Lisa's Story
Just a coincidence? I think not!
I am a 40 year old woman, part time massage therapist and healer living near Byron Bay, Australia. And I LOVE raw food! Since going 90-100% raw in January this year all this amazing stuff has happened!!
- I lost a few kilos.
- I have my first successful organic veggie garden
- My naturopath happily informs me that my 'almost' leaky gut is healed! AND that I have physically recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome after 12 years! :) (Just need to build myself up now!)
- I have let go of some friends who were not so good for me to hang out with (well actually they let go of me! I did not have to do anything!)
- I am deepening friendships with some people I have known for a while.
- I am making fabulous new friends too!
- I had a huge spiritual experience where both of my dead parents 'visited' me in a spontaneous vision, and we experienced such love and joy and gratitude (more than I ever experienced in my life!!) and I really finally got to say thankyou to them for all they have done and given me.
- I feel more connected to Nature, more intuitive, clearer-headed, and more creative.
- I experience longer, more frequent periods of tranquillity and serenity.
- My boundaries are clearer.
- I feel cleaner and lighter. A little more here could be good, even if just a "within" at the end of the sentence.
- As a 40 yr old woman, I had been plucking a few chin hairs out for years! Almost stopped doing that now!! They are barely growing now! :)
- Period pains stopped entirely! I am no longer emotionally drained for 5 days, no longer debilitated for 1-2 of those days, and the flow has reduced by about a third! :)
- Fuzzy-headedness reduced whilst on computer!
- My bowels are happier, working more easily, and more frequently.
- I love myself more.
- I have, given up my addiction to chocolate! I can enjoy a little raw chocolate something now and again, but the addiction to shop bought chocolate is over!
- Watching anything but health or spiritually uplifting DVDs feels like a waste of time!
I have not been strict about it. I decided to do it the easy way, and just eat as much raw food as I could, which is actually much, much more than I thought I would be able to! :) No rules, just eat what I want, but invite myself to eat a raw option FIRST!
I have found that taking that pressure off me has been the kindest and ONLY way I could do it. Feeling that the choice is mine is very important; knowing I have the choice invokes a sense of empowerment and freedom. And when one feels free there is the kind of 'inner juice' to make a life-enhancing choice rather than a life-consuming one. And the times I have had cooked food, I have NOT beaten myself up AT ALL! Just moved on immediately.
Although I have been eating fairly healthily for years (according to the 'average' diet) now I know I am coming home to the more empowered, more natural ME that has gotten buried under all the gunk of a heat treated, pre-packaged processed LIFE. (Not just the food!)
My Top 5 Tips:
- Be kind to yourself. Getting stressed about 'doing it right' is NOT going to help your digestion! Or make the transition any easier.
- Have a buddy (in person or online) that you meet or contact regularly to plot your progress, swap recipes and encouragement with. Together you can make goals, or have a reward system if you want to! (I notice that when my buddy and I did not meet for a few weeks this was when I slipped up more easily!)
- Don't try and 'convert' anyone else! Just set an example, don't become a raw food nazi! (You will save yourself a lot of heartache!)
- Stay connected to a broad community (online is fab :) ) for a wide perspective of raw info, recipes, inspiration, and education.
- Listen to your body. You will likely get de-tox symptoms. Do the level YOU can cope with (which may be different to your buddy)!
Above all, have some fun! Experimenting with new things and new ideas keeps you ALIVE!