EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views » Quotes

What Do You Call Entertainment?

Leisa — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:29:07 +0000

This message came through on Neale Donald Walsh’s (Conversations With God) daily e-mail list and I like it enough to post it here! I think this is very true…

“…. the degree to which people have evolved is instantly revealed through what they call entertainment and ‘fun’.

What do you call ‘entertainment’? What do you describe as being ‘fun’? How do you spend your free time? How do you spend your entertainment dollars? How much television do you watch? How many movies do you see? What kind of programs and films do you spend time on? How many books have you read this month? How many concerts have you caught? How many ballets have you seen? What kind of music do you listen to?

Does any of this matter? You might just as well ask if it matters what kind of food you eat. Nourishment for the mind is no different from nourishment for the body. What you put in is what you get back — in triplicate.”

Leisa

What Do You Call Entertainment? is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Raw Vegan Obsessions…

Leisa — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:31:13 +0000

I once spent quite a lot of time reading raw vegan forums and message boards and interacting with the people who posted there – but just lately I’ve noticed that a lot of these places are becoming platforms for people to bully others who may not hold such extreme views as themselves.

I was once a “food evangelist” too, pushing my almost religious beliefs about food and health on to anyone who would listen – and to plenty who didn’t want to listen either! I knew my views on health were right, and there was no way I was going to let anyone slip through the cracks!

Thank goodness I grew up!

Maybe we all need to go through this stage before we come out the other end wiser and more humble people with a greater appreciation that every individual is on a different journey through this life, and that one size dietary regimes do not fit all.

I have been accused on this blog of being “religious” in my views around food – but obviously those people haven’t read a lot of what I’ve written, because many a time I have urged people to lighten up, to not be obsessive about every morsel, to eat meat if you so choose, to not judge others for their choices, to not use your choice of diet to act superior to others, and to know that there is more to health than just food.

So it saddens me to hear that people are abused on some raw vegan sites for expressing differing opinions about what is best to eat. Surely a healthy attitude is about sharing knowledge as compassionate, caring human beings? Once bullying starts, I have to wonder why the bully has such a need to be right, that he or she would hit out and abuse others to prove it.

Charles Eisenstein, a writer I admire very much has this to say in his book “The Yoga of Eating” – “There are people, most notably extreme adherents of various dietary philosophies or exercise regimens, who worship bodily health, seeing it as an indication of virtue, and disease as a sign of, or punishment for, some impurity of diet or practice.

According to this calculus, the healthy zealot of our scenario is superior to the sick people of the world. He is better than they are. He has found the True Gospel, and will not hesitate to proselytize. Very often (as with anyone who clings to pride) the result is humiliation – and what could be more humiliating to the health zealot than a serious illness?

But even if the health-worshipper never gets sick, what good does his health do? The body is our vehicle for living and acting in the world’ it is meant to be used. There is more to health, to wholeness, than mere physical integrity. You have been incarnated as this body for a purpose, and to achieve it your body possesses tremendous strength, resilience, and resources.”

I agree. There is enough argument and ugliness in this world without throwing raw food into the ring.

On the other end though, Jennie from Raw Pleasure has done a monumental job of keeping her forum a friendly and non-judgemental place to exchange ideas on raw vegan food and lifestyle. Check it out! Raw Pleasure Forum

Leisa

Raw Vegan Obsessions… is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

That New Fad “Raw Diet”

Leisa — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:23:01 +0000

I love reading old books on health and food, and find some of the concepts and ideas absolutely fascinating! Some are just plain wrong, and it can be really funny to read how adamant some of the writers are about their particular point of view – and with the limited information that they had at the time it can be absolutely hilarious!

However there is one writer who had a pretty good handle on food and healing, and that was Arnold Ehret. He wrote several books – one popular one being “Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet Healing System”. It was written in the early 1900’s and is a blue-print for healing all sorts of disease with fasting and whole foods.

He had a fascinating journey in healing himself of debilitating illness with natural methods, and spent years teaching and lecturing on health.

I was reading through this book just the other day and found this:

…”You were taught in former lessons why these “conclusion” are wrong, and have produced the “protein” fad and later the “mineral salt” fad, and now the very latest fashion, i.e., the “raw food” fad…”

Isn’t that just classic? Here we are in 2009 with raw food “taking off” – when Arnold Ehret was writing the same thing 100 years ago!!! I had to laugh as so many raw foodies today appear to think that they invented this movement, when it’s been around for a long, long time!

The concept of healing with raw food isn’t completely new, it’s just information recycled around and packaged and presented in new ways. And it was probably the same 100 years ago and wasn’t new then either!

