Raw Spirit Festival Review (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Raw Spirit Festival Review

[supertom]

raw people do look hot, the guys have some doggy hairstyles thou... ahem

I like how there is places like sendona, where everyone with high-awareness can go and meet up. Maybe one day we can build a city or have a district.

[Lenie]

this was such an excellent review. I love Matt M, I'm so glad you two connected. In my mind it's like a superpowers summit., I don't know why.

So glad you went from thinking of the colonic, to doing it, then describing it. Now I know that I'm doing them... Cool. Thanks.

[Andrew Michaels]

Hey Steve.

I noticed that you didn't mention Dr. Doug Graham's lecture, which I heard was fantastic. I was looking forward to hearing what you thought. Did you not get to see his?

Thanks
-Andrew

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Andrew Michaels

Hey Steve.

I noticed that you didn't mention Dr. Doug Graham's lecture, which I heard was fantastic. I was looking forward to hearing what you thought. Did you not get to see his?

Thanks
-Andrew

I liked his talk, but it wasn't a personal highlight for me because I didn't learn anything I hadn't already read about in his book.

At the festival I met several other people who had problems with Dr. Graham's high-fruit diet, including one woman who suffered from dry skin like I did.

Dr. Graham mentioned he's been raw for 30 years and hasn't had a sick day in the past 28 years. Not bad, eh.

I've also noticed that I haven't gotten sick since going raw, although the rest of my family certainly has.

[Dimond]

It seems like the few who are successful being a fruitarian are usually very athletic. Still don't think it's the ideal diet for most, but everyone is different.

[Erin Pavlina]

I was just on the phone with a nutritionist who works with Dr. Graham upon occasion. He said the high fruit raw diet works for people who are very athletic because they need that high sugar to counteract the workouts (counteract in a good way, he had a technical word that I can't remember). But he said if you're a raw foodist and not an athlete then the high fruit raw diet can mess with your blood sugar, make you spacey, ungrounded, and eventually cause problems. I thought that was interesting that the level of exercise and the intensity is a determining factor (often) in whether a high fruit raw diet will work well for you.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

But he said if you're a raw foodist and not an athlete then the high fruit raw diet can mess with your blood sugar

Oh yes indeed, I can relate to that! I just tried it for a few weeks and got blood sugar problems, so much that I had to break the trial off.

Thanks for sharing this Erin I too find it interesting that it depends on our activity level.

Are you considering going raw some day, Erin? I'm just being curious.

ok, now I'm going to read the review!

[Rose of Cairo]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing Steve.

[Fullcrum]

That's very interesting about the high-fruit stuff. I know Dr. Doug Graham is pretty athletic himself.

What do the non-athletic people recommend for the majority?

[Andrew Michaels]

I know that Dr. Graham believes that being non athletic isn't healthy. Everyone should basically be doing some exercise just about every day.

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

That's very interesting about the high-fruit stuff. I know Dr. Doug Graham is pretty athletic himself.

What do the non-athletic people recommend for the majority?

[Andrew Michaels]

I know he gave several

His final talk about the raw community and the raw food movement is the one I'm curious about. Problems with super food peddlers, etc. Did you happen to make that one? Two 80/10/10 people I know said it was a fantastic talk. I was curious for the reaction of a non 80/10/10er

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I liked his talk, but it wasn't a personal highlight for me because I didn't learn anything I hadn't already read about in his book.

At the festival I met several other people who had problems with Dr. Graham's high-fruit diet, including one woman who suffered from dry skin like I did.

Dr. Graham mentioned he's been raw for 30 years and hasn't had a sick day in the past 28 years. Not bad, eh.

I've also noticed that I haven't gotten sick since going raw, although the rest of my family certainly has.

[MariaG]

Thanks for all of the great information and especially the links. This is a great tutorial for anyone interested in learning more about raw food.

I'm interested in incorporating more raw food into my diet, and I'm wondering how to transition. Does anyone know of suggested plans for going 10% or 20% or 50% raw? Is there a formula? Of course I could just eat more salads, but perhaps there are better ways of getting the benefits of raw nutrition.

[Erin Pavlina]

I've done some flirting with the raw food diet, and currently my diet is at least 50% raw and the rest is low fat, high protein, high fiber cooked vegan. I'm about to embarq on a new diet specifically tailored to my personal situation, that's why I was consulting with this particular nutritionist.

[Scorpio]

Steve,

I know you're very open minded and skeptical about being skeptical and what not. This article continued in that vain with you talking about solar gazing, Breatharianism, colonics, vortexes, and so on.

