Do You Give The Best Of Yourself To Your Loved Ones...?

I'd love to let you know about a series of inspiring short free videos from our dear friend Brian Johnson over at PhilosophersNotes.com - as you may recall, Brian recently published a book on the top 100 ideas that most stood out to him from the countless dozens of inspiring books he has read in the last few years for his "PhilosophersNotes" project...now he is taking those top 100 distilled ideas from his book and making a short video for each one, so you can actually pretty much "read" the whole book for freeee via this video series - you can check the videos out HERE - there are 9 of the 100 videos already posted as I write this - the rest will keep on coming, so get on board now if you wanna see how they flow - enjoy :)


on April the 9th I loved:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh watermelon
1 quart greeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
40 chlorella tablets
bowl of chia pudding with maca, ashwaghanda, banana, mango
3 cups water
YUMMERRRRSSSSSS Gopal's Curry Powersticks :)
Water of a young coconut

There are still a few last-minute rooms left at the beautiful Madre Tierra hotel here in Vilcabamba for the 2011 Raw Food Gathering, May 1st-14th...if you're intending to head this way and you're not sure where you're staying, you can contact Peter, the hotel owner on 509-928-2141 or back2olam@gmail.com to secure your place.

You can check the current schedule outline for this gathering, along with travel guidance etc at http://www.TheRawFoodWorld.com/vilcabamba.html.

Come on down, meet other like-minded lovelies, soak up the radiant sun and munch into the luscious fresh produce... If you'd love to offer a talk or other kind of event during the gathering, just email matthew.monarch123@gmail.com and let us know your preferred date/time slot and the theme you'd love to share...

As ever, if anyone is also willing or able to bring extra goodies/baggage down here with them, we'd love to hear from you...please email matthew.monarch123@gmail.com to let us know your travel plans :)

We look forward to enjoying a fun gathering soon with whoever actually finds their way here... :)

on April the 10th I appreciated:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh pineapple
3 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with carrot juice
40 chlorella tablets
an avocado spread onto nori sheets with a little spicy red bell pepper sauce on top, followed by 2 cups sesame/banana milk
water of a young coconut


At a retreat I was holding once, a wise woman once shared this idea with the group:
 

"I like to make sure I give the best of myself to my loved ones, not other people." 

This struck me as simple, golden guidance. How often it seems that people reserve the apparent "best" of themselves for maintaining a public show that "all is well", while behaving in other-than-radiant ways with their families, close friends or house mates...whether that means complaining, arguing, gossiping or shouting at our supposed "nearest and dearest", or whatever this behaviour manifests as...what a refreshing idea to consciously choose to keep our best for those whom we believe that we love and cherish the most...makes sense, non...?
Of course, it would be the loveliest intention methinks to treat everyone with a gentle, open heart, compassion, understanding and joy...however, if we do not yet, for whatever reason, feel able or willing to hold that kind of space with everyone we encounter, we could at least choose to treat our closest associates with loving appreciation and compassion. What a turn around this could bring, if people everywhere chose to act on this idea...
I am reminded of another sage piece of guidance shared with me along this theme when I was in the grip some years back of a particularly co-dependent, abusive relationship...an older woman pointed out to me that the guy in this relationship was CHOOSING to speak to me in unsupportive, violent and unkind ways - he would not, for example, choose to scream or shout in rage at someone he briefly encountered, like someone trying to help him locate an item in a supermarket, or someone who had just delivered him mail...yet he would choose to speak to me, the person supposedly nearest and dearest to him, in harsh tones and with violent outbursts - a bizarre state of events when viewed from the outside, yet one that seems remarkably common from my observances of modern, strained human relationships...may we all remember to do our best to share our radiant selves with others, especially those whom we claim to love the most... ;)

All love and explorations of joy,
ACS-M. xxx

We Wish You a Merry Christmas :)

OOoOoOOooooo, it's very close to Christmas now...we trust that you are enjoying yourself, whether you celebrate this event or not...we are definitely having fun here in Vilcabamba :)

Here is our Christmas E-card to the world:

Happy Holidays Everyone :)

Remember that you can also currently get 17.5% Off ANY size order at TheRawFoodWorld.com - our Holiday gift to you :)))
From now until December 31st 2010, just use the coupon code "HOLIDAY18" as you check out to get 17.5% Off... This is a Holiday gift from us to y'all, with gratitude and love for all of your ongoing support... :) More details HERE :)


On December the 21st it was Solstice/Full Moon/Solar Eclipse time and I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/strawberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a few slices of dried mango
2 mugs of horchata tea
1 cup water


Another little Holiday gift for you all:
There's a new *FREE* raw foodie book called "The Raw Truth" by Jordan Rubin coming out in January and Mr. M and I are featured in this book, along with many other raw yumsters such as:

Penni Shelton, Paul Nison, Sarma MeIngailis,

Ani Phyo, Alissa Cohen and others...

This book will be given away for free in health food stores all over the USA next year, however the lovely people at Jordan's company, Garden of Life, gave us permission to let y'all download the ebook version of it NOW already, also for free :) NICE :)

To access your free copy of this 200+ page book, just click HERE...ENJOY :)

on December the 22nd I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups orange juice mixed with coconut water
1 quart greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/blackberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a few slices of dried mango
2 mugs of horchata tea
1 cup water


on December the 23rd I was delighted with:

1 quart water
3 cups orange juice mixed with coconut water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/blackberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a carob "Brownie Batter" yumpot
mug of horchata tea
1 cup water


In case you didn't yet see this beautiful, inspiring little video that people have been posting around a lot online in the last couple of weeks, please check out the link below to witness the moving work that Naryanan Krishnan is doing in India to connect with those living on the streets, share love and uplift hearts - this video has had millions of views already on different sites online and seems to be helping to inspire so many more people into viewing everyone as our brothers and sisters - enjoy ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_3BEwpv0dM

All love and happiest Holiday blissings to you all,
A. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

The Tribe To Which I Belong...

I am *thrilled* to say that Mr. Monarch and I just released, for the first time EVER, a DVD of our talks, called 'Raw Food Transformations' :))))
The DVD includes individual talks from Mr. M and I, then a joint food demo on 'Eating Raw on The Road' - all three sessions were filmed live before audiences at the The Living Light Expo in Fort Bragg last year :)

Mr. M just put together the most SPECTACULAR trailer for this DVD - I would recommend checking this trailer below out just for entertainment, if nothing else ;)

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=102138720

 
SO, for the first time ever, you can experience our live talks from the comfort of your own homes :) As you can see in the trailer above, we had never done a live food demo before. I suspect that the highly professional 'Living Light Culinary Institute' where this DVD was filmed had also never encountered anything like our child-like kitchen antics during a food demo before either, which raised more than a giggle from the audience ;) This DVD is over 2.5 hours long and is packed with truly valuable information.

Click HERE to purchase the all-new 'Raw Food Transformations' DVD!

on January the 10th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
1.5 cups coconut kefir - LOVE it :)
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeeeeen juice
4 tbsp bee pollen, 20 chlorella tablets, handful of spirulina crunchies
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
3 tbsp bee pollen, handful of spirulina crunchies
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water


on January the 11th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice
mug of herbal tea
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
4 tbsp bee pollen, handful of spirulina crunchies
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
3 tbsp bee pollen, little handful spirulina crunchies
2 tbsp bizarre sticky mixture of sunflower lecithin with hemp oil - wow ;)
3 cups water

MORE *exciting* raw job opportunity news for y'all...

Would you love to go and play in Puerto Rico, at one of the original Ann Wigmore Institutes? Making energy soup, loving the wheatgrass, helping people to help themselves heal, soaking up the sun and grinning profusely? (I would ;) Well, the dear buttons over there at the Institute would like two more jolly crew members please...they are looking for a 'Head Chef' and a 'Kitchen Member' - sounds blissful...if this interests you, you might want to sharpen up your knives and tap out an email to reservations.annwigmore@yahoo.com, asking for an application for these positions...you can also see more about the centre at the site www.AnnWigmore.org - ENJOY :)


on January the 12th I loved:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
1 cup coconut kefir
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice
2 tbsp coconut oil with 40 chlorella tablets
1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups water


on January the 13th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
1 cup greeeeeeeen juice
mug of herbal tea
1 cup water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
1 cup coconut kefir
4 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups water
4 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
1 quart greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups water

Today is Day 30 of Green Juice Feasting for me here at the Tree of Life...it has been a FABULOUS experience...aaaaand...I don't feel ready to eat yet ;)

For now I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing and we'll see how it unfolds...the results I have seen in terms of the Chiropractic/alignment work I've been doing here, along with the colonics, Green Juice Feasting, resting, singing, being in the sun and so on have been literally life-changing, once again...I feel SO blessed :))) I love it here...
One of the MAIN new threads of reality I've been experiencing recently is how much *clearer* messages from Spirit/Source/The Universe seem to be coming through - it feels so easy to pay attention to the guidance that's coming through right now...there is the sense that this flow is ALWAYS there of course and in this current state and place I am in, it is simply very effortless to access and enjoy that flow...a few days ago, for example, a piece of poetry started to be 'downloaded' through me - I got out a pen and paper and started to scribe - the result is here below - I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the experience of allowing it to move through me...I have not really written poetry since I was a teenager and this is the second poem that has come through in the last few weeks now - nice :))))

The Tribe

The tribe to which I belong

Loves to be in the sun

And they rejoice in song.

They can be recognised

By their calm, loving eyes,

Pupils open wide,

Welcoming you to see inside...

Nothing hidden

No shame

Open and loving and flowing with the game...

These people feel compassion,

Nurture love and satisfaction.

They are kind with all whom they encounter,

Be they old friend, sales rep or debt collector.

Love is the key in every connection;

In my tribe this is recognised and honoured without exception.

The tribe to which I belong does their best

To support, encourage, co-operate, enliven,

Express sincere gratitude and raise the vibration.

In this tribe there is love for the land,

For Gaia and all her inhabitants

There is a reverence for life in every form.

There is a softness, a stillness and space held open for things to transform.

In this tribe, it is known that the only constant is change...

In this tribe, we accept that we can choose to release pain.

This tribe flows with opportunities, with gratitude and grace.

This tribe opens up doorways to help transform the whole human 'race'.

This tribe has members far and wide

Who resonate with a glow

Of health, connection and vitality

And...this tribe continues to grow...

Wherever you see someone helping another to sincerely connect and feel loved,

There goes my kin, from this beautiful tribe, sharing upliftment and trust.

Love, compassion, integrity,

Patience, clarity, ease;

My tribe resonates all of these values sincerely

And rides blissful waves of synchronicity.

This tribe has no fees or annual meetings,

No membership cards or local clubs.

When you join this tribe, you will simply know it,

For you will know that you are love.

All love,
Angelalalalaaaaaa. xxx

Sombre...

Did you get to see the E! Entertainment special with Wolfie this weekend? I couldn’t work out how to watch it online...we heard that the show had a bit of a ‘negative’ slant to it though, focusing a lot on the death of 5-month old raw vegan baby Wohyah Andressohn back in 2003. If you’re not familiar with the Andressohn’s story, HERE is an informative article from Jinjee, written back in 2005. In this article, Jinjee explains how baby Wohyah was born with a birth defect – DiGeorge Syndrome - he had no thymus – and that many babies with this condition die before they are 2 months old. Wohyah lived for 5 months – surely a testimony to his parents’ love. This side of the story is rarely reported however. Well, personally I’d lost track of this story and was not sure of many of the details, so was interested to at least hear something of the developments. I’m saddened however to hear that apparently his parents are still imprisoned. Hmmm...breathing deep here and sending prayers for them and their other 4 children, who were apparently taken from their parents on the day of their brother’s death, given non-raw foods and kept from their parents for many months. I don’t know where they are now – if anyone has more recent details on this case, please do let us know. Here is a statement from Lamoy Andressohn, the children's mother, which to me, clearly illustrates the love and compassion of this woman:

