Monday - the most relaxing day of the week at Hippocrates

I think they figure the new folks who arrive each week need a relaxed Monday to get over their various jet lags and get into the program. Thankfully, for those of us who know the program it allows for a more relaxed day, some pool time and an easing into the busy pace of the week. I have a huge amount of reading still to do so that's what I should be doing but after spending a couple of hours at the pool with a class and then some hot pool/cold pool routines I thought I'd take advantage of the quiet moment to check in and say hi to everyone.

This will be our last week of the regular Life Change Program and then next week we will be into the class time for the Educator Program. Any sessions that we missed over the past 2 weeks will need to be made up this week so for those of us who procrastinate and yes, that would be me, it will get hectic as the week wears on.

There has not been a day go by that I don't feel that I've crammed a huge amount into this brain and I am hoping that most of it is sticking. Between lectures, reading and just talking and inter-acting with all of the others here and listening to their experiences it seems that the learning is never-ending. In point of fact, that is life. An experience of growth that is never-ending, hopefully, until the day we die. Once again, a reminder to me that I want my body to be as healthy as possible so that I can absorb it all, enjoy and participate in it to the highest degree possible. That is my goal and that strength is what I want to bring home from here at the end of November and share with all of you who like. Life is just too great to not be able to experience it in its entirety when we have control of our ability to do so. Many people don't have that control but for those of us who do it behooves us to cherish this amazing gift and treat it like the most precious commodity it is. Good health, optimal health, is the gift we can give to ourselves, every day in every way, physically, spiritually and emotionally. The true living of a holistic lifestyle brings about a consciousness of abundance that can never be purchased with $$ and it is within the grasp of all of us. Be well, my friends. I will go back to the books now and see what else I can absorb today :-)................Love you all, Sally xo

What a busy, wonderful week.....

Tomorrow I'll have been back at Hippocrates for 7 days. Most days it feels like 70 as there has been so much that has filled the week and filled my head and spirit. All of it, every tiny bit of it has been good. From the lecture I alluded to in my last post where we discovered that 90% of our food absorption takes place in the small intestine, 22 ft. long X 1" in diameter of miraculous digestive processor. CPU, indeed.....to the importance of keeping our bodies ph positioned in the alkaline side of the balance where cancer cells and other diseases cannot survive (they thrive in an acidic environment - thus the importance of wheatgrass juice and all the 'greens'). Our wheat grass expert, Michael, gave a great lecture on food in general and wheat grass in particular. The food part was fascinating in terms of seeing our social eating obligations somewhat differently than I had before. He suggested that our past patterns had been to eat for social and emotional reasons, not nutritional. He pointed out that we let food and time define our energy. Much as we all mostly know better, we still tend to eat at prescribed meal times based on the clock rather than our appetites and I knew the truth of that for how often I eat based on that rather than real hunger. You know how we will always say to someone or to ourselves "you really have to eat something, you haven't eaten all day" and the reply is "I'm really not hungry". I think that unless someone suffers from blood sugar issues that they should probably just go with that. I don't think I will any longer decide that they or myself should eat based on the fact that it's meal time. Most of the staff here eat one meal a day, either lunch or dinner and the rest of their nutrition comes from the powerful green juices that everyone drinks at 9 (cucumber only), 11 and 4 (50% sprouts, 50% celery, cucumber and/or other green veggies). 16 oz. at each juice time. Considering the amount of nutrition in the juices, once one gets used to it you can see why hunger wouldn't be an issue. We spent a lot of time talking about how we always seem to want to see friends/family around food. He talked about having to adapt and ask friends to cut the food part and just gather for some conversation/fun/whatever and how much more enjoyable he finds this. I can see how this will become something to do because it is very difficult to meet people over food when one eats this way and yet friends/family are too important to not be able to see them because of that. Some adaptations will be needed, I'm thinking.

