If i weren't a twin, who would I be?

Sometimes I like to engage in such pointless mental excursions as wondering what my life would be like if a certain thing had or hadn't happened, - would my parents have met if my Mum's parents hadn't converted to the mormon church and moved to Hamilton so she could go to CCNZ? What if my dad hadn't been taken in and later adopted by his aunty who was living in Hamilton instead of growing up in Tauranga with the rest of his siblings? Would he still be my dad? If he hadn't become my dad would I still be me, the way I am today? or someone completely different? Today is my sisters 9th wedding anniversary, Congrats to her, and him as well. When they first got married I didn't get along very well with my brother in law, sad to say, I regarded him as a thief who had taken my sister away from me. Since we were both together since childhood, I had a childish view of her being MINE, a possession, rather than her own individual person. If I wasn't a twin, what position would I hold in my family? Rather than the 2nd of 3, would I be an only child? a middle child with an older sister and younger brother? the older child with a younger sibling? It was a great convenience and solace having a ready made playmate growing up, though I do vaguely recall arguing a lot about nothing when we had to share a room. According to Mum I had no interest in walking as a baby, I was content to stay where I was and look around me, she claims it was only because I was trying to catch up to my sister that I got moving when I did. We had our own language as babies - my parents would try to repeat what we'd said and we would look at them like they were crazy. She often bore the brunt of bad things that would happen growing up, acting as a shield to her siblings. She made me speak for her in public settings when we were growing up - I think I would be a lot more introverted without her. I have a natural tendency to be absentminded & growing up, would often live in my own world, completely unaware of the existence of others - so its good that i had someone in my face most of the time that taught me to pay attention. I think that I would be a lot different without her, although I have no idea what I would be like.

Herbs & other things

And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man... Started reading a book the other day but haven't finished, can't remember the title but its by Leslie Kenton, all about herbs. Apparently parsley can be used for halitosis among other things, if you boil fennel seeds for 15 minutes in water, the tea can be used as an appetite suppressant, and a combination of dandelion & burdock root, as well as cleavers, can be used to aid and abet a person undergoing a detox. I had never heard of most of these plants before I opened this book, but it seems like a miracle that such amazing properties, tastes and assistance would come in small doses from things you never think about. Like herbs. Yesterday i was thinking about the whole recession thing and something I heard in a talk on sunday night, about being prepared for greater things. I guess life would be pointless if it were always easy. You can push away at something with all your energy and not get anywhere, but it only takes a small thing to push it past where it needs to go. Sometimes that small thing can be in the form of a word of encouragement from another person, an idea that motivates you, something little that makes you happy. I'm going to try to pay more attention to the little things that are always there but that I might miss out on because I'm not looking for them. Like smiles, nature, people who care about me, being able to walk (after a few weeks of hobbling around) sunshine, and feeling at peace with the world.

Herbs & other things

And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man... Started reading a book the other day but haven't finished, can't remember the title but its by Leslie Kenton, all about herbs. Apparently parsley can be used for halitosis among other things, if you boil fennel seeds for 15 minutes in water, the tea can be used as an appetite suppressant, and a combination of dandelion & burdock root, as well as cleavers, can be used to aid and abet a person undergoing a detox. I had never heard of most of these plants before I opened this book, but it seems like a miracle that such amazing properties, tastes and assistance would come in small doses from things you never think about. Like herbs. Yesterday i was thinking about the whole recession thing and something I heard in a talk on sunday night, about being prepared for greater things. I guess life would be pointless if it were always easy. You can push away at something with all your energy and not get anywhere, but it only takes a small thing to push it past where it needs to go. Sometimes that small thing can be in the form of a word of encouragement from another person, an idea that motivates you, something little that makes you happy. I'm going to try to pay more attention to the little things that are always there but that I might miss out on because I'm not looking for them. Like smiles, nature, people who care about me, being able to walk (after a few weeks of hobbling around) sunshine, and feeling at peace with the world.

Day 8

Yesterday being daylight savings changeover, with a 2:30am start at work, I thought that i would be completely wiped out for the whole week. Surprisingly not. I can only attribute this to the amount of chlorophyll in my system. Drinking it powdered, eating it, drinking it juiced, I think its having a positive effect on me. The most amazing thing for me so far is that it beautifully counterbalances my sugar induced lows, I eat chocolate, I become high, I drop suddenly and green water is the only thing that makes me feel better. And for some unknown reason my mind has been a lot clearer lately. I got a bus into the city this morning so i could do some research at the town library, and try out a new juice bar, Suju. They make green smoothies. I had one for morning tea. Now I feel like going for a run. I think i should read Slow Burn again. Stu Mittleman seems like a man who knows what he's talking about.

