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| Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. (Swedish proverb) |
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
(Sicilian proverb) |
Your friend is that man who knows all about you, and still
likes you. (Elbert Hubbard) |
You can always tell a real friend; when you've made a fool of
yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job. (Laurence J. Peter) |
Friends are family you choose for yourself. |
| 2006 January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 September, 2006 Starting the day with black-color grapes. Amazingly hydrating and energizing experience. I felt still a little dehydrated, and tired, after my recent relapses. Thankfully, I know it will pass. I am making it a Fuji apples day today. Fuji is one of my favourite types of apple (the other is Red Delicious). They are crisp and juicy, yet sweet (I don't like sour tasting apples). I find apples great for cleansing cooked food residues from the system. I will keep in touch. See you later! 4 September, 2006 If you've never done it before, try this: oranges for breakfast. I cut them in halves, and then each half in not-too thick moon-like shapes. Then I put them in my mouth and let my teeth do the job. Juice pouring into my mouth. Total bliss. I am soooo glad that it is not too hard to go back to raw. It could have been a battle with cravings, but, somehow, I am right back into it!!! :)))) I love this post by Nora: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rawschool/message/9963 And, this post by Audrey: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rawschool/message/9985 5 September, 2006 Simply inspiring: http://rawveganradio.podOmatic.com/entry/2006-09-04T17_29_29-07_00 I am so glad I listened to this. All that Doug says, clicks with me. I highly recommend it! I've been having a mental feast recently. :)))) Thanks the Universe. 6 September, 2006 Yes, yes, yes!!! I am finding after three years of being raw that I am still learning! In particular, I am finding that I still need to make improvements to my diet, or I will not feel at my best. It's as if my body was constantly saying "Yes, I like what you've done, great, thanks. Now, I also want ...". I am finding that these improvements are going in the direction of * simpler eating * more fruit * less fat Yesterday, for example, I thought that I needed some fat, or I would not satisfy my hunger. But also, I realized recently that a lof of holding back begins in my mind. So, instead of relying on my preconcieved ideas, I went for sweet Fuji apples. And ... I felt great! As Doug has said: "The Four Major Warning Signs of Eating
Insufficient Quantities of Fresh Fruit
by Dr. Doug Graham 1. If you ever crave sweets at the end of any meal, you have undereaten of sufficient sweetness from fresh fruit at the beginning of that meal. 2. If you ever desire heavy foods (avocado, nuts, seeds, etc.) at the end of a meal, you have undereaten of sufficient sweetness from fresh fruit at the beginning of that meal. 3 If at any time of day you wish to consume refined sugars such as candy, alcohol, chocolate, cakes, or dried fruit, you have undereaten of sufficient sweetness from fresh fruit at the preceding meal. 4. If at any time you are willing to even consider starchy foods (bread, rice, potatoes, corn, pasta, etc) as a source of sustenance, you have undereaten of sufficient sweetness from fresh fruit at the preceding meal. The solution, in all four instances, is to eat fresh fruit. Learn from your experiences. Eat sufficiently of fresh fruit and all food cravings will cease. OF course, continue to eat all the fresh tender greens that you care for, as well." My recent realization that I need to make yet again further improvements to my diet and the only thing that holds me back from it is my own preconceived ideas, set me off to the new level. I'm so glad for it! 7 September, 2006 I only begin to understand the processes that happen when I have cravings. Yesterday afternoon, I really wanted to go and get some salted nuts. In the past it was very hard for me to resist. I decided to just try and have some sweet Fuji apples instead and see how I would feel. And, I felt fine! The urge to eat salted nuts went away and I felt great. In the evening, when I got home, I had a salad with 1/2 avocado. I was really eating my salad selectively, going for the avo. Then, I could not finish the salad. The greens in my mouth suddenly felt yuck, so I stopped eating. Later, about 9 pm I thought I was feeling hungry. I had this funny restless feeling and I could not sleep. In the past, I would go and have some bananas, and then would be able to sleep. This time, I thought, I will try a different method, and not eat so late during the day. I had lots of water. Finally, I was able to fall asleep. I am wondering. Was it hunger? Or, was my body detoxing from stimulating things I had had in the past? Or, was I dehydrated from having had a dehydrated buckwheat-flax pizza a night earlier? Or, all of above? And, why did I not like the salad? Why would I go for fat, only to find myself feeling uncomfortable later, when trying to fall asleep? Should I have had more fruit in the evening? Too many questions lol! Something that I wrote today and would like to share with you: I tend to think that there is a risk in relying on the intelectual truths, because people's ideas are only a reflection of how they understand the nature, which often is only a poor reflection. This is why in my learning, rather than assume the published material (scientific papers, books on nutrition, on-line articles etc.) to be the ultimate and the only valid source of truth, I choose to learn from nature. This include observing my own body, and in particular its senses. In my view, all the knowledge is available, it is simply a matter of abandoning many of our preconceived ideas, and relying on instincts instead. I believe that humans do have the ability to follow their instinct. To me, this it the only healthy way of being, and so this is the path that I choose. It is 9:30 a.m. and I still do not feel like eating. I feel more kind off like vomiting, or something like that. Sort of yucky feeling. ??? Awww, I