Back from Mexico!

I'm back and unpacked and getting settled back in. Great vacation in Mexico, we ended up in Playa del Carmen, beautiful spot! There was a tragedy when we were there, in a hotel nearby, the floor exploded, thought to be from an accumulation of methane gas under the lobby floor, killing 7 people (5 Canadians) and leaving 18 injured (8 Canadians). We didnt receive much information about it from there, they were keeping everything very under wraps, we only heard a bit from other Canadians who heard about it. So it didnt affect our vacation so much except that the internet became very slow after that, as people would have been trying to contact family-friends and when we were leaving we flew back with several couples who had been staying at the hotel and heard more about it. That was a real tragedy. But aside from this, and of which we didnt know much of what happened until leaving, we had a great time. My deepest condolences and sympathy to those who were involved in this!

On my birthday we climbed pyramids and swam in an incredible cenote.. I still have to go through pics to put up, and that day we didnt have my camera, but a friend we made there took pics. I got to speak lots of Spanish, walk on the beach lots - feeling very grounded!! and they made a delicious array of juices and drinks in the mornings.. my favorite was made with nopal cactus, orange juice and celery juice. I am tempting to start making it... nopal is soooo good for you - but I had been working with it a few months ago and got some splinters in my hand that took months to come out, and were quite painful and annoying. Decisions, decisions..    but thankfully due to speaking spanish and tipping the juice person (Always tip the juice-smoothie person!! so they dont mind you drinking Lots! ; ) I learned some new techniques for working with these dangerous cactus leaves.

Above is a beach we walked a lot.
Below is a cenote, underground swimming hole, of which this area of Mexico is filled with.

Grounding, Spanish ..and I'm going away soon, but not as long this time!

Hi!  

I have had a number of people asking about the blog this week. I dont know why all of a sudden.. but maybe its a sign. So, I thought I would check in & say hi.. and maybe I'm going to be getting back into blogging again soon. Cause I really enjoy this part of my life.. writing and sharing the things that I find enriching - healthy, colourful, soulful. 

I have been on a big Spanish journey,& thats what I have been doing a lot of in my spare time, when I wasnt blogging - I was reading, listening, watching everything in spanish.. outside of recipe books and research for work.. which also has been filling up most of my time. Working on such wonderful raw food creations and experimenting. I am so in heaven with my job!!  ..and maybe one day I will have a Comida Cruda blog en espanol ; ) y quizas eso va a pasar un dia cuando sé mas ..pero por ahora, estoy feliz - sé lo suficiente para leer novelas y ver peliculas y programas sin subtituladas y aqui es donde yo queria estar. Lo Hice! : ) 

...oops, from the Spanish - a Raw Food blog in Spanish ; ) & maybe that will happen one day when I know more ..but for now, I am happy - I know enough to read novels and watch movies and shows without subtitles & this is where I wanted to be. I did it! : ) 

Above - about a month ago I bought a Grounding Kit. My Mom bought one for herself before me and had incredible results!! I was so impressed, I wanted it too, of course ; ) and bought the mattress sheet and the pad (for when I am on my computer.  I had a pretty good feeling it was working because my cat would sleep in a different spot than he usually did.. to where the grounding sheet was underneath the blanket. Thats a pretty good sign for me, animals are more intuitive and know these things. We'll talk more about grounding later!

Oh, and I want to mention quickly before I head out again, I am off to Mexico for a week.. leaving early Thursday morning - 3 more sleeps.. that is if I sleep Wed eve, because I have to get up at 2 or 3am! very early flight. 2 days!!  so excited!!  Hey, it's nice to be back! I've kinda missed this place.. it feels right. Hasta pronto!! Ciao!

