 10:00 a.m. Lectio (repeat/memorize the verse)
10:00-2:00 Meditatio (make the verse your own, reinterpret it for your personal situation)
2:00-6:00 Oratio (make the verse a prayer)
6:00- until bed time  Contemplatio (Be still inside and Listen for your answer)

My Lecticio for Beatitude #3- Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

My choice from among the versions of the Aramaic translation by Neil Douglass- Klotz from Blessings of the Cosmos

Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength from the universe

LECITO- CHOOSE YOUR TRANSLATION  (OTHER THAN THE KING JAMES) OF THE THIRD BEATITUDE EITHER FROM THE ENGLISH OR ARAMAIC TRANSLATIONS.

Today is the beginning of week 4. It is also the week leading up to the climax of the Sacred and Fit Program, the week of fasting. Over the last three weeks we have shared the knowledge of all of the tools we need for a Healthy lifestyle. Everything is in place, we've done our part. Now is the time for Grace to do its part.

After this third Beatitude there is a shift in the tone or the emphasis of the seven verses of the Beatitudes.  In traditional translations the first three verses have described the Seeker of truth as one who is poor, mournful and humble. According to my choice of Doulgas-Klotz translations  (and the way I have experienced) these verses describe a Seeker as someone who is “trying”- Trying to be “linked to the Spirit,”“trying to be “Tuned to the Source” and now “trying to soften what is rigid inside.” This third Beatitude marks the end of the “trying phase.


To receive "physical vigor and strength" from the earth most directly is to receive it from food. Fresh fruit and vegetables  are literally the product of light (photosynthesis in physical form). But on a deeper level, where does the earth get the ability to be life-giving and life-sustaining?  What kind of rigidity could be softened by an energy that comes from the Universe? I am willing to grow my faith to the point where I believe in the power of Grace to affect change in my life ongoingly, even after the salvation experience. There are other areas in my life that need to "saved" from rigidity....my temper, my being so judgmental, my intolerance of far right-wing Republicans, my hatred of football.

After using the Lectio Divina as a way being mindful of what I eat, I feel that there is less actual “trying” in my spiritual life. There is a type of softening going on that feels more like a result than an effort. As I cultivate this mental habit of actively participating with Scripture through out the day. It is a little harder to be stressed. It is slightly more difficult to be angry and it feels like upset takes too much energy.  Maybe this is “softening” and if it is, it is the perfect preparation for fasting.

In the Sacred and Fit program, fasting is not just about loosing weight but about a change in attitude…a change of heart….a shift in perspective. Fasting is about the end of something and the beginning of something new. In Sacred and Fit the goal is to end the counter-productive, unhealthy way of living and begin a beneficial and healthy lifestyle. Habits are behaviors and what changes behaviors are changes in thoughts. The proper way to fast is to view the fast as a time for thought cleansing. All of the energy and time and space in your brain that is ordinarily given to eating is given a respite. The body is de-emphasized so that Sprit can be the center of focus. 

The preparation begins with an area that you feel requires change. When I was a mother with young children, I  determined not to scream at them. However, no matter how hard I tried, I would lose my temper and there I’d go again. Then I went on a fast with a determination that this behavior would be the thing to change….and it did. 

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What area of your lifestyle can you identify this week that you need to change. Think about what behavior or set of behaviors that have sabotaged your healthy life-style habits in the past (eating the right foods/ drinking water/ regular exercise). As you identify this area of your life consider what your life would look like if this issue was completely changed. What if you would “inherit” everything you need to cause a shift, what would your life be like?

Write down any thoughts about this in your Devotional Journal on the same page as your verse.