I notice a lot of alternative people seem to have a very 'kitchen sink' approach to their beliefs. They just believe scattered ideas from all over the place. They don't seem to go, "This I believe, this is silly and made up." or "This fits into my framework, this doesn't." or "Telepathy is a real phenomenon, but chakras and crystal healing were just made up by people."

I notice this in particular with your and Erin's beliefs in the psychic/spirit realm. Every concept I've ever heard about that stuff, you seem to be open to it being true.

Are there any spiritual/new age/alternative/psychic beliefs that you've evaluated and rejected, for being too goofy, not true, not cohesive with your world view, etc.?

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Scorpio

Are there any spiritual/new age/alternative/psychic beliefs that you've evaluated and rejected, for being too goofy, not true, not cohesive with your world view, etc.?

Beliefs are perspectives -- lenses through which reality can be viewed. I can only reject a lens if I've tried it and found it too inaccurate or too disempowering to be helpful, and even then there will often be aspects of it that I found useful. So I prefer to remain open to lenses I've haven't personally tested. I rarely reject anything completely. All that does is close doors and create artificial limits.

Of course there are lenses (belief systems) I tried and ended up dropping. An example is Scientology. I immersed myself in it for 2 months, going to one of their centers twice a week and taking a couple classes. I found it a fascinating experience, but in the end I decided... not for me. Too cultish. However, some of their ideas were quite useful. I got really good results in my games business by applying a lesson I learned from a long-term Scientologist, something he learned from L. Ron. So you never know unless you test...

Catholicism was another lens that I had to drop. Again, too cultish. I actually found Scientology more accurate and useful than Catholicism in terms of practical living.

Many of the lenses I find most effective and accurate are those which the majority of people would reject, usually without ever trying it. So I don't base my experimentation on popular opinion.

One of the reasons I like to remain open to different lenses is that it allows me to connect with a wide variety of people.

Most people are way too close-minded. They're afraid of being too gullible... as if they'll be sucked in by belief salespeople. But that fear just robs them of lots of interesting experiences. It greatly limits their experience of life. It's like being afraid of your eyesight for fear you may see something unpleasant.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

I've done some flirting with the raw food diet, and currently my diet is at least 50% raw and the rest is low fat, high protein, high fiber cooked vegan. I'm about to embarq on a new diet specifically tailored to my personal situation, that's why I was consulting with this particular nutritionist.

Great to hear Erin, congrats!

[Angela]

Sounds like it was fun and inspiring -- especially the play! I can see where going raw might be a good choice for me at some point.

Do you really believe, Steve and/or Erin, that cooked food is toxic? If so, how do you reconcile feeding toxic food to your kids -- and eating it yourself at times?

[Dimond]

For those that asked, it seems that once you finally are accumulated to being raw where it's easy to stay that way, that each person finds a certain way that works for them. The most ideal from everything I've researched and my own experiences over the years is high greens, 10-20% fats, 10-20% fruits. So almost like 80-10-10 with the focus on greens rather than fruit. For some a higher percentage of fruits is needed, others a higher percentage of fats. It's something you will intuitively figure out the more you're raw. Usually it's best to eat much less of the gourmet/high fats meals that help you become and stay raw, and stick with very simple meals. What's great is your tastes change and you will find you enjoy all food in general more so it becomes quite easy. Things you thought you could never eat or never eat without lots of flavoring added, you may find you now like alone or in a very simple meal. Another thing that happens with many real long time raw foodists, is they prefer eating less and find that to be the ideal way. Or another way is by having mostly liquids through juices, smoothies, and soups. Both of these ways allow your digestive system to work at it's most optimum, as well as help assimilate nutrients best. Regardless everyone should try to have at least 1-2 liquid meals. Most like Green Smoothies.

[spazgirl]

What a great review!

I had never made Jennifer Cornbleet's chocolate cake recipe, but when I read how quick it is to prepare and that it tastes like a brownie, I decided to try it. I didn't have any fresh berries, so I picked out some raspberries from a frozen berry blend and processed them with some dates and water to make a yummy sauce. Even with the date-pitting and the berry-picking, I was done in under 15 minutes! And it really does taste like a brownie! Yum!

[Marth]

Anyone link me some tips for going raw, & is there such a thing as decent tasting vegan chocolate?

[Dimond]

Desserts & chocolate are the easiest thing about raw. You can either make your own or buy pre-made from several companies.

The main tip is to eat whatever you want as long as it's raw.
Have plenty of food in your home and to bring with you so you're always prepared.
If you're able to, get rid of anything that isn't raw in your home.
Some find it works best to go 100% raw immediately, while others find it better to become raw gradually. The gradual way you eliminate more and more items from your diet such as dairy, flour, meat, etc. Or eating raw all day and then having 1 cooked meal. Or eating raw during the week, cooked on the weekend.
I have found that keeping things very simple works best. I've done this by sticking with recipes that are 5 minutes or less.
A Vitamix or Blendtec blender is the top must-have appliance. However if you can't afford it, get a good a high-powered blender.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or need support.

[Dimond]

If anyone needs recipes for anything, I have tons.

[ellie]

Sounds like a great festival (bar organisation). I love the idea of raw. One day maybe I'm just trying to go vego, which isn't too hard I must say.

Thanks for the link to Jesse Kalu, love the music....I'm off to purchase his cd now. It's really peaceful. Only wish they would have a download option

[Dan Morelle]

I can smell the detergent even when I’m downstairs in my office with the door closed. I feel like I have a dog’s nose now.

Although I can't find research online that the olfactory system and the digestive system are linked, I am certain they are - just as you have discovered. I think the whole digestive system can 'taste' at a very low level and when you clean it out your sensitivity increases - or at least you become more conscious of it. Scientists like to divide the body but as your findings show, everything is linked. Glad you are enjoying your latest new heightened senses.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by Steve

I can smell the detergent even when I’m downstairs in my office with the door closed. I feel like I have a dog’s nose now.

I can relate to this. Recently I was sitting in my mother's kitchen at the table, writing. At the other end of the table there was a wooden bowl containing tomatoes. There was one half tomato stinking there. I couldn't see anything on it, but it must have been moldy in some way, because it was so smelly I couldn't write in peace. I asked my mother and grandma why on earth they kept such a stinking tomato in the kitchen. They sniffed the tomato and said they couldn't smell anything wrong with it! I threw it away, but the wooden bowl still smelled like the tomato at the place it had been lying, so much that it was still disturbing. So I had to wash the bowl too, only after that could I write in peace.

It's really scary - because they would have eaten the moldy tomato!!!

My sense of taste has improved too. I cannot eat someone else's salads anymore, because they put three tons of salt and oil in there, it's overwhelming and disgusting.

Even my eyes are more light sensitive... Maybe all our senses just get better on a raw diet?

[mncz]

They should!
I dont use salt and sugar in my food and drinks. Now whenever I get a taste of soda or a tea/coffee with sugar, I am overwhelmed with how too sweet and bland it tastes. Same goes for most restaurant food or ready made food in supermarkets. It is all too salty most of the time, and all the salt kills the natural flavor of the ingredients.

[Ace22]

Sedona is one of only 3 Vortexs on the planet. Sightings are somewhat common there. Did you have any luck?



A

[Bradshaw]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Beliefs are perspectives -- lenses through which reality can be viewed. I can only reject a lens if I've tried it and found it too inaccurate or too disempowering to be helpful, and even then there will often be aspects of it that I found useful. So I prefer to remain open to lenses I've haven't personally tested. I rarely reject anything completely. All that does is close doors and create artificial limits.

Of course there are lenses (belief systems) I tried and ended up dropping. An example is Scientology. I immersed myself in it for 2 months, going to one of their centers twice a week and taking a couple classes. I found it a fascinating experience, but in the end I decided... not for me. Too cultish. However, some of their ideas were quite useful. I got really good results in my games business by applying a lesson I learned from a long-term Scientologist, something he learned from L. Ron. So you never know unless you test...

Catholicism was another lens that I had to drop. Again, too cultish. I actually found Scientology more accurate and useful than Catholicism in terms of practical living.

Many of the lenses I find most effective and accurate are those which the majority of people would reject, usually without ever trying it. So I don't base my experimentation on popular opinion.

One of the reasons I like to remain open to different lenses is that it allows me to connect with a wide variety of people.

Most people are way too close-minded. They're afraid of being too gullible... as if they'll be sucked in by belief salespeople. But that fear just robs them of lots of interesting experiences. It greatly limits their experience of life. It's like being afraid of your eyesight for fear you may see something unpleasant.

I'm actually curious about this... what did you learn Steve?

[MariaG]

@Dimond - I'm loving your recipe site. I'm also realizing that I need to do a serious upgrade on my bledner!

For me, it seems that breakfast is the easiest meal to switch over to raw. I think lots of green smoothies and bananas are in my future. For those who eat green smoothies regularly, do you chill the fruits and veggies or eat them at room temp?