The Strangest Secret - Earl Nightingale

Hi,
I just watched this video which I found on the Loving Yourself website. I really enjoyed watching and want to share it. I also want to mention that I expect to be back blogging one day, I'm just in a slow period (in regards to blogging) but I love my raw life and life in general and look forward to be back posting about wonderful adventures one day soon.
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!!
Thanks for keeping in touch and stopping by.
Hugs, Love & Peace!!
xo, : ) R

Raw Beauty Calendar 2011

Raw Beauty Calendar

Being Quiet

Hi. I think I am in a more quiet period of my life. A few times lately I have thought - Oh I should go write a blog.. and then I go blank. Its not that I cant come up with artsy, musical, spiritual, metaphysical, fun posts.. but I think the thing that has been holding me back is really my work. Everything I do is quiet, for now, as its to open up a business.. and I prepare and experiment with raw foods 6 days a week! I feel like I'm earning my doctorate in raw foods.. but I cant write about it. Weird, as this is what my blog is primarily about. 

So. thats life right now.. I'm going to go on being quiet for now for awhile.. I'm missing the raw community, my tribe. But this is just what it is, for a little while.. and I will be back soon! But for now, I am just being peaceful and flowing with it. Thanks for stopping by! Hugs & Love!

I Love being Part of a Tribe!!

Magic - Of Nature and God

Just one thought for tonight.. that is staying with me from Wayne Dyer's movie - The Shift.
Its a very simple thought.. and yet very profound, if you really get it. It is that for the 1st 9 months of your life, before you were born, everything went perfectly well so you would grow and become who you were to grow to be - perfectly.. and when you look at Nature, and however you look at God - How can we possibly think that everything for the rest of our lives is not also perfectly planned out. That we will naturally grow to our full potential, and do what we are meant to do.. unless we hinder our natural growth. If we can stay out of the way and not stop the growth, we really dont have to do anything.. just follow our hearts and feelings and do what we love to do and everything will grow exactly as its supposed to. Things only go astray when we start using out brains, our egos and logic to figure out what to do.

He has an acromym for EGO - Edging God Out. 

We naturally want to grow to our full potential and experience a full Life. We just need to let it happen. & when you take a perspective of stepping back and watching the magic happen, its much more exciting. Thats not to say we are not active, of course we are, because we are doing what we love to do!

It was inspirational having my Mom here. She said to me yesterday " I live in a magical world, but most people dont see it." So simple, yet so profound. 

Watch and.Embrace the Magic!! xo

Our day of Adventure - my Vibram Five Fingers & Cruda Cafe!!!

Mom's still here & we had lots of fun today!! I have today and tomorrow off work to enjoy her company! : ) However, I dont have my camera!!! I will have to rectify that soon  (get it back from my daughter) Hopefully it still works, the last one we lent out (my bf's) came back broken, yikes. 

So, I cant show you the cutest pair of Vibram 5 Finger shoes I bought today at Mountain Equipment Co-op - Pink & Orange!!! I wouldnt have picked that color, but it was the only pair they have in my size, and no more until next summer and once I put them on I was in love with them!!  We've been having a real shoe & sock trip.. we picked up some Solmate Socks too in Kensington Market, the cutest knitted cotton mismatched socks ever!, which I had looked at online & was amazed to find (had been thinking of ordering).

& What I should have had my camera most for was lunch at Cruda Cafe!!! The food was so beautiful.. and possibly the best raw food in Toronto. ok, I was really, really hungry.. but that food was amazing!! & definitely had to be filled with the most love - I could feel it!!  It was all so beautiful.. Moms salad was one she said she was going to remember for a long, long time!! The St Lawrence Market Salad - with fresh figs and beautiful flower on top. We bought so much food - almost one of everything! & we brought dinner home too! & ate it watching The Shift - Wayne Dyer's movie.. which my friend at lunch told us we could watch online for $5. & so, we did!!!  ..while eating Cruda Food - Cruda is raw in Spanish, Love that!!

We went to the sculpture garden, Allan Gardens.. Queen W.. hmm, I'm getting tired, and up tomorrow morning for another adventure!! Sweet Dreams! xo

Barefoot Week - June 1-7

June 1 - 7 is National Barefoot Week!!  (I am just finding out about this..but my calender is marked !!..for following years)
My Mom is here visiting me & when I told her she said "no wonder I have been feeling like being barefoot lately!"
We have a tight agenda, I'm taking a couple days off so we can spend a couple days together and I got it together this time to check out whats going on & make a few plans. Earlier tonight we went to the distillery district and wandered around and saw lots there.. and then on the way home stopped off at the Blues festival, which just happens to be very close to home, just blocks away at Woodbine Park.. and we caught Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials - Fun. & tomorrow we are off to Kensington Mkt.. maybe barefoot!!?..

from Barefoot Canada - at one with out world:
"June 1-7 has been, once again, declared “National Barefoot Week” by Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based charity that collects new and used shoes to be donated to people in need around the world. The week-long event is a yearly highlight the charity uses to encourage people to get involved in donating any type of footwear to be re-distributed in the US and other places where people might need it.

As part of the drive, Soles4Souls encourages people to take off their shoes and spend some time barefoot in order to personally experience what would it be like to have no shoes to put on their feet."


ps. Checking out Vibrams Five Finger shoes is on the agenda.. and shoes are a theme this trip, we were just looking at Toms shoes, in a store that had just closed and I was thinking I should go back & try them - vegan (which is always nice!!) and with every pair sold they give a new pair to a child in need!! 

Happy Barefooting.. or at least here to being consciously shoe'd, if not!  

50 Best Blogs for Raw Food Recipes and Inspiration

50 Best Blogs for Raw Food Recipes and Inspiration

Daily Affirmation - Great way to start the Day!

Canciones and Drinks

This is my leccíon en español esta noche. I love that I can post whatever I want here!!!
& that I know what this means! : )

Yummy Drink for Night Lessons

2 parts Pineapple juice
2 parts Orange juice
1 part Lemon juice
1/2 part Agave
Ice

or easier still: Kombucha in a glass with ice and an umbrella! ; )

el último leccion de la noche.. (its all Very beautiful, but if you dont know Spanish, you might want to skip in to about 4:04 ; )



I am studying lessons now from La Casa Rojas - I am LOVING these lessons. They are free and they are awesome! : ) Muy, muy divertidos! (very, very fun!)
Dulces sueños!!

Courage, Truth and Doing Good ..and Beauty and Fireworks

Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it may never be enough: Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God: it was never between you and them anyway.” – Mother Teresa

"Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.”

Meister Eckhardt (via wephala) (via azultierra)

“This is what I believe: That I am I.

That my soul is a dark forest.
That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest.
That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back.
That I must have the courage to let them come and go.” 

— D.H. Lawrence

Another beautiful soul just passed away of Cancer. I love the world and all the beauty in the world.. but I have my issues with cancer. ..and the lives it takes away. It makes me very sad.  Its Victoria day, it is beautiful and sunny outside, flowers, laughing, playing... I am going to go watch fireworks tonight at the beach. Life is beautiful! Love life! xo

Green Smoothies, Raw Living, Love and a Quiet Mind

Hi. I'm listening to Byron Katie while I type this. I love Byron Katie, Love her!! I think she is creating a lot of peace in the world. I think she can solve everything!! ; )   

I love writing my blog. But I'm having a bit of a hard time getting through this period in my life writing it.. as what I am doing is not bloggable, at least yet.  I have been working every day creating and testing new raw recipes. How appropriate for my blog!! .. and yet I cant blog it.. like I said, yet. So, those of you who are sticking with me and checking in every once in awhile.. thanks. I am slowly keeping it going until I can post more.. you all know how much I like to write and post!!

I am still living on green smoothies.. on days when I am not in the test kitchen I drink usually 2-3 big ones a day. I get at least one in on testing days. & I really miss it and feel it when I dont drink as many. ..or get enough green. I pop chlorella, mushroom caps, turmeric, enzymes, maca, etc etc (not all at the same time) but regularly.   

I had a huge Taboulli salad tonight.  I made zucchetti & marinara last night. I am enjoying keeping it simple.. I always have a case of mangoes going now (its mango season), I regularly make almond milk, keep lots of granola, bananas.. crackers antipasto..  oh tomatoes, really into tomatoes these days ..and sprouts of course!

I still (always) consider myself so blessed to have discovered Raw Living!!

