The Diet Plateau

http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

There comes a time in most diets when compromise begins to catch up with you. Decisions are made that are not in keeping with the guidelines of the diet. “Just one candy bar a day” easily becomes three or four. “This fast food restaurant does not have a good price on juice, so I will get a soda.” I have arrived at the point of the plateau in my vegan diet, and I have been there for months. I have lost 65 pounds in the first nine months, and then nothing for the last six. I don’t like it one bit, but what am I willing to do to get those last 30 pounds off of my belly?

Sugar is the devil, it is seductive, crafty, and a master at temptation. Sugar is almost everywhere, and in almost everything, and avoiding it is a life-long challenge for the plump. I can never eat just one cookie, or one piece of candy. Once I have one, it is only moments until I want a second one. The more I eat, the more I want. The scales tell the story in great detail.

It seems that I am making just enough compromises to stay exactly where I am. It is a basic principle of weight loss that your calorie output must exceed your calorie intake to lose weight. You will either need more exercise or fewer calories to make the fat go away. For me, controlling my diet was always easier than adding hours of exercise to my schedule, so that has been my focus. Lately, there have been about 300 calories a day in my diet consisting of sugary snacks or drinks, or my biggest enemy, CHEESE!

Many cheeses are 70 or 80% fat, and it all seems to collect at my belly button. When I go out to eat, most restaurants serve entrees that are either meat-based or cheese-based, and meat is not an option. Other people in my family eat cheese, so it is always in the refrigerator. I love cheese! Pizza is awesome! However, if I eat it more than once a week, I know I am going to stay at my plateau, and that just doesn’t work for me.

http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

I have become lax, and I am making too many compromises with my diet. It will take new dedication, new determination and all the self-discipline I can muster to make these extra calories go away. For me, that will not be enough. I also have to give my body and my mouth to God daily, and give up the right to eat what I want. My body is His temple, and junk food doesn’t belong here.

“Lord, I surrender my body to you right now. I ask that you take control of my mouth and my mind, and keep me away from food that will harm your temple. Help me to stay away from sweets, soda and fatty foods. Help me to enjoy the fruits, nuts, vegetables and whole grains You have provided to keep me healthy. I give up the right to eat candy today. I give up the right to French fries. I surrender my pizza craving to you. Please control me, and make my body beautiful. Amen.”

Permanent Weight Loss

Permanent weight loss requires a permanent lifestyle change.

My list includes the following:

• ·         Sugar
• ·         Candy / Chocolate
• ·         Soda Pop
• ·         Cheese
• ·         Sour Cream
• ·         Whole Milk
• ·         Fried Foods
• ·         White Flour Products
• ·         Egg yolks

My personal weaknesses are for chocolate and cheese. One ounce of cheddar cheese is 113 calories, but 84 of those calories are from fat. Many cheeses made from whole milk are 70-80% fat, which is why pizzas are so greasy. A Hershey’s chocolate bar that weighs 43 grams has 24 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of fat, and out of 210 total calories, 110 of them are from fat. 

I try to follow a vegan diet as much as possible, making the most of fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables at home. When I eat out, I know that I will have to make a few compromises, however I still try to avoid sugar, cheese and fried food as much as I can. 

I have lost 65 pounds this year on my vegan diet, and 10 inches in my waist. I went from a XXL shirt to a medium and from a 42 inch waist to a 32 inch waist pants. The Spa Body Wrap took an additional 2 inches off my belly the first time I tried it, and I look forward to trying it again. 

Right now you may be thinking, “How could I cook a weight loss diet for myself, and still please my family?” I recommend the three pan cooking method. In the largest pan on the stove, put the base dish that doesn’t contain animal products. The base dish could be stir fry vegetables, brown rice, whole grain pasta, or similar items. In smaller pan one, put meat or seafood. In smaller pan two, put vegetarian meat substitutes, tofu, or similar proteins. Combine the meat or seafood with the base dish right on the plate, and your items on your plate. Garnish both meal types with lots of fresh herbs, sauces, salsas, etc. and serve.

