I’m half-way through my 40 days and 40 nights of The Nourishing Cleanse with Amanda Love. Her program is only 7 days, but when I got to day 6, I looked at my husband and said, “This is awesome. I want to take this all the way. Let’s complete the spiritual cycle of 40 days and 40 nights. Are you up for 6-weeks of this food?” He agreed, so here we are.

What’s even more significant is that I am also 40 years old, and I have NEVER felt better than I do right now.

One of the reasons I am sharing my experience with you is because I value transparency. I want you to see that human beings are always evolving, even the “experts” who appear to have it all figured out – struggle. We get sick. We get in ruts. We get bored. We go through healing crises.

Healing is an on-going process with right turns, left turns, and u-turns. It is not a straight line. On top of that, there is no destination. There is no point in the future when everything will be “perfect.” Life isn’t static. It is movement, and the Life coursing through your body wants to take you somewhere….higher.

If you need an analogy: I was the caterpillar creeping along the sidewalk who just turned into a butterfly. This has happened to me before and it is happening again. This is a pattern that repeats itself over and over again in all of our lives – if we are paying attention.

These are things I’ve noticed over the past 20 days.

All of these insights came from homemade broth, soups, green juice with avocado, and Amanda’s liver lemon flush.

• I’m waking up with joy.
• I have sustained energy through out the day.
• I’m losing weight.
• I look forward to eating, but my cravings are all gone. No coffee, no green tea, no black tea, no sugar, no honey, no maple syrup, and I feel fully alive.
• I’ve had about six red, hot pimples with pus. Look, I know that’s gross, but it’s really good! My body is pushing out what doesn’t belong.
• My acupuncturist and massage therapist have said, “Your body feels different. Your tissue has changed. Your pulse is different.”
• My mind is clear.
• I have more emotional options. What I mean by that is that when life happens and I’m faced with a stressful situation, my knee jerk reaction is either one of anger and protection or I just want to go hide. I can feel these extremes finding a middle ground. In other words, I’m not in my lizard brain. My prefrontal cortex, my thinking brain, is turned on. I’m off the rollercoaster of stimulants. I’m a nicer person and a better communicator.
• I don’t have the numbers for you, but I know that I am spending much less money on food. It’s healthy, paleo-style convenience foods that add up.
• I feel inspired in my kitchen again. I am learning how to make new dishes – one of which I want to share with you…

This is a healing, easy-to-make, nourishing soup. It is excellent when you are sick with a cold, flu or intestinal bug or if you just need a light meal, serve it with a salad or piece of fish or chicken.

Cleansing Soup

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup homemade chicken broth
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
• 1-2 Tablespoons miso paste (South River Miso Company)
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• 1-2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon kelp flakes, optional (http://www.ryandrum.com/)
• 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced

Boil water in a small pot; add ginger and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and heat it enough to warm it up. Turn off heat; stir in miso paste until dissolved. Add green onions, cilantro, kelp, cayenne, olive oil, and lemon juice. Cover and steep for 10 more minutes.

I want you to understand that whatever is going on for you, however bad it feels, is inherently good. I couldn’t have done Amanda’s Nourishing Cleanse before this point in time, but if I hadn’t been doing this personal work for fourteen years, I wouldn’t be doing the cleanse now.

Trust your process. Don’t give up. And heal in peace.

Love,

Charlotte

P. S. If you liked this post and my other blog articles, be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter, You’ll get in-depth tips and more stories like this one to guide you along the way.