I need to stretch a lot these days.. I wonder if its detox ..or spring?  ..maybe its some sort of inner awakening?  ..I may not know till its too late!! ; ) 

"Think of all the pleasures in life -- food, friends, love, hot showers, babies, nature, the sky, animals, dancing, singing, creative expression, books, music, films, the Internet, beauty, sunshine, skin, touch, sensuality, massage, swimming, water, fruit…the list goes on…. Make a list of pleasures, and see! Did someone design this place as a giant amusement park for us?" ~ Jinjee

"Maybe everything we've ever done has been for love" ~ Byron Katie

“The most valuable skill that you could ever develop is the skill of directing your thoughts toward what you want—to be adept at quickly evaluating all situations and then quickly coming to the conclusion of what you most want—and then giving your undivided attention to that.” ~ Esther & Jerry Hicks from Money, and the Law of Attraction

A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness affect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and steady self-awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part. ~Anonymous

Hawaiian Waves

These are some of surfer Clark Little's amazing photographs of some of Hawaii's waves. The above is his favorite. 

Truth Calkins Videos: Instant Stress Relief and Flu Tonic

Instant Stress Relief


Holy Basil - Tulsi - Lowers cortisol, Stops stress. Heightens awareness, Opens consciousness. Great for meditation.. feel very present. Boosts Immune system. Gentle antibiotic. Antioxidant. Kills some candida. Reduces inflammation.
Spiritual growth herb. Most sought after herb in Greek herbalism and Ayervedic herbalism for last 5000 years.

Flu Tonic


1 t Silver
1 t Kyolic Garlic
3 drops Oil of Oregano

Happy Mothers Day to you and me and everyone whoever helped a child grow.

Mother

e e cummings
MOTHER

if there are any heavens my mother will (all by
herself) have
one. It will not be a pansy heaven nor
a fragile heaven of lilies-of-the-valley but
it will be a heaven of blackred roses 

my father will be (deep like a rose
tall like a rose) 

standing near my 

(swaying over her
silent)
with eyes which are really petals and see 

nothing with the face of a poet really which
is a flower and not a face with
hands
which whisper
This is my beloved my 

(suddenly in sunlight 

he will bow, 

& and the whole garden will bow) 


(reposted from Alive On All Channels )

YouTube Inspiration - Arnold, David Wolfe and David Hawkings

Arnold from Arnolds Way. I started off tonight to find some very inspiratonal videos I watched of Arnolds a few nights ago (to post here) but then I realized there were so to go through - He has 410 videos on Youtube!! & I decided to watch one of him, I've watched lots of him interviewing others.. interesting to learn more about him. & hes, of course, inspiring. ; )



I could just listen to David all night!! Super inspirational! & Always something new to consider.



David Hawkings wrote one of my favorite books - Power vs Force. Loved getting to see him being interviewed here.

Happiness

Thoughts on Happiness

Choose Happiness. In order to be happy, its important to choose happiness. It is a choice we make. : ) 

Choose to be an environment of happiness. Choose to be around people who bring you up and make you feel good. Choose to listen to positive information. Listen to Optimistic, Successful, Creative and Motivational people.

Eat Healthy. Get enough Sleep. Exercise.
Food does affect your emotions and attitude. Raw foodists naturally feel happy, connected, an inner joy of being alive, its not coincidental.. its coded into the food, it fills us with light and makes us feel good. 

Take action. Be Pro-Active. Give back to the Universe.
Happy people are often those who are giving to others, those who get out of themselves and give back. It is this giving out which fills us up and we feel complete and satiated and abundant.

Gratitude. When we are thankful we are acknowledging what we Have and what IS in out life. This naturally makes us feel full, complete and abundant.
It also puts us into the Now.. out of the past (fear) or the future (worry). When we are fully in the now, there is no fear or worry, those states only belong in the ego mind and never in the now.

Do things that make you feel good. 

Do your best. Always.

But mostly choose to be happy ..and then, expect happiness.

Colorful Caves and Exotic Fruit

I've got lots of exotic fruit snacks and green superfood smoothies packed and am off to go hang out in some fantastic caves tonight.. may make it a few day trip.. wanna come on an adventure? Come, lets go!!