My Garden paradise

Hey people ... I thought I would show you my garden. I have been working and learning in this 2 acre biodynamic garden at the Michael Hall Rudolf Steiner school now for the last year and a half. Since eating mostly raw food, I thought it wise to learn how to grow my own food. It feels so empowering to be able to grow my own food. Biodynamic gardening means it is not only totally organic, but we also plant using astrology. We follow a special zodiac calender to help us know when the best time is to perform certain jobs in the garden. We also use herbal tea's and preparations to spray on the garden to help with plant growth, soil life and disease. I have so many pictures to post so here are a just few snap shots of me and my garden to give you a quick insight ... Enjoy

View of the garden with School in the back ground

Victorian style Sun Dial
3 polly tunnels and 2 glass houses

The fruits of my labour ... red currents , fennel and beetroot

Inside the glass house growing beans and a bed of lettuce ............. > > > >

The starting of tomatoes

Sleeping in the rhubarb bed

Leeks

Chomping on Red russian Kale

An English Rose and a bee getting busy ... So come on guys, get creating your very own paradise garden. Will write again soon x

My new breakfast Smoothie

1 Banana
6 spoons of Shelled hemp seed
2 spoons of Sprouted flax seed
2 cups of Hemp milk
1 spoon of Reishi mushroom powder
Dash of Cinnamon

options to add seasonal berries

That's it ... That simple ... delicious

small steps to BIG ACTION

So once again I am shown that my life is just like a Martin Scorsese movie, a life with big twists and an ending which nobody could ever guess. Accept in life there is no ending, it is just one long twist with lots little endings being tied up here and there as the plot continues to thicken. Life is like that isn't it ? Just when you think you have got it all sorted, in comes the next scene which takes you off in a way which you never thought would or could happen. Well that's how it is for me at least.

My prayers lately have been asking God to help me with my passions and desires, and this is where twist number one of my movie slots in.. Never would I of thought that I would ever believe in God. Admitting that I Believe in God creates twist number two of things 'I never thought I would be doing', and that is actually 'praying' to God for help in my blockbuster life. This then reveals to me twist number three of feeling that ' I am actually asking for help', which then exposes twist number four in this thriller movie of 'I thought I had my life all together'... lights, camera, action and that's a wrap ! I was wrong, not so much wrong, but just more realisations of truth to be known about my life and its journey.

This is nothing new, everyone knows that life has it's up's and downs, but when you're actually on the down side, its hard to remember that life can be a joy. And just when life is feeling so amazing, its often hard to feel that nothing bad will ever happen again, until it does.

Through my prayers I came to the conclusion that I am often very punishing to myself. The expectations I have on myself are so high. And then when I don't reach my high expectation, I beat myself up. I would never beat anyone else up, but I allow to destroy myself. My approach now is to lessen the intensity of the expectations I have of myself. Sounds easy eh ... but not when those expectations have been embedded in my soul for a very long time. My trouble is that I always have the feeling of that I want to be, do or go somewhere other than where I am at, doing or being. I want to run before I can walk ... so my lesson is humbleness. An example of this is ... I had the feeling that one of my passions and desires is to 'write' ... but the expectation I had on myself was that it must be a great read, best seller, a book turned into a movie. It is like I can only validate myself as writer if it is validated in some big way by the world. Placing this expectation on myself just blocked me straight away. How can I write an award winning film when I'm not even able to manage to write a short blog. Thus, my practice now is to write short blogs, frequently, instead of starting long ones and not having the enthusiasm to finish them. Stepping stones is key for me ... this makes sure that I walk first before running. Writing shorter blogs also gives me the sense of completion, of finishing something that I started, it helps me practice to edit in small chunks. I've known all this for many years, but my falling hurdle is that I very rarely put it into practice. I have great ideas, and the thorn in my foot is that I don't always act on them. The greatest pain I ever feel is when I do not ACT on my feelings and ideas. The pain has become to unbearable now, it feels like I am being forced to ACT or I will cripple myself. I can actually feel the pain realising from my soul as I write this blog, 'this is a start Perry' my soul is saying to me, it feels very healing and I feel a sense of pride welling up in me.

