Raw Odyssey

Raw Odyssey - All New!

Allison — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:01:00 GMT

MOVIN' ON UP
For the past year rawodyssey.com has pointed to a placeholder site, while the raw food blog has been published at blog.rawodyssey.com. Before that, the blog was published at rawodyssey.blogspot.com- you can still visit those early months when I was losing 70 lbs and marveling over my clear complexion and the lifting of my depression. A magical time indeed!

I have finally had the opportunity to develop the Raw Odyssey site so that it encompasses more than raw foods. This has been a longterm goal of mine, but with working and attending classes I had little time. Now, both the blog and the general website will be in a single location. The move is already underway, and within the next 48 hours when you log into www.rawodyssey.com (rather than blog.rawodyssey.com) you should be able to see the new site rather than a placeholder sign.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
The new site has three main components: the raw foods blog, a farm blog that will detail the fun and challenges (successes all, I hope!) of growing my own organic food for my raw diet, and a third area- still under development- about community. As you may know, I am a sociologist. Like many sociologists I am concerned about the state of society and am especially concerned about the most disenfranchised amongst us. I believe that we all can do things to help improve conditions for people less fortunate than ourselves. I have done so in the past through my 9-5 work as well as through volunteering with a number of organizations. In the community section I will be exploring aspects of community through locally grown whole foods. Two examples of the topics that would fit here are community gardening and the locavore movement.

New Raw Odyssey Site

I look forward to greeting everyone from Raw Odyssey's new location. Please continue to share your recipes, ideas, encouragement, and now your gardening information on the new site. There may be a few kinks along the way as the new site grows, but I hope all problems will be fleeting.

So, whenever the new site pops up on your name servers, I'll see you at www.rawodyssey.com!

The Raw Foodist's Garden

Allison — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:20:00 GMT

This week a package of seeds arrived, sent by my new friend Liz, of hyperlocavore.com. Boy, are we excited! While my friends are not into raw foods, I'm envisioning subsidizing a large portion of my raw diet with foods I grow in the back yard. I look forward to sharing our crops with family and neighbors as well.

So, what do we have here?

artichoke
basil
Beets -bull's blood
broccoli de cicco
butterfly weed
calendula
cantaloupe hale's best
catnip
cauliflower
Celery
Chives
cilantro
Corn -truegold sweet
Delphinium, pink
eggplant Japanese pickling
fava bean- broad windsor
Fennel - perfection

garlic,

lavender

Leeks- poncho

marigolds

Marjoram -sweet marjoram
onion -siskiyou sweet
Peas -oregon trail shell peas
Peony (scarlet peony)
pepper -California wonder
sage
Squash -butternut squash
summer savory
thyme
Tomato -early red chief tomato heirloom
watermelon- sugar baby
white sweet alyssum
zinnia- Benary's

We will not grow all of these, I don't think, but any seeds we don't grow we will donate to the local community garden group, as I am a strong believer in getting locally grown foods into poorer urban areas.

Now, there are foods we want to try growing that weren't part of this mix, so we'll be spending some money to get seeds or starter plants for the following:

Avocado
Carrots
Cucumbers
Parsley
Potatoes
Romaine lettuce
Rosemary
Scallions
Strawberries

While the avocado may be a pipe dream in zone 6, I'm interested in trying. When I lived in Ohio years ago I remember someone planting an avocado seed and it did grow roots and a stalk, but I don't think she ever took it out of the glass of water. I love avocados and would be in seventh heaven if I could grow my own in Ohio.

I'm excited about making compost for the first time. I will be using the pulp produced by my juicer - a colorful addition indeed, as you can see from the photograph. If I were to stay in Ohio throughout the winter and continue eating mostly raw, we would certainly have great compost by next growing season. This year my friends already have a compost pile out back, but they have not been keeping up with it. We will probably end up buying compost or buy Mel's Mix (Mel, the Square Food Gardening guru).

