Week 4 Restoration

"As we remove the rocks that block our wisdom and light, we find that we are able to set more and more time aside for the things that restore us: time spent in nature, solitude, meditation, intimacy, having heart-to-heart conversations that heal. These moments spend in restoring ourselves are signposts of our progress in health."

This fourth week, we will begin the three day fruit cleanse. Be sure to find time for yourself this week. Separating ourselves from the hurried activities of our lives will help us keep perspective and give us the healthy detachment necessary for optimal health and well-being. This is the week to get a massage, sauna, find quiet time to read a good book.

"Remember to stay in the moment and relax in all of your activities. Put aside your focus on outcomes and meeting expectations for right now. If you get stuck in tension and toxic behaviors...Realize you are in over your head and unconditionally surrender everything over to God."

Week Four Yoga:

Keep doing what you are doing! Seek a restorative yoga class, gentle stretches, deep breathing.

Week Four Diet:

Three day fruit cleanse. See posts related to the cleanse. Be careful to come off the cleanse gently. Slowly introduce foods back into diet...don't shock your system too quickly.

Week Four Restoration Meditation:

To-do:

1. Twenty minutes morning, twenty minutes evening.
2. Our goal is to notice how often we get lured into the activity of our minds, away from stillness.
3. Get comfortable and anchor your mind to the now moment.
   
4. Notice the ceaseless images in your mind and their efforts to distract you from being still and restoring in quiet.
5. Don't fight these thoughts. As soon as you notice them, step back into the gap between you and your thoughts and let them go.
6. You may need to do this again and again. That is ok, meditation is all about beginning again.
7. We are learning to know the difference between thinking and being lost in thought. Our goal is to learn the truth and experience the curative beauty of seeing life through a clear lens of present-moment consciousness.

Week Four Excavation Questions:

1. What excess baggage am I carrying around with me? What thoughts, feelings, worries, or past situations am I clinging to that drain me?
2. What do I most need to let go of? What are the things that I would be relieved to finally release? Anger toward someone in my life? Stress about money? Fears that arose from a past negative experience?
3. Do I really give myself enough time to relax and restore myself? How can I carve out more time for this?