1 Month Update - Newness is Wearing off and the Challenges of Traveling

It's been 1 month since I started Nutritional Balancing. The newness of it is wearing off and it's been more challenging to stick with the diet. I'm not as energetic as I was in the first couple weeks but I do still have way more energy than I did without the supplements. I've continued doing coffee enemas most mornings. It's a great time for me to meditate, helps with the small headaches I've been having from detoxing, and always makes me feel good afterwords. And I've been studying like crazy. 25% through the NB book you need to read to become a practitioner. It's a biggie! I'm learning a lot and will need to read it 3 more times to make a lot of the information sink it.

I'm searching for some new recipe ideas and am working on getting creative with veggies while keeping them simple. This morning I'm going to try making Rutabaga fried potatoes because I'm missing potatoes for breakfast. I'm not waking up hungry or craving vegetables so I've started eating oatmeal with cinnamon, vanilla and butter. This is part of the diet if you can tolerate a little gluten which I seem to be doing fine with.

It was my Mom's birthday this week and I got to spend it with her, and my sister. We went to Tahoe for 2 nights. It was the first trip away from home since I started this program. I don't know how people can travel and stay on this diet! It's very challenging. I was also on my moon while we were there and feeling tired so although I made a good effort and managed to eat some of my meals in alignment with the diet, I slipped up a bit because I was hungry and the food was there in front of me. Unfortunately, most of the world's restaurants aren't exactly in alignment with the concept of a 70% vegetable diet so even when you do ask for more veggies they give you maybe 25% veggies on your plate. I did have an amazing steak at Lew Mar Nel's and 3 bites of my Mom's birthday cheesecake which was incredible. Sugar is truly a drug! There was this place called Sprouts Cafe which served healthier food, I had 2 good meals there. For breakfast I ordered a bowl of steamed spinach and 2 lightly scrambled eggs and they were happy to make it for me.

I've slipped up in the coffee department. Because I started waking up really tired with a headache all last week, I decided I could have a cup in the morning and typical to Trista fashion I had one the next morning and next morning and now I'm on day 5 of coffee in the morning. I just love the ritual too much. I'm keeping it at 1 cup and lightly caffeinated so it's not really giving me a huge buzz, it's more about the taste and the ritual. Right now, I'm sitting here in the quiet hours of the morning sipping my hot coffee, relaxing on my couch with the window open, breathing in the fresh cold air while listening to the rain outside and writing this blog. This scenario is possibly one of my favorite in life. And the coffee makes it that much better. Oh coffee you are my greatest love and the thorn in my existence. Someday I will conquer you.

There's a fine line between seeking perfection and having the discipline I want to live the life I want. With Saturn, the planet of discipline, as my Atmakaraka (my soul's direction) and on my ascendent (the body), I am here to learn to be disciplined especially when it comes to my body and what I put in it. Also this is indicated in my Gate 21 which is in my Human Design personality Earth - that which keeps me grounded. Gate 21 is all about control and it's true, I am on a path of learning to be in control of my ego mind and what I put in my body because it will help me live fully in the present moment. And at the same time I have to be gentle with myself and understand I'm allowed to slip up sometimes. Also, I have to be gentle with others remembering they have completely different life purposes.

Being in the casino part of Tahoe made me melancholic and sad for the state that humanity is in. Casinos to me are just filled with unhappy, unhealthy people who are are under a deep hypnosis and can't get out. I guess I'm more sensitive now to the vibrations of a place because as soon as we left our hotel and went into nature, my melancholy lifted and I felt great.

I had an insight about food. Most people including me have been raised in an environment that is focused on food as the source of pleasure and satisfaction. So much of life revolves around food, getting food, planning food, saving food, preparing food, eating food. And it's been this way for humans since we came to this planet. But instead of food for nourishment, today we've evolved our eating to the point where we eat food to stimulate our senses so we can feel alive. Most food is incredibly rich and flavorful, made with tons of salt and sugar because our senses have become numbed from so much stimulation. To overcome our food addictions, we need something that fulfill's us deeper than sensual pleasures. We MUST cultivate a connection to GOD, whatever form it is for you, because this connection is the ONLY thing that will truly fulfill us. And there's a feedback loop, the more we work on giving our bodies healthy food, the more we can connect to spirit, the more we connect to God/Sprit, the more we want to give ourselves healthy food. Toxins (sugar, alcohol, anti-depressants, drugs, preservatives, etc.) directly affect our ability to feel this connection. This is why plant medicines are so effective. They help us remember our divinity and connection to all things while taking away the stuck traumas and toxins that keep us feeling separate in our everyday life.

I will continue on the NB program, meditate everyday, be grateful for everything I have, spend lots of time in nature, and pray for my connection with the Divine Creator to deepen.

Next week I'll be working on building my home infrared sauna to help me detox even more. I plan on putting it in my bathroom for now.