New Habits

I really don't know what has made such a big difference to my commitment and personal transformation over the past year. Maybe it was because we lost our dear friend and employee from cancer last May. I know his journey and death was a definite impetus to begin transitioning to raw food. I had been questioning my diet for a while and was planning on using the couple of weeks in Queensland to spend some time reading some sort of vegetarian/vegan book when I stumbled upon a raw food/lifestyle book in Byron Bay (of course).

I read it from cover to cover and it ranged in topics from lifestyle choices to environmental choices to dietary choices - juice feasting and fasting - and recipes. We had a juice bar under the apartment we were staying in so started having a juice for breakfast every morning. I'm not sure if it made a difference but the fact that I thought it made a difference was the key - may have been mind over matter. It just continued to flow on from there.

I had a dream a couple of nights later and woke up in a cold sweat with the thought that I had to give up alcohol which I managed to do for about five months and have that as one of my goals for this year. The changes were slow but gradually I added many of the ideas of the raw food lifestyle into our lives, avidly read articles on the internet, downloaded many MP3 recordings of people who have blissfully lived this way for decades and subscribed to blogs from experienced raw foodies.

As synchronicity happens, I did some work for a girlfriend and the pay was quite poor so she paid me in books of my choice - aaaah, what you wish for is granted. Naturally I chose a whole lot of raw food books or authors who have a more natural lifestyle - Brigitte Mars Rawsome, Angela Elliott Alive in 5, Shazzie Detox Your World and Jean Liedloff The Continuum Concept.

So here are 12 things I have transitioned into my life over the last 9 or so months:

1. Fasted for 3 days twice - Day 1 Water, Day 2 Juice (apple and watermelon), Day 3 Fruit (apple and watermelon), Day 4 Fruit until midday then break the fast with a big green salad.
2. Daily skin brushing - with the skin being the largest eliminating organ in the body, it makes sense to me to slough off the dead outer layers.
3. A green smoothie or green juice every day - check out Green Smoothie Revolution or take the 14 day Green Smoothie Challenge. What I like about it is that is not taking away from your usual diet, it's just adding in one small thing a day but makes a huge difference to energy levels, skin condition and eliminating toxins from your body.
4. Organic shampoo and conditioner - free from all of those nasties.
5. Natural deodorant - aluminium free.
6. Natural skin products - free from all of those nasties.
7. Organic food where possible and eating 80% raw most days. And yes, it can be more expensive but I shop around for specials and in season produce as I have always done. We tend to eat a lot LESS these days, our food is full of nutrition so there is less required to keep filling up on empty calories.
8. Created a food garden - with lots of love I have grown celery, lettuce, rocket, kale, spinach, bok choy, zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, aloe vera, mandarin tree and herbs - rosemary, lavender, thyme, lemongrass, basil, parsley and marjoram. I have also done a lot of sprouting - mung beans, alfalfa, wheatgrass, sunflower seeds, nuts, etc
9. Colonic hydrotherapy treatments - I had 3 last year and found them to be uncomfortable at first (a lot of these changes are way out of my comfort zone)but quite addictive as I got used to it. I am going to have another 6 on a weekly basis later this year just before allergy season to see if I can make it through without all of the toxins in my body.
10. No more plastic bottles for water - we have all changed to stainless steel bottles.
11. Supplements - Vit B, St John's Wort and a Woman's Hormone Balancer.
12. Writing in a gratitude journal daily. This has helped immensely in bringing a sense of peace into my life. By looking at what I like about something or someone instead of focusing on the negatives and complaining my whole attitude has changed. There is less anger and definitely a sense of well being that has replaced it. I have always seen the bright side of life but now it is infinitely brighter.

What has been the biggest factor in the way I feel now? Who knows? A combination of all of them, I'm sure. But the point is that they are all small changes I have made and the results are I have a lot more energy and have lost about 7kg. I used to dread preparing and cooking dinner and now I literally do it with love and bliss as I pick ingredients from my very own garden and know that everything I'm eating is full of life force and I am seeing my kids learn the difference between live food that will nourish their body and convenient prepackaged food that tastes good for the couple of minutes they are eating it and then makes them feel off afterwards so they are becoming aware of their bodies in a whole new way. That gives me simple joy.

There are a few other things I want to incorporate but I feel I have the time, focus and direction now to just let it flow into my life as it will. I am having so much fun.

Love Karen