Stormy 100 Mile Ultra-Marathon

It has been sometime since my last blog entry as I’ve spent a great deal of time introspecting over the past months. After just living another profound experience it feels right to begin putting my blog hat on again.

Relatively speaking running is a pass time that is fairly new to me. The allure for me is observing my mind, body and spirit transform from the vibration of an anaerobic hockey player to an ultra endurance athlete. Just over 2 years ago I hung up my hockey skates and picked up my first pair of runners. I had no idea then I would find a new passion that would completely transform my life.

One of my sayings in life is that “You never plan to fail, but you can fail to plan”. Over the past several months I’ve logged 1000’s of miles on my feet. What I’ve learned during this time is that there is something truly special about being able to completely strip life down to its bare essentials. For me being an ultra marathoner has nothing to do with burning off steam or inner pain and angst. I also do not believe in voluntary suffering or that pain is a noble cleansing of the soul. Running for me has to do with connecting with nature, myself and facilitating a pure expression of joy and freedom.

The race started at 12 noon on Friday, Aug. 8. I felt great, was very relaxed, and was prepared to simply “do my best”. At the start line the race had approximately 30 starters, the countdown started and off we went. As usual most runners took off fairly quickly, I did the opposite. As I looked over my shoulder there were only a handful of runners behind me putting me at about 25^th place, I just laughed and smiled. The course consists of two 50 mile loops, that is 97% trails and 3% paved roads with a net elevation gain of 12,000 feet.

As I ran through the first several miles to the first aid station I began to get warmed and loosened up. Kate (my amazing Fiance’ and crew for the race) was at the first aid station, fueling me up and getting me back out on the trail, this rest stop was less than a minute. I then headed north towards Alice Lake, a great part of the trail. As I began passing runners who are veteran 100 milers, they were telling me I was running too fast and how they would enjoy passing me during the last 10 miles of the race when I “bonked”. Another one of my sayings is that “When the voice and vision on the inside becomes louder and clearer than the opinions of others on the outside, You’ve Mastered Your Life!” I simply smiled and continued to find my pace. After the next aid station I was completely alone with no other runners in sight. I was approaching the 20 mile mark in an extremely technical single track section. I felt fantastic and loved every part of the race. After the next aid station I was making my way to the Quest University loop. As I was entering Gary Robbins was leaving, we “high fived” and encouraged each other to keep up the good work. Gary went on to win the race and set a new course record, he had a fantastic race. This loop consisted of a climb that lasted for just under an hour. I’m not sure what the temperature was but this is where I began to overheat. For me this was when the race officially began, just under the 30 mile mark. As I entered the powerhouse aid station I was greeted by my pacer Chris GT Downie and other Crew member Dr. Alain Deslauniers. They just arrived in Squamish, and it was great to see their excited faces. Chris would join me at mile 43.5 to the finish line.

The next section was 9 mile hill. Yes that’s exactly what it is, a steep hill 9 miles long. I ran where I could and walked when it got too steep. This was a challenging 2 hour climb. After 9 mile hill loop I was 8 hours into the race and back with the crew and Chris at the aid station. Chris and I threw on our headlamps as the sun was setting and it was great to know I would run the rest of the race with him by my side. It was now Friday night, 8pm.

After several hours of running something special happens to me. I am provided with an opportunity to peel the layers and attune into a more pure existence of what it means to be a human being. In our daily engagements we are forced to spend the majority of our time in our cognitive, left brain mind. The left brain is necessary for those parts of our life that require facts, language, math, strategies and it is practical and safe. This is a necessary part of our brain that must be nurtured, but it is important to understand that this is only half of our reality. There are fewer things in our society that honour and nurture the right side of our brains. The right side uses feelings, imagination, has “big picture” ideas, believes, appreciates, presents possibilities and takes risks. For me this shift from left to right brain consciousness provides more balance, purity, trust and allows the deepest parts within me to step forward and have a more authentic and profound experience.

Having Kate and Al as a crew at aid stations and having Chris run with me for the last 14 hours, facilitated this transition to even deeper levels. You see the right brain cannot protect as it can only feel and trust, the left brain allows us to discern, assess and protect when necessary. My support team was now there to “take care of me”. The opportunity to just eat, run and fully experience life beyond the veils of our cultures domestication and materialism was present. Yes, the simple life!

We now made our way to the start/finish line and I had completed the first 50 mile loop in exactly 10 hours. One more 50 mile loop to the finish!

