The Yule tree and the 10 most magnificent other trees in the world

It's Christmas season and I am extra unusually busy today.. experimenting with a new posting strategy. .and then off to get a tree & get presents ready and cards mailed off. Everything else in my life is changing but Christmas still remains..
Hey, I have kids, well-teenagers- and amazing Christmas memories, I do love Christmas!

I think a Christmas (or Yule) tree should be on this list.

10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

from a neatorama.com posting - click heading to see full article

"A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food,
warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to
those who wield an axe to cut it down" - Buddha.

There are probably hundreds of majestic and magnificent trees in the world - of these, some are particularly special:

10. Lone Cypress in Monterey

(Image credit: bdinphoenix [flickr])

(Image credit: mikemac29 [flickr])

Buffeted by the cold Pacific Ocean wind, the scraggly Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, California, isn’t a particularly large tree. It makes up for its small size, however, with its iconic status as a stunningly beautiful tree in splendid isolation, framed by an even more beautiful background of the Pacific Ocean.

9. Circus Trees

As a hobby, bean farmer Axel Erlandson [wiki] shaped trees - he pruned, bent, and grafted trees into fantastic shapes and called them "Circus Trees." For example, to make this "Basket Tree" arborsculpture, Erlandson planted six sycamore trees in a circle and then grafted them together to form the diamond patterns.

Basket Tree (Image credit: jpeepz [flickr])

The two-legged tree (Image credit: Vladi22, Wikipedia)

Ladder tree (Image credit: Arborsmith)

Erlandson was very secretive and refused to reveal his methods on how to grow the Circus Trees (he even carried out his graftings behind screens to protect against spies!) and carried the secrets to his grave.

The trees were later bought by millionaire Michael Bonfante, who transplanted them to his amusement park Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy in 1985.

8. Giant Sequoias: General Sherman

(Image credit: Humpalumpa [flickr])

Giant Sequoias only grow in Sierra Nevada, California, are the world’s biggest trees (in terms of volume). The biggest is General Sherman in the Sequoia National Park - 2,200 years old, 275 feet tall, and weighs over 6000 tons.

Each year, the tree adds enough wood to make a regular 60-foot tall tree. It’s no wonder that naturalist John Muir said "The Big Tree is Nature’s forest masterpiece, and so far as I know, the greatest of living things."

7. Coast Redwood: Hyperion and Drive-Thru Trees

There is another sequoia species (not to be confused with Giant Sequoia) that is quite remarkable: the Coast Redwood, the tallest trees in the world.

The reigning champion is a tree called Hyperion in the Redwood National Park, identified by researcher Chris Atkins and amateur naturalist Michael Taylor in 2006. Measuring over 379 feet (155.6 115 m) tall, Hyperion beat out the previous record holder Stratosphere Giant [wiki] in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park (at 370 feet / 112.8 m).

That’s not all that’s amazing about the Coast Redwood: there are four giant California redwoods big enough that you can drive your car through them!

The most famous of the drive-through trees is the Chandelier Tree [wiki] in Leggett, California. It’s a 315 foot tall redwood tree, with a 6 foot wide by 9 foot tall hole cut through its base in the 1930s.

Chandelier Tree. (Image credit: hlh-abg [flickr])

6. Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse

Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse (Image credit: Old trees in Netherlands & Europe)

The Chêne-Chapelle (Chapel-Oak) of Allouville-Bellefosse is the most famous tree in France - actually, it’s more than just a tree: it’s a building and a religious monument all in one.

In 1669, l’Abbe du Detroit and du Cerceau decided to build a chapel in (at that time) a 500 years old or so oak (Quercus robur) tree made hollow by a lightning bolt. The priests built a small altar to the Virgin Mary. Later on, a second chapel and a staircase were added.

Now, parts of the tree are dead, the crown keeps becoming smaller and smaller every year, and parts of the tree’s bark, which fell off due to old age, are covered by protective oak shingles. Poles and cables support the aging tree, which in fact, may not live much longer. As a symbol, however, it seems that the Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse may live on forever.

5. Quaking Aspen: Pando (The Trembling Giant)

Aspen grove (Image credit: scottks1 [flickr])

Quaking Aspen in winter (Image credit: darkmatter [flickr])

Pando [wiki] or the Trembling Giant in Utah is actually a colony of a single Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree. All of the trees (technically, "stems") in this colony are genetically identical (meaning, they’re exact clones of one another). In fact, they are all a part of a single living organism with an enormous underground root system.

Pando, which is Latin for "I Spread," is composed of about 47,000 stems spread throughout 107 acres of land. It estimated to weigh 6,600 tons, making it the heaviest known organism. Although the average age of the individual stems are 130 years, the entire organism is estimated to be about 80,000 years old!

4. Montezuma Cypress: The Tule Tree

The Tule Tree Towers over a church next to it (Image credit: jubilohaku [flickr])

Full width of the Tule Tree (Image credit: Gengiskanhg, Wikipedia)

Close-up of the tree’s gnarled trunk. Local legends say that you can make out animals like jaguars and elephants in the trunk, giving the tree the nickname of "the Tree of Life" (Image credit: jvcluis [flickr])

El Árbol del Tule [wiki] ("The Tule Tree") is an especially large Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) near the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. This tree has the largest trunk girth at 190 feet (58 m) and trunk diameter at 37 feet (11.3 m). The Tule tree is so thick that people say you don’t hug this tree, it hugs you instead!

3. Banyan Tree: Sri Maha Bodhi Tree

The Banyan tree is named after "banians" or Hindu traders who carry out their business under the tree. Even if you have never heard of a Banyan tree (it was the tree used by Robinson Crusoe for his treehouse), you’d still recognize it. The shape of the giant tree is unmistakable: it has a majestic canopy with aerial roots running from the branches to the ground.

Banyan tree (Image credit: Diorama Sky [flickr])

If you were thinking that the Banyan tree looks like the trees whose roots snake through the ruins of the Ta Prohm temple like tentacles of the jungle (Lara Croft, anyone?) at Ankor, Cambodia , you’d be right!

Banyan tree (or is it silk-cotton tree?) in the ruins of Ta Prohm, Ankor, Cambodia
(Image Credit: Casual Chin [flickr])

One of the most famous species of Banyan,is the Sri Maha Bodhi [wiki] tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is said that the tree was grown from a cutting from the original tree under which Buddha became enlightened in the 6th century BC.

Planted in 288 BC, it is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world, with a definitive planting date!

2. Bristlecone Pine: Methuselah and Prometheus, the Oldest Trees in the World.

Methuselah Grove (Image Credit: NOVA Online)

Bristlecone pine grove in which Prometheus grew (Image credit: James R. Bouldin, Wikipedia)

The oldest living tree in the world is a White Mountains, California, bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) named Methuselah [wiki], after the Biblical figure who lived to 969 years old. The Methuselah tree, found at 11,000 feet above sea level, is 4,838 years old - it is not only the oldest tree but also the oldest living non-clonal organism in the world.

Before Methuselah was identified as the world’s oldest tree by Edmund Schulman in 1957, people thought that the Giant Sequoias were the world’s oldest trees at about 2,000 years old. Schulman used a borer to obtain a core sample to count the growth rings of various bristlecone pines, and found over a dozen trees over 4,000 years old.

The story of Prometheus [wiki] is even more interesting: in 1964, Donald R. Currey [wiki], then a graduate student, was taking core samples from a tree named Prometheus. His boring tool broke inside the tree, so he asked for permission from the US Forest Service to cut it down and examine the full cross section of the wood. Surprisingly the Forest Service agreed! When they examined the tree, Prometheus turned out to be about 5,000 years old, which would have made it the world’s oldest tree when the scientist unwittingly killed it!

Stump of the Prometheus Tree. (Image Credit: James R. Bouldin, Wikipedia)

Today, to protect the trees from the inquisitive traveler, the authorities are keeping their location secret (indeed, there are no photos identifying Methuselah for fear of vandalism).