Day 2

Although my timer says its Monday, its actually tuesday lunchtime as I write this. So I started on the green powders yesterday, along with 1L of cabala juice - Carrot Apple (Yellow) Beetroot Apple (Red) Lemon Apple (Green) = Cabala. Its a very sweet juice provided you don't chuck in too much beetroot, which has very nicely stained my fingers purple. Good thing I'm off work sick today. Its meant to cater to the whole body, nutrient wise. I had another 1L of cabala over the weekend but I always like to kickstart new regimes on a monday. This morning I woke up an hour before my alarm went off & actually wanted to get out of bed, which is a brilliant sign already. I'm not sure i can attribute it to the green stuff, but i can't remember the last time I was actually awake when I woke up, i usually drag myself out of bed in a semi-stupor, tripping over things as I go. I headed off to the Sandringham road market this morning, its a great place for cheap vegges & returned home with two bags of the green stuff. My first green drink consisted of juiced celery, 3 bunches of spinach, parsley, 2 carrots & 1 clove garlic. It produced over 1L of juice, which i wasn't expecting that much. It was very dark green, like certain types of pond scum. My lip curled into a sneer of its own accord as I contemplated how to make it more palatable. My first attempt to get it down was diluted 1:4 with water, it tasted very much like water. That wasn't too bad, but I still had 950mls left to get rid of. I though about mixing it with the cabala juice I was about to prepare, but thought that might ruin the cabala. I figured if i'm going to be drinking it 3x/week I should just get used to it & hope I don't get nauseous. I poured myself a glass, held my nose & gulped it down, then a second glass before I lost my nerve. 20 minutes later i learned that it had a definate laxative effect. Still, in my attempts to cleanse my inner self, i guess thats a good thing.

Ask & ye shall receive

The pH miracle, by Robert Young. A descendant of Brigham Young from Utah, Robert is a microbiologist who somehow figured out (I guess from looking in his microscope and doing live blood analysis) that poor health is caused by overly acidic physical environment in the body which allows fungus, microforms (molds) and parasites to flourish. These little monsters then take over the body, sucking nutrients out of ones food supply and spewing out more toxins, killing good bacteria and causing a person to have sugar addictions, fatigue, gas, heartburn, bloating, intestinal pain etc. Mostly acidic conditions are caused by eating too much processed food, meat, dairy, also by negativity, stress and trauma. In order to get rid of these poisonous invaders, he recommends creating an alkaline environment in the body through eating vegetables, esp. green and yellow ones, drinking green vegetable juices, powders, supplements and oils. Not too sure whether i agree on the supplements issue, i'm 95% sure that i don't believe in supplements. The remaining 5% is my attempt to be open minded on the topic. I also love fruit too much to get rid of it entirely. He reckons that any sugar, including fruit only encourages microform growth. Since a plan seems to be in order, I'm going to try out his diet in baby steps. For the next 2 weeks i'm going to try 3 things. 1) I will add 1tsp of "Supergreen" powder to at least half of the water I drink per day, at least until it runs out. My thinking on powders runs along similar lines to my view on supplements, fresh and natural is better. 2) I will have at least 1c green juice 3x per week 3) I will gradually decrease the amount of fruit I eat each day. Will see how I feel after that and make any adjustments I feel necessary. 2)

Ask & then receive

Following a number of health complaints in my earlier twenties, I have tried various different remedies and experiments upon myself in order to try and improve my health. So far a lot of things have improved me but not as much as i would like. While on a recent holiday in Australia, my feet swelled up like mini pineapples & i could barely walk (hobbling into the Runaway bay Dr's centre was not fun at all). The kind indian lady doctor prescribed me antibiotics, cream and a warm salt water bath 3x a day. Of the three, I think the salt water helped the most. I got home from Australia and was still dealing with my feet when all of a sudden my left knee started to cause me grief, and once again it hurts to walk. According to a book i read last year, "Feelings buried alive never die" by Karol K. Truman, pain is Gods way of trying to get ones attention, or simply a sign of imbalance (well, clearly, since its only one of my knees and not the other). Visiting the library a couple of days ago, I randomly chanced upon a book which may very well be the answer to my prayers and the solution to all my health problems, regardless of my vehement dislike of enough of what he said in the beginning to nearly disregard all the good stuff in the middle and end. Its like when your parents tell you something that you know you should do, but don't want to, just because it sucks to be told what to do. To be continued...