So my lesson of today is to hold my dream in my vision with all it's expectations and greatness, and simultaneously be humble in the greatness of who I already am.

I love movies, there are so many films from which I learn so much. I love how films can move my emotions, inspire me and touch me deep. What I desire to do is combine my blogs with movie clips. I want to suggest to you that you watch the movie clip at the end of each blog I post. I will specifically choose a clip which intuitively came to me whilst writing the blog. This I believe will be the perfect way to combine my love for writing and film ignited by my burning passion to inspire people to become their GREATEST self.

On that note I love you and leave you with this clip ... perfect for this post. YES, its from a Martin Scorsese film, showing how at some point, all the twists and turns of our life will become clear. A deeper lesson still for myself, I smiled how in this post I wrote about running before walking,having a thorn in my foot and crippling myself. Those words led me to this clip. I actually do have a verruca on my left foot which is causing me great pain ... I wonder now if it will start go away .... watch and you will know what I mean ... EnJoY.


http://youtu.be/jbqkL2pZR6c

(the code has been disabled, so you will have to copy and paste this on youth, sorry its not straight forward this time, but DO IT and act because its a totally amazing clip and you will love it )

This Is my latest passion

The Fats Of Life ...

All food is broken down into sugar. That means all carbohydrates and all protein are eventually broken down into sugar, in the form of glucose, and this is known as a simple sugar. Do not be scared to hear the word sugar, for this is not a bad thing, because the all the cells in our bodies rely upon glucose for energy. However, once the body has used all the glucose it needs to function, the surplus glucose will be stored in the body. The main places in the body which excess glucose is stored, is in the liver, muscles and in fat. When blood glucose levels are too high, the pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin. It is insulin which combines with the glucose to form glycogen. Glycogen is basically stored glucose/sugar/energy, and it will be used effectively again when the body needs it. When the body eventually needs more glucose in the blood for energy, the pancreas will be stimulated to secrete another hormone called Glucagon. Glucagon, will then go the target areas of the liver, muscles and fat and transfer the stored glycogen back into glucose/sugar/energy for the body to use and function. This is the basic principle on how the body uses sugar as energy... So, what's the problem ? if the body is able to transfer sugar into energy then what's the big deal ?

The problem lies in FAT. If there is too much sugar in the blood, meaning that the body is functioning well as it should, and that it doesn't need anymore glucose for energy, it will just store the sugar to use at a later time when needed ... however, if one keeps adding more and more sugar to the system before the body needs it, the body will just keep on storing and storing the sugar in the fat cells, creating more and more fat ... hence, this is how people get fat. This brings us back to the subject of limiting even raw food deserts, because most raw deserts are sweetened with fruit or fruit syrups. As we learned, fruits are classed as a carbohydrate ...and all carbohydrates are broken down into ... yes, you've guessed it ...SUGAR ... and as we have just learned, this sugar will be stored as fat, even if it came from fruit.

As we can observe, people who are fat, tend to be over weight. People who are over weight, are at a higher risk of developing diabetes. There are two types of diabetes ... Type 1~ meaning that person is un able to produce insulin, which results in high blood glucose levels. Type 2 ~ meaning that body is un able to use the insulin which has been produced by the pancreas, and this is called insulin resistant. Diabetes can be fatal, so this is another reason to eat a low glycimic diet or a low sugar diet.




Cholesterol is another word used a lot to describe fat. Although we need to be careful how we use this word cholesterol, because not all cholesterol is bad for us, in fact, there is a type of cholesterol which is absolutely essential for our health. There are two types of cholesterol ... LDL ~ Low density lipoprotein, and HDL~ High density lipoprotein. LDL can build up in the arteries, forming plaque and eventual blockages that can lead to heart disease or stroke. Foods which contain the most LDL are meat, fish and dairy. On the other hand HDL is the good cholesterol,which the body needs to make all of our hormones. Fruits and vegetables/leafy greens are high in HDL. This simple fact alone is another reason why Gabriel teaches the world to eat a raw plant based diet. Triglyceride, which is stored fat from excess sugar actually decreases the levels of HDL in the body, so we can see again another correlation between sugar and fat.

Also, Low levels of HDL reduce the function of certain hormones like dopamine which can lead to depression. Interestingly enough, depression is very common with people who have heart disease, diabetes or for people who are over weight...again this shows us the relationship and dangers of excess sugar.

Remember, people who live the longest ... eat less than most ... people who live the longest eat less at night ... people who live the longest, eat a live raw food diet, which is very low in sugar.

Why do live foods create the best anti aging effect, life extension effect, anti chronic degenerative disease effect and bring the highest amount of vitality to any type of food ? Part of the reason is because when we cook food, we destroy the enzymes. Enzymes contain the power of life itself. Therefore it is in our own health interest to increase the amount of enzymes in our enzyme pool, thus enabling us to increase the quality of our health and longevity. Enzymes are living proteins which activate every metabolic process. They are essential for digestion and also help repair DNA and RNA. It doesn't stop there, enzymes transform energy, dissolve fibre and prevent clotting. They can help heal cancer and a number of other health issues like arthritis and rheumatoid disease, by boosting the immune system.

With age, under stress and after illness, the amount of enzymes in our bodies decreases. This is because enzymes are critical for health and are used up in those situations. The best way to preserve our enzyme pool, is to eat a live raw food, for it is jam packed with its own essential life giving enzymes. If we cook food, the enzymes are destroyed, thus, we then have to use our own vital enzymes from our pool supply to digest the food, when preferably they could be used to support our immune system and help keep us healthy. So the answer to health becomes easy, increase the amount live enzymes in your diet.

Here are some examples of food which contain their own essential enzymes; Seeds are made up of primarily oil and protein so the enzyme content is lipase which digests the oil and protease for the protein. In seeds there is not much amylase because they do not contain much starch. When seeds are sprouted they then seriously increase the amount of enzymes. Amylase – breaks down carbohydrates, starches, and sugars which are prevalent in potatoes, fruits, vegetables ...So you can become familiar with scientific talk, here is a broad look at other enzymes and what they break down.

• lactase – breaks down lactose (milk sugars)
• diastase – digests vegetable starch
• sucrase – digests complex sugars and starches
• maltase – digests disaccharides to monosaccharides (malt sugars)
• glucoamylase – breaks down starch to glucose
• alpha-glactosidase – facilitates digestion of beans, legumes, seeds,
roots, soy products, and underground stems

• pepsin – breaks down proteins into peptides
• peptidase – breaks down small peptide proteins to amino acids
• bromelain – derived from pineapple, breaks down a broad spectrum of proteins, has anti-inflammatory properties, effective over very wide pH range
• papain – derived from raw papaya, broad range of substrates and pH, works well breaking down small and large proteins
• cellulase – breaks down cellulose, plant fiber



Enzyme supplements are recommended by Gabriel Cousens for their pre digestible qualities, and for also building up our enzyme pool supply. The extra supplementation can take off the stress of the entire digestive enzyme system. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut are also greatly supplied with their own enzymes and this is a really great cost effective way to aid fill the body with living enzymes for free. I feel the more you research the powerful effects of enzymes, the more you will be inclined to eat a live raw plant based diet because it will just make sense.

Lovers Electron Diet

Lover's Electron Diet and way of Life

The Waking up to a new level of awareness of who you are, and what you are in relation to yourself, others and every other living organism in the world, is one way to describe the Lover's electron diet, and it's very basic to understand . When we eat a diet which is high in electrons, which we get when we consume at least 80% live raw food, then we are able to create and release endorphins, giving us the natural high feeling. This increases the flow of cosmic energy so that we may feel the love radiating from every cell in our body. The Lover's electron Diet suggests that we are able to live a life from the heart with love, and to be free from all addictions which bound us and block us from being in the flow of the natural rhythms of life. The Lover's electron diet will be activated within you spontaneously when you eat raw foods, excercise and meditate. although it may take some effort and preparation initially to make the shift which brings this new level of awareness. Once you are in the flow, the way of living will be of self creative expression, joy, compassion and Aliveness, with the feeling to create optimal health for yourself and others.

Stress in some ways could be seen to be the opposite of being in the flow, and stress also contributes to decreasing the levels of endorphins. Under stress it is not un common for people to find an addictive habit to counter the feeling of stress by increasing their endorphin levels with alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, sex and excessive exercise. Whilst they do increase the endorphin levels, research shows they also at the same time decrease other essential supportive neurotransmitters and natural opoids. By using such substances or activities to increase the endorphins in our body, in effect the body then stops being able to produce its own natural levels of endorphins and thus stress and depression are likely to increase and be the predominant feeling. This further encourages the individual to be engaged in addictive habits which bring an un natural false sense of love and joy. Happiness and love are then only found when engaging in the addictive behaviour, instead of emanating from within ones being in every moment of every day. When we live the 6 foundations, the natural level of endorphins are released, and the role of stress has its natural place of giving us a sense of urgency when needed, like in emergency situations or when we need to get things accomplished or go to work. A deficiency in endorphins can create the inability for one to give and receive love and we may suffer from " Mal illumination".

Sun Light

In the book Conscious Eating Gabriel Cousens writes that ' from a quantum physics point of view, Photons never become old, they have the same quickness as time', they are involved with anti entropy, the anti again process. The sun emits this powerful photon anti aging energy. The suns photon energy is attracted to the sun like electrons within our biological systems. So not only do the high electron foods donate electrons to our bodies, but they also act as solar resonance fields in the body to attract, store and conduct the sun's energy in our bodies. Light attracting Light. Minerals are frequencies of light, Live raw foods are packed with both electrons and minerals, and therefore light. When we eat these foods, we are in fact eating the light of the Sun and activating the light from within us which shines, radiates and attracts more light. The greater our store of light, the greater chances we have of increasing our electromagnetic field and consequently more energy is available for healing and the maintenance of optimal health.
It seems it would make sense for us to eat foods which are rich in this Light attracting force, in order for us attract more light into our bodies as discussed. The two highest food sources which are rich in this electron energy are flax seed and spirulina. Both these foods increase the amount of electron energy in the body. Eating with a protein source like bee pollen, the flax increases its electron cloud bonds and it is better absorbed in the body. Eating at least a 80% Live raw food, meditating, practicing prana building exercise, also increases this electron force. Spending at least 30 minutes a day naked in the suns warmth, absorbing all the suns rays is also beneficial

So the message is Love, the message is Light. Together we learn to LOVE LIGHT. Love and light are the UN SEEN forces of nutrition, although with awareness and through spiritual evolution, Love is uncovered by the Light, and the blind will SEE once more ~ Amen

Transition ~ Desserts ~ Sugar ~ My experience

For people who are new to eating a raw diet, the concept of a no refined sugar or dairy dessert may seem impossible to make or tasteless, but in fact when you have experienced the desserts made by the talented and passionate chefs at the Tree Of Life rejuvenation centre, you will find that the desserts even exceed traditional recipes.
Transitioning from the regular Western diet to a live raw vegan diet can sometimes be tough, especially after years of eating tempting, great smelling foods which of course also taste delicious, although as we have discovered those food sources can be detrimental to hour health, so how do we hoola~hoop~around this one ?
Raw desserts are a great way to be introduced to the person who is transitioning, meaning that you are keen to learn and eat a predominantly raw food diet, but in the moment you may still enjoy your cooked food,meat and dairy. 100% live raw organic food is what I concider to be the healthiest source of food for humans to consume on this planet at this moment of evolution. Although going 100% raw can take many years of practice, for it maybe that you hold many personal blockages or are controlled by beliefs, peer pressure, emotional eating and bad food habits. For the person who is still in transition, it may happen that your system is still too acidic, and that by changing your diet to eating an raw food only based diet, in a short period of time, may not work for you, for perhaps your taste buds and sense of smell are not used to the alkalizing properties of green produce. When transitioning, it is important to not be to hard on yourself, so don't feel down if it takes you time to make the switch, and ultimately remember that peace is the way, and that includes peace with yourself.

