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Raw Spirit Santa Barbara – Part 2
Just thought I’d start my second post with some pictures of delicious yumminess 😉
Saturday I worked the booth in the morning, and then in the afternoon met up with my darling brother again. He and his girlfriend took me to a vegan restaurant that night: Mary’s Secret Garden. They had a selection of raw food dishes, which we all shared. We had their tacos, their sushi, and their strawberry shortcake. Super yummy! (Silly me didn’t take pics..)
Raw Spirit Santa Barbara – Part 1
Hello all! Back from the Raw Spirit Festival! Enjoy my recap:
On Wednesday, I wake early to be picked up by Chris, one of the owners of VivaPura. I went to the festival to help out with VivaPura’s booth. We bop out the whole way to epic music (on his awesome sound system), and talk and laugh the entire way. We finally found the campground the festival was held at after an hour of perusing. We met up with the rest of our crew, including Ivri, another owner, set up our tents and got into bed close to midnight.
See you at Raw Spirit!
My post on comparative cleansing will have to wait until after… RAW SPIRIT SANTA BARBARA!
I am helping out the VivaPura booth, so if you’re there, come by and introduce yourself (and sample their legendary bee pollen!)
I may not be near a computer to write while I’m there, so I’ll update you on Monday or Tuesday when I am back!
Love,
Courtney
Day 7 of Seven day Green Juice Fast and BREAK FAST!
Ahhh… This day finds me SO HAPPY! I woke up to a sunny morning, feeling clean, energetic and light! I broke my fast at the Cafe with blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, and enjoyed beautiful conversations with people whom I cherish. What a great experience this fast was!
Day 5 & 6 of Seven day Green Juice Fast
Days 5 and 6 have been quite smooth. Physically, I’m soaring. I feel like I could stay fasting for a looooooong time. No fatigue, no nausea, nothing.
Today though, I’ve started thinking about food for the first time since I began fasting – feeling really appreciative of food, and looking forward to having it again. Interestingly, fasting is when I most understand what Gabriel means when he says, “Food is a love note from God.”
Day 3 & 4 of Seven day Green Juice Fast
I am very surprised at how great I feel on this fast. I expected to feel much more fatigue and spaciness. I expected it to be difficult. And it’s sooooooo not. It’s easy and I feel great. I’ve even been working all week with the same level of effectiveness. I am also starting to need less sleep, by an hour or so.
Day 1 & 2 of Seven day Green Juice Fast
Yesterday, day 1, was super easy for me. I did rest a lot, but didn’t experience any detox reactions (classic ones include fatigue, nausea, headache, etc). Day 1, smooth!
7 day Green Juice Fast
How’s your Spring of 2009 going?
Today is day 1 of a seven day green juice fast I am doing. Why?
Elevating My Mood
Dr. Gabriel Cousens has done a lot of work with balancing what he calls the ‘biologically altered brain’ and addressing body chemistry. I have been looking through his book ‘Depression Free for Life’ to just get some insights. I definitely don’t feel I have full blown depression, but I there may be some things out of balance in my body and brain chemistry.
Chinese Herb Consultation
After this past Eden retreat, which I hear was well attended, a few participants came down for a visit to the Tree of Life. One was “Rehmannia” Dean Thomas, who was an apprentice of Ron Teeguarden‘s for 8 years. Today he is runs his company “Shaman Shack.” I am told he actually trained Truth Calkins.
A Hibiscus Sunday
Today is a cooozy day – there is a rainfall coming and it’s right at that delicious point before the rain, where the air is thick with luscious smelling, fresh, enlivening moisture and the thunder is rumbling in the background. It is like heaven approaching, after the last few weeks of 95 degree days.
Animal Signs, Gabriel’s 66th Birthday, and Wild Treasures
As I sit here on my porch writing this, I am observing a small lizard, about 6 inches long, catching flies. This lizard picks the same spot on a particular tree every time I see it. Every weekend for the last few I’ve seen it, just chilling on the same place on the trunk that it likes to go back to.
Speaking of animal signs, last weekend a friend and I had a profound experience. We were sitting on this porch having a rather deep conversation about our lives, and a hummingbird descended right in front of us and hovered for quite while. We sat in awe (hummingbirds are rather rare here and we believe that animals often have messages for us – is anyone an ‘Animal Speak’ expert?) and then it hovered away
Satisfying My Inner Dork
Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, Star Trek and Board Games, Spock, Kirk and…
This Sunday, I ventured over to the house of Ivri and Chris, two of the three owners of VivaPura. Much to the benefit and joy of my inner dork, social fulfillment and sanity, Chris and Ivri are avid gamers. I’m not talking video games here (although I must confess, I am also a playstation lover; and would surely fall to my demise were you to gift me one, along with some Final Fantasy, Need for Speed or Tekken games), but rather good ‘ole family games – board games, card games, word games, etc etc etc etc etc…
Sizzlin’ and Lemons
The days, they start to sizzle. Today it was 96 degrees, and forecast anticipates it’s creeping up to 98 this next week.
Whew.
I will say this. People get crazy when it get’s hot. Scratch that. People not normally crazy get more crazy when it’s hot. Including me. Several people here are going through some major life changes and inner growth, and it seems to be more of a challenge to ride through that when it’s so hot.
The Spirulina Salad
I know, I know. A video of me making this will come… someday
To make a spirulina salad:
The Six Foundations of Spiritual Life by Dr. Gabriel Cousens
“I love hearing about different forms of spiritual growth, especially connected with nature. Is there anywhere I could find information about things like this? I’m on a little bit of a spiritual exploration myself.” -Caitlin
Turning On Our Youthing Genes
Foods that we eat, or don’t eat, communicate with our genes, for better or for worse! Foods do not change the genotype, which is the physical structure of the genes… the foods we eat do change the way the message in the genes is expressed.
Inipi – Native American Sweat Lodge
A reader’s question:
“The inipi sounds pretty intense. I would like to learn more about them.”
I am in no way an expert on inipis. That being said, I can share what I know of them, and my experiences with them. From the TOL website:
“The Inipi’s we perform at the Tree of Life are in the tradition of the Lakota Sioux. It is facilitated by Gabriel Cousens, M.D., or his second, Keith Lyons. Gabriel has been adopted into the Lakota Sioux Tribe and initiated as a sweat leader. The sweat requires that we each come with respect for the ceremony, ourselves, and everyone involved.