Well, that's it for now. I should be on my way to beautiful Ohio in a week or two. I'm looking forward to the project and to seeing my old friends and my family again, but I'm not looking forward to the thunderstorms and tornadoes. Or the spiders. Or the clouds of mosquitos and centipedes hanging off of trees... Guess I'd better get used to these things again if I'm going to become a gardener.

The Subsistence Farming Project: Planting Methods

Allison — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:12:00 GMT

I've been having a great time with my friends in Ohio making plans for our subsistence garden. Even though I am still in Las Vegas we've been working together to turn this dream in to a reality. My friend borrowed some gardening books from the library, and has already started finding materials as well. We are not interested in spending a boatload of money, so recycling helps. My friend was told that these biodegradable water bottle holders would be good for starting seedlings in the house, so she has set some aside.

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of online research and have found some awesome websites. I've met a wonderful woman, Liz, who publishes hyperlocavore.com, a site that touts yard-sharing as a way of getting more food gardens into neighborhoods, thus supporting the "eat local" movement. Yard-sharing involves setting aside some square footage in one's yard for a neighbor who has no garden space. I love this concept; it has firm supporters in Portland. Liz has been of immense help in giving me ideas for how to set up my garden, and even sent me some seeds to get me started! She operates in the true sense of community. I look forward to sharing my harvest and seeds in the future.

We will probably set up our 250-square-foot plot using the technique of square-foot-gardening and the no-till method. I have seen several versions of square foot gardening, but this example (by serenejournal) strikes me as the most aesthetically pleasing. It looks like it will require a little carpentry, unless you can buy these things already made. I'm no stranger to hammers and nails so I can do this (besides, it somehow seems counterintuitive to buy already-made plots for my organic garden). The benefit of square foot gardening is that you are supposed to use only 20% of the garden space you would have used with traditional "row" methods, while getting the same yield.

"No-till" or "zero tillage" is a method based on the idea that soil should be disturbed as little as possible. I was surprised that tilling has a negative effect on soil, as I'd always thought you had to till in order to pull out weeds and mix in your fertilizers or compost. However, tilling also disturbs earthworms and microbes, and changes the density of soil, among other negatives. At this moment I have no idea what a no-till method is, but I'm looking forward to learning.

Every day I get more excited about this project. I'm sick of grocery store tomatoes with their travel-bred skins and innards that are pale and tasteless. I have never seen a cucumber without wax on its skin. Gardening will be an education for me in a variety of ways.

Raw Foodist Turns Subsistence Farmer?

Allison — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:43:00 GMT

There she is: the land I hope to turn into a subsistence garden. In this space in NE Ohio I hope to grow enough vegetables, and perhaps some berries, to supply a large part of my raw diet and to feed my two Ohio room mates, on whose acreage this micro-farm will stand. This land has produced food before; in fact, the previous homeowner- the father of one of my room mates- has offered himself as a resource should we have any questions about our adventure.

So far we have learned that we will be planting in zone 6. And what grows well in zone 6? Quite a few things. The ones that caught my eye are listed in the table below. The roomies and I will need to get together to make our list. Because NE Ohio has late frosts, we may be planting some things in April and others in May. However, much of this depends on logistics; I need to make it up to Ohio, and we need to buy soil and compost- and, of course, the seeds.

I've been reading about the pride that gardeners have in the crops that they successfully harvest; a passage in Mother Earth magazine speaks of vegetable gardening and child-raising in the same paragraph, and I can relate to that. There is something special about raising a living thing, flora or fauna, and seeing it thrive under your loving concern. I look forward to this experience, even while I realize it will be hard work. I welcome the aches and pains, though, as they are a part of my journey back to health. Bring it on!

