Spotless

Regarding the Upper Dan Tien: I associate it with the center of the head below and inline with the Crown chakra - I associate the 3rd Eye with the center of the head in association with both the 6th (brow) chakra and the 7th (crown) chakra. Their is a very strong magnetic field that arises as this opens. It is different from the 6th chakra which is more forward. It incorporates the Knowing aspect of the Crown chakra and the Clairvoyance of the 6th chakra. I always felt something was missing from my information given the spatial diferences I was aware of and the literature on the 6th chakra and the 3rd eye. Now I see the upper Dan Tien as the center of the head and I believe this is the 3rd eye or the more powerful of the two pieces : center of head and forward of center 6th chakra. It is not important to know, but the differences are very clear - whatever they have been labeled, Many years ago it was incredible to be able to see or feel anything of the 6th chakra. But this center of head area is far more expansive and combines with the massive column of energy mounting up the spine and out the head and arms and all into the surrounding aura - with Qi Gong the first few layers of my aura feel almost hard. i am learning about Qi Gong bass akwards - and it is powerful - a great way to re-align - un-habituate. I have not yet started to clarify whats what in the solar region regarding chakra vs Middle Dan Tien. For many years my work has been intense in the head area - now I am concentrating on the Lower Dan Tien area. I have also worked on all of the chakras and the 3, 4 and 5th are no strangers.

I have only been doing Qi Gong for about 6 months. I have been practicing various forms of meditation for some 40+ years. I can tell you unequivocally that the 2nd Chakra located below the navel is not the same as the dan tien. (there are some here who have mentioned a "navel chakra" - I have never heard of this and do not feel it but the Dan Tien is also not the "navel chakra". Perhaps the "naval chakra" is one of the hundreds of minor vortex's such as can be found between each bone, at the tips of fingers, palms, sole of the feet, tips of toes) When you become familiar with the chakras they have a very definite feeling that is hard to describe most of the time - because it is not very pronounced in most cases. I feel the 6th chakra, Crown Chakra, hand Chakras, foot chakras and some others whenever I put my attention on them - - even for a moment and much more powerfully if I am doing Qi Gong or meditation. However, there have been times when I they have felt very clearly like vortex's - very very strong magnetic vortex's and so precise that I could have drawn a magic marker pen around the edges and told you where they went, what they connected to and - well - there was no doubt as to exactly what they were - where they were and what they did. We have many minor chakras - between each joint - within the eyes - at the tips of our toes and fingers. Regarding the idea of them having specific colors - don't believe it - the colors change, a slight variation in what is almost the same color can mean something completely different - and each color is always taken in context not on face value. The Dan Tien that I have experience off an on since my first experience with it as a fire/heater when I was around 16 or 17 - (a very clear activation of it) is slightly lower and deeper set. It is not a vortex as i have experienced it - it is much more like a golf ball in feel and size. Its emenations are not yet too specific to me but they definitely extend out at least a foot while I am at rest here typing in bed. I have not yet spent any real time reading about the Dan Tien and my Qi Gong teacher is an older Shaolin Monk that does not speak any English. He is a great teacher none the less and i follow him closely in the exercises and I can see most of what I need to know. Since I already feel and see the energy, translators are able to help with the few questions I need answered. Regarding the abilities contained in the main chakras - the generalizations are basically true - but they are really somewhat childish in the conveyance of what is actually associated with the different 7 main chakras.The old books by Leadbetter are still the best around and the literature of the Theosophical Society is excellent - and all free thanks to The Project Gutenberg. Tantric Yoga books also have some fairly specific info as well. There is a reason some teachings are "secret" - none of them are secret - none of them. Some teaching cannot take place until the student has attained the level necessary to understand what cannot be said to those unable to hear it.

