Raw Summit

I recently listened to the first Raw Food World Summit, and it has really changed much that I do. I thought it might be nice to list some of the changes I've made here.

First of all, at the end of the summit, interviewer Kevin Gianni was interviewed. He mentioned taking action: how important it was. When you are impressed by what you hear or read, take some action to make it part of you. I was happy that I had done that after nearly every call -- at least just visiting a website. Here are some of the changes I made:

Green Smoothies! After Victoria Butenko's talk, I began making green smoothies every morning. Basically, this consists of adding a handful of greens like chard, collard, dandelion and other wild edibles (lamb's quarters, purslane, red clover) to my fruit smoothie (usually bananas, frozen pineapple and frozen cherries or strawberries.) I actually have a nice ritual now: in the morning I go out into our yard/garden with a collander, and fill it with greens and wild edibles to use for my smoothie and throughout the day.

Wild Edibles. Both Victoria and Happy Oasis talked about incorporating wild edibles into the diet. Happy mentioned oak leaves and red clover! I hadn't really thought of that. While Victoria not only mentioned dandelion greens and lamb's quarters, but also plantain. I know a lot about what wild plants are used medicinally, but I had never thought of just eating them...until now.

Rejuvelac and Cultured Veggies. Brenda Cobb is a woman who, now cured of breast and ovarian cancer, has started a living foods health center in North Carolina, based on the teachings of Ann Wigmore. So I revisited my Ann Wigmore information and put up batches of cultured veggies and made rejuvelac successfully for the first time. It now goes into my smoothies in the mornings.

Cacao and Goji Berries: After hearing David Wolfe speak, I ordered raw cacao and the goji berries (which I know as a great Chinese Herb.) I have been eating them straight, and also making new fantastic recipes with both.

I found Raw Vegan Radio! I never knew about that. I'd also never heard of David Wolfe's Best Day Ever radio, but you need to pay subscribe to that one...raw vegan radio is free. I've listened to amazing interview with raw chef Ani Phyo and also Victoras, who is seventy and started Hippocrates Health Institute with Ann Wigmore.

Happy Oasis proposed some questions to ask yourself daily, to return your life to a state of joy and bliss: What would I love to experience today? What are the blessings of this moment? What are my ideals, and how can I live them today? How can I enhance wholeness and deepen peace?

Happy also mentioned "fasting" (in whatever way feels right to you) the day of the new and full moon, and four days before each of those moon. To me at this point, that means stepping up whatever I'm doing a notch. If I'm eating a lot of sugar, I'd refrain from sugar those days. If I'm eating lots of cooked foods, I'd have an all raw day those days. If I'm all raw already, I may decide to have a juice and smoothie only day. And maybe, eventually, when I'm not nursing anymore, I'd water fast. Maybe. But I marked the days on my calender through the end of the year and have already begun! A bonus of this is it's nice to be more aware of the phases of the moon.

Again with Happy: the idea of not using shampoo. I'm still just playing with that idea right now.

Happy again: The Raw Spirit Festival in Sedona Arizona. I would desperately like to go, but I don't know that it will be possible this year.

Shazzie mentioned Hay House radio (also free to listen), and so I've been tuning in to that every now and then.

The idea of living in bliss, mentioned not only by Happy, but also by Shazzie (and Ani Phyo, who was not in the raw summit but on raw vegan radio.) Doing what makes you happy, all the time. Imagine! I'm incorporating a bit more of that into my day, for sure.