Life Changing Documentaries

I have these ones listed on the side of my blog, but I decided to go through them all and put links to Amazon.  These definitely shifted my perspective about food and health, and in combination with the results that I've seen with my grandmother, who has reversed her cancer growth in about a month time, from following advice found in these films (plus of course a lot of research, check out "Super Immunity" by Joel Fuhrman.  She was given new life.  If you have a loved one dealing with a lot of health issues and a lot of pain, this is definitely worth checking out.  If it doesn't work it doesn't work, but there's no way to know unless you give it an honest shot.  But at this point I can't help but trust it 100%, it's cleared up any and all health problems I ever had, I've witnessed the results in many others apart my grandmother.

Pretty cool, that we have the ability to take charge of our health, and we don't always have to be convinced by a completely dismal outlook of never getting off meds, never getting healthy, and more and more surgeries.


Here are some of the top health documentaries:

Forks over knives:
This documentary is probably the most well developed on the topic, they also have a cookbook.

http://www.amazon.com/Forks-Over-Knives-Colin-Campbell/dp/B0053ZHZI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366982079&sr=8-1&keywords=forks+over+knives+dvd



Fat Sick and Nearly Dead:
A journey of a man who cures all of his ailments through juicing and gets super fit.  This story is amazing and inspiring.

http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Sick-Nearly-Dead/dp/B004O63TX6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1366982079&sr=8-6&keywords=forks+over+knives+dvd

Food Matters:
Convincing arguments on the importance of raw food.

http://www.amazon.com/Foodmatters-Andrew-W-Saul/dp/B001B3XZAW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1366982079&sr=8-9&keywords=forks+over+knives+dvd

Got the Facts on Milk:
This has a bit of a quirky edge, but their overall message is convincing and direct.  It exposes some things about the USDA and food guide pyramid - through their direct experience with them.

http://www.amazon.com/Got-facts-Milk-Documentary/dp/B005GX3HJM/ref=sr_1_5?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1366982396&sr=1-5&keywords=milk



Eating:
awesome documentary, definitely recommend seeing, exposes a lot of information especially about the medical industry.

http://www.amazon.com/Eating-3rd-Mike-Anderson/dp/B001CRQ8K6/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1366982586&sr=1-4&keywords=healing+cancer+from+the+inside+out

Healing Cancer from the Inside Out:
great documentary, sequel to eating.

http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Cancer-Inside-Out-2nd/dp/B002UURCAO/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1366982986&sr=1-1&keywords=healing+cancer+from+the+inside+out

Hungry For Change:
This documentary talks about the issues of processed foods, junk foods, it doesn't get into the details as much of health, but it could be an easy introduction.

http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-for-Change/dp/B009KBQNGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1366983229&sr=1-1&keywords=hungry+for+change


Also wanted to post this, a great summarized food reference:

"Here are 5 simple rules for a powerful immune system that you should commit to memory:

1. Eat a large salad every day.
2. Eat at least a half cup serving of beans/legumes in soup,salad or another dish once daily. 
3. Eat at least three fresh fruits a day, especially berries, pomegranate seeds, cherries, plums, oranges.
4. Eat at least one ounce of raw nuts and seeds a day.
5. Eat at least one large (double size) serving of green vegetables daily, either raw, steamed or in soups and stews.

Avoid these five deadliest foods:
1. Barbecued meat, processed meat, and commercial red meat
2. Fried foods
3. Full-fat dairy (cheese, ice cream, butter, whole milk) and trans fats (margarine)
4. Soft drinks, sugar and artificial sweeteners
5. White flour products. "

Excerpt from Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman.

A thought on compassion

A while ago I had the idea that what gives the most, should be respected the most.

What gives the most, must be the most compassionate.  My conclusion was that the sun, must be the most compassionate force of this world.

It is one thing, that never takes, it only gives.  When the sun is fading on one side of the earth, it's giving out its rays to the next destination.

But it's not just about always giving, but knowing the best time to give and release, the sun unfortunately can't stop, it can only give.  And this can mean the end of a person if he ends up in the middle of a desert with no water.  

So it's not just about one 'thing' in our universe that is ultimately benevolent.  But the combination of all.    Any one thing by itself would mean the death of all existence, but because we are blessed with a vast variety of 'elements' 'items' 'things'  We have the ability to thrive in what might be considered chaos to someone unfamiliar with existence or I guess LIFE on earth!  (not sure the right word structure for that one!)

It seems to me, that some people in this world, don't know how to care, about anything.  Not themselves, not their families, not animals, plants or the world.  Sometimes they direct this negativity inward, sometimes outward.

Next level is some people are able to care for themselves, but other than that, they don't care too much for others, or plants, animals.. etc.

A slightly expanded view, are those who care about themselves and their family.  Apart from that, they could really care less about anybody else, they may have a pet that they like, but other than that they may not be fond of animals or nature, etc.

A little beyond.  Are those who care about themselves, family, and some kind of community - whether it be for the people who believe the same as they do, for perhaps the citizens of the same country, maybe for those who belong to the same town, but they definitely see good people and bad people.  They may or may not care for the world, they may or may not care for animals, plants and nature.

Then of course you have those who actually care for all of humanity.  It's rare!  But it happens, yet again, they may or may not be concerned with nature, animals and the world.

And then!  You have a few very concerted individuals who actually might care for every single living breathing thing on planet earth.  Genuinely!  A true find indeed.

We can even start working backwards, there are those who care about animals, plants and the world - who only think of people as absolute rubbish.  

There are also those who may care about everything outside of themselves, but not actually care about themselves, or not aware of how to care for themselves.

Of course, there are many many combinations to this capacity to care, embracement of compassion.  