I agree with all of this. I had deleted some regard for a short but quality meditation and I think everything said here is very true. The advantage to "burning out" is that you may be driven to that and not be able to contain yourself - particularly true with men. So - if you are driven enough to do major two-a-days then better yet go for a longer single sitting. This will also be helpful regarding your sexual energy. What is happening is that at about 40 minutes, energy that is stuck in your space begins to vibrate up to a point that it is about to really dissipate - areas where your life force is knotted up - as this starts to release you will go unconscious and at least parts of you will want to quit - the very parts of you that are the most unreal and not wanting to give up these strongholds of stuck energy (often stuck energy that is very well set and that you are habituated to - it is not just "rust in the pipes"). Breaking past these barriers will clean out stuck "past time" energy and really get back to fresh clean circuitry in those areas. It will be a very long time that you will accomplish this with 10 minute sessions. Yet I cannot argue with 10 minute sessions or even 5 minute sessions - I can argue on their behalf with just as much vigor. You will find that women will often be very happy to hear that 10 minute sessions are good and that constant practice is the more important behavior set and it is a good arguement. Let us look at why this might also be the case: women hit "pain" pictures - stuck pain energy in 15 or 20 minutes. They are also way more patient than men. They may also experience pictures that they see only in their dreams during menstral periods. The resistance to the pain pictures and longer meditation times is likely why we see 8 to 1 women to men in most of these classes but 90% of the high teachers are men. Men on the other hand have this sexual Beast energy - it is like a cross between a monkey and a dog - it wreaks havoc on us and longer meditation times are the most relief we have had from the beast in our entire lives. We do not generally hit a pile of pain pictures when we meditate - we feel more and more impowered because of the way we hold our stuck energy and the way in which it is released. We also experience freedom from the monkey/dog and become calmer. Half of us are normally like a capped volcano with nothing but politically incorrect inclinations eminating from every pore - and doing our best to contain our composure. Again - all of this said - short or long meditations are both very valuable. Regarding burn-out - it happens all the time - but I am not sure many small meditations would not become an annoyance possibly because they do not appear to be "really doing much" when fewer long meditations can gain some of those "wow - that was incredible" moments that keep you coming back - even if you leave for awhile. Sometimes burn-out will lead you to a group - and group work is extraordinarily benificial. Work within a group is far greater than most work that is not while associated with a group - (not always - but give me a little wiggle room here). This is particularly true during the first 5 years.

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The lower dan tien is not the same as the 2nd chakra which is located slightly higher and more clearly centered nearer to the surface of the skin. When you have very clearly opened this chakra it is very pronounced at the skin surface and will be 2-3 inches in diameter (more or less). The dan tien has a much different "texture" - and it is not as confusing.

I am sorry if I did not clarifiy my information before. When I stated that men hit a wall at about 40 minutes - I meant that this is the wall you want to break through. Personally I consider a 1 hr meditation about a 20 minute meditation because it takes about 40 minutes to get to the place where real meditation starts. Most men go unconsious at 40 minutes and end their meditation. They get allot out of a 40 minute meditation - but generally your head leaves somewhat fuzzy by comparison to a meditation of an hour or more. Many women end their meditation at 20 minutes - and breaking past the wall is harder on some levels. But - if they go for an hour many of them will really settle in after about 30 minutes. I think - instead of lowering the meditation to 30 minutes - try 60 minutes or 90 minutes. Get a taste of moving past the wall. We do not know what meditation style you do - or much of anything - the more you tell us the more we do not have to stab in the dark. A person can say over and over that they really are having a hard time getting out of the house. All kinds of ideas come to mind about how to help them. When that person finally says they have no arms and no legs and no one to help them - well - it is a very different and specific story. You have mentioned the sexual thing several times - how old are you - do you have a girlfiend/boyfriend or are you abstaining or? (a little help) More than anything - a 1 hr meditation is worth far more than two 40 minute sessions - particularly in the beginning.

Are you practicing Tummo?

Thanks for the book lead - I read the bio and it looks excellent!