A great way to transition to being 100% raw vegan is to cut out the cooked and sugary stuff slowly. Desserts of course are everyone's favourites, but the down side is they contain lots of refined sugars. So a simple switch and a great way to step up your raw intake without taken away the sweetness is with raw deserts. By eating a raw dessert you are able to dazzle your senses with wide range of fruits, nuts and seeds, which are full of life sustaining vitamins and minerals. Exceptional recipes can also be made with coconuts and cacao, not mention all the other health supporting super foods like maca, mesquite, lucama, flax seed, irish moss and goji berries. The advantage of eating a raw dessert is that, firstly you cut out all refined sugars, and secondly the tasty pudding will still maintain all its nutritional value unlike a cooked desert which are depleted because of heating.

When one has been in transition for a while, and is coping well to eat more of a plant based diet, the time may come to start looking and cutting down on the amount of desserts one eats. Take away my fun you might say ... but even the sweet sugars found in fruit desserts which are there to add flavour, and minerals, may also be taken away your health. Again, this is going back to the fact that fruit, although it is not refined, still contains sugar, and too much sugar, in no matter the form it is ingested, can lead to all sorts of life threatening illness like obesity, diabetes and heart problems, just to name a few. Eating lots of sugar can be linked to, sudden peaks and troughs in the amount of glucose in your blood; which may give you the feeling of fatigue, irritability, dizziness, insomnia, poor concentration and forgetfulness, excessive thirst, depression, digestive disturbances and blurred vision. Since the brain depends on an even supply of glucose it is no surprise to find that sugar has been implicated in aggressive behaviour. This is why we should cut out from our diets all refined sugars, and that we should eat a moderate amount of natural sugars found in raw foods.

The subject of sugar can get very confusing as it comes in many different forms, which doesn't help when trying to read food labels. Here is a break down of how sugars can be found...
... Glucose is a sugar found usually with other sugars, in fruits and vegetables. It is a key material in the metabolism of all plants and animals. Many of our principal foods are converted into glucose in our bodies. Glucose is always present in our bloodstream, and it is often called "blood sugar". Dextrose, also called "corn sugar", is derived synthetically from starch. Fructose is fruit sugar. Maltose is malt sugar. Lactose is milk sugar. Sucrose is refined sugar made from sugar cane and sugar beet. Glucose has always been an essential element in the human bloodstream. Sucrose addiction is something new in the history of the human animal.

I hope you have now gained a little more knowledge about transitioning with desserts and why one must still be careful to not eat to many, going back for a second helping can be hard, so we could say that... ' we should enjoy the sweetness of life instead'.

Quick guide to fasting

The 1st of January for a lot of people is a time to make a new start, wipe the slate clean and set new intentions for the new year, and what better way to execute that transformation than with a spiritual fast... That's what I did to start the year.


Spiritual Fasting is a part of Gabriel's recommendations which is to be integrated into our live raw food diet. Fasting can be initiated anytime of the year, although a warmer climate maybe preferable for beginners. Fasting has many powerful effects on all levels of our being. Physically it helps to clean our blood, alkalize the blood, remove dead cells, remove toxins, cleanse the digestive system, repair, restore and total rejuvenate our whole body, mind and soul. The first 3 days maybe the hardest, and it is around this time that body recognizes that it is in fasting mode and not digestion mode. It is after 3 days of fasting when process of autolysis kicks in, this means the break down and removal of un healthy cells. 7 days of green juice fasting is recommended for full rejuvenation ... as is also highlighted in the classic book 'Essene gospel of peace' it writes ...

