Fasting Journal : Fasting Center International

A WORLD-CLASS RESTAURATEUR, 41, SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATES MAJOR LIFE TRANSITION DURING 70-DAY PROGRAM WITH HIS CLOSEST LOVED ONE!

      [NOTE: NO ONE ON EARTH knows more about food preparation and eating than a chef. However, as a tour through most any restaurant in America today reveals, most chefs still have a lot to learn about what to eat, as well as about portion-control.. . .just as a tour through most any hospital in America today reveals that most so-called 'health role-models,' among nurses and even physicians, are anything but."
       Over the past 35 years that Fasting Center International has been blessed as the global leader in our field--with clients on all seven continents, now representing 220 countries--we've provided all our clients with a 60-page "Lifetime Optimum Health Plan" which includes the latest nutritional biochemistry, along with the oldest wisdom from the healthiest, most long-lived cultures on Earth. . .what they're doing we're not.
      And, just as FCI loves working with physicians and nurses to help them, through prolonged, scientific fasting, achieve the greatest clarity of consciousness and enhanced spirituality they've ever experienced, we similarly love working with chefs and restaurant owners for the same reasons. Quite simply, here at FCI, our understanding of our raison d'etre is that by cultivating our own heart of compassion through our service to others, we've happily discovered that what inevitably results is a pure, wholesome joy, as well as a peace that passeth understanding. Hopefully, through our helping so many others on the global stage we're blessed to work on, their enhanced cultivation of their own hearts of compassion will, collectively, help lift humanity in its evolutionary journey toward Oneness with that creative force Christians, Muslims and Jews call God; Buddhists and Jains call Omniscient Mind; Hindus call Brahma; Native Americans call Great Spirit, etc.
      Obviously, those blessed with power positions in the global societies FCI serves have at least the capacity to help affect more of the necessary change--toward the quantum leap in human consciousness necessary for us to leave a world worth inheriting for our children and theirs--simply because of their expanded reach. Thus, it's particularly rewarding when the Universe sends such souls for us to share this marvelous, self-improvement technique with.
      Among California-based restaurateurs, none are more respected or successful than the Patina Group (http://www.patinagroup.com), offering fine dining enhanced by architectural splendor in their signature Pinot restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange County, Napa, and Las Vegas. In downtown Los Angeles, alone, the Patina Group has five restaurants and four cafes, including locations at the Music Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Likewise, you'll find them at the Hollywood Bowl and San Francisco Performing Arts Center. Their catering arm serves everything from Hollywood film openings to the Emmy Awards banquet.
      Along with awarding-winning, world-famous chef Joachim Splichal, the co-founder of the Patina Group is Octavio Becerra, 41, who'd spent several decades as a chef before following his intuitive wisdom to FCI, at a critical juncture of his life which can be described by the phrase 'major transition.' Joining an impressive percentage of FCI clients, worldwide, also arriving at FCI year in and decade out to learn to more skillfully navigate the major life transitions involving body, mind and spirit, Octavio and his wife Susan, a professional photographer, chose to join the majority of FCI clients in doing our most popular, TOTAL Detox. Program (one's chronological age + 17 in number of actual juice-fasting days, plus 5 days to skillfully enter and 5 to intelligently break one's fast). . .70-day Programs, in Octavio's and Susan's cases, with 60 days of actual juice-fasting (although he extended his fast six days so he could finish with her, since she'd signed on nearly a week after he'd begun). Here, then, is Octavio's post-fast testimonial, which he's chosen to begin with the following quote]:

      "It is said that if you want to know what you were doing in the past, look at your body now; if you want to know what will happen to you in the future, look at what your mind is doing now.Ó--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