You can look at this question from several ways - I suggest introspection as one way: What are your tendencies - are you in the head - are you in the heart - are you in your solar plexus - are you in your senses? What type of practices have you done - if any - and did you like them and do you continue to practice them? Secondly, you may be in the initial space of a kid in a candy store - literally: A kid in the candy store has tons of choices and he is out of his mind on a sugar high. You may have done just enought to be high as a kite on the energy work but without having made any real choice - I don't know but in reality it will be the basic stuff that gets you to your answer for this question. I have been lucky enough to have a back injury that has landed me in bed a few days and allowed me the time to sit down and find this very exciting site with a whole group of people involved in the work - a practice. Looking around here is probably a very good start, you may also want to look in your area. I spent lots of time recently looking for a teaching/school for my 5.6 yr old son. In the process I found a very good mature and accomplished Shaolin Monk that now teaches me Qi Gong and his school may also begin teaching my son. Right now at this time in my practice Qi Gong is the best teaching in the entire universe for me - partly because the timing is perfect for exactly where I am in my practice and also because he is 3 minutes from my house, affordable and offers enough time for me to move forward at the pace I am capable of. When I started out Hatha Yoga eased me into the whole "thing" and it woke me up to an entirely different world - as I moved into Raja it turned out perfect for my heavy philosophical head. My choices in the mid 70s were far more limited than yours are now but the basics are pretty much identical regarding meditation. Movement choices are vastly improved though we see allot of "sport yoga" and other fabrications out there sold by someone telling you its raining. Now - not to duck the blunt end of the stick completely - the word Tibet comes to mind in association with top teachings. I visited there in 1984 (Lhasa - I had full run of the Potala Palace!) and I have been impressed ever since. We are also fortunate to have a number of conscious beings teaching today online and all over the place - it is an exciting time to be alive and looking for a teaching!

Check out the book below - it is exquistly written by a very full blown psychic that basically reports in the field on what he sees. Fairies at Work and Play (A Quest Book) [Paperback]Geoffrey Hodson (Author) My experience with seeing one of these beings was in San Jose California (1988?) I was able to see him/it in an old church not far from the water. About 3 or 4 hundred people were gathered and I was the main event. I sat in a chair and at one point purposely left my body - I had never left my body before with such complete clarity and hyper awareness. I found myself fully conscious and on top of my head - looking out at a sea of energy and people. In the rafters of the old building on the left side was a huge walrus looking body with a large round head and a very big face. It spanned at least two rafters. It had a male energy on some level and the eyes were large, deep and clear. It was motionless and very much in the present. It was not registering emotion and was viewing me - we looked into each others eyes for what seemed quite some time. From Knowing I was able to look into this being considerably more - it was an amazing experience and I have not duplicated it though I have not really tried. The experience changed my view of such stories as these and the book I recommended is like nothing you have ever read before.

Can you tell us a bit about your meditation - how long do you meditate? When - why do you usually stop? I ask these questions because particularly in the initial years you will tend to go unconscious at certain points and it is best to go beyond this or perhaps for a time decrease your time. This becomes obvious in the differences between men and women meditating. The points at which they are most likely to go unconscious are almost to the minute for the first year or so. Women will generally hit a very strong wall at 20 minutes and if you can see them, they begin to move out of their bodies for the rest of a group session. For this breathing instruction can be helpful and many other tools. A loud bang or a spoken word can be very effective - most teachers don't know why they make a loud bang but it definitely brings students back into their bodies and out of what is typically a trance state. Men will hit many blocks but tend to stay in their space until about 40 minutes and then they leave as well. You are probably ending your meditation in a trance state and then leave with a good portion of yourself still in trance. Try to be in the center of your head and aware from that space - (unless of course you are practicing awareness somewhere else) - if you find yourself drifting or find youself on the ceiling - allow your awareness to come back to your attention point in the body and breathing may help you in this. Find a good point of clarity in your attention prior to ending the meditation - and you may also want to clearly enunciate within your space that you are now going to end the meditation. Take a deep breath or two or three and open your eyes - you may also want to bend over and touch the floor. Then stand up and clearly be out of your meditation - a few light slaps on your face can help if you still feel like you are fairly deep somewhere else. Odd little things can also hamper your meditation - for men the temperature of the room - too warm - can create far more effort than a cooler temperature. This will generally go away entirely as you progress but in the learning stages it can create a space of angst as a starting point and so check to see if something as small as this is a cause. I have often noted that women like a much warmer room temperature (because they have cooler skin temperatures) couple this with women out numbering men about 8 to 1 in many classes and add a female teacher and you will find the thermostat setting way to high for the men.