I fit somewhere in there.  I'd like to think that I care about everyone and everything and I do the best I can to take care of myself.  I do find myself having questions or judgments, ironically when it seems like others aren't caring.  Especially with all of this crazy news in the media.  Violence, it does baffle me to think that people feel the need to resort to it.  But again, I have no room to judge them.  I don't know their situation I have no idea of their past.  

The best I can do, is not try to figure out why others aren't being 'compassionate' but work on how I can become more compassionate.. whether it be to myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues  my husband, my animals, the world.. 

In the end we are all just different sides sparkling different lights in different directions on a gemstone! We are all completely right in our own way, and I do believe that there is a higher perspective to all of this (everything we perceive as crazy or malevolent) , even when I am incapable of seeing it.  I do better if I can trust that it's there.  That whatever is happening, is happening for the highest benefit for all.  

But I can't help but wonder if humanity were to flip, the accepted paradigm --- the paradigm that most people care about themselves, their family and the communities they belonged to.. 

What if we were able to care most about what actually gave us breathe, gave us life on a day to day basis.. how would our lives change?  Suddenly we'd have everything in common with not only other humans but with almost all of life!  

What if we honored the sun, the moon and the stars the most, the atmosphere next, the trees next, the soil and the water with due importance!  What if we honored our fellow creatures more than ourselves? How would our existence shift?  And of course we would honor each other and ourselves along with everything else.. but highest importance would be to that, which gives us breathe.

Just a thought!

Happy readings :)

Journey to Sustainability

I grew up in a very conservative town, conservative state.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with being conservative, however, now that I look back on my education, I realize how much I feel was left out of a proper 'science' education in highschool.

Growing up in a place with virtually no diversity, and really no variance in religions or opinions, I knew I needed to move.  As soon as I was 18, I packed up and headed for college- I chose a Binghamton University in upstate NY.

It was definitely different, and I would be lying if I said that my first year there was all roses and no thorns. It felt like a different world.  But once I got the hang of it, I fell in love.  I loved the open minds, I loved the freedom of expression, it was for me, a very liberating experience!

Of course, my choice of study was anthropology and I wanted to a do a minor in linguistics.  I absolutely love foreign languages - today I study German on Monday, Hindi on Tuesday, French on Wednesday, Danish on Thursday, Swahili on Friday, Spanish on Saturday and Italian on Sunday :)  

It's a bit of an obsession.  However, my love for culture and language pales in comparison to my love for nature and animals.  

In my first year, I needed to take at least 1 science course.  I chose biology.  I have never been too fond of science, but it was beyond fascinating to me.  They never taught science like this at my high school!  On top of that, they never not once spoke about some of the global catastrophes we are facing today!  

To be honest, I was actually a bit horrified with the realities that were happening on earth due to our lack of connection to earths cycles, rhythms and natural processes.  

How could humanity be on the brink of collapse and not be taking these issues more seriously?

It baffled my mind.

It was no later than one semester after that I had met someone who was studying environmental science, and she inspired me to do the same.  At the time I was actually terrified of the sciences.  It wasn't my strong suit, but I made the decision that I would rather push myself for a reason greater than myself, than to have an easy life laid out in front of me, with perhaps little meaning.. especially if the existence of humanity itself was dependent on our ability to confront these issues and to rise up together to change our habits.  

In the beginning of my studies I felt so much anger and hatred towards humanity.  I would come home crying every day because of what I was learning.  I know right.. it's pretty pathetic, if you have never tried studying envi science in school as a major.. please do so.. hahah you might understand my extreme dismay for all of civilization.  

I decided that change needed to start from above.  Our leaders needed to lead the way and it was their responsibility.

Hence - I specialized in policy and law.  

After four years of studying politics.  I realized, our government is a mess, policies are a joke, law doesn't necessarily mean action, and to even get things as far as policies and law - a hell of a lot of convincing, debating, lobbying, advertising, persuasion, campaigning, etc, etc would first need to take place.

We've created one heck of mess for ourselves!  

This swinged me in the complete opposite direction.  If our leaders don't have the capacity to do change things, who does?  WE DO!  

more importantly, I DO!

I made the intention from that day forward to be and do everything in my power to live as sustainable as I could, in respect with all of life.

This has led me down the most beautiful journey, the most beautiful life.  I can't claim to be living sustainability as of yet, but it is my end goal, and every day its in my thoughts, every day it's in my questions.... how can I do this better?  How can I do this with as least harm as possible?

One thing that became very clear, fairly soon, was how much a change in diet can seriously positively impact our bodies, our world and of course our beloved fellow beings!  

I know there are many ways to be healthy.  I know there are many ways to save the planet.  But currently in my world view, out of everything I have ever read, I have ever studied.  This by far seems to have the greatest most amazing positive impact.

1-  Eating Local.  --  Is huge, know your farmer -- local does not mean from your 'local' grocery store.   It actually has to be locally made products, otherwise it doesn't count.

2- Eating Vegan -- Many people have a lot of issues towards this.  Being vegan isn't necessarily about being an 'extremist' or ultra fanatic about gaining weight.  This is quite an expansive topic, and many extensive articles can be found online.  Basically -- the dairy and meat industry are destroying our rainforests and pristine lands at a rapid pace.  We have a beautiful opportunity at our door, that we don't have to be a part of it.  We  have the amazing ability to say no to animal abuse, rainforest destruction, loss of biodiversity, polluted waters, displaced indigenous people, mistreated workers.. we have the incredible opportunity to contribute to a world of peace and harmony, and in so doing... through karma.. through science.. (Also many resources on the web on how a plant based diet can cure just about anything) also becoming healthier ourselves!! I first went vegan for the animals.. I was pretty disgusted by the factory farm videos that I saw and then the environmental destruction.  But with time, I came to realize how easy it is to maintain weight.. not have aches and pains.. not have health problems all my friends are experiencing.. or knee surgeries.. hip surgeries.. gall bladder removals.. I mean.. I would have neverrr expected any of these benefits..  Its absolutely beautiful, that this way of living is possible!  <3  

My time spent on farms is as much as possible.. currently living one one at the moment.. but I feel its important.. if not on a farm.. wherever you are.. you can reconnect to nature.  When I was living in India in an apartment.. I started buying pots of soil and planting old veggies!  It was beautiful to watch them grow and to have that connection to the land.. even 4 stories above the earth!  