1. Baobab

The amazing baobab or monkey bread tree can grow up to nearly 100 feet (30 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. Their defining characteristic: their swollen trunk are actually water storage - the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallon (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions.

Baobab trees are native to Madagascar (it’s the country’s national tree!), mainland Africa, and Australia. A cluster of "the grandest of all" baobab trees can be found in the Baobab Avenue, near Morondava, in Madagascar:

(Image credit: Fox-Talbot, Wikipedia)

(Image credit: plizzba [flickr])

(Image credit: Daniel Montesino [flickr])

In Ifaty, southwestern Madagascar, other baobabs take the form of bottles, skulls, and even teapots:

Teapot baobab (Image credit: Gilles Croissant)

Enlightenment and Freedom - Limitless.com - Lee Harris and Story Waters

Channeler Lee Harris speaks on Enlightenment and Awakening



I have been listening to a cd made from a free download from this page - it is very interesting and I will post more from it later.. perhaps post its key concepts tomorrow. The download is called 'You have Arrived. The Time is Now." This channel/talk by Story Waters was recorded in Brighton on the 11th of August 2007 at a Conscious Creation Seminar. Though it contains useful information for all, it speaks directly to those on the path of spiritual awakening who have been feeling, and anticipating, the dawn of a shift for sometime. The wait is over!

The Meaning of Life in 700 Words - Story Waters

Limitlessness Key Concepts

You are the sovereign creator of your personal reality. You are a divine expression of All That Is. You are the creator in an individualized exploration of self-created beingness. There is no expression of beingness that you cannot choose to be. We are each the potential of all creation exploring itself.

You are infinitely free in your beingness. The realization of limitlessness is to step fully into your Self – the infinitely free power of creation. You do however create within the limits of your chosen beliefs. All perceived limits to what you can do are reflections of ways in which you are holding limiting beliefs about what you are.

You are completely responsible for your own experience. Though you may co-create with many other beings all co-creation is a choice. Your reality is always reflecting your current choice of beingness to you. You are That Which Chooses. All ideas of blaming ‘ other' for your current reality is a way in which you are in denial of your own creatorship. Any pain that you feel is a reflection of a way in which you are in separation from an aspect of All That You Are.

Human life is an incredible choice you are willingly making. You chose to enter embodiment in this physical-temporal reality due to the unique and amazing way in which beingness is experienced and explored here. The duality of this reality affords the most vibrant experiences known: the potential for incredible love and joy are as available as pain and suffering. You are choosing to be here to explore this amazing territory of beingness. When you embrace, rather than reject, your humanity, you will integrate the limitless freedom of your Divine Self with the unique diversity of your Human Self.

Life ( and plans)

I'm so amazed at myself (so, what else is new? lol) that I have decided to get a blog posting in.. My old job (selling furniture & tiffany lamps and cool household stuff here in the Beaches) just called & I am leaving to go into work in less than an hour..scrambling out of my pj's (yes, it's true, I have not been outside yet) to get down there.. I am in between putting on socks as I write this (no joke!) dinner to make for the kids.. big salad, plate of cut up veggies & leftover whatever is in the fridge (they'll manage) So, my plans for today are slightly thwarted.

And what was on the agenda, now that I am unemployed??? (sort of)
My plan today was.. write a book. ..or start to ( I wrote the outline yesterday - am hardcore dedicated to doing this finally - had an idea to do it before starting at ToSprouts last summer) so work on that, sponge & sand plaster in the bathroom.. we have a lot of drywalling, sanding & painting to do before selling this house next year, clean out kitchen cupboards and write Christmas cards.

Wow! But now that I am heading out to work for the evening I will have to put a bit of it off till tomorrow. I did get my Christmas cards done.. and thats a major thing.. tried to narrow it down to just the essential, around 80. but thats nothing.. I used to hand make them!!! (& they were gorgeous! ; ) k, boots are now on.. doing some serious multi-tasking >>and I am off.

xo, Love you!

Leaving Toronto Sprouts, No meat! ..and dishes from the potluck

Had to post a pic of my plate from the potluck.. like an orgasmic firework of rainbow colours on a plate! ..hows that for a description.?? lol I just had to try everything ..and this didn't even include the desserts.. raw desserts are the best and there were lots!

It was a bittersweet event though because just previously that day I had given my notice..well, more than that. I walked. which was really hard to do because I love that place. I would have been going there to hang out if I wasn't already getting paid to be there. I felt very connected there on many levels.. it was my entertainment, education, the people there are like family to me, the food is amazing..I lived on sprouts and green smoothies, wheatgrass and lots of great foods, which I got to share with great people. It was an amazing time, amazing memories!

but I am not going in today. The cafe is bringing in meat and going more commercial. I had told them when meat came in I was going out. So Saturday they wheeled the stove in (not even a pretty stove ..and electric ugh) to replace me. sniff.. it was really sad,meat samples came in.. Monday morning ham and tuna sandwiches were going on the menu. It was sad ..but necessary for me to leave. I started working there because it was raw vegan. Green smoothies were popular but it just wasn't enough. ..I do understand their position (not on the meat) but in trying to attract a lunch crowd.. I was ok with that, and even helping to make the soups(& cooked food). I'm actually very good at it. lol anyway....

Someone said something tome Saturday that stuck..
"Every time you buy meat you are paying another person to commit murder for you" Think about it, it's true. It wouldn't be so bad perhaps, if people would go hunt and kill their own animals for food. (well, that really is still killing, but if you're ok with that, its all your choice) But too many people have blinders on, don't even think of meat as meat or where it comes from ..don't even thank the animal that gave its life..not to mention that most of these animals don't even get to see the sunshine or walk on grass.. its not a fairytale land in the slaughterhouse. Many people don't even think about what it is they are putting into their mouths, into their bodies. Most people don't have a clue. Wake up! & I said to them "I really hope it's at least organic meat?" They said yes.. but I have seen the other organic stuff slide. & really, even organic doesn't mean any better living conditions for the animals, they can still grow up in a box, with no family or anyone around them, no sunshine, a hard cruel life full of torture and still have organic grain to eat.

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” Paul McCartney

I had told them months ago when talk of bringing meat in came up that if it did I couldn't be there anymore. "If meat comes in, I go out." I am not getting all self-righteous about this. I am not even that concerned what other people do (if thats the right word) ..but I am concerned what I do. I just can't work there. I think thats an obvious choice ..more difficult now however, at this point in my life.

k, got off on a tangent. Back to the potluck..which was wonderful, so many people.. so much happiness but interspersed with a few tears. The music was great, the atmosphere is always wonderful there.. and the food - amazing! Here are some notes - ingredients of dishes collected from the tables afterwards..just to give some inspiration & ideas..

Carrot Apple Salad - 1 1/2 c apple (sm cubes), 2 c carrots (shredded), 1/2 c raisins, 1 T gur (jaggery) syrup, 1/2 t vanilla extract, salt + nutmeg, coconut and orange juice.

Kale Salad - kale, avocado, tomato, lemon juice, salt & cayenne.

Sprouted Lentil Salad - green lentils, cherry tomatoes, red onion, salt, lime juice, cayenne, cumin.

Qunioa Tabbuleh - white/red quinoa, avocado, parsley, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice, Love.

Delicious Salad- Zucchini, yams (both thinly sliced) portobello mushrooms, hot peppers, garlic, braggs or nama shoyu, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil.

Fettucini Alfredo - zucchini (noodles). sauce: cashews, almond milk, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, oregano, miso, black pepper.

Sweet and Sour Neatballs

Sun-dried Tomato Cashew Loaf - cashews, sun seeds, tomatoes, chives, parsley, garlic, peppercorns.