All of us have our different proclivities and movement may be one of yours just as vocal may be what draws many to chanting. Just as chanting has many benefits from the frequencies held and repeated - also group resonance and more, moving meditation could also have similar benefits. I have sat here rocking a bit in a meditative space and i can immediately see where benefit could be applied. The movements can be imperceptible in that they can start in a visible manner and settle into a motion that is more subtle and not physical/body. I would be interested to know more about what you find out about this. The obvious benefit for doing more traditional meditation is that you can from time to time research them in books and with practitioners and your choice of teachers will be much greater. At the same time, you may have an exceptional teacher that is creating a whole new practice. I find that trying to meditate while lying down is very difficult, I also find it very hard when lying sideways but I am very certain that many who have applied themselves to these positions have been successful. I see no reason why some form of moving meditation like what you have proposed would not be possible. I do think you will also grow to find that still meditation is something you will also want to learn and perhaps that you will gently move from moving meditation to still meditation within the same sitting. Your question about breathing is correct - it varies so much as your practice grows. In the beginning meditators often do not breath enough because they are so concentated on trying to feel and still themselves. This can be the case for quite some time, then you typically learn breathing techniques and begin breathing into your space. As this progresses you direct the energy of your breath to specific areas or currents. As you progress you will feel your breath within your whole space extending well beyond your skin. Breath learned in practice can move along with you after you are done with your exercise. Qi Gong sometimes leaves me with specific breathing for days - I have woken up still breathing in a practice style. It can be amazingly helpful for staying in the present and feeling ones aura and the space of self-remembering in a waking walking around state. I have also practiced Holotropic breathing at times and alternating nostril breathing - the breath is an amazing tool. (it should be noted that breath can be mis-used for forcing energies - do not do this - it can create serious setbacks with long recovery periods)

I have never experience hunger pains during a fast but then again I don't know just how enticing your wifes cooking can be.

If you practice sleep meditation then the amount of cosmic energy is much much higher than typical sleep - even if you are just a beginner in this type of practice. Not only because you are practicing in your sleep, but because you are aware of preparing for sleep and sleep practice.

A note about Juice Fasting I have witnessed some pretty interesting things that people do during fasts. Juice fasting includes making broth and for some reason quite a few people decide that since they hear that garlic is so good for you that they will concoct broth made from what appears to be entirely water and massive amounts of garlic. The idea being "if I am going to go on a fast I might as well blast my system with garlic and get the most out of it" I do not suggest you do this - this is a vacation for your body - it does not need to be blasted by anything nor do your close friends need to be subjected to the smell of lunacy

Thank you Viator - I had never heard of the salt fast - i am not sure if I will try it but just the same - thank you! By the way - I do have a quick question - do you see this as better than a staight water fast with enema or ? I have never had any worry about blood pressure fluxuations - obviously if there is a concern with that then this would be a consideration in choosing this way to fast. And I agree I have always looked upon Juice fasting as cheating in a way - but it deals with toxic levels well and the fact does remain - your digestive tract is still basically on vacation (not needing to break down proteins and other complex foods). On the other hand - you do tend to spend a pile of time juicing and making broths.