Long live the healing powers of raw food!

Leisa

That New Fad “Raw Diet” is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Looking Back on 2008

Leisa — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:23:31 +0000

As the year 2008 comes to a close, it has been a time for reviewing the year just gone and setting goals, dreams and desires for the next.

I have to say that if I was going to sum up 2008 in few words it would be “the year of contrasts”.

There were huge ups and downs this year - moments of despair and moments of elation – so all in all it was a year full of texture, colour and enormous personal growth.

My new tag line that you will all see coming in the New Year in the branding of my business, is “Healing is a journey, not just a (raw food) diet.

And I think that really encompasses what I am all about. Health on all levels is important to me, and one of the greatest understandings that I’ve had, is that health isn’t a destination that you get to and then you just stop. It is an ongoing process, a journey that changes day to day.

Health is something that you might feel you have achieved one day, and then it slips away again and there is something new to learn. It is an ever constant meandering along the path, with subtle and not so subtle shifts that direct us toward feeling happy, energetic, vibrant and alive.

This year started off so well. I had been working for three years as the Naturopath at Hippocrates Health Centre, it was for sale, and I had high hopes of being able to negotiate the purchase myself, or work with new owners to continue there in a more involved capacity. I loved working at the centre, coaching people through the detox program, making many good friends from around the country and overseas, and witnessing the shifts and changes they made during the program.

Then everything changed when the centre closed, and it felt like my world fell apart. If I wasn’t the Hippocrates Health Centre Naturopath, who was I? Did I have an identity myself without the centre? My future plans were gone and I felt lost and betrayed.

Of course knowing what I know, and having one of my most popular lectures The Emotional Aspects of Healing even made into a DVD, I had the tools to be able to deal with the blow and move on. You would think…. But it wasn’t that easy! I knew that there was a bigger picture here, and that we can’t judge a situation as “good” or “bad” because we may not be able to clearly see that greater picture yet – but it did take me a couple of months to work through my feelings and come out the other side where I could be genuinely grateful for the opportunities I had, and to look to the future and new possibilities.

Part of that was letting the feelings flow and not cutting them off – but there were times when that flow was a flood!

Out of that came the birth of Embracing Health, and the Embracing Life! Retreats. The passion I had for bringing groups of people together to share wisdom, learn about raw food healing, and connect, was something that couldn’t be quenched, and I found a way to bring my vision into reality. The success of the venture can be seen in the heartfelt retreat testimonials generously shared by the retreat participants.

It is one of the most powerful examples of starting with nothing more than a thought, and then following that thought through to create a reality, that I have ever accomplished in my life. In that there has been an incredible amount of satisfaction, happiness, and gratefulness, and it has been an amazing journey that has led me to grow on all levels.

I have read a lot about being “on purpose” and how things flow when they are meant to be. And even though I have experienced that at different times, the synchronicities around the pulling together of the retreats has simply been mind blowing. I finally understand the saying that goes something like “when you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen”. Or this is even better:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

And that sums it up.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, successful 2009, filled with love, light, laughter and endless possibilities!

See you next year,

Looking Back on 2008 is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Nature Quotes

Leisa — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:22:37 +0000

I found these quotes in David Wolfe’s The Sunfood Success System:

“The constitution of man’s body has not changed to meet the new conditions of his artificial environment that has replaced his natural one. The result is that of perpetual discord between man and his environment. The effect of this discord is a general deterioration of man’s body, the symptoms of which are termed disease.” – Professor Hilton Hotema, Man’s Higher Consciousness

“Long-continued violation of the Laws of Being is the cause of disease; long-continued perseverance in obedience is the only means by which health can be recovered.” – Dr. Herbert Shelton, Hygienic Review

So true! The further we move away from our natural environment, the worse our health. At least we can still access beautiful, healthful, fresh, organically produced fruits and vegetables to sustain that connection and heal our bodies!

Nature Quotes is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

The Paradoxical Commandments:

Leisa — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:57:00 +0000

I liked these

The Paradoxical Commandments

“I wrote these comments back in 1968, when I was nineteen, a college sophomore:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do it anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

The Paradoxical Commandments are guidelines for finding personal meaning in the face of adversity. The paradox is this: even when things are tough — even when the world is crazy — we can still find personal meaning and deep happiness. We do that by facing the worst in the world with the best in ourselves. We do that by living a paradoxical life. ”

From the book Do It Anyway by Kent M. Keith (published by New World Library)

The Paradoxical Commandments: is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Being Authentic

Leisa — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:22:11 +0000

I really like this quote from one of my favourite books by Charles Eisenstein, The Yoga of Eating:

“A discrepancy between what we eat and who we are in the world generates a kind of tension, which is resolved either when the diet moves back in line with the person’s incarnate role, or when the person’s entire life changes to come into harmony with the new diet.

