Day 211

Thoughts: Consider you are alseep while reading this - thinking about other things you have to do. You are asleep to the present moment. Asleep in the here and now and alive in your head.

Consider you judge, speculate, label and analyze, and have already created your own opinions about this blog so far.

Allow yourself to be present while reading this - even if just for a few minutes. Experience the peace of a quiet and still mind.

Consider that there is no such thing as breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There are moments of the day in which you fill up for nutrients and energy to keep your body alive.

The food companies make billions off breakfast. The food companies make billions off lunch. The food companies make billions of dinner. Eat what you want, when you want, if you truly listen to your body it will show you exactly what it needs at that moment to support it's existence.

What is keeping you alive. What is keeping your body alive?

Consider breakfast, lunch and dinner is not good or bad or in between. There is no label put on it, nor is one needed.

How much should I eat? There is no answer I can give you. It is inside of you.

We eat as much as we think we do.

What should I do to prevent cancer?

There is no answer I can give you. It is inside of you, and if you really look - the truth will be there. You will know on a cellular level what is right and what is wrong in the context of preventing cancer.

Consider that you sleep too much.

If your mind is quiet and your thoughts are of love and peace just before you go to sleep, the quality of sleep allows us to awake feeling refreshed and full of energy, ready to power through the day. It also allows us to sleep less hours, freeing up more time for us to do the things we want.

A lot of people assume that because they're feeling tired all day or have a mid afternoon 'slump' that they need more sleep.

Sleeping for too long can damage your circadian rhythm.

When we sleep for a longer time, our body temperature does not rise as fast. This is why we feel sleepy and sluggish in the mornings. The more tired we feel, the less exercise we do. Inactivity keeps the body temperature down so creating a vicious cycle.

The more sleep we have, the less time we stay awake to create our sleep quality for the following night.

Consider your body does not get exposed to sufficient sunlight to lower you melatonin levels, so you stay sleepy throughout the day.

If you believe Jesus existed - I wonder how many hours a night he slept?

Consider that you eat to much.

You don't need as much food as you think you do.

Consider that you move too less.

Consider our functions are set to consume.

Consider that everything you have learned and been taught since your birth about food is false.

Consider that food that has been processed by machines, in boxes and in packages is now dead matter going into your body.

Consider for this moment that:

It is ok to skip a meal.

It is ok to eat fruit as a meal.

It is OK to just drink a smoothie for a meal.

Some would say I ate too many meals today "9?!" and that they high too in fats - there is no right way, no wrong or good or bad. You do what you do.

Consider that you actually do love yourself so deeply, yet you have forgotten how to.

Consider that you want to love yourself unconditionally.

And those around you.

Consider that you can, and you can't - whatever your mind tells you.

Consider that you have final say in what your mind says, speaks, thinks. You are the creator of your life.

I only exist because you are creating me so right now.

Consider that you are asleep. A unconscious machine living in a human body going through the motions of life.

Consider you are still alseep while reading this - still thinking about other things you have to do - even though you reminded yourself above to be present.

I am an unconscious machine living in a human body going through the motions of life. I am only scratching the surface of awakening.

Have you recognized yourself as a machine, your habits, your identity's, your personalities are all an illusion? - keeping you here on earth in human form.

Consider that only once you recognize these things you will experience a peace and lightness that is indescribable - and only for you to experience at cellular level.

All there is, is this, exactly as it is.

You are not one way, you are an energy source always moving.

Have I offended you?

Consider that you are defending something. Something that you think is real, and perhaps not real.

Challenges: What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream?

Triumphs: The cumulative results of eating less and eating better foods is going to reach a critical mass where we will really notice some amazing differences in how we feel and look! - Jinjee talking about the 21 Day Spring Cleanse. www.thegardendiet.com

What I Ate Today:

(This is new from today: I don't eat set breakfast, lunch and dinner meals, I eat throughout the day so from now on the structure of my blogs will look like this:

Meal 1 Walnuts.

Meal 2: 2 nectarines.

Meal 3: A green juice! I juiced Kale, Lettuce, Cucumber, A lemon including the peel and a red apple.

Meal 4: A nectarine.

Meal 5: Walnuts.

Meal 6: A avocado with walnuts.

Meal 7: A nectarine

Meal 8: A grapefruit and a salad with mixed lettuce greens, spinach and rocket, with sliced avocado, mandarin, and sesame seeds.

Meal 9: A avocado with walnuts, a cup full of delicious sweet cherries! Some sesame seeds!

Exercise: A walk to the gym, a workout for abs, butt and legs! Working on film set "Squidman", walking, moving, shaking, stretching!

154 days to go!!!

Visit:
www.theearthdiet.org
www.thegardendiet.com
http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-You-Getting-Too-Much-Sleep?&id=8497

Day 212

Thoughts: Happiness.

What is your relationship to happiness?

I promise to re invent my experience of being alive and living true to my fullest self expression. Am I fulfilling on this promise? I am stingy at letting go! If circumstances are good I am happy, if circumstances are not good I am not happy. I am the source of my experience. I am not here, I think I am. You are not here, you think you are. The totality of my experience is not available to me if I am not present.