”God has somehow chosen me to walk this path and I’m not sure why. I know I must follow it for bigger reasons than I understand and I don’t hold any ill will toward any part of the state because they are doing what they are trained to do. I am honored that God chose me to walk this path and I will embrace it until the end. I know how much my pain and suffering will effect the rights of others and I can’t afford to be selfish knowing this will affect the rights of the children of the future who choose to live this lifestyle.”

On January the 6th I had:

1.5 quarts water
big handful of cherries
1 luscious mango
1 pint intense celery/carrot/beetroot/ginger juice
little pot of gorgeous freshly made raw banana/mango ice cream whip
little handful of dried figs dipped straight into raw tahini
3 cups water
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/bok choi/celery/cucumber/arugula/ginger/lime/apple/carrot juice
3 ‘finger’ bananas mashed up and swirled with raw tahini, pumpkin seeds, goji berries and a diced apple
3 cups water

A man died in a car accident outside our house yesterday. Our garden backs sideways onto an old highway, which is still used by some drivers. We heard a huge bang and went out to see what had happened. We ran through the garden onto the roadside. There had been a big crash. Many cars were stopped and people were calling emergency vehicles. On the floor laid a man. A handful of people seemed to already be on the case with everything, so I kept still at the roadside and held a space of love, focusing especially on the guy on the floor. A few minutes later, he had left his body. Emergency vehicles started to arrive and he was pronounced dead. I was glad to have at least been sending love to him as he left. It was a sombre event that really ‘put things in perspective’ for me, as such dramatic scenarios tend to do. I reflected on the apparent fragile nature of things – how all which that guy had created and experienced for years here was suddenly ‘gone’ – blanked out in an instant...and on went the rest of life...people still drove down the street, the birds still sang in the trees and I noticed plants in the garden I’d never seen before as we walked solemnly back to the house... Death is not something I regularly encounter and I was drawn to think of my soul sis*star* Zoe, back in the UK, who is a nurse and works often with elderly and ill people who are close to death. She has been with many hundreds of people over the years as they pass on. She seems to approach this work with such gentle understanding and kind compassion. She has witnessed death so often, I think it’s much easier for her now to integrate it as part of the life cycle than perhaps it is for me. Today I took flowers to the place where he died, to honour his life. There were many dozens of people there, in roadside vigil. I have been sending blessings with him and to those whose lives he touched, including ours, in his closing moments here...

on January the 7th I had:

1.5 quarts water
slice of watermelon
1 juicy mango
1 quart cucumber/beetroot/apple juice
bowl of 3 finger bananas, mashed up and swirled with finely chopped basil and garlic, alfalfa, fenugreek and lentil sprouts, tahini and pumpkin seeds, with sunflower greens, cucumber sticks and a flax cracker on the side – yummmmmmmmmmmmmm
3 cups water
slice of watermelon
3 cups mizuna/tatsoi/bok choi/celery/cucumber/arugula/ginger/lime/apple/carrot juice
big handful of cherries
2 cups water

Hmmmmmm...OK then...so, I’m sorry to be heading off after such a sombre day of messaging...I'm looking forward though to going off on silent retreat tomorrow for four days. Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote in the little poll about Mr Monarch taking over blogging here for the next few days. :) I’m sorry to hear so many of you had issues locating or using the poll – thanks to all of you who emailed your responses in instead though...so...time for the verdict...de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-deeeeeeehhhhhhh –and the answer is: he’s in ;) You voted almost unanimously to receive the Monarch musings...NICE :) Well, I do hope you enjoy his yummy sharings…so, play nicely now, petals and I’ll reconnect in a few days :) All blessings to you all...

One love,
Angela. xxx