Left Brain/Right Brain Musings...

Mmmm...today I would like to share some recent mmmmmmusings on right-brain activation...
Since going raw almost eight years ago, I feel less and less willing to do 'left-brain' things: anything to do with numbers or logistics for example seems to be increasingly unappealing, challenging and even 'tedious' for me these days...

I seem to have been stepping further and further into right-brain modus operandi and away from the left-brain conditioning of my background... I am frequently reminded of a comment made by one of the founders of the Damanhur community in Italy when I visited there about two years into my raw food journey...the founder was describing how most of the members of the community there are artists/creators of the most astounding pieces of art and so on, yet something like paying an electricity bill seems almost *impossible* for them...at the point when I heard this, I couldn't really relate - I couldn't understand feeling that way, living in that kind of flow...now I feel like I totally get it ;)

Now...I can *do* numbers/logistics/left-brain blahblah if I choose to, don't get me wrong - I was a straight A student in all subjects at school, including maths and sciences...and YET...these kinds of areas hold absolutely *no* zing or passion for me at all...I may have been able to force my being as a child and teenager inside a system, to do my best and push into all kinds of crevices of my left brain to get the grades...now though, in the reality I choose for myself, that kind of behaviour is of no interest to me and there is simply no energy there anymore to 'force' myself into left-brain labouring ;) I sense that many people go through these kinds of transitions with a raw lifestyle, as we reconnect more to our 'true' selves, inner peace, creative flow and genuine bliss...mmmmm...I wish you all the very best of hemispheric balance ;)


on April the 28th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
water of a young coconut
2 yummy little cherimoyas, 2 cups greeeeen/mango smoothie
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups water
spontaneous, yummy little bowl of salad: avocado, soaked wakame, chopped tomatoes, lots of sauerkraut :)
mug of resihi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water

Here are a couple more upcoming raw-friendly events that have been sent in recently by readers - enjoy :)

* May 8th * Blue Oak Anti-Aging Center Grand Opening * Auburn, CA *

Full day of workshops, seminars, delicious organic raw and fermented foods, http://rawmatt.com/events.html

* May 22nd * Vibrant Life Expo * Newburyport, MA *

A day of fun, education and empowerment - transform your life, mind, body and spirit - see http://www.vibrantlifeexpo.com

Remember as ever that there are also fabulous, free weekly listings of raw food events, classified ads etc, over at The Daily Raw Cafe, on Thursdays - "Raw News You Can Use" - love it ;)


on April the 29th I loved:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
3 cups greeeeeen/mango smoothie with the delicious Mr. M :)
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a papaya
lovely shared meal with friends of a cucumber/zucchini salad, leftover peanut pate, crackers, coconut chips etc - yummy :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water


on April the 30th I appreciated:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
water of a young coconut
an apple, 30 chlorella tablets, little handful of bee pollen
a cherimoya
a few crackers topped with avocado, lime juice, dulse and chlorella coconut chips
3 cups water
cup of greeeeeeeen smoothie
little bowl of cucumber salad with Mr. M, stuffed in lettuce leaves and on top of flax crackers, followed by a yummy slice of raw apple pie made by visiting friends :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water


OMGoddess, I fell deeeeeeeeeply in love with a new musical inspiration yesterday, thanks to one reader, Colleen, who sent me the suggestion to listen in to some tooooons from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - WOW - love at first listen - here's my favourite find of their gorgeous creations so far - enjoy :)))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRA5S59KjwY

All love, light and blissings to *your* home :)
Angelalaalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Boutenko Call Playback Available Now :)

OoOooooo lala, did you hear the wonderful free live interview yesterday between Mr. M and Victoria Boutenko? So much interesting info - tempering the body with cold water, questions around 100% raw, weight loss/gain, colon cleansing, metabolism, food imprints with children, emotional eating and more...we love Victoria ;) If you didn't hear the call yet, you can listen in freely for the rest of the weekend over at http://www.TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com...the special offers on the call are all available until Sunday night at midnight Pacific time too - enjoy ;)
Next up on the radio show: Paul Nison on Dec 29th - we just started reading his new "Daylight Diet" book today in preparation - love it :)

on November the 26th I was grateful for:

1 quart water
½ cup tangerine juice
1 cup greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
1 quart coconut water blended with Greener Grasses and Marine Phytoplankton
1.5 cups beet/apple juice
1.5 cups carrot/fennel juice with Greener Grasses shaken up into it
1 Tbsp bee pollen, 2 tsps green powder
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
2 cups water
1 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water

On the subject of things I love, the ever-fabulous Ms. Kate Magic just posted a new song mix recently, over at her 'A Good Look' blog. Now, as some of you are aware, aside from being an author, speaker, mother, chef, artist, healer, creator and general mover-shaker, Ms. Magic is also an amazing DJ and she just put together a wonderful 'Ladies' Night' mix for her birthday :) Anyone can download it for free from HERE - enjoy :) Anything that involves Björk and Minnie Ripperton is bound to be wonderful, in my estimation ;)
 






on November the 27th I loved (day 4 of Juice Feasting post car-crash):

1 quart water
1 quart pineapple/cucumber/zucchini juice, part of it blended with a super–potent green powder
2 tbsp AMAZING honey/bee pollen/royal jelly/propolis/ginseng mixture – WOW ;) Powerful stuff…
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, fennel, apple
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, fennel, romaine, spinach, ginger, lime
2 cups warm tea: herbal chai with vanilla spice macaforce mixed in – WOW :)
2 cups water

If you did not yet send in your nominations for the 2009 'Best of Raw Awards', perhaps now would be a marvellous time to do that :) Nominations close on December the 1st, I believe, then the nominees are announced on December 2nd, on Laura Fox's radio show, before VOTING for the nominees then commences on Dec 3rd...sooooooo, get your nominations in NOW if you didn't already - there are many categories to suggest your raw favourites in - books, dvds, restaurants, blogs, teachers, festivals and more - get your nominations in over at http://www.BestofRaw.net and enjoy :)

All blissings,
Ms. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

Natural Energy Flowing...

