Each day brings more and more evidence of the growing interest in indoor farming and indoor kitchen-gardening. Videos on YouTube and articles in the search engines abound.

Wonderful!

This is great news, showing that more and more people are launching out on this fun adventure, sometimes motivated by cost savings and the freshness of veggies, sometimes by the security (respecting certain conditions, mostly having to do with indoor replacements for the sun’s light and warmth) of a necessary supply, and even of fruit, growing at hand, year-round, whatever the season, even in the dead of winter… And this last context will become more and more relevant as the GSM encompasses us…

Remember, we have every reason to believe that we will be experiencing, in the next few decades, weather conditions equally as momentous as those that produced the Maunder Minimum, and even the year without a summer. We may never have heard of these phenomena, nor of their effects on society, nor realize that these were part of regular cycles our planet has experienced many times before, but this time, in our world’s history, we know in advance that the phenomenon is on its way in, and that it is set to last not for a few months, but for at least 30 years… (See : No One Expected What We Found)

A modest revolution in food production is taking place, and just in the nick of time for some foresightful people. A lot of those videos and articles on indoor farming were inspired by the months of lockdowns, with the attendant difficulties in getting to market. Many people were motivated to develop a green thumb who might otherwise never have been tempted. Now, what started –then– as a pastime, in a transitory situation, is serving as fallback for the much more serious present (although only two years further on!).

In the meantime, the unthinkable has happened. Looming food shortages and skyrocketing food prices (the direct results of the bad policies of those governing us), are threatening to complicate an already dire economic situation, and even well before the GSM has a chance to seriously kick in… Simultaneously, are we all too distracted to see that Valentina Zharkova was right to say it wouldn’t be long (at least so it seems in my part of the world) before everyone would be able to observe, with their own eyes, the early signs of the GSM, and without any help or guidance from anyone…

With so much information and new technology available for cultivating veggies indoors, that part of the goals for this website becomes less urgent… And so I can unapologetically spend more time on what are essentially secondary questions, such as the general utility (not to say need) for everyone, especially families, to have an indoor farming project (see the News-Worthy section of this site, and particularly, Bill Gates comments privately about Climate Change in which ((at time-stamp 5:50)) a Dutch journalist makes sense we can all understand of the Dutch Farmers’ Protest…).

One of those auxiliary topics I promised myself to develop is the question of ‘detoxing the body’, a proposition our grandparents took for granted, as a way of life, since it was generally considered, by those generations, that regular ‘spring cleaning’ for the body was as essential as for the house. This principle has now become antiquated and ‘forgotten’ by most, or never even heard of to begin with. But the question may soon become not only important, but perhaps even life-threatening for some among us who will soon, perhaps, face the stark reality of such ‘housekeeping’, both for the first time and without any information or advice to help them get through it. The more toxic the state of our bodies, the more ‘unpleasant’ and potentially frightening detox could be.

One factor to consider is that detox, for many people, may be imposed by circumstances, rather than chosen as a way of improving one’s health. Considering that food choices are beginning to dwindle, and prices are moving towards the roof, more and more people are already, or soon will be, left with no alternative but to downscale to simple, basic foods, as the only choices they can afford, or even find available (if they are lucky). Recreational eating as a regular activity may well be on its way out, as previously ubiquitous snack (empty) foods disappear from shop shelves, not to be replaced, and with limited available money to invest in food requiring us to seriously deliver in quantity and nutrition… Famine is a shocking idea to many in the generations that ‘missed out’ on the Great Depression…

Over the years of (so-called) abundance since World War II, many people have come to expect a regal feast at every meal (meaning choices that Kings of previous eras could only have dreamed about). Thus, many among us will soon begin to feel deprived, both physically and psychologically, by available food choices. In fact, much of what people think of as food nowadays is really just toxic, chemical-flavored ‘junk’. (And remember what Peace Pilgrim always said: If you eat junk food, you will think junk thoughts…) But having indulged in it for so long, many now have not only perverted palates, but also, as a direct consequence, intoxicated organs and blood. And just like those who become dependent on illicit drug-highs, these people are going to suffer physical and mental withdrawal symptoms when those toxic food choices are no longer available…