My default experience is being judgmental, anxious, always having to do something, bored, unsatisfied, craving, overeating and wanting more, thinking into the future and wanting to be there, like a machine. Tired is a story. When I call my experience tired, I am disconnected to my experience.

People are crazy about happiness.

What I know about true happiness is ...it feels good, it comes in waves, I can create it whenever I want, I don’t choose it all the time, I am happy when I eat healthy food, I can’t be happy all the time, to embrace happiness, that we deserve happiness, happiness is something we have or get or create when we work hard, my mind decides my happiness or not by surrendering or resisting.

What I am certain about happiness is ...that most people are not happy, I am happy when I exercise, I am happy when I achieve something, I am unhappy more than I am happy. I am un-present more than I am present, that I am attached to 'happiness' and always seeking it, that I cannot reach a place of happiness, it is here and now, happiness is the opposite to darkness and anger.

What makes me happy is ...being happy makes me happy, hanging out with company I love, being present, being and feeling healthy, eating raw earth foods, hanging out in nature, surfing, doing things I like, doing things that are easy and that I am good at, doing things that are challenging and mastering them, integrity, when I am my word, when I am in a state of love, when I love and forgive myself, when I think nice thoughts about myself, nectarines, avocados, macadamia nuts and cherries.

My husband also makes me happy, and I know that having said that, if he can make me happy, he can also make me unhappy. See how I give power to other people to depict my happiness?

What I don’t have that would make me happy is ...a fitter healthier body, a truly happy and free mum, rich relationships, more money, complete control over my mind, discipline to always be present.

I won’t be happy until ...I stop my self-sabotaging and bingeing on food habits, get my health, fitness and weight under control and consistency, I am doing what I love, I can unconditionally love myself, make a kick ass movie and prove to myself that I can do it, think, believe and live in abundance, I can surf regularly and spend time with nature, the earth is clean and people are happy and loving.

What I know about dealing with other peoples happiness ...if they are happy I want to be happy with them, if they are not happy I don’t want to be happy because I think they will get annoyed with my happiness, that I say things I think people want to hear to make them happy, that I like everyone to be happy with me, that if someone else annoys me I can’t be happy, that people who are not happy have forgotten themselves.

What I have learned from others and books on happiness ...is that happiness comes with peace and presence and it is not a destination to be reached, it’s a journey and you will never arrive so I should be happy on the journey. Happiness is everyone's true nature. Happiness is the opposite to anger.

What I regret about happiness is ...that I was happier years ago, that I will never be as happy as I was before, that I will never be truly happy if I keep punishing myself with making myself ill, resenting myself that I am not happy all the time, thinking that I should be happy, when I am happy thinking that it will not last and the dark cycle is coming.

I am aware that all I know and believe about happiness, and all that I have written above is false, it is my own interpretation. There is no truth to it.

What I continue to believe about happiness, even though I have evidence in my life that what I believe about happiness isn’t true is ...that circumstances make me happy, and that I am happy when I achieve everything I have set out to achieve, that when I am working to the destination point I am in default mode, and once I have made it I am happy. That eating good food, organic, no sugar, detoxing, doing yoga will make me truly happy. I am happy when my body is clean. That I create my own happiness, no one else can affect it. That I am fully responsible for my happiness. That when I am active, aware, present, alive, fully self expressed and being my word – I am happy.

What else there is for me to say about happiness is ...I enjoy the periods in which I am being happy. I like it. Things flow, life is easy, graceful, conversations are smooth and joyful, I experience peace. I don’t choose to be happy all the time as I don’t deserve it, I hit the opposite of happiness to remind myself of a transformation in my self or my thinking pattern that is needed. I know we all deserve to be happy as that should be our experience of life. Life is an illusion, so we may as well just go about and be happy. I am more often in default mode than I am happy. That I am not as happy as I used to be. That I will never be happy if I punish myself.

Take on this exercise if you choose to do so :) You may discover some new things about yourself and your relationship to happiness!

I am becoming present of my experience and how often I am not present, and not present and not aware that I am not present.

The answer is YOU.

It takes discipline to be happy! - Michael Beckwith says. So, it is not something that is supposed to come easy. It is something we work for, something we earn! "I can do that! I am not afraid of hard work!" says Jinjee the creator of the 21 day cleanse I am on - day 15 today!

"Work hard at being happy today! Don't allow a negative thought. Use self-discipline! - the kind we wish our kids had about picking up after themselves… Clean up your negative thoughts and put them in the trash! … :)"

Some snap shots from past moments that remind me what happiness is:

Family...

Dancing in the wind...

A happy and proud boy after I gave him 20 cents for 2 bags of popcorn...

Playing with my husband...

Visiting children at a school in India...


Laughing...

The Australian outback...

Peace...

Challenges: Our mind stops us from achieving, and then whinges when we don’t achieve it.