Wednesday is fasting day which means fasting on liquid nourishment. It is also "silent" day for those who choose to practise it which I did this week. It's never 100% silent because I had a meeting with the Health Ed Director, for example, so talk was necessary but for the most part, other than that, I maintained silence all day and it is a very liberating experience. There is noise around what with the lectures and Q & A etc. and not everyone chooses to do it but even at that, just to be quiet within oneself is relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, I've been getting up at 5:00 so that I can make it to the 7:00 class in either Qi Dong and/or Chinese Health Exercises. This lasts for an hour followed by an hour of meditation and what a way to start the day. You are so mellowed out by the end of it physically and mentally and at the same time totally energized to begin the more cerebral part of the day. The more energetic/active classes follow this so it's also a good beginning to start on those. All in all, there is lots of exercise available and this is a good thing as once this initial 3 weeks is over we will be sitting in a classroom from 10 until 5 or 6 most every day so without the early exercise I think it will be challenging. Currently we move about the campus going from building to building for different lectures or exercise class to exercise class/pool, etc. so the old body keeps moving. This is nothing but good :-)).

Today was graduation as is every Friday and once again, hearing the stories from the folks returning home brings tears and laughter. I hear the gratitude and joy they express at having found Hippocrates and the positive changes they've seen in their illness and their commitment to continue the program at home secure in the knowledge that they will be cured by their own bodies. I can't help but feel more solid in my belief that God created a miraculous creature in us and that each and every cell in our bodies has its function and given that we are supposed to be the most intelligent of all the species it behooves us do everything we can to keep our bodies in optimal condition. Why didn't I think of this at 20? :-)) A sobering study was discussed this week. Again, what a turning point WWII was in terms of our health what with the discovery of all of the toxic pesticides, herbicides, etc. People who are today under 50 years of age, for the first time ever, have a weaker DNA than their ancestors. Those over 80 years of age have the strongest. We are devolving the strength of DNA much more quickly than it was strengthened which is why we are seeing the strong surge in childhood illnesses. Parents haven't inherited those "good genes" we always like to talk about so they can't pass them on to their offspring. I can't help but think on what the expansion of this might mean in another 50 years if we don't provide our children and their children with the nutritional framework to restore the strength of that DNA. Eat your veggies!! Have a wonderful weekend......lots of love, Sally xoxo

Internal Awareness

What a great day! Okay, so now most of you see this title and probably think I'm referring to some profoundly insightful personal exploration of one's psyche. That could be, of course, but certainly was not the case with our first lecture of the day. Internal Awareness, my friends, is just that. The very necessary awareness of our own internal workings, particularly as it relates to digestion and absorption of food. I was thinking about this while on the road to Florida knowing that this is an important part of true health. For more years than I can count I have never hesitated to discuss food with any of you. We have discussed the purchase of it in all of its forms whether it be local, organic, frozen, exotic, whatever. We have also discussed at enormous length, the preparation of it as so many of us are foodies bordering on chef calibre :-) or at least fancy ourselves to be such. We have discussed the eating of it and all of the sensory stimulations that this entails. We prepare it based on flavours, colours, textures, sometimes nutritional combinations, and we applaud ourselves with a job well done and commend one another on another great meal. We have, for the most part, done this our entire adult lives. We have exchanged favourite recipes and revelled in preparing a loved ones favourite foods. Never, in all of my years, do I remember anyone ever discussing what happens to it after it leaves our mouths. With the exception of always being told as a child to "chew your food" there has never been much discussion beyond the ingestion of it. I am very happy to say and know that it's not too late to learn that it's not what we EAT but what we ABSORB that is important. Today was all about digestion and ENZYMES, the cornerstone that liquefies our food so that the nutrients in it can find their way into our bloodstreams with a little help from our pancreas, liver, gall bladder, etc. I believe that if I had ever spent as much time on this aspect of my food as I did on the part before it entered my mouth I likely never would have had colon cancer. I also think that this is one of the major reasons that colon cancer is heading shortly, if not already there, to being the #1 cause of cancer deaths in North America. People really do need to talk about this. Especially men, who seem, at the moment to have more incidence of colon cancer although women are quickly catching up, unfortunately. We must be aware of what our body tells us after we eat. Having to pop Tums, Rolaids, or prescription antacids is not the answer to stomach upset. Finding out the reason and eliminating the cause is the answer so that we don't remain a society of malnourished, albeit overfed people because we can't absorb any of the nutriton in our food due to the stressed out condition of our digestive organs. If we listen to our bodies they will tell us whether we are doing it right or not. We really do have to listen. We should be eliminating each meal within a few hours of having eaten it. That's what kids do. Ever notice that those little guys have great big poops relative to their size? That's because all of their systems work as they were intended. They have not become bogged down by the nature and quantity of what is put into them. How many of us can say the same thing? We really do have to get there because our lives depend on it. And by the way, you may have deduced that I think potty mouth is a good thing! Be well and chew your food until it's really mush! Love, Sally xoxo

