I had a strange poop in the middle of the night last night. It smelled like beer. Beer. It feels like I'm cleansing inward, moving down through my body, peeling the onion, crossing the circles on a tree stump, and each new circle I hit is something new, something older.

I had vivid dreams meanwhile, most of which had some kind of eating theme. I was conscious of being not supposed to eat, yet in some of the dreams I absentmindedly ate something -- a cookie or a piece of sushi -- and then panicked afterwards, realizing what I'd done. No!

In one dream, I was strolling through some town and entered a diner. As I sat down and looked over the menu, I realized of course that I could only order one thing: a spicy lemonade made from organic lemons, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The waitress came over, and I asked if she could make it. Of course I expected her to say no, so that then I could leave politely without having to admit that I'd been foolish for even stepping foot inside. But she said, "Sure, hon. We'll see what we can do." I was surprised and pleased -- I'd actually get to eat there in the restaurant. But then of course I realized, no way, there are proportions that have to be adhered to, ways of mixing the ingredients, this will never work. So I knew I wouldn't be able to drink it. But she brought over a cup that smelled right and shone the right shade of gold. So I sipped it. It tasted phenomenal. But there were other flavors, and I looked inquisitively up at the waitress. She commented, "He added some tea, some chamomile, some marjoram. Just to make it interesting." Confused, perplexed, thinking, marjoram?, I took another sip. And then I finished it. Delicious. I felt guilty, sinful.

--tony

Today is allegedly the hump day as Tony stated. This is supposed to be the last day, until your body's cycle ends with the 7th day (which is supposed to be rough as well), of intense toxins releasing.

Quick numerological sidenote: Allegedly you die every 7 years as well, indicating that all of your cells will have regenerated. 4 times of this (think seasons) and you will be 28. 28 in astrological terms is supposed to be the beginning of your Saturn's return which involves a decision as to whether your current path should be one reflecting your current life, or whether you want to start exploring again. Essentially, it is a time of rebirth....a new cycle.

Being at work, I will say, is much more difficult then relaxing at home as you also have all of these other things to focus on, but it is not too trying.

The ways my body is showing is primarily through my teeth. I read the lemon juice is supposed to slowly leach the calcium out of your teeth and start to strip the enamel which makes them more sensitive and that definitely seems to be the case. Two side ways around this are by using a straw (which is to limit the contact made by the drink and your teeth) and making sure you wash your mouth out with water regularly. Alot of people who have had the teeth be a larger issue just replenish the enamel with a pro-enamel toothpaste, and I also assume it will just naturally come back as your body ends the fast. Additionally, my throat is starting to be kind of sore which is most likely a symptom of the detox; however, I will say the rainy, cold weather sure doesn't help the process. Hopefully it will be gone tomorrow shortly after the flush.

One thing I learned today regarding situations which make the cleanse more difficult is the extreme importance of breath. Just a short time ago I read that one of the spiritual/emotional benefits of a fast is that you gain a heightened awareness of your surroundings (loosely alluded to by Tony's smell reference) and begin to perceive some situations as slightly different. Well, I had a voice class this evening and as I am naturally shy at new events, added to the fact that is was 7 women and me in the class, made me maybe even a little more distant tonight. However, we started to sing and extremely quickly I realized how much all of the breath you expel with vocal exercises was draining my energy and mental aptitude so I took the class just a little easier.

Long metaphysical sidenote: I remember an amazing realization that I had at the Berkeley YMCA of all places. While with my friend, Tibor (who literally was once: a college cheerleader, a Las Vegas blackjack dealer, and a soldier, but was currently in the carpenter's union and was a stoner Berkeley-ite), we went to the hot tub at the YMCA. We decided it would be fun to determine how long we can hold our breath and he went first. He held his breath for close to 2 1/2 minutes which was a ridiculously long time to me. Granted we were in warm water which slows your heart rate down, but still it seemed really long. Next I was up and I inhaled a deep breath and went under. While underwater I was trying to slow my breath and essentially meditate. Within this process I started jumping to all of these different thoughts and just as I assumed I was going to have to come up for air I had a really positive thought and just at that moment I somehow inhaled another breath...while underwater. I can't quite explain how it happened, but I will have to say I find a great solace whenever I find something I don't quite understand in this world.

Well, poop ya later!

--daimian