THE GIVING OF THE GETTING

Whew! I completed 10 days of the Master Cleanse. Not my intended 13, hey, I'm in 2 shows concurrenty and Tech week started to get intense! For those of you who don't know what the MAster Cleanse is, google it. AKA Lemonade Diet, it is a detox like no other. when I went to my neighborhood health food store to get some of my ingredients 2 weeks ago, Sunshine the store owner asked me if I was doing the cleanse for 41 days. Whaaaaaiii??? Um, no Sunshine. Are you smoking rocks? Just kidding. But He urged me to do it as long a s I can. Now that I have broken my fast I must say that I miss it. During this particular Fasting experience, I went in with a certain goal: to make a physical sacrifice so that I might attain a higher level of understanding of myself in general. The first few days were the most difficult because the physical abstinance was evident. But the duration lead my search on many different journeys. I was hungry until I was hungry no more and then I began to get full.
Prayer is a huge part of any fast, I believe. And although this is a detox, it is a fast too. I prayed for endurance, focus, release. I practiced endurance, focus, release and patience and those things I laid down at the starting line were waiting for me at the finish line.
Last night was opening night at the opera, "The Elixir of Love", Donizetti's adorable Italian opera about love, hope, magic, and faith. In the opera, a country boy becomes the riches man in town, wins the girl of his dream and the respect of his neighbors. He gave his Faith to a Doctor and put his belief in a magic elixir. WHether the Elixir worked or not, we will never know. But what was real and what you could see was the Faith. Faith without Works is dead so we must activate our belief in some way. It is not all metaphysical. It can not all be a dream or fantasy either. Give a little bit of your self to reach a little bit of your self.
I miss my quiet, hungry spirit during my fast. My conscience that sent me home to my bed after a long day rather than on the dark streets to sniff out my desires. I miss the loud converstaions with my mind as I fed on files taking up space in my brain, I sucked out all of the nutritional value from these beliefs and digested what I needed to sustain me, and the rest I flushed out with salt water.
These Mantras came to me and helped with my endurance and my understanding of the Gifts and the Gift of Giving. Maybe they can help you too.

To Give is to To Get.
You want to Get It, You Must Give It.
Forgive It and Forget It.

I do this for Me, I don't do this for You.
I do this for You, I don't do this for Me.