Let's try this again..........

As I find myself back at Hippocrates, I really feel the need to try to share with you and myself, this incredible journey called health and healing. I wept with gratitude for the opportunity to be here again when I sat down to my wonderful, big, living, green, sprout salad for lunch after being on the road for 3 days and not able to find even a decent green salad, let alone anything organic and so alive. It really was challenging, especially after my cooler gave up on my first day out just as the temperature began to get into the 30s again. The drive here was absolutely great. Smooth, relaxing, brilliant weather and each day I found myself ready to stop after about 8 hours and that always put me right where I had planned and booked to be. God definitely had a big hand in this trip as I had really guesstimated all of it and it wouldn't have turned out so well if it were just me :-). I pulled into the Marriott in Palm Beach Shores (Singer Island) around noon today and my room wasn't ready so I figured I would check out my daily trip to Hippocrates by going over there for lunch. It will be about 20 minutes each way and I think even in rush hour shouldn't be too bad. We shall see on that. I can't help but be positive about everything as there has been absolutely nothing to diminish my optimism. Perhaps my optimism is why it all has gone so well?...lol....funny how that works, right? The resort is also gorgeous. I will try to upload a picture of the view from my balcony but again, as I've said to many of you, my coming back to Hippocrates for the Educator course seemed meant to be when I was able to book my timeshare points for the entire ten weeks!! To have it be one of the nicest places I have ever stayed simply makes it even more so. Everywhere I turn the people are helpful, friendly and gracious and it's been that way the whole way down here.

Speaking of the whole way down here, I saw more stylin' Chevys on the road on the way here than I'd ever seen anywhere. When did GM start making these very cool-looking cars? Hardly saw a Ford which I found interesting and once into NC and continuing south, lots of them there expensive imports :-). But seriously, the Chevys were very cool. Then, I remembered that the American taxpayers are 60% shareholders in GM. All of a sudden they looked smarter than I'd given most of them credit for back during the 2nd election of Dubya...They'd been redeemed when Obama got elected but then the Tea Party had me doubting again. Now, I'm just not so sure :-). We Canadians are shareholders in GM, too, remember. Best we all get to ordering those new Chevys!

I am hoping that this adventure at Hippocrates allows more time for blogging and I am surely going to give it my best. I am looking forward to an intensely personal journey into holistic health where my emotional, physical and spiritual aspects will all come together in my deeper exploration of this wonderful, healing, living foods lifestyle. I look forward to sharing it with any who would like to partake. Take care, be well and we'll talk soon. xoxo

Best laid plans and all that.........

So much for my great plans for improving on my blogging time last week. As we slide into the third week I give up. I will maybe have a bit more free time this week. I will maybe not. That just seems to be the way of life's pace at Hippocrates...lol....