WOW. I am just LOVING being back in Iceland soooooooooooooooooooooo much.
Last night was UBER-YUMMY – Sigur Rós and Björk gave a huge free concert in the botanical gardens in Reykjavík, attended by around 40,000 people. The weather was gorgeous, the energy in the crowd was buzzing and the performances were...simply superlative. The concert was called ‘Nature’ and was put on to raise more awareness of environmental concerns here and celebrate nature. (There was even a stall selling raw fruits and veggies, plus raw chocolate ‘bliss balls’ – so cute :)
Sigur Rós and Björk are two of my absolute favourite musical influences and it was SUCH a gift for me to see them BOTH play live in such a gorgeous context. I’m still grinning now as I write this :)))
There was one point where Sigur Rós (along with Amiina, the gorgeous girls who share stage with them) were playing a really high energy song, then Ólöf Arnalds and Björk came on too, banging big drums. It was SOOOOO fun to watch – everyone was dressed so vibrantly and the energy was HUGE – they looked like they were having SO much fun up there - everyone just doing their thing, spirit flowing, incredible energy :)))
OOoOooOoOOoooooo, I love Iceland :)))
The night before, we had a raw potluck here too and it was so lovely for me to connect to the energy again of the meetings that used to ‘keep me going’ when I lived here as a raw foodist in the beginning...the gatherings were much less frequent then – once a month or less often at times – now raw-yumsters meet up here every other Friday for sharing...and what a vibrant, healthy, happy bunch :) Tons of fresh greens and sprouts, tasty experiments, talented chefs and herbalists...and there were around 30 of us in attendance...it definitely feels to me like raw food interest has continued to blossom here in the years that I’ve been away… ;) YAY :)
Iceland actually recently topped the charts of a United Nations ranking of the ‘best’ place to live in the world (based on factors like wealth, health, education). Icelanders were also reported to be ‘the happiest people in the world’ in a 1996 study... These topics and more are explored in a beautifully insightful article on life in Iceland, printed in the Observer last week (forwarded to me by my equally fabulously insightful editor Sue ;) You can read that article HERE if you’re interested – it’s raaaaaaaaather long, so I won’t go into it now – just enjoy, if you feel inclined :)))

on June the 27th I had:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups smoothie: lucuma powder, almonds, green powder, maca, vanilla powder, cinnamon, water, with goji berries and pine nuts for chewability
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, watercress, parsley, fennel, ginger, sprouts and amazing greens from the garden: chard, kale, tatsoi, arugula, other unidentified yummables ;)
plate of delicious raw food potluck loved-up food :) A cornucopia of greens, salad dressings, pates, nibbles, breads, crackers and so on – wonderful :)
3 cups water

A petite note-ette for all of those who are intending to play out with Mr Gianni and I on the telephone inter-change system on Wednesday cometh. The time of the event has shifted ever-so-slighty, due to the fact that I’m currently located a few hours ahead in time from the US...(8pm EST = midnight Iceland time...even if it doesn’t get dark here, I still like to go to sleep ;)
So, we've shifted the clockage back an hour and the talk will now commence at 7pm EST, 4pm PST, on July 2nd (with the chance to listen in to the whole thing for free for 24 hours after it manifests, I do believe...) Anyway, as and when you register for the call info, you’ll get all the details on there...I look forward to answering your Qs soon :) You can read all about it and submit your Qs HERE.

on June the 28th I had:

1 quart water
mug of rooibus tea
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups yummmmmmmmmmmmmy smoothie: lucuma powder, almonds, green powder, maca, vanilla powder, cinnamon, water, with goji berries and pine nuts for chewability
mug of ‘pleasure tea’
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, spinach, lettuce, parsley, fennel, ginger, sprouts and amazing greens from the garden: chard, kale, tatsoi, arugula, other unidentified yummables ;)
3 big luscious nori rolls stuffed with pine-nut/basil pesto, alfalfa, red pepper, cucumber, avocado and spinach. A little handful of cashew nuts
1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea

OooOooOooo, exciting developments in the world of CHIA :) You may have read the ‘Chia Cheat Sheet’ article that I wrote sometime last year, outlining the background of chia, uses for the seeds, some yummy recipes and so on. It is one of our most popular articles – so much so in fact that now we’ve had it made into an attractive, colourful wall-chart that you can keep on hand in your kitchen :)
The charts are just $5.95 and are available from the RawReform Store HERE, along with bags of both ‘black’ and ‘white’ chia, ground chia, yummy Cocochia bars, ‘The Magic of Chia’ book AAAAAAAAND the gorgeous NEW ‘Chia Goodness’ all-raw cereal from Ruth’s Hemp Company. WOW, things are really movin’ and shakin’ in the chia world these days, especially since Oprah mentioned it on her show...and IMO, the attention is very understandable – it’s an amazing food – I recommend it to everyone, especially for beginners... ;)
SO, if you have yet to delve into the delicious world of CHIA, I suggest you strap on your ‘raw explorer’ love boots and get munching ;) See HERE for our whole range of Chia Yummables.

All love,
Angelalallallaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx