FACE Your Fears of Increased Visibility

I recently came across this fascinating blog post by medical intuitive Laura Bruno: "Healthy skin: some medical intuitive observations." In it she talks about skin issues from the perspective and experience of a medical intuitive and says that as our skin represents the face we show the world–the wrapping on the package of our soul, when skin issues present themselves, the last thing people want to do is increase their visibility. But sometimes that’s exactly what needs to occur in order for the symptoms to resolve. As someone who has struggled for years with skin issues namely acne and also consequently with putting myself out there i.e stepping into the light and allowing others to see me and also to really talk about what i believe in or what i do (my healing work) this makes total sense to me. Funnily enough the more i work on this issue and make myself more visible in every way the better my skin seems to get.

Laura Bruno says that "The more people can embrace the beauty of what wants to flow through them and allow that message whatever size stage it needs, the more the acne or other unsightly things seem to resolve."

I will repost Nelson Mandelas 1994 inaugural speech (written by Marianne Williamson) because it fits so beautifully with theme and the fear of letting our inner light shine:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Let your light shine, you are beautiful and the world will benefit hugely by letting it see you.

Light Up Light Up

"Light up light up as if you have a choice"

I love the chorus of this Snow Patrol song 'Run'¨from their album Final Straw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOBs8dU4Pb8

I'll sing it one last time for you

Then we really have to go

You've been the only thing that's right

In a lifetime

And I can barely look at you

But every single time I do

I know we'll make it anywhere

Only for sure

Light up, light up

As if you have a choice

Even if you cannot hear, my voice

I'll be right beside you, dear

Louder, Louder

And we'll run for out lives

I can hardly speak or understand

Why you can't raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes

Makes it so hard not to cry

And as we say our long goodbye

I nearly do

Light up, light up

As if you have a choice

Even if you cannot hear, my voice

I'll be right beside you, dear

Louder, louder

And we'll run for our lives

I can hardly speak or understand

Why you can't raise your voice to say

Slower, slower

We don't have time for that

All I want's to find an easier

To get out of our little hate

Have heart, my dear

We're bound to be afraid

Even if it's just a few days

Making up for all this mess

{Instrumental}

Light up, light up

As if you have a choice

Even if you cannot hear, my voice

I'll be right beside you, dear

Music can transform your mood or even your day.

Your body knows a thing or two

I have been reminded recently of a book and a technique called "Focusing- how to gain direct access to your body's inner knowledge" by Eugene T. Gendlin. His belief is that our unresolved problems actually exist in our physical body and by 'focusing'on them we can identify and change them.

The idea that our body has an innate wisdom is not new and it has been used overtly by several therapies that come to mind- Kinesiology, Resonance Repatterning and Life Alignment where they actually test the body for its deep unconscious response/wisdom. But this is a body sensing technique that you can learn to do for yourself in order to " .. listen to the whisperings of your body before it has to shout". ("The Power of Focusing- a practical guide to emotional self healing" by Ann Weiser Cornell). It is something that i use with clients in combination with Art Therapy and it is very effective.

Ann Weiser Cornell with a colleague adapted the technique calling it 'Inner relationship Focusing' www.focusingresources.com/ she says that:

"The trouble with talk therapy and positive thinking is that they leave your body out of the picture. If you try to talk or think your way out of problems, but leave your body behind, you’re leaving out 90% of your will and wisdom."

She also believes that "The trouble with positive visualization is that it bypasses something important: your current reality, the truth of how you actually feel. In your heart and gut you know there is something missing from those shiny futures, and that creates a disconnect that short-circuits real change."
From hard-earned experience, I’ve learned that an effective way of getting through the blocks and emotional overwhelm has to include the following three ingredients:

One. It has to be based in what’s real, true, grounded, here and now. Change can only happen in the present.
Two. It has to include your whole self, body, mind, and all. And that includes access to parts of you that talking and analyzing can’t reach.
Three. It has to be radically accepting of every part of you, so that your essential self feels stronger and calmer, and your (shall we say) less helpful parts don’t have to act out so much – and no longer need to get in your way."

" To move into the part of you that has the power to transform your life all you need to do is bring your awareness to your body" (Anne Weiser cornell) Eugene T Gendlin says that the technique will enable you to find and change where your life is stuck, cramped, hemmed in, slowed down and enable you to change, to live from a deeper place than just your thoughts and feelings. He says that using the technique brings a distinct physical sensation of change or body shift. Here is a brief description of his technique:

Step one: Temporarily push your problems to one side and take a step back to look at them. Allow the mental chatter to turn down and stay quite for a while and listen to the unclear body sense of it all, the felt sense. Then see what steps forward, seems to grab your attention or feels the worst. What immediately comes to mind?
Step two: Making contact with all the feelings around the issue that sprang to mind/came forward as the most pressing to get the felt sense of it.
Step three: Having got the felt sense, sense the quality of it and find a word that fits the quality exactly, checking the word against the feeling until it fits. For example one of anger. You know it's right when your body releases in response to the found word.
Step four Avoid analysing and go back to the felt sense and ask it for example what the anger is.

Step Five Ask the felt sense directly what the anger is about. If nescessary go back through the focusing movements again until a shift towards resolving the problem comes about. It is a shift when the felt sense changes even a little. Eugene says stay tuned to your bodily feeling and a complete shift is possible by fully grasping what is at the root of a feeling a bodily release happens. It is about going beyond the feeling and emotions, the emotional cycle/whirlpool to a deeper sense of the problem.

It can be an amazing tool to move forward with anything that is holding you back.

When it all goes wheat shaped

For some reason, although knowing that wheat/gluten absolutely does me in whenever i eat it, i managed to work my way through a packet of wheat cheese biscuits on sunday night having not eaten wheat for a looong time. ( I know when something isn't doing me any good when i can't stop eating it and still....)
 If i'm completely honest it wasn't just that there was nothing in the house ( i had a fridge full of fresh foods) it was because i was feeling rather low after my mum had gone back to the UK after a wonderful 5 days spent with her here in Oslo and i needed some comfort food. ( oh that old chesnut rearing its ugly head) Although i should have learnt by now that you can't get the ultimate comfort that you are looking for from this kind of food, just an initial numbing of a feeling, and that wheat especially instead of comforting me pushes me into a trough of depression, sickness and pain. Vomiting, diorehea, headaches, earaches, extreme exhaustion and aeching muscles that did not want to be moved so that the only thing for it was to succumb to my bed for 3 days. It is amazing what a hold emotional eating has and ultimately what an effect food can have on our bodies and on our moods. I suspect that after a week of eating more cooked foods than normal i thought hey what harm can this do.......luckily i know that getting back to eating nourishing foods helps and from here the only way is up. I am happy to say that i am almost out of the wheat made trough and back to myself. Next time i hope that the warning signs will be bigger than the perceived comfort of a wheat biscuit or at least that i can have the wisdom to see the next step.

Things i love

My friends and my family are everything to me. I like nothing better than spending a whole heap of time with them, wherever, whenever, it is always a pleasure.

I am madly in love with my husband and i could not tell you the depths of love i have for my son. I am very very lucky.

When i get involved in something that i feel passionately about, it can consume me for a time and while it does i will devour everything and anything on the chosen topic. I love a mission.

I love eating out, sharing food with friends and having delicious meals cooked for me, but i also love making food and feeding my family nourishing scrumptious meals.

I love quirky, soulfelt and heartfelt things.

I dream of camping in yurts or tipis somewhere beautiful and natural
with great friends. Somewhere like this: www.larosa.co.uk/about.html

I adore watching good films at home and going to see them at the cinema. I hate horror, love films that make me think or blow me away with emotion but i'm also 'secretly' a sucker for cheesy romantic films.

I revel in good juicy books and reading in bed, by the fire or in a hot bath...

I love thrift shops, farmers markets and unusual second hand or quirky antique shops. My wedding and engagement rings were from an antique shop in London.

I need to get outside everyday and feel the sun/wind on my face.

