English Teacher, Richard D, Age 35, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Master Faster #7, Testimonial - My First 100 Days of Cleansing with HPS-Online: a Retrospective

[Richard_D]

Hey again everybody, this will be the eleventh testimonial I've written about my experiences here with Jos-hua and this most unbelievably supportive group of pioneering individuals.

Last Thursday put the cap on my 100th day of HPS 7DW cleansing. As I have suggested elsewhere, in the big scheme of things it doesn't matter whether I've done 50 days or 100 days or 1000; the true question is whether I'm living the lifestyle or not. There is no finish line to cross with good health.

Even so, it's a fun and encouraging thing to track the little landmarks that go by. I enjoy it, and I know there are plenty of people out there, relatively new members here who still struggle with the logistics of cleansing, those who are still working to throw off tired old issues and obstacles, and many who still perceive good health as something that's yet to be found "out there, down the road," off in the future, who look at cleansing and see an overwhelming pile of changes to be made, habits to overcome, and on, and on.

And it occurs to me that it's potentially helpful to recap here where I've been over the course of the almost 5 years of cleansing I've done following Jos-hua's unique and infinitely valuable program. And while my own experience isn't even a drop in the ocean compared to the example Jos-hua sets here year in and year out, it at least shows that this cleansing lifestyle is something that an ordinary person can attain.

I can't say it's easy by any means, but it's much easier than you can know when you're just getting started, or thinking about taking the plunge. And once you've proven to yourself with your own experience how your actions affect your health for good or for ill, and that the power to do so rests solely in your hands, then it gets easier and easier to do the right thing as time and successive cleanses pass by.

So with that in mind, I thought the best way to recap the last 5 years would be to take a quote from each of the 10 testimonials I've written to date. For those of you who thought I wrote long testimonials already, I'm afraid in all likelihood I'm going to shatter all previous records. Feel free to skim and scan .

Here we go!

Richard_D, Age 30, 7DW Level 1, Testimonial, Not yet half done, but still well begun:

Originally Posted by me

After reintroducing food to my system, I had a few momentary struggles with the impulse to start smoking again, but by keeping the perspective that I wasn't wanting just the next cigarette, but all the ones that would surely come after, I find I haven't had a problem staying clean...
From the fasting all I really hope is not a short-term increase in health or spirits, but to wipe the slate a little cleaner and start correcting years' worth of unfortunate decisions. I don't feel powerfully rejuvenated or anything, but since I wasn't expecting or even hoping for that, I feel fine with feeling fine...
on't feel tired or anything. I still haven't got any extra energy, so to speak, but I get through my typically demanding days with plenty to spare. I wake up around 7 every day (major improvement for me) and although I feel pretty tired at first, I'm amazed to be actually getting out of bed...

Richard_D, Age 31, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Level 2, Testimonial - Too much to tell

Originally Posted by me

--Improved eyesight. My eyeglass prescription is still appropriate for my vision, but I suffer a lot less eye fatigue and what I see appears sharper than before.

--Pulse has calmed considerably. I love this the most, b/c sudden fatal heart attacks have an affinity for my family and in recent years I've felt as though my heart was beating a little too hard for my comfort. I can exert myself and raise my pulse and still feel totally comfortable, for the first time in probably many years. Now I feel a lot better about starting a more rigorous exercise program; although I've never had an actual heart condition, I've always worried more than I admitted to myself.

--My head seems so clear. I have a much better time concentrating on what I'm doing and getting through it efficiently. I'm still a bit absent-minded, but light years ahead now of where I was before the fast.

--Absolutely loving food! I've eaten nothing but salads and fruit for 3 days and I feel like I've been feasting at the richest tables. I couldn't have believed it before.

Richard_D, Age 31, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Level 3 cleanse. Testimonial: Up and down, but more up than ever

Originally Posted by me

Cleansing with HPS can open your awareness to a greater appreciation of the many aspects of health and conscious living. Much of what I've learned from my time with this group here is beyond my ability to relate, but I think I can safely say that we've all discovered inspiring truths, shared and private, that we could never have suspected before starting out. Make no mistake, fasting and cleansing is an awareness-raising activity, because doing it requires that you pay attention to things that you never noticed before. You may become aware of the difference between hunger and appetite, and how that distinction is evident in areas of life that you may not have noticed the connection before, as with relationships, one's attitude at work, meeting personal challenges, etc.

