Community Living in Vilcabamba...

Ooooo lalaaaa, we have pretty exciting visions forming for raw community here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador...you wanna come live here too? We just made an announcement in our newsletters about possibilities for co-creating kins' domains here...and the response has been HUUUGE already - if you didn't see this already, read on for the Monarch summary of opening possibilities:

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As many of you already know, Angela and I are choosing Vilcabamba, Ecuador as our place of residence. We've looked around the Vilcabamba valley and we feel that we are living in the most prime and beautiful location here. There are currently eight or so owners in the community where we live, who either eat totally raw or seem to be following a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, as one result of the growing raw foods community here, some of our other neighbors seem to also be more interested in the raw foods lifestyle.

Angela and I are in the process of co-creating a project to help bring even more like-minded individuals to our community here (the Hacienda San Joaquin Ranch). In addition to the property where we live, we currently also have a beautiful 2.5 acre piece of land bordering the Vilcabamba river. This land is just feet away from the property where we live. We intend to build three structures on this river-side land - dwelling places for three or more like-minded families who would love to coexist together, alongside us :-). We don't plan on making a single dime of profit on this project; the primary intention is to bring in more like-minded people.

The three structures that we plan on building are:

1. 750 Square Feet House (2 Bedroom, 1 Bath)
2. 750 Square Feet House (2 Bedroom, 1 Bath)
3. 1500 Square Feet House (3 Bedroom, 2 Bath)

Each house will have its own kitchen and living area. Below are the current estimated prices for each structure, which also includes the land they will reside on. If more than one family wants to live in one of these homes, the cost could obviously be split amongst those involved. We are even willing to do payment plans to get you down here :-) Additionally, we'll do all that we can to assist you with getting settled here :-)

1. 750 Square Feet House (2 Bedroom, 1 Bath)
$81,250 or $40,625 each, shared between two
2. 750 Square Feet House (2 Bedroom, 1 Bath)
$81,250 or $40,625 each, shared between two
3. 1500 Square Feet House (3 Bedroom, 2 Bath)
$162,500 or $54,200 each, shared between three

Those who purchase these structures will own the houses and the shared land, free and clear in their names. We intend to start building these structures within the next few months. We wanted to announce this project now, because if anyone is seriously interested in getting involved, we can work with you to transform the plans and better fit your needs. For example, if a like-minded family is interested in the entire land to build their own structure(s) on it, we would be completely happy with that, or if two families know they would love to share the space, yet in a different way than what we have foreseen, we can work with that too. Again, the primary purpose of this project is to help bring in more like-minded people to our community and we are open to how that may unfold. Check out the video below as we discuss this plan and unique opportunity on this piece of land.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHfK34ojdbc



Once this project is complete and the land in question is home to like-minded people, we may be open to buying up more nearby land here, to co-create more kins' domains. The purpose of buying up more land would again be to help bring even more like-minded people to join us... :-)

If you are sincerely interested in getting involved in this project, please contact Angela and I at angela@rawreform.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We feel that this is THE most ideal place for us to live on the ENTIRE planet! Once you have your land/structure/gardens in place here, you are pretty much set for life! The cost of living and food prices are extremely inexpensive here. For example, one HUGE avocado costs .30 cents. A GIGANTIC mango costs .20 cents. An entire 3-foot LARGE bushel of chlorophyll-rich alfalfa costs about .40 cents. Practically everything grows here and the climate is like spring all year round. Angela and I have been here for three months and we're already completely self-sufficient in greens from our land and garden. You can seriously just live off the wild edibles here, in green juices and smoothies. The air, soil and water quality here in the Andes are unparalleled and just by living here you will most likely add 10 years to your lifespan, release excess weight, reverse conditions of disease, sleep better and detox. We look forward to playing in "paradise" with you if you'd love to join us here...!

