Metabolic switching shifts the body from using glucose for energy to using fatty acid-derived ketones for energy. The act of switching between these two fuel sources elicits a healing response in the body. The easiest way to induce this metabolic switch is through fasting. You can also use certain breathing techniques and ice baths or ice plunges. For now, let’s try fasting and maybe later we will plunge into breath work in an ice bath.
Trillions of cells acting as a unified team make up our body. Each cell produces energy by metabolizing glucose, burning fat, and manufacturing antioxidants. When food is not available the cells switch to an alternate fuel source to continue functioning. It takes about eight hours for this switch to occur. This metabolic switch at the cellular level increases the bodies ability to heal itself and burn fat.
We all fast while we sleep and by extending that fasting window we can help our cells stay in the healing phase a little longer each day. For example, stop eating a few hours before bed and delay breakfast until a few hours after waking. Try to have a total of at least thirteen hours of no food. That might look like no food between 7pm-8am; if that doesn’t work for you just adjust the window to fit into your lifestyle. If you can extend your fasting window to sixteen hours that’s even more beneficial.
Last week was outstanding This week will be too I hope what is true for me Goes doubly true for you
Last week our challenge was to use “Outstanding!” instead of our regular response to the question “How are you?”
The power of the spoken word creates. It creates worlds. It creates your world.
The spoken word begins with a thought. By changing our thoughts we can change our world. By using the spoken word we can speed up the change.
Set your mind on something you desire for yourself, pray for it, then speak as if you believe you have received it.
Recently I heard an evidence based story about a man (Jesse Itzler) training with a Navy Seal (Chadd Wright) for a difficult race (Last Man Standing) and how he was able to to get past his mental and physical blocks at mile 38. It made me think about how to apply some of the techniques to everyday life in order to live a more vibrant life. There were several phrases that I am turning into a weekly challenge for myself and I invite you to join me. Here is week two:
Spoken Word Challenge #2
Sometimes we get tired when we are trying to do something. The initial thought that we are tired can either make us end up on the couch or can be transmuted into energy to draw from.
Speaking our thoughts is like throwing an accelerant on them. It promulgates them, puts them into effect by decree. If we vocalize that we feel tired the feeling increases. If we instead say something like, “I can do it (define what it is). I have enough energy.“ We find that we are able to continue and we do in fact have more energy stores to draw from.
Our Provider has unlimited resources, that means we have unlimited resources.
For the next week I challenge myself and you to transmute thoughts of tiredness into energy. Choose a phrase that resonates and when thoughts of tiredness enter in say the phrase out loud:
I have limitless energy. I can do it (define what it is). I have enough energy. I have unlimited energy. I never get tired. I am feeling more energized every minute.
Do it. What have you got to gain? Gain it now. The power is in your words.
E.A. Fussell 08.20.2023
Isaiah 55:11 Proverbs 16:23 James 1:26 Matthew 7:7-12 Mark 11:22-24
In my teenage years I played flute in the LaBelle High School band and learned how to read music from the band teacher Mrs. Morgan. My dad purchased an electric organ for our home so I learned a little more about reading music on it. After high school playing musical instruments got left behind, shelved you might say.
In my late twenties I decided to take piano lessons. My teacher was an elderly lady from Jamaica. She was aware of my limited training. During our first lesson while I was playing the song she had placed on the music shelf of the piano, a song I had never seen before, she exclaimed in her heavy Jamaican accent, “OOOOH Child! You must have a Dubby attached to you!” I stopped playing and looked at her with surprise, “What is a Dubby?” She clasped her hands together with a big smile on her face. “In English you would call it a ghost.” She squeezed by shoulders, “Don’t worry child, it is a good one, no one could play like that without a good Dubby.”
Back then I was young and inexperienced in spiritual matters so it kind of freaked me out. I didn’t understand the magnitude of what she was telling me. I just thought of playing the piano as a fun hobby. Suddenly it felt scary and seemed like a lot of pressure. While I didn’t recognize the significance of my talent, I did recognize the amount of commitment that it would require to fully realize it’s potential and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the time. It was easy to use work and family obligations as excuses to put playing music on a shelf again.
Walking away from the piano is a decision I still regret. I wish I had kept playing as a fun hobby, who knows, I might “coulda” been a great player.
We all have those moments in life. Those “coulda” moments. As we age they sometimes circle back to haunt us. But instead of getting lost in coulda, woulda, shoulda thoughts, whenever those thoughts blow into our mind we can choose to let them pass gently through. We can use them as encouragement, understanding that we still have many forms of untapped potential resting in our being. Each day we get to choose what we will pursue, what we will invest our time in, how we will think, what we will read, listen to, watch, what we will learn, what we will try.