Try this dish for dinner this week:

Veggie Fajitas 

One Package of Morning Star Farms Grillers or Chik Patties, defrosted and chopped

One each green and red bell pepper, chopped in strips

One - two large onions, chopped in strips

One garlic clove, finely minced

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 corn or flour tortillas

Toppings

Salsa

Chopped tomato

Dairy or vegan cheese

Vegan or dairy sour cream (vegan for you, dairy for your skinny family members)

Directions:

In a large, non-stick frying pan, cook the Morningstar Farms patties with the oil, lime juice and seasonings. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium high heat, and then add the onions, bell peppers and minced garlic and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Heat tortillas in foil in the oven at 350 for 7 minutes, on the stove top on a dry griddle, or in the microwave as desired.  To serve, spoon a portion of the fajitas mix down the center of each tortilla, top with your desired toppings, fold over and serve.

Keywords: weight loss, lose weight, fat loss, fast ways to lose weight, lose inches, vegan, vegetarian, body wrap, diet, weight loss diet, vegan diet, vegan recipes, weight loss recipes

A summer camp for obese children

Waterfall in Yosemite Valley
DennisDavisPhotography.com

I was a dirt poor, obese, gay kid with few friends. The one thing I looked forward to more than anything else when I was growing up was going to Yosemite and going to Camp Wawona summer camp. Most of those camps were for one week, but that was plenty of time to change a kid’s life. We had swimming, hiking, archery, water skiing, crafts and taking care of live animals in the nature center. We were so broke the church had to pay our way sometimes, but I went every summer for ten years.

I would love to help a charity put on a summer camp for obese children. The best way to teach a child about a new diet is to put them in a controlled environment, and feed them healthy food, and help them have fun with outdoor exercise. As you know from the name of my blog, if it were my charity I would feed these kids a vegan diet with very low sugar. Hey, it’s my dream, and I can dream it any way I wish! I would teach them songs around the campfire that will instill health principles in their head forever.

Yosemite Valley
DavisPhotographic.com

So steal my idea, and start one! We could use 50 of them. As I was a poor, gay, obese kid, I think it would be cool to offer at least one or two weeks of the camp for gay obese kids. Maybe they would need to have all kinds of medical and professional people there to monitor them; I am not sure what would be required. I do know that lots of them will come hating themselves, and leave with new friends and new hope for a better life.

On a low sugar, vegan diet, an obese child might lose 10 pounds in week, or 20 or 30 in a month, when combined with climbing mountains, swimming or volleyball every day. I enjoyed feeding the animals in the nature center, and was able to take care of a Rosy Boa for a week, which is why today I am not afraid of snakes.

Church was under the trees in the “church bowl”, and night time church looking up at the stars was awesome! But the nightly campfires were my favorite. The camp would bring in missionaries, who would tell stories of Africa, China, or the Philippines, and the children were spell bound. I was so impressed with the guys playing guitar that I later took guitar lessons from one of the guitarists from the camp, and that’s why I play guitar today. Climbing a ½ mile uphill 4 times a day just to go to your cabin to get something can really work off the calories!

This is a really big idea, but it could be a great blessing to lots of overweight kids. Childhood obesity is increasing.

Facts:

•  Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.
• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.
• In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

Ray of Light sings the Word of God

This video features songs using bible verses as the lyrics, called scripture songs. These songs were released on cassette in 1983, and were converted to digital format this year. Matt. 11:28-30, Phil. 1:6, and other popular bible verses are performed by Dennis Ray Davis, also known as Ray of Light.

These songs are excellent for memorizing bible verses, and are popular with parents for helping children learn the bible. Many parents put their kids to bed with these songs playing.

To hear more music by Dennis Ray Davis, see www.GuitarMinister.com

Keywords: Music video, Christian, Jesus, God, Bible, scripture songs, songs, guitar, guitarist, Guitar Minister, Dennis Ray Davis, praise and worship, famous christian singers

It is Well, With My Soul

Performed by Ray of Light, a.k.a. Dennis Ray Davis at the glass church in Palos Verdes, CA known as the Wayfarers Chapel http://www.wayfarerschapel.org/. This location is known as the best beach wedding location in California. For more music by Ray of Light, see www.GuitarMinister.com

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

keywords: Christian, Jesus, Lord, music, music video, singer, ray of light, Dennis Ray Davis, famous singer Ray of Light, famous photographer Dennis Ray Davis, Guitar Minister

Nu Vision, a song about heaven

Nu Vision, written by Dennis Ray Davis, Jo Ann Davis and Nancy McDowell. A song written for handicapped and disabled children about the new earth, when there will be no more blind, sick, or crippled people. 

Still photography and video footage by Dennis Ray "of Light" Davis, shot on a Canon 5D Mark II and edited in Adobe Premiere CS5. For more music by Ray of Light see GuitarMinister.com


keywords: music video, music, song, singing, guitar, guitar minister, Ray of Light, Dennis Ray Davis, Christian music, Jesus, God, New Earth, heaven

Are You Eating Your Friends?

Your friend's sister? Food Photography
http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

Have you ever twisted off the head of a chicken, or chopped its head off with an axe, and watched the blood spray out? What does that have to do with the Grilled Chicken Sandwich you just had for lunch? Is the death of bird and the meat in your pasta even associated in your mind, or do you even give it a thought?

I grew up in a farming area in central California, near Modesto. My uncle had a large farm near us with cows, chickens, ducks, sheep, a horse or two, pigs and lots of pets. I learned to milk cows when I was 10 or so, and helped my cousins feed the chickens and ducks. I would go into the hen house and get the eggs, and there would always be baby chicks to play with. I loved baby chicks, so fluffy and yellow, so soft to put up next to my face. I would name them silly things like Earl or Fluffy Buffy, and they would follow me around the barnyard begging for food and referring to my clothing choices as “cheap, cheap, cheap!”

The first time my cousin killed one of my baby chick's parents, I was perhaps 9. My sister and I were asked to help chase down one of the hens and help him catch it, and then help him hold it by the legs while he chopped the head off with an axe. That chicken struggled and squirmed and pecked, it did not want to die. He raised the axe, and dropped it on the neck, and blood sprayed all over me, but the axe had only gone half way through as it was dull. The chicken’s feet had sharp claws, and it scratched me, with its neck spraying blood all over me. He chopped again, and the head came off completely. “Let it go!” he commanded, and I turned it loose. The hen ran around the yard without her head for what seemed like several minutes, spraying blood as she ran. At the end, he picked her body up and began plucking the feathers out, asking if I wanted to help. I could not.

Food Photography by Dennis Ray "of Light" Davis
http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

That night, she was served on a beautiful platter with onions, tomatoes, potatoes and rosemary. All of my cousins enjoyed the meal, but I could not eat her. Could you? No? Perhaps you just ate her grandson!

About a year later age 10, the ducks we kept in our back yard hatched out about 7 ducklings. I picked out one with a very orange bill, green eyes and a very quacky mouth and called him “Yacky Doodle”. Yacky Doodle followed me everywhere in the house, and would sit on my lap while I watched TV. I had to clean up a little poop on the floor, but I loved my pet baby duck more than any pet I have had since. I put him on the chair next to me when I ate, and gave him food off my plate. I slept with Yacky Doodle, and hugged him close to my face and kissed him each night.

One night I kiss Yacky goodnight, and forgot to put him in his box on the floor. Yacky went to sleep next to me, and I rolled over in my sleep and squashed him flat. I never felt anything, but the next morning I was crying to “make Yacky Doodle wake up, momma, please!” Is that why when I go to my favorite Thai restaurant and order spicy stir-fried cashew nut vegetables, I order the vegan “Mock Duck” on the menu instead of fried “Yacky Doodle” real duck right next to it? I think it does, although my vegan lifestyle started this time as a desire to lose weight and become healthier, I think my love for animals makes it very difficult for me to eat them.

I am too kind, tender-hearted and gentle to eat anything with a face, and yes, I am gay. Many football watching, beer drinking, deer hunting, gun toting “macho men” would call me a “sissy,” and tell me I could never survive in the dog-eat-dog, kill or get killed real world. “If I was stranded in the forest with nothing to eat, I would eat my own child if that’s what it took to survive” one carnivorous friend told me after watching a movie about airplane crash survivors eating each other.

I on the other hand, do not eat my pets, friends, family or business clients. I choose all animals as my friends. Some animals may choose to eat me, but I choose not to eat them.

My youth on a California farm also taught me to recognize the difference between “organic” farming practices and “factory farms”. Cows raised on “organic” farms get to eat real grass. Chickens get to scratch in the dirt outside instead of being confined to a cage. In contrast, a factory farm animal lives in its own waste; it walks in feces, licks it off of its legs and feet, and stands and sleeps in poop. They are confined to cages or stalls, and fed hormones and antibiotics to keep them fat and producing eggs, milk and meat.

Food Photography by Dennis Ray Davis
http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

We have many diseases in common with chickens and cows, such as flu, cancer, or even mad cow disease. When antibiotics are put into the animal’s food, any virus or bacteria they have become resistant to those antibiotics over time. When you eat the meat, eggs or milk, those antibiotic – resistant virus and bacteria are introduced into your body. When you get sick and go to the doctor, she gives you the same antibiotic that was in the animal’s feed. You take the medicine, but you don’t get well. You could die from the disease before the doctor discovers why you are not responding to the antibiotics you were given.

In the documentary movie “Forks over Knives”, see http://www.forksoverknives.com/ there is a lot more information about factory farms and the reasons for becoming a vegan. People assume that the animals they eat did not suffer, and died a humane death. Watch the movie, I dare you!

Here is my challenge to every carnivore: Before you eat another grilled chicken sandwich or big Mac, go to a slaughterhouse and watch them kill a cow or chicken. Better yet, kill the animal with your own hands. Watch it die, then see if you can buy that very animal and eat it. I can’t eat anything with a face. Can you?

Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, healthy, weight loss, forks over knives, plant based diet, animal rights

Walking as exercise

Walking is one of the best exercises that you can do. You always have the equipment you need, attached to your body! It is simple, requires no special clothing or gear, and gets you where you need to go.

Even if you go to the gym regularly, you can still benefit from going for a walk in the fresh air. I like to carry small weights, and lift them over my head as I walk. My partner likes to kick a soccer ball and run on the beach or in a park while I walk. He also likes to run backwards, or up and down stairs while I am walking. I like to watch, and keep walking. 

If you are in an area with lots of rain or snow, look for a place you can walk indoors at work or near home. This could be a shopping mall, gym or large building complex. You can shop and get your exercise at the same time!

I went through a period of time recently when walking was my primary source of exercise. I had two walking partners, and 5 days a week we would meet around 9 am to go for a walk on the beach bike path. This was about a 4 mile daily walk, and in Long Beach it is warm and dry enough to walk outside 95% of the year. I found that I met my neighbors along the way, and it made me feel better to perform my work. 

Let’s go for a walk!

Eating Healthy Vegan / Vegetarian on the Go

Chopped fresh fruit is available in many grocery stores.
www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

I do a lot of traveling, as I am a commercial photographer and videographer, see http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com .I am trying to maintain a low sugar, low fat plant -based diet while I travel, and it is not easy. Here are some places that help:

Subway

http://www.subway.com

Subway has two vegetarian choices, the veggie burger option or the all vegetable option. I normally buy a foot long veggie burger, no cheese, on honey oat or whole wheat. I add all the vegetables, and put sweet onion sauce on it, which is non-dairy and low fat. If you add mayo, cheese, sour cream or oil you are just adding fat, so don’t. Subway is a very healthy place to eat if you make intelligent choices. 

Chipotle Mexican Grill

http://www.chipotle.com

This popular burrito place has just added brown rice to an already vegan friendly menu. I get a vegetarian burrito with fajita vegetables, brown rice, black beans, guacamole and salsa. No cheese, no sour cream, no meat, that’s for someone else.

Food Photography by Dennis Ray Davis
DennisDavisPhotography.com

Burger King

http://www.bk.com/en/us/index.html

In addition to several salads on the menu, Burger King has oatmeal with fruit in the morning, and a vegetarian burger that with veggies makes a good sandwich. No mayo, no cheese for you. I only wish Burger King would take a clue from Subway, and offer whole grain buns instead of white bread.

Taco Bell

http://www.tacobell.com/

Taco Bell offers a number of bean-based items, bean burritos, tostadas, etc. I usually get a bean tostada with guacamole or a bean burrito with tomato salsa. No cheese, sour cream, or meat, please.

Baja Fresh

http://bajafresh.com

The menu includes fajita vegetables, black beans, guacamole and salsa. Put them in burritos or tostadas. If you have to eat something with a face, (non – vegetarian) the fish tacos here are one of the healthier options available in fast food.

keywords: vegan fast food, healthy fast food, vegetarian fast food, vegan on the go, weight loss, fast food diet, dieting, fast food 

Peace and Quiet

Yosemite Valley by Dennis "Ray of Light" Davis
DennisDavisPhotography.com

Many people fear peace and quiet.

They have to have noises going on in the house constantly, or they go nuts. I have a friend who will go through the house, turning on televisions, music, computers, then leave and go another floor of the house and do it again. This is in a house with two children under the age of 5 who cry several times each hour, and with police and fire department vehicles driving by day and night.

Quiet.

A rare thing for major city dwellers.

Personal peace.

Non-existent in a mind filled with conflict, anger or guilt.

   

Quiet is external, and mostly found in wilderness settings, like forests, deserts, mountains and seashores. Personal peace is the absence of internal war.

“Be still, and know that I am God”.

When was the last time you were really, really still, and listened to God’s voice instead of music, movies, TV, gossip, the phone, etc? Perhaps the city you live in is never quiet, the family you live with is always screaming, or maybe you have roommates or parents that don’t respect your space.

Think about a place in or near your home where you can go and find quiet and a little nature, such as parks and churches. I bought an artificial stone waterfall at a home supply store, and set it up on my patio with plants and flowers around it. That waterfall was my prayer place for many years; it created a “white noise” that shut out some of the city’s constant calls for attention. Some people find that staring into a fire or moving water helps them meditate and focus on God. Don’t forget that Jesus said to pray in your closet. Quiet.

Several times a year, and once a month if possible, I like to spend a weekend in nature and away from people. I enjoy camping in an RV, renting cabins in the mountains, a drive along a rugged beach or even a visit to botanical gardens. The quiet helps me listen to God’s voice, and the nature helps me to see and admire God as an artist and scientist.

Perhaps you are so afraid of your own thoughts or of your own conscience that you fear quiet. As a gay kid growing up in an ultra-conservative protestant home, I knew all about trying to run from my thoughts. It was not enough that I felt almost every kid at school hated me because I was fat, couldn’t catch a football, and was queer. My parents, the teachers and every adult I knew seemed to want to make sure that I understood that “God Hates Homosexuals”, and that I had to hate myself as well. 

Homophobia begins at home, and along with most other gay kids raised in Republican, conservative religious homes in the 1970s, I learned to hate and fear my natural desire for others of my own sex. Such self hatred causes much of the drug abuse, drinking, promiscuous sex, smoking, and other destructive behavior in the gay community today. Since we think God and the world hates us, we try to kill ourselves slowly because we are so bad.

Bare your soul to God in a quiet place every day. If you hate yourself because you are gay, an addict, fat, or some other reason, just tell God about it. He loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life.

If you cannot face your own thoughts without TV, music, drugs, drinking etc, and if you cannot tell God about it, I recommend therapy. Find someone who will listen to you talk, and help you understand yourself better. A good therapist is not someone who tells you what to do or how to live your life. A good therapist is one who holds up a mirror to your life and says “this is what you are doing. Is that what you want to be doing?” But much better if you can just find a spot quiet enough to listen to God’s voice, and speak to Him your prayer “I am your servant Lord, what would you have me do?”

Then Stop.

Long Enough.

To get an Answer.

From God, and not your Wild Imaginings.

Keywords: Guilt, fear, prayer, quiet, peace, Jesus, God, bible, Christian, gay, GLBT, homophobia, republican, it gets better, personal peace 

Slow Down

San Diego Metro Stop
Architectural Photography by
http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

Jesus was never in a hurry for anything. He always completed each task perfectly before He went on to the next one, no matter if it was building a chair in His carpenter shop or turning water into wine. He was never agitated, anxious, worried that he wouldn’t succeed because He was late for an appointment, and He never tried to cut in line to save time. Why?

Ask God to wake you up each morning at His time. For me this takes going bed shortly after the sun goes down, and waking up when the Holy Spirit nudges me in the morning. God includes enough time for all the prayer you need before you start your day. As you go through your day, you will have enough time to allow every child to cross the street without trying to run them over, and every car that needs to merge in front of you has time. Every person in the store, on the street, serving you food, deserves enough of your time to be thoughtful, courteous, pleasant and loving. God is never in a hurry, He is always on time. If you belong to God, and He guides your every footstep, everything you will do tomorrow God already finished preparing for you before you were born. 

Time Square, New York
DennisDavisPhotography.com

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2: 9-11 "For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." Hebrews 4: 2-4 Every good work that God expects from you was finished before the world was created. Why hurry?

Patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and patience comes from trusting God that He is in control of the smallest detail of your life. Maybe being 5 minutes late to work will keep you from being in a 5 car pileup on the freeway. Trust God, and plan to be at every appointment 15 minutes early. When you get there early, you can relax, have some water, use the restroom, and be truly ready instead of showing up sweaty and frustrated because the traffic was so bad.

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His." Hebrews 4: 9,10

All this is really great advice, until you have deadlines, have to be somewhere at a certain time, or have to prepare for something, and don’t feel you have enough time. Then is when you need prayer the most! Sometimes God laughs at our plans, and makes His own. Are you willing to be His tool and let Him control your life? Will you trust that He knows what He is doing, and He hasn’t gotten busy with something or someone else and forgot about you? You are the apple of God’s eye, and this very moment Jesus is thinking about how much He loves you! So slow down, trust God, and “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

keywords: Christian, Jesus, traffic, rest, Sabbath, God, trust, faith, plans, bible, Christ, happy

A one-day detox program for the whole person

Images by Dennis Davis, http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

Whole Person Detox program

Day One – Mental work

You can never change the past. Stop thinking about the past, stop worrying about it, and stop blaming other people and yourself for your past. You cannot change it. It is the past. Weed the words “should” used together with “have” out of your vocabulary. “You should have bought Apple stock when it was $1.22. Now it is $822, and you are broke, what an idiot.” This statement makes no sense at all, as you “should have” done a million things if you could see the future, and make decisions based on an accurate crystal ball. Stop telling yourself and others what they should have done. They didn’t, you didn’t, and it’s in the past. Move on.