I love hugs

Uplifting, vibrant or mellow music can make my day as can seeing an inspirational image or piece of art.

I get a thrill from receiving a letter in the post from a friend.

My barefeet on the earth makes me happy, i would be barefooted all of the time were it no for the cold and snow in the winter here in Norway.

I want to surround myself by things that inspire me and make me feel joyful everyday.

Sun sun sun it makes me feel alive and happy.

I like expressing myself through art and in creative ways, handmade things are so satisfying.

I adore road trips with my husband or with friends. Time to chat and sing loudly and often badly at the top of our voices without caring. To see new things and places and to feel free and know that we could go anywhere we choose.

Picnics by the sea or almost anywhere in nature are a huge part of my childhood and are always blissful, even the ones in laybys. The one that comes to mind was on the Isle of Skye with my sister balancing a thermos of tea, food and a wriggling baby that needed changing while we had the giggles as another car pulled up with old aged pensioners about to do the same thing (minus the baby) and the rain lashed down on the car.

Wild swimming makes me happy and i prefer it hands down to swimming in chlorinated indoor pools.

Logfires are mesmerising. I love sitting by them, feeling their warmth and watching the flames dance.

Running makes me feel free, gets my mind and body zinging and is a fabulous way to explore new places. I also love cyclying, hiking, skiiing, climbing ....infact the list is endless!

Random acts of kindness, cute love notes left in pockets.

Raw living food is making me zing with joy of life and happiness

I crave regular contact with friends and family and i love gathering all of the people that mean the most to me in one place ( that was the bliss of our wedding- aaah such great memories).

I love meeting new people especially through happy coincidences or in synchronistic ways. Feeling that soul connection on first meeting and a coming home.

I love happy suprises

I love parties especially with a room full of open hearted, lovely people. I may sometimes drag my feet before i get there but love it when i do.

I like the idea of making an occasion of things, rituals are essential to life.

I love cuddling up with my husband and my son in bed for stories or to sleep.

Adventures, grasping the moment, being impulsive and following your instincts and your dreams.

I love love.

In rapture

Picture from Naomi Devlins blog

The blog "Milk for the morning cake" by Naomi Devlin is just a food lovers dream, especially if you are coeliac or intolerant to gluten. I love this blog not just because she has the most fabulous and mouthwatering recipes with combinations that have you drooling in anticipation as well as sending me back to my grandmothers kitchen hmm.  But also because it is just heaven to read her descriptions of things, it has me completely enthralled and in raptures and i feel i am right there with her tasting and experiencing it all.

This is her heavenly gluten free banana and walnut bread ( text in red are my additions):  

Gluten Free Banana and Walnut Bread

Ingredients

2 large extremely ripe bananas

4 large free range eggs

6 oz ground almonds

50ml rapeseed oil (organic or non GM) i used organic sunflower oil

juice of half a lemon

pinch salt

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda ( or gluten free baking powder)

2 oz chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon honey

1 tsp cinnamom

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C fan assisted (175C without fan) and line a 9 inch square deep sided tin (Bread tin) with greaseproof paper. If you don't have that size of tin then use something approximate, round even - hey nobody will complain about the odd bits that get sliced off the end, believe me!

In a food processor (or using a hand held electric whisk) whizz together the bananas, eggs, oil, lemon juice and salt (mash bananas first if using whisk). When everything is smooth and frothy sprinkle over bicarb and whizz again for a bit to mix it in thoroughly. Then tip in all the almonds and blend to incorporate.

Pour immediately into the waiting tin and scrape every last bit out. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the surface of the mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top and a cake skewer comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes and then remove from the tin using the paper to help you. Leave the paper attached until completely cool and then carefully peel off, using a knife to help separate crust from paper. Slice the square in half before cutting slices off - to make two loaf shaped peices. The bread will keep for up to three days in an airtight box in a cool place, but don't let it get warm or the fruit sugars will attract mould. Alternatively, slice and open freeze before storing in an airtight box in the freezer for up to a month"

I am not sure that this bread will last that long. I made it for my sons lunchbox but have already scoffed almost half a loaf..ooops but it is delicious and sooooo light and fluffy. Wow gone are the days of heavy saw dusty creations of old......mine that is. I have had to wait for others to come along with their culinary genius before i could turn out anything edible. Thank you Naomi i love your blog!!!!