To complete a 100 mile race is a feat on its own, to add more challenge to this was the technical aspects of the terrain. Chris got a taste of this as he badly sprained his ankle just after the 50 mile mark. I did not realize how bad it was until we got to the finish line. It was a BAD sprain. The only word I have to explain Chris is that he is a “Machine”. Physically he’s over 200 pounds of solid muscle, a freak of an ultra marathoner. Mentally he’s unwavering, I knew I needed to find a pacer who was as strong as me mentally and could push through anything. There can never be an once of doubt in the air of what is possible. Chris was in excruciating pain, but he did not say a word, not even a single “peep”. He ran the last 57 miles with me pushing me harder and further than I could do alone. “Two great souls are better than one”.

As we ran past Alice Lake to Dead End Loop, the most Northern part of the race I told Chris to stop, turn off his lights and look up. It was pitch black, we were in the mountains in the middle of nowhere with one of the best views of the stars. It was almost 2am Saturday morning I had been running for almost 14 hours and in this state I felt a deep, profound connection to the universe and its entirety. As I looked upon the “diamonds in the sky” I was at home within myself.

We continued on through another technical single track section of the race and made our way to the next aid station. Kate asked me how I felt, I said, “like I’ve just ran 70 miles”. Physically, I was in serious discomfort, my entire body ached, I was having trouble digesting food and I had serious cramping around my diaphragm and upper abs. I sat down at the aid station, ate several sections of orange and had another Starbucks double shot. Everyone at the station was telling me how great I was doing; my left brain says they were lying to me.

Many people would consider me to have lived a fairly extreme lifestyle, living life on the “edge”. Truly, I believe life is more fully experienced at the edge of our comfort zones. However, I have never pushed my mind, body and spirit to this extreme of a level before. After running over 70 miles I was in unchartered territory. Something profound happened yet again, Physically I was beyond exhausted, yet this inner voice told me to get up and said you are far more than your physical body (cognitively I know this, however, to experience this is beyond comprehension). “Let’s finish what we started, 30 miles are left in this adventure, let’s go!” After my longest break of 3-4 minutes of sitting down, I got up, looked at Chris and said “Let’s Rock”.

We pounded down the pavement to Quest University and spent the next hour running to the top of the loop. At this stage of the race I had no idea I would still be able to run these inclines, but the strength from within was far greater than without. We made our way down the loop to Powerhouse aid station and Kate handed me some chicken noodle soup. My gosh, soup has never tasted so good in my entire life. I devoured it; Chris and I looked at each other, began running again and in silence we both knew what was ahead. Once again, the most challenging climb of the race, 9 mile hill. To run this hill after 30 miles is an accomplishment, but to do it at 4:45am, being on my feet for almost 17 hours and having run over 80 miles, is in an entirely new league. At this point I was only 20 miles to the finish, but it would be the most challenging 20 miles I have ever experienced. I also knew that 8 runners already had the dreaded “DNF” (did not finish). These are people who had already dropped out of the race.

Dropping out of the race was never an option; I was crossing the finish line no matter what. Everything within the world is created at least twice. First within our minds and then it takes its physical form within the reality of our world. When I have an idea and focus all of my efforts towards it, I see it come to fruition. This race was no different.

Chris and I made our way to the top of 9 mile in just over 2 hours. Close to the top there was a bear on the trail. It was sitting right in front of us. Being in my right brain awareness I was thinking about how cute it was and how it would feel pretty good to give it a hug. After a second I snapped out of it and we started yelling at it and it eventually tucked back into the bushes. At the top we were greeted by Cheryl who was the volunteer at this aid station. I had some more yummy soup….mmmm!

After another short climb we were on a long downhill single track back to the powerhouse station. With only 11 miles to go I just let my legs open right up and we pounded down this trail. After running almost 90 miles I had no idea that I could still muster up a 6 minute/mile pace. Wow, I was impressed. Chris and I were smiling ear to ear, screaming out loud, we both LOVE fast downhill’s. We were like 2 kids at a candy store.

We got back to the powerhouse aid station, took off our hydration packs, lights and grabbed our handheld bottles. I was just 6.5 miles to the finish line. This last section was more undulating single track technical trail. Possibly the longest 6.5 miles I have ever run. We kept a good pace and finally I saw the finish line. We ran up, heard my name on the speaker and I crossed the finish line. First with my hands in the air with a huge smile and then to tears of joy as Chris, Kate, Al, Stephan, Nate, Lanny and Kacey all received huge hugs from me.

