Hello loves,

Did you enjoy the holidays? Perhaps they were a pleasant reason to have another glass of wine, an extra helping that “stuffed” you over the edge, and maybe another cookie, or two, or three. Perhaps you knew these items weren’t right for your diet, (maybe they weren’t gluten-free and you’re a gluten-free fan or maybe you’ve been trying to cut back on sugar) but who wants to be nit-picky over the holidays? Not you! (Or me!)

Well, there’s no harm in a little over-indulgence when you balance it with a cleanse or fast. It’s New Years, and many folks are thinking about resolutions. If improving your health is a big part of yours (and why shouldn’t it be?) I invite you to join me in a prayer-and-fast for the next 28 days.

“Good-god,” you may be thinking, “a prayer-fast. Why on earth would I do such a thing?”

Simple. Because you already know the benefits of cleansing your body: increased energy, less weight (physical and psychological), and greater strength. Committing to a month of prayer, or focusing on your spirituality, improves your sense of connection to life and thereby deepens your enjoyment of it.

Let me explain further and see if I can get your interest.

The idea of this prayer-fast is very simple and loosely organized:

For the fast: remove one thing from your diet (or more, if you can do it safely) that you feel might be unhealthy for you. It could be sugar, alcohol, dairy, red meat, wheat, or something more specific, like, chocolate. (Or not!)

Notice that I said it can be something you feel isn’t right for you, right now. You don’t have to have a dependency, reaction, or actual food issue. Remember that most foods, including the ones listed above, have redeeming qualities and are very right in the right quantities for the right people. This isn’t about bad foods or about punishing yourself. This is more about taking something out in a spirit of curiosity and adventure. To see how you feel. It’s an experiment!

For the prayer part, well, this is completely up to you. Perhaps you celebrate the balancing wisdom and fierce beauty of Nature. Perhaps you find God in devotion to religion. Perhaps you recognize that there is a Source of energy or love that connects and enlivens all creatures. Perhaps you have no recognition whatsoever of such mumbo-jumbo but while making love, you experience a loss of the boundary of self and other and a freeing emptiness that also feels like an expansion and could only be described as bliss.

Or maybe you just want to experience those things.

Either way, your spiritual health… (and emotional and physical health, because you are one being and if any aspect of you suffers the rest eventually will, too.) … would probably benefit from a month where you commit to taking a few moments from your day to allow yourself to explore prayer, or to sit quietly in the dark just observing your thoughts, whatever suits you best. And again, it’s more about experimentation and playful curiosity than anything else. It’s about pushing your boundaries and finding new dimensions to your self-hood.

If the idea of restoring your spiritual health makes you uncomfortable, think of it like this: It is like when one guy falls off the mountain: he’s either gonna drag his buddies down with him or there’re going to have to pull him back up.

Not sold yet?

You know, it’s always the things that are most uncomfortable for us that offer the most opportunity for growth and transformation.

Ha! Got you there! Now, are you sold?

Good!

The only thing I ask, if you feel inclined, is to offer up part of the reason behind your fast and prayer as an intention for Adahlia’s health.

The curious ferrets among you wonder: What am I doing?

Well, I am no longer on the super-strict anti-inflammatory diet I was on for a few weeks there (thank god!) but I must admit I felt good while on it. So, I am going to go sans-sugar – all sugar including maple syrup and chocolate, yet again. (I will, however, continue to use raw honey, as it has amazing health benefits.)

See how easy this is?

And, I may also decide to cut out wheat again, or dairy. I’m not sure.

Super flexible!

If you wish to join in, feel free to let me know via one of the many ways I am available, and I will think of ways to keep people motivated or amused, or maybe even both. You can also contact me if you have any questions or run into any problems or concerns.

And for those who would like an Adahlia update: She has learned to stack blocks! After watching Joe and I play with them (for we are like children ourselves) and gleefully destroying our towers, a few days ago, she marched over to the kitchen, alphabet blocks in hand, sat between us as we chopped veges for a stir-fry, and began to stack blocks. She got up to 7.

Seven! I know, and she’s only 18 months! (At the pediatrician’s office a few weeks ago, I learned that she’s supposed to be able to stack 4 blocks by now, and 6 by 2-years.) I could not believe it.

Then, a couple days later, while taking a break from boxing up our Xmas tree ornaments, she began stacking again and I snapped off this amazing (and fuzzy) picture:

Such delicacy and focus!

Then, just yesterday, she built a tower 9 blocks high. No joke! Nine blocks!

But do you want to know the best thing about it? (Because we really don’t care about how many blocks she stacks.) Or, perhaps, the cutest thing?

Its that after she places a block she immediately brings both hands to her solar plexus, right below her rib cage, and presses her palms against herself, as if steadying herself, and holds her breath, waiting to see if they’ll stay put. When they do, she quickly reaches for another block. And again, she steadies herself and holds her breath. She repeats this process, her excitement visibly mounting, but she restrains it, and keeps her focus.

Amazing!!

When the blocks inevitably teeter and fall, we congratulate and encourage her. And we all laugh.

Building health is like building blocks.

You just go one at a time.

When you fall, celebrate how far you got, laugh, and start again.

With this prayer-fast, we’ll take it one day at a time. And I guarantee you will build something worth celebrating!