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Let's co-create this magnificent vision... :)

On May the 24th I was delighted with:

1 quart water
2 cups watermelon juice
1 cup coconut water mixed with Vitamineral Green and sugarcane juice
yummers shared meal with Mr. Monarch of Monarch pizza creation with sauerkraut - wow :) followed by a chunk of *amazing* homemade 'Diviana'-inspired yumminess :)
3 cups water
water of a young coconut
1 cup water


Mmmmmm, one raw yumster, Megumi, who joined us here in Vilcabamba for the recent Raw Food Gathering just posted a *lovely* collection of photos from her time here, which you can see HERE - some very beautiful pics and funny captions too:

http://rawsangha.com/2010/05/24/photos-from-vilcabamba-world-raw-food-gathering/

One of my favourite aspects of this recent raw gathering, which I didn't mention yet, was that at least THREE new couples formed out of the mixture of people who came to visit ;O *LOVE* it :)))
This reminds me of the energy of the gatherings mentioned in the "Anastasia"/Ringing Cedars books, when Anastasia mentions community gatherings where people are commonly looking to connect with others, find a partner and so on, all the while enjoying fun community-connecting-events together ;) I'm so thrilled to think that this little gathering we just held here was flowing with even a little of that kind of energy - how beautiful :)))


on May the 25th it was a juicy day and I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon juice
2 tbsp bee pollen
1 cup watermelon juice
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups watermelon juice
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups water

Dear brother LoveSky Dancer in Glastonbury, England, would love to let y'all know that the world-renowned Maori Healers from Aotearoa/NZ are going to be holding sessions in the UK soon, for anyone who'd love to go along and experience their profoundly healing body work...these are the same Maori Healers who were sharing this amazing energy work at the Longevity Conference with Wolfie a few months ago - now they're on the way to Europe for a few months...

They will be sharing their wonders in Glastonbury from June 1st to the 10th: body work sessions will be available daily from June 1st-10th, then there will also be a workshop on Maori Healing Arts on June 5th-6th. For more info you can connect with Catherine on indigocath (at) mac.com...you can also check the www.maorihealers.com site - I don't think they have much European tour info up there yet though...there are more events in the UK and elsewhere too I believe...

ENJOY :)))

All love and healing dew,
A. C. S-M. xxx

Raw in Glastonbury :)

OoOOoOooooo I am having FUN in the south-west of England :)
I arrived here on Monday evening and have been staying with my lovely hosts Lisa and John in North Devon. Lisa runs RawLisa.com, sharing raw classes, gatherings and info in this area. Yesterday we went on a wonderful day trip to Glastonbury where Lisa organised a speaking event for me in the evening and we had major fun all day connecting with the sites and people of Glastonbury :)
As I wrote before, I'd never been to Glastonbury previously and it was wonderful to climb the 'Tor' where the Michael and Mary leylines conjoin, taking in the lovely views for miles all around. Then we visited the peaceful oasis of Shekinashram, where it turned out an old friend was now living and he showed us around :) This ashram used to be a raw food community and is now vegan with a lot of raw options. They have accommodation, courses, workshops and so on. Lovely atmosphere and a great-looking sauna too ;)
Then we went to lunch with the delicious Andrew and Angela of TheRawFoodSchool.com - YUMMMMMM :) What a treat. This gorgeous couple definitely know how to serve up the good raw eats. MASSES of fresh raw greens, simple, delicious and full of LOVE :) They run raw food prep courses both here and in London - see their site HERE for more info. They are also creating an edible forest garden around their home - love it :)
A walk through Glastonbury high street led us to, through and in to a myriad of amazing little shops abundant with crystals, eco-friendly goods, handmade clothes and crafts and so on...I suspect I could have happily lost myself into these little lanes for at least a week to explore all the shiny things ;O We pressed on to Mr. Free Love's Hemp Shop though, where we were lovingly greeted with more greeeeeeeeeeeeeeen liquid love and eye-fuls of hemp goodies...
Old friends seemed to pop up all over the place - pretty amusing in a town I'd never been to... Well, it's a small raw world... ;)
Thanks to everyone who came along to the talk last night too - it was lovely to share. I also speak tomorrow night (thursday 26th) in Barnstaple - details HERE. Hope to see you there if you're in this area... ;)

on February the 22^nd I had:

1 quart water

big mug of fresh ginger/lemon tea

3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

30 chlorella ‘nuts’

2 tbsp bee pollen

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

2 apples

2 cups water

1 tbsp bee pollen

2 tbsp Sproutein

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

big mug of ginger/lemon/goji tea

Great news for all you budding raw athletes out there - HealthBookSummaries.com recently released their summary of Brendan Brazier's raw book 'The Thrive Diet'. If you're not familiar with Brendan's work, he is a professional Ironman triathelete, creator of the 'Vega' range of raw nutritional products and eats 100% plant-based foods. You can see masses more about him HERE and you can access the FREE summary of his wonderful book from HealthBookSummaries HERE.