Your work for today is to make a list of 10 people in your past that you are blaming for your current situation. Write their names on a piece of paper. Carry the paper with you though out the day. Look at each name on the list. Say to the name “I forgive you for what you did in the past. My blame and hate against you, and my desire for revenge will no longer control me. I repent of my planning to get back at you, and I give up the right to revenge. I will allow the universe and your own goodness or evil to bring upon you what you deserve.

At the end of the day, walk to a quiet place in nature, and burn, bury or somehow destroy the list. Tomorrow morning you never think of those people again, except in a positive light.

Begin a blog, diary, or note or plans about the future. Write down a 10 day goal, a 10 month goal and a 10 year goal. Think about how you can help as many people with your life as possible, and write some specific ideas down. Show what you have written to one other person tomorrow. Write the answer to this question, “If you were given $87.2 billion tomorrow, what would you do with your time, now that you don’t have to work for a living.” I didn’t ask what you would do with the money; I ask how you would spend your time, and how the money would change how you spend your time.

Spiritual Work

Read this prayer three times today, and begin to memorize it.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Images by Dennis Davis, http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will; 

That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

 “You are a worthless, no-good, cheating, lying whore, addicted to food, drugs, substances and self pity.” Admit whatever part of that statement that is true about you, and give the maker of the universe permission to change it right now. Make a written list of 10 things you are sorry for in your past, and forgive yourself and ask you Maker to forgive you Admit one of the things on the list to someone today. Burn, bury or destroy the list with the other one at the end of the day.

Physical Detox - Natural Remedies

Home Track

A sea clay body wrap is a really fast way to detox, and it has the added benefit of helping you lose inches. The one I tried was made with sea clay, activated charcoal, and amino acids. You apply the sea clay to your skin, wrap yourself with bandages, and allow the clay to dry for an hour.

Take 4 activated charcoal capsules today, unless you are abusing drugs or alcohol, in which case you will take 10, these are available at many pharmacies, or can be ordered online. This is not the charcoal that you cook hot dogs and hamburgers over, that has lighter fluid applied to it. This is burned hardwood, but it is burned under pressure. This pressure causes the burned wood to develop thousands of additional holes in each grain of charcoal. These holes adsorb toxins just like a sponge. Activated charcoal powder is used in hospital emergency rooms for poisoning, but in the drug store it is mostly sold for gas. It will turn your poop black, but that is normal.

There are several herbs that are excellent for cleaning and detoxing your liver, red clover, dandelion, milk thistle and golden seal being the most popular. Your local health food store will have most of these.

Find someone to trade massages with, you give them one to get one.

Clinic / Spa Track

Add to the home version a full body massage, Sea Clay body wrap or mud bath, and an enema or colonic treatment. The massage will release toxic waste from your muscles and fat tissues, the sea clay body wrap will absorb the toxins, an enema or colonic will flush fecal matter that has been stuck on the sides of your colon for years down the drain.

Your diet today

You may eat all of the fresh fruit or frozen with nothing on it that you want.

You drink all of the 100 % fruit juice that you want. This does not include juice drinks that are mostly corn syrup or sugar.

Images by Dennis Davis, http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

That is your entire diet for today. No soda, beer, cocktails, coffee, candy, gum, cigarettes etc. will pass your lips.

Exercise

Walk outdoors in nature if possible, as far as you can twice today. 

Copyright 2012 by Dennis Ray Davis, all rights reserved. No part of this document may be used in any way without permission for businesses, however all grade schools and non profits may use it as much as they wish.

Keywords: health, detox, drugs, weed, pot, spiritual health, mental heath, forgiveness, Christian, Jesus, God, higher power, new start, exercise, diet, weight loss, vegan, drug test, marijuana, alcohol, drug detox

Dear President Barrack Obama - about your health

Dear President Barrack Obama,

Vegetarian Gumbo Photo by Dennis Davis
Food Styling by Norman Stewart

You are a hero.