We had some really wonderful lectures this week; two with Brian, Principles of Health and also Supplements, Herbs and Homeopathy and one wth Anna Maria on Ancient and Current Self-Help Techniques (much like reminders of Grandma's home remedies). We have been so blessed to have both Brian and Anna Maria for the entire 3 weeks. This is very unusual as they travel a lot but they have a son still in school so they stayed until the end of this month and then head to Europe to do their summer lecture circuit there and see Anna Maria's family in Sweden. They are both gifted speakers and their passion for their mission of helping people help themselves to find total health through food and lifestyle comes through in everything they say and do. They have a joy in living and a vibrancy in their being that is not found often and is completely infectious. So much so, that I am very seriously considering coming back for the Hippocrates Educator Program in October. I feel that it would solidify my base so that I can enjoy a depth of knowledge and personal growth along the way that will enbable me to establish a strong foundation for myself on this path that I really feel God has put in front of me and is asking me to pick up. The abiliy to share it with others who want to hear about it will be much more fun the deeper I go into the nutritional aspects. As many of you know, I studied a lot about nutrition back in the ashram days but this goes way beyond simple vegetarianism and today's scientific studies offer new insights into the healing qualities of many foods and confirm old insights into thousands of others. I am very excited about the thought of coming back to do the educator program.

We have had two great lectures this week from the woman here who does lymphatic massage. A general lecture Thursday night was for everyone about the things we can do ourselves to keep the lymphatic system healthy and moving and yesterday a really valuable one on lymphatic breast massage. It was attended only by women but she said her own dad has breast cancer and that more men should have come, also, as the incidence of it in males is on the rise. Anyhow, it was incredible and women here who are doing it (while here same as me for 3 weeks) are having lumps moving out and fibrous tissue softening and you can actually feel the toxins leaving and going into the lymphatic system to be dumped by the bloodstream as they should be. She reminded again of how important it is to wear nothing that can constrict lymphatic flow such as tight fitting bras, underwires, tight-waisted pants or if you do wear them to practice self lymphatic massage every day. This is just another one of those things we've learned that makes complete sense but our doctors never tell us about it. Do they even know about it? This lymphatic massage, for instance, can improve one's lymphatic drainage and therefore immune health almost immediately, so that this most important system of the body can do its job to fight off the baddies.

Before I go I want to tell you how amazing the graduation was on Friday for the 3 weekers who were heading home. To see the fellow who came weighing in at 440 and leaving at 382 committed to stay on his game. The gentleman with pancreatic cancer and his wife who, then they arrived 3 weeks ago, he was so ill he was going to head back home to die but the flooding in Tennessee where they are from wouldn't allow it.
He was up laughing with us and sharing how great he was feeling and he was as healthy looking as any of us having been kind of gray/yellow when he arrived. Way too many others to share them all but all shared a joy at being given a second chance to get bodies to wellness again. They are having incredible results here with pancreatic cancer and also prostate, both of which used to be the toughies. They have always had miracles occur on the program with the other types of cancer. I think I mentioned earlier that two women met here who both have a very rare type of cancer called leiomyosarcoma. I will have to read about that one to see what it's all about but both of these women are doing really well, much better than when they arrived and full of hope for a joyful future. It really is so very simple. We keep saying that to ourselves all the time, shaking our heads and wondering why everyone doesn't know about this. More and more do and as I mentioned many medical types are bringing themselves here but still not enough sending their patients here.
Once again, I ramble on when I get the chance...lol...I will say bye to all for now with much love and blessings........be healthy........

New wonderful week......

Hello, Loveys!

I do believe I have discovered a way to make this blogging thing work better. I’m thinking that if I talk to you whenever I can, even if I can’t get over to the wifi area then at least my entries will be timely and I will just post them when I can get to the wifi. So here goes. Actually, I had intended to do this one “live” but we woke to a somewhat overcast day today (the first all week) that just a few minutes ago blossomed into a beautiful thunderstorm with torrential rain. Given that my cottage is surrounded by jungle I feel encompassed by a very primeval specter of lush greens, silent birds and I believe if I were to go outside, even the wee lizards have taken cover. Have I mentioned that we have the most wonderful raccoons here? Yes, I used raccoon and wonderful in the same sentence. Apparently they are not as destructive as our Canadian, sophisticated raccoons and go about their life, harming no one and of course, here, no one harming them. They have absolutely no fear of humans and put me in mind of the little guys at Iguazu Falls who let you know that you were on their turf and not vice versa. Some folks here have thought that they are cats as they don’t have bushy tails or even very bushy bodies but they do have a raccoon like face. Anyhow, they had to post signs all over reminding people that they are part of the wildlife that abounds on the property and to treat them as such.