Now I realize it's about taking actions at all levels.  It's about doing what you can, sharing your journey with friends and family, supporting your community in green and eco events, being involved politically - following stories voting for policies and actions that count, volunteering when you can with worthwhile projects, donating as much as you can afford to environmental organizations.  This year alone I've spent atleast $1000 on green organizations.. and it doesn't include the amount of volunteer hours I've also spent... It's the most fulfilling satisfying heart warming thing to be able to support causes that resonate with your heart!  I am not heavy earner either.. I've definitely earned less than that in the past 3-4 months.  But I have realized the more you GIVE to mother earth, the more she provides you with everything you could possibly need and more.

Money means absolutely nothing.

But if you care for her, she will provide you with clothing, food, shelter, love and warmth.

So far has been my experience at least. 

Many blessings to your Journey to Sustainability.

Also recently posted this on my fb page: Jubilant Life.
Many people may be interested in becoming vegan, but because it's such a dramatic change from the 'common' diet, many people become afraid.  I know I was absolutely clueless when I first started.  I read multiple cookbooks, before I was able to kind of get a feel for what I needed to do and what I was eating.  But every step of the journey was beautiful and eye opening.. I wouldn't change it for anything.  

I started off with being vegetarian-- before I could muster being vegan.. I remember being SOO afraid that I wouldn't get my protein, that I ate soy cereal, soy milk 3x a day.. and every other soy product available.. so I would have enough !  Which was absolute craziness when I think about it now.. but I didn't know at that time.  I actually developed a pretty serious allergy to soy, because I over consumed it, lucky for me I didn't blame the vegetarian diet.. but quickly came to realize that the overconsumption of soy was making me sick!  After I figured that one out.. everything was smooth sailing :)  Unfortunately I wasn't so smart when I finally had the guts to go from vegetarian to vegan.  Well, meaning that once I was vegan.. I actually flip flopped from being vegan to vegetarian on and off because I wasn't convinced at that time that vegan was actually that healthy for anyone.  

And when I finally became vegetarian again after being vegan for a full year.. I got extremely sick.. I suffered from re-occurent yeast infections, depression, low energy.. I mean miserable.. It was a pretty hard 6 months.  But I never actually pinned it on milk!!  Finally I went raw vegan.. and all symptoms magically disappeared almost overnight!  

For some reason I still wasn't convinced that it was the milk.. and once on the road.. raw vegan was a bit hard for me to keep up with so I slipped back to vegetarian.. I got even more sick than previously.. fevers after fevers.. colds after viruses.. for months on end!  Diarrhea and terrible stomach pains.. I even fainted!  It was pretty bad.. I still couldnt figure it out.

It went on for 6 more months of on and off illnesses, finally I attended a seminar by Dr. Nanditah Sha. She was a homeopath doctor until she realized that advising food and nutrition gave her patients more successful results and in the long term!  She currently is the head of Sharan organization in India and teaches workshops all over called, "Peas Vs. Pills"  

I attended one of her workshops.. and it all clicked into place.. Milk is not a natural food.. You can live off of it, but it won't give you superior health in comparison to what kind of health you could have if you replaced those calories with greens.. or other vegetable foods.  

I haven't looked back since that workshop.  I haven't gotten sick either.  My mental health is for the most part awesome -- apart from if I see tooo much negative news in the media.. but I know everything is as it should be.. and I need to trust life, while doing whatever part i can :)  

All is well.

That's my journey, there ya have it.

My ultimate ultimate goal.  Is to someday live in an eco-community where everyone helps and cares for each other.. all of our needs are met by our surroundings in a sustainable way.  Life grows abundantly and perfectly.. :)

That's my dream! Someday :)  

Oh PS. this is what I posted on fb today about protein:

Common myth of today: That by eliminating animal products we won't get enough protein. 

Taken from Super Immunity by Dr. Joel Fuhrman,

"Don't buy the fallacy that you need more protien - protein deficiency does not cause long-term fatigue."

"One of the most common symptoms that occurs when someone lowers the amount of animal protein and eliminates sweets from the diet is temporary fatigue. This is just part of the normal detoxification process that most people have to get through. Again, this process most often results in mild symptoms that last less than 5 days. Reducing salt intake suddenly can also cause fatigue from a lowering of blood pressure, which occurs from a temporary dip of sodium in the bloodstream as the kidneys adjust. It could take a few weeks for the kidneys, accustomed to dumping a huge sodium load, to recognize that they need to stop removing so much sodium from the system. This initial miscalculation contributes to the fatigue experienced the first week after a major change in one's diet. "

Basically as long as you are getting full on whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, lentils/beans, sprouts and maybe some grains minus deep fried or processed foods, you will be getting plenty of protein. Protein deficiency is a deficiency in calories and nutrients - this is what you might see in poverty stricken areas, where all the food they have to eat may be white rice (which is completely void of nutrients - it's empty calories) and most likely not enough to even create the sensation of fullness.

Actually our modern world for the most part suffers the opposite problem, protein overload. A high protein diet is associated with:

-osteoporosis
-strain on kidneys
-cancer
-damage to internal organs
-nutritional deficiencies

Eating animal proteins more than 1x a week, can put someone at risk for these problems. Even on a complete vegan diet, high protein foods such as lentils - is best eaten 1x per day (1/2 cup per serving), and of course nuts and seeds are highly recommended to be consumed at least 1 oz per day - but also not going too much over that amount either.

--read more--
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-negative-high-protein-diet-effects.html#b

To see a doctor, or not to see a doctor?

The next time you think, you may have to go to the doctor think again.  Most health issues can be solved with diet alone.  Please don't take this advice in an emergency situation.  But many people go to the doctors for issues that are easily solved through eating healthy.

1. If you have a cold.  Avoid processed food, sugar, baked goods, heavily cooked and oily meals.  Fasting on fruit, fresh veggies and lemon water will significantly if not eradicate symptoms on top of getting plenty of rest!

2. If you have had a concurrent issue of infections, viruses, etc.  Eat only small amounts of your regular foods.  Do avoid milk, meat, processed foods, sugar and oily overcooked dishes. Incorporate  vegetable juice - freshly made - preferably 3x a day.  Invest in a juicer! Your body will thank you :)  have salads more frequently, don't be afraid to fast - however it will work best if you drink plenty of veggie juices, lemon water and tea during your time/days/weeks with no food.  Listen to your body, respect what it asks for, but give it time to detox from heavy sticky foods in the system such as meat , milk, grains and processed foods.  Steamed veggies multiple times a day would also be a great addition - make sure when steamed, the veggies are still crunchy, if they are mushy or soft - they have lost too many nutrients.

3. Sore muscles, broken bones, arthritis, other skeletal issues.  Stop consuming milk, limit meat - if eaten to at most 1x weekly -if you can't go all the way without.  Try to do a cleanse of 21 days without sugar and salt.  See how you feel.  For seasoning - use more fresh herbs and tangy substances such as - tamarind paste, lemon, orange juice plus orange zest.   Make sure to eat multiple servings of cruciferous veggies and greens!  Brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, daikon, radishes, etc.  Great calcium sources are sesame seed milk-- here is a great recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=332945

It's easier for most people to relate 'physical' issues back to what you eat, but many people don't also see the connection between emotional and spiritual health in terms of food.

Depression, Anxiety, ADD, ADHD, Anger, lack of motivation and energy  -- of course there are multiple ways of overcoming these issues - development of compassion, meditation, determination, inspiration.. the list goes on.  Food happens to be one of the pathways to amazing emotional health!

Not only do you consume the nutrients from your food, but you also consume the karmic load.  This is why, unless you have serious strength of mind and heart or an unfortunate lack of connection to the emotional body, animal products can spiral us downward.  Most animals today are confined in small cages for their entire lives, they are mistreated as 'items', they anticipate their death and they die in unrespected manners.  They release fear throughout their bodies and anxiety.  When we intake that food, we are then promoting a world of hostility, without even realizing it.  We have been taught that these foods are essential to our health - not realizing that we've been taught by the industry itself that.  Who have perpetrated the minds of our mothers and fathers.  But people have started experimenting enough with foods these days, that we can definitely see a straight correlation between optimal health, longevity and happiness through food alone.

Don't take these words for it, please research yourself.  Please read as many articles on the topic as you can.  Please watch videos of factory farms.  This is how we grow, this is how we learn.  :)

We are so keen to follow doctors advice, because it gives us an opportunity to sit back, not evaluate our own mistakes, and let someone else be responsible.  It's an unfortunate event that most doctors either aren't familiar with the benefits of eating right, or they don't have time to teach about it, or it's really not a part of what they know being a doctor is all about.  According to the Self Health Revolution by J. Michael Zenn, "127 medical schools in the nation, 70% do not require courses on nutrition or prevention, and 30% do not even offer such courses."

Let's do what we can and help heal ourselves and our own families naturally.  (except in the case of emergencies of course!)

My own grandmother was given only a few months to live when the doctors diagnosed her thyroid cancer, it was growing rapidly and the only thing they could tell her to do was get a tube directly in her stomach so that she wouldnt have to worry about when it completely would close off and she wouldn't be able to eat anymore.  I offered her an alternative route.. basically to see if nutrition could do anything.

After a month on her new diet, her cancer reduced by half, and every day continues to go down.  She has needed no tube, and she expects to live much longer as a result, she is off of her pain medications, she is much more mobile, her skin glows.  In the beginning I was making all of her food, now she is strong enough to make it herself!  She is even moving out of the assisted living into her own apartment again, and planning trips for next year!

Everything is possible.  You just have to believe.  :)

Happy Earth Day!!

So somehow, I completely didn't realize it was earth day weekend until.. well today.    I was flipping though the Newspaper, and I think I counted over 8 positive stories!!! I couldn't believe that, that never seems to happen!  I was feeling very happy and optimistic, and turns out there was still one more positive piece of a news story.  That story was around the earth day activities for this weekend.  I was ecstatic.  They had river cleanup, planting trees, earth day booths and habitat restoration!! Wow, why don't we have earth day every day?  Every week??  I was so excited to see all of these activities, in my area, I had to decide what to do!  Tree planting is on Monday - so that is out - I have to work.  River clean up started at 8:45 am.. the time was 9:30 am , that was out.  Earth booths are always fun, but I definitely wanted to work on something that will stick around for a while.. habitat restoration!!  I do live kind of in the middle of no where.  1/2 an hour from town, and I still needed to get ready, so looked like I might be able to be there by 10:30am.  And supposedly it was supposed to go till noonish or 1pm.

I happily got my work clothes on, gathered all my equipment and headed down the road.  I drove a few 'blocks' (since I live in the middle of nowhere- it's more of a distance of driving through fields than actual blocks.. but to anyway it's easy to estimate about that much).  I relaized I forgot my camera - it would have been a big deal but I forgot about it in my garage - not a nice place for it to be.  So I went back to retrieve it. 

I started down the road again.   And then.. about half way to my destination ( total this place is about about 35-40 minutes from my house), I realized I forgot my work gloves, drivers license and money - Otherwise I could have just bought more work gloves.. but since it was pouring outside.. I decided it would be best to have them.  It was one of those decisions where I really had no idea what to do.. but decided to drive back.. it would add about 20 extra minutes to the journey, but it may be worth trying to find a decent pair of working gloves and money to buy them. So, I drove all the way back, and got back on the road - had to stop by the bank, so by the time I actually made it to the restoration site, they had finished their work!  :(

Good news is: They were completely blown away with all the support!  Bad news is, I promised my husband I would not only plant atleast one plant, but one for him and one for us.  LOL.  Blew that one.

Atleast I attempted to help my community and its a better case scenario than me coming there and realizing that it got cancelled or something because no one came!  Anyway, it was kinda a long trip in to town.. just to go back again. But on my way back home, I found a really beautiful wetland!!  They are from a little town near young ward in Utah.  It's Spring, but it's still freezing here and not much vegetation has sprung up as of yet, but its on its way!  And despite the season, the earth will always show her best!  :)

Here are a few pictures :)

This first picture was actually taken where

I was meant to be doing habitat restoration, the rest

were taken at a little wetlands down the road

 

Beautiful Bird I had never seen before!!!

I found this small pen with two beautiful bulls living inside.  They were absolutely terrified of me, and I wasn't sure if they had ever recieved compassion from a person before.  I decided to pick whatever grass I could from the ouside of their stall and feed it to them, it took them a second. But it made my day to know, even it was a small one, I made a difference today.  The drive was worth it, just for this. 

Happy Earth day everyone!  May you also find beautiful sacred places to spend some time this week and honor nature :)

Sustainability of sustainability

I think I am mostly impatient.  There are some things in life, I just want instant gratification.  I don't want to have to wait around, and do this first, then do that, I just want life to be the way I want it to be.  And then, resulting in my own angst.

I live in this world, where I buy food from the store- it usually comes in some kind of holder - plastic bag, cardboard, plastic wrapping.  I do my best to stick with fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, but unfortunately I do cave and buy into this consumerish world.  I've gotten better over the years.  The entire store used to be mine to choose from, but with every passing new piece of information, my choice of product has designated me to two sections in the grocery store.  Produce and Natural food section (s).  Which I love.  After going vegan and palm oil free I've gotten to be a pro at reading labels.  I really keep whatever I buy outside of the produce section to a minimum - if I get anything at all! I usually end up back there, when it's been a longer day at work, or I just got paid and I feel like treating myself to some almond butter, vegan waffles, bread maybe some granola bars.. maybe a jar of pickles.  Sometimes I like to buy canned tomatoes or canned beans - normally I like to cook with beans which I soak and cook myself or fresh tomatoes, but sometimes it's nice to have quicker items on hand.

Other than that, all my shopping is done in the fresh!  Which is awesome, and I really enjoy, but it could be better.

Because even that little batch of celery and and a bundle of carrots - come in bags.  I guess as a consumer I could write the manufacturer and demand alternatives.

Better yet, I need to be in a place where I can grow my own food year round.  Or some kind of barter system with neighbors.  When I was living in Ithaca NY, the community aspect was absolutely amazing.  They all helped each other, they all traded home-made items or home-grown stuff throughout the year and they even have something called the Ithaca dollar.  It's just an amazing place.  It's somewhere that I wouldn't mind settling for sure!

Food is just one aspect.  I live on a farm, 30 minutes away from town.  I know 30 minutes is relatively small compared to what others do, I've commuted over an hour to work in the past.  I knew people who commuted 2 hours!  And, hey at my last job I commuted 5!  But I did have housing at my last job.  Anyway 30 minutes adds up.. and for someone who isn't too keen on the whole .. buying oil thing.  Yeah, it would be great to know more about how I could convert my car into a solar vehicle.  Any green engineers out there?
I should get one of those flinstone cars :)

And then of course the whole culture thing.  We drive in isolation, often we may work in isolation, we come home and our source of interaction is through a screen.  Social situations often have multiple people gathered around a screen.  Seriously?  And yes, that's me!  I am totally in front of a screen right now, after a day of work.

And of course I'm interested in going to grad school.  I was lucky enough to get a job at the university working in the soils lab.  The department that I am working in, is all about sustainability, agroecology, essentially.

I guess it's kind of like, how my ideal world is just living in complete unison with my surroundings and since our world works opposite of that right now.  It's about somehow blending my ideas about how the world should be, and how the world actually is.  It's about finding a way that I fit into this tangled assortedness.

It's just interesting because working in the lab, of course when testing the soils for nitrates and ammonium, etc etc.  There are many other chemicals that need to be used.  There are very special ways to dispose of all of the chemicals and we do end up having to throw away many plastic gloves, paper towels and glass pipettes, among other things.  Of course many of this stuff can't really be recycled, because it comes from a lab.  I totally understand that.  But it definitely makes me think.

It reminds me of that quote, which I am terrible at remember things verbatim, but it goes something like...
you can't get yourself out of a mess with the same thinking that got you into it.
or
sometimes its not about fixing the old, but creating the new.

I wish I knew where I could find the original quotes... :) such is the mind!

Basically, it may be worth the slow process of scientific experiments of finding out the best way to plant things and the exact minimum needed and specific results of xyz to show the world how important xyz are!

Or of being on this amazing project where something absolutely miraculous happens and the whole scientific community is blown away by the beautiful results!

As of now I have no idea what that would be.  I just want to learn and grow with the world on how we can make this a better, healthier more beautiful place.  A place where we can proudly announce that we are from planet earth and we care about her wellbeing as well as every fellow member as well!

But maybe the real reason I am interested i going back to school is to understand this world more fully in terms of 'science' and so I can know that language.  I would love to see the segregation between science, farmers, permaculturists and community end!  Can't we all learn to work together and do things in a more efficient beautiful, harmonious way?

There is also this pull in me.. this yearning.. it could also be from my head, maybe my heart, maybe my body or my values.. to travel.  To learn about all the sustainable, open-minded, health conscious communities in the world!  To learn from them to experience their core values and methods of operating and working.  I don't necessarily feel close to doing it anytime soon.  But it's a thought that comes to my mind multiple times a week.  I know I need to be patient.  I can't have my cake and eat it too!

There must be a lot of value in going back to school anyway.. and if I am able to do it, maybe I will have a lot to share with communities along the way.  It's hard to know.

Anyway.  One day at a time.

Facebook.

So,  I thought that I would be pretty good at updating my new blog.  Turns out I'm not doing as much as I hoped.  Most of my time, on the internet actually is now going to my new facebook page.

The theme is sustainability, health and compassion.

I have a serious weakspot for cute animals... so that will also be found there, but I guess that fits under compassion ? :)

Check it out if you feel inclined :)

https://www.facebook.com/Livinitjubulantly?ref=hl

I've also been posting a few images on my husbands page:

which the theme is awareness, happiness, medtation.. etc

The last one I've been updating to is happiness.org - not sure if that is supposed to be top secret or not.
But it's a great a site, started by a wonderful friend of mine and Nithya's

https://www.facebook.com/happiness.org?ref=hl

I also have a vegan blog:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8239865156419724014#overview/src=dashboard

And a community vegan page:
https://www.facebook.com/cachevalleyvegans

Living in the Heart!

The past couple of weeks have kinda been up and down.  I haven't been as motivated as usual and yesterday.. the whole day seemed to kinda lag and for some reason just wasn't feeling that up.. I guess you could say?

Something happened on my way home, that completely shifted my perspective in a second.

My neighbor has a pretty amazing treehouse with 3 levels.  I noticed that they had put up a pirate flag at the top of the tree!  It was such a funny moment and suddenly I snapped back to the amazing sense of the imagination of a child and the amazing blessings we have to witness these small things in life that bring a smile to our worlds.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it made my day!

Today I decided to start my day off a little different than usual.  It's pretty bad, lately I've been somewhat addicted to facebook and posting pictures, haha go figure.

So I decided to start my day off with a journal I had written a couple of years ago.  It was at the time that I had just gotten back from India, and my world was a little wonky.  I just gotten engaged and I was trekking on into unknown territories, it was my first year out of college and it was different.  My world was starting a whole new chapter!  I had to learn how to rebuild my happiness from the ground up.  Going from such an exciting eventful time of my life - India, to back to Utah in the winter - dark, cold, no job, no school, fiance on the other side of the world.  And of course I happened to be plagued with illnesses which kept coming and going.  This was before I learned of the miracles of a 100% plant based diet, at that time I was eating vegetarian but moderate amounts of icecream and what not :)

Anyway, I started what I call now, the "Love Book",  It was kind of like a journal of advice to myself - when I was feeling inspired - I would write them down, so in a sense it would be giving words of wisdom to myself  to a time in the future when I might need some.

I read that whole thing this morning, took about an hour.  But it really completely shifted my perspective!  Amazing, and I had an amazing day! Apart from a parking ticket.. but hey, I don't mind, everyone needs a parking ticket now and again.  Right??

Here, I will share a little bit from the book.. well let me back track a little bit... there were a few entrees made in Denmark, right after I came from India and on my way to Utah.  I'll start there, because I like what I wrote....

"Right now I am admiring the beautiful horizontal colors of the a danish winter sunset. Gently fading from orange, red, purple, peach, green, light blue to a deep blue.  I do love the mountains, but its only been recently that I've started enjoying the qualities of the plains, without obsessing over what they are lacking.  Nothings lacking anything, only perception is capable of lacking, and that is easily adjusted."

Next entree:

"It's too easy to be frustrated
It's too easy to be worried
It's too easy to feel bad
It's too easy to feel loss
But what thought are we paying too much attention to?  A slight or possible outcome of our future?  What if we were to be told by God, that this is actually the best thing that could have happened.
Perhaps we are...
1. Learning the most important lesson of our life.
2. Saving ourselves a lot of money in the long run.
3. Perhaps if this event didn't take place, something worse was around the corner
4. Because this event took place, something extra-ordinary could take place instead - is coming.

Does this event actually belong to us or does our ego cling to it, as it has nothing else to cling to let it go.  It doesn't actually belong to us, it's not actually bad, it's rather cute, or funny.. or ____?"

The book goes on.  But I guess it comes down to the point - atleast for myself - where I am constantly re-evaluating situations, figuring out the best possible outcome, the best possible course of action and when something goes not according to the plans.. sometimes I have the tendency to blame myself or get confused about what I am "meant" to be doing, and whether I am following my highest values, true purpose... in alignment with the world and etc etc

But I find this thinking to be rather stressful at times.  It was great to read this entree, and think, hey, I have made the best possible decisions that I could have, up until this point.  I can choose to say that this is the best possible outcome for me at this moment.  That I am learning the best lessons at this moment and I am fulfilling my highest visions on whatever I path I choose, it doesn't matter because I can't mess this one up, no matter how hard I try or how lazy I may blame myself for being.

So I started the day off on a good note :)

And some amazing things happened.

I learned today that indeed I was accepted to grad school!  The one thing the school lacked was funds actually to officially accept me.  I spoke to the professor I have been working with and she was saying that their are two slots open for next year.. well actually three  one soil microbiology, one integrated pest management and one dealing with peach orchards with her next year.  They would start next summer or next spring.  Which actually is great news for me, as I would love the chance to go to India this fall!  She even said that if I start next year with her, I could kind of develop my own research project and I could spend some time in India every year doing research - there are sooo many amazing places in India which would be awesome to link up to the degree I'm pursuing, it's just a matter of reaching out and figuring out the details of how to make it work and what it would require.

But she said no matter what, she will have work for me prior to when I get officially enrolled, I can work in the lab testing soils and I have also gotten that internship for certifying their Capitol Reef Peach Orchard as organic! Which I am definitely intrigued about, I know it's a lot of paper work but I would like to learn.

