(This comes from an old book that my late Mom passed on to me.) With your room properly aerated, and the lights out, slip into bed in comfortable, unconfining night clothing, or in the nude, if that is your preference. Lie on your back, arms at sides, feet stretched to full length. Then start the process of relaxation as follows:

Flex and extend the toes three times.

Rest for a few seconds.

Stiffen the legs and stretch them out hard for one minute.

Relax completely, as though you were dead tired and your legs heavy enough to press right through the mattress.

With both hands on your stomach, take a deep belly breath, raising your hands with the abdominal wall when it rises as your diaphragm muscle expands.

Repeat three times, filling your lungs with each inhalation, and exhaling through your open mouth freely.

You may fall asleep any time during this process. If you haven't done so, continue with the following:

Stretch out your arms at the sides as fully as possible.

Unlax and let them flop loosely on the mattress, as you previously did with your legs.

Repeat the breathing exercise above, inhaling slowly through your nose, and inflating your lungs to their full capacity with the diaphragm, not using the chest at all.

Exhale through your mouth, and repeat the breathing six times.

If you are still awake, you are a confirmed insomniac, and should continue the relaxing process still further in this way:

Wrinkle your forehead and other facial muscles, exaggerating the tensing of each one.

Relax the muscles of the face and scalp, allowing them to unwind.

Repeat the process of tensing and relaxing a half-dozen times.

Stiffen your neck muscles, and stretch your neck as far toward the headboard as possible.

Relax and repeat six times

Repeat the belly breathing, slowly and rhythmically.

Somewhere during this relaxing process, very likely between items 6 and 10, you should fall asleep without being conscious of having done so. Many of my patients required no further use of sleeping pills after they had learned this tension-easing technique. There is no good reason why you cannot do the same. Have faith in yourself: in your judgment, your sanity, your will power, and you will find that falling fast asleep is as easy as rolling off a log. Doc Silvers says: "Sleep comes to him who seeks it least." **taken from "Dr. Silvers Extraordinary Remedies and Prescriptions for Health", by Lewis J. Silvers, MD (1964), pp. 136-137.
***"Sleep Essence" by Young Living... Go to purchase at Youngliving.us and please use reference Cynthia Zirkwitz #607652

Here is a great green recipe on this great day-- tup of the mornin to ye! Yes, I know there is no historical evidence of avocados growing in Ireland... but we DO know that the Spanish Armada was to Ireland in 1588 and apart from the hundreds of shipwreck survivors who were slain by the Irish, there were apparently (this is myth) many survivors who were taken in and cared for by people from the Clare and Galway counties. Avocados were growing in Spain from before the time of the Armada. You know how these things work.... This is a straight green guac recipe... no tomatoes... for the glory of the day. First, strip the skin off your 4 Small Avocado, chop up the flesh in a bowl, and mash,and DON'T TOSS THE PITS (at least for today)-- the pits will keep the whole thing green for over a day! Add a good handful of chopped green or Spring onion. Sprinkle on-- what else: CELTIC Sea Salt (about a quarter of a teaspoon) Mix in 1 Tablespoon of Fresh (organic) Lemon Juice Mash it all together, and then put the pits back in... (You could add green chillies, chopped, but that is really really not Irish) Now, for some fantastic KALE CHIPS, go here to Watch Video #10... Have a Great St. Patrick's Day!

The following detox is from raw foodist Frederic Patenaude's newsletter: Easy 1-Day Detox Like I said many times, everybody needs a cleanse, once in a while. Unless you live in a pristine environment in the middle of the jungle with only access to organic, tree-ripened fruits, then once in a while, you need to cleanse! But these “cleanses” or “detox” need not to be very long. Even just a one-day detox is often enough to get you back on track with the raw food diet and help you purge some accumulated toxin. Here’s an easy, one-day detox anyone can safely follow, once a week or so: BREAKFAST: Either skip breakfast, or make a light smoothie consisting of some fruit and greens. For example:

• 3-4 bananas
• 1-2 cups of sweet fruit (mango, papaya, pear, apple, etc.)
• 2 cups of baby spinach
• water

Blend together LUNCH: Same as breakfast, or have a fruit meal of one or two types of fruit. (Eaten whole or as a smoothie.) For example: papaya and banana, blended together or eaten together. AFTERNOON SNACK: Make another green smoothie. Here’s one of my favorites:

• 3-4 bananas
• 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries
• 2 cups of spinach or romaine lettuce or other greens (non-bitter)