Now into my 2nd week, the schedule has definitely slowed down enough to allow some time for quiet endeavours such as blogging to my friends. There are no repeats of lectures as the whole program of lectures gets covered in 3 weeks and then repeats again but many things for the first couple of days of each week are for the newbies who are just beginning the program, leaving we mature Greenies (as I call us) to find some leisure. The weekend was great as, after feeling like we’d been doing 150 kph (or mph in most cases) all week, we were able to slow down to a quieter 50, perhaps. This allowed for some pool time, laundry time and comparing stories with the rest of my group. Saturday night was very funny. That is dessert night, the only night of the week that anything resembling a dessert is served as no one, no matter what they are here for is supposed to have any type of sugar. This includes fruit which is not served except on Sunday mornings when the newbies have arrived and that is in the form of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Lots of folks have it at that time and needless to say enjoy it immensely. I take a pass on the fruit at all times as I’m really trying to be a purist with the detox stuff and no type of sugar is the best type as far as that is concerned. Having said that, of course, I have tons of fresh lemons which are great alkalinizers which is what this program is all about. Getting rid of acidity and finding the alkaline balance. I digress (what a surprise). Back to dessert. The dessert is ice cream. Always. And it is served at 7:00 on Saturday evening. Last week, the day I arrived, I missed it by 10 minutes, not thinking it was that important to be prompt for dessert even though 3 people passed me saying “dessert’s being served! Don’t miss it!” It was gone last week when I got back to the dining room so this week I was waiting. Well, so was everyone and this line starts to form at the kitchen door like a bunch of kids a camp about 10 minutes before it’s to be served. And I mean everyone is there eagerly anticipating this ice cream. Even those with the most challenging illnesses, in wheelchairs, with oxygen. Believe me, it was very challenging for those of us with minimal health issues to stand back and make way for those who really shouldn’t, perhaps be standing so long. At long last, 7:00 arrives and out comes, on the one side banana ice cream with carob date sauce and on the other side hazelnut ice cream (for those of us who either didn’t want or couldn’t have fruit) and then I knew what all the fuss was about. This was, without question, the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Positively ambrosial. As I sat with my friends luxuriating in this rare treat we all very slowly savoured the taste, texture, aroma of our chosen ice cream trying to determine whether it was just that we’d had no sugar all week or what? We concluded that although that might have been a bit of it, it was also that our taste buds really are expanding and becoming more finely tuned with eating raw, live food. A very important thing for me to mention is that this ice cream had no sugar either. It is dead simple to make and hopefully I will be able to do so for many of you when I get home (well, not all at once). The ingredients are simply the nut milk (whatever nuts you choose) to which vanilla, cinnamon, stevia and maple flavoring is added. Many would use real maple syrup if not on this plan in this time and place but it is just that simple. It may be the only thing I have to attract friends to my house for dinner or a snack…..hahahaha…..