Chinese student/English Teacher, Richard_D, Age 33, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING. 7DW Level 4 cleanse, Testimonial - It Just Gets Better

Originally Posted by me

...I can say I today am more patient, with other people as well as myself. I am more patient with life in general. I am far less demanding, and less likely to sulk or be bitter when those demands are not fulfilled. I am at least somewhat more considerate of other viewpoints, and I believe I am much less prone to cause hurt feelings or other offenses. The amount of anger and frustration I have seen lift away actually causes me momentary embarrassment when I stop to reflect on how I could be expected to handle things not so long ago...
When you're in charge, you can't be a victim. When you understand the causes and effects of health, when you feel what happens when you make a bad decision, it gets a lot harder to make bad decisions.

English teacher, Richard_D, Age 33, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, Master-Faster cleanse#1, Testimonial - Best yet to come

Originally Posted by me

It's like getting that second chance that you spend so much of your life hearing from everyone around you that you'll never get. Things seem possible again that I'd written off--I'd written myself off in the same instant--as beyond my grasp long ago. I'm contemplating changes to my life that would have positively scared me years ago, not because they're anything so terrible or massive, just uncharacteristically bold. When your health returns, a great deal of courage comes trickling back with it. I had no glimmering until comparatively recently how much I've missed by clinging out of weakness to the customary and habitual.

Teacher/Student, Richard_D, Age 33, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, Master Faster #2, Testimonial--Just getting started!

Originally Posted by me

Suddenly it's as though just knowing I'm doing something good for myself is all I need to keep doing it, whereas it never was enough of a motivation before. I used to feel major guilt over that kind of thing, I used to call myself lazy, swear at myself for being stupid, etc., I even had trouble sleeping at night sometimes because I felt guilty for not getting anything useful done during the day. My energy was poor, I was always tired, never wanted to wake up--on days off from work I used to stay in bed because I couldn't think of a reason to get out! and then eventually I needed to smoke--and I could feel at all levels like my growth and development had come to a complete stop. I was 7000+ miles from home and ironically I couldn't even feel grateful for the rare opportunity to live among people in a foreign land.

Pretty drastic, huh? But it's true; if I didn't feel all these things all at once, or every day, what I've described comprised a good 90% of my waking life. There is simply no comparison to my life today. I am back in school. I clean my kitchen and house every day, and not only that, I do it happily. In 4 days I'm embarking on a 2-month journey to fulfill a longtime goal of mine, something that even a year ago was just a dream, nothing more. Apathy, a longtime companion of mine, is breaking up like an arctic ice shelf (not a good thing, ecologically speaking, but otherwise an apt metaphor) and things are finally getting in motion again.

Richard_D, Age 34, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, Master Faster #3, Testimonial - The group makes the difference

Originally Posted by me

(Note: This was written after a long hiatus in Indonesia getting my PADI Instructor's license)

...and here on the other side of the formal, I'm finding that despite my semi-expectation of having to do a couple of cleanses to compensate for all the not-so-good stuff I'd been doing earlier this year, well, I seem to be better than ever.

How does that work? How was I able to get back into gear after a couple of months back from a long hiatus like that? I assure you, it wasn't willpower, and while my experience I'm sure had some part in things, by far the most important factor was that, through the entire time I was away, I maintained regular, almost daily contact with the group here. It kept me inspired, and much closer to a mental state of readiness than I would have had if I'd simply slipped out and faded away during that time...

Richard_D, Age 34, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Master Faster #4, Testimonial -- Now it gets interesting

Originally Posted by me

I continue to miss out on the best life has to offer, but the difference today is that I know not only can I do something about making that situation better, but that I have been doing it, even when I felt at times that I was being lazy or worse at times...and I feel confident that I'll continue making the right choices more and more often, and opening up to higher levels of practice and experience.

Seeing this realization begin to play out in my daily life is a gift that I never dreamed existed 4 years ago when I began my cleansing adventure with Jos-hua and the HPS online community.

Richard_D, Age 35, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Master Faster #5, Testimonial -- Where would I be without HPS?

Originally Posted by me

...And without all that extra health--beyond physical health, this is multidimensional rejuvenation we're talking about--how could I have possibly attained the blessings that the last few years have brought to me, most obviously my new family? A mere handful of years ago I couldn't even sustain a relationship for more than a few months, and since then I've grown so much that I'm now not only married, but I actually have a new baby--that would have been impossible!