CONTENDERS FOR THE GARDEN

Herbs	Fruit	Vegetables
Basil Bay Chervil Chives Dill Mint Oregano Parsley Rosemary Sage Tarragon Thyme	Blueberries Raspberries Strawberries Watermelon (Blacktail Mountain)	Artichoke Asparagus Bean Beet Broccoli Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Corn Cucumber Eggplant Fennel Garlic Leek Lettuces Melons Onion Parsnip Pea Pepper Potato Radish Romaine lettuce Rhubarb Rutabaga Scallion Shallot Sorrel Spinach Squash Sweet Potato Tomatillo Tomato Turnip	ARE YOU A VEGETABLE, HERB OR FRUIT GARDENER? I'M HAPPY TO KNOW OF ANY TIPS OR TRICKS YOU HAVE FOR SUCCESSFUL CROPS!

Can You Save Money Juicing your own Oranges?

Allison — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:30:00 GMT

When I started eating raw foods I had the comforting impression that fresh produce would cost me less than processed foods, and that juicing fruits and vegetables on my own would be cheaper than buying packaged juice. I've since learned that I can get more meals for less money if I eat junk like frozen dinners and ramen noodles. Still, despite my limited funds, I prefer my fresh foods for reasons of health. Today I decided to make fresh orange juice to see if I would save money squeezing or juicing it myself.

I started by checking out local prices for oranges. Seems like .99 cents/lb is a popular price this week, so I bought 6 pounds of oranges and juiced them all, making sure I included some pulp in the finished product. What I ended up with was a tad disappointing as far as savings go. My six pounds (96 oz) yielded less than 48 oz of juice, or less than 6 cups. I essentially paid $5.96 for 6 cups of juice, or about 12 cents per ounce. (I'm quite happy if anyone wants to double-check my math, but I believe it's all correct).

For comparison, I looked for a packaged orange juice with pulp, and found Albertson's selling the brand "Floridas Natural Orange Juice Home Style With Pulp" for .07 per ounce. Hmmm... A search online lead to online grocer PeaPod, which sells the same brand at .05 per ounce (in New Jersey, at least). I checked Sunflower Market, which often sells produce more cheaply here, but found oranges for sale at a penny higher per pound. However, I see a brand of organic OJ for sale there at about .08 cents per ounce. Still cheaper than my non-organic, homemade OJ! Sooo, it was actually a bit more expensive to make my own orange juice.

Now, there are factors that could make juicing cheaper sometimes, I suppose. For one thing, produce prices vary across the country due to factors like seasonality, crop yield, origin of production, and the ultimate price set at the store or market. Also, I some varieties of oranges yield more juice than others.

In the end, I prefer preparing my own orange juice despite the fact that today it cost me more in cash than a packaged product would have cost. The benefits are worth it: my juice is fresher, and I have no packaging to worry about. Furthermore, if I had a compost pile I could have added the pulp, seeds and peels to it.

This leads me to an upcoming post: I have decided to explore the idea of growing my own food for my raw diet. Do you see the progression from eco-village visit to subsistence farmer? Maintaining my own micro-farm is an exciting idea for this suburbanite. I have no idea what the experience will truly be like - despite all the reading I'm doing, but I already have the land picked out in Ohio and a couple of excited friends waiting to delve into this project with me. More to come. Woo hoo!!

Starting Again, or Picking up Where I Left Off

Allison — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:02:00 GMT

Yes, I'm starting again. I'm always starting again. Although there is a feeling of optimism when I start fresh, there is also a feeling that I must have failed before, so my excitement is always tinged with a little disappointment and maybe even a feeling of dread. I don't want to keep hopping on the health wagon and falling off.

Someone told me once that I shouldn't look at my experiences as falling off the wagon, but instead see each event as a step towards my ultimate health goal. This is indeed a more positive way of viewing my raw odyssey. I "fall off the wagon" for a reason, and if I pay attention to the factors that lead me to fall, I will be able to use my knowledge to create a health plan that really works for me.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME....

