Join Hyacinth, Sharon, Tricia and I, as we speak about how to feel successful and empowered in today's world! A wonderful show!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Response about Authentic Self
This is in response to my blog post: Authentic Family Living
Hello (un)relaxeddad,
Thank you so much for your comment! I love to consider your socratic questions! Beautiful thoughts for my walk this morning.... Here are my responses:
1. One might argue that the moment you put "Authentic" in bold type, you're a) creating a label and b) implicitly suggesting that there is such a think as in-authentic family living.
A)Yes, one might argue that. And what I really was doing was sharing that I was creating a new community... http://AuthenticFamilyLiving.ning.com
So I tried to share the title clearly in bold...
Is it a Label? I consider a label static, non-changing, so according to my own belief, it is not a label as Living is an action word. So not so much a label, more of a definition. Of course, I could be very wrong, I often am...
B)Yes, I believe there are thousands of people who walk around living in-authentic lives... I was one of them. Sometimes, I still catch myself in a "role" that someone else told me about or I am making choices that are practical over what I believe is true in my heart.
Basically, living authentically is an active practice not a static label. So if you are not actively practicing the art of living authentically, you are in-authentic at that moment. Some of us choose that way of living for years and decades.
However, the beauty of this new community is it doesn't matter what you are doing. If you are interested in being there, you are welcome. Your choice becomes the path to authentic living!
2. It's very hard to avoid making walls, foundations and structures, even in the form of a kind of 'negative' - and is it possible to build any kind of self without them?
I love this question the most! Is it possible to build a sense of self without structures built from labels?
I believe YES! If you allow your authentic living to occur, something will soon come to pass in your life: You will want to change who you are. This may happen moment to moment or decade to decade. When you hear stories of the lawyer who became an artist or a doctor who became a plumber, you are fascinated because they took a risk to live authentically. They broke down the structures they built with the labels they created and took a turn.
Of course, this may also happen when the artist becomes a CPA or the hippie becomes a Wall Street millionaire, though I am not sure if those stories sell like the other ones do...
I changed from pink princess, to punker, to vogue fashion, to new-waver, to hippie, to country music 2-stepper, to new-ager, to conservative democratic, to what I do now... Changing who I am from label to label to becoming more and more un-label-able... though I am sure some people out there feel like they could try.
The reason is, I am open to change. That is the beauty of my freedom of choice as I live authentically.
I wrote the post because I was excited about the discovery of finding a label (unschooler) that had created a structure in my life that would tumble if I took the label away. This discovery was exciting for me and inspired me to create the Authentic Family Living community. A label may be a title, but a title does not always a label make, right?
I practice to be honest to everyone (including you) who asks what I love, which changes moment to moment, sometimes hour to hour or decade to decade.
Who would you be without your labels? Who is the self? Who am I?
Yes, deep and profound, and yet, the answer is there... actively moving, blowing in the wind...
Thank you for connecting and asking me your beautiful questions. It was just what I wanted to hear...
smiles and joy,
Rain
Hello (un)relaxeddad,
Thank you so much for your comment! I love to consider your socratic questions! Beautiful thoughts for my walk this morning.... Here are my responses:
1. One might argue that the moment you put "Authentic" in bold type, you're a) creating a label and b) implicitly suggesting that there is such a think as in-authentic family living.
A)Yes, one might argue that. And what I really was doing was sharing that I was creating a new community... http://AuthenticFamilyLiving.ning.com
So I tried to share the title clearly in bold...
Is it a Label? I consider a label static, non-changing, so according to my own belief, it is not a label as Living is an action word. So not so much a label, more of a definition. Of course, I could be very wrong, I often am...
B)Yes, I believe there are thousands of people who walk around living in-authentic lives... I was one of them. Sometimes, I still catch myself in a "role" that someone else told me about or I am making choices that are practical over what I believe is true in my heart.
I describe "authentic" as honest, present and original.
Honesty is allowing your truth to come from inside your body. Ask your heart, "What am I feeling right now?" Being honest is allowing your moods and preferences to change moment to moment.
The present is always now and your awareness of the here and now happens in your mind when listening, seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling everything in the moment right now. Living in the present is active, never stuck, labeled or designated.
Being original is connecting with the divine spirit and your unique journey. Before you created and believed the "stories" that caused suffering (look up Byron Katie on Google), your spirit was free and lived as an observer. Stories, although fun around a campfire, cloud your ability to express yourself as an original masterpiece with a journey all your own.
Honesty is allowing your truth to come from inside your body. Ask your heart, "What am I feeling right now?" Being honest is allowing your moods and preferences to change moment to moment.
The present is always now and your awareness of the here and now happens in your mind when listening, seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling everything in the moment right now. Living in the present is active, never stuck, labeled or designated.
Being original is connecting with the divine spirit and your unique journey. Before you created and believed the "stories" that caused suffering (look up Byron Katie on Google), your spirit was free and lived as an observer. Stories, although fun around a campfire, cloud your ability to express yourself as an original masterpiece with a journey all your own.
Basically, living authentically is an active practice not a static label. So if you are not actively practicing the art of living authentically, you are in-authentic at that moment. Some of us choose that way of living for years and decades.
However, the beauty of this new community is it doesn't matter what you are doing. If you are interested in being there, you are welcome. Your choice becomes the path to authentic living!
2. It's very hard to avoid making walls, foundations and structures, even in the form of a kind of 'negative' - and is it possible to build any kind of self without them?
I love this question the most! Is it possible to build a sense of self without structures built from labels?
I believe YES! If you allow your authentic living to occur, something will soon come to pass in your life: You will want to change who you are. This may happen moment to moment or decade to decade. When you hear stories of the lawyer who became an artist or a doctor who became a plumber, you are fascinated because they took a risk to live authentically. They broke down the structures they built with the labels they created and took a turn.
Of course, this may also happen when the artist becomes a CPA or the hippie becomes a Wall Street millionaire, though I am not sure if those stories sell like the other ones do...
I changed from pink princess, to punker, to vogue fashion, to new-waver, to hippie, to country music 2-stepper, to new-ager, to conservative democratic, to what I do now... Changing who I am from label to label to becoming more and more un-label-able... though I am sure some people out there feel like they could try.
The reason is, I am open to change. That is the beauty of my freedom of choice as I live authentically.
I wrote the post because I was excited about the discovery of finding a label (unschooler) that had created a structure in my life that would tumble if I took the label away. This discovery was exciting for me and inspired me to create the Authentic Family Living community. A label may be a title, but a title does not always a label make, right?
I practice to be honest to everyone (including you) who asks what I love, which changes moment to moment, sometimes hour to hour or decade to decade.
Who would you be without your labels? Who is the self? Who am I?
Yes, deep and profound, and yet, the answer is there... actively moving, blowing in the wind...
Thank you for connecting and asking me your beautiful questions. It was just what I wanted to hear...
smiles and joy,
Rain
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Time For Play
There are many studies out that show how play is extremely important for children's development.
I am here to share that play is extremely important for EVERYONE'S development.
The idea that we stop developing is a theory that I do not subscribe to. We develop as long as we are open to it. As long as we continue to try new things, take new risks, and explore our universe, we will develop our minds, bodies and spirits.
It is only when you decide you know it all.
It is only when you decide you are too old to learn.
It is only when you decide you are too tired to do anything new.
It is only when you decide...
So for today, I ask that you RISK everything you have planned for the day and PLAY!
Play like a child without worry or guilt and explore what happens when you stop living life by the rules YOU have created.
Have a blessed day!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Inspiring for Energy
The best way to relax your energy down or raise your energy up is as simple as one word.
That word is:
BREATHE
You may think this is an over-simplification. Yes, most of the best things in life are simple. Let’s take a deeper look at what we do when we breathe.
We inhale and exhale.
We inspire and expire.
How many of us truly pay attention to our breathing pattern? It is an automatic function of our body to keep us alive, yet when we take a deep breath into our belly, something shifts inside us. Take three or more deep breaths and slowly watch your whole world begin to look differently. Why is this?
In Hatha yoga classes the instructors will begin and end with deep breathing exercises. You breathe deeply at the beginning of the class to increase oxygen flow to the muscles and brain and to aide in energy flow of your body. You breathe deeply at the end to calm your muscles and brain and to aide in relaxation and meditation during the corpse pose.
Your breath is extremely powerful if using it is a way to create both energy levels in your body by breath alone! Some might say it is the spirit that lives within us!
How can you use this same technique to create the energy before a challenging day as well as the relaxation desired at the end of the day? I would like to tell you it’s simple to do. Of course if that were true, everyone would be doing it and we know that they don’t and many of us don’t either.
No, there is something else a bit deeper that stops people from breathing for health, relaxation and energy. The reason is a natural reaction and everyone does it. We do it without thinking. We do it and it goes unnoticed by any doctor, friend, and family member. It is a “secret” of sorts that no one really seems to talk about.
We stop breathing when we think life might not be worth living.
What?! I hear the defenses going up. Before you stop reading… let me explain.
What do you do when you hear bad news? What do you do if you think you might fall? What do you do when you feel the negative past “experiences” might possibly be up for a rerun? What do you do when you feel any lower energy emotional feeling? Start noticing and you will see.
You… Hold… Your… Breath… ... .. .. . .
It is an instinct. It stops time and life for a moment for us to think and process. The minute we realize there is some possibility worth living for, we start to breathe.
The reason might be just for the excitement of the negative drama (yes we love them, don’t we?), for the love of a fight, just to see what will happen next, for the realization that we will survive… we will be okay… we will be just fine… then it happens… huuuuuuuhhhhhh…. we inhale… we inspire.
Whether or not you decide to start your own personal study of when you breathe, it’s easy to notice that breathing is an act of life. Will you choose life? And what kind of life will you choose?
a shallow life
a quick life
a hurried life
an excited life
an out-of-control life
a slow life
a deep life
a full belly life
a thoughtful life
or a rhythmic life
The most beautiful thing is that you get to choose by the practice of your breathing pattern. It really works and you can use your breath to get through any challenging situation with confidence and the energy you never thought you had!
Breathe for high energy. Stand confidently tall as you relax your shoulders and body. Take a deep breath in your nose and allow your diaphragm to move out, expanding your belly. Next, exhale out your mouth and notice your belly contracting back in. Breathe into your belly again in just 4 seconds and this time imagine a pure white light is coming in filled with buzzing, joyful energy. Hold your breath for 4 seconds as the tired and old energy mixes into your lungs. Exhale out in just 4 seconds and imagine all of that old, tired and heavy energy is leaving you. Breathe in this fast way at least 5 times and feel your world power up!
Breathe to lower energy. Sit in a relaxed way as you take a deep breath in through your nose, again into your belly and out your mouth. Breathe into your belly again slowly working to slow yourself down to an 6-8-second inhale and this time imagine wisdom coming into the breath to serve you. Hold your breath for only 2-3 seconds as you absorb the wisdom of the ages. Breathe out slowly for 8 seconds as you let go of all the stress of the moment. Wait for 2-4 seconds between breaths. One of these will relax you and can be done in any stressful moment.
Just remember staying in awareness and noticing if you stop breathing is a practice. Be kind to yourself! As with learning any new instrument, it takes practice to begin and a decade to master. Start now and watch your inspired life begin!
Copyright 2009 Rain Fordyce
excerpt from her now FREE magazine, http://AuthenticTimes.com
Monday, March 16, 2009
Authentic Family Living
I admit it, I got caught up in labels. In my quest to explain to other parents how we raise our children, I called ourselves "unschoolers." I didn't start this way. In fact my life has been one of evolving thought and action.
We started as private schoolers. Then we moved and became public schoolers. We started homeschooling in the middle of my son's 2nd grade year and I discovered right away that I was not leaning towards a structured homeschool life. I created a group for Independent Homeschoolers and for the first time, I loved the moms and the kids we were meeting. All of our children and us moms became like family (and still are) and we grew into a beautiful group. (These are the friends in my children's book!) One good friend and I spoke about how we were unschooling as we didn't seem to care about curriculum. It made sense and I have thought of myself as an "unschooler" ever since. We moved again and now my boys both have best friends who are very nice schooled children from our neighborhood.
Until yesterday. I was told by a popular advocate for the unschooling community that I was not, in fact, an "unschooler." Here is why:
My children do not have the choice to not brush their teeth.
I call it a "non-negotiable" in our home. For this word I have chosen and this rule, I have been told I am not who I thought I was. Hmmm....
I know I am definitely not a "radical unschooler." I love to hang out with them and I love to talk philosophy, as they will always welcome a talk about philosophy. I do belong to a radical unschooling community website. It floored me when this unschooling advocate (and good friend) told me this. I literally sat on the floor and didn't know what to think. After all, I am speaking at 2 unschooling conferences. What am I to do?
So I decided to have a conversation with my oldest son. I asked him what he thought and asked him how many non-negotiables do we live by. He told me he thought he was an unschooler and that there were 3.
1. Do your chart in the morning by 11am (this is brush hair, brush teeth, get dressed and make bed. The only non-negotiable is brush teeth however... the other issues are really their choice unless they want to play with their friends... well most days...)
2. Eat most of your dinner (not all) if you want dessert. (since we had cake for breakfast yesterday, I am thinking this isn't a true non-negotiable all day, but I guess for dinner it is mostly true.)
3. Get off of the computer when we ask. (well... again... most days and when they finish their game or whatever else they might be up to...)
I thought about these rules, defined by my son. I asked him how he thought about them. He said he didn't mind them, except for the computer. He wished he could have more freedom with the computer. My son and I had a beautiful talk. We talked about possible ideas to grow, our philosophies and what brings us joy. He is simply amazing and I love the way he processes and thinks!
When I checked in with myself how I felt about these parameters and the one true non-negotiable of brushing teeth, they felt good, though I am thinking to shift and expand the computer parameter.
The label "unschooler," because I have used it as a label for myself in public, has become a bigger deal than I cared about than when I first took the label on. People truly care about this label and defend it, by letting me know when I am leaving the boundaries of it. Labels make it easy to explain to others what you are doing.
I don't want to ever feel I need to defend my choices to anyone. The choices our family makes are well thought out, talked about with everyone in it and work for our family lifestyle. Most importantly these choices are all consistently EVOLVING. Right now, I am 100% in alignment with where we are.
I ask you, "What labels do you have that have built structures of who you are that if you were truly honest with everyone or even changed your mind, would tumble and fall?"
So who are we? I spoke to a good friend about my thoughts and out of my mouth was Authentic Family Living. She was excited and we are going to start a community of parents and children who are ready to say YES to their own choices. No experts needed, just open family conversations where we practice to trust our own judgment and intuition.
Authentic Families:
Are you ready?
We started as private schoolers. Then we moved and became public schoolers. We started homeschooling in the middle of my son's 2nd grade year and I discovered right away that I was not leaning towards a structured homeschool life. I created a group for Independent Homeschoolers and for the first time, I loved the moms and the kids we were meeting. All of our children and us moms became like family (and still are) and we grew into a beautiful group. (These are the friends in my children's book!) One good friend and I spoke about how we were unschooling as we didn't seem to care about curriculum. It made sense and I have thought of myself as an "unschooler" ever since. We moved again and now my boys both have best friends who are very nice schooled children from our neighborhood.
Until yesterday. I was told by a popular advocate for the unschooling community that I was not, in fact, an "unschooler." Here is why:
My children do not have the choice to not brush their teeth.
I call it a "non-negotiable" in our home. For this word I have chosen and this rule, I have been told I am not who I thought I was. Hmmm....
I know I am definitely not a "radical unschooler." I love to hang out with them and I love to talk philosophy, as they will always welcome a talk about philosophy. I do belong to a radical unschooling community website. It floored me when this unschooling advocate (and good friend) told me this. I literally sat on the floor and didn't know what to think. After all, I am speaking at 2 unschooling conferences. What am I to do?
So I decided to have a conversation with my oldest son. I asked him what he thought and asked him how many non-negotiables do we live by. He told me he thought he was an unschooler and that there were 3.
1. Do your chart in the morning by 11am (this is brush hair, brush teeth, get dressed and make bed. The only non-negotiable is brush teeth however... the other issues are really their choice unless they want to play with their friends... well most days...)
2. Eat most of your dinner (not all) if you want dessert. (since we had cake for breakfast yesterday, I am thinking this isn't a true non-negotiable all day, but I guess for dinner it is mostly true.)
3. Get off of the computer when we ask. (well... again... most days and when they finish their game or whatever else they might be up to...)
I thought about these rules, defined by my son. I asked him how he thought about them. He said he didn't mind them, except for the computer. He wished he could have more freedom with the computer. My son and I had a beautiful talk. We talked about possible ideas to grow, our philosophies and what brings us joy. He is simply amazing and I love the way he processes and thinks!
When I checked in with myself how I felt about these parameters and the one true non-negotiable of brushing teeth, they felt good, though I am thinking to shift and expand the computer parameter.
The label "unschooler," because I have used it as a label for myself in public, has become a bigger deal than I cared about than when I first took the label on. People truly care about this label and defend it, by letting me know when I am leaving the boundaries of it. Labels make it easy to explain to others what you are doing.
The problem with labels is that they begin to build walls, foundations and structures of who you are.
I don't want to ever feel I need to defend my choices to anyone. The choices our family makes are well thought out, talked about with everyone in it and work for our family lifestyle. Most importantly these choices are all consistently EVOLVING. Right now, I am 100% in alignment with where we are.
I realized when my unschooling friend said I wasn't an "unschooler" she was actually setting me FREE from my label structure that was being built!
I ask you, "What labels do you have that have built structures of who you are that if you were truly honest with everyone or even changed your mind, would tumble and fall?"
So who are we? I spoke to a good friend about my thoughts and out of my mouth was Authentic Family Living. She was excited and we are going to start a community of parents and children who are ready to say YES to their own choices. No experts needed, just open family conversations where we practice to trust our own judgment and intuition.
Authentic Families:
- have no rules or parameters about who is in and who is out. You choose. You choose if you want to practice living Authentically.
- If you are in alignment with your ideals or are evolving towards it, you are Authentic, mistakes and all!
- Perfection is not part of our reality! Being human IS!
- Being honest, evolving and creating joy along the way are the families we are looking for!
- You can be an Authentic Family whether you school, homeschool, or unschool. Together we can learn ideas from each other and choose what works best for us.
Are you ready?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
It's a Beautiful Month....ly cycle!
So the last two days, I thought I might have been going through another detox, Yikes!
However joyously today, I found I was just getting my monthly cycle. Who knew? With low symptoms (lots of spaciness,) I woke up to my period and found that I haven't gained a pound! What? I usually gain 5 pounds the week of my period and spend the next 3 weeks slowly falling back until I gain it back again. I have done this for years.
Since I have been on raw food (2 weeks now) I have lost 11 pounds. But then the weight loss stopped. Since I didn't do this to lose weight (read the last 6 posts and find out how it happened), I didn't take much notice as I continued to eat whatever I wanted, which for right now is 100% raw food. I have been feeling mostly good and high energy.
Let me tell you I haven't felt sooooo AMAZING on my period... well, since I can REMEMBER! This morning I got up and danced and danced for 40 minutes feeling connected to the beauty of the universe!
Raw food has given me the clarity and energy to live during a time I usually feel like I am dying. Yes, this IS right. This is where my body wants to be!
Yahoo!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Raw Food Surprise - part 6
This is the final blog and part 6 of my journey into raw food. Stay tuned, I will be writing more about it as my journey continues with Raw Food!
My Trip to the Colon Hydrotherapist
Seriously, if you would have asked me a week just a week before to go and have a tube inserted in my b***...
Well, let's just say, I wasn't keen to the idea before... The truth was simply I was loving my smoothies, though not very excited about the symptoms of my detox and I was told I would feel better with colon hydrotherapy. So I made an appointment for the colonic and this is when my craving of fats kicked into high gear!
I was craving fats! I had 2 to 3 types of nuts or seeds soaking in bowls for the day. I found some raw seed crackers to spread olives onto... lots of olives in olive oil. I was eating whole avocados, found a passion for raw cashew butter and eating coconut oil from the jar!
Oh yeah, fats feel SOOO good!
Thanks to a brilliant new community site called Women In the Raw, I met a women, Amy, who shared that my body was craving fats to slow the detox process down. This made a lot of sense to me. Because I WAS feeling a whole lot better. The crazy news is that I am still losing weight, in fact 2 more pounds. I didn't go into this to lose weight and I was 7 pounds from when I started. I was feeling better every day!
I wanted to know more... I had researched a lot of different ways to eat raw food. Lentils were sprouting on my windowsill. This is big because I have never made sprouts before in my life! I have recipes for raw pizza, soups, salads, dips and so much more... I found Pure Jeevan and recieved a whole list of free recipes! Wendi Dee also has a great story about her journey into raw food.
So here is the thing. I already had the appointment for the colonic and I didn't want to back out. I wanted to feel better. So I went. I did it. It wasn't what I had hoped for... I know many people rave about them, even a girlfriend of mine. This is my honest opinion and since this is my Authentic Blog, I want to share my experience. Please note, I haven't eaten meat for 22 years and have been doing about 90% raw for over a week prior to this day...
The place I went to was a center for healing. The woman was very nice and had been doing colonics for 10 years. The place was clean and I received a new personal packet for my colonic (this is VERY important). She kept me as comfortable as possible and we laughed quite a bit. It lasted for about an hour... more than I would have liked. Afterwards, I only lost 1/2 pound (I have heard reports of up to 10 pounds) and she said I secreted bile.
She said I would want to go again for 2 more sessions in the next two days in a row... which I already knew I would not want to do. I didn't receive any pre or post information to help me on my journey.
Of course, the one hour experience itself wasn't so bad, it was afterwards that I suffered. I had a lot of pain and was extremely crampy inside. This brought up a lot of anger and irritability in me as well. This may have been due to the bile from my liver which Louise Hay says is where we hold our anger. The next day I felt a bit better, though still a little crampy inside and my emotions were back to a comfortable joyous tone. Ahhh.....
Honestly, I had no positive feelings with my colonic. I didn't experience a lightened body feeling or increased energy from this experience (even with the coffee) that I had read about on-line. I did feel "cleaned out," but who wouldn't?
The Bottom Line (I had to say it) is I didn't feel much better, I felt worn out and tired for two days. Because I was not counseled before or after, I am not sure if this is common or not. I chalk it all up to experience and life.
On a higher energy note... Since I wrote my peace treaty on food, I have lost 11 pounds! I have not deprived myself of food at all! I have eaten whole avocados, cashew butter (yum) and tons of yummy fruity green smoothies. At this point I am 100% raw for the past 5 days! What will happen next?
Stay tuned for the continuing posts on my journey into raw food every week!
My Trip to the Colon Hydrotherapist
Seriously, if you would have asked me a week just a week before to go and have a tube inserted in my b***...
Well, let's just say, I wasn't keen to the idea before... The truth was simply I was loving my smoothies, though not very excited about the symptoms of my detox and I was told I would feel better with colon hydrotherapy. So I made an appointment for the colonic and this is when my craving of fats kicked into high gear!
I was craving fats! I had 2 to 3 types of nuts or seeds soaking in bowls for the day. I found some raw seed crackers to spread olives onto... lots of olives in olive oil. I was eating whole avocados, found a passion for raw cashew butter and eating coconut oil from the jar!
Oh yeah, fats feel SOOO good!
Thanks to a brilliant new community site called Women In the Raw, I met a women, Amy, who shared that my body was craving fats to slow the detox process down. This made a lot of sense to me. Because I WAS feeling a whole lot better. The crazy news is that I am still losing weight, in fact 2 more pounds. I didn't go into this to lose weight and I was 7 pounds from when I started. I was feeling better every day!
I wanted to know more... I had researched a lot of different ways to eat raw food. Lentils were sprouting on my windowsill. This is big because I have never made sprouts before in my life! I have recipes for raw pizza, soups, salads, dips and so much more... I found Pure Jeevan and recieved a whole list of free recipes! Wendi Dee also has a great story about her journey into raw food.