We can choose not to worry about being great at something, just have fun doing it. It’s okay to try something, many things, and not be good at them. Heck, it’s okay to be bad at them. The point is to try whatever we feel our spirit is leading us toward. Just the experience of doing something new, or something old we have wanted to do, will give us fresh insight into ourselves and how we experience life.
We’ll never know what we “coulda” been if we don’t try.
Lord give me the inspiration and courage to try the things you send as my soul desires and help me to eliminate “coulda” from my remaining years.
24 hours in a day 16-18 hours invested in work, sleep, meals, hobbies 6-8 hours of discretionary time
That’s a snapshot of the average working American. You may look a little different but you have some discretionary time everyday. How are you investing that time? What if you took one hour of that time each day to explore new topics, ones outside your normal point of interest? Stretching our thinking often refreshes the mind and brings new ways of approaching challenges. Our brain doesn’t necessarily like to be stretched, so there might be some resistance to new thinking.
The brain’s job is to maintain homeostasis in our physiological processes. It is always looking for ways to conserve energy in case there is an illness or problem that requires energy stores. Our normal thought process creates grooves, pathways, automatic lines of communication. These automatic pathways require less energy(habits). When we try to change that groove (habit) by thinking differently more energy is required and our brain resists. Even if we are trying to do something that will ultimately make us healthier or better in some way, the extra energy required to change the existing pathway in our brain is seen as a threat to energy stores by the brain. Our mind has to fight to overcome the brain’s resistance. That’s why it can be so hard to change an old habit.
So, anytime you decide to study a new topic, change an old habit, try something new, the mind gets excited, but be prepared for the brain to resist. Find ways to breakthrough the barriers of thought and do it anyway. One technique is establishing a time each day to do a certain thing. The brain likes routine (less energy) much more than spontaneity (more energy). Determine what time of day works best for you to have your “new topic adventure” and then, everyday at that time do something related to the topic. Read, watch a video about it on youtube, attend a class, sit quietly and think about it, write out your ideas, anything you choose.
You already know I believe in the power of the spoken word, but I heard an evidence based story recently about a man (Jesse Itzler) training with a Navy Seal (Chadd Wright) for a difficult race (Last Man Standing) and how he was able to to get past his mental and physical blocks at mile 38. It made me think about how to apply some of the techniques to everyday in order to live a more vibrant life. There were several phrases that I am turning into a weekly challenge for myself and I invite you to join me. Here is week one:
Spoken Word Challenge #1:
When someone asks you how you are doing or how you feel, change your normal answer. Maybe you normally say, “fine” or “good” or “well” (those are usually what I say). Or maybe, if it’s been a tough day or so, you go into all the negative details about what has happened, or is predicted to happen.
For the next week I challenge myself and you to change our normal answer. When someone asks how your are, hold the details to yourself and use one of these responses:
“Outstanding!’ “I feel outstanding!” “My business is doing outstanding!” “I am doing outstanding!” “My health is outstanding!” “I am outstanding!’
Wouldn’t you like to feel outstanding? Do it. What have you got to gain? Gain it now. The power is in your words.
Successful personal growth often requires up-level training. Change is uncomfortable. Especially changing trainers, coaches, groups, teams or teachers. More especially when we’ve outgrown their ability to help us. However, if we don’t chose to move up we will simply move forward at the same level of existence, or worse, regress.
I recently had to make such a decision. While I am thankful for the progress made over the past few months with a certain coach, it became obvious they are not equipped to take me to the next level. Having to deal with this change reminded me of how difficult it can be for some people to put themselves first.
Personal growth and up-leveling are a priority in my life. I believe God has a purpose for every inspiration given, but each of us has the responsibility to carry out the steps required to get to our highest level in each idea we receive. That belief makes it easier for me to cut-ties when the season of growth has ended with someone.
God is glorified in the fruit of our lives. Up-leveling yourself, is not selfish. When you feel the urge to make a change in your circle but chose not to, you potentially undermine God’s plans for your life as well as others. Following your purpose won’t always be easy. You can’t please everyone or take everyone with you.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and level up.
We all respond to obstacles in different ways. And probably not in the same way every time. Give up or push through? The answer may depend on the type or size of the obstacle.
There are lots of things that can appear to block our path or hold us back: age, sex, race, distance, disability, money, fear, uncertainty, laws, fitness level, regulations, obligations, health, self-doubt.