Triumphs: The creator of the 21 Day Cleanse Jinjee and her thoughts on our Journey So Far… It is not about perfection. It is about a journey of self-discovery. In fact, perfectionism hangs us up. We are all very far from perfect. And then to want to swing all the way over to "perfect" is unrealistic. We have to take baby steps, and give ourselves credit for those. Two steps forward, one step back. Focus on the new ground gained. Some days or weeks or months or years we might take 7-league-boot steps forward, but then other times we are going back as fast as we went forward. No, it isn't about perfection, but it can be about finding what really works for us, for our bodies. And it can be about discipline sometimes, about intuition sometimes, and sometimes at its best it can be about the joy of being on this path! - www.thegardendiet.com

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: a green juice celery, cucumber, kale, lettuce, a red apple and half a lemon, cherries and a nectarine

Meal 2h: 3 nectarines

Meal 3: raw cashews

Meal 4: raw soup with avocado. Soup ingredients tomato, (coriander) cilantro, salt.

Exercise: A workout at the gym for one hour, weights for legs, did some pull ups (getting there!~hehe), ab work and stair master. I am working on building my inner core strength. Working a 12 hour day on the set of "Squidman"!

153 days to go!!!

Day 213

Thoughts: Being present. May you live ALL the days of your life.

I say that being present arises when you give up things.

You give up what you know.
You give up what you think.
You give up what you believe.
You give up what feel.
You give up what you sense.
You give up what you recall.
You give up what has been said.
You give up what just happened.
You give up everything.

You give up that you are present...

The totality of my experience is not available to me if I am not present.

Are you trying to get somewhere?

Are you thinking about other things when you are talking to someone?

Are you thinking about the food you are eating, your weight, that you should or should not be eating the particular food, while you are eating?

Challenges: Being present all the time - especially when eating. I live the majority of my life out of default experience - judgmental, anxious, always having to do something, bored, unsatisfied, craving, overeating and wanting more, thinking into the future and wanting to be there, like a machine.

Triumphs: Reminding myself tired is a story. When I call my experience tired, I am disconnected to my experience.

I am certainly experiencing more energy, or a different energy, cleaner, consistent and pure having only eaten raw now for 15 days on the 21 day cleanse created by The Garden Diet www.thegardendiet.com

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: a red apple, 3 nectarines, cherries.

Meal 2: A green juice, cucumber, celery, half a lemon with the peel, a red apple, kale and lettuce.

Meal 3: 2 nectarine.

Meal 4: Almonds

Meal 5: Avocado with walnuts. Hemp seeds wrapped in lettuce.

Exercise: A 45 minute workout at the gym - 30 minutes in a dancing class - oh I love dancing, moving and shaking my body! And 15 minutes working on my abs ;)

152 days to go!!!

Day 208

Thoughts: Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.

Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who accept it, not many know how to use it effectively to get results. Yet, it seems that many are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity.

It is quite common to hear people say: "Think positive!", to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?

8 Practices that lead to Positive Thinking by Jinjee Talifero from The Garden Diet and what we practice on the 21 Day Cleanse.

1. A Good Start:

Start each day off with positive thinking, through a prayer of gratitude, meditation, journaling, or making a list of things your are thankful for.


2. Affirmations:

You don't have to do these now, but whenever you choose. It could be when you need to drum up some positive thoughts. Or it could be when you are feeling really happy and want to capture and expand this feeling in to more of your life!

…Make a list of positive affirmations, things you like about yourself, your immediate family members, and others you interact with regularly.

…Make a list of things affirming your faith in the Universe…I am loved, My greatest good along with the greatest good of all is always being met, everything works together for the good, there are not very many real emergencies, etc…

…Make a list of affirmations of things you love….I love life, I love people, I love my family, etc…

…Make a list of things you enjoy….I enjoy going out with a good friend, I enjoy walks in nature, I enjoy playing with my kids, etc….

…Make a list of things you want. Now make a list converting each of these things in to an affirmation, as though you already have it, or its already on its way.


These are all the types of things we think about, and by doing affirmations on paper, you are programming your brain to actually start thinking about things in a positive light.


3. Discipline:

"You can not afford the luxury of a negative thought". Since thoughts are habits, one negative one can snowball in to a totally negative mind-state. If you know the thoughts that set you off, you can banish them the moment they set in. I tell myself, I feel pretty good right now, and I deserve to keep feeling good, so I would rather not think that thought. Sometimes it doesn't go away right away, but I just don't give it any energy, and so it goes eventually.

You know the old Indian story about the Grandfather who tells his Grandson about a battle going on inside him between two wolves, one who is greedy, frightened, and angry, and one who is kind, peaceful, and loving. "Which one will win?" asks the Grandson. And his Grandfather answers: "The one I feed".


4. Prayer:

You can not be too negative when you are talking to the Creator of the Universes. It tends to bring out the best in us. And positive mind-states will come upon us sooner or later as a result of prayer.


5. Meditation:

Sitting or lying and focusing on our breathing for 5-15 minutes, or longer, we can just watch our thoughts and observe them without judging them. It is as though we are a third party outside of our mind, just noticing what is going on there.


6. Doing What We Love:

Doing what we love will make us happy, and when we're happy our thoughts are positive. If possible, make a career of the thing you love doing. Otherwise, spend an hour a day doing what you love, - ideally the first hour. You'll find yourself thinking more positively automatically.


7. Loving What We Do:

When we put our full attention and effort on something, we can't help but love it. So, whatever we find ourselves doing in life, do it without fear, and with all the caring we can muster. Positive thoughts will automatically follow.


8. Faith, The Final Frontier:

After practicing all kinds of things for positive thinking, I wound up realizing that my missing link was faith. I realized that I had stopped having faith. I don't know when it happened. I'm all for personal religious experience vs. church, but I guess one of the risks of being away from association with other religionists is that you can forget your faith. I was still praying. Still giving thanks. But I had purposely thrown myself in to matters of material living because I have a tendency to keep my head in the clouds otherwise.

For a while I was so worried about business it was starting to affect my health and sanity. One day during this long period of struggle and strife I suddenly realized that I was not having faith. The idea hit me like a ton of bricks. Wow, I can't believe that I forgot to have faith!

And suddenly my faith came pouring back in to me. Of course everything is going to be OK. Of course everything is happening in perfect divine order. And of course there is nothing to fear. I am taken care of, I am loved, I am receiving exactly the lessons I need, there is nothing I can't handle, I am part of the divine plan in which the greatest good of all beings is being taken in to consideration.

And by thinking these types of thoughts we activate something that makes it so.

I think that I had faith before, but not "living faith". "Faith" can be a noun, something that you possess. But "living faith" is active, a verb.

I am of no particular religious persuasion. But I am interested in all religions. I think that no matter what religious or spiritual practices we have, that we can all access faith. We can all believe in a higher power or our own higher power. This is faith. Knowing that it is not just us in control of our life. That we can ask for help, that we can receive help, that we are loved and cared for, that the Universe is on our side. And being open to this help, this love. And trusting it.

I think most people have had an experience of a benevolent "presence". Or they have had fleeting glimpses of some power outside of themselves helping and affecting their lives.

If not a "believer" in a higher power outside of ourselves, perhaps one could imagine a Unified Consciousness, in which all humans are joined as One. This Consciousness could be made of Love, and one could have faith in this greater Oneness of humanity.

Rev. Michael Beckwith has stated, "Reverence for the body temple as a vehicle of the Spirit that lives in, as, and through us is reflected through how we care for the body in terms of balanced nourishment from food....." - http://www.agapelive.com

Copyright The Garden Diet, 2010
Author: Jinjee Talifero
For more from this author see: http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Challenges: “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” - Buddha

Triumphs: Engage in group activities that further transformation.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: The juice of 2 grapefruits and 2 oranges.

Lunch: Grapes and a mango.

Dinner: Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds.

Dessert: A delicious sweet pear!

Snacks: Green and red grapes.

Exercise: A run and a dance in the morning and working, moving, all day on set of "Squidman".

157 days to go!!!

Introduction by www.successconsciousness.com/index_000009.htm
Visit: www.theearthdiet.org

Day 209

Thoughts: Neural pathways. We all have them. Whether you are aware of them or not, they are there. A neural pathway, or neural tract, connects one part of the nervous system, most notably the brain. Clusters of neurons can work together to create a memory, belief or a learned behavior. When neurons are connected in this way, they are referred to as a neural pathway. The brain continues to build new neural pathways throughout our whole lives, as long as we require our brains to perform new functions such as learning a new language or a new motor skill.

The human brain consists of some 10 billion interconnected nerve cells with innumerable extensions. This interlacing of nerve fibers and their junctions allows a nerve impulse to follow any of a virtually unlimited number of pathways. The effect is to give humans a seemingly infinite variety of responses to sensory input, which may depend upon experience, mood, or any of numerous other factors.

Creation of a "Comfort Food"

Patrick Glancy gives this example, Neural pathways are created when we experience life events. But, experience itself is not necessarily the issue, it is the unique perspective of the experience is. A child exposed to arguing parents may be just as troubled as the child who is neglected or abused. A neural pathway can be created that is a 'belief of self'. This is something that could make the child feel sad, alone, or 'less than' other people around them. While this pathway can be changed by other, more positive experiences, it often remains a part of this person's perception. Repetition of these experiences will reinforce the pathway.

For example, the same child has her eight year old birthday party. Both of her parents and her brother are there and happy. She feels a mixture of happy, joy, and love. These strong good feelings are a unique part of this experience, along with the ice cream. Her young mind creates a neural pathway that associates ice cream with a release of the neuropeptides that contain these positive emotions. Over the following years, the repetition of her birthdays, as well as friend's birthdays, reinforces this pathway. When she has ice cream, this neural pathway automatically responds with the release of the associated neuropeptides for the good feeling.

This example is about food. But, you can apply this model to any behavior or habit there is. Not every behavior has both a positive and negative motivator, though many do. Having both makes the behavior more difficult to 'break'. In some cases there is not an emotional component to a behavior. Like the previous example of locking your car door. This is sometimes seen in snacking, the reaching part of the smoking habit (when the smoker reaches for where they used to keep cigarettes without experiencing a craving to smoke) and habits like tongue thrusts, jaw clenching, and picking.

