Earth Day, Ecuador, Eco-Tours and Eyeball Treats... ;)

Happy Earth Day Everyone :)
We love you Mama Earth <3

On the subject of connecting more directly with our beloved Earth, SO many people have been writing in recently requesting more details abt the community and lifestyle that is arising in Vilcabamba, Ecuador (our future home) and I’m delighted to say that the marvellous Mr. Mike Adams over at NaturalNews.com has a few wonderful new resources to share on this subject.
He will be holding a Vilcabamba real estate tour in June, preceded by an 'Ancient Cities of the Sun' adventure tour. He will also soon be posting "The Immigration & Traveler's Guide to Southern Ecuador" - yeeeeeee-HAH, that's definitely going to make my life easier :) I'll aim to let y'all know when that's ready, if you're not already subscribed to his site ;)
Another member of the Vilcabamba community, Patrick, has made a lovely little 'Valley of Longevity' website with lots of info about the area, longevity, health and resources. You can check that out HERE (apparently Patrick is 80-years-old - WOW ;O...).
We hope to see you all there in Vilcabamba, in May 2010 for the Raw Food World Conference ;)

on April the 20th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeens/carrot juice
3 tbsp bee pollen with hemp seeds, an ‘I am Strong’ bar
2 cups water
romaine wraps stuffed with avocado, dulse, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, with red bell pepper and pumpkin seed butter on the side, followed by a little handful of Celestial Cina–Pecan nutz – yummmmm :)
1 quart water
little tub of fresh pineapple slices, an apple, a mango
2 cups water

If you’re located more to right of the Atlantic and would love a fun adventure trip to go and explore, I am SUPER–excited to announce that our dear friends Matt and Lara from Space of Love in the UK are starting to run ‘Anastasia’–inspired eco–tours to Russia this summer :) WOW :) I am actually really sad that I won’t be in Europe to take part – I’ve wanted to go on a trip like this since I first started reading the Anastasia books...I’ve always felt a bit edgy about the idea of going to Russia though, without a single word of Russian lodged in my brain cells ;) Fortunately, Space of Love Matt is FLUENT in Russian, as well as being one of the main distributors of the Anastasia books in Europe and a wonderful permaculturist :) YUMMY :) Click HERE to see all the details and join up (space limited – book soon ;) (P.S. If you’re one of the fortunate yumsters who goes on this tour, please do write and let us know how it goes – I would LOVE to hear/see pics... :)

on April the 21st I had:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
40 chlorella ‘nuts’, a Fuji apple
array of samples at the Living Tree Community HQ – WOW ;)
3 cups water
gourmet feast at Café Gratitude in Berkeley – 2 cups greeeeen juice followed by shared meal of pesto pizza, enchiladas, coconut crème pie, lemon/poppy seed cake, plus samples of Roxanne’s vanilla squares and Blessing’s ‘Thumbalina’ thumbprint cookie – phew ;)
3 cups water

Here for your eyeball delectation are some of my recent travel pics...

The beautiful blossoms of Portland :)

Many trees in Portland seem to have adapted to powerlines in their paths by growing out to each side - I've never seen this anywhere else before...interesting... ;)

This is what your footprints look like if you wear Vibram FiveFingers Shoes :) Love it ;)

Mr. Monarch bouncing and speaking at our event in Reno.

Tee-heeeeeee - funny sign we saw in Reno ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw PRISON Reform...

I’ve been reading book 7 of the ‘Anastasia’ series recently.
WOW.
I really can’t over-emphasise how much of an impact these books have had on my life, perspective and visions for the future. This book is definitely no exception...in this volume, the way in which we came to be eating such bizarre processed ‘foods’ en masse in our societies is clearly laid out, from Anastasia’s perspective and I think it is absolutely FASCINATING... For anyone who isn’t yet familiar with these EXTRAORDINARY books, the main suggestion put forward in them, from my perspective, is for each person/family to get to a piece of land and start growing their own food, to start to live more in contact with nature and release ourselves from the bizarre societal system we have co-created. In the last week I’ve been reading further on in book 7 and have just finished reading the absolutely AMAZING accounts of how the inmates in one prison in Russia read these books, then asked their warden if they could each have a hectare of land to work on, in a secured area. After much deliberation, the request was granted and the prisoners happily got to work. After a while, they were producing so much food that the prison could feed itself, they sold surplus to the markets and VISITORS to the prison, rather than bringing their ‘incarcerated’ loved-ones treats, would be the ones receiving food – from the prisoners ;) LOL – I LOVE IT :) They created such a magical oasis that the WIVES of the inmates were asking to go and live there with their husbands...and when it would come to the end of someone’s sentence, the prisoners would ask for their sentences to be EXTENDED so that they could stay and be there on their land. WOW. This is POWERFUL stuff. There’s an AMAZING part in the book where a conversation is recounted between a visiting prison official and one of the inmates. The official guy asks the prisoner why on EARTH he would want to extend his sentence, when he could go out into the world as a ‘free man’. The prisoner replies that, really, there is no ‘freedom’ out there for him now – who would employ an ex-con? Where would he get land again like this? Why would he leave this incredible sanctuary he has created with his own hands? Many people ‘out there’ can’t even GET land if they want it – or if they do get hold of it, it’s because they pay large amounts of money for it – and to whom? The system is absurd, if you look at it this way... It might SEEM as if the people on the outside of the bars are the ‘free’ ones and yet…without land to grow their own produce, they are, essentially, trapped in a system that is far from serving their optimal well-being...I think this is a fascinating model, as you can probably tell from all the capital letters in the text above ;) LOL...

on July the 17th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘sweet chia’ tea
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, tatsoi, greens from the garden, kale, fennel, endive, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and dehydrated sea spaghetti swirled in, with a flax cracker. Followed by a coconut-lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups green juice
bowl of GORGEOUS thai coconut/lemongrass soup , with salad fresh from the garden, tahini salad dressing and flax crackers, followed by another luscious coconut-lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water

So, I would LOVE in my future work-play to get involved in bringing raw food/growing/permaculture ideas etc into prisons. I think the potential in these institutions is phenomenal...imagine, all these people who are ‘locked up’ for days/months/years on end – there are so many possibilities that could be explored, with whoever is willing...
I have been extra-inspired about this recently too, as I am staying with my dear friend Solla in Iceland, who is a major raw food advocate here and has been doing simply WONDERFUL work over the years helping people to make healthier choices with their food. She has gone into the prisons here and done raw food demos with inmates – she reports wonderful feedback and responses. I think this is VERY interesting...imagine the possibilities – this is REAL Raw REFORM ;)
Solla has been doing so much here in Iceland over the last decades in the health field – from running a highly successful and much-loved veggie restaurant, to holding countless food prep classes, sharing recipes weekly on TV and in magazines and publishing three books on healthy eating. She is an absolute BEACON of positive energy, integrity and flow. It is SUCH a pleasure to see how she effortlessly approaches all her myriad tasks with joy and abundant love, whether it’s doing a free raw food demo with a group of cancer patients, planting out more beautiful greens in the abundant garden or working on plans to help inspire children to eat more natural foods...wonderful :) You can see more about Solla’s beautiful work at Himneskt.is (and practice your Icelandic while you’re at it... ;)
THANK YOU Solla, for all the inspiration and if any of YOU dear readers have ideas/bubbles of inspiration/aspirations/suggestions or more on the theme of Raw PRISON Reform, I’d love to hear them... ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Pioneering, Poi and Pendants...

Interestingly, a UK ‘food watchdog’ company recently published its annual ‘ten top trends’ report for the coming year, in which it stated they are anticipating a ‘raw food revolution’. WOW. This seems to be a pretty ‘mainstream’ organisation - their name is 'Food and Drink Towers' - and it seems their yearly reports are held in quite high regard by those in the food industry...very interesting to see they’re noting the raw food shifts currently in motion worldwide...here’s a little of what the report shares:

“Superfoods will get more specific, as the European health claims regulation makes an impact, prevention will be the aim of the health game, and we’re preparing ourselves for a raw food revolution.”

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH, food for thought indeed ;) You can see more about this report HERE.
http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=36128&hilite=

on January the 18th I had:

1 quart water
1.5 cups tulsi tea
little bunch of GORGEOUSLY vibrant black grapes
3 cups watermelon/orange/grape juice
avo mushed with diced cilantro, tomatoes and garlic, salt and chopped lettuce, served with cucumber sticks, sunflower greens and lettuce leaves
2 cups water
2 cups celery/cucumber/zucchini/broccoli juice
1 mango
bowl of soaked dried mulberries, blended with hemp seed and tahini, served with RINGING CEDAR nuts :O WOWOWOWOOOWOWOWOWW :)
3 cups water

OooooOOooooo, we had a fun trip to a place that sells Anastasia goods today – ‘Anastasia’s Garden’ - in Robina on the Gold Coast. They had all the books, cedar tree pendants, cedar spoons, nuts and oil. I was very excited :) We got a box of the DELICIOUS little cedar nuts, like Anastasia eats, out in the Siberian forest – VERY similar to pine nuts. The Monarch and myself also both got cedar pendants :) I’ve wanted a cedar necklace ever since I read the description in the first Anastasia book about the healing power these pendants can hold and bring. Here is an excerpt:

“Those who wear a small wooden cedar pendant on their chest evoke feelings of love and goodwill in themselves and others. Those people gain talent, creativity aptitude, and luck. Any cedar morsel, given to people by Nature itself (do not use chopped down trees) help to overcome illnesses. There are many healers who feel this power, but do not forget about your role - the "medallion" is nothing but an accumulator of your Love and your Light, which it gives back to you whenever you need it. These Siberian Cedars have positive power, and people who wear the pendant notice an increase in their mental and physical health.”

We’re going to get some pendants for the RawReform Store soon too, to spread the light onwards :) We’re falling in love with ours...I'll let you know when we've got some in the Store :)

on January the 19th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 medium papaya
1 pint zucchini/beetroot/celery/cucumber/orange juice (tasted oddly like...water...)
bowl of soaked dried mulberries blended with tahini, with Siberian Cedar Nuts stirred in, plus mulberry pieces
3 cups water
1 pint celery/cucumber/romaine/sorrel/fennel/alfalfa sprout/unidentified-greens juice
big bowl of green smoothie – well, actually, more like ‘puce’ colour, from the blueberries: blueberries/banana/mango/romaine/’tree spinach/sunflower greens/alfalfa sprouts
3 cups water

Ok, so the winner of last month’s RawReform Giveaway has just been announced – I know it’s rather late in the month - well, here is the final verdict ;) The winner of the Cobra Poi set was the delightful Kristy Eggleston. To be in with a chance of winning, all you had to do was email in your A to the following Q:

‘What have been your top THREE raw food highlights of 2007?’

We had some LOVELY answers from y’all – seems like a great year was had by many – hurray :) Here was Kristy Eggleston’s winning entry, picked at random:

"My top three RAW highlights of 2007 are:

1. Curing my allergies to fresh fruits! Can you imagine!!! My body had become so toxic over the years on a SAD diet that I developed an allergy to fresh fruit. I had to live without fresh fruits for 10 years!!!! Get this...I could eat them if they were cooked -- Phewy, no good!

2. Curing my allergies to nuts! Yep, you betcha..couldn't eat those either. One beautiful hazelnut would have me seeing black dots in my vision, closed up throat, and down for the count. Couldn't even attempt a nibble! Get this...I could eat SAD peanut butter, of course! Phewy, no good!

3. Hearing David Wolfe present a lecture at my school, The Institute of Integrative Nutrition (New York City), in November. Having my picture taken with him and hanging out with him at his raw chocolate charity event all evening. NEED I SAY MORE????!!!!! It was the BEST DAY EVER!

Happy New You (and Mr. Monarch)! Happy New Me! Happy New Year!!
With gratitude,
Kristy"

Thanks for sharing Kristy – and thanks to all the rest of you too who sent in your Raw Reflections – we’ve put up a selection of entries on the RawReform Prize Giveaway page HERE, so you can check that out too, for more inspiration ;)
This month – win a free copy of ‘Raw Success’ on e-book – yes, as part of his green-ing mission, Mr Monarch has now made his latest book – ‘Raw Success’ available as an e-book, reducing the amount of paper needed to make printed copies…you can see the new e-book HERE. You can also be in with a chance of WINNING a free copy, by emailing in your answer to the following question:

If you could speak to any of the Raw Food Pioneers of by-gone days and ask them a single question, whom would you connect to and what would you ask them?

Examples of pioneers who have passed to the other side include:
Dr. Norman Walker, Arnold Ehret, Bernard Jensen, Paul Bragg, Dr. Ann Wigmore, Herbert Shelton, St Louis Estes and Hilton Hotema...
Send your answers in to angela@rawreform.com and the winner shall be selected at random and with much joy in February ;)

Enjoy :)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Introducing...Anastasia...