Naomi is also a Homeopath, from Dorest in the UK (which is where i grew up, aaah it is such a gorgeous part of the world) and has written a post about Chronic Fatigue in which she advises about homepathic remedies as well as dietary advise for this condition which is very much in line with what i had to do in the early days and infact still do: http://milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com/2008/07/homeopathy-for-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html

In an extract from the above post Naomi Says:

"Most doctors draw a blank when confronted with CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). So it can feel pretty bleak when you finally get the longed for diagnosis. As it is an auto-immune condition, the best thing you can do is rest, de-stress your life and start to strengthen your immune system, so you can heal yourself from the inside. Good advice for all of us really – but hard to put into practice in the hectic bustle of the modern world. Those of us with a pre-existing auto-immune condition (celiac disease in my case) can be more prone to CFS than the general population because our immune system tends to over react to stimuli and our weak adrenal glands can easily become exhausted.

My strategy is threefold. First to support the adrenal glands with gentle stress relieving exercise such as yoga, or relaxation techniques such as meditation and conscious breathing if you are severely debilitated, and exercise would deplete you further. The point is support and relaxation, not stress and strain!

Secondly, to eat food that does not cause fluctuations in blood sugar. By maintaining the blood sugar at a constant level and avoiding peaks and troughs, the body can focus on repairing itself rather than producing large amounts of insulin and adrenalin which burden the liver and lead to exhaustion. CFS is often accompanied by digestive disorders such as diarrhoea, leaky gut, candida and food intolerance. By eating only what your gut can digest fully, you will absorb the nutrients you need from your food, rather than having it pass undigested through the intestines – causing inflammation and feeding yeasts and harmful bacteria on the way.
Thirdly I use homeopathy to rebalance the body and support the emotions. Homeopathy is great for CFS because it does not chemically burden an already weakened system. It can help raise energy, manage aches and pains and soothe the difficult feelings that arise from such an overwhelming condition."

For the full article go to the link here and do also visit the rest of her blog for her fabulous recipes and the way she writes......mmm mmm, yummy stuff for your tummy.

Jewels

My wonderful and talented friend Nicole has just launched her new website www.nicolethurgur.co.uk to advertise and to sell her unique and very beautiful handmade felt jewellery. She has a wonderful range of necklaces, braclets and earrings, all of which she has designed and made by hand. This involves a lengthy process of felt dry needling, but it enables her to create unique shapes and the beautiful details in each bead.

I was lucky enough to be given one of her gorgeous necklaces for my birthday last year. I feel it expresses me perfectly and i am soothed by its beauty and its colours. It makes me very happy wearing it or just to seeing it hanging up in my room.

In her own words: "I work from my studio in Oxfordshire designing and making unique and exclusive felt jewellery. I am influenced by the strong colours of South Africa where I was born as well as the natural forms in plants, gardens, pebbles, rocks, stones, eggs and the changing landscape. Each felt bead is handmade using the time consuming dry needling technique. This ensures the delicate designs in the beads, which are decorated on both sides. I love doing commissions where clients choose their own colour scheme for their specific skin tones and personality. When doing this it is also important to consider the length of the work, as this is also specific to everyone’s taste."


http://www.nicolethurgur.co.uk/

Savour your delights

Russell James is one of my favourite Raw food chefs at the moment and his recipes, if you take the time to make them, are just genius. Here is his Cauliflower cheese from his recent newsletter: 'News from the Kitchen'. I didn't believe before i tasted it that it would be as delicious as it was, creamy and herby and hmm mmmm, infact i might have to go back for another helping! The key to this recipe apart from the cashew nuts is to marinate the cauliflower.