He has masses of great info to share...ENJOY :)

on February the 23^rd I had:

1 quart water

big mug of ginger/lemon tea

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

30 chlorella ‘nuts’

3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side

cup of spicy tea

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime mixed with 1 cup rejuvelac

tub of fresh pineapple with a few gojis

2 tbsp bee pollen

2 cups water

on February the 24^th I had:

1 quart water

cup of ginger/lemon tea

2 cups green smoothie - orange, parsley, broccoli

3 yummy little apples

30 chlorella 'nuts', little handful of goji berries

AMAZING raw lunch with Andrew and Angela from TheRawFoodSchool.com (thanks, lovelies ;) - a gorgeous spread of lashings of green juice, homegrown kale/avo salad on a bed of fresh arugula, with crackers and outrageously delicious 'cheese' spread, followed by a slice of marvellously moist carrot cake. MmMmmMmmm :)

2 cups water

2 cups green/hemp juice from the magical Mr. Free Love's Hemp Shop ;)

mug of rooibus tea with more carrot cake and a chunk of handmade raw carob bar

1 quart water

MmMMmm, I started watching a WONDERFUL series of four videos on Permaculture before I left on this trip. They feature Bill Mollison - the 'father' of Permaculture - and they are all about using permaculture in urban settings. It was really fascinating to me to see the contrasts between a Western 'civilised' city like New York where tiny patches of food production had been eeked out here and there, compared to a city in Nigeria, where food grows abundantly all over the place and there are local markets all around the city.

Later in the vids, Bill visits the REMARKABLE looking 'Village Homes' eco-settlement in the city of Davis, N. California. WOW - what absolute blisssssful living they seem to have set up in this community. It seems long established now and listening to some of the residents discuss how amazing it has been for them to raise children there is just beautiful. The children have the run of the land, have grown up with food all around them, have many more people looking out for them than their parents alone, are healthy, strong, active, engaged with nature...just wonderful and so inspiring...

You can see these 4 videos HERE in a long playlist of Permaculture titles - these ones start at number 10 in the list - they're called 'Urban Permaculture Strategies' - ENJOY :)

All love and abundantly juicy flow,

Miss Stokes. xxx

Learning to Grow our Own Foods :)

OoOooo, fun things going on in Dr. Cousens' world: the Tree of Life centre has a wonderful-looking course coming up on how to grow your own food called 'Conscious Gardening'. It's being offered 4 times this year: March, May, August, October. I am so happy to see these skills being shared - mmmmmmm, I'd LOVE to be there for one of these courses... Wow, how wonderful - learning about organic/vegan/conscious gardening from a RAW/living food perspective - love it :) You can read ALL about the course HERE.
Dr. Cousens is also going to be sharing some good juicy juju in LA soon, at a week-long 'Juice Fast for Peace' in conjunction with the super-shiny Michael Beckwith and Agape. FUN :) That event starts on March the 1st and you can tap into all that info HERE.
BTW, remember too that those other fabulous-looking 'Anastasia'-based courses are coming up soon all over N. America as well...sharing info on how to set up your own 'kins' domain', grow food, co-create a family strongly rooted in nature and communication with the Universe and so on...I still strongly hope to make it to one of these workshops toooooooooo...you can see all about these HERE.
I am nearing the end of reading the 9th book in the 'Anastasia' series at the moment and the stories I was reading today of single women who are going out into the countryside in Russia to begin their kins' domains with their bare hands moved me to tears - the power, the passion, the vision, the love...it's all so beautiful...and it's just going to keep on expanding as more and more of us (re)connect to the land and grow our own foooooooooooooooooooooood...

WE. ARE. SOOOOOOOOOO. BLESSED :)

on February the 15th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with tahini and okra on the side
little mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
little bowl of sweet yum: hemp butter, carob powder, lucuma, maca, vanilla, cinnamon, water, with pieces of Grawnola stirred in :)
3 cups water


on February the 16th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with fresh cherries, chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
1 cup water

A little reminder: I’ll be giving two talks over in the south–west of England next week. I’ll be giving a ‘Raw Food Transformation’ talk next Tuesday, the 24th in Glastonbury and then on Thursday the 26th in Barnstaple. You can check out all the details HERE and reserve your place by calling the lovely Lisa on 01769 550408, or sending her some love to: lisasture (at) toucansurf (dot) com.
Maybe see you there ;)
(As ever, if you’re looking for raw events in YOUR area, you can always check the wonderful events calendar on GiveItToMeRaw.com, HERE ;)



on February the 17th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with a chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
cup of spicy tea
2 cups water


on February the 18th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
little bowl of chia pudding with fresh raspberries, diced apple and goji berry powder
big mug of fresh lemon/ginger tea
2 cups water

My musical muse has wandered backwards down the path a bit at present to the early 70s and has fallen rapturously in love with the late Minnie Riperton. WOW. What a BEAUTIFUL being. I have been listening to her music almost non–stop the last few days on YouTube ;) (Yes, I even have my own Minnie playlist now, HERE ;)
This new fascination expanded after that cheeky madam Ms. Kate Magic sent her latest ‘Love Mix’ over...(as you may or may not know, the talented Ms. Magic is a super–fine DJ as well as chef, mother, light–being, speaker, author, business owner, photographer, artist and myriad other creative outlets I’m sure ;) Part of this latest musical compilation was the 70s song ‘Les Fleurs’ by Minnie Riperton.
Now, I’ve heard this song a few times before – Ms. Magic says it’s one of her all–time top 5 toooons – I’d never paid that much attention to it though. This time I was listening with headphones and WOH...my whole body became covered in goose–bumps...what a VOICE, what a message, wow...I was captivated and have poked around all over YouTube unearthing old Minnie songs since then...sadly she died at the age of 31 from breast cancer in 1979 – she left behind some truly outstanding music though...she seemed to sing and express with her whole being and so much LOVE, smiles, passion, vibrancy and delight. TRULY someone on her brightest path in the short time she was here in the physical...and so very humble and sweet at the same time, aside from remarkably talented as a singer.
Minnie’s voice apparently covered a range of five and a half octaves and she could sing in the ‘whistle range’ – a rare talent for adult humans – she could easily hit those notes waaaayyyyyyy above high–C that others might struggle a lifetime to try to reach ;) She sounds almost like a DOLPHIN or something similar in many recordings – it’s really quite unearthly at times and just phenomenal to hear.
One of her best known recordings is the well–loved 1975 hit ‘Lovin' You’ (“...is easy ‘cos you’re beautiful and every day of my life is filled with loving you…” etc ;) – she hits the incredibly high notes in that song flawlessly and with ease...amazing...and I am blown away that I am only really accessing this woman’s work at this point in my life...
Mariah Carey, another singer whose work I love, has cited Minnie as the greatest influence on her singing style, which makes sense to me now, as Mariah has a range over five octaves and can sing in the whistle range too...
While reading about Minnie, I also came across the music of the Brazilian/Italian singer Georgia Brown who has been recognised as singing the highest notes recorded by a human. This woman apparently has a vocal range over 8 OCTAVES and can easily slide into the whistle range too – HERE is a truly ‘unearthly’ performance by her, singing a whole 2-minute song in the whistle range. She seems to have a very different energy to Minnie, yet I still find her talents remarkable... ;O
My heart swells as I listen to the legacy Minnie left behind – what a beautiful, inspiring woman...thank you SO much Minnie for the gifts you shared... :) Listen to my playlist of Minnie’s music HERE if you like – and wear headphones for optional extra spine chills ;)

All joy,
Miss A. Stokes. xxx

Raw Events in England :)

OoOoOoooooo excitement abounds :) I'm very delighted to announce that I will be doing a couple of talks here in England soon, over in the beautiful 'west country' :) The delightful Lisa of RawLisa.com has set up a talk for me in Glastonbury on February the 24th and in Barnstaple on February the 26th...I'm excited to get out there and share, while I'm still here in the UK; as and when I finally have my fiancee visa in hand for the US, it may be a while before I'm back in Blighty again...plus I've somehow never yet been to Glastonbury - it will be fun to explore :)
Here are more details for these events:

*Glastonbury - Tuesday, 24th Feb, 7.45pm
Venue: The Glastonbury Experience, 2-4 High Street, Glastonbury BA6 9DU
Investment in your health: £6.50

*Barnstaple - Thursday, 26th Feb, 7.45pm
Venue: Barnstaple Library (Henry Williamson Room), Tuly Street, Barnstaple, N Devon EX31 1EL
Investment in your health: £6.50

For more info and to reserve your place call: 01769 550408, email lisasture (at) toucansurf.com, or see rawlisa.com.
See you there, perhaps...? ;)


on February the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
40 chlorella nuts
1tbsp bee pollen
masses of fresh okra with 2 cups energy soup and tahini on the side
little mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, kale, fennel, ginger, lime
bowl of chia mixed with hemp milk, carob powder, yacon powder, cinnamon, vanilla, with a chunk of ‘tahini dream bar’ on the side – YUM :)
3 cups water

