Mr. Chattering and one of our sons once saw a stranger accidentally drop a full paper cup of coffee onto the street. “Oh!” said Mr. Chattering. And our son asked innocently, “Why did you say ‘oh’?”

Mr. Chattering answered: “Because, honey, when you see a grown-up drop their coffee it’s sort of like seeing a child let go of a helium balloon. It’s very sad.”

I strongly disagree. I say, “Yes! Drop your coffee!” I wish Mr. Chattering would purge himself of his own java habit. We actually argue about it. True, while tiresome medical studies have agreed that coffee probably won’t give you any specific diseases, the fact remains that it is a stimulant that your body doesn’t need. In fact, once you adjust, your body will thrive in its absence.

Oh, don’t think I haven’t dabbled. Chattering Mind remembers when, many years ago, she started the day with a couple of cigarettes and huge styrofoam cup of Joe, sweetened with sugar and–horrors!–non-dairy creamer. Been there. Done all that.

But I changed. Today, my body is a temple. And now an exciting new book called “Chakra Tonics: Essential Elixirs for the Mind, Body, and Spirit” has crossed my desk to remind me that, even coffee-less, I can run cleaner and get healthier. Author Elise Marie Collins says,

“Many popular drinks consumed in Western culture are depleted of vitality. Coffee, alcohol, sodas, some processed juices, and even some types of filtered water are lifeless as well as detrimental to the physical health of the body. In the scientific approach to health, drinks are not evaluated in terms of chi, or universal life force. Instead, it is the amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals they contain that matters. When examined from a mystical point of view, on the other hand, beverages are found to be either potent vehicles of life-affirming power or transporters of soul-deadening energies.”

She divides the book into chapters that define the vortexes of energy along the spine. Then she recommends highly original recipes for drinks you can make with your juicer (you do have a juicer, don’t you?) and blender to get yourself rockin’ and rollin’ without caffeine!

I know my root chakra–which governs ailments of the blood like anemia, as well as the finances, and kinship with the mother–still needs more attention and suport. Collins wants me on more red vegetables like beets and rhubarb.

Oh Lord, when will all the fine tuning end? Clearly, never. And that’s the fun of it.