I just completed my first 100 mile ultra marathon in 21 hours and 39 minutes. I finished 4^th overall and 2^nd in my age division. Wow!

For me the bigger the commitment, sacrifice and dedication we make towards living our lives in our own ideal the more profound and prolific our experiences become. Having cheerleaders are extremely important. This experience would have never been possible without the love and support of Kate everyday of my life. My good friend Chris who selflessly ran 57 miles with me (50 of them with a severely sprained ankle, without an ounce of complaint, he is a machine). And finally my dear friend Dr. Alain who always “shows up” no matter what. You guys Rock!

The Dipole of Health!

Over the past few weeks I have been pondering ideas that may empower people to take more control of their health. One of the challenges I have found is the domestication of western society about optimal health and what it truly is. I trust this week’s handout will aid in more fully understanding this process.

It is an established belief of society that sickness and disease are abnormal events that should not exist and could eventually be eradicated. Because of this utopia we have engaged in an all out war on illness; a war with no end in sight as for every illness that vanishes another one crops up; a war with escalating costs and weaponry always more intrusive and destructive upon the human body. The verbiage of modern Medicine is quite telling: “Attack” the tumor, go on a “seek and destroy mission”, “eradicate” the disease, “zap” the growth, “wipe out” illness and “suppress” symptoms, etc…

The reality is that wellness could not exist without sickness. Some of you may find this challenging to understand! You see, health and disease are the antipodal manifestation of the same phenomena: WELLNESS. Health and disease form a dipole, the dipole of wellness. Health and disease are the plus and minus of electricity, the high and low pressure of the weather pattern. One cannot exist without the other.

So why does the human body experience illness?

This is because the human body thrives on illness to create health. Illness is a necessary process for the immune system to grow, develop, and maintain itself at a high level of readiness and efficiency. Out of the chaos of illness emerges new levels of cellular organization; out of the disorder of illness comes new levels of order and creativity.

Illness is frequently an island of discomfort in an ocean of wellness.

Once we begin to understand that illness and health form a dynamic equilibrium we begin to realize the importance of proactive wellness care. We start to understand the value of maintaining high levels of vitality and resistance, while well, so as to have the strength to confront the disturbance of illness.

Sickness and disease are not abnormal, what is abnormal is not having the power, the energy to bulldoze through a sickness and disease process, adapt and discover from it.

View in this perspective helps us better understand the necessity and value of a positive constructive lifestyle combined with true wellness care.

As I always express to everyone, this is you and your family’s life. Your adaptability and quality is completely dependent on your choices!

What are you, your family and close friends choosing?

The Truth of Aches and Pains

Last night we had a full house at the West Van. Library. It was an awesome group excited to learn more about how we can improve our health, wellbeing and express our full potential. Below is the seminar hand-out.

The nerve system is the most delicate, intricate, yet advanced biological information highway

known to humanity. In fact the nerve system is so vast that it’s virtually impossible to tell where

the body begins and where the nerve system ends.

The brain is continuously communicating with cells and tissues which make up the entire body.

This communication throughout your body occurs thru the nerve system, it gives you life,

animates your body and mind, regulates heart rate, breathing, digestion, allows you to move

your body, controls all hormone/chemical release, allows you to think, to create things etc. This

communication within your body can be described as life force or innate intelligence, your innate

intelligence (the same intelligence that created you from two cells.)

Optimal Health is about having a dynamic, adaptable and balanced flow of communication

through your nerve system. A loss of this homeostasis/balance begins the process of moving

towards dis-ease.

To understand the macro we must understand the micro, everything within the universe is made

up of atoms with specific vibrations and tones moving towards increased organization

(growth and evolution). This universal principle can be understood by looking at the growth

and evolution of every living thing in the world, humans, plants, animals etc.

We grow and evolve by adapting to our environment. Every experience is an opportunity to

adapt. If we have an experience that is easy to integrate we will adapt and move along the

spectrum toward optimal health. When we adapt to our experiences we integrate them on a

sub-atomic and cellular level, this moves us to greater health and well being.

When we have experiences that we do not integrate; physical, mental, emotional or chemical

we create interference patterns within our nerve system. Interference patterns (areas of

tension/stored potential energy) distort communication between the brain and body, altering

the flow of life force (communication).

When the flow of communication within your nerve system is altered these interferences may

present within the system as miscommunications in message reception, disconnections, tension,

symptoms and finally disease.

Your innate intelligence will begin to send you signals, to make you aware that you are not fully

expressing who you are, that your cells, tissues, health, well-being, consciousness, growth and

evolution are not moving along the spectrum towards optimal health.

90% of your nerve fibres are in your brain and spinal cord, when build up of patterns occurs

within your nerve system these are some of the types of EFFECTS that are presented as

symptoms:

C1 Headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, migraines, chronic fatigue, dizziness

C2 Sinus trouble, Eye trouble, Ear ache

C3 Neuralgia, Acne Pimples, Eczema

C4 Hay Fever, Hearing Loss, Adenoids (chiropractic was founded)

C5 Laryngitis, Sore throat

C6 Stiff Neck, Upper arm pain, Tonsils, Croup (child chronic cough)

C7 Thyroid conditions

T1 Asthma, cough, Difficult breathing, Pain in arms/hands, High/low blood pressure

T2 Heart Chest conditions

T3 Bronchitis, Pleurisy, Influenza, Pneumonia

T4 Gall Bladder conditions, Jaundice

T5 Liver conditions, Anemia, Poor circulation

T6 Stomach troubles, acid reflux, indigestion, heart burn

T7 Ulcers, Gastritis

T8 Low resistance to colds and disease

T9 Allergies, Hives

T10 Kidney/Adrenal troubles, chronic fatigue

T11 Skin Problems

T12 Gas Pains, Sterility

L1 Constipation, Colitis, Chrohn’s Disease, Diarrhea, Hernia (intolerances wheat, gluten, etc)

L2 Cramps, Difficulty breathing, Varicose Veins

L3 Bladder/Menstrual Troubles, Bed wetting, Impotency, Knee Pain

L4 Sciatica, Difficult/painful/too frequent urination, backaches

L5 Poor leg circulation, Cold feet, Neoroma, Leg Weakness, Leg Cramps, ankle pain

S hemorrhoids, tail bone pain

An example of a more complex problem is someone like Superman where loss of communication

within his upper C spine affected his entire system.

Remember these are the EFFECTS that your body is communicating to you, not the

cause. The cause is your nerve systems inability to communicate from your brain to

your cells and tissues. This is not allowing you to fully express the intelligence that you

are so your cells and tissues, health, well-being and consciousness can continue to

grow and evolve.

Wellness Seminar - The Truth about Aches and Pains

Are you frustrated with recurring symptoms in your body? Do you fully understand why your body may be expressing pain?

Many of us have been domesticated to believe that symptoms are bad and that anything we take from the outside to alleviate these sensations are good. The truth is that the majority of aches and pains are the effect of some other cause.

Would you like to learn how to better understand what your body is telling you? Would you like to address the causes of your pain and discomfort?

Dr. Sukhi Muker will empower you to take charge of your health and well-being. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn an inside-out approach to health and say good-bye to the causes of those uncomfortable sensations once and for all.

Date: Wednesday April 9th, 2008
Time: 6:15pm
Location: 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver Library - Peter J Peters Room
Cost: $5 per person* Space is limited; please email info@sunshinelifestudio.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call
604.922.9299 to reserve your seat.

*Proceeds will be donated to the Sage Transition House, a women and childrens shelter on the North Shore.

Are You Living or Dying!

“Come on guys,” I called to the kids, “let me adjust you before you have to leave!” Their mother’s adjustment was almost over and they were heading to Whistler for the week. “That’s right,” she added, “We don’t need anything going wrong while we’re away on our vacation!”

When one of the boys heard her mother say those words, he looked at her and said, “Mom, that’s not why we get checked – it’s so that nothing will go WRONG!” “SO WE CAN BE OUR BEST!” The little boy giggled.

The misunderstanding this mother had about why we adjust so many kids is very common. The thought is that we need to take steps so that something bad won’t happen; so that something won’t go wrong! Dr. Bernie Siegel has spoken about this preventive approach to life. He has said that living a life of prevention is living to NOT DIE! Is that your goal, to NOT DIE?

The truth is that as long as your nerve system keeps integrating patterns, is free of interference and you are living a healthy lifestyle, you should actually continue GROWING physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. But there is one thing that will consistently stop you from growing. If you continually focus on preventing or eliminating what you DON’T want, you will actually draw it to yourself. You may have heard this phrase before, but it is worth repeating here:

You can’t escape something you are giving your attention to!

You see, when you split your intentions and energy, you end up not going anywhere. Another way of saying this is

You can either be fully engaged in protecting what you have or in growing, but you cannot do both at once!

I know it is hard to remember this in a country and a world that is so heavily focused on what MIGHT go wrong, and what we MUST WATCH OUT FOR and ELIMINATE in order to ensure our continued health and well-being. But the truth is that if we will focus more on taking actions that lead us individually to inner peace, health and wholeness, we will see these things manifest in the world as a whole too.

We are beginning to see major shifts globally, a woman I check each week works for the UN to shift their mandate from fighting against war to promoting more peace in the world. Intentions play a strong role.

How are you directing YOUR creative energies throughout the day? Would you say you spend more time thinking about eliminating and preventing what you DON’T want? Or do you focus more on actively CREATING what you DO want? Spend some time before you get going each morning and think about where you would most like to direct your energy that day. Don’t give a 6-year-old the opportunity to tell you how silly YOU are!

PS: If you would like to learn more about creating and attracting more of what you want in your lives you may want to attend my seminar next week on “The Law of Attraction” (reservations are required)

Fight Cancer with the Right Foods

Update from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center

YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY (TRY THE KEY WORD) AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9 When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish , and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Florescence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body , and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT)

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL, US - PLEASE READ

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.

This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc. should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

ALKALIZING FOODS
VEGETABLES Garlic Asparagus Fermented Veggies Watercress Beets Broccoli Brussel sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Chard Chlorella Collard Greens Cucumber Eggplant Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard Greens Dulce Dandelions Edible Flowers Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Pumpkin Rutabaga Sea Veggies Spirulina Sprouts Squashes Alfalfa Barley Grass Wheat Grass Wild Greens Nightshade Veggies	FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Cantaloupe Cherries Currants Dates/Figs Grapes Grapefruit Lime Honeydew Melon Nectarine Orange Lemon Peach Pear Pineapple All Berries Tangerine Tomato Tropical Fruits Watermelon PROTEIN Eggs Whey Protein Powder Cottage Cheese Chicken Breast Yogurt Almonds Chestnuts Tofu (fermented) Flax Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Tempeh (fermented) Squash Seeds Sunflower Seeds Millet Sprouted Seeds Nuts	OTHER Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen Lecithin Granules Probiotic Cultures Green Juices Veggies Juices Fresh Fruit Juice Organic Milk (unpasteurized) Mineral Water Alkaline Antioxidant Water Green Tea Herbal Tea Dandelion Tea Ginseng Tea Banchi Tea Kombucha SWEETENERS Stevia SPICES/SEASONINGS Cinnamon Curry Ginger Mustard Chili Pepper Sea Salt Miso Tamari All Herbs ORIENTAL VEGETABLES Maitake Daikon Dandelion Root Shitake Kombu Reishi Nori Umeboshi Wakame Sea Veggies

Chart from The Wolfe Clinic

ACIDIFYING FOODS
FATS & OILS Avocado Oil Canola Oil Corn Oil Hemp Seed Oil Flax Oil Lard Olive Oil Safflower Oil Sesame Oil Sunflower Oil FRUITS Cranberries GRAINS Rice Cakes Wheat Cakes Amaranth Barley Buckwheat Corn Oats (rolled) Quinoi Rice (all) Rye Spelt Kamut Wheat Hemp Seed Flour DAIRY Cheese, Cow Cheese, Goat Cheese, Processed Cheese, Sheep Milk Butter	NUTS & BUTTERS Cashews Brazil Nuts Peanuts Peanut Butter Pecans Tahini Walnuts ANIMAL PROTEIN Beef Carp Clams Fish Lamb Lobster Mussels Oyster Pork Rabbit Salmon Shrimp Scallops Tuna Turkey Venison PASTA (WHITE) Noodles Macaroni Spaghetti OTHER Distilled Vinegar Wheat Germ Potatoes	DRUGS & CHEMICALS Chemicals Drugs, Medicinal Drugs, Psychedelic Pesticides Herbicides ALCOHOL Beer Spirits Hard Liquor Wine BEANS & LEGUMES Black Beans Chick Peas Green Peas Kidney Beans Lentils Lima Beans Pinto Beans Red Beans Soy Beans Soy Milk White Beans Rice Milk Almond Milk

Chart from The Wolfe Clinic

For best results, most experts say you should choose foods so that your diet is 75-80 percent alkaline and 20-25 percent acidic.