Force, that is, will power, can hold diet and being apart, but not forever. The tension will build, in the form of intense cravings, aversion, and eventually, physical illness. The body speaks its message louder and louder trying to get what it needs, even as it does its best to function with those needs unfulfilled.”

This continues on with the type of message that I try to put across, and that is that health is much, much more than just what we eat, and that there are many other influences impacting who we are and how we choose to live.

We can’t just think that changing our diet is going to be the total answer to living a full, happy, healthy life. If we have been craving certain foods, eating out of boredom, eating junk because we are too busy to prepare healthy food etc – until the issues underlying those habits are addressed, (as Charles says above), will power will only work for so long.

Which means that ultimately to change our diet means a re-evaluation of who we are. Isn’t that great? So when we want to refine our eating habits, first we need to look within and get to know ourselves a little better. To try to understand what it is driving our habits and to see how we might be able to fulfill our true needs, rather than using food as a substitute.

And that is always a very positive thing to do

Being Authentic is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Words of Wisdom from Ann Wigmore

Leisa — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:46:39 +0000

Ann Wigmore was a pioneer of the raw and living foods movement, and helped thousands of people regain their health with the Hippocrates Health Institute program which she founded.

I was rereading one of her books today “Be Your Own Doctor. A positive guide to natural living” and I came across these gems of wisdom:

“Disease stems from deficiencies and a lack of understanding of Mother Nature’s laws of health, plus the unwillingness to accept the obligation to keep the precious temple – the body – in order. This is accomplished by keeping it clean and well-nourished. And, of course, providing necessary aids such as rest, relaxation, positive thinking and plenty of exercise through hard work.”

“We fail to learn how to think for ourselves and to take care of our bodies properly by asking for the guidance which is always there for us to utilize instantly and which will amply provide for our individual needs. Our bodies definitely let us know whether or not we are treating them right or wrong.”

“Since most health problems result from deficiencies, the vital need is nourishment and that nourishment has to be unprocessed and uncooked, and in addition grown in organic earth.”

“We know that no known disease can penetrate the strength of a healthy body. A low protein, low starch, low fat and high enzyme, high vitamin, highly alkaline and high mineral diet is the key. Anyone can restore health by way of detoxification and rebuilding healthy cells so that the body can heal itself. Sickness is only a failure to understand the balance of the body, mind, and spirit, which creates well-being.”

“Hippocrates theorized that it was necessary to first remove the cause of bodily upset and then to provide Nature with the proper tools to repair the damage. These tools included a semi-fast to cleanse the bloodstream, food to bring live nourishment to the cells, moist heat and massage to relax the muscles, clean air to bring oxygen to the lungs, exercise to stimulate the circulation, fresh water to lubricate the body tissues, and dismissal of all fear to permit real relaxation.”

Ann Wigmore wrote several books on health and healing, and they are full of genuine, down to earth information that is of benefit to anyone looking at incorporating more raw foods into their diet.

The Raw food lifestyle has become very “trendy” and Ann’s books certainly don’t fit in that category – but if you are after the real deal, then you can’t go past this legend of the greens!

Words of Wisdom from Ann Wigmore is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Beautiful Poem

Leisa — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:24:38 +0000

What a lovely reminder to let go of our worries and rest in nature…

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and I am free.

Wendell Berry

Beautiful Poem is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Favourite Quote

Leisa — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:47:29 +0000

This is an wonderful quote that I picked up from the Raw Power website www.rawpower.com.au

“An individual who eats the typical foods found in so-called “civilized society” who then changes to a raw-plant-food diet can discover energy they have never known. Eating a balanced mix of raw plant foods restores the body on a molecular level, building strong cells, radically naturalizing the body, raising alkalinity, and grounding the person in the natural world.

Every person is a work of art in progress. Either one can become progressively more beautiful, or one can follow the fate civilization has set out (mis-education, wage slavery, decay, illness, and an untimely death). Each action one takes determines which of these two destinies will be achieved. What we eat helps to guide our path. Eating determines what level of health our body will experience. Every bite of food put into the body should add to our strength, spirituality, and beauty. Each meal becomes part of who we are at the deepest level.”

- David Wolfe (A Leading Pioneer in the Raw Food Movement)

Favourite Quote is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views