Depending on the extent of the toxic load we are carrying around inside, we unconsciously struggle to maintain functioning by striking a fragile balance between ongoing toxic intake and diminishing our accumulated toxic load. As with a drug-dependent person, when intake is abruptly cut off (such as when you no longer have access to cookies and ice cream, or whatever else your favorite self-indulgent foods may have been), this increases the likelihood of actual, physical withdrawal pains, which the body has always instinctively sought to avoid by means of a ‘fix’, meaning a food-craving for a dose of whatever is responsible for the toxic state: Thus, a fragile ‘balance’ is created that –temporarily— slows down the withdrawal pains of the elimination process.

The drawback is that as the toxic load increases, so does the distress of the eventual withdrawal, if that fragile ‘balance’ can no longer be maintained. Eventual symptoms will intensify, resulting in, perhaps, anxiety or panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, nausea, headaches, diarrhea, impatience, mood-swings, and even verbal or physical aggressivity, as people lash out, not understanding what is happening to (and in) themselves, possibly fearing their irritability is irrational, not realizing the crucial effect of the stored toxins when re-entering the bloodstream on the way to being eliminated. People might sincerely fear that they are going mad, or suspect some terrible disease is causing their distress…. The extent of their suffering will depend on their accumulated toxins (from years, maybe even a lifetime, of bad eating), but also complicated by all the medicines they have ever absorbed… the body doesn’t forget its stores of them, either!

Internet research reveals that the warnings given about symptoms experienced during detox (have a look for yourself) tend to avoid mentioning the extent the process can go to, and the possible added distress if one is not prepared for what to expect. From experience, I can tell you you may (likely will) at some point, no matter how well-warned you are, sincerely fear that something is seriously wrong with you, that you are losing your mind, leaving you with raw nerves (that torment you, off and on, night and day)…

You will be worn down… It takes energy to expel (and excrete) all those nasty toxins that have been accumulating for– only you know how long. They didn’t all enter your body in a day, so don’t expect detox to be quick or easy. But it will be even worse if you try to ignore it, or if you are unprepared, being frightened into doubting your own sanity (like those poor people who are slipped psychedelics without their knowledge and who panic at the unexplained hallucinations they suddenly experience). Have faith– and hold on for Dear Life (for Life is Dear)! Remember : as soon as the bad stuff is out of your blood and out of your body, you will feel immediately better.

Although the whole process can be quite long, there will be moments of respite, when you feel vindicated and confident that you are on the right track. And you will see that, as the toxins leave, you look and feel better and better… There will be moments when elimination slows down on its own, exclusive of your food choices. During these times, you can get a new grip on yourself and catch your breath, bracing for when the process ramps up again. And you can even encourage these moments, if you feel you need to, with your (simple) food choices (by including certain foods that favor elimination in your meals, like raw onions, black radish, and honey, as well as all juicy fruits, which are the body’s natural cleansers)…

Even if you could have your favorite toxic self-indulgences back, you will eventually see that all the flirting required to keep your previous fragile balance wasn’t justified by the pleasure the junk food gave you. You will likely be able to see that it’s better all around to just get through the eliminations, reduce your toxic load, and then avoid the previous habits that caused your toxic state in the first place… The good feelings you get as your eliminations advance will motivate you to continue… Imagine breathing freely again, thinking clearly, enjoying the peace of serenity, the satisfaction of a ‘sound mind in a sound body‘. The truth is, we don’t need regal feasts in order to be happy.