The longest continuous meditiation that i have engaged was 18 hours. It was an amazing meditation but that is a different story. I have meditated many times for 4 - 12 hours. I like at least a 2 hour meditation and no less that 1 hour - but - in a pinch 5 minutes is good (does that even count?) Regarding extending meditation time - many of the teachings have dogma regarding positions in meditation and what you can and cannot do. I can now say with certainty that they are in fact dogmas and not necessary in all but exacting exercises. The general outline of correct posture in meditation is very helpful and will naturally become more apparent as one becomes a solid meditator. When you are meditating - and not engaged in a specific posture for a very specific purpose - such as a partial lotus with one heel under you in order to stimulate certain energy movements - when you are doing "your every day work meditation", you will find the following to be true: 1. You can sit in a chair or sit in a lotus position or you can sit in a crossed leg position - these are all optimal. 2.You can lie down, you can be relaxed and slouched, you can be laying sideways - generally not optimal and probably not very profitable - but - you can meditate in these positions and if you work at it - they can be very good as well. If you are unable to sit up, or for some reason you need to lay down or lay sideways - don't listen to anyone who thinks you cannot meditate in these positions - they have as they say "a pole up their spine". That said: Typical meditation is best done in any of the positions mentioned in #1. If you are sitting on a chair it does not need to be particularly comfortable - but it is OK if it is extremely comfortable as well. When I meditated for 18 hours it was a sitting meditation on a plain metal folding chair - my feet were flat on the ground and my hands were palms up on my legs. My spine was straight, head slightly down, tip of tongue touching the forward top of my mouth and by about 2 or 3 hours into it I was sitting on the edge of the chair wide awake and pretty much stayed that way for the entire rest of the sitting. Do not become identified with sitting in the perfect position and do not become identified with "how long" you meditate. I once listened to a teacher telling the story of when he visited Thailand and was at a sitting in front of a teacher that was televised along with hundreds of other monks and lay people all meditating and not moving for 8 hours. He told us how he was in pain but that he would be damned to be the only one to move during the meditation with the cameras rolling and he being the only white person. And how at the end he had to be helped up by other people because his legs and back were frozen in place. I sat and watched him tell this story and I could see the pride in his aura, in his telling of the story and I lost all interest in learning from this teacher. You do not need to have a stroke in order to learn this lesson and nothing is actually gained by the discomfort you may at times be experiencing. If putting on a hair shirt is your teaching - so be it - but it has nothing to do with what is required for the very best benefits of meditation. Currently I typically meditate in a crossed leg position - I have always called it "indian style" as in American Indian. I did lotus many years ago when I first started and sat in a chair for many years. Sitting in a chair is probably best for long meditation simply because it is easier on overall circulation but in my experience, once you have passed the 2 or 3 hr mark you tend to have lots of energy and the overall circulation is very strong - even in the legs if you are cross leg or lotus. If your teacher has instructed you specifically and you are in agreement with the teaching then follow it as best you can - but don't become the victim of "imperfect posture" - if "perfect posture" means pain and more pain then it is not "perfect posture" it is posture that is painful. If you are trying to become a successful fakir in the Gurdjieff sense of the word, then pay no attention to what I just said Your teacher will say the same thing - you can work toward an ideal posture but this is not Navy Seal training - overcoming pain while packing a machine gun with a knife in your teeth. I would suggest the following: I typically sit with water or tea at my side, I get up to go to the bathroom if I need to, I frequently adjust my position in the beginning if I am unconfortable and generally find that I do this less or not at all as time goes by. Sometimes my body will clearly have me doing some Qi Gong exercises or Yoga moves in the middle of a session - (this is how most exercises are invented) this does not happen frequently but when I know this is what is needed for some knot to be untied - and they willl let you know - then I stand up and untie the knot. ( I did not get to this point for many years.) The "rules" are a starting point - if later on you find yourself watching the clock and monitoring your perfectness - you are not meditating - you are sitting uncomfortably while watching the clock and identifying with a picture of who you should be which is definitely not someone in the present:) I have to admit - when I was beginning all of this I was pretty close to a perfectionist but I was also lucky - I had been a downhill ski racer and the training for that is lots of stretching. When I started yoga I could already put my legs behind my neck and lotus was not a learning curve - I just did it. i was also very lucky with teachers - I had some good and some not so good - but my first teacher in Prana Yoga said we should not believe a word he said - that we should try what he said and if we found we did not like it or that it was not for us that we should leave and find another teacher. He also taught us something that I have found to be most profound: That if you learned the basics well and practiced them everyday with no further teaching - your practice would lead to all the other forms you would need to know. I can tell you this is true. I do not know if I would have played with my certainty in this regard if I had not been told this. And do not get me wrong - I am a very sincere believer in a teacher and doing research. I do not force energy and I do not guide it around with abandon just to see what happens - particularly now that I can feel it clearly. Lastly You can also change from cross leg to chair. When I have meditated for long periods I generally did not plan on it - and so sometimes I have had to prepare along the way. Also - if you are sitting and the doorbell rings and you need to accept a package - do it with no bother - no consideration of loss - and do it without delay if it is important - let it not interrupt your meditation - don't identify with this as "an interruption" just take care of business and sit back down all the while viewing the experience - nothing lost.

Is this a water fast? with some salt water drinks? If its a water fast - can you tell us the basic reutine? Like - 8 oz of salt water in the morning when you wake up and one at 3 hours before you intend to sleep. Do you still do an enema or are these salt drinks creating strong evacuations and etc. Do you have a web address of this fast that you recommend? Thanks in advance!

Regular fasting will do the same thing as far as removing impaction - I know - one of the grosser things that happened in my life was when my mother at age 70 or so went on a fast while I was visiting her in Hawaii. I was also on a fast at the time and she decided to do her first fast as well - it was a juice fast. About 3 days into it she wanted to show me something - I then followed her into the bathroom where she showed me the toilet bowl - it looked like the entire bowl was filled up with brown apple seeds. They were the impactions of a 70+ year old! This picture is unfortunately etched in my mind By the way - she is 95yrs old, lives by herself and takes no medication and has taken no medication for about 95yrs - wih few exceptions.

How is it that you use salt water?

Diet - again! Our diet consists of many things but what is often not considered diet is all the higher foods we take in. We actually consume more air in actual weight each day than we do the weight of our entire intake of solid food and water. Some 18,000 gallons of air each day. Consider what you take in through your eyes each day - on a day in the mountains you can easily take in 1000s of cubic miles. Consider also what type of media you eat each day - ? Imagine the gigantic number of sound waves impinging upon you in just one minute! Now - stop a second and think - what is your analyzer broadcasting all day to the rest of your space? Your "analyzer" is roughly located just forward of the center of your head and perhaps one day I will find out what it is called in Tibet, China, Japan and elsewhere but sometimes when you are meditating you can see it - it is whitish and looks like popcorn while its popping. This is the loudspeaker - the one that runs tapes over and over - analyzing, computing, jotting down your story line, judging, framing and often joining forces with any part of the body that wants to identify along with the current rant - even the subtle rants - the worst rants - those that are so habituated that they are part of the floor and walls. You have all this food coming into your space as well as what you broadcast within your space - spending some time to choose a bit more wisely might be in line with what a seeker would want to do. Our diet is considerable and timing is as important as quality and amount. You will spent about 1/3 of your life sleeping - what you take within your system in the hours just before your sleep will effect your entire nights sleep. Crime novels might not be a very good idea. Going over your to-do list - not so good either. Making a mental note of all the things that you did not get done during the day - what is the point? You can accomplish an enourmous amount during sleep - or you can waste that 1/3 of your life by preloading your sleep with attention points that divert you. During sleep you can take in a considerable amount of cosmic energy and you can learn to be aware as well. In other words - you can add about 1/3 of your life to your practice and you will also sleep better. Eating food and drink before going to bed is simply hard on your body and disruptive to your sleep. You should not eat any semblance of a meal for at least 2 hours before going to bed. If you find this difficult to do - you will generally find that the culprit is your analyzer and you are "self-medicating" in order to knock yourself out with carbs. During meditation you take in more and more cosmic energy - this is also true to a much lesser extent during sleep. This energy naturally cleans and clears your space. The more cosmic energy your diet includes, the more you will find yourself unfolding and natural. Take the buzz out of your diet - apply your diet with discretion and when you find yourself in effort - notice it and do not identify with it. If your mind says you will die if you do not have that ice cream before bed - look it squarely in the eye and say "OK - let me see you die - tonight we are going to set aside the ice-cream and watch you die - go ahead - anytime - we are waiting - we will give you a beautiful funeral - rainbows and flowers and singing - it will be a magnificent death"

Water or Juice? The older you are the more i would suggest a juice fast at least for the first few fasts. The toxins are washed out more quickly in a juice fast and you are more likely to have toxicity as you age and particularly if you carry extra weight which you are also more likely to do as you grow older. The book I like for my juice fasting is How to Keep Slim, Healthy and Young With Juice Fasting by Paavo Airola (Jun 1971)used from amazon for around $6.00 I can't remember the water fasting book I started with, but I like the old books better than the new ones - the older ones are simple and inspired often by India and whole healing centers there which use fasting. The newer books tend to sell something like pre-fasting formulas for clearing you out in advance of clearing you out - the less cluttered fasting books clearly spell out the few simple dietary steps required prior to the start of the vacation, during the vacation and when ending the vacation. Don't take the Navy Seal approach to this vacation - this is not some tough Outward Bound thing. This is like going to a spa. (unless you don't do an enema daily - if you don't intend to do this, I would just pass on the whole thing)

A Spring cleaning and vacation for our bodies! i would like to suggest we rethink the use of the word Fasting and talk about giving our bodies a vacation and a thorough rest and cleanout. First - Plan the vacation so that you have everything you need in order to really take advantage of all the new situations you will discover. (in other words - really read up on this process - it is a major way of healing in India and other areas of the world) Second - understand that on your vacation your digestive system does not have to answer any call - does not have to care for any body and does not need to lift a finger. Third - your entire alimentary canal for perhaps the first time in your life, gets to actually clean itself out without the constant traffic that it usually recieves for a good portion of each day. Finally it gets to sit back and bask in an un-pressured life and work out the kinks and buildup of everyday elimination - goodbye toxins and a whole hord of un-nameables - finally some time to concentrate on the little stuff! If it could talk here is what it would say: "And to think - the master of my body will be sticking a hose up my lower canal and clearing the big stuff out right from day one! So glad I will not be stuck with that festering for 10 days." And now from the diary of a vacationer: "time - so much time to do so many things like - nothing! All that eating, preparing to eat, driving to eat, thinking of eating - gone from my concern! I am so glad I researched this vacation because instead of being concerned about schedules and where I will go and what will happen, I know in advance and my mind is at ease. And I'm so glad I did not listen to the people that said this exotic destination was full of all sorts of scarry things and that I should not vacation here. "The lack of food has been wonderful here - all the restraunts are free - all of my friends -particularly my digestive tract and my skin and my alimentary canal are having the best vacation of their lives! Everyone here is enjoying the trip - !" "The flight over was not bad at all - I anticipated some discomfort on such a long flight with a big time-zone change because I did my homework - but now - after the third day i feel great - lighter, calmer and energized - ! I may extend this vacation - it is way better than I thought possible and my skin looks amazing - I think i've also lost some weight!" Its the seventh day now on this vacation and I have got to tell my friends about this space. Initially when i first got here i was figiting allot - so much time on my hands - way more than normal - way more than on any vacation I have ever taken - its like time is longer here! I did not realize just how much buzz in my life was not a natural part of me - I am in a very different space now than when I arrived. Its wierd - so many people said such concerning things about this trip and many said to make it short, but now I think just the opposite. Once you take all the time to arrive here - it is not something you really want to stop unless you have to or if your body says "time to go". I love it here - and my body absolutely loves it! (well that was different)

To K: Please understand no offense was taken - certainly not by any single posting of anyone here in this forum. My roughness was set as a relatively firm fixture within a current of what I percieve to be fairly whimsical assumptions about the New Age and New Agers. We are in the very midsts of a renaissance and can't see the forests through the trees. We have traveled eons and yet we harp on sentimental illusions with all the puffery of a rabit racing a tortise. So much is being leveled upon those that go off on some wild hair - but nothing is new about this - those that are off in the weeds are not the New Age, they are just off in the weeds for a time - perhaps a life or two. The surface of the water is busy with oil spots and scum, floating plastic and strangeness - but access to the deep has never been so accessible!

If you start your fast on a Thursday you willl be past the bad breath by Sunday - by Monday your breath will be better than it has been for most of your life. In any case - enjoy your fasting!