Believe

Food for the Day

1. Warm lemon water w/ raw honey (my throat is feeling a little funny)

2. A very citrus-alicious Pink Grapefruit & Lemon Splash from Le Pain Quotiden and some stolen berries from Andrew's Berry Cup

3. 1/2 a clementine on the way to the gym

4. 1/2 an orgasmic gala apple (I go through phases where I'll obsess over one type of apple for a little while and then move on to another one)

5. Chef tastings (I know...) of a chocolate mint tofu pie I made for Andrew (made with chocolate crust, raw tofu, mint & mint extract, agave, sea salt, vanilla, and mint chocolate shavings... I'm experimenting with sprouting spelt rather than using oat groats for part of my crusts all the time)

The reason I love surfing around the blogosphere (yes, I still feel silly using that word) is that I often come across life-altering articles, amazing people, or more selfishly and egotistically, wonderful justifications for my own life choices. Tonight was one of those nights, when I found out about Peter Ragnar, who would appear to be one of the fittest, happiest and most vibrant and enlightened men I have ever heard of (and who just so happens to be on a raw diet and is somewhere in his 80s and does not look it at all). His conceptions of consciousness, self-love, intention, and the mind-body connection I constantly seek are--to use a totally inadequate word--beautiful. This was my favourite interview that I found of his, and here's a small sample:

"I'm probably out there by myself on this one, but I feel that we do have ultimate control of our body, because our body is a thought. It's filled with frozen memories—memories that are formed by our experiences that we have already reached conclusions about, and we've emotionalized those conclusions and frozen them into our flesh. Therefore, only when we thaw it out and release, and stop holding on for dear life, can we have dear life."

... And I know that this is true, I have seen first hand how much faster I heal when I know myself to be healthy, and conversely how quickly a virus can spread when I become angry, stressed, obsessive or afraid. I know that truly knowing and believing in that knowledge and intuition is what enabled me to find my soul mate so young, what helped me become healthier than I could have ever imagined to be, and what taught me to maintain a tranquil love for life I thought one only understood when they became 'older and wiser'.

My mind is so blown right now, I don't think I can construct a proper sentence about what I'm thinking. One thing I do recognize is that I still have a long way to go, but I think I'm really going to enjoy the journey (I usually do!)... I think one of the biggest problems I have is a constant struggle between true enlightenment and doing things for my ego. I'm a perfectionist, I'll admit it. Like most, I want enlightenment now. I want to be that person immediately. I recognize that I use my strong desire for perfection and occasionally fuel it into obsessing a little too much about my food, my workouts, my thoughts... These are not the kinds of behaviours that lead one to enlightenment. They drag you down and keep you there.

What I do recognize though is that I'm certain that I'm on my way to whatever is out there for me, whether it's enlightenment, full consciousness, living without an ego, or eternal life. What I came to understand at a Rachel Brice workshop I took months ago was to always honor where you are right now, know that it's only part of your journey and that it's not the be all and end all of who you are or what you are capable of. You have to respect the person you are now as much as the person you will be.

Taken off of his website, here are Peter Ragnar's 7 vows to live by:

1) I vow to respect, honor, and expand my conscious awareness of how precious life is to all creatures, and I will not knowingly bring pain, injury, or death to any of these, if it is within my power to refrain. However, I will protect the sanctity of the lives of others and my own as the nature of aggression dictates.

2) I vow that I will honor all human interrelationships as voluntary and will use no coercive behavior or action to the contrary. I know that the end is always reflected by the means, and I do not want my victories to be more disgraceful than my defeats.

3) I vow to consciously shun or eschew all organizations, clubs, political parties, and governments who are blind to the nature of cause and effect or the principle of how the means determine the ends.

4) I vow to live quietly, simply, and honestly, respecting the earth that shares its bounty with us all.

5) I vow to resist tyranny using nonviolent strategies and by the withdrawal of my cooperation.

6) I vow neither to be enslaved by anyone’s demands on my life nor to be robbed by their tears. My life is mine, and only I can choose how I want to live.

7) I vow not to pursue vain desires. I will use the razor of reason to cut away all things not in harmony with my major purpose in life.

I could get behind that any day... Just today's food for thought. Have a great week!

Workout of the Day

3 x 12 (x3) ab circuit

25 minutes of stair climber hills

1 minute plank

15 minutes of stretching