the shiitake incident

On Day 3, I was at New Seasons picking up more lemons as well as some groceries for the rest of the family.  One thing on the list: Mushrooms.  I walked over to the mushrooms.  There were beautiful shelves of bulk mushrooms sitting out in open refrigerated air.  The little shiitakes were staring at me.  So, POP, in went one right into my mouth.  The flavor was so intense of nutty, woody, earthiness.  Phenomenal.  I swallowed it down and the flavor continued to linger in the back of my mouth, so woody, so earthy, so strong.  Then I realized, oh s*&%t, I've EATEN a mushroom.  Completely having forgotten I was on a cleanse, and hence, not eating solid food.  Oh well.

On the drive home I began to get incredibly hungry.  Its amazing was one little bite of food will do to kick start your metabolism.  I got home and made a lemonade right away.  Standing in the kitchen, I noticed a squiggly line in my right eye.  I took my glasses off.  Put them back on.  Covered my right eye.  Covered my left eye.  Was it my right eye?  I made another lemonade with some struggle to figure out how to do it.  The line was still there.  Was it getting worse.

"I have to sit down," I said. I sat down.  "I need some water.  Can you bring me some water, please?"  I tried to use my phone but I couldn't really read the screen.  At this point my family was asking if I was alright.  Saying that maybe I should eat something.

Was it the mushroom!?  All mushrooms are fungus.  Perhaps on an empty stomach that hadn't digested solid food in 4 days now had taken in the fungus so quickly I was hallucinating?  I drank some almond milk, which didn't seem to help and waited it out.  The "hallucination" lasted about 20 minutes.  After I felt back to normal and it never happened again the entire rest of the cleanse.

Hmmm....

photo source: wikipedia

My friend John mentioned that when he's done Master Cleanses in the past, he has noticed things he does without thought as well, much like my popping a mushroom in my mouth at the grocery store.  Another benefit of the cleanse: becoming aware of our automatic impulses to do things.  "It can really help with awareness of other blind reactions floating around our psyche." This helps bring us to the present moment so we can truly live in it.  Thanks, John!