Montel William's Miracle

Montel Williams has MS and has been symptomatic for the past several years.
He has had a miracle with his vitalistic chiropractor. Check out the link below from his show.

http://www.yourspine.com/NewsResearch/Montel%20Williams.aspx

“It’s the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me!” exclaims Montel Williams after less than two weeks of chiropractic care. Montel has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He explains how after suffering from pain, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, he experienced almost instantaneous relief from pain with his first chiropractic adjustment.

How Much Money Are You Wasting?

I had a person come in that I hadn’t seen since he moved out of Vancouver a couple of years ago. He looked just the same as I had remembered him - happy, healthy and exuding the glow that someone who loves life does. I told him how great it was to see him and asked what he had been doing to stay so happy and healthy.

He told me he had continued with the healthy lifestyle habits he had started while he was regularly coming to the Studio, including getting checked by his wellness chiropractor each week.

I told him how I admired his discipline and dedication to constantly improving his health. That’s when he said something to me that I will never forget. What he said was, “You know Sukhi, I have often stopped to marvel at how much money people are wasting on health club dues, organic foods, bottled water and everything else they do to be healthy.”

I was a little confused by his statement since I knew both of us did all of these things, so I asked him what he meant. Now he was the one who looked confused. He replied, “I’m talking about people who do all of those things but don’t go to their chiropractor every week - or those who don’t see one at all.”

Now I understood what he meant. He was saying that without a properly functioning nerve system, all the good lifestyle habits were limited in their ability to affect the change people were hoping for. This is absolutely vital to understand. What good is eating impeccably if nerve interference prevents you from digesting, assimilating and eliminating foods properly?

Is it advantageous for a person with interference in the nerves to their heart to undertake a running program that jars their body and furthers the irritation? Does someone who is suffering from exhaustion benefit from extra time trying to sleep if their body is so completely out of balance that deep sleep is not possible?

Many people fail to recognize just how important a properly functioning nerve system is to reaching their health and life goals. It is even impossible to have optimal thought processes in the presence of nerve interference.

I have had people say to me in the past, “You really want me to come in to get checked every week for the rest of my life?” My answer has been, “NO! Only as long as you want to continue to work toward fully expressing your purpose and potential in life.”

Many of these people are just fine with the idea of taking an aspirin or some other medication every day for the rest of their lives. But those things at best only prevent you from getting worse and may do nothing more than cover up symptoms. They can do nothing to actually improve ones long-term health and wellness. I find it interesting that people will invest time and money in trying to “not die,” but they have a very hard time investing in something that will actually help them to live fully.

We in chiropractic see the body as a vehicle. We also believe that we were all put here for a reason. Our bodies are what we have been given through which we can express our true selves and manifest our purpose and potential in life. It is each of our responsibility to keep our bodies as whole and healthy as possible by living a healthy and fully integrated life.

I thank and commend all of you who are committed to this beautiful journey of being fully alive.

To further facilitate this process within you and your friends/family I will be presenting a continuing education wellness seminar series for 2008. The first seminar will be on Wednesday, January 23 on: The Science of Healing and Your Innate Intelligence. Reservations are required as space is limited. All seminars are open to the public. Your friends and family are welcome!

Clean Slate

Grand adventure await those who are willing to turn the corner.

Chinese fortune cookie

In the film Clean Slate, Dana Carvey portrays a man named Pogue who has an unusual type of amnesia- when he goes to sleep each night, he forgets everything that happened to him before that time. A woman who had once manipulated Pogue asks him, “Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you last week?”

In an utterly childlike way, Pogue shrugs his shoulders and answers, “Sure!” Of course he can- he doesn’t have the slightest clue what she did to him! As far as he is concerned, nothing ever happened; his relationship with her is as new as the current day.

As you enter this New Year, nothing in the past has any power to affect what you do now. You are an entirely new person, different from the person you were. This year has never been lived before, and you have never had the consciousness you now have.

You are setting sail on a great adventure determined only by how grand you are willing to think. What you think about and thank about, you bring about.

This year, think big thoughts to create miraculous results.

Pray to start over. No matter

what has happened,

I am willing to let today be new.

Thank you for the chance to begin again.

Today I begin anew.

I see through the eyes of innocence.

From a Deep Breathe of Life – Alan Cohen