What might happen if we chose to look at obstacles as opportunities? 🪨 Perhaps you’ve heard the old story about the hidden treasure a king hid under an obstacle he placed in the road? He blocked the road with a large boulder and hid a bag of gold coins under it as a reward for the person who expressed ingenuity and figured out a way to move the obstacle. Several people tried and gave up. Then a pauper came along and used a large branch as a lever to dislodge the massive rock from the road. 💰 When he moved the boulder he discovered the hidden treasure and a note from the king saying, “The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve your condition.”
💡What if we envisioned a hidden treasure in every obstacle we face? Would we approach it differently? Would we be more tenacious in figuring out a solution? Might we use our creativity to come up with new ideas? If we saw unlimited opportunity to improve our future in it would we let temporary obstacles have so much control over our emotions?
Life is filled with obstacles, they are to be expected. The next time we encounter one let’s embrace it, turn it upside down, see it as an opportunity. Look, in creative ways, for the hidden treasure.
Grievance: a real or imagined wrong giving cause for complaint; or a strong feeling that you have been treated unfairly. (Also known as “bellyaching”. )
It’s easy to pickup and carry around grievances. Our ego encourages us to store as many as possible to separate us from the light that is our salvation. Complaints and hurt feelings can create a heavy cloud and keep us in a dark place. The words we speak to ourselves and others, either perpetuate the scenes that play out around us or change them.
I try to be aware of my thoughts and words and change them quickly but recently I got caught up in a perceived wrong and started bellyaching about it. Then another situation arose with something done to a family member and I added it to my bellyaching. Vacillating between feelings of anger and sadness clouded my thoughts until I recognized the effect it was having on my other interactions. This morning I took time to clear my mind and heart. To change my thoughts. To let go of the grievances. To see and feel from a place of love.
The light of Love pushes back the darkness bellyaching brings.
When we focus on and speak about perceived wrongs done to us, or others, we will see more wrongs to complain about. When we focus on words of encouragement we will see more encouraging things surround us to speak about.
I encourage you to take a moment today to release your grievances. Stop your bellyaching. Imagine taking your hand, reaching up and moving the dark clouds of perceived wrong weighing you down. Imagine parting them and pushing them to the side as a bright light begins to shine through. Imagine that light is pure love, God Himself. As the light shines brighter and surrounds you the clouds evaporate until you feel the darkness gone, your heart and mind refreshed. (If it helps you can imagine I am there with you, helping you move the clouds.)
Allow your thoughts to change to those of our Creator, who wants the best for you and is always encouraging. You have free will and can control what you think about. What you think about impacts what you see. You can choose what you see. You deserve to see the light of Love and others deserve to see it in you.
God’s love is always right there waiting to save us from ourselves, but we have to accept it.
As I wait for the plane to board and take me home to Florida, I am reminded that there is never enough time to see everyone. Time seems to alter itself into warp zone, speeding past, evaporating any chance of making plans.
I am thankful that the majority of my work can be done digitally which allows me to travel as much as I do. As long as I have internet and cell service I can work from anywhere. Which means that even less time is available for visiting.
It normally doesn’t bother me too much, only when I am in Florida, where I grew up and spent most of my life, where there are so many family and dear friends, all within a stones throw of me and I still won’t get to see most of them.
I hold onto the idea that one day I will retire, stop wrestling with the clock and invest my days in old fashioned visiting.
Watermelon has always represented love to me. One of my favorite memories as a child is eating an iced down watermelon. Daddy or Grandpa would get a watermelon from one of the local South Florida farmers, put it in a cooler and cover it in ice. Anticipating the sweetness to come would occupy my thoughts as I played and tried to forget the deliciousness chilling in the cooler on the porch. Eventually, after several hours, usually in the heat of the mid-afternoon, one of them would take out the glorious treat, slice it up and each family member would get a delicious piece.
Daddy and grandpa are no longer in this dimension of life but I picked up a watermelon Friday and have been enjoying the sweetness of the fruit and the priceless memories. Daddy played an instrumental part in my relationship with God. He taught me many things, especially how to turn from this world and seek my Heavenly Father.
This world will work to tear you down, your family, your relationships, your Spirit. This Father’s Day I offer a prayer for you:
Lord, please be with the person reading this, bless them in a special way. You know their needs, You know their struggles, You know their unspoken pain. Answer their needs Lord. Help them to remember that You are their Heavenly Father, provider, protector, guide. Comfort them, encourage them, enlighten them, give them the answers they seek, draw them close to You. Let them feel Your presence. Let them know they are loved and they are precious to You.
E. A. Fussell 