I don't like labels.
The RAW community unites under the banner 'RAW' label.
I like RAW vegans. They are very nice people, who sincerely believe in a lifestyle that makes them feel healthy. They band together for mutual support.
This is good because it takes a lot of planning and advance preparation to maintain a RAW vegan diet. There is special equipment, such as high-speed blenders like a Blend-Tec or Vitamix, a dehydrator, a quality juicer, a spiral slicer to make noodles out of zucchini...it gets confusing.
The message that I want to get across is: these people are so incredibly kind and loving, that you can be only twenty-percent RAW and they are accepting of you.
Not even half RAW vegan! Trying and wanting to know more about it is OKAY.
I have wrestled with this 'concept' for about four months. Deep in my heart center, I have gone back and forth with my two dilemmas:
- I want to eat the best diet for me as possible--for my health
- I work incredibly crazy hours, and as my son made me promise last year--DON'T STARVE. (when it comes right down to it, in the O.R., drink a juice with high-fructose corn syrup if it is between 'something' and 'going hungry')
It has bugged me. I, who do not like a label, don't even fit under an entire category when it comes to what fuel that helps me run. Evita Ochel's seminar on Udemy, The Five Pillars of Optimal Health, resonated very strongly with me. Health is more than what you put into your mouth. (BTW, She has a discount for my readers. Look up her name in the Search box, and scroll to the bottom of the post Five Pillars to find the code for the discount.)
Last week someone asked, 'Are you Vegan?' on their Facebook page. I read with interest the results. One in particular struck me, 'Yes, at home. But when I eat out I eat Vegetarian because there are not many choices.'
It percolated for three days. When I woke up, I 'heard' the words, 'RAW Opportunist'. I changed it to 'RAW Opportunity Lifestyle', and here it is:
- The overlying Principle of this Lifestyle is gentle acceptance of What Is and taking responsibility for your Choices, which are based on the goal of Optimum Health.
- When you have opportunity to choose Movement, take it. Make it a priority. Listen to your body when 'it has had enough'. You will feel better and sleep better. (I have an elliptical downstairs. I hate it. I like taking walks in the neighborhood, taking stairs whenever possible, and yoga with Yogi Bill. If Heaven were On Earth, I would dance two hours a day ballet in class, and then an extra hour on Pointe several times a week. And I would do Variations and Pas de Deux.)
- When you have opportunity to enjoy sleep, you take it. Naps when you are sleepy is okay. A soft bed, with clean sheets, fresh air from the window, and an air purifier make it more pleasant. If Heaven were On Earth, I would go to sleep shortly after sunset and wake up at sunrise, like the birds.
- When you have opportunity to Socialize, you take it. Keep the 'Golf Balls in your Mayonnaise Jar' relationships healthy. Remember the words of my nana, 'We Do The Best We Can.'.
- Take the opportunity to Enjoy Nature whenever possible. Nature is well-established in 5D. Exposure to it will bring Tachyons (a form of Light, like photons) into your energy system. Sunlight is very effective in this. It will make your 'switch' to the Higher Dimensions smoother and more hassle-free.
- Whenever possible, seek and destroy all sources of Toxins in your home and daily life. Are you a smoker? You might want to stop it. High Fructose Corn Syrup? Go ahead, read the labels, and throw everything containing it out of your house. I don't eat Relish because of this reason. I miss it, but intuition is telling me HFCS is bad news, and that's my choice. Go over your cleaning products (Did you know Febreze will kill a bird? So will smoking hot Teflon. If it will kill a parakeet, do you still want it in your home?)--that being said, I found the 'organic' versions of dishwasher soap to be horrible. Cut way back on GMO toxins so your liver has an easier day and doesn't have to metabolize them. Eliminate what toxins you can, but it still has to work.
- Connect with Source. Every day. From a little 'I wish for this' prayer in your heart, to formal time in meditation. One of the best walking meditations I know is to recite the Karuna Reiki symbols with each step. I go like I am simply walking in the neighborhood, but in my mind I am saying them over and over in sequence, one with each step. Get creative!
- The goal in nutrition is to choose the highest possible Vibration that is available to You at a given time.
Let's explore number 8 further:
- Is there a RAW vegan organic option at home or one the menu? Does it appeal to you? Do you have the time to make it or wait for the restaurant to make it for you? (what works for me is one meal a week of High Vibration Restaurant food, and at least one day totally RAW at home. Then every RAW Opportunity I get in between, I take it.)
- Next, if there are no organic choices, whenever possible, make it RAW. Allow yourself to 'slip' a little sometimes. If the overall goal is RAW, it will 'balance out'. It is not worth the stress you give yourself to 'color within the lines' as you are co-creating your nutrition day-to-day. (Here are some examples of 'slip'--a salad at a fish taco stand with grilled shrimp on it, a Pizza Hut personal pizza at Target while shopping with my son, Pepperoni with the pepperoni pulled off, and a small piece of salmon in the Doctor's Lounge with pineapple, the last 'healthy greens' from the salad bar, beets, and carrots. It was that or Pasta Bar--do you know how much GMO-laden oil they put into that pan when they make it??? Ew!
- Know there is a fine line between 'happy milk' and 'non-organic soy'. I eliminated all soy from my diet at the recommendation by a holistic nutritionist I helped in labor with her epidural. I have kicked this one back and forth for about two years. Yesterday, It came clear--if it is yogurt, goat-milk yogurt or kefir from Redwood Hill Farms (I met the farmers) I will take that first. I buy their products to support their organization. My son tried it, but doesn't like it. For him I buy organic dairy products. If I am at Starbucks and the choice is between 'ordinary milk' and 'soy', I take the soy.
- Allowing yourself 'access' without guilt to your 'old favorites' might surprise you--after eating RAW I am discovering first hand when I eat these foods, the thrill is GONE! How did I ever used to eat this?! I ask myself, puzzled? With the RAW lifestyle, your tastes change.
- With the RAW lifestyle, Vegan seems like a banquet and Vegetarian seems very rich. Meat and eggs seem disgusting, too. And you would rather NOT eat than go to fast food. Last night on the way home, after a long day at work, and picking up the car from the service place, I had some free time before my son came back from his weekly visitation with his father. I scanned my mind of where I would like to go, and instead, I went to the local natural food market. I bought ingredients for a salad, and made it for myself. It had orange bell pepper, parsley, tangerine-orange fruit, hemp seed, Hawaiian black salt ( a little more than I usually salt--it was my strong bold flavor), olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. And jicama, just a bit.
Use your heart to find your way in RAW vegan diet. It will 'resonate' with you when you are doing 'something right'.
Leave your ego at the door.
And if you have tried RAW, or vegan, and craved meat, did you remember to do the supplements?
All RAW vegans supplement several important amino acids, and unsaturated fats/essential oils like in flaxseed, every day. I take Dr. Shulze two tablespoons powder green stuff in juice, and one tablespoon RAW meal before breakfast. I take Vitamin B-12 every day.
Chia seeds and I think one other also need to be ground first for the nutrients to be accessible.
Go to the mirror and gently pull down on your lower eyelids to look at the tissue inside that touches the eye. These are called the 'eye grounds'. Are they pink? Are they red? In medical school I learned, if they are red like beef, your iron levels are fine. If they are pink, like pork chop, you are anemic. Try to get some more iron into you--I use a cast-iron pan, eat potatoes, and spinach. There is also the option for meat if you are severely anemic. (It is better than transfusion or iron pills that bind you up.)
RAW vegans are also all about the probiotic. Saurkraut, kim chee, and supplement probiotics are very popular and are eaten daily.
When it comes to RAW, ego must be left at the door. It is not with your head, but with your HEART the RAW lifestyle is able to heal you.
Be open, gentle, accepting of your body, and be smart about it. Ease into it, and listen to what your body is saying to you. Read RAW vegan literature and visit websites. I recommend Brandi Rollins, and Cherie Soria, and Paul Nison. They are the ones that helped the most for me. YouTube has some wonderful resources. And of course, Evita Ochel and all of her work--from vegan to spirituality and everything in between--she is a great resource on all YouTube, Social Networks and web page too.
Be smart.
Be healthy.
And pray.
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
P.S. I haven't weighed myself yet, but I have lost about ten pounds since January with this method. My body feels like it is turning back time. It is the best gift I have ever been given--taken under the wing of some very good vegans and RAW vegans, my whole life has changed for the better. I am most appreciative and thank God every day, for them, for what is New, and how He lets me let go of the old so easy... Here is where it happens.www.evolvingbeings.com www.aulac.com www.peacefullscents.com And also this source of Reiki infused aromatherapy, too, www.miraclebotanicals.com Good Health can come to you. And all of us want to make Dis-ease return to Full Balance. Aloha and Mahalo!