The rains have stopped, or at least slowed down so I will wander over to wifi to post this out to you all. I am thinking of many of you every day and often several times a day as I go about learning about this incredible capacity we have to heal ourselves with what we feed ourselves. Hippocrates must have been a very cool guy! Stay well, be happy and mellow and we will talk soon……….lots of love, Sally xoxoxo

Juice Day - Silent Day

Well, the juice part has turned out just fine but the silence hasn't been happening. It is very difficult to maintain silence when we have great classes and lectures going on and most involve some Q & A. I think perhaps maintaining a silent day on fasting day may be easier next week. Today began with a rebounder/stretch class and I have to tell you, I discovered that there is much more to rebounding that I ever knew, in spite of the fact that I have had one since my 30s and only a few years ago bought a new one. I have been trying to use it more of late but after a while just bouncing up and down on it gets boring no matter how good it is for your lymphatic system. Well, this morning we did 30 minutes of non-stop rebounding with Yvonne, the fitness director here, and it was incredible. I started the day thinking "I will really have to work up a sweat a few times today as it is a key day for de-tox what with the juicing all day". I didn't need to be worried. This was a workout the likes of which I've never done and most importantly, IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I had to stop quite a few times to rest a bit and would just gently jog in place and then re-join her and I have to say this is one class I won't be missing if I can help it. After the 30 minutes on the mini-tramps we did 30 minutes of stretching which was a great way to end it. After that was time for first juice of the morning, after wheatgrass juice, of course, and then on to see the shrink for my stress evaluation. Two of these visits are a part of the entire program and I went with an open mind but unsure as to what the value might be. As with everything here, it was valuable as I managed to remind myself of the fact that if I'm going to make this work I need to be conscious as much as I can of my relationship with food. Given the length of my current lifetime that has become quite a relationship :-) and although I've never felt that I've had a "really bad" relationship with food it is going to require a shift and a high degree of honesty with myself to acknowledge and bring to light the rationales for eating certain foods. It is really so easy to say "I'm making this 'whatever' because someone is coming over but knowing that this person doesn't care whether I make it or not and it will be me eating the leftovers. Or just eating the wrong things out of boredom, ease, wanting comfort when I know that the best thing is to eat the live foods, be organized towards that (because it will take serious organization) and ease the boredom and get the comfort in healthy ways like staying active and seeing loved ones. I will look forward to having another chat with Andy before I leave.

This afternoon, in addition to my oxygen and infra red therapy I had a lymphatic massage and then aqua chi footbath which draws out all the toxins. This was not a pretty sight but was incredibly good in that it shows quite clearly when this whole detox process is working. It clearly is! Today we had 2 hours of Q & A with Brian Clement who is the Director of the Institute. I had heard from many people that he is a remarkable man and I would definitely agree. He is 60 years old, looks 40 and has been involved in this Live Food life for 35 years, taking over direction of the Institute after Ann Wigmore, its founder. He has a background in biology and was able to explain and answer many questions regarding the science of eating and drinking live foods, particularly the importance of wheatgrass juice and green juices. Again and again I hear from people here about the miracles that have taken place in their lives and bodies after doing this program, taking it home and continuing with it at home. People who return with recurrences of their illness almost to a person say they 'fell off the program' so have come back to get it back together. We heard many interesting stories through the Q & A but one that everyone should know about is a mother and daughter (10 years old) who are here with Lyme's disease. They are from Guelph, Ontario but the mom spent many years working up north and doctors have told her she gave her daughter Lyme's in utero. The daughter was diagnosed with every form of arthritis and a myriad of other ailments with no treatment being found for her pain. There are other issues involved with the mom that are complications from the Lyme's but I can see a difference in this child in just this week and it's a joy to see her smiling. She is on a very specialized program, not our adult one. Brian told us that Lyme disease has become epidemic in some parts of the U.S. and Canada and that everyone should ask to be tested for it if they have symptoms that cannot be explained by other tests. Very little is known about it and apparently the 'experts' treat it with drugs that have shown no ability to cure it.

I didn't think I would be going on this long about everything but it has been a very filled day with more to come and wanted to share as much as I could. It's time for 5:30 liquid dinner before a 6:00 treatment and then a lecture on Neuromuscular work so I will sign off for now. I am having a most wonderful time and throughout the day I am often wishing that all of you could be here with me. I'm sure I'm getting a loud guffaw from some of you at the prospect of doing this but I don't think there are any of you who wouldn't like the feeling of GREEN. Lots of love, Sally xoxo