You are an amazing, inspiring person who did for me exactly what you promised, you gave me hope. Your approach towards the Muslim world was the most peaceful; the most respectful I have ever seen. Your wife’s program for obese children has inspired me to give half my income to obese and gay children in 2012. As I am a gay man with a partner of 5 years, you got my undying love with your support for eliminating don’t ask, don’t tell. When Secretary of State Clinton announced that the United States would fight for gay rights where we are oppressed worldwide, I knew you were willing to do the right thing, even when it is not the popular thing.

I think you are doing an excellent job of running the country compared to what I could do, it is an impossible job that no one could do well. I think you are doing just fine compared to the economic disaster President Bush, who cost the world over a trillion dollars worth of war and foreclosures, hunger, poverty, death and destruction. It is not within the scope of my ability to tell you how to run the country, and although I will give you my wish list in another letter, I know you are not Santa Claus, and nobody can make the GOP go away.

I don’t expect you will ever see this letter, but I hope someone on your staff tells you that I believe in you, and I love what you stand for. So here is my list of 10 things you can do to make your life healthier in 2012, which I think would do a real service to our country.

• Spend at least 15 - 30 minutes playing and talking with your children. They are the future of the county, and are wiser and more trust worthy honest advisers than the lobbyists waiting to take your time away from them. Listen to them, learn from them, and let them bless your life.

• Walking is great exercise, and an outdoor walk is a great place to hold a meeting. So anytime you are someplace kind of safe like Camp David or the White House, go for a walk instead of sitting around. Everyone will think more clearly with fresh blood to their head, and they will make better decisions.

• Watch a few YouTube videos about how to give a massage, and give a candlelit massage to your wife. She is your best asset and the one more likely to help you win the next election than anyone else. Michelle is your whole world; make her feel like it tonight. In fact, next time you are on Air Force One and feel like you can’t move, ask for a massage. The health benefits are excellent.

• Find a quiet, private place every day to pour out your heart to God, somewhere you can cry and scream and it will be ok. He is the one running the country, you just follow His orders. Tell God what’s wrong with the country. He already has a solution, and He had it before you were born.

• Never worry about the past. You cannot change it, nothing you can do will make it different, and it is the past. Forget about it. Move on. Live for now. Put this prayer in plain view in the Oval Office, and look read it every time you start to worry.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

• Bill Clinton became a vegan after several near death experiences with his heart. Maybe you should start early. Fruit and vegetable snacks for you at every meeting, no cheese, no sour cream, no butter. See my blog:”Eight reasons to become a vegan” and you will see that adding years to your life and reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke comes from eating strawberries, not the cream.

• You can never make more than 60% of the people happy with anything that you do, so just do what is right, and don’t worry about the result.

• When you get the urge to smoke, say to yourself “I choose not to smoke”. Then try to last 30 seconds. The following things increase your urge to smoke: drinking, spicy foods, fatty meat, stress and being around other smokers. The stress isn’t going away, so see what else you have “the courage to change the things you can” Nothing reduces stress like a hot bath, I recommend 3-5 a week. It is more difficult to smoke in the shower, but even a bath discourages smoking.

• Eat a lemon every day in the winter, it helps prevent colds. The juice is good in herb tea.

• Look into getting an Xbox 360 Kinect camera, and playing Xbox sports with your kids next time it rains. We play Xbox 360 volleyball, bowling, boxing, track and field and many others, and you really sweat!

That’s it. Read my blog vacationingvegan.blogspot.com for 8 reasons to become a vegan and other great articles. God bless you, and watch for my article on how to win the election!


Keywords: Jesus, Christian, God, Gay, Health, Vegan, Barrack Obama, election

Romans 12: 1,2 Surrender in the Shower

Romans 12: 1,2

A scripture song about turning your body over to God. The spiritual talk on the video is about surrender of the will to God, and being born again. Basic Christian teaching in a musical setting.

For more music videos by Ray of Light, a.k.a. Dennis Ray Davis, see www.GuitarMinister.com