InnerJourneys

Some of us have to work harder on our self-esteem, maybe because we are really hard on ourselves. We might have accomplishments that would be enough for someone else, but we demand more of ourselves, so we won't esteem ourselves highly enough until we think we've earned it. Its kind-of annoying, but that's how some of us are.

That was just a random thought. So if you're having trouble with your self-esteem, keep doing things to earn your own esteem. And maybe stop doing things that you don't esteem yourself for doing. Keep at it. It can take years but is well worth the work.

Once you esteem yourself enough, you'll treat yourself better and be healthier. But like a chicken-egg thing, you could start by treating yourself better and getting healthier and then you could get better self-esteem that way also. Either way, these are both positive spirals. The universe abounds with upward spirals! You'll find a place to punch in to one and feel that upward momentum sweep you up on your way!

Here's another random thought. There are millions of zones that humans operate in. Some of us are at the top of the class in certain zones, in the middle of some zones, and at the low end in other zones. There are academic zones, spiritual zones, mental zones, social zones, work zones, play zones, emotional zones, adventure zones, physical zones, an infinite number of zones really! So there's no point comparing ourselves to anyone else. There are zones in which children beat grown-ups, in which elderly people beat those in their prime, etc...

The point? No person is really better than another, only better in certain zones. So don't compare yourself to other people. And do find your zones of genius. And cultivate them, emphasize them, and use them to do good!

Again, be patient! Finding your zones of genius can be a multi-year journey of exploration. If you find what you love, those will often be zones of genius for you. Follow your heart. You become like that which you love. What have you always loved? Who have you always loved?

In Joy!
Jinjee

Nature Infusion

Tonight I stood outside looking at the moon ~ and at first I felt afraid being outside alone in the dark. But even as I started lamenting my loss of connection with nature - it flooded in on me - the same feeling I used to feel wandering alone in wild places as a child, before I became afrid, before I had spent my days indoors, before I saw too many shows about all the dangers lurking in the woods, before I was afraid of the dark. And now I was overjoyed, overcome by that old feeling of connectedness with nature.

What does it feel like? It feels like I really truly belong here in this world, like I am important somehow, like all this was made for me. It is as though nature actually speaks to me in a unique voice used only when speaking to me! I feel I'm in a story - my story. I can truly breath. My whole being breathes. Only in solitude does it speak to me like this. It says - I am God's love, his room, his voice. The breath of a light breeze becomes my own. the clouds skirting the moon call me - we are here for you any time you want to feel real! The moon itself laughing at me, making me feel properly small.

I was seven years old when I first wandered into the woods alone - and I've been wandering ever since. It was North Sweden, long summer days, blueberries, little streams, mountains, fields, pretending I was a fairy of the forest all day. And growing up, I was always able to find a wild place to be alone - often it was where I felt most comfortable, comforted.



How can we give our children time out alone in nature? A back yard can do fine sometimes. A wilderness trail where they can walk ahead of us, just out of sight. A park where they can sit and draw or write - or just sit and observe whatever there is to observe, a balcony in the moonlight, a rock on the beach - within sight, but in their own space. Swimming, rowing, climbing a tree, lying in the grass, picking fruit.

Nature Deficit Disorder.....The Childhood Obesity Epidemic.....Kids on meds....chemical foods - connecting the dots.....

This is one reason we are working on producing the online sit-com webisodic series for kids called "The Kidz" as our new focus. I think we've said everything we can about raw foods in our eBooks and we're trying to do an even more definitive and comprehensive version in our five guides, but we want to do something that uses more of our creative energy, that lets us work with our kids, that can reach more people!

In Joy!
Jinjee

Island of Seals! - The Kidz, Episode 1

The first episode of The Kidz is ready for you to watch now!!!



When a TV network approached us recently about making a show with our kids, we gave it some thought but realized that we would actually be helping sell junk food to kids! Wrestling with this situation made us realize that we ourselves should produce a show starring our children! Here we have this wonderful cast of kids who are already well-known in the raw world at least, and we already have a home studio and the ability to do productions! - So, it was one of those no-brainers! We took one of our kids' many wildly creative ideas and turned it into the pilot show for a new series that we are airing on our website! - I love the Internet! Isn't it amazing that we little people actually have the ability to produce and air our own entertainment! I still can't get over working from home - and now I get to work with my children too!!!

In the first episode you'll learn a bit about each child's character, and see the kids planning a journey to get shots of harbor seals for their online magazine, Sea Green eZine. They borrow their parents' boat, sail to the islands, and have to do a long hike to get to the seal beach. They sleep in nature and forage for wild foods, so here you'll learn what delicious wild miner's lettuce looks like. They find elephant seals and you'll see some beautiful footage of Raven getting her close-ups with these giant seals!

This show is for people who are tired of junk food and medication ads in the shows their kids watch! This show is a wonderful outdoors adventure sit-com! It was also developed by kids for kids, with a lot of help from their parents' studio. This show incorporates live raw food, home-schooling, and bringing children up to thrive in the new millennium. Kids will learn about nature, wilderness, animals, ecology, the environment, endangered species, travel, geography, world cultures, health, survival skills, and much more!

But it is also the things you don't see in this show that count! Not only won't you see any junk food, meat, animal products, processed food, or cooked food, but you also won't see any violence, negative attitudes, or any commercials except for some fruit breaks!

At the same time, it is just as entertaining as the TV shows your kids love. I can't tell you how much fun we're having making this series! I'll be putting up some behind-the-scenes out-takes on youtube soon!

I know people really like our instructional DVDs and eBooks, but when you are trying to live a raw vegan lifestyle in a cooked world, it is also important to surround yourself with a new level of entertainment, - one that isn't built around and funded by the very foods that are making our society so sick.

If you enjoy the show, please forward this email to other parents, groups, and people online who want better programming for their kids! We all want to spend more time with our children. But when we need some head-space, most of us inevitably put them in front of a show - whether its on TV, DVD, or the Internet. Let's at least put them in front of a show where they will not only learn something, but where they won't be programmed by the corporations that run the media!

By charging only $2.48 per episode we can offer this show for next to nothing, and yet if we get enough people to sign up, we can go to really fun exotic places and film and bring you a really entertaining and educational weekly show!

If we do really well, then we'll hire other raw vegan kids and families from our newsletter subscriber-base to guest-star in the show! If you are interested in coming aboard for an episode email me!

It is our goal for a million people to become subscribers to this show. Then we'll be able to fund other projects like the Raw Vegan Village with a raw school and retreat center, scientific research on raw foods, and our sailing journey collecting seeds, planting trees, and documenting the fruit of the world. We'd like this show to be like the Cosby Show of the green age. If this sit-com does only a fraction as well as the network shows, we'll still be successful with it, as we don't have to give the lion's share to the network. Please watch it and let us know what you think of the show on our forum at http://naturalparadigms.com/phpBB3/index.php

Eventually we would like to have a whole station with wholesome children's shows, hiring other producers to help populate the channel with a whole new level of content. It could be like a green Disney Channel. If this is something you would like to see happen, sign up for this show and spread the word! Forward this email on!

We're also collecting footage for the show of real life kids from all over the world playing in nature! This'll be a great way for kids to get a glimpse of other cultures within an entertaining context.

Although aimed at kids, this is a "family" show that people of all ages will enjoy!

Catch the first episode today! Visit http://www.TheGardenDiet.com/kidz
...where you can also see a new preview of the show!


In Joy!
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Can you Guess?

Perfect, round, juicy, pleasant, satisfying, beneficial, hydrating, filling, healing, cleansing, ripe, luscious, sweet, refreshing, delectable, invigorating, energizing, clarifying, moisturizing, beautiful, beautifying, nourishing, succulent, fun, fresh, wholesome, quick, easy, soft, yummy, healthy, light, translucent.....

Can you guess what I'm talking about! Of course....Fruit! If you don't agree, - maybe you aren't eating organic fruit? Find a farmer's market near you at...

http://www.localharvest.org/

In Joy!
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Sage Advice

You can't describe many of the things you learn from getting older to young people! It is like child-birthing. No matter how much you try to explain it, you can't really communicate what it is truly like! It has to be experienced. It is the same with the wisdom of age. We know what they say, and its always the same. The advice sounds very cliché. But now after living 40 whole years myself, and realizing how deeply true and meaningful many of those clichés are, I'm listening to all those sayings a lot closer! What are they really trying to communicate to us across that generational divide???

That things aren't really as complicated as they seem. That love is the answer to most things, and is the only thing that is really important. That we should honor our parents. That life goes by very quickly, and our children grow up so fast that we must be careful not to miss their childhood! That we should not be afraid to do the things we really want to do! We should seize the day and do them now! That nothing is perfect here in this world and so we should accept our own and others' imperfections and love the questions. That we should embrace the life we've been given, the people around us, the experiences we are now having. That we should focus on the thing right in front of us that we are doing. That we should practice moderation in all things - including moderation.

Some of the things I'd like to be able to communicate are....

That you should be confident in yourself, and in the things you want to do. Act boldly. Take a chance on yourself. Invest in yourself.

Think positively! You are affecting the whole world with your thoughts.

Pray! It just makes everything easier! Why suffer!! You don't have to learn any special words or become religious, just have a little talk with your Creator once in a while, in your own way.

That's it!

In Joy!
Jinjee

The Daily Raw Inspiration - 10/24/07 Analysis Paralysis

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.
- unknown

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing the attempt.
- William Shakespeare

I have met so many people who have been studying the raw diet and reading everything they could get their hands on about the raw diet for years and years, but have never actually tried to do it! There comes a time when all our careful study and research must end and we must have faith in our own attraction to and desire for the thing we are researching so passionately! - Take the plunge!

In Joy!
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Yarrow 3 months photos

Benefits of The Garden Diet for Children
- increased attention span
- more harmonious
- no ear, throat, nose, eye or sinus infections
- no hyperactivity
- feeling comfortable in their bodies
- abundant energy
- increased ability to absorb information
- heightened perceptions
- better immune systems
- fewer colds
- fewer or no childhood diseases
- enhanced athletic ability
- bright and alert
- emotionally poised and expressive





Although Yarrow isn't yet vegan - in fact all she consumes is her mother's milk - this is the ideal garden diet for infants! In the animal kingdom all animals start off drinking mother's milk, and yet no adult animals consume any milk.



Notice she's a nice roly-poly baby, yet all lean muscle in the right spots!



You can click these pics to make em bigger



Here she is with Grampa Bob!



In Joy!
The Garden Diet