Cauliflower Cheese By Russell James

For the cheese sauce

1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked 20 minutes

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary ( sadly i couldn't find any in the shops to add)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast ( i used organic vegan bouillon powder 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon salt ( i used just a pinch of pink himalayan salt)

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch turmeric

1 spring onions, finely chopped

5 chives, finely chopped

Blend all ingredients except onions and chives in a high-speed blender until smooth.- Stir in onions and chives by hand.

For the cauliflower

1 medium cauliflower, split into small florets (this will be about 4/5 cups)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch turmeric

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, massage in by hand and leave to marinate for 10 minutes

To assemble

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Mix the cheese sauce and cauliflower together and serve in individual portions in small bowls. The bowls can be placed in a dehydrator 1 to 2 hours before serving to warm through.

Sprinkle the chopped chives over the top and serve (with a big green salad)

In love with light

In these days of snow and little light what i crave is the sun and all that it brings with it. Warmth, light and that deep inner happiness and leaping of my spirit. The sun shines and so does my spirit. I start to uncurl and my body feels like it could just drink in the light forever.

The forecast however is snow, snow and more snow, until wednesday at least. So for now i will have to imagine those blissful sunny days to come and instead enjoy the snow as it falls lazily from the sky in big fat flakes while i sit by a beautiful log fire playing with my son. The snow is delicious in its soft icing sugar snow drifts inviting us to make snow caves or simply to dive into it with glee and that is just what we have been doing today. The heaven about the winter is just this: getting out whatever the weather, breathing in some fresh, if chilly air (minus 11 today), and soaking up any light that shows itself, before piling back inside out of the cold with rosey cheeks to warm up again and enjoy it all from the comfort of our sittingroom, preferably with hot scones and a steaming mug of tea by a roaring log fire.

BUT of course ............................. nothing beats the sun.

A conversation with paint

Image dialogueing or writing streams of consciousness in relation to an image or piece of art can be a very powerful tool. It can unlock hidden messages in an art piece or it can reveal elements of a piece that you were not immediately struck by, aware of, or could grasp initially.

I came across a piece of paper yesterday after a huge clear out of my studio on which i had written a stream of consciousness in relation to a painting (sadly i can't currently access the image of the painting) in a group art session back in september 2009. It was a very powerful piece in terms of what i felt when i made it and viewing it afterwards so although i don't do this with everything i make i felt it was very important to write something down after making it to record some thoughts and even to get to some of the deep emotions and message of the piece. I loved the process of getting in there with my hands in the paint using them to touch my feelings in a more immediate way than i felt i could using a paint brush, but it was also rather wonderful to see what came in written form because it brought a different dimension to the visual and the kinesthetic act of making the painting:

A stream of consciousness in relation to my painting:

"Joy of expression, of play with the paint, soothing, feeling its texture on my skin, moving it, wide movements, expansive and expanding. Love, love of art, of life, of freedom. How freeing it is to express oneself in art form, release-no barriers. No Judgement. Raw Power of the kinesthetic process. Release of feelings of known and unknown desires. Need to be real on paper-need to unfurl, to woosh with energy, zinging with aliveness and wholeness meeting oneself in oneness in good and bad- or the not so desirable sides, it's all how we view it.

Power-personal power-identity. Who we are, who we think we are. Who we want to be. How we view ourselves and others-do we stay true to ourselves, make peace with all of who we are.

Whoosh, Zing, Vibrance, Peace, Joy, drive to do something valueable, seize the day, yet also just be. Work with passion, sense, be true, be unrestricted, yet contained and held in some ways. Start somewhere-with joy. Start from this basis-RAW JOY-Ritual a basis to the day.Freedom of movement and positivity of thought. Parallel processes. Love at the heart of all things. Nurturing yourself and others. Create the life you wish to live.

Being alive-what do you want to do with your life?What do you want to create?

Ritual of birth, ritual of life and death. Lightness, spirit, playfulness, heart, passion. Raw energy. GRATITUDE-for life and my people-the people in my life, for spirit, for spirit, for spirit."