must share this. You sure have seen some before raw and after raw photos, but have you ever seen a before cooked photo yet? Check this out!!!: http://www.raw-pleasure.com.au/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,71/topic,1653.0 8 September, 2006 Wow! I decided to adopt a different from previous approach to to those moments when I experience cravings, which in the past would often result in me reaching for craved food. I also decided to adopt a different approach to those moments when I feel uncomfortable, which in the past would often result in me reaching for food. This is my little experiment. And, so far, I discovered that: * When hungry and think that I crave something, say salt, but do not act on it and have sweet juicy fruit instead, I feel fine, and cravings go away. * When I feel uncomfortable and think that I should eat, despite having eaten enough earlier, or despite it being too late for eating (like 9 p.m.), but do not act on it and have plenty of water instead, the uncomfortable feeling goes away. I've been doing this for only a few days, so it is hard to tell where this will lead me. Anyway, I will report later on. Ciao! 11 September, 2006 It seems that I am shrinking further (not in muscles but fat). I am fairly determined to get rid of my excess fat, because of a small cyst on my head. I had another one like that removed a few years ago. I believe that in order for the cyst to go, or at least, in order for me not to have any more problems like that, I have to cleanse completely. So, I've been "muting" my cravings and sticking with raw. By muting the cravings I mean that if I observe them, I acknowledge them, but choose not to act on them, and choose raw instead. Unfortunately, at this wonderful time of my new experiences, we have had a hard time reconsidering raw, due to our problems with the budget. Since we'been all raw, the amount of money we spend on food is more than we can afford in the longer term. We've been seriously thinking of putting the stove back in, and reducing the expenditure by switching to high raw (with rice, beans and vegies). This has been very difficult issue to consider, because our bodies do not like the cooked. At the same time, we have to do something about our budget. So far, the decision is not to do it. I hope so much that we will be able to find some solution. :((( 15 September, 2006 If Luke's recent job proves to be a success, things will get easier. I am hopeful. In the recent few days of my raw journey, I've been going through moments of feeling very uncomfortable, but sticking to it, and the moments of feeling great. I am giving myself time, 'cause I know that these processes take time. What processes? Some call it detox. :) 22 September, 2006 I've been talking about our recent "$$$ and stove" issues to raw foodists at Raw Pleasure, an Australian raw food forum. I am touched by people's response. Beside a good handful of tips, I got some supportive comments from people who were willing to accept me without condemnation (although, to be fair, some of those who I had used to think of as shiny souls, have dissapointed me by their inability to empathise). If you ever wonder which forum to visit, this one is certainly a nice one! Yesterday, we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate Luke's mum's visit (we accomodate her cooked preferences). The chef had a chat with us, a lovely man we thought. Anyway, I noticed that he looked quite healthy for a cooked foodist, he had bright eyes and glowing skin. This made me think that perhaps it is possible to be healthy on cooked... Luke asked him what he was doing to stay healthy. And, the response was that he was doing raw juices for breakfast and then salads for lunch! Ha ha ha ha! Silly me! The chef got interested in our food preferences and grabbed our recipe for a raw bread (buckwheat pizza base). We had a lovely time, by the way. (Not all-raw day, just high-raw. I like letting the kids make their own observations about how they feel. Ultimately, their lifestyle is up to them. I am satisifed with good patterns having been established. Same can be said about Luke and I.) I would love to visit a raw restaurant in Hobart if such existed. Even if a non-specifically raw restaurant offered a range of raw dishes, I would be delighted to explore it. I've been listening to the interview at Raw Vegan Radio with Doug Graham again. (I put it below for your convenience.) Listening to Doug is like feeling a breeze of fresh air. It helps me understand my own experiences better. It reassures me too. What I am going throguh is part of the process, not the end of it. There is far more to experience yet! And, I agree, diet is not everything. I finally had a go at some exercising. I've been iddle for such a long time, not feeling like exercising at all. But recently, something's changed, I find myself wanting to move. Click here to get your own player. Odys has been eating lots and lots of apples ever since he became a raw foodist. He prefers the crisp-and-sweet types, like Fuji, for example. He also eats other fruit and salads. As Odys is slightly autistic, sometimes I've been wondering whether I should encourage him to have another fruit as his staple as well. But after a visit to orthondist, I had a thought that perhaps Odys instinctively chooses what best for him. You see, Odys's top jaw is smaller than his bottom jaw. Although the dentists generally say that it is uncommon for the top jaw to increase in size after certain age (about 8 if I remember well), it appears that Odys's top jaw did grow a bit. We are going to have an x-ray done in December this year, and measure how much growth has occured in the last year. Anyway, the orthodontist mentioned that eating lots of apples, and so exercising the jaw, could have such an effect. And, this is exactly what Odys was doing in the recent couple of years! Odys's diet has changed dramatically in the recent few years. From a cooked foodist with stinky breath, reoccuring ear infections and very pale face, he turned into a fresh-breath healthy boy with some color in his face. He is still pretty skinny, but has far more meat on his body than before (he is still growing mostly upwards). next |