..."I tell you truly, your Heavenly Father loves you without end, for he also allows you to pay in seven days the debts of seven years. Those that owe the sins and diseases of seven years, but pay honestly and persevere till the seventh day, to them shall our Heavenly Father forgive the debts of all these seven years."

On the mental level, fasting creates a space for the mind to slow down. Normally when fasting our minds usually become calm and thinking can becomes clear, so fasting is also great for contemplation and reflection, especially if life presents itself with tough decisions that have to be made. Gabriel recommends to meditate or pray when fasting, as this has the advantage of stilling the mind and connecting with the divine, and this is why it is called a 'spiritual fast' ...

So what goes into this green juice ... Well ... any green vegetable that is pleasing to you. A classic green recipe used for fasting is cucumber and celery, and the reason for this is that a lot of juice can be extracted from these water filled mineral rich vegetables. Adding lemon juice or ginger is also a great way to enhance the flavour, although as well as enhancing the flavour they are also ideal juices for health. 16oz of green juice drunk 4 times sporadically through the day will be enough to see you successfully complete your fast.

Here are some other recommendations and guidelines to follow when fasting

* Take a enema at least once per day. Colonics are also very effective
*Brush the skin 3~5 mins per day
* Get plenty of Sunshine
*Take Moderate exercise
*Practice Yoga to help move lymphatic system
*Take saunas to help remove toxins through the skin with sweating
*Abstain from sexual activity to conserve energy
*Use flower essences to help balance and align the subtle bodies.
*Tongue scrapping to remove toxins on the tongue



It is important to also break the fast consciously. A ratio of one day of breaking the fast for each three days of fasting is a guideline. Which would mean a minimum of 3 days to break 7 day fast. Breaking the fast with citrus juice is a helpful way to start the digestive system flowing again. Taking acidophilus is also recommended to replenish the bowl flora.

Nearly everyone who fasts, discovers the same thing, that when they fast they actually have no hunger and more energy than they normally have. It is indeed liberating to find out that if we let go and trust that we will be taken care of. Fasting is the simplest, easiest and most effective way to find out that we do indeed have the power and freedom to heal and take control of our bodies.

~ In peace

I'm Back ...

Choo Choo ... I'm back on the train !

I have not blogged for a while because I have been a very busy boy indeed.. what with this and that and the other. Winter started to set in, the nights grew darker earlier, the mornings became cold and windy and then along came the snow, sorry to sound like the weather man or my Dad, I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm still learning to function well in Winter. Next was Christmas, home with the family, back to my root shoots which was very nourishing. Shuttling up next was New Years Eve ... whoop whoop, I stayed home with my Mother and didn't do very much, not even a whistle passed my lips. The 1st of Jan was the beginning of 2011, and this time I started with a by becoming as clean as a whistle with a 7 day green juice fast which consisted of celery,cucumber, ginger and lemon ~ Even my Mother at 56 got on board too ~ Amazing ! she did the whole 7 days and she has never fasted before, and she had to work too, power to her Raw soul. I've been writing and studying lots for various things over the months which has taken up my time, which meant I had to jump off the blog train. Ive been deepening my understanding of raw food science, Essene studies, Bio dynamic gardening which includes the works of Rudolf Steiner, Anastasia books and planning workshops for this year .. phew ... OK, now that I have got that off my chest, I'd better post some stuff ... Because I have been busy writing for www.Gabrielcousens.com I am gonna post some of the latest articles that I have written on there which gives me some time recuperate and gives you the chance to learn something new maybe ... PeAcE and Happy New Year even though its the 24Th Jan x go celebrate x

I need to kick back and relax ...