February 23rd is my birthday- my personal new year. Every birthday reminds me that I don't have forever to improve the quality of my life, so I've decided to renew my dedication to good nutrition. I've been getting my materials together: I've got my juicer, Vita-Mix, vegetable chopper, and Saladacco (makes intriguing shapes out of your food). I've made a list of the mental, physical and spiritual improvements I will be focusing on as I improve my health. I've got my juicing recipes, and I've started asking my raw buddies on Twitter for meal ideas. I am also looking at my 2006 blogs, which chronicled my original foray into raw foods, to get myself excited the way I was when I first discovered raw. And I even took the dreaded BEFORE photo, which I will artfully render as a sketch of myself, as I've decided that I should put my artistic talents to therapeutic use. I am the only one in my household going raw, but my two roomies also want to lose weight so I'm sure they will partake of some of my raw creations.

I want to give a "shout out" to a couple who are also starting their raw journey on February 23rd: Nathan and Kelly. They started a blog, which I look forward to reading as they discover what it takes to buy, care for, and prepare raw produce- ahhhh, the memories. I always smile when I read about people embarking upon raw foods for the first time, because I imagine their excitment as they reap the first benefits of leaving processed foods behind. Check 'em out at Real Food Real People.

How are You Saving Money Eating Raw in 2009?

Allison — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:11:00 GMT

Because millions of us are watching our spending these days, more and more resources are being published to help us find ways to save money on groceries. Those of us who prefer a diet of all or mostly raw foods, however, must contend not only with rising grocery prices but with the already-higher cost of organic produce and the perishable nature of our foods. Below are some tips for saving money while eating raw. Depending on your location and means, some of these tips should be helpful to you.

1) Join an organic co-op in your area (you can check out my fun experience in California!)
2) Shop at farmer's markets in your area.
3) Find Asian grocery stores like 99Ranch and others.
4) Look for discount grocers like Food4Less, Aldi's, and Sunflower Markets
5) Grow your own vegetables, herbs and sprouts in your back yard.
6) Grow food in someone else's yard if you don't have your own: check out yardsharing in Portland and elsewhere. And if you are stuck with just your apartment, try these garden tips.
7) Store your produce so that it stays fresh longer.
8) When saving money on non-organic versions of produce, stick to those with the fewest pesticides. The food list below, from the Environmental Working Group, lists produce from worst to best as far as pesticide absorption. Peaches absorb the most, while onions and avocados are among the better non-organic choices.

Know of places in your area to save money while eating raw produce? Got additional money-saving tips? If so, why not submit them here? Times are tough, so let's help each other out!

LINKS from this post
Discount Produce Shopping
Food Co-op Directory
Local Harvest
99Ranch
Aldi's
Sunflower Markets

Grow Your Own
Raw Food Ideas

Freedom Gardens
Portland Yardsharing
Backwoods Home
Hyperlocavore

Storing Your Produce

Storing Fresh Produce and Herbs

Toxins

Environmental Working Group

Combating Online Misinformation about Raw Foods

Allison — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:45:00 GMT

(image created through wordle.net)

I am so tired of reading articles about a mysterious Raw Food Diet created to help you lose weight. The authors warn against this "diet" because you can't find all of the foods you're "supposed" to eat, claim that everything "has" to be organic, that you have to follow complex recipes, that you can't get enough nutrients, that the time needed to prep foods is best spent elsewhere, etc. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when certain statements are promoted as fact, there should at least be references.

I'm becoming an activist in 2009 - I am combating the incorrect assessments of eating raw. Among the messages I am spreading:

It's not a weight loss scheme.
It's not a fad.
It can be as simple or as complicated as any individual willfully chooses to make it.
It doesn't require expensive superfoods or non-seasonal produce unless you want it to.
Getting the family involved in prepping raw foods for the week might actually be a GOOD thing.
Yes, we can get our nutritional needs met
There is no official Rulebook of Raw; we are free to create a raw food regimen that fits our unique health needs and lifestyle.

I also make recommendations, such as referring people to raw food sites such as welikeitraw.com that show the diversity of people eating raw and the different ways they eat. I recommend nutritiondata.com and sparkpeople.com to those who fear their diet won't provide all of their nutrients, so that they can use tools to help them improve their diet.

Today I read an article simply titled "Raw Foods Diet" and was annoyed at the assertions made by an anonymous person calling him/herself "MysteryShopper." There were no credentials or references provided, and no reference to any personal experience eating raw. This article actually wasn't as bad as some I have read, but I sent in my response anyway. Below is what I wrote.

"Thank you for your review of eating raw. I'm not sure where you got any of your information, as you cite no references. Can you update your article for us with that information?

Let me begin by saying there is no such thing "THE raw foods diet." Eating raw is not a fad or a weight loss scheme. It's part of a holistic health regimen that people can choose to adopt in the way that best fits their health needs and lifestyle. There are no rules about what you are "allowed" to eat, only that your food is raw (hence, "raw foods").

If you cannot afford organic, for example, then don't buy organic. Some foods absorb more pesticides than others, so people need to decide which non-organic foods to eat. There is plenty of information available online about the best non-organic foods. You say some foods are hard to find, but what foods are you talking about? If I can't find a certain food, then it can't be in my menu. Pretty simple! That doesn't stop me from eating raw foods. As for "how raw" one's diet is, there is no mathematical way to label the percentage of one's diet as raw, nor any rule that you should eat "70%" raw. You must choose what works for you as a unique individual.

As for nutrients, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains are chock full of calcium and protein. I've used nutritiondata.com to ensure that my daily intake provides me with all of the nutrients, including protein, that I need. I prefer to avoid vitamins, so I learned how to get all of my nutrients through a raw food diet. Everyone can do this if they are serious enough about taking control of their own health.

As for the time it takes to prepare raw meals, we can choose to eat frozen Lean Cuisines (full of chemicals) and save a few minutes, or we can learn how to use a portion of one day each week to prep our fresh vegetables for the work week. Children and partners can pitch in as well. I know this is something we are not used to in this world of fast food and packaged items masquerading as edibles, but that doesn't make it impossible.

Yes, there is a learning curve to eating raw. I would hope that anyone reading about eating raw foods will do their own research to determine how this way of eating may be helpful to them. It is possible to create a raw diet that fits one's health needs and lifestyle. I recommend that curious people check out welikeitraw.com and just read what some people are saying and doing in the raw foods community. We are a diverse group of people of many different ages, backgrounds, health needs, and philosophies. Sites like these will make it clear that there is no one "raw diet."'

What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about eating raw?
What misinformation about eating raw irks you the most?

Being a Fool in 2009

Allison — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:02:00 GMT

Are you familiar with the Fool of the Tarot card deck? The Fool represents new beginnings unfettered by the past. The Fool has no real goal and no preplanned route- in fact, in the Ryder-Waite deck, he's about to unwittingly step off a cliff. OOPS!

In some ways I see myself as the Fool for 2009: I want to step off the cliff, because I want to leave behind my old baggage of judgments, ideas and analyses, falling into a new world that I learn about as I experience it. In this new world I have no pre-formed judgments or analyses to tell me that something is right or wrong; I simply experience, and I determine based on that experience whether something works for me.   In this way I forge a new path that is unique to who I am, and which leads me to the kind of life I want to live. Unlike the Fool, though, I have an ultimate goal; I want to live a life of abundant health mentally, physically and spiritually. I want my living, working and playing environments to support abundant health. To achieve this, I need to leave behind the ideas, judgments and behaviors of the "old me" because they have kept me from moving forward. But how to do this?

I love the ideas of Eckhart Tolle and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor when it comes to forging a new path in life. Simply put, Tolle finds that people tend to maintain an ongoing identity (the Ego) based on their history of thoughts, stories and judgments. The desire to maintain our ego identity is so strong that we lose our connection to the potential of the present moment and hamper our ability to take on new ideas and behaviors.   Taylor speaks similarly of our identities, stating that without the incessant chatter of the left brain (where the ego Tolle refers to resides), the right brain is free to experience each moment as new, unfettered by old left-brain baggage.

I've decided that my New Year's theme for 2009 is Transformation. I want to give my left brain a little rest and give my right brain a workout this year. I tend to fiercely hold on to old ideas and old habits in some important areas of my life, especially the area regarding eating. This year I'll learn to balance the capacities of my left and right brains. I've been trying to practice this already by listening to my mental chatter when people speak. When I sense myself becoming judgmental or analytical, I stop by saying to myself: "right brain! right brain!" which is my signal to go back to really hearing, without judgment. Yeah- sounds like a weird new habit, but it's a form of meditation to pay attention in this way, to hear the chatter in my brain and recognize it for what it is- simply the work of my left brain/ego and nothing more. I'm hoping that meditating in this and other ways will help me to lose my habitual ways of thinking and clear my mind to take on new ideas.

To help myself with my transformation, I am attending to my mental and physical environments. Examples include the following:

Mental/Spiritual

I have been having fun using a gratitude journal for my iPod Touch. I list at least 5 things every day for which I am grateful. This is a nice exercise which helps me to stop running habitually negative ideas through my head and to remember that things could be much worse.
I listen to Oprah's Spirit Channel podcasts to give myself inspiration, motivation and information about living a positive, fulfilling life. Here you will find interviews with Eckhart Tolle, Jill Bolte Taylor and many others.
I am chatting with my raw Twitter friends, reading raw food blogs, and going back to my nutrition books to get myself mentally back into the type of daily thinking that supports a whole and raw foods lifestyle.

Physical

I have stocked the kitchen once again with healthy produce and have gotten rid of the Pepsi!
I have made a list of all of my ailments- just like the list I created in 2006 when I first started my raw odyssey. As I conquer each malady with my transformative lifestyle, I will note it so that I have an ongoing list of reasons to stick to my path. But if anything unfavorable occurs- like the hair loss that came from eating raw goitrogenic vegetables - I'll investigate and learn how to deal with the problem healthfully.

TIME TO GET STARTED!!

Living In the Solution

Allison — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:43:00 GMT

A wonderful woman I met this year, Barbara, introduced me to her phrase “living in the solution.” We were talking about our plans and the challenges we face in reaching our goals. I have been a bit depressed since being “downsized” out of a job this summer. As I’m finding myself “overeducated” or “underqualified” for jobs I know I could do very well, I’m also watching my savings disappear. In my resulting anxiety I’ve been completely off my raw diet for some time.   I live off the groceries my room mate buys, along with cheap junk food. Consequently, I’m tired for “no reason.” I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, and on some days I stay in my room for hours. My other hours are spent job hunting online until the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness for my friends and my Twitter buddies for giving me reasons to smile.

Barbara heard me out one day and caringly expressed doubt that I would reach my goals because, as she put it, I was “dwelling in the problem.” I was complaining, inert, depressed, and doing a lot of talking but not a lot of action outside of hours and hours of online job hunting and networking. I was dragging myself into a “hole.” She said she only knows she is going to reach her goals when she “lives in the solution,” by which she means cultivating an attitude of success and taking daily action to move herself forward. When she catches herself complaining about current conditions or merely talking about future plans, she knows she is not living in the solution and that she needs to get herself on track.

For some reason, the phrase “living in the solution” struck a chord within me. I’ve heard all sorts of positive affirmations and stock phrases meant to uplift the spirit and motivate the mind but for me, this simple phrase was what I needed to hear to help me rethink my state of mind.   Unnecessary clutter is the foundation of my unhappiness, so for me “living in the solution” means creating clutter-free environments wherever I go. Since my conversation with my wonderful friend, I’ve focused on the steps required to stop dwelling in the problem and to start living in the solution.

Physical environment: Don’t bring home new, unnecessary objects; live simply and lightly. Keep my spaces organized and handle tasks promptly to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Avoid negative/unhealthy environments and people as possible; seek out healthy spaces - especially outdoor environments and natural settings.
Don’t clutter the body with unnecessary foods and unhealthy substances. Replace these with whole foods, consumed mostly raw or steamed. Become physically active for both health and the sense of freedom that getting out of the house brings.

Mind/spirit: Do not dwell on negative thinking or take on others' negativity; concentrate on my goal when engaging in anything difficult so that I have a positive image to hold on to. Adopt a daily meditation practice to become attuned to my mind’s habits so that I can work to make beneficial changes in my thinking- particularly in clearing out the left-brain clutter. Seek environments that are calming and nurturing (bookstores, cafes, libraries, natural settings all work for me). Read uplifting, informative material that supports my goals. Take time to relax.

One "Solution" Might be a Farm!
For several years I’ve had a yearning to live more harmoniously with nature. I experienced a stay at an eco-village in New Mexico a few years ago. The experience was wonderful and healing for me, an urban child filled with pollution and junk food, who thought that Healthy Choice frozen meals were the only way to health. When I think about “living in the solution” I can clearly envision the environment I want to be in: an organic farm. The experience of both living and working on such a farm fits well with my life goals. Both personally, and as a sociologist, I strongly support organic farms for healthy communities and environmental sustainability. My experience eating raw foods has made this connection even more obvious to me. I want to experience firsthand the work involved in growing the healthiest foods on earth. I want to see how they are distributed.   It feels like a calling to me: I am dying to get dirty in the fields and to fall asleep at night, achy and overjoyed to be doing something meaningful and significant. I want to find an organic farm in southern California to live and work on but so far I’ve found that getting hold of a farmer is as difficult as applying for jobs! I’m not giving up, though. I know there’s an organic farm just waiting for me!

Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years, everyone! I hope you all find ways to live in the solution in 2009.

How Unemployment Affects My Raw Diet

Allison — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:15:00 GMT

I've made a few changes since losing my job. Now that my savings are dwindling I'm being more careful about what I eat, and how I eat. For example, I won't try new fruits or vegetables because if I hate 'em I can't afford to throw 'em out. I'm also much more conscious about not buying more than I can eat before the foods start to "turn." In fact, I'll even eat some things after they've begun to go bad; they may not be as healthy but they won't kill me. And I've reintroduced bananas into my diet even though I don't really like them, because they are cheap at 67 cents a pound. This is the kind of conscientiousness I should have had when I was employed; wasting food is reprehensible!

I've also been looking into getting a job at a farmer's market. Not only can I keep myself more easily supplied with produce (hopefully at a discount), but I also think a job like that would be a perfect fit for someone like me who loves to be surrounded by healthy foods from local farms. The support of local farmers' markets is very important to me. I'm wondering how the rest of you doing with the cost of eating raw. With the downturn in the economy, have you changed your grocery shopping practices? Do you eat differently?

By the way, see that strawberry up there? I doodled that on my iGraffiti app on my iPod Touch. I love art and I love raw foods- why not combine two loves? If any of you are doodlers too and want to send me your raw food related art, I would love to use them for my blog entries. I especially love children's artwork, so if you have kids whose raw food art can be digitized and sent to me, I'd be honored to use them. I'll provide full credit of course, and links to your website if you like as well.

Stay Green!

A Smoothie A Day

Allison — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:50:00 GMT

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Having been a victim of the recent slew of downsizing in our economy, I've been busy adjusting to the lack of a source of income and to my new temporary digs in California while I look for work. I will not pretend to have stayed raw all this time- it's been a rough and depressing period. But I stay in touch with all my raw buddies (you know who you are!) in the hope that I will get out of this slump, and they keep me smiling. Some have assisted me in my job search with nice suggestions, too. Thanks!

Last week I started making green smoothies again and I've felt good about that. I am making a fresh version of "V8" juice, although