 Blend with water! DINNER: If you’re really hungry, start dinner with some fruit, or a fruit smoothie or soup. Then follow with a simple vegetable soup. Here’s one that I really like:

• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 small cucumbers, peeled
• 1 mango or 1 cup of another fruit
• fresh basil, or dill
• 2-3 green onions, fresh

 The idea here with this soup is to blend it at the lowest speed in your vita-mix or blender. It should still be chunky. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers. Blend together and add the other ingredients. Blend slowly! If you’re still hungry after this soup, you could make a non-fat salad, or eat more fruit. As long as you avoid oils, nuts and other fatty foods, as well as salt, you’ll still be following the guidelines for the cleanse! Try this one-day detox, and you’ll see how great you feel. Now imagine what 7 days could do for you…

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Did you know chocolate used to be considered “poor man’s carob” only a few centuries ago? Naturally bitter, large amounts of sugar and fat are added to chocolate to cover up its bitterness and make it palatable. It is also very high in calories, roughly 2500 calories in 1 lb. of processed chocolate. Many food scientists have reported chocolate to be the single most craved food. Some researchers have argued that chocolate is addictive. Actually, it is! It triggers the area of the brain where addictions work and has the same effect on the brain as does nicotine and cocaine. Carob, on the other hand, is naturally sweet, requiring no additional sweeteners. It is 3x richer in calcium, has 1/3 less calories, and 17x less fat than chocolate. Carob contains approximately 8% protein, has more calcium than milk, is high in vitamins A, B1, B2, potassium & iron, and is a fiber-rich food. Carob helps nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, and even has a beneficial cholesterol-lowering effect. We have been given instructions in the Word of God how to live a simple lifestyle and which foods are the best for us to eat. God, in His wisdom, outlined these things for us in the creation account...back in Genesis! While Carob is not mentioned by that name in Holy Scripture, but it is considered by Biblical scholars that carob pods are referred to in both the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:15-19) and when speaking of John the Baptist's desert ministry (Matthew 3:4).  Carob features significantly in Jewish tradition.  It is commonly known as algarroba, St. John's bread, and locust bean gum. What about Raw Carob? Dr. Jameth Sheridan takes credit for starting the "raw carob craze" but discovered over time that eating carob-- a member of the legume family, like soy-- created indigestion and other slightly toxic reactions in different people.  He continues to promote the high nutrient density of carob but suggests that it should be at moderately lightly heated/toasted to prevent toxicity reactions and indigrestion. I personally have occasional cravings for chocolate and eat an increasingly modest amount of Fairtrade dark chocolate-- but I can attest to feeling much more virtuous when I make up a recipe containing carob instead of chocolate... and because my husband is such a big fan of healthy Biblical fare, here is an free ezine that you can sign up for-- receive a recipe using Biblical foods every 10 days, along with tips on other ways to keep yourself healthy and whole. **Carob Pod image is courtesy of Wikipedia

Here is a 'guest post' from a new Facebook friend of mine-- a delightful young woman who describes herself as a "Jesus follower" who is also eating quite a bit of raw vegan fare: ********************************************************************** I've been changing my diet over the course of about 2 years.. God has been leading me the whole way.   God got me starting on this journey from the onset of a few health problems that he let me get.  (Nothing gets past Him-- He plans everything.. and it's all for our good!) This week I started on a 100% raw diet. With Gods help I am finding stuff to eat and I have to admit it has been a lot easier for me because I slowly edged into it and didn't just start up over night.  This is how God has led me.   When I first learnt about raw-eating  I never thought I would do it but kicked around the thought here and there.  Then all the sudden God's like "Ok its time," and I am like.." oh it is? Ok lets go for it!" and here I am! I haven't had any serious healing crises when I went raw like a lot of people have from switching over so quickly-- but since I have switched over slowly I've had many little or mini healing crises over the past year from the simple changing over into a healthier way of eating. I have raw honey (but not at the moment due to candida) and I have raw sheep milk (YUMMY!) and also due to the fact that I don't think I will ever say that I will not ever again have something that isn't vegan.  Besides white sugar,  refined flour, etc. (the obvious 'baddies'), I pretty much just go by what I feel led to eat and what God says I should or should not have. So I guess thats the long answer to 'Am I eating raw vegan' yet the short version of my testimony! -Brittni **Brittni will be launching her own website "Brittni's Isle" very soon! ********************************************************************* If you are like Brittni, and just "newly" raw-- or still exploring-- you'll love these excellent raw 'comfort food' e-recipes to get started on your adventure! (just click on the picture below:)