Many of you have been asking for Monarch updates, after his recent illness. Well, thankfully, as I said in my last blog post, he seems to still be getting better and feeling healthier by the day - YAY :) I am personally very very relieved...it was rather challenging to feel so far physically from my beloved when he was feeling so unwell...hmmmmmmm...thanks so much again to all of you for your love, kindness, messages, healing thoughts and more that have been sent in these last days - they are all thoroughly appreciated :)
While we're in the healing realm, I'd also love to report that it seems our Mexican rescue dogs are getting progressively better too :) Sandy and Panda are eating well, enjoying California and healing...apparently Sandy wags her tail much more often these days - especially every time she sees Mr. M ;) ...so sweet ;) He is the one who brought her in from the cold, surely saving her life in the process - she loves him :) She also apparently doesn't screeeeech anymore and make those shocking sounds she used to - Mr. M says she can bark now :) ...and her puppy Panda is just growing and growing, teething and gnawing and playing...it's such a delight to know that they are both thriving now... YAY :)


on February the 4th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, kale, fennel, ginger, lime
40 chlorella nuts
1tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, kale, fennel, ginger, lime
bowl of chia pudding – chia soaked in hemp milk blended with carob powder, lucuma, cinnamon, vanilla, with fresh cherry pieces and passion fruit swirled in – WOW :)
2 cups water


on February the 5th I had:

1 quart water
1 cup green juice: celery, zucchini, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, kale, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups water
little block of chia pudding – chia soaked in hemp milk blended with carob powder, lucuma, cinnamon, vanilla, with fresh cherry pieces and passion fruit swirled in, plus an apple
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of spicy tea
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, kale, fennel, ginger, lime
little bowl of blended yum: carob powder, lucuma, vanilla, cinnamon, water, with a little grawnola stirred in
2 cups water


OMGODDESS - here is a raw recipe video not to be missed. If you haven't checked out this clip of miniature raw goddess Zion making raw flax cookies, this is a must see ;) She seems SO incredibly articulate, tuned in and 'beyond-her-years' for a three year old - it's truly like she has her own TV show - absolutely amazing - LOVE it ;)
Thanks be to Maggie who sent this clip in. (Maggie has a lovely range of hand-made pottery pieces btw, many fruit/veggie inspired, which you can see HERE.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_gfdStODZM

Luscious love,
Angelalalalallaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Email Offerings...

I receive many interesting items into my inbox on a daily basis and I thought I’d share three of the recent most yummy items...

1. 25 Statements to Happiness, sent to me by ‘Shanel’.
I’ve never seen these statements before, set out like this – I think they’re beautiful. They also happen to accurately sum up the way I see life, so I’m delighted to share them:

25 STATEMENTS TO HAPPINESS

1. Most of the time, I have a great time!
2. I am content with my professional career.
3. I listen to my inner feelings and let them guide me.
4. Every day, I laugh and smile a lot.
5. I rarely become annoyed or angry.
6. People in general like me and my company.
7. I don’t get easily afraid of anything.
8. I rarely feel stressed out.
9. I adapt easily to changing circumstances.
10. I don’t feel the need to compete with anybody.
11. My life is a great adventure and so much fun!
12. I don’t spend much time worrying.
13. The world is beautiful and full of opportunities.
14. I sleep very well at night and wake up refreshed.
15. I usually focus on the solutions and not the problems.
16. I feel relaxed most of the time.
17. I know my abilities and feel confident most of the time.
18. I feel mostly fine, even when I’m alone.
19. I have no regrets over past mistakes.
20. To me, arguments are a waste of time.
21. I’m always open to new ideas and concepts in my life.
22. I live the way I choose and I let others do that, too.
23. I don’t blame or intimidate others to get what I want.
24. If I’m not happy about something, I take the initiative to change it.
25. I like myself the way I am.