Alright, it’s time…there’s something I’ve been wanting to share with you for weeks and have been holding off…this is a matter of such power, beauty and magnitude to me that I have felt awestruck just at the thought of writing about it…well…time to stop sweating the details and just share the magic…I’ve been reading a series of books that move me far beyond anything I’ve ever read before…these books are becoming known as the ‘Anastasia’ books, after the ‘heroine’ of these volumes…perhaps you've heard of them already...aaahhhhhh, Anastasia…my heart space opens at the mere mention of her name…
Anastasia is a woman who lives, contemporary with us, in the wild forests of Siberia, in Russia…she’s probably about 36 years old by now I would guess…yet she is absolutely timeless… Her spirit inspires me more than any other I have ever heard or read about…Anastasia represents, to me, pure, loving, flowing, powerful connectivity with the Universe and all within it…the books recount how the writer, Vladimir Megre, encountered her in the Siberian Taiga back in the 90s and spent three days witnessing her incredible connection with nature and the whole of the universe…
Anastasia lives alone, wild, in the Siberian Forest…she has no particular ‘home’ or shelter - a few dug-outs here and there around her glade which she may bed down in overnight, perhaps asking a female bear to lay with her to keep her warm…she has almost no clothing…no possessions of any kind…she is TRULY raw… ;) she never stops to eat meals, just picks a few berries here, or a few leaves there, or snaps her fingers and squirrels scurry to bring her nuts and dried mushrooms…she has clear, loving communication with all the animals, plants and life in the entire glade and FAR beyond it…it may sound fantastical, yet this is no work of fiction…the author was in fact a very ‘left-brained’, mainstream entrepreneur when he encountered Anastasia…he had never written anything of any significance in his life…Anastasia however informed him that he would, after their encounter, write about their experiences together and that the books would become very popular…and so, via the intense clarity of her vision and intention, it all came to pass…the books, originally written in Russian, have been translated into over 30 languages now and have been moving people worldwide ever since…they are absolutely, exquisitely beautiful to me…and many millions of other people too it seems…

on August the 22nd, I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml watermelon juice mixed with orange juice (WOW…)
800ml green juices with carrots
bowl of persimmons blended with ground flax and almonds, swirled with mulberries
1 litre water
1 banana with a little bowl of hemp seeds, goji berries and pine nuts
500ml peppermint tea
1 pear
romaine wraps with avo/dulse/sauerkraut/sprouts mixture, fresh tomato sauce and sprigs of coriander/cilantro
1 litre water

The Anastasia books have deeply affected my life and being…when I read them, I feel divinely connected to nature, to truth, to the power of all oneness and simplicity everywhere…her heart and soul resonate so powerfully with my own and I feel bliss just to think of her, out there in the forest, doing her thing… :) So…what does she ‘do’...? Anastasia is like a power house of light for this planet…she heals, she sends out love, she encourages, nurtures and supports…she ‘tunes in’ to people all over the world, all the time, via the power of her ‘third eye’ or ‘Ray’, as she calls it and supports them on their journeys…she pays particular attention to people in Russia who raise their own vegetables and other foods…these are the people she really appreciates and sends masses of supportive energy to…the people who work with and care for plants… I have, for many years, held the vision of wanting to live on a piece of land somewhere warm, where I can be growing my food and living more in tune with nature…when I started to read these books, that vision expanded and compounded itself ever more deeply into my whole being, so much so that it began to feel almost impossible to deal with my current daily tasks like writing a book and answering emails…I just wanted land…connectivity…hands in soil…and I know it will all come to pass ;) The books have apparently been inspiring MILLIONS of others into growing their own food too, all over the world – in Russia especially, hundreds of eco-villages have been forming…people have also been producing incredible works of art by the hundreds too – songs, poems, paintings…there is so much creative flow and love that has sprung forth from the sharing of these books…it is all truly awe-inspiring…I am on Book 2 now and just love it…the moments in my day when I open these books are like sacred times for me…I TOTALLY encourage all and anybody to delve into these incredible pieces of light-work…you can see more about them and order them HERE.


on August the 23rd I had:

1.5 litres water
450ml warm water with lemon
500ml watermelon and orange juice
700ml green juice with carrot
big salad of broccoli pieces, lettuce, avo, dulse, red pepper, sauerkraut, sprouts, lime juice, cilantro and remainder of fresh tomato sauce
1 litre water
500ml rooibos tea
yummyness meal of chia soaked in blended persimmons swirled with mulberries…mmmmmm ;)
400ml rooibos tea1 litre water

PHEW…wow…I did it…I wrote an Anastasia review…that was a looooong time coming…feels good…
Thanks to all of you who have already sent in your lovely submissions and suggestions for Matt’s new book cover – it’s great to see all YOUR creativity flowing too ;) This is just to let you know - in case you didn't already see - that the deadline for the submissions has been extended now until Monday evening (the 27th) at midnight, PST – that gives you the weekend too, to get in any bursts of creative flow that you might want to share, to matt@rawspirit.org ;) If you’re wondering what this is all about, or to remind yourself of the yummy prizes on offer, see my last post HERE for more details…

One love,
Angela. xxx

P.S. BTW - yesterday marked the 200TH post on this blog... :O wow...thanks for all your comments, questions and feedback since this started...I never anticipated writing this much...it's fun though, so...onwards... ;)