On top of that I received an unexpected phone call.  I had been feeling a little disappointed at how things didn't really work out at the yoga studio, since food in every aspect of the word is my Sincerest and dearest passion.  How it's grown, How it's used, How it's prepared, How it works inside of our bodies, How we dispose of it - and linking sustainability back to all of these questions.  Organic, plant based, raw, composting, health, healing.. etc. etc.  I love that the more holistic our approach to life becomes, the easier things fall in to place, the more beauty we have in the world and the healthier and more vibrant our bodies become!! It's magical and I love it!  I am definitely not your typical scientist, and I know that most of the things I post on facebook make my friends who are amazing analytically minded individuals cringe... but i can't be any other way :)

Anyway.. talk about tangents!! lol  Okay back to the point, I got an unexpected phone call from one of our most loyal customers at the yoga studio.

He had been on vacation, so actually he had no idea that I was no longer working there.  He was definitely amazed, but wanted to meet up for some general questions I guess about nutrition.  I don't really know much, but I do know that the owner of the studio had been mentioning that he was the one who was really interested in developing plans for some corporate health programs.. etc.  So I have a meeting with him tomorrow afternoon, apparently in his business, he is looking to hire someone to make morning smoothies and juices maybe healthy breakfasts.  As it is, I'm not working so much at USU, I definitely have time as of now to do add something in.

Anyway, all in all it was a good day.  It's interesting how the world can open up to you if you just allow it.

Do something that inspires you today, you won't regret it!

:)
Esther

Head v. Heart

I have the hardest time figuring out, whether I am blindly following my ego, or if I am living my life according to my highest passions.

Maybe it's an interesting combination of the two.  The decision to go back to school, is definitely a decision that keeps going through my mind, over and over again.

In my heart, I have the picture perfect reality.  Whether it's actually possible, hmm seems most likely it isn't.

My ideal life would be to be in the same place as all of my family and friends.  This is quite the request as my family and friends are dispersed on 3 continents, multiple states and countries.

My ideal life would include no items that are 'trash'.  It would not take from the earth, that which causes more destruction than it would create being taken away.

In my perfect world, everyone would help each other out, community would be everything.  We share what we have whether it be, clothes, food, knowledge, freely and happily.  We provide for the needs of our community and everyone has talents to share.  If someone seems to be less apt in contributing, we shower that person with love, we allow that person to bloom on their own terms.

We spend our time foraging food, playing, adventuring, being active in nature! Like rope swinging into lakes, home-made boomerangs, cuddling, watching the beauty of nature!

A safe haven for all animals and people alike ;) 

I do enjoy travel, it's definitely a pleasure that I can learn to live without, unless of course some super sustainable airplanes and fuel come into being!  Made from reclaimed materials and use solar energy.. or some amazing technology :)

But in this place in my dream, bicycles is really all you need.  The air is clean the water is clear, all is vibrant :)

Currently I am working in a soil lab.  I help run tests on soil to make sure all the nutrients for farms are in order.  Atleast that's what I assume I am doing, I have just started working there a week or so ago.  I enjoy it, it's part time, nothing to strenuous.  I am definitely not used to working with chemicals,  but hopefully they are currently inventing greener ways to test samples??

I am really happy to have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the 'conventional' sustainable ways to grow food.  I am quite curious.  It's such a different world.  I've only worked on commercial farms and also educational farms - but in the sense where it was so experimental that it didn't really matter what you did.  Working on a campus research farm, is so different, everything is measured and calculated.  I completely understand why, but in my mind it's all about bringing in as much diversity as possible.  However, to research a project including as much diversity as possible.. would be almost impossible because there are so many variables involved.  So it's very intriguing, I guess that is why it takes years and years and decades and centuries for science to build on itself.  Working with each variable and building up from there.  But I realize that today, things are exploding at a much faster rate, since there are many more hands and brains interested in this kind of learning and these kinds of experiments, and many companies interested in the results.

So currently I am compromising.  Compromising my vision of this beautiful ecovillage with my little eco- mud home and beautiful vegan bountiful foraging forest.. lol I know .. hey someday it might actually happen.. maybe.. lol that's what dreams are for eh??   But anyway, I am compromising the kind of life I live, so I can delve more into what current scientific understandings are of sustainable systems.  In hopes that I will learn something beautiful, and in hopes that maybe I can bring some beautiful understanding to the table as well.  Who knows.  But it's worth a shot.

Last night I had this very interesting dream.  I dreamt my heart was set on going on this trip in a raft with 12 other people around the globe.  The raft would take off from NY, it would go up to England and down Europe, down around Africa.. Anyway, it went all around the world, and all we would have would be the raft.  In my dream, there had been a couple of trips already made by different sets of 12 people.  They had documented their experiences and I was reading through them.  For some reason I was feeling so unsatisified with what they had written, it was basically just an account of the places they had gone.. but with no detail.. no detail of what it was like to live in a boat, in a small raft where you had no privacy, no food .. lol now that I think about it.. totally impossible.. but haha that's what dreams are for eh!! to make complete logical sense.  It's always fun trying to explain a dream that seemed so significant but the moment it leaves your mouth.. it just absolutely falls like dust to the floor with each word spilling out.  I feel bad for my husband, always hearing my crazy dreams.

Anyway, in my dream, I felt so unsatisfied with the lack of content in their stories, I wanted to experience it for myself, and I would have been okay if the boat only went across the ocean.. in my dream the whole trip around the world would have taken 1 and 1/2 years!

It reminds me of school though, because it means I need complete dedication to this one thing, for 2-3 years, which most of the time I will most likely be living away from my husband as he is working on the other side of the world, and I will hardly have any time off because I will be doing field research in summers and my winter break is something only like a week.