I hope you enjoyed those and that lots of them resonate for you too – or if not, that you might perhaps take steps onwards to gradually incorporating more of these ways of being into your daily rhythms, for more jooooooooyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :)

on May the 6th I had:

1.5 quarts water
water of 2 young coconuts with a glass of green juice
large fresh papaya with a bowl of banana ice cream and a sprinkling of bee pollen. ‘Cayenne cooler’ drink on the side...
1 quart water
shot of gotacala juice with glass of celery/carrot juice
bowl of blended yum: banana, coconut meat, spirulina, with karengo seaweed on the side
1.5 quarts water

2. Next up is yesterday’s daily email from Brian at ThinkArete.com – as I’ve mentioned more than once, I LOVE these free daily inspirational offerings and this one on ‘Regaining Your Balance’ really spoke to me:

“Here’s an exercise I often use to capture the importance of having a clear intention to regain our balance:

Stand up. Put your arms straight out. Make sure you’re in an area that’s big enough so you can spin around. Alright. Now, spin. Give yourself a good 5-10-15 spins. Whatever it takes to get you a little off-balance. Alright. Now once you get there, I want you to stop spinning. Then, I want you to do two different things:

First, I want you to put your hands together like you’re praying and stare at your finger tips—it brings you back to balance AMAZINGLY quickly. Then, I want you to quit staring at your fingertips and instead I want you to look all around you—up, down, far away, to the right, to the left…just look everywhere. Notice how that makes you feel. If you’re like me, it probably makes you feel nauseous.

For me, this is a perfect metaphor for having a clear intention in our life. When things get stressful (i.e., we’re “spun around”), we have a couple of options: we can look all around us to get a sense of perspective (which usually leads to more confusion/nausea); or, we can focus on what we know to be true, what our intention in life is, what the purpose of that experience is, etc.—that clarity brings us back to balance as quickly as staring at our fingertips.

So, the next time you’re spinning—have a clear intention: know that your highest intention is to grow as a more enlightened, loving, balanced, growth-oriented human being (or whatever it is for you) and come back to that to re-gain your balance.

Try it out! Methinks you’ll dig it.”

This spoke so much to me, as spinning like this is smthg I do every morning anyway, as the first of the 5 Tibetan Rites, so I can totally relate to this analogy – LOVE it, thanks Brian :)

on May the 7th I had:

1 quart water
mug of lemongrass tea
glass of carrot/celery juice, glass of green juice and water of 2 young coconuts
big bowl of banana/mango raw ice cream with bee pollen
1 quart water
a few durian pods, 4 mangosteen, 8 rambutan
2 cups water
shot of gotacala juice, water of one young coconut
6 rambutan
1 quart water

3. Finally, here is an email request for some help with 'digs and gigs' from some very talented musicians from the Auroville Community in India who have been invited to play at 2 huge festivals in the UK (Sunrise and Glastonbury) and are looking for some suggestions/assistance with accommodation and extra gigs. They are the people who made the ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ album that I listened to pretty much on loop while writing Raw Emotions and which we have for sale in the RawReform Store:

“The band is called Emergence. You can listen to samples of their music here: myspace.com/emergencemusic.
The band plays its own brand of Acoustic Indo-Pop and this is their first UK appearance as a band, although as individuals most have international experience. They have an invitation to the UK to play at the prestigious music festivals, Sunrise and Glastonbury, at the end of May and the end of June respectively.

These festivals, while being an incredible chance for them to play their music, is also an opportunity for them to share some of their experience and inspiration.

They are living diverse life styles. On the one hand they are devoted farmers and environmentalists and on the other hand serious musicians trying to bring their music to another level. It is ok to be a farmer and a serious musician. It is even great! this diversity is rich and inspiring! Emergence going to UK and playing at these shows is not just about a band going abroad and doing some music. It is about people who ACTUALLY live on the land, close to nature, who have something valuable to say.

Krishna lives in Auroville www.auroville.org on a farm called Solitude - http://www.auroville.org/environment/agri_farms.htm
Solitude is a farm based community which has been producing crops on a small scale and growing it's own food, including oil seeds, dhals, rice, millets, vegetables and fruits, working towards self sufficiency for the past 12 years.

The farm is also a market farm, supplying a wide array of fruits and vegetables to the local population. The crops they have chosen to grow include indigenous grains, gourds, beans and fruits. These fruits, vegetables and millets have mostly disappeared from peoples diets ever since the Green Revolution and our home style organic restaurant supports the re-popularisation of these foods.
Here are some sites that you can look at about Solitude:

myspace.com/solitudefarm
solitudefarm.blogspot.com”

If you are in the UK and think you may know of somewhere the band members could either stay, put on a gig, or give presentations about their incredible farm work, in the month of June, please feel free to email me at angela@rawreform.com and I can put y’all in touch. I think they'd be fabulous guests to enjoy the company of - wow, all that natural gardening wisdom and musical mastery rolled into one - if I lived somewhere, I'd invite them over ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx