Last week I recorded and published an episode of my A Course in Miracles Podcast called  Body Beliefs: Obstacles to Peace – Part 6. And then I got sick.  It’s pretty spiritually funny.  Some might say it’s a coincidence.  And yet we know there’s really no such thing.  There’s only coincide-nce.       

This isn’t a particularly spiritual story, but it’s interesting to me and perhaps to you.  I learned some things about my body.  I’m not my body, but I have one and I’ve learned to have a great respect for it and to care for it with love and kindness the way I would a friend.  

My body is my friend.

On Sunday, two weeks ago, I went out to dinner with a friend.  A rare thing because we’re still not going out a lot and eating in public places due to the Covid virus and all the other things circulating.  We had a nice dinner.  And about three days later I started to feel a little off.  I haven’t been full on sick with something in about 5 years – or at least that’s the last time I can remember having a cold or flu.  

Thursday of last week I started the Medical Medium Advanced Liver Cleanse which I’ve done MANY times.  I noticed that week I’d been sleeping a little oddly.  I have an Apple Watch and I track my sleep with two apps because it’s mildly interesting to me.  I track my deep sleep, heart rate, and respiratory rate.  I wasn’t sleeping as deeply, my heart rate was elevated and so was my respiratory rate.  I didn’t really understand it at the time.  I just knew something was off.

Sunday, last weekend, I was out in the cold for about 2.5 hours.  I was being of service and participating in the New Moon Fire Ceremony at the Sunray Peace Village, which is a local Native American spiritual community I’m a part of here in the Green Mountains of Vermont.  

It was cold and when all was done I was glad to go home and warm up.  I wasn’t super cold, but I was definitely ready for something warm to drink and to take off my boots and sit by a heat source.  It took me a long time to warm up.  I drank some coffee that was 1/3 caffeine – and I had celery juice and a fruit smoothie and took Bodhi, my dog, for a shorter walk than usual.  

Then I had a raw spinach soup for lunch.  I fell asleep and took a nap in front of my infrared heater.  I woke up in time to get ready for the Sundays With Spirit – I had another small cup of coffee to get me going for the Service.  

After the Service I took Bodhi out for her walk before it got dark and I came home and effectively crashed.  All I wanted for the rest of the day was an apple and a dried date.  I had some hibiscus tea, wrote my Monday blog and crawled into bed.  

Here’s what I now know that I didn’t know then: 

I know this liver cleanse is also a heavy metal detox, but I didn’t know that the body uses adrenaline to kick the metals out.  When matched with the other right ingredients in the diet, the adrenaline helps propel the metals out of the system.  So, during the Liver Cleanse, the body is producing more adrenaline to get the detox done.  

Being out in the cold, the exertion of it, tells the body to produce adrenaline in order to help stay warm.  Prolonged exposure to cold is actually life-threatening, even though I may have known it wasn’t going to be dangerous, my body was reacting to what it was experiencing.

Unwittingly, I maxed out my adrenals.  And all the raw food was too much when my system was cold.  Even though what I ate was room temp.  

It took me 2 days to recover my adrenals by eating a very careful menu of adrenal supporting foods and everything was warm and cooked.  And that’s when I began to feel this sniffly cold coming on.  (Multiple tests say not covid)

For most of my adult life, until about 15 years ago, I’d get the flu every winter.  It seemed that I got the flu because I was pushing myself too hard at the time and the only way I’d give myself permission to get the mental rest I needed was to get the flu.  I’d lay on the sofa for a few days, watch movies and restore.  

I don’t push myself too hard anymore so I don’t need to have a breakdown to mentally rest.  I know how to rest every day.  That’s a vital part of my spiritual practice.  

For a longtime I’ve found that if I was in a very dry low-humidity environment in the winter time when the heat was on that I’d be susceptible to a sinus infection.  Something I’ve not experienced much of in recent years.  

In this case, what I’ve noticed is that being sick or not sick it doesn’t seem to matter as much to me as it has in the past.  

I am not my body, but I have a body to care for.  

The body doesn’t feel well yet, but all is well with my soul.  

I don’t feel guilty.  

I don’t feel I made any mistakes.  

I discovered some things I didn’t know.  

Had I known them I would have made other choices.

I wouldn’t have stayed out in the cold so long.  

I wouldn’t have had any caffeine.  

I would have taken a hot shower as soon as I came home and some hot tea and waited to have any raw food.

I live and I learn.  Every day.  That’s my story.  

I also learned that when my body is working hard to cleanse and heal, my heart rate might be elevated.

My body might be laboring more to do its work and that elevated heart rate and respiratory rate would be signs of it.  I can be aware of that in the future.

I am truly grateful that I can follow my intuition and tune into what I’m being led to eat.  I looked up what foods are nourishing to the adrenals (according to Anthony William), among others:

Dates, red apples (skins on) and celery

Spinach

Sweet Potato

Avoiding fats, salts, sugar, caffeine

Those were my basic instincts and they got me back to better pretty fast.

I had to postpone classes this week and I’ve mostly been listening to Spirit, doing things around the house and playing with Bodhi and Sattva.  Lots of resting.  Watching some movies.  Taking hot baths.  Cooking veggie soups and broths every day.  And lots of sleep.  

I am not a body, but Spirit guides me to care for my body.  A Course in Miracles reminds me that the body is such a helpful tool in our healing the mind.  

Later this year, I’ll be offering a new program I’m calling Healing Your Mind About Your Body.  My body experiences are always helpful to me in learning about my guidance from Spirit and the continuous work with my mind.  

I am grateful for my adventures and the learning they bring.  It’s not all fun, but it all works together for good.  I hope some part of this is helpful to you!

Saturday, Feb 4th Online Workshop –  Eliminating Reluctance & Resistance.  
We all have resistance. We all have reluctance. The question is do we give into it and let it drag us down?  There are spiritual methods we can use that work to clear these blocks to Love.  Let’s eliminate all reluctance and resistance and celebrate the gift of life!

PODCAST:  The latest episode of my podcast’s topic is Body Beliefs: Obstacles to Peace – Part 6. We’re healing at the level of the mind, and it’s working!