      "It was over a year ago that I began to have a greater sense of the pending transition I was about to experience. One compelling aspect was that I decided to depart from a restaurant Group I'd co-founded, where I was an integral part of a very busy and result-driven company that set the standard in our respective markets, and had dedicated the last 16 years of my life to helping create the success of that Group.
      "Clearly, 16 years of hard work, focus, personal sacrifice and commitment to my work meant that I subscribed to the work-now-and-live-later ethic of the deferred-life plan. I had bought into it lock, stock and barrel.
      "Fortunately, however, I reached a point where I could not only slow things down, but could actually stop things completely. The Group had reached significant benchmarks which allowed me to bring to a close that chapter in my life, and focus on the next. As part of this transition, I was finally able to take a year's sabbatical, in order to finally dedicate myself to focusing on a handful of very essential elements which I'd managed to overlook far too long.
      "In other words, I'd developed an overwhelming need to re-group, re-generate, re-inspire and ultimately re-create myself. Thus, I felt that in order to get to a state where I could actualize this change, I needed to go through a process of cleansing. Further, I concluded that if I were to reach my new goals, this cleansing had to focus not only on my body, but also on my mind and spirit. This realization took the better part of a full year. . .from intuitive understanding through intellectual planning to commencing the process.
      "Despite having dedicated the past 16 years of my life to the business of creating a fine-restaurant and catering chain, I now realized that the time had come to finally address my own eating habits. Having now been a chef for more than 21 years, I'd long been in the habit of eating everything! Normally, that meant eating nothing but really great products and ingredients--the finest meats, fish, produce, cheeses, etc.--although I ate very little junk-food or sweets. Because of the nature of my hectic schedule and action-packed days, I'd also developed the wonderful habit of eating on the run. Literally, my feedings consisted of a quick, 10-to-15-minute meal, usually taken while standing up doing three other things, or while at my desk ,working on some spreadsheet, menu or other project. Not good.
      "Along the way, I'd also developed the habit of systematically over-eating--initially, eating to feel full, although when I did feel full, my mind and body wanted to feel even more full. Thus, I now had no doubt that I finally needed to address how I ate, what I ate, and why I ate, since I was now 40 pounds overweight and knew I could use the re-alignment, so to speak. I also knew that, left unchecked, I, too, could look forward to suffering from bad health in my later years, and at 41, I still had the opportunity to do something about it.
      "So, with my transformation vision more clearly defined, I decided to maximize this magical moment in my life, so that I could focus not only on my body, but also on my mind, spirit and family. . .more than ever before. And, since my wife and I now had two young sons, I committed to finally ending the deferred-life-plan nonsense, replacing it with a present-life, sustainable program. As part of my evolving life change, I also had a strong, intuitive sense that fasting could be an important part of this transition. So, I began to do my homework, researched the subject thoroughly, and fortunately discovered Fasting Center International and its Founder and Director, Dennis Paulson.
      "It was rather easy, particularly because FCI is one of the top three sites on most search engines--among literally millions of web results a 'fasting' search brings up on all the major ones--but also because I was immediately drawn to what I was reading, and after a brief, 20-minute telephone discussion with Dennis, I realized that what I knew about fasting was very little and usually off the mark. He eloquently guided me to a clear understanding of the potential and even enlightening results which a prolonged, scientific juice and liquid fast could provide. Thus, I was instinctively and intellectually convinced and excited about pursuing this noble cause.
      "Although Dennis encouraged me not to have premeditated expectations regarding this journey, I could not help considering the possibilities, and the things I most anticipated achieving were the mental and spiritual clarity and re-alignment. In many ways, I was tapped out at 41, but knew I was capable of existing at a far higher level of consciousness. Enough of the 'clouded consciousness most all human beings spend their entire life in,' as Dennis puts it.
      "My first week on FCI's Program was rough, primarily because I was not able to procure the liquid supplements I'd ordered to start my fast with, as recommended by FCI (not their fault, but that of unnecessarily slow processing by the supplements' California manufacturer). Resultantly, I feel that I suffered--or, at the very least, that particular lack of specific nutrients did not help my transition--and I have no doubt that it took my body that week or so to catch up to what my mind was already beginning to experience. Fortunately, once the supplements arrived, everything began to flow into a tranquil routine, and what had begun as a mundane, daily routine soon became an inspired reverence I enjoyed immensely! Never had I dedicated a brief part of my daily life to meaningful silence, reading spiritual material, cleansing my body, and simply starting the day with a great sense of inspiration.
      "To add to all of this inspiration, my wife Susan decided, on her own, to join me on this great, noble, Starship FCI journey. I cannot express enough the amazing experiences we shared by doing this together, and could easily write another four or five pages on that aspect, alone. The fact that we both were clearly in synch, searching for more meaning to how we approached certain things in our lives, was brilliant, because the growth-oriented focus was not only physiological, psychological and spiritual, individually, but was clearly also encompassing us, our children, our extended family, our community, and beyond.
      "Along with the volumes of information and material which FCI and Dennis provide you, his support and ultimate, expert supervision were two of the most profound aspects of this journey. His knowledge and wisdom cannot be quantified. The reading material he directed me to, satisfied my hunger for further knowledge about eating more intelligently, as well as about the state of the food chain in this country, gardening, conscious-parenting, spirituality, politics, micro concerns, macro concerns, global concerns, music, and simply really amazing stuff. I don't know how he does what he does, but thank goodness he does!
       "After completing 66 days of actual juice-fasting and skillfully transitioning out, our post-fast experience has also been very interesting, and these are some of the attributes both Susan and I have embraced, post-fast (beyond keeping the unnecessary weight off through more intelligent dietary choices, plus shorter, periodic maintenance fasts): a greater understanding of nutritional biochemistry; a reinvigorated lifestyle, towards optimum health; reinforcement of our body's immune system, or natural healing power; more enlightened conscious-parenting, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. We'd both possessed all of these qualities, to some degree, but this remarkable, transformation journey of body, mind and spirit magnified these qualities, to the point that they will no longer be faded by cloudy consciousness.
      "Susan and I look forward to our Spring cleaning in six months, and plan on doing this annually. And, due to so many inquiries from friends and family, we'll direct many kindred souls to FCI and its Director, Dennis, so that they, too, can become fasting sisters and brothers. I'd like to end with yet another quote by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which continually aided my own focus, and reads:
      "I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life.Ó
      "Earlier, I said that I did not know how Dennis does what he does. . .but I get it now.
      "Dennis. . .as always, peace, big love, big ups, and much reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeespect, Octavio

"P.S. Some physiological facts resulting from my own 76-day Total Detox. Program:
"Weight loss: 60 pounds.
"Total Cholesterol: pre-fast, 209; post-fast, 139.
"Triglycerides: pre-fast, 318; post-fast, 79.
"HDL (good, protective cholesterol): pre-fast, 30; post-fast, 40."

[FCI FOOTNOTE: Those interested to read a similarly successful, post-fast testimonial from the Executive Chef of the Patina Group's Catering arm, Alec Lestr, may do so at (http://www.fasting.com/lestr.html).]

Please come back soon for new additions to FCI's online, archived FASTING JOURNAL!

Any questions, email or phone FCI. Email: FastMaster@fasting.com; phone: 818-590-2536 (know that the best time to catch Founder/Director Dennis Paulson, himself, with the least interruption, is between 10-4, California time). For the Fasting Center International home page, click here: www.fasting.com