****************************************************************************

What was clear from making the piece was the deep joy and connection i felt, the RAW JOY of movement in making the painting and how in life i feel that this corresponding unlocking and flow of life and energy brings the same feelings of connection, joy, gratitude and ultimately of love.

Thinking of gratitude i came across this poem:

'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

" Today I hear the laughter of children at play. Their voices filled the air almost like chimes. And I felt their arms about my neck and their sticky kisses on my face. How blessed I am! Today I heard a mockingbird trilling out every single song it every heard from its winged friends. I closed my eyes and in the trees I heard all the voices I've heard since childhood, and it took me through all the happy, breathless, precious times I loved so much. Today I heard my mother's voice calling to me happily. It was a good, strong, healthy voice that has called to me courage, and hope and peace, and shall continue to call down many lanes to me. Today I heard my child's voice. I heard her singing, I heard her praying, I heard her laughing and talking. I heard her teasing and moving from place to place in all the activities I love to see her in. Now, even more than ever I realize how grateful I am that God has given me the excellent faculty of hearing. I shall with all diligence try to hear nothing evil, but only love and peace which is my heritage. "

I think it is important to express gratitude every day:

Will's Wisdom

In this short video the actor Will Smith talks about his path to success and happiness. It is definately inspiring stuff. He believes you make your own luck and success by working very hard and dedicating yourself to be being better every day, to developing your skill- "greatness is in all of us ".... he is living proof that that is the case and i think he's pretty cool because of his positive ( magnetic) energy and belief in himself.
His father told him 'Don't ever tell me there is something that you can't do. If you want something go and get it. You don't set out to build a wall, you say i am going to lay this brick, just one brick as perfectly as i can and i'm going to do that every day, then you will eventually have a wall.'

If you haven't seen his film In Pursuit of Happyness it is definately worth the watch. Make a choice, decide who you are going to be and what you are going to do. You have to focus, but you will make it it if you believe in something enough. You can create whatever you want to create.

Reach for the bliss

I never intended for this blog to turn into a raw food blog, but for now that seems to be what is drawing my attention and therefore what i am predominately writing about.

I can safely say that eating a diet of mainly raw living foods has transformed my life and these are the few things that have changed since i have started eating this way:

1) I went out and got a radical haircut and loved it.

2) My period pain completely went after 2 months and along with it the horrendous rage and depression before it ( PMS).

3) My periods have totally balanced themselves, so for the first time in my life i can almost time my period to the day. I know exactly where i am in my cycle and i no longer need to worry about them. They are also not clotted and heavy like they were before.

4) My skin is slowly clearing from the usual deluge of blackheads and spots and it is getting softer and generally seems healthier. My skin has been bad for years and years as a result i believe of a leaky gut/food intolerances so this is a fabulous feeling. I feel that once i have done a series of colonics then i think this process will speed up as i feel that the remaining skin detoxing is a result of impacted matter in my colon after years of not having a fully functioning digestive system..sorry but i think true.

5) I lost the remaining weight that i had gained after having my son, infact initially i lost quite a lot which was a little worrying but it has balanced itself out now.

6) My apetite went a bit haywire for a while as i adjusted to this new way of eating. Initially i was ravenous and ate huge amounts of food but it then gradually decreased until i lost my apetite almost completely for a while. Now however i eat when i am hungry which is back to a more regular pattern and i don't seem to be emotionally eating to fill a void etc anymore. I now actually crave greens like i have never done before and i dream about delicious plates of fruit and vegetables.

7)The almost daily low mood/depression, especially prevalent in the winter months has lifted so that for the first time in as long as i can remember i feel an absolute love of life on a daily basis. Wow this is what it is meant to feel like to be alive and zinging every day. Not just a few times when the sun is shining and everything is perfect.

8) I don't feel angry every day for no logical reason and i also feel more patient and just calmer.

9) I am feeling connected, grounded and my brain feels like it is finally beginning to wake up after decades of being asleep woweee that is a good feeling. Of course with M.E my brain does seem to scramble again when i am very tired, making things come out back to front and upside down, but hey it is all improving.

10) I no longer get food hangovers every morning ( unless i eat a lot of cooked foods or things like crisps or shop bought gluten free bread) and my tummy feels good. I am not 100% raw for social reasons and because i sometimes feel i need cooked grains like quinoa, buckwheat etc ( although i am beginning to sprout these more and more) or i just feel like goat cheese, cake etc. I just go with whatever i feel like at the time.

11) I no longer need a sleep in the day, unless i have done something very strenous, stayed up too late too many nights in a row or haven't paced myself, pushing myself too hard, but even then i have a much quicker recovery time than ever before. I don't feel sluggish and exhausted on a daily basis and i have started running daily or every other day which is just utter bliss as i don't seem to be getting the intense fall out that i always had after exercise which would limit me to one or two times a week, or nothing except gentle walks.

12) Due to my son being at Kindergarten we have experienced more than our fair shair of bugs and sickness as a family in the last few months. Usually i would be the first to succumb and then it would take me a good two weeks to get over it, leaving me exhausted afterwards and then i would usually collapse with another bug. Instead i have been the last to succumb and have had the mildest versions ever, having the two bouts of gastric flu for just one day each time and a day or so needing to rest afterwards and with the chest infection just 3 or 4 days, infact i can't fully remember now but i know that i bounced back in a way that i have never done before.

13) An increased sensitivity and intuition which includes knowing in each moment what my body needs and in terms of food being able to leave the foods that my body feels isn't right for it anymore or at least being aware before i eat it what it will make me feel like. It doesn't mean i always follow it but i know that if i do things are much better.
I am sensing and feeling more than ever before but it is not overwhelming me, infact it is incredibly exciting. Last night i closed my eyes to see psychedellic colours and patterns of energy whirling and swirling and when i opened my eyes i could still see this. It felt incredibly soothing, expanding, relaxing and healing and my body felt amazingly warm despite the cold of the room, it was a warmth that began like a cloak or someone wrapping their arms around me (my husband was away) and spread until it radiated throughout my whole body. I have experienced this before when i have been alone and needed comfort or just to know that i am connected and
can tap into this.

14) I don't need to sleep after i have been out in the city centre. Usually i would need to rest in a big way after this.

15) I can't stop talking about it all but i really feel that i have woken up for the first time since i was a child and it is making me buzz, fizz, zing, and vibrate with life, happiness and positivity unlike anything i have experienced. It is almost like i am high on life and i want to shout silly songs and dance down the street ( for example singing yipedy doo dar yipedy day my oh my what a wonderful day)

Long may it all continue.

16) The Physical and Emotional Detox
I have to say i did go through a bit of a detox in the beginning ( i think perhaps it would have been stronger if i hadn't been eating pretty much a whole food, gluten,dairy and sugar free diet for many years before i started...this was perhaps my transition) with my skin initially getting worse, feeling more bloated etc and uncovering layer upon layer of emotional issues that i thought i had dealt with but which had obviously been held in my body/cells and as i started to shift things these issues came up in a big way to be addressed and processed. I can almost chart them via each specific emotion and i wrote them down. Issues around failure, worry, anger, guilt, illness, blame, stress and lack of balance. It has been a fascinating and emotionally tough process but i feel a million times freer and lighter having been through it.

17) I also feel i have shifted out of a place of feeling stuck with no real way forward in a way that was making me truly happy to a place where i feel that i can go with the flow of life unlike ever before and the brick wall that seemed to have been blocking my path has dissolved. I suddenly feel i can be me without hiding or feeling ashamed for anything that i am. I have started to love myself again.

It feels like i am just starting on this path and already i feel fabulously vibrant and happy. I can't wait for what else will come now that things are flowing in a magical way.

p.s I do believe that the raw living foods are responsible for many of these huge changes in me, but it was also undeniably the fact that the time was just right for it because suddenly it seemed just what i needed to do and i couldn't ignore it, unlike before when it seemed too hard. It felt like i was guided into this way of eating on a daily basis as I started to see it everywhere that i looked and not only did it make sense but it just seemed easy.

I know i sound totally and madly evangelical about it all, but it is just what is working for me right now and it is making me madly happy so i don't care at all and that is a first. As is wanting to have a blog and tell the world what i am feeling, "the good the bad and the ugly" or just simply the......

BLISS BLISS BLISS

Raw Food in Oslo

So here are a few things that i have discovered since getting interested in Raw food and moving to Oslo:

1) Organic Box scheme- Fanny and Martins organic vegetable and fruit home delivery/box scheme.

2) Funky Fresh Foods is a wonderful Raw food company run by Josefinn Andrén and Jenni Mylly. They have raw food courses and a raw food cafe that runs for the first sunday of every month for 5 hours at a time. It has the most mouth watering and delicious raw food i have ever tasted. They also do raw food catering and have started to supply the Røtter health food shop in St Hanshaugen ( and Frogner) with frozen brownies, cheesecake and carrot cake. "Everything is raw and free from gluten, sugar, lactose, eggs and preservatives."

3) Røtter Health Food Shop is a wonderful shop in St Hanshaugen and Frogner in Oslo packed with superfoods, health foods, organic fruit and veg and natural products for body and home. They have the best supply of raw foods and they also now stock the Funky Fresh raw frozen cakes: cheesecake, carrot cake and brownies (or the latter "b-RAW-nie" which i can say is just to die for....hmmm my mind literally cleared after eating it in rather a profound way rather than fogging and collapsing as it would have with a normal brownie. The raw cacao in it must be responsible for that!) Read their review here.

4) Helios Health Food Shop  also offers a whole host of wonderful organic health foods, superfoods, fruit, veg, vitamins, natural products for the body and home as well as organic clothes including wool hats and thermals and wooden eco toys among other things. They also have a UK website.

5) RAW FOOD Cafe and Courses by Anne Madhumavi Olsen. She runs raw food courses/cooking classes, has a regular café in her own home (a gorgeous farm house) and provides Raw Food Catering. She has exhibited at trade fairs and has given dietary advice both privately and to groups. Her focus is to show that healthy food can taste good and that it can also be creative and fun! (Update: She has also established the Helt Rå Cafes in Oslo and Sandvika. A totally divine taste experience. See here.)

6) SanaBona is a company that supplies mainly raw food products to health food shops as well as selling online.

7) Give It To Me Raw is a group that aims to connect raw foodies around the world so that you can 'meet' people that live in your own city or one that you might be visiting. Here is the Give it to me raw Scandinavien page.

8) Dønn Grønn seems (as far as my less than perfect Norwegian understanding allows) to be a raw food company run by Asgeir Brevik and Caïla Hoff offering raw food introductory courses, lectures, education, coaching and catering. Please follow this link for information about them in English.

9) Raw Food Meet Ups -there isn't a raw food meet up group yet, that i know of, so perhaps i should start one?

10) Raw food Information and Courses in Oslo. There is also a fabulous video on the website about raw food.

11) An additional find is the Super Nature health food shop that sells lots of Raw foods as well as a whole host of other wonderful products. See a later post for more information.

AND a long overdue update in 2011:

12) Helt Rå - The first Raw food Cafe Restaurant in Sandvika (and also newly opened now in Oslo.)

• Helt Rå Sandvika -Elias Smiths vei 7, 1337 Sandvika,100 metres north of the Sandvika Centre. Tel 9949 2429
• Helt Rå Oslo - Tolbugt.31, 0157 Oslo- in the same premises as the Zen Lounge. Tel 9063 8216

Fudgey Chocolate delights

Well i was so hungry last night that i didn't get as far as making Susan Jane Murray's chocolate Ginger biscuits, instead i did a quick raw version and made these yummy raw fudgey treats:

Fudgey Chocolate Delights

1 cup raisins

1 cup almonds

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ginger powder

Method

Grind almonds to a powder in your food processor.

Add all the other ingredients and blend together.

Taste and see if you need to add more chocolate or ginger.

Roll into balls and chill in the fridge. They actually increased in fudgeyness after a night in the fridge.

You can of course make many different variations on this theme.

Be warned they may go in one sitting.