It is possible to re-programm your neural pathways as my great friend Jonathan Stone has experienced, "Ive had a realization in the past few days. It all started a month ago when I woke up with a sense of a no care attitude. I started to not worry about anything, money, relationships, career, I mean anything. I was care free. I had pure freedom. As my trainer said my brain had to create new neural pathways for me to come into this new perception of life. But by creating a no care attitude I then unconsciously created boredom. In quantum physics and in Buddhism they reason that everything is connected and one, and that all possible realities exist. As the universe is infinite, whatever thought we think of manifests with continual use of focus. So nothing is impossible for me. I know all that needs to be known as every possible reality exists. By continually focusing on a certain reality, I bring it into my own existence. So technically speaking for example... I'm already married to you, divorced, had kids, millionaire, famous actor, drug abuser whatever the human mind can imagine it already exists as a possible reality. I have accomplished everything as everything exists as a possible reality. The reason why we come back into this life is to forget what we already know (that we are unlimited and that we have unlimited knowledge and experiences) then start from scratch and find meaning in our lives. As Landmark says there is no meaning in life, we give it meaning. If you know everything, then there is no meaning as life would become boring. Its not about the destination, but the journey in self discovery.

Recently I have become bored with life as I know that every reality I ever wanted exists. The only challenges I have are the ones I give myself. Whatever I imagine like flying like superman to inventing unbelievable inventions all exist, I just need to hold my focus on it and it will come in line with my own reality. I now wish to forget everything again as it has become too easy and boring. I am still continuing with my projects as my life still needs focus, but nothing fears me. I am unlimited. Any knowledge I ever wanted exists, I just need to focus on it then I will know it. Universal consciousness is like a library or better yet the neural connections in the brain. If you want a particular knowledge or life experience, you just need to choose the right book or neural pathway. By realizing that I have everything I ever wanted, you come to a point that you don't need to learn anything or experience anything because you already have in the unlimited possibilities that exist. I now look forward to inspiring ones to open there minds to what awaits them. There are no more challenges as I have experienced every unlimited challenge in this universe. Next time if I decide to come back, I will have to give myself greater challenges and start over again by knowing nothing then learn over again that you don't need to learn as you already know everything as you are unlimited. Hopefully you understand my thinking. I am finally free and unlimited. Nothing is impossible as it already exists, I just need to bring it into my own reality. Have an AWESOME magical day today. With unlimited love. Your fellow universal earth child, the entity known as Jonathan Stone".

Jonathan and I modelling last year for a Valentines Campaign

Challenges: Allowing myself to stress. I know every time I stress it creates acidity in my body. Kora Webb the fitness coach and raw vegan chef on the 21 Day Cleanse says "Don't stress too much! Stress in one form or another is the cause of most dis-eases today! If you feel stressed take 10 deep breaths and focus on the solution rather than the problem! When you are feeling tired take a break, drink lots of water and grab an apple to give you some quick life force energy! Also, do not deprive or starve yourself because it will only make situations worse. Be disciplined and responsible for your own health. Remember, you have to be your best to serve your best! Never be too busy for yourself! You have to take care of yourself first to better take care of others! Yes! That means daily workouts and eating the healthiest foods for your body as often as possible!".

Triumphs: Jinjee the creator of the 21 Day Cleanse I am on wrote this today, "People of like consciousness naturally group together. Therefore if you want to improve your friendships or position in life, the swiftest route is to raise your own consciousness to the level you are seeking. Then you will find yourself surrounded by people of your consciousness, like metal filings to a magnet."

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: The juice of 1 large grapefruit and 2 oranges.

Lunch: A massive salad - lettuce greens, kale, hemp seeds, olive oil, himalayan salt, cucumber, corriander (cilantro) and parsley!

Dinner: 1 avocado with walnuts. Mango. 2 nectarines.

Dessert: 1 nectarines.

Snacks: A grapefruit.

Recipe: Recipes will be included in the earth diet book that is released in Novemeber.

Exercise: A run in the morning, and a dance. Moving, walking, stretching while working on set of "Squidman"!

156 days to go!!!

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_pathway
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0857003.html
http://www.glancyhypnosis.com/content/neural-pathways-and-behaviors

Day 210

Thoughts: The RAW experience.

I have been 100% raw now for 12 days. I am participating in the 21 Day Cleanse with The Garden Diet creators. Before being entirely raw I ate majority raw with cooked meals every now and then.

During the first week of this 3-week Cleanse I've eaten a lot "cleaner", "lighter", and healthier than usual. I've taken in a great variety of fresh, raw, organic nutrients. I have experienced a new level of raw foods; all fresh foods and no dehydrated foods or powdered "superfoods".

I have been cleansing my cells with fruits and their juices, nourishing my cells with vegetables and greens, while providing nuts, keeping me from detoxing too fast, and to give me the calories to do work-outs, work on film set for 12 hours and have lots of energy.

Working out during this cleanse has helped me to detox without discomfort, to tone muscles, and to further squeeze out toxins via the lymphatic system.

Things I'm learning from eating only raw foods:
- I don't need as much food as I think I do
- It is OK to skip a meal
- Fruits are the cleansers, greens are the builders
- There is no such thing as breakfast, lunch or dinner - just different periods of the day in which I eat
- It is OK to just eat fruit for a meal
- It is OK to just drink a smoothie for a meal
- A grapefruit and orange juice is my favourite way to start the day - healthy - fresh - alive and sweet!
- A salad a day keeps the cravings away
- My taste for salt diminishes after only a few days of reducing my salt intake
- Keeping a food journal like this blog helps make me conscious of how I really eat
- Becoming conscious of how I really eat is a powerful tool for change
- I have to love myself to health, beating up on my self never works
- Healthy thoughts are just as important to full health as well as the foods I eat
- Each food has it's own vibration and serves to perform something individual in my body
- Eating only raw isn't as challenging as I thought it would be!
- That there is so much more for me to learn!
- It is so simple, clean, no pots and pans and hot kitchens needed!
- Raw food is more exciting than it sounded at first! There are so many delicious recipes I have discovered and with the assistance of Jinjee from the Garden Diet!

Raw food is more exciting that it sounded to me at first! There are so many delicious and creative recipes :)

I even found myself contemplating the design of fruit - like an avocado. How it is perfectly formed around the seed. And I wonder exactly how it grows from seed into fruition. It didn't just happen overnight, the avocado is a perfect and it created itself over and over again until it became a full avocado ready for picking. Then I automatically have a great appreciation for the fruit that is about to provide me with existence.

A friend of mine Lauryn has also been raw for the past week and shares her experience, "Well, put it this way- I'm starting week 2!! I've certainly learned alot about my body this week and I can't believe the changes that I have felt and seen. And I've learned that raw Brussels sprouts in salads are a really bad idea:)

I started off less than enthusiastic :) I'd just come down with a killer flu and thought it may not be 'the right time'. Off course that was just my mind making excuses (like my juicer breaking last week, turns out, I didn't juice a thing this week) and I reasoned that lots of fruit and veggie's could only be better for me than the pastas etc I'd normally eat. End of day one I was GLARING at the tv for all the ads of foods I couldn't eat. At this point I was just eating veggies. 2nd day I was so sick I took the day off work and decided to just tough it out. However by lunchtime I was feeling unbelievable! Still a little sniffly but my god - I just felt... Bright? Is the only way I can really describe it. More alive than I can ever remember feeling. And it's stayed with me. For ages I'd thought I was a little depressed just because I had no energy no matter what I did. Since Wednesday, I've been bouncing out of bed at 6am!

My skin is completely clear and has a ridiculous glow that everyone keeps commenting on. I'm wearing barely any makeup. And my eyes are clear, perfect white. Not bloodshot, I've lost 3kg doing nothing! And have had to start running the last few days just to burn the energy off so I can sleep at night:) A- mazing:) I realized by Thursday when I'd actually forgotten my lunch and was raiding the fruit basket at work:) that I haven't really eaten any fruit in years. I eat a ton of veggies but no fruit. I was over raw veggies at this point so bought a lot of fruit. That's pretty much what I've eaten the rest of this week. Fruit for breakfast and lunch, raw veggies for tea. Absolutely amazing. I think I'm going to keep this for most of my diet and just have one cooked meal a day - if I feel like it. I just can't explain the energy. I feel like I'm a light that's just been turned on. Don't want to lose that feeling ever again:)"

Lauryn Cartwright - one week raw foods

Visit:
www.theearthdiet.org
www.thegardendiet.com

Challenges: How Can I Live More Lovingly? Allowing my self to be expressed rather than my ego. Remembering that my life is not about me. Putting the 'me' aside.

Triumphs: Detox Tip from Eek:

"My best detox tip is BREATHING, breathe, breathe, feel joy, gratitude and compassion to fulfill your cells. Feel the sensation and after that see what food your body craves! And let go of fear, feel free and let your choices come from a source of love." www.thegardendiet.com

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: The juice of a big beautiful scrumptious grapefruit and orange! Some sesame seeds.

Lunch: 2 nectarines. A avocado with walnuts. Cherries mmm mmm.

Dinner: 2 avocados with walnuts. Yes was definitely craving the fats today :)

Loving the avocados!

Dessert: Cherries and strawberries!

Exercise: A gym workout doing weights, and then I played some racket ball, and walked back to my hotel. Working on set in the streets of Pittsburg - shooting exterior Squidman shots today ;)

155 days to go!!!

Photo from KC Confidental.

Day 203

Thoughts: Food has power. It can be used for good or bad, ugly or fat, unhealthy and healthy, love, hate, nutrition or malnutrition.

This article thanks to International Spiritual Experience!

The key to eating is to respect and bring thankfulness and light into your food. Some religions say prayers before they eat or say “grace”. Grace is an appropriate word because it acknowledges the idea that it is through grace that we survive through our connection with the life essence supporting us and the food that sustains our bodies. The process of prayer or meditation while eating is also an expression of a feeling of thankfulness and union with your meal. While eating, one should slowly chew, taste, smell, listen, and feel mindfully the essence of your food and body. Place your feet on the floor and clear your mind. Tune and sense all of this working as an integral system of nourishment.

You may also choose to restore your food’s light properties and change its vibration by blessing its ingredients or growing some of it on your own and visualize light going in it to nourish it. You could even talk to your plants! Even if you just put in herbs that you grew, this can bring vitality to your meal. Processed and overcooked meal or food that has been handled with disrespect or cruelty is what kills your food and can affect your body and health. You can counteract the potential detriments by blessing your ingredients, growing your food or saying grace and energizing with positive vibrations. The practice of this will in turn, benefit your overall wellbeing and raise your vibrational frequency.