Lemon Date Pudding - Dates, lemon, avocado, raw org. cane sugar.

Spicy Cinnamon Cacao Mousse - raw cacao beans, cacao butter, coconut milk, agave, maplesyrup, vanilla beans, cinnamon bark, chili peppers.
ps. this last one is by Frederick- cacao alchemist and frequency activator - click link above to go to his site!

psps - all pics from Sat are posted in facebook

Pot Luck Pics

It was an incredible feast. Someone said to me "You couldn't go anywhere in the city to get food like this, at any cost." and it was so true, the meal was phenomenal.

Pot lucks are the best and quickest way to get introduced to raw food dishes, to get inspired and educated.

.. and the social aspect is great also. Meeting other like-minded people, seeing old friends and making new friends is always wonderful.

This is Fred. (although he's usually smiling : ) This man makes the most amazing raw truffles and chocolates in the whole wide world! They are a big part of my diet. He's into some seriously high vibe stuff!!!

My soul sister, Mi-San.

Justin, I'm really going to miss working with you (& everyone else there!).
ps - I'll explain tomorrow

Stephen, Garry & Sandra

Dale and I

Michelle, Matt and Anson

Me, Ruben and Stephen

(we are going partying after for Rubens birthday!)

Me, Michelle, James (Nujima) and Ruben
I am drinking the most delicious organic, fresh,local cherry-apple cider in the world!

Michelle was drawing this. I told her I would post it..it is going to be so much fun. The DJ is incredible - he was playing at the Turning point - ballroom at the Gladstone, where we went after the pot luck. I definitely plan on going to the Winter Solstice Celebration!!

Party after the pot luck.

It was a wonderful night!

Luke's Green Pate

This is Luke. So glad I remembered my camera!!! Luke is fun in the kitchen.. and we get along great- He says if I walk, he's walking too! lol (rawvolution?)

I have been really into Luke's Green Pate lately.. I eat it almost every day for lunch - put it extra thick on a slice of raw bread, cut in strips and pile broccoli sprouts on top.. I usually eat it with a huge sprout salad made with sunflower sprouts, pea greens, alfalfa, broccoli & ancient eastern blend (sprouted fenugreek, adzuki & lentils) all mixed together ..maybe tomato, red pepper, avocado, cucumber, whatever is around and our amazing Lemon-Ginger-Date Dressing.
Sprouts are a staple for me. Hey, I work at a sprout farm. ..but things are changing there also.
Lots of transitions going on!!!

But the good news is Luke is letting me post his pate recipe!
This stuff reminds me of a sandwich spread I used to eat when I was a kid.. I love it!

Luke's Green Pate

1 liter sunflower seeds “pre-soaked”
3 bunches of parsley “4c packed”
3 jalapeño peppers
2 onions
6 globs of olive oil “1/2c – 1cup”
3 globs of vinegar “1/4 cup”
5 garlic cloves “medium – large”
Salt “lots”
Pepper “some”
Cayenne “a bit”
Agave “a bit”
Lemon/lime juice “1 lemon or lime juiced, lime is best”
SOY “optional does not make it raw unless you use raw soy - nama shoyu”

First chop up the jalapenos, onions and garlic. De-stem the parsley all we want is the leaves, and soak the sunflower seeds if not all ready done they should soak about 4 hours or over night for best results. Juice the lemon/lime and put in a bowl.

Open the quiznart, add in the peppers, onions and garlic. Close the lid and hit on “2 min”

Reopen the quiznart and add in the oil and vinegar. Close the lid and hit pulse a couple of times to give the liquid momentum then hit on. or else the mixture will explode and over flow out the side depending on your model of mixer. “30 seconds”

Reopen the quiznart and add in the spices + lemon/lime juice and soy “if you want”. Please note a lot of salt is required.

Slowly add in parsley in the open hole at the top while unit is mixing. Must stress this part if you do not it will get to much at once and then it will not chop well, and the next step won’t work. Small hand fulls at a time small hand fulls or ½ cup measurements not packed.

Add in the sunflower seeds in this manner, get a large funnel or use your hands. And add about 1 tbsp every 1-2 seconds while the unit is mixing. If all added at same time it will over load and not mix. Some stirring may be required when this is mixing like to get parsley off of the sides or to turn sunflower seeds in. if you have used a quiznart before then you know what I am talking about.

Let blend for about 5 min and then put in a container and refrigerate. Lasts about a week. Use your instincts if it smells bad or looks extra funky then don’t eat it. (lol) Taste great on raw bread or as a base on a cracker sandwich platter.

Made By: Lucas Jagelewski

ps Raw Pot Luck tonight at Toronto Sprouts

Rushing out the door... but theres a Raw pot luck happening tonight at work, Toronto Sprouts, starting at 6-6:30 Everyones welcome. & yes, I do have my camera this time! : )

oh, ps ps I got to browse through Duane's copy of the #7 Anastasia book - The Energy of Life & it looks amazing - like the best one so far..it looks like a lot of the content is about the nature of our thoughts and there is one chapter titled Divine Nutrition.. can't wait to get a copy of it!!

Ho'oponopono & The Easiest Way by Mabel Katz

I have been practising Ho'oponopono a lot these past few days. It is the most phenomenal techniques to send out love and ease to people who are stressed.. although in the process you are not healing them, you are healing yourself. The basis of ho'oponoponois that if there is a problem out there, anything that you are conscious of, everything from a lover or child upset or angry to George Bush or wars, political issues, you name it, no matter how removed they seemingly are from you.. it is all coming from within you.. and by healing the part of yourself that is conscious of this struggle or anything that is negative it heals it not only in you but out-there as well. It erases the programs.

We all have programs running all the time.We don't realize it usually but they are running 24/7 ..like a looped tape. Dr Len (Zero Limits) talks about it and so does Echart Tolle, authot of one of the best books ever! - Power of Now & also A New Earth. So the idea is to erase the negative tapes that we have playing..and when we erase the tapes within ourselves, we erase them in others.. and it is all done by taking complete responsibility for everything going on (even out-there) and asking for forgiveness and expressing gratitude.

It is the simplest thing ever & the most complex thing ever also. The simplest things always are. Most people can not even deal with simplicity it is so deep and powerful.. it is real. The truths are all hidden in simplicity (right in front of our faces - thats the hardest place to find something).

My favorite part of Mabels book is the last chapter.. this paragraph is from the last chapter (p. 85) just before she summarizes and explains the freeing process of Ho'oponopono:

"Then I tell myself "I am creating this. They are my thoughts of the other person. It is a product of my own programming, my recordings, my perception. I can erase it." This simple process gives me a peace that I can't describe with words. Why? Because I don't stay trapped in thoughts like, "How could he say that to me? How could she do that to me?" I don't expect the other person to change, react in a specific way or do something specific. What a relief! I don't depend on anyone outside of myself. I don't expect myself to be perfect or to please the whole world. I don't need to convince anyone of my point of view. I learned to respect and understand that we all have free will and not allof us choose the same things. This reality brings me a lot of inner peace. There is no problem. Good and bad are parameters that we create in our minds. As long as we love ourselves and take care of ourselves,we will love and take care of others as well."

Bonus: This is a link to a 6 minute interview of Eckhart Tolle by Oprah that I listened to recently. I love anything Tolle!

Kelp forest under the ocean - Kelp chips, salty & mineral rich!

I was thinking about how I was slacking with my diet a bit lately and decided I need to make a more concerted effort to stick with eating raw through this. It can be hard at work because I often feel like I am the center of the support system there. People come in to see and be motivated by me. Sadly, our cafe is getting more & more cooked food (out of my control) ..& it's easier to slack now there. It occurred to me yesterday that the problem was more I wasn't thinking about food as much, just wanted to grab what was easy..too many other things on my mind.. and we know how easy conventional food is, its everywhere.

So I guess the solution is to just be more focused and not let myself slide..and stay around moreof my positive and when possible, raw friends. It was great yesterday I had quite a few comevisit..and bring food. Jesica brought her new dessert creation - cherry vanilla cheezecake with candied pecan crust. Amazing! & Fred came in with truffles (Thank God - I was getting dangerously low - am well stocked up now!) but he brought the most amazing thing.. he was telling me about this earlier but just brought it for me to try.

Kelp flakes form the Pacific ocean.Ok, this may not sound amazing..but really it is.I had it in my head that I didn't really like kelp.. yet, knew there were minerals in there that I really needed. I am slightly mineral deficient (not even remotely close to when I was on cookedfood though!) - everyone is.. really.That is the hugest problem with our diets - none of us have the minerals that we need. They are so hard to get, the soil is so depleted.. the ocean is really where we can get our nutrients from. Sea vegetables are one of the most amazing, mineral rich things you can put into your body.

So, Fred told me before that he eats this dried kelp like chips and I wanted to try it.. still thinking I probably wouldn't like it..and ykw? He is right, it's true. This stuff is amazing..I can just sit & eat it like chips- totally amazing!!! I am not even really big on the flavorof sea vegetables..but this stuff tastes great! I will find out where to get it from & let you know later.

Picture above of an underwater kelp forest from Skips site -He takes amazing underwater photos!
& checkout this video, theres a whole amazing world going on down there!

HD Underwater -Phillipines

Staying raw through stress and transition periods

(what? It's not my birthday every day of the year?? Hey, Change your name, change your birthday.. whats the difference, we can do anything, right?? sure! lol, Thank you, Pat! )

Good Morning!
As many of you know, some big transition has been going on in my life. I am in the process of a separation with my husband. Well, no we have separated, we are just going through the after effects of it and getting our lives back into balance ..it takes some time.

It is affecting me with my diet. As many of you know, cooked food blocks feelings. When you are raw you just feel everything, it is a much more connected way of being, you are much closer to nature and feelings just flow through you. It's good because everything also gets released. Think small child, baby even, they get upset and they cry, they feel and react.. it's something the same, except we have the maturity to not just cry anywhere. But you feel things deeply.. so many people in times of stress go back to cooked food. It's just easier. & I find myself drawn to it sometimes. So, I am being very conscious about it.. and yes, I have had a few, very small, bowls of soup and things like that.. still nothing like bread, I haven't had or even tasted bread in almost 3 years. I don't miss it.. I kind of did at first a bit, but I felt so amazing being raw and just got my mind onto better things.

I find I am eating more dense foods lately, that helps to ground me: nuts, our Earth bread (imho & from what I've heard - the most amazing raw bread ever!), and coconut ..I am living on young Thai coconuts lately ..have my fridge here at home & at work well stocked with them. & to balance this I am drinking wheatgrass & E3Live. My diet is still mainly green smoothies and salads.. big sprout salad almost every day at work. ..& I am still about 90% raw, but one or two days I may have gone into the 80's.. but thats life. I am just so dedicated to the raw life.. and making a concerted effort to remain so, even through this transition. I know this is the time that many people slip.. and now I am seeing first hand why. I think it's easier to block feelings with food, but even though it's more of an effort, it's so much healthier in the long run to stay raw.

I have my green smoothie, purple actually -has blueberries (& lots of other fruit) and black kale in it - k, ready? glasses up.. Heres to a beautiful raw and conscious life through any and every journey!

ps. I'm doing a lot of ho'oponoponoing lately..and am seeing the results, such a powerful thing!
Click on the link above to read a great article which explains it by Dr Joe Vitale. It's amazing.. a must read if you haven't already! This article led me to buy Dr.Hew Len's book and now I am in the middle of read in another about it by Mabel Katz. It's just the most phenomenal, simplest thing ever..and I swear it works!
Thank You, I love you! : ) Have a wonderful day!

Art Project .. aka another way to clean up files

Love the life you live,
Live the life you love.