But what I get out of it, is a different perspective, an experience, an 'education' which technically I can take anywhere in the world and hopefully have the skills to help anyone create beautiful soils!

Of course it's only comprises a fraction of my interests.  And actually I am still so interested in all of Gabriel Cousens programs in Patagonia.
www.gabrielcousens.com
He has amazing programs about health and nutrition and vegan farming.. I was really close to going there, but for some reason I felt having a conventional education would be a good balance to everything that I have been up to.  It felt like I had a window of opportunity to go back to school that wouldn't ever come back.. But the windows of opportunities to study alternative kinds of education are limitless and I know for sure, that's the first place I am going when I am done with the left side of my brain of mine :)

But it is difficult to refrain myself from just going there sometimes, especially when all these stories in the media make me feel so terrible about the way we live and how much we destroy our surroundings to live like this.  It absolutely breaks my heart.  I see how easy it is to get sucked into this materialistic lifestyle.. look at me, I'm typing on my computer posting on my blog!! haha, even as un-materialistic I like to think of myself.  I'm completely not, especially compared to an indigenous women who completely takes care of her needs within her country/land.  I am like a potty trained shih tzu compared to that.  I doubt I would make it too long, in my own.. in the backcountry of Utah.. or wherever I choose to get lost in the woods.  Which is pretty pathetic.  But hey!  Someday, that'll be me... we'll see atleast.  

According to the Mayan calendar, the end of the beginning of the new world is 2015.  Maybe by that time, all our dreams will be true :)

Anyway.

My brain is fading. I can feel it.  Maybe I can keep working strengthening the voice of my heart.. so I don't have this tug of war happening inside of me all of the time.

Thanks for reading in.

Have a fabulous day

May all your dreams come true.
May your heart and your mind be in unison with all <3

Very Interesting Comprehensive Article

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html

Happy April

I haven't posted anything for a little while.  Things got a little busy.  I was working with a yoga studio, but quickly I realized I was a bit over my head!  I know a good deal about raw foods, and foods for health, however, the business side of it all, I'm pretty much a newborn.  Not only was I basically running the kitchen but I also got hired on at the University.  Utah State University, as a lab technician.  I help make soil samples for all of the schools organic farms :)

I had intentions on keeping both jobs, but knowing that they will be needing a lot more help at the university this summer and that at the yoga studio they were able to hire someone else who could hopefully take the reigns forward on making sure the kitchen was running, I decided to leave and dedicate more time to the University.  It wasn't an easy decision since working at the yoga studio was really an incredible experience and I wish all the best to those continuing it on as of now, but it's looking like I'll be getting into school for a Masters, and it will likely take up a lot of my time.

I am very excited about the program. It's looking like I got the assistantship to work on the accreditation of an organic peach orchard in a beautiful national park - Capitol Reef National Park

As of now, I haven't had the opportunity to visit - soooo it may not look like the picture above, but :) atleast it's in the same area.

Another reason I have been a bit away from this blog is I actually started a 3rd blog!  It hasn't really got going as of yet.  But recently I really got into a lot of Drunvalo Melchidek's teachings from many indigenous people's from around the globe.  I am all for sustainability, health, organic agriculture, permaculture, I love it all, but there is something to be said about personal enlightenment.  I am definitely on a journey, I don't know what kind of journey, but I know that life presents me with lessons all the time.  Most of the time, I have no idea what it's trying to teach me or what I need to learn.  Which can feel, lol, confusing to say the least.  And I guess I always held a bit of judgement on those who prioritized becoming enlightened, not because I had any problem with it, but because I just didn't see the point.  I didn't really realize why it might be important.

Now I feel like it has to do with being able to see things from a  broader perspective, being able to catch yourself acting in a way which is uncompassionate before you make the act.  It's about seeing solutions before experiencing a need for them.  It's about connecting as a people and a society in a way that we don't have to be so polarized and we can continually go to that expanded point of view - so we can see eye to eye.

For example:
Recently there has been a lot of debate on let's say .. guns.  Lol I really don't want to open up a huge debate here, because honestly I feel quite neutral on the topic and I don't really want to get into the argument, I just want to share what I mean about expanding an argument so that both sides can feel like they've been heard without crunching any toes in the process.
- lol in the most general sense.. here  is super complicated argument most likely over simplified.. and maybe if I was "enlightened' LOL I could think of a better example.  But, so far not the case, so this will have to do :)

Group A
Doesn't want any of their gun rights to be taken away
Sees gun crime as a result of an unbalanced person

Group B
Doesn't want guns to be easily accessible by unbalanced people
Sees gun crime as a result of guns

Now both of these people are completely 100% correct- right I mean you can't be wrong with an opinion, you can't have a  gun crime with a balanced person and a gun - unless there is some kind of freak mistake.. which happens... You can also not have a gun crime without a gun.  Whether government should or shouldn't control what kind of guns which people can have.. is totally up in the air.  Obviously this is a huge debate.

So..
Can we take a step back on inch further.

Group A
wants to maintain the ability to protect themselves and their children

Group B
wants to maintain the ability to protect themselves and their children.

They just see different solutions to this issue of staying safe.

No one in the end wants the protection of their child to be threatened.  Period.  That's it.

What are some alternative solutions to this situation?

We are a disconnected society, there is no other way to put that.
What can we do, as a society to help each other and help our 'criminals' become balanced individuals.

Currently I have absolutely no solution for this lol sorry.  Maybe we can create neighborhood meditation/praying sessions, we can take turns caring in whatever way we can for people who are reaching out.  I don't know, but I do see a need for a different way of accomplishing things.

If I can take the responsibility for myself and my own enlightenment, and I change my perspective that the world needs changing, then maybe thats the solution.  Who knows, but I think it's worth a shot.  :)

May we all find what creates bliss in our lives and what makes the world an ever beautiful place as it deserves to be.