Here is one example of a food blessing:

Divine most powerful (insert individual preference) I ask that you bless the Water/Food that I hold between my hands and heal me completely, mind, body, heart and spirit.

I ask that the water/food be enriched with every vitamin, mineral, herb or homeopathic remedy or healing vibration that I may need to fill my being with, in order to restore me back to 100% full health both mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I ask that this Water/Food be empowered with an energy so great and so magical that it clears my cluttered mind of all disruptive thoughts and clears my body of all negativity and illness, helping me also to cut ties with the past and release me from anything and anyone that is stopping me from moving forward and upward onto a more joyful, satisfying and healthy lifestyle.

May this water/food be the most divine, sacred and blessed Water/Food that has ever existed on this earth plane and may it have a miraculous influence on me and on my life in general. I ACCEPT that I am being healed on all levels and that I DESERVE that healing!

I am at one with the divine source that surrounds me and I am free to express myself in which ever way I choose.

May this healing received be an example to others so that they too can gain the faith that I have found within me and progress as I am progressing, and may I as your instrument of divine healing go onto perform miracle after miracle in your name.

I Humbly Thank You.

Or a simple one is to hold your hand or hands palm down over the food. Think to yourself or say aloud,

“I raise this food to my vibration. Every cell in my body is programmed to use this food for normal, healthful functioning.”

Repeat three times. If you are sensitive to energies, you will feel the energy field change. Take a minute to let the energies shift whether you feel them or not.

Another one- This food is Brahma (God). The one who is eating is Brahma. The act of
eating is also Brahma.

When I sit in presence with food, for example if I am eating nuts, I will eat the whole nut and experience the whole nut. Then I would eat less and absorb more. And I wouldn't be bloated. The first time I actually blessed/thanked/appreciated my food was a few weeks ago - I was so moved by food. My nectarine, I looked at it, and I present and saw it's beauty, it's essence, it's life for me. It had grown through wind, sun, rain for weeks for me to eat it - and the tree it came from has existed for years! And I thanked it. And it was the most delicious nectarine I have ever had!

From the book "The Prophet" it says 'Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light. But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of it’s mother’s milk to quench your thirst, let it be an act of worship. And let your board stand altar on which pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.

When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,

“By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.” And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, “Your seeds shall live in my body, and the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, and your fragrance shall be my breath, and together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”

And in Autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyards for the winepress, say in your heart,

“I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress. And like the new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.”

And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup. And let there be in the song a remembrance for autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.'

Visit:
www.theearthdiet.org
www.thegardendiet.com/21days
www.internationalspiritualexperience.com

Challenges: Our Food Instincts....
1. The need for a High Volume of Food
2. The need for Sweet Food
3. The need for Colorful Food
4. The need to Eat Immediately
5. The need to Eat Exactly what we Desire
6. The need to be Nurtured by our Food

Our basic food instincts serve us well when we are eating a raw vegan diet, but with modern foods they play havoc on our health...
- From an article in the current issue of Pear Magazine Online, www.PearMagazine.com

Triumphs: Accepting Your Shadow by the creator of the 21 Day Cleanse I have taken on, Jinjee (The Garden Diet)

I do get stuck, stuck in negative thinking, stuck in my ego, stuck in addiction to negative emotions. But I'm conscious now when I'm doing this, and I accept my human-ness, and at the same time try not to indulge in these areas any longer than I must. Strangely, once you accept yourself, your shadow side, it is easier to move on, to move back in to the light.

1. Make a list of things you don't like about yourself, who you are, how you behave…

2. Then go back and beside each point, fine down something to love about each thing….

Shadow Side --- Acceptance
Overworking --- passionate about creating
Late nights --- hard worker
Overeating --- sensitive soul
etc...

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: The juice of oranges and grapefruits! A sweet way to start the day!

Lunch: A beautiful colourful salad with lettuce greens, coriander, parsley, avocado, the juice of a lemon and hemp seeds!

Dinner: A long working schedule on "Squid-man" and an apple! I would usually eat more for dinner however I got home at 12:30 and went straight to bed - an apple was what my body required to sleep!

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: No snacks.

Recipe: Recipes to any of the meals you see in my blogs will be in the earth diet book being released in November this year or checkout www.thegardendiet.com

Exercise: Working on set for many hours, standing, walking, stretching, moving!

162 days to go!!!

Day 204

Thoughts: The Incredible Shrinking Fat Cell...

What Really Happens When Body Fat is Burned?

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Earlier this week someone in our discussion forum wrote, "I haven't "LOST" any fat... I know EXACTLY where it went! I got a chuckle out of that because I "got" the joke, but truth is, most people really don't know how fat cells work, how the fat burning process takes place or where the fat goes when it's burned. It's actually quite a complex biochemical process, but I'll explain it as simply as possible, so by the end of this article, you'll be a "fat burning" expert!

When you "lose" body fat, the fat cell (also called an adipocyte) does not go anywhere or "move into the muscle cell to be burned. The fat cell itself, (unfortunately) stays right where it was - under the skin in your thighs, stomach, hips, arms, etc., and on top of the muscles - which is why you can't see muscle "definition" when your body fat is high.

