Day 1 Cyndi's Nirahara Samyama Diary July 2015: Progressing Along the Food-free Path

"Everything is belief programs," has become one of my 'observational mantras' since I experienced a significant shift of perception and quietening of the mind at the Oneness University in India in Fall of 2013.

Believing that we need to eat food to survive is just another of those belief programs that shapes our lives.

Cyndi at Oneness Temple 2013

After participating in a 28-day Deepening process then two 10-day Trainer's courses, which included processes with the incredible Oneness Temple, I came home invigorated and changed. Over the following months of integration, my awareness became heightened by seeing the beliefs and programs behind people's actions, society's makeup and daily activities.

Remember the scene in The Matrix, when Neo is doing the impossible and the others are watching the code falling on the computer monitor? That is a bit what it's been like for me, I've been seeing the code falling, as I saw the various beliefs for what they were: just programs propping up our reality.

Near the end of my re-entry from India (it took a year!), I began researching 'breatharians' online. I had already read Jasmuheen's book some years ago so I already knew we didn't need food to survive, and I wondered if more breatharians had become popular online, as it I'd heard a few of the popular raw fooders talk about progressing to liquid diets.

My searching turned up an Indian Master I hadn't heard of yet: Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda, dubbed "A Living Incarnation". He has an incredible collection of teachings on the web, over 2000 YouTubes! As well as free live streaming of his near-daily Satsangs. He's always smiling and looks great, too!

The first site of his I found was www.bfoodfree.org site. Swami Nithyananda has a free process you can do at home to begin to dismantle the belief patterns which enslave us to food! Free is good.

I explored the program, called Nirahara Samyama, which begins on the 1st day of each month at 7am Indian-time with the Satsang that morning in India. For us on Pacific Time this is at 5:30pm (PST) or 6:30pm (PDT) the evening before the 1st. I participated in and completed the November 2014 Batch 36 and started last evening with Batch 45.

I had already experienced two 21-day water fasts, a 10-day water fast which yielded some interesting healing effects, and a one-day Ekadasi process (fast with no water) which I enjoyed and got so much energy from I did it for two days.

The Nirahara Samyama is different. It is not a diet. It is not completed on willpower. 

You are under the tutelage of Swami Nithyananda and receiving energetic support of some sort from him. You simply tune it to the Satsang every day and be present and participate in the meditation they do or if there is no Satsang that day, there are meditation practices you can do on your own. There are a few other practices and requirements I'll get into later or you can read about it on the BFoodFree website.

The process involves the first two days of liquid diet (nothing chewable), then one day of eating, then 7 days of liquid diet, then 1 day of eating, then 11 days of liquid diet. 

The liquid diet can be juices, water, teas, milk, buttermilk, soup broths, soup and thin porridges. I've also done smoothies and raw soups (put it through a strainer to ensure no chewy bits), fresh nutmilks (for a treat, blend in some raw cocoa and stevia or xylitol), kombucha, and sparkling kefir. Coffee is permitted also.

Luckily if you don't want to haul out the juicer, fresh cold-pressed juices, NOT pasteurized, are becoming more available. On the West Coast, we are lucky to have Starbucks' new brand of juices called Evolution Fresh which are made with a Norwalk Press.

Should you choose fresh raw juices or pasteurized, ie heated, (beware even "flash pasteurized" is still heated, just faster). Ah, but that is another of those beliefs! If you think the pasteurized is bad for you, then, perhaps, it is!

What I did on Day 1 Nirahara Samyama:

- Day 1 of 2 days on Liquids

Drink or Eat
Neem leaf powder (1/4 tsp w/ 1/4 tsp structured water)
Sructured Water
Orange Juice (from frozen)
iced herbal tea
Fruit/greens smoothie
Veggie soup blended and strained (brocollini, mushrooms, asparagus, red onion, fresh marjoram & thyme, leftover quinoa, Thai True Green Curry, coconut milk)

Activities

short bike ride for an errand

2 hrs cutting branches and scotch broom

Watched and did:

• Introduction to Hunger Free Meditation
• Conquer eating disorders with Nirahara Samyama : the Kriya breathing at the end of this video, 30:00min

Observations

I had sorta ate a lot of some of yummy foods we had around the house before the evening (morning in India) satsang, so my first full day was not so eventful. I felt a bit hungry towards the evening when I had the cooked soup. On the food days, I will likely only eat raw, but then, I am working on dropping another layer of 'food beliefs' this time. The first Nirahara Samyama process I did helped me to drop judgements on myself or others about eating any particular type of diet. 

Although I prefer raw, organic and vegan, I think our choices of food on this plane of existence should be more around what is sustainable and healthy for our society and ecosystem and while still hooked in the belief that you need to eat, you might as well eat the food with the highest amount of energy, which would actually be wild, raw food.

For all the posts in this series, go here: Nirahara Samyama Diary July 2015

Squat, Don't Sit For a Healthier Bowel Movement Says Dr. Mercola

I remember a my husband's first nature poo. I was 27, he 28, camping in Northern Queensland, Australia. I could not believe he'd never taken a dump in the woods! We had both been bicycle racers, long before we met. Racing, and the rural training for racing, often necessitates taking care of nature's calls wherever you may be. I would carry a bit of toilet paper in a plastic bag on the longer rides, just in case (being a girl and all, you know). He survived the experience and learned how refreshing a good squat can be and that squatting was more than a way to build your quads via weightlifting.

Dr. Mercola published a great article that will go a long way towards improving the bowel movements of America: Want Better Bowel Movements? Squat, Don’t Sit! I can vouch for what he says. Personally, we have a couple of Rubbermaid step stools in the bathrooms; it's not perfect, but it works. The article also includes a helpful description of the types of stools; health, unhealthy and appearance of stools.

During a trip to India in 2013, I was one of the few retreat participants at the Oneness University who would use the "Indian toilets", we called them; there was never a line for those! Usually they were a square porcelain 'bowl' in the floor that you squat over it and the floor was tiled and there was a bucket with water to aid with flushing and cleaning off, sometimes there was a hose also. The only awkwardness involved was tucking your clothes in such a way as so they didn't get wet on the floor or via a 'mistaken aim' (even for girls!). This is a photo of an all-in-one squat-or-sit toilet I experienced in India.

6 Tips for Squatting for Health

1. Drink Lots of Water. Start the day with 2-4 big glasses of water and take a BM before you eat. Choose fresh spring water or Natural Action Technologies Structured Water®. Drink more water or structured fluids, like fresh juices or smoothies or raw soups.
2. Include probiotics and fermented foods in your diet. 
3. Use a step stool or a Squatty Potty to emulate a squat, leaning forward helps. If using a step stool, you may find you need a taller stool if you have an tall or ADA (handicap) toilet.
4. Do not put up the toilet seat and climb up there and squat, as some hard-core guys in the comments of the Mercola article do, it's dangerous as you can slip and the toilet was made to handle the weight distributed around the rim of the bowl, not concentrated on the sides.
5. Take a portable stool with you on road trips, or keep one in a car. Once you figure out what size works best at home, you might need a taller stool since most of public bathrooms these days use the ADA toilets.
6. Squat more! Squat when gardening, squat while reading, squat when hanging out and talking to people. Find a way to squat for a while right before you go to the bathroom without a stool, this can be handy at rest stops as it can help relax the muscle, before heading in. 

In Australia, we once even inadvertently built the perfect '"squat box" without realizing it. It started out as a large mailbox with a sloping roof to keep off the tropical rains. When we moved, we took it with us and discovered it was the perfect slope for a "squat box".

As Dr. Mercola points out in his article, the biggest reason to squat is that when we stand and sit, our bodies naturally tighten up the muscle that we need to release, to well, poo. Squatting naturally releases this and you shouldn't need to strain at all when eating well and if you're hydrated. So give your colon a break and see how you can incorporate squatting into your daily routine.

Easier Blending with Blendtec's 4-inch Blade, Big Motor and 3 Qt. Jug

In helping a friend choose a blender for green smoothies and blended salads, I felt I should check out what Blendtec has. I knew VitaMix had come out with a 3-peak horse power model. I figured Matt and Angela Monarch would know the scoop.

Does it annoy you when so much smoothie goodness gets stuck down by the blade? I know I do. My daughter and I joked once that if we ever open a raw-food cafe, we might name it "Squeegee's" for my constant companion: the spatula we use to scrap out the goodness from the blender.

In this video review, Matt and Angela show comparison's between the Blendtec and the Vitamix and also between the Blendtec with the 3-inch blade and the Blendec with the 4-inch blade and the wider base on the carafe. What a difference! Stuff just pours out of the wider one!

Along with the longer blade and higher speeds, Blendtec has released a 3 quart (96 ounces!) carafe! Great for family blending!

To see the details page for this blender, click here: Blendtec Blenders. The blender also comes in white and red, which you will find on the site when you get there.

Is a 100% Fruit Diet Healthy? Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

Gabriel reviews his experiences and what he's seen and heart during his 30+ years in the live food world.

The Best Foods to Bring to a Raw Food Potluck

John Kohler from OK Raw shares his top tip for Raw Food Potluck dishes. His message: Fresh is Best. Bring fresh food. Grow it or get it from the farmer or farmer's market.

Raw Food Potluck Survival Tips

John Kohler from OK Raw has these great tips to help you survive a raw potluck. With all the great choices, besides eating too much, you need to be careful about food combining, ingredients and where the food came from.

John, a 15 year veteran of raw foods, offers some great tips for those considering organizing a vegan raw food potluck.

Raw Food Potluck Primer Free Recipes eBook

Discover the world of Raw Food Potlucks with this great free ebook from Rene Oswald. She has a great website with no-nonsense advice and a great program for getting started called "Transtioning to Living Cuisine". What I like best about Rene's approach is her practical suggestions for organizing your raw food for the week.

To get the free ebook, click here and sign up for her monthly newsletter. You will receive the link for the ebook within 48 hours.