Dreams are scriptures

Revere Life









On rocky shores, crystals of like facet cling together.



Hallway to a nightclub for the bored

Your eyes are mine and we see each other’s souls.

Curator of contentment

Accept the gift

On this path, injustice is repaid by kindness or one moves.

Be authentic

The past is my future,
My future, my past,
And I just AM

There are loving neighbours along the way and strangers who you must learn to love.

Visionary activist principle #3 requires that we ask.

Kai, Kai, Kai, Yemaya a lodo,
Kai, Kai, Kai, asesu a lodo,
Kai, Kai, Kai, Yemaya a lodo,
Kai, Kai, Kai, achaba a lodo.

Radiate and rhapsodize.

Soft and gentle music is heard above the jackhammers

The children celebrate the pebbles and running water

Sacred fires burn within

Every rose has a thorn; every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.

All shall be well,
And all shall be well,
And all manner of things shall be well.

Make things happen,

Let thin.s happen

Give peace a chance

Random Highlights - goosefeet, CVO training, our Green Toast, wheatgrass, snow, Tao #54 and Peter Ragnar's Merrie Wabbit

Random facts, inspirations, thoughts and drinks for the day:

Quinoa is also sometimes called by it's common name: goosefoot.

Dancing to the new Soundtrack, just created for the DVD, based on the book.. (from which the now-famous series is created) , which was just inspired by Mi-San last night & danced to and energetically visualized by us this aft.. what the bleep where we on???

Our morning Green Toast to the day - 13 of us in a circle all giving thanks & cheers to things in our life and to things manifesting in our life and to dreams and adventure and love and as always ending with friendship, green prosperity, inner peace and world peace!

(13 green smoothies made by me with Love & sunflower sprouts, pea greens, banana, pineapple, apple & pear.)

I am on the wheatgrass again.. stayed away for a month or so ..sometimes it just gets to be too much! ..& when I start feeling nauseous from it I just stay away because then even the smell can give you that feeling & I'm around it a lot, I juice a lot of it at work. ..but I am trying to drink it more again. & today it was the best ever..someone asked me to juice it with ginger.. so I did & then made some more like that for Luke and I ,which we washed down with lemon water..had a real tequila feel to it.

Lemon water is just a pitcher of water with some lemon slices dropped in. This is great for adding life force energy back into water after it has been filtered. Any freshly cut fruit will do the same - also good are grapes, oranges or cucumber.

From the book SEX from the Kaballah Center - clearing energies by rolling naked in the snow - details to follow...

Christine left her Tao book with me & I just opened it up to see what passage I would open it to & it was one of my favorite ones! (translated by Wu - complete book here)

#54

What is well planted can not be uprooted.
What is well embraced can not slip away.
Your descendants will carry on the ancestral sacrifice for generations without end.

Cultivate virtue in your own person,
And it becomes a genuine part of you.
Cultivate it in your family,
And it will abide.
Cultivate it in the community,
And it will live and grow.
Cultivate it in the state,
And it will flourish abundantly.
Cultivate it in the world,
And it will become universal.

Hence, a person must be judged as a person;
A family as a family;
A community as a community;
A state as a state;
The world as the world.

How do you know about the world?
By what is within me.


Article on Peter Ragnar, modern-day shaman, Taoist wizard, natural life scientist, self-master, claivoyant, healer, developer of 'Magnetic Qi Gong' (which he claims is the key to immortality) and raw foodist.
I was intrigued and downloaded his free e-book "How anybody can build muscle on a raw food diet" Reading his diet which includes 2 glasses of red wine..However, sometimes he has his favorite drink instead in the evenings - "The Merrie Wabbit" which is a combo of carrot, beet and tomato juiced in a juicer with horseradish, garlic, cayenne, half a lemon and half a lime. He adds a dash of vodka for his enjoyment (which he says you may want to leave out) and then sprinkles dried onion and parsley on top.
ok, this reminds me of a drink I used to drink.. I think I'm going to have to try this one out!