So here is the thing. I already had the appointment for the colonic and I didn't want to back out. I wanted to feel better. So I went. I did it. It wasn't what I had hoped for... I know many people rave about them, even a girlfriend of mine. This is my honest opinion and since this is my Authentic Blog, I want to share my experience. Please note, I haven't eaten meat for 22 years and have been doing about 90% raw for over a week prior to this day...
The place I went to was a center for healing. The woman was very nice and had been doing colonics for 10 years. The place was clean and I received a new personal packet for my colonic (this is VERY important). She kept me as comfortable as possible and we laughed quite a bit. It lasted for about an hour... more than I would have liked. Afterwards, I only lost 1/2 pound (I have heard reports of up to 10 pounds) and she said I secreted bile.
She said I would want to go again for 2 more sessions in the next two days in a row... which I already knew I would not want to do. I didn't receive any pre or post information to help me on my journey.
Of course, the one hour experience itself wasn't so bad, it was afterwards that I suffered. I had a lot of pain and was extremely crampy inside. This brought up a lot of anger and irritability in me as well. This may have been due to the bile from my liver which Louise Hay says is where we hold our anger. The next day I felt a bit better, though still a little crampy inside and my emotions were back to a comfortable joyous tone. Ahhh.....
Honestly, I had no positive feelings with my colonic. I didn't experience a lightened body feeling or increased energy from this experience (even with the coffee) that I had read about on-line. I did feel "cleaned out," but who wouldn't?
The Bottom Line (I had to say it) is I didn't feel much better, I felt worn out and tired for two days. Because I was not counseled before or after, I am not sure if this is common or not. I chalk it all up to experience and life.
On a higher energy note... Since I wrote my peace treaty on food, I have lost 11 pounds! I have not deprived myself of food at all! I have eaten whole avocados, cashew butter (yum) and tons of yummy fruity green smoothies. At this point I am 100% raw for the past 5 days! What will happen next?
Stay tuned for the continuing posts on my journey into raw food every week!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Raw Food Surprise - part 5
This is part 5 of my journey into raw food...
I Am Not a Raw Foodist, or Am I?
After my husband and I were in alignment to purchase a new Vita-mix, we went on our morning walk. When we returned, I was shocked to see a message from someone about my "Wanted Vita-mix" post. I immediately called them up to find out what model they had and where they lived (and how far I would have to drive.) My jaw literally dropped when I was told he had a year old barely used blender and lived only two miles from my house. His asking price was extremely fair $270.
Can I tell you how excited I was? I was in one of those out of this world experiences. I told him I would be there in a few minutes.
When we arrived, the blender was in perfect condition and the man was really nice. He spoke about how this was too much blender for his world. My husband responded by telling him I was going into raw food and was making green smoothies with it. I was shocked! I immediately told the man, I was NOT, in fact, going into raw food, I just liked the green smoothies.
We stopped by the co-op, out of the way, on the way home to pick up some kale. When we got home and was sooo excited to use my new high powered blender to make my green smoothie!
It was delicious and I felt so happy! I drank (chewed) my smoothie as I continued to read David Wolfe's "Sunfood Diet" Book with intense interest.
Over the next few days, I drank one or two green smoothies daily and I started to notice something that is still a mystery to me.
I also began something I didn't expect, drinking green smoothies... Detox!
The smoothies were so energy giving, I was loving it! However the detox was counter-balancing my joy. David's book said something about detox, but I didn't think detox would happen to my body unless I was 100% raw, and I was still eating something cooked everyday, like some cheese, or a small bowl of pasta.
I began to get short headaches in different spots on my head, acne all over my body, horrible congestion (like I had a fur ball I couldn't cough up), something fierce covering my tongue in the morning and worst of all, my emotions were all over the place. One minute I was happy and feeling alive, the next I was angry and irritated, the next I was laughing and the next I was crying.... this just wasn't what I signed up for.
How could I continue to drink my smoothies (I simply wasn't willing to give up), and lessen my symptoms? The answer was something I really hadn't counted on...
coming soon... My trip to the Colon Hydrotherapist
I Am Not a Raw Foodist, or Am I?
After my husband and I were in alignment to purchase a new Vita-mix, we went on our morning walk. When we returned, I was shocked to see a message from someone about my "Wanted Vita-mix" post. I immediately called them up to find out what model they had and where they lived (and how far I would have to drive.) My jaw literally dropped when I was told he had a year old barely used blender and lived only two miles from my house. His asking price was extremely fair $270.
Can I tell you how excited I was? I was in one of those out of this world experiences. I told him I would be there in a few minutes.
When we arrived, the blender was in perfect condition and the man was really nice. He spoke about how this was too much blender for his world. My husband responded by telling him I was going into raw food and was making green smoothies with it. I was shocked! I immediately told the man, I was NOT, in fact, going into raw food, I just liked the green smoothies.
We stopped by the co-op, out of the way, on the way home to pick up some kale. When we got home and was sooo excited to use my new high powered blender to make my green smoothie!
It was delicious and I felt so happy! I drank (chewed) my smoothie as I continued to read David Wolfe's "Sunfood Diet" Book with intense interest.
Over the next few days, I drank one or two green smoothies daily and I started to notice something that is still a mystery to me.
I began to crave less and less cooked food while craving more and more alive raw foods.
I also began something I didn't expect, drinking green smoothies... Detox!
The smoothies were so energy giving, I was loving it! However the detox was counter-balancing my joy. David's book said something about detox, but I didn't think detox would happen to my body unless I was 100% raw, and I was still eating something cooked everyday, like some cheese, or a small bowl of pasta.
I began to get short headaches in different spots on my head, acne all over my body, horrible congestion (like I had a fur ball I couldn't cough up), something fierce covering my tongue in the morning and worst of all, my emotions were all over the place. One minute I was happy and feeling alive, the next I was angry and irritated, the next I was laughing and the next I was crying.... this just wasn't what I signed up for.
How could I continue to drink my smoothies (I simply wasn't willing to give up), and lessen my symptoms? The answer was something I really hadn't counted on...
coming soon... My trip to the Colon Hydrotherapist
Raw Food Surprise - part 4
This is part 4 of my journey into raw food.
Pursuit of the Green Smoothie Blender
I went home that day from Moira's with the borrowed book and feeling amazingly energetic. I was excited about feeling so good inside my body and how this green smoothie filled me up. I was also excited about this amazing blender that turned rough kale into liquid and I immediately began researching the Vita-mix online. I was shocked at the sticker price! Over $400 for a new one!
I picked the book I borrowed up and began to read "The Sunfood Diet Success System" by David Wolfe. I was immediately enchanted by the story of this man and his journey into eating raw food. He had so much experience and knowledge. I stopped working on my business so I could read. I read with my computer next to me so I could research all this new information in the book. I felt pulled to this new knowledge on raw food so before I went to bed that night, for the first time in my life, I soaked my sunflower seeds to put on my morning cereal.
The next morning, I was craving a green smoothie! I ate my cereal and soaked seeds, but wished I lived closer to my friend with the Vita-mix. So I put out a couple of "Wanted Vita-mix" posts on my local "buy and sell" Yahoo groups and Craigslist to see if I could find a used one. Afterall, I wasn't sure I would use it that much. I waited for a response while I eagerly read David Wolfe's fascinating book. That was the first day I began literally eating up his advice.
I went to my local co-op and bought goji berries, more fruit and veggies and a raw kale salad (to go) from the amazing partially raw deli our co-op has. I noticed with each live food I put in my body I felt alive and full of energy. At lunch, I had eaten a small plate of tofu and rice pasta and within 30 minutes, I noticed my energy die down. I couldn't believe it! This was a typical meal that I had been eating for over 20 years and I never realized that it lowered my energy! I needed a green smoothie! I went to my email... no response from my posts, so I looked on Ebay. None of the auctions for Vita-mix's were finishing in the next day, so that night I settled for my kale salad and I felt alive again. Again, I soaked my sunflower seeds for the morning and fell asleep reading David's book.
The next morning, I woke up feeling desperate for a green smoothie. I pulled out my Magic Bullet and made my favorite fruit smoothie without the yogurt. I felt somewhat relieved, but I knew I needed to find a Vita-mix. I checked my email again, no response except from another women who said if I found an extra that she wanted one, too. I received responses from the ones I found on Craigslist (in Seattle) and they were both sold. Living 2 hours from Seattle in a small town, I knew it would be extremely hard to find one used.
When my husband woke up, I found the courage to tell him about the $400+ blender that I wanted, hoping he wouldn't think I was nuts. His slow, thoughtful response was appreciated because I had a feeling he did think I was going overboard. He said, "If you really want one, you should go ahead and buy it." I was so glad to do it, even though I knew that it would be a week before it arrived at my door. Another week before I could have a green smoothie???
What would I do until then?
coming soon... I Am Not a Raw Foodist, or Am I?
Pursuit of the Green Smoothie Blender
I went home that day from Moira's with the borrowed book and feeling amazingly energetic. I was excited about feeling so good inside my body and how this green smoothie filled me up. I was also excited about this amazing blender that turned rough kale into liquid and I immediately began researching the Vita-mix online. I was shocked at the sticker price! Over $400 for a new one!
I picked the book I borrowed up and began to read "The Sunfood Diet Success System" by David Wolfe. I was immediately enchanted by the story of this man and his journey into eating raw food. He had so much experience and knowledge. I stopped working on my business so I could read. I read with my computer next to me so I could research all this new information in the book. I felt pulled to this new knowledge on raw food so before I went to bed that night, for the first time in my life, I soaked my sunflower seeds to put on my morning cereal.
The next morning, I was craving a green smoothie! I ate my cereal and soaked seeds, but wished I lived closer to my friend with the Vita-mix. So I put out a couple of "Wanted Vita-mix" posts on my local "buy and sell" Yahoo groups and Craigslist to see if I could find a used one. Afterall, I wasn't sure I would use it that much. I waited for a response while I eagerly read David Wolfe's fascinating book. That was the first day I began literally eating up his advice.
I went to my local co-op and bought goji berries, more fruit and veggies and a raw kale salad (to go) from the amazing partially raw deli our co-op has. I noticed with each live food I put in my body I felt alive and full of energy. At lunch, I had eaten a small plate of tofu and rice pasta and within 30 minutes, I noticed my energy die down. I couldn't believe it! This was a typical meal that I had been eating for over 20 years and I never realized that it lowered my energy! I needed a green smoothie! I went to my email... no response from my posts, so I looked on Ebay. None of the auctions for Vita-mix's were finishing in the next day, so that night I settled for my kale salad and I felt alive again. Again, I soaked my sunflower seeds for the morning and fell asleep reading David's book.
The next morning, I woke up feeling desperate for a green smoothie. I pulled out my Magic Bullet and made my favorite fruit smoothie without the yogurt. I felt somewhat relieved, but I knew I needed to find a Vita-mix. I checked my email again, no response except from another women who said if I found an extra that she wanted one, too. I received responses from the ones I found on Craigslist (in Seattle) and they were both sold. Living 2 hours from Seattle in a small town, I knew it would be extremely hard to find one used.
When my husband woke up, I found the courage to tell him about the $400+ blender that I wanted, hoping he wouldn't think I was nuts. His slow, thoughtful response was appreciated because I had a feeling he did think I was going overboard. He said, "If you really want one, you should go ahead and buy it." I was so glad to do it, even though I knew that it would be a week before it arrived at my door. Another week before I could have a green smoothie???
What would I do until then?
coming soon... I Am Not a Raw Foodist, or Am I?
Raw Food Surprise - part 3
This is part 3 of my journey into raw food.
My Introduction to Green Smoothies
One full week into the new healthy eating plan and I had began to lose a little weight. I did not eat the low calorie plan from the book, I just added the Monounsaturated Fats into every meal and was drinking the accurately named Sassy Water. I was still free from the tension in my stomach ever since I had finished writing the peace treaty on my resistance to food.
That weekend I was at an all-day Byron Katie seminar and found myself sitting next to two very sweet, lovely women. They both seemed to be about the same age in their 60's, yet one of the women was extremely vibrant. Her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled and she had an energy about her that drew me in like a magnet. As we both got to know her, I found out that she was a personal raw food chef living in Ashland, Oregon. She told me about these green smoothies she was making for her clients. She was excited about the amazing healing properties of these smoothies. We talked for quite awhile and she invited me to go to week long retreat to do The Work and drink green smoothies.
I loved being in a room full of people with Byron Katie, yet the most dynamic part I took away from the seminar was the discussion about green smoothies! I wanted to go to this retreat!
I thought I would invite my amazing friend, Moira, who has been a raw eater off and on, to go with me. After talking with her about it, we decided to get together that Friday to discuss it more. While at her house, I was telling her about my excitement of these green smoothies. She asked me, "Would you like me to make you one?" I was thrilled!
She showed me her Vita-mix and proceeded to put in 6 to 8 leaves of kale, a banana, 1-2 cups of blueberries, a cup of water, a squirt of flax oil and a scoop of spirulina and lethicin. It tasted like something a horse would be happy to eat. So for my smoothie, she added agave syrup to sweeten it. The agave brought the fruit taste out and it was delicious!
While I drank this magically bright green drink, I was attracted to a book on her shelf and asked to borrow it. She most graciously said yes. The most amazing thing is what happened next!
coming soon... Pursuit of a Green Smoothie
My Introduction to Green Smoothies
One full week into the new healthy eating plan and I had began to lose a little weight. I did not eat the low calorie plan from the book, I just added the Monounsaturated Fats into every meal and was drinking the accurately named Sassy Water. I was still free from the tension in my stomach ever since I had finished writing the peace treaty on my resistance to food.
That weekend I was at an all-day Byron Katie seminar and found myself sitting next to two very sweet, lovely women. They both seemed to be about the same age in their 60's, yet one of the women was extremely vibrant. Her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled and she had an energy about her that drew me in like a magnet. As we both got to know her, I found out that she was a personal raw food chef living in Ashland, Oregon. She told me about these green smoothies she was making for her clients. She was excited about the amazing healing properties of these smoothies. We talked for quite awhile and she invited me to go to week long retreat to do The Work and drink green smoothies.
I loved being in a room full of people with Byron Katie, yet the most dynamic part I took away from the seminar was the discussion about green smoothies! I wanted to go to this retreat!
I thought I would invite my amazing friend, Moira, who has been a raw eater off and on, to go with me. After talking with her about it, we decided to get together that Friday to discuss it more. While at her house, I was telling her about my excitement of these green smoothies. She asked me, "Would you like me to make you one?" I was thrilled!
She showed me her Vita-mix and proceeded to put in 6 to 8 leaves of kale, a banana, 1-2 cups of blueberries, a cup of water, a squirt of flax oil and a scoop of spirulina and lethicin. It tasted like something a horse would be happy to eat. So for my smoothie, she added agave syrup to sweeten it. The agave brought the fruit taste out and it was delicious!
While I drank this magically bright green drink, I was attracted to a book on her shelf and asked to borrow it. She most graciously said yes. The most amazing thing is what happened next!
coming soon... Pursuit of a Green Smoothie
Monday, March 2, 2009
Raw Food Surprise -part 2
This is part 2 of my journey into raw food.
A New Way of Eating
After I wrote the peace treaty about my resistance with food, I surprisingly found myself looking at what I ate in a whole new way. The immediate change was I didn't feel like eating! This was very unusual for me. I wasn't worried about food, instead I was relaxed and happy. For the next two days, I barely ate anything.
When hunger finally hit me, I ate the usual assortment of choices, however, I noticed I was eating slower and more relaxed than I could ever remember! One of the character traits I kept from my binge eating days was eating fast. I had eaten so fast in the past, it had worried my husband and he had spoken about it with me many times to no avail. It wasn't until I was over the reasons for my emotional eating, that the pattern of fast eating stopped.
When I was done eating, I was shocked to find that I was in touch with how my body felt afterward! For those of you who new to eating disorders, disassociating with how your body feels and reacts to what you do to it, is part of keeping the disorder alive. As a binge eater, I was no different.
Something radical had shifted inside my mind, body and spirit since I completed the peace treaty.
What I chose to eat didn't feel as good as it had before, so I decided in that moment to look for a new way to eat and, amazingly, I was excited about it!
I found a healthy food plan called "The Flat Belly Diet" by Prevention Magazine. I wasn't interested in losing weight and I was not going to put myself on their low calorie diet, but I was interested in the idea that we don't eat enough healthy fats. This plan that encouraged you to eat Monounsaturated Fats (they call them MuFas) with every meal, including your snack. I was interested to try it. These fats include seeds, nuts, olives, olive oil, avocados and chocolate!
The first meal of the day encouraged you to eat 1/2 cup of sunflowers seeds with 1 cup of your cereal in the morning. I chose an organic multigrain cereal, raw organic seeds and local raw milk. Wow! Since I no longer was eating fast, you can imagine how long it took me to eat that one bowl of food. My jaws hurt after breakfast! Later that day, I noticed how good and full I felt. I was hooked and I quickly traded in my daily egg breakfast for this cereal mixture for the next two weeks.
The other thing that was different about this plan was drinking Sassy Water. Not only did I love the name, I loved the way this water treat felt in my body! The recipe is basically alkaline ingredients, which helps you to detox your body (and some say lose weight.)
I thought I would share it with you here:
Sassy Water Recipe
The night before: Thinly slice one lemon, one cucumber, one knuckle of peeled ginger and 5 to 10 leaves of mint (all organic) Put in the largest pitcher you have and fill with water (at least 8 cups) and let it set over night.
Drink a tall glass with every meal and feel the alkaline shift your body to wellness!
PS: put the leftovers in your disposal after the day to help it smell fresher!
After a week of this eating plan, without lowering my calories, I lost 5 pounds. It wasn't until I went to see Byron Katie that the next step was introduced...
coming soon... My Introduction to Green Smoothies
A New Way of Eating
After I wrote the peace treaty about my resistance with food, I surprisingly found myself looking at what I ate in a whole new way. The immediate change was I didn't feel like eating! This was very unusual for me. I wasn't worried about food, instead I was relaxed and happy. For the next two days, I barely ate anything.
When hunger finally hit me, I ate the usual assortment of choices, however, I noticed I was eating slower and more relaxed than I could ever remember! One of the character traits I kept from my binge eating days was eating fast. I had eaten so fast in the past, it had worried my husband and he had spoken about it with me many times to no avail. It wasn't until I was over the reasons for my emotional eating, that the pattern of fast eating stopped.
When I was done eating, I was shocked to find that I was in touch with how my body felt afterward! For those of you who new to eating disorders, disassociating with how your body feels and reacts to what you do to it, is part of keeping the disorder alive. As a binge eater, I was no different.
Something radical had shifted inside my mind, body and spirit since I completed the peace treaty.
What I chose to eat didn't feel as good as it had before, so I decided in that moment to look for a new way to eat and, amazingly, I was excited about it!
I found a healthy food plan called "The Flat Belly Diet" by Prevention Magazine. I wasn't interested in losing weight and I was not going to put myself on their low calorie diet, but I was interested in the idea that we don't eat enough healthy fats. This plan that encouraged you to eat Monounsaturated Fats (they call them MuFas) with every meal, including your snack. I was interested to try it. These fats include seeds, nuts, olives, olive oil, avocados and chocolate!
The first meal of the day encouraged you to eat 1/2 cup of sunflowers seeds with 1 cup of your cereal in the morning. I chose an organic multigrain cereal, raw organic seeds and local raw milk. Wow! Since I no longer was eating fast, you can imagine how long it took me to eat that one bowl of food. My jaws hurt after breakfast! Later that day, I noticed how good and full I felt. I was hooked and I quickly traded in my daily egg breakfast for this cereal mixture for the next two weeks.
The other thing that was different about this plan was drinking Sassy Water. Not only did I love the name, I loved the way this water treat felt in my body! The recipe is basically alkaline ingredients, which helps you to detox your body (and some say lose weight.)
I thought I would share it with you here:
Sassy Water Recipe
The night before: Thinly slice one lemon, one cucumber, one knuckle of peeled ginger and 5 to 10 leaves of mint (all organic) Put in the largest pitcher you have and fill with water (at least 8 cups) and let it set over night.
Drink a tall glass with every meal and feel the alkaline shift your body to wellness!
PS: put the leftovers in your disposal after the day to help it smell fresher!
After a week of this eating plan, without lowering my calories, I lost 5 pounds. It wasn't until I went to see Byron Katie that the next step was introduced...
coming soon... My Introduction to Green Smoothies
Raw Food Surprise - part 1
After talking with my good friend Christine, I have decided it might be important to share my journey into raw food. Thank you Christine!
Food and The Peace Treaty
It started about a month and a half ago...
At that time, I was a big and healthy eater. I ate organic, vegetarian and non-chemical foods when I ate at home and when I had time, I LOVED to cook. When I ate out, I ate slices of pizza, huge bowls of pasta, and everything that is gooey and creamy over veggies. Even though, I ate healthy choices, I ate a lot of it. For example, I ate 2 eggs every morning on sprouted grain toast with cheese. I could go on...
This is where the peace treaty entered into the picture. You see, I had spent half my lifetime binge eating, but had quit years before by just quitting dieting. I knew diets didn't work and they led you down a path of denial and obsession.
So now I was a big eater at most meals and having tension with food as I was afraid of denying myself anything. I ate big so I wouldn't binge. I knew something was not right with my relationship with food, I just had no motivation to do anything about it. It was time to put the peace treaty to the test.
The peace treaty is a tool that ends the resistance in your life. And let me tell you, I was resistant! You couldn't get a healthy food plan near me with a ten foot pole. I set out one beautiful afternoon to the beach with the peace treaty workbook and a pen.
After over an hour of writing, connecting, crying, listening and saying goodbye, I made peace with my inner child who had created a belief about food that was running my life. I knew it at that moment something deep inside me had shifted. The feeling of tension I held in my stomach had dissapeared. I felt free! I didn't realize the extent of what would change from that moment in my life, but I knew my life was never going to be the same.
coming soon... A New Way of Eating
Food and The Peace Treaty
It started about a month and a half ago...
At that time, I was a big and healthy eater. I ate organic, vegetarian and non-chemical foods when I ate at home and when I had time, I LOVED to cook. When I ate out, I ate slices of pizza, huge bowls of pasta, and everything that is gooey and creamy over veggies. Even though, I ate healthy choices, I ate a lot of it. For example, I ate 2 eggs every morning on sprouted grain toast with cheese. I could go on...
This is where the peace treaty entered into the picture. You see, I had spent half my lifetime binge eating, but had quit years before by just quitting dieting. I knew diets didn't work and they led you down a path of denial and obsession.
So now I was a big eater at most meals and having tension with food as I was afraid of denying myself anything. I ate big so I wouldn't binge. I knew something was not right with my relationship with food, I just had no motivation to do anything about it. It was time to put the peace treaty to the test.
The peace treaty is a tool that ends the resistance in your life. And let me tell you, I was resistant! You couldn't get a healthy food plan near me with a ten foot pole. I set out one beautiful afternoon to the beach with the peace treaty workbook and a pen.
After over an hour of writing, connecting, crying, listening and saying goodbye, I made peace with my inner child who had created a belief about food that was running my life. I knew it at that moment something deep inside me had shifted. The feeling of tension I held in my stomach had dissapeared. I felt free! I didn't realize the extent of what would change from that moment in my life, but I knew my life was never going to be the same.
coming soon... A New Way of Eating
Plant a Garden
There is something about caring for something and watching it grow.
When you start, it may be small and not look like anything special.
But with patience, creativity and gentle nurturing,
Something unexpected might just start to sprout.
This is when the real work begins, and when this point comes, you have two choices, one is to enjoy the magic of the sprout and walk away, the other to make a commitment to plant yourself into this project while taking steps to expand and create something even bigger.
At this point, there is a lot of energy going in.
You give and you give and you give, without much in return.
You might wonder why you are doing it. And right when you question if you should continue working on this endless journey, something starts to bloom!
Again you have a choice to stay or walk away. There are many who decide that finding beauty is the end of their journey.
However, for those who take the risk to journey on,those who stay as the petals die and fall,receive something richer beyond their imagination.
Those who stay with it through the end of the long journey, find themselves an abundance to live on.
For those who stay until the end, there is the sweet taste of success!
smiles and inspiration!
Rain
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