But if, along the way, you get too exhausted (since all this elimination requires energy), you can also deliberately slow the process down for a while (obviously it’s not recommended to try to stop it completely, since your internal housekeeping is badly needed). Without adding to your internal toxic load, you can slow the process down from time to time, when you need a break, a pause, a short moment in which to re-gather your strength and determination before launching into the ‘thick’ of the elimination once again. So, when that happens and you’ve had enough (of coughing up mucus, blowing your nose, wiping the watery mucus from your eyes, what builds up in your ears, and/or diarrhea) and you really need a short break, you can slow the eliminations for a while by eating a substantial quantity (in fact, a meal) of mostly bread, or rice, or potatoes, or bananas… that is, a concentrated food, requiring energy to digest. Take it in a healthy form, so as not to add to your inner toxic load… Choose organic, if you can, and use whole wheat for the bread… You don’t want to add any more toxins…

You won’t see drugs (including ‘medicines’) when they are eliminated, but you will likely see mucus as it is expelled. And the rule of thumb for mucus is that there is ALWAYS so MUCH coming out that it seems exaggerated. That’s just the way it is. So, once you know that, remind yourself when you’re tempted by mucus-forming foods (among them, all dairy)

Over the years, the writings of some ‘teachers’, who discovered the body’s natural hygiene mechanisms, have informed me, and reassured me at those times when detox was wearing me down. Perhaps their insights can do the same for you (if you want to be informed) and so I mention and recommend a few here…

Linda Clark, Get Well Naturally. This book contains a wealth of information on various health problems and how to reverse them, using nutrition. Other such books, written more recently, fail to match the usefulness of this one (I was pleased to see comments to this effect on Amazon… The book is, unfortunately, out-of-print, so it can only be had second-hand, but you will find several copies available on that platform…). Linda Clark was a journalist who personally suffered a general ‘breakdown’ in her prime as a result of long-term, faulty nutrition. To recover, she investigated the subject and solved her own problem, while sharing with us the information she gathered along the way. The book is great for inspiration and precise nutritional information (never out-of-date), as well as advice on specific health problems.

Arnold Erhet, Rational Fasting, for Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Rejuvenation. This book is still in print (available online from Barnes and Nobel) and still widely read and used as a guide. First written in Erhet’s native German at the end of the 19th Century, it was translated into English when Erhet immigrated to the States (having first made his name reversing disease with fasting in his own sanitarium in Switzerland). He taught that obstructions in the body are formed by accumulated mucus and are the fundamental cause of disease. Fasting and diet to loosen these obstructions and allow them to be eliminated, as well as generally avoiding mucus-forming foods, were his secrets for health and longevity. He also drew up a table rating the mucus-forming capacities of common foods.

Dr Norman Walker, Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: What’s Missing in Your Body! and Become Younger. Both these books are classics, providing pioneer information researched by Norman Walker himself, over more than 70 years of health advocacy based on a mainly raw-foods diet and including lots of freshly pressed, unpasteurized juices. As with Erhet, Walker was a great proponent of detox, for which he particularly recommended the assistance of colonic irrigations. When those were not available, enemas were the alternative for maintaining inner cleanliness. His Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices is presented in a dictionary format, by diseases, indicating the juices that can be particularly useful in countering each condition. So dedicated was he to the regenerative powers of ‘live foods’ (in which the life force –enzymes– remained intact) that he designed and manufactured his own juice extractor, The legendary Norwalk Hydraulic Press reputedly so squeezed juice from the pulp of veggies, that this was left completely dry. Unfortunately, the Norwalk Press is no longer manufactured today, but Walker’s books are still in print and can be purchased through Barnes and Nobel.

Of course, this is not a definitive list of authors and the information imparted is not the last word on each topic, but these writings helped me get through some hard times in detox, so I know they can be counted on, and that is why I recommend them. They are not the last word, but they are an excellent starting point for your own personal research on the topic…

It is worth observing again that detox can be quite challenging at the best of times… If detox is not a willing choice, but the consequence of imposed conditions, while also occurring at a time of societal instability, possible upheaval, in situations which may require a serious reaction, and just at a time when we might prefer, even need, to concentrate on our own physical well-being, then detox may become very complicated and challenging indeed. Perhaps it is better to get a head start on the process, and a head start on recovering our health, while we are still in relative control of our situations?

However we come to it, detox is a necessary step on the road to improving our health, which is, after all, our most precious possession in life… And we are going to need all our wits around us to get ourselves and those we love through the challenges of the next few years… So, let’s put all our arrows in our quivers, gird up for the struggle, then go forward to meet the future with confidence.

Good health and serenity to all!