Fat is stored inside the fat cell in the form of triaglycerol. The fat is not burned right there in the fat cell, it must be liberated from the fat cell through somewhat complex hormonal/enzymatic pathways. When stimulated to do so, the fat cell simply releases its contents (triaglycerol) into the bloodstream as free fatty acids (FFA's), and they are transported through the blood to the tissues where the energy is needed.

A typical young male adult stores about 60,000 to 100,000 calories of energy in body fat cells. What triggers the release of all these stored fatty acids from the fat cell? Simple: When your body needs energy because you're consuming fewer calories than you are burning (an energy deficit), then your body releases hormones and enzymes that signal your fat cells to release your fat reserves instead of keeping them in storage.

For stored fat to be liberated from the fat cell, hydrolysis (lipolysis or fat breakdown), splits the molecule of triaglycerol into glycerol and three fatty acids. An important enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) is the catalyst for this reaction. The stored fat (energy) gets released into the bloodstream as FFA's and they are shuttled off to the muscles where the energy is needed. As blood flow increases to the active muscles, more FFA's are delivered to the muscles that need them.

An important enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL), then helps the FFA's get inside the mitochondria of the muscle cell, where the FFA's can be burned for energy. If you've ever taken a biology class, then you've probably heard of the mitochondria. This is the "cellular powerhouse" where energy production takes place and this is where the FFA's go to be burned for energy.

When the FFA's are released from the fat cell, the fat cell shrinks and that's why you look leaner when you lose body fat - because the fat cell is now smaller. A small or "empty" fat cell is what you're after if you want the lean, defined look.

It was once believed that the number of fat cells could not increase after adulthood, only the size of the fat cells could increase (or decrease). We now know that fat cells can indeed increase both in size (hypertrophy) and in number (hyperplasia) and that they are more likely to increase in number at certain times and under certain circumstances, such as 1) during late childhood and early puberty, 2) During pregnancy, and 3) During adulthood when extreme amounts of weight are gained

Some people are genetically predisposed to have more fat cells than others and women have more fat cells than men. An infant usually has about 5 - 6 billion fat cells. This number increases during early childhood and puberty, and a healthy adult with normal body composition has about 25 to 30 billion fat cells. A typical overweight adult has around 75 billion fat cells. But in the case of severe obesity, this number can be as high as 250 to 300 billion!

The average size (weight) of an adult fat cell is about 0.6 micrograms, but they can vary in size from 0.2 micograms to 0.9 micrograms. An overweight person's fat cells can be up to three times larger than a person with ideal body composition.

Remember, body fat is basically just a reserve source of energy and fat cells are the like the storage tanks. Unlike a gas tank in your car which is fixed in size, however, fat cells can expand or shrink in size depending on how "filled" they are.

Picture a balloon that is not inflated: It's tiny when not filled with air - maybe the size of your thumb. When you blow it up with air, it can expand 10 or 12 times it's normal size, because it simply fills up. That's what happens to fat cells: They start as nearly empty fat storage "tanks" (when you are lean), and when energy intake exceeds your needs, your fat cells "fill up" and "stretch out" like balloons filling up with jelly (not a pretty picture, is it?)

So you don't actually "lose" fat cells, you "shrink" or "empty out" fat cells.

Take-home lessons:

1. Calories count!The signal that triggers your body to release adipose from fat cells is an energy deficit... you have to burn more than you eat.

2. Cut calories conservatively. Starving yourself may cause quick weightloss at first, but never works long term because it actually decreases the activity of fat burning enzymes that release fat from the cells. to avoid this "starvation mode" use exercise to BURN THE FAT, not very low calorie crash diets.

3. Get control of your weight now. If you are gaining weight, and especially if your weight is climbing upwards out of control, make a decision to STOP RIGHT NOW. Your fat cells might be multiplying, making it more difficult to burn fat in the future. NOW is the time!

4. If you've already lost weight, you must be forever diligent. Your fat cells are not gone, they have merely "shrunk" or "emptied out." Fitness is not a 12 week program, its a lifestyle. To stay lean you have to eat clean and stay active

5. Genetics are only a minor factor. You may not have control over how many fat cells you were born with, but you do control the major factors that determine how much fat you store: lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, mental attitude.

Genetics are not an excuse. The past is not an excuse. Your present condition is not an excuse. You can either make excuses or get results, but you can't do both.

So keep educating yourself about the science, read these newsletters, take action every day and go out there and make it happen!

This article from: www.2012unlimited.net/Shrinking_fat_cell.html and http://www.burnthefat.com/

Visit:
www.teearthdiet.org
www.thegardendiet.com

Challenges: Allowing myself to feel overwhelmed and think 'there is just so much to do'. A chaotic lifestyle. The Buddha says "Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence."

Triumphs: I am absolutely loving the 21 Day Cleanse with eating only raw foods! I am working 12 hours a day on a film set, have plenty of energy, a clear mind :)

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: The juice of 4 grapefruits!

Lunch: A salad with mixed lettuce greens, the juice of a lemon, avocado, hemp seeds, corriander and parsley mmm mmm mmm!

Dinner: Another salad like lunch! 2 salads ... feeling the energy!

Snacks: A red apple.

Exercise: Working 12 hours on set of "Squid-Man"! Moving, shaking, stretching, walking, running! And I did a dance with my husband in the morning!

161 days to go!!!