Peter_W, Age 49, 7DW Level 1, Introduction - Sculptor

[Peter_W]

Hi Folks,

I am very honoured to be joining a community who has made caring for health such a priority.

My name is Peter_W. I will turn 50 this year, my wife is Belinda _G - some of you may have had contact with her postings. Together we have 2 children, Oliver 8 and Pearl almost 5. We live in rural counrtyside, South Eastern Australia near our children's Steiner School. Some years ago we felt compelled to leave the city, its pollution, excessive stimulation and a life style that was not in harmony with the childhood we wanted for our children.

I have witnessed Belinda's effort to create food choices, exercise etc that are in line with Jos-hua' program and I recognise the difference it has made for her. My choice to begin the cleansing program is both to support Belinda and to bring my own health into optimal condition.

I have been practising Soto Zen meditation for 5 years. I belong to a Buddhist Comunity called Jikishoan. We have a Japanese teacher who condusts our retreats and general practice.

Meditation has provided me with a structure that has supported a huge amount of personal growth. I am less anxious, less inclined to listen to my thoughts, more out there for others and coming to a deeper appreciation of this human experience. I am aware that the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual are all related and require ongoing care and effort to maintain balance and harmony. The writing of D. Reid speaks clearly to much that intrigues me.

So, I come to cleanse, to decrease the size of my belly, be free of the pain in my elbows, enjoy more steady energy and be able to respond to life fully.

All my life I have made things. I have worked in Engineering as a Pattern maker, I studied sculpture for many years and worked in special effects in film and television. For 15 years I have been making sculpture and over the past 5 years I have been working with cascading water and organic pod forms.

Computer skills are non existant for me so I am relying on Belinda to assist me with this aspect of the cleanse. I have read many of the posts on the cleansing site and value the honest and level of suppport for each other.

Historically I am a social binger - periods of wild socialising and then periods of deep withdrawal and suspision. In recent years much of that behaviour has dropped away. I recognize that I enjoy much solitude but I also want to share my life /journey with others - without competing, without pretending, without a project, just simply enjoying friendship and love of being alive. I am gradually progressing with this and finding people easier to be with during the good times and the 'not so good' times.

I have been a sugar binger all my life - quite compulsive when my energy gets low. Caffine and cake yum yum :) :cool: :p :D In preparation for this cleanse I have eliminated all caffine, sugar, (except natural fruit, and a tiny bit of honey), wheat, dairy, alcohol, so far, without too much craving. I have stopped masturbating. So far so good.

I guess I want to be around for my wife and kids, enjoying healthy vitality and sharing our lives together. I have witnessed much change in Belinda through levels 1 & 2 and she is now preparing for level 3. We are cleansing together and making love much more (thanks D. Reid) and Jos-hua. I hope this gives you a feel for who I am and I look forward to participating in the group.

Regards,

Peter_W

[Louise_L]

Peter,

Welcome to HPS. It's wonderful that you are being supportive of Belinda and even more wonderful that you want to improve your health.

Meditation is great. I was just listening to Candace Pert's audiobook Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind. She talks about how the brain is a cap to keep stuff from coming up and how meditation lets things bubble up gradually -- so you can reorganize it and handle it.

If you want to get rid of the belly, read the BED book carefully and give it a try. It seems daunting at first, but you have an advantage of living with a cleanser. If you go on the plan, you will feel great. If you stick with it, your body will start changing. Once you see that happening, your motivation will increase.

Have an excellent journey.

Louise_L

[William_C]

Hello Peter,

Welcome to our community! For me, it is both a pleasure and an honor to call HPS home. As you have no doubt discovered, this is a home away from home, for the majority of its participants.

Reaching fifty years of age seems to be the benchmark for making important life transformations. I, too, turn fifty this year. I plan to make this birthday celebration meaningful.

You are a fine illustration of encouragement. If one cannot support the love of their life, who can they show support for? Although knowing little of your circumstances, I sense that Belinda and you are fortunate to have each other!

Congratulations on making the move to a healthier, happier lifestyle! Anything you do to help your children also helps you both! Your children will thank you!

I look forward to you, sharing with us, the personal growth you have experienced through meditation, and the specifics of your deeper gratitude towards life.

Your recent sculptures sound relaxing! I would very much like to see pictures. Perhaps you will bless us by posting them in the *anything goes* section of this forum.

I can relate to the binging episodes…living out of control at its worst. What is offered here will certainly help tame those cravings.

Thanks for having the desire to share your experience with us on an honest level. We all benefit from your contribution!

Your new cleansing friend,

William

[Stephen_C]

Hi Peter,

Welcome aboard!

It's great to see a cleansing couple on the forum here. So much support and inspiration for us all. Belinda has been a great support to me and many others throughout all of our posts and I look forward to sharing the path with you too.

It will be interesting to note your own personal insight to how the cleanse will affect change in your life. Good luck on your start. This is a journey of a lifetime..

Peace,

Stephen_C

[Peter_W]

Dear Stephen, Louise and William,

thanks for tuning in - the warmth of your enquiries and suggestions moved me a great deal. I shall give more thought to what I can say about meditation and the gratitude I feel for life.

It is clear to me that the next several years are of a transitional nature. I am enjoying greater confidence in exploring life as it is and my own place within it.

The BED dishes Belinda has been exploring, feel liberating and kind to my body and the kids are enjoying them too. The food and cleansing environment Belinda has created continues to support whatever effort i am able to make incredibly!

so thanks again,

regards Peter

[Ramona_W]

Hello Peter,


Welcome aboard! We are so glad to have you! It's so wonderful to have a married couple here and HPS! :)

You've already shown a great deal of determination in what you've already cut out of your diet! I'm impressed!

Were you drinking a lot of caffeine? My dad finally went off all caffeine (cold turkey) three or four weeks ago after years of drinking pop and coffee exclusively! Going off of that much caffeine all at once was a bit startling to his body to say the least! :p

I found all your jobs and interests over the years fascinating.

I've always loved all the creative arts and I have a friend that does lighting and special effects for a living.

I'm not very technical but my dad is and he started a family business when I was a teenager called family video productions. We videotaped weddings, school events, dance recitals, concerts, plays and much much more! I loved the creative side of the job!

I'm very interested in your sculpture and in what you do with cascading water and organic pod forms. I love painting and a few years ago I had my first in-depth experience with sculpturing! I found that I liked it even more than painting! I only used Paper Mache but it was delightful! I ended up spending a total of about 300 hours sculpting and painting Horseheads for a drama! As soon as my health comes back I really want to get into other avenues of sculpture!

I hope you experience a delightful time here and HPS! ;)

[Tsang_Y]

Hi Peter,

I think many of us here are glad to make your acquaintance, having heard about you through Belinda for so long. In fact, we practically knew you already but just from Belinda'a side of the story. It's good to hear your side too.

Seeing a couple cleanse together is very heartening because support is so important in the process. Cyber support is great, but support at home is crucial too. My other half did L1, then hasn't pursued yet as, being skinny, he is concerned with the weight loss. But he's eating right most of the time, as far as I know, is aware of the principles of food combining and is understanding when I cleanse. Look forward to following your journey.

Tsang

[Anna_P]

Hello Peter,

I'm very pleased to read your intro and learn a bit about your life's journey. You and Belinda seem to complement each other so well!

I think you'll find the HPS community a great place to visit and that your experience here will add and enhance all the dimensions to your life.

I too would love to see photos of your sculptures. Pods and water. Life itself.

Welcome aboard!

Cheers!
Anna P

[Peter_W]

Dear Anna, Tsang and Ramona,

thanks for looking in on me.

I don't know what Belinda has posted about me these past months. I could probably take a look, but we have moved a vast distance since the start of this year...I have committed to cleansing as thoroughly as i can now and over the years ahead. Our diets are coming into harmony. I have eliminated much of the acid and poor combinations of the past.

Last year I experienced a very sad year as a friend of 25 years, took his life shortly after attending a Buddhist retreat with me. He had been troubled for many years and decided it ws time to act. I really felt much grief, disorientation and loneliness. Myresponse was to retreat and build a vegie garden and to really feel the feelings.

with time I encountered older unfelt feelings associated with the death of my older brother, when I was 16. So a year of grief and sadness ensued. I survived but a feeling of sadness that seemed always to be with me has not. I tell you all this to put into perspective my emotional state last year and the difficult conditions under which Belinda begain cleansing (credit to her).

whilst we enjoy a pretty good diet (thanks totally to Belinda) I got into the coffee and the sweet treat thing. In some ways it helped me get through that time, the the effects were pretty awful. Low energy, colds, flatulence, sitting with the TV at night, irritable etc.

Belinda has a high regard for the support that this community has offered - I am beginning to experience this myself.

As I don't use the computer much I am on a big learning curve. Belinda is still typing my posts. we are not technically up to posting photo's of my work yet...when we can we shall. It is challenging but we are making headway.

I am begiining the pre cleanse on sunday 6th MArch. As my diet is pretty much as recommended (except for meat) I am not anxious about starting. In truth I'm quite excited about commencing the formal. Every thing is ready (board supps etc) (except the audio downlowds aaarrrrggghh - this is Belinda, we seem to be back to last years difficulties :confused: Hope to rectify in next day ).

I will not be working through formal period and will be attending a 7 day Zen retreat 3 days after formal ends. Belinda and I will not be around over the coming weekend as we are travelling interstate.

so fond regards and thanks
Belinda's very fortunate husband
Peter

(will now open pre-cleanse thread)

[Ronald_H]

Peter,

I could not pass up responding to your sharing about the content of the past year. I felt an immediate connection to your emotional process as I lost my 26 year old son last May. To lose a close relationship of over a quarter of a century is like losing a leg or an arm. What was whole is no longer whole. Yes, we are alive, but a major void has now entered our existence.

Moving on into the HPS cleansing journey will benefit your grief process as well. You would seem to have some deep places to restore with the loss of your older brother in your life journey also. So awesome that Belinda will be able to fully support and assist your cleansing efforts.

Congrats on the diet changes you have already initiated. As you see the results you will be only more motivated to press on for even greater change.

Blessings on your journey,

Ron

[Valmiki_N]

Welcome Peter,

You will find a lot of the support that Belinda has received (and also given) within this support group. The dynamics of an online community are quite different from a physical group, and in my opinion are even better in some ways after you get used to it.

Looking forward to following your cleanse.
I would love to see pictures of your work.

[Jos-hua Medicine man]

Namaste Peter,

And I am very honored too that you are joining us.

It is quite obvious from your intro that a lot of practice has been a big part of your life. Cheers.

I look forward to hearing from you in your review of the program if you too find that on a cleaner body, everything works better.

I wish you the very best pre-formal-and post cleansing journey's... enjoy your retreat.

May you continue to provide comfort and help to all those in need.

Peace,

[Janaka_P]

Peter, so glad to see you joining us here and in the process growing in closeness to Belinda. Having seen the results in your own home you have a great perspective, a great start toward taking charge of your health and all the benefits it will give you. Good for you!
Janaka