I was just in our room last night, the baby sometimes has trouble digesting and he gets upset, cries a lot, sometimes off and on for hours, loud, too...and here I was sitting there and doing my best to deal with it, calmly--inside as well as outside--and it struck me how I used to be somewhere in public and hear a baby crying like that, and I would think, it must be hell having to deal with that in your own house, it's bad enough being exposed to other peoples' kids in small doses; and that's really it, I think, what I was dealing with last night and many times up to now would have been my personal version of hell a few years ago. My, how things have changed.

Richard D, Age 35, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Master Faster #6, Testimonial - HPS Cleansing Teaches Appetite Control

Originally Posted by me

More important than the concept of simply shedding a few pounds, the HPS faster learns the nature of appetite itself--relearns in many cases, each time one enters a new post-cleansing period right after a week of fasting, one quickly re-realizes the vast difference between the body's natural hunger for nourishment and the pathological cravings instilled over a lifetime of habit and societal pressure. If it sounds a bit odd from the outside, it really is quite a breakthrough realization, and even one level of HPS cleansing brings that distinction crashing home for many here, and a lifetime's worth of different perspective.

Appetite control, finally, has far more implications than simple weight control. The distinction between natural appetite and artificial craving is crucial to every important area of life, I'm finding.

Richard D, Age 35, HPS ADVANCED CLEANSING, 7DW Master Faster #7, Testimonial - My First 100 Days of Cleansing with HPS-Online: a Retrospective

Originally Posted by me

Sorry, just a little April Fool's humor there, couldn't resist myself.

Well folks, there's a (lengthy) slice of the record there. I doubt I do anything like this again, so for those of you who've actually managed to read this far and may be considering poking your eyes out by now, please accept my apologies, and my sincere promise not to write anything this long in a single post ever again.

On a serious note, and one that I have brought up wholeheartedly and without reservation or restraint in each and every testimonial I've written to date, there is NO WAY ON EARTH I could be where I am today, enjoying the many many blessings of my life, without the sure and selfless loving guidance of Jos-hua, and the irreplaceable support of all the wonderful caring people who make up this very special group we have here at HPS. May we have many more years to enjoy together.

Rick

[Jos-hua Medicine man]

Greetings from Boudanath Stupa, Katmandu Nepal Rick,

what a great testimonial, what a great perspective summarizing parts of each testimonial as you walk the path to better health, awakening and more happiness with HPS-online.com.

I especially loved the movement so apparent in 7DW level 3, 7DW level 4 and master faster #1 cleanses testimonials... and the long lasting sustainable transformation results so apparant in master faster testimonials #2, 3 and 4.

A real delight.
Thanks for taking the time to lay it out like that... very impressive indeed.
You have done well with your physical, emotional and mental health development.

Now, I personally look forward to reading the first 100 days of meditation retreats... now that for me will really be an even bigger delight, for afterall, as your health and spiritual friend, nothing makes me more happier than you own happiness, growth, success and development. And a hundred days of meditation retreats is the way to achieve that.

For when you develop the way you are doing and progress along the path the way you are progressing, then the world around you profits...it is not just you who profits, but the world around you too!
And that is exciting, valuable and rewarding to say the least... gives a lot of meaning to a human life, doesn't it?

peace Rick, HPS cleansing friend, forge on.... we've just got started!

Helping People Survive
Helping People Succeed
Health, Peace, Serenity

[Dorothea_L]

Hi Rick!

Thank you so much doing this... I had read a few of your oder threads, but of course, had never or would never, have gotten to some of the key points you made:

These are a few of the things that especially spoke to me...

Originally Posted by Richard_D

... I can't say it's easy by any means, but it's much easier than you can know when you're just getting started, or thinking about taking the plunge. And once you've proven to yourself with your own experience how your actions affect your health for good or for ill, and that the power to do so rests solely in your hands, then it gets easier and easier to do the right thing as time and successive cleanses pass by.
...
When your health returns, a great deal of courage comes trickling back with it.
...
How was I able to get back into gear after a couple of months back from a long hiatus like that? I assure you, it wasn't willpower, and while my experience I'm sure had some part in things, by far the most important factor was that, through the entire time I was away, I maintained regular, almost daily contact with the group here. It kept me inspired, and much closer to a mental state of readiness than I would have had if I'd simply slipped out and faded away during that time...
...
May we have many more years to enjoy together.
Rick

I also feel my courage rising!

So, when I go to China, I hope everything will work the same and I can "talk" to you guys then... I'm sure Michael will get me hooked up.

You're a wonderful person Rick, a true jewel in the crown of HPS (next to Jos-hua's great big one). I'm blessed to know you, and will be eternally grateful for the assistance you've been, alongside Jos-hua, to me.

love,
Dorothea

[Richard_D]

Jos-hua, Dorothea, thanks so much to both of you for your warm words. As you say, Dorothea, we're really all so blessed to have each other's company here. It is truly the most remarkable community we have.

I love this:

Originally Posted by Jos-hua

Now, I personally look forward to reading the first 100 days of meditation retreats... now that for me will really be an even bigger delight, for afterall, as your health and spiritual friend, nothing makes me more happier than you own happiness, growth, success and development. And a hundred days of meditation retreats is the way to achieve that.

Only 9 more to go! I look forward to more meditation retreats too, although for a while I may have to confine myself to shorter retreats sponsored locally because it's so unfair to leave Stella to deal with the baby alone for any real length of time...it's too bad because 10 days is a special format, and I feel that Suan Mokkh is a place with a unique methodology that they teach. But, we do what we can and stay open to opportunities as they arise.

Originally Posted by Jos-hua

For when you develop the way you are doing and progress along the path the way you are progressing, then the world around you profits...it is not just you who profits, but the world around you too!
And that is exciting, valuable and rewarding to say the least... gives a lot of meaning to a human life, doesn't it?

peace Rick, HPS cleansing friend, forge on.... we've just got started!

So true, on all points. And yes, when you embrace the fact that physical/emotional/mental/spiritual health is a lifetime activity, then you set yourself up for a lifetime of benefits. We've just got started, yes!

Rick

[Jos-hua Medicine man]

Originally Posted by Richard_D

...And yes, when you embrace the fact that physical/emotional/mental/spiritual health is a lifetime activity, then you set yourself up for a lifetime of benefits. Rick

yes, yes, yes Rick, that's the approach here at hps, and you are a living example of it!!!!!

forge on cleansing friend!!!!!!

greetings from bodhanath stupa, katmandu nepal

[Adrian_S]

Hi Rick,

That was a powerful testimonial on the power of cleansing and the power of change. I agree with you on all counts! Yes, it's maybe not easy at the beginning, but it's very far from being hard to do! I can't understand why aren't more people taking control of their health - and life - when it's painfully obvious that the medical establishment doesn't serve people's interests, but mostly of their own shareholders'.
For people reading this, I can say that Rick changed a lot since I joined HPS, but I guess his testimonials series speak much stronger than my own words.

Peace,

[Dorothea_L]

Originally Posted by Adrian_S

... it's painfully obvious that the medical establishment doesn't serve people's interests...

Funny you should say that Adrian,

Yesterday when I was at the masseuse, there was another young woman in the office who was getting treatment and she sells leg straps to hospitals for helping blood circulation during operations - and she said that she would never have an operation after seeing what she sees happening here in hospitals. They're cash strapped and cut corners whenever they can, she said if someone needs part of a new instestine they'll use the cheapest synthetic type first, instead of the 80% proven safer and more expensive pig version (oh, that's safer?) -- and if there are the more than likely complications afterwards, they'll just redo the operation.

[Bharat_P]

Hi Rick,

It's wonderful to read the "summary" of your cleansing experiences thus far, gives us newbies (and hopefully potential cleansers) a snapshot of possibilities. For me personally, it inspires me to keep thinking, acting, practicing on daily basis and know that down the road the transformation will happen.

Also, in the time that i've been here, i have found your posts full of information, very supportive and caring when responding to posts of others, and have to fully agree with Dorothea that you are indeed a wonderful person, and a true pillar of our HPS community.

Thanks for taking the time and effort putting together this testimonial.

[Jos-hua Medicine man]

Originally Posted by Dorothea_L

....and if there are the more than likely complications afterwards, they'll just redo the operation.

hahhahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Stephen_C]

Rick,

You have shown us how far one can come when you (as my old man used to say) get with the program......

PEACE

Stephen_C

[Deborah_Sh]

Again, WOW!

Rick, what a journey. This all gets better and better and I roam around the site. So rich.
The way you described it was so useful.
Has me feel very very excited about this journey and the spread of loving kindness that is so here, real and supportive of all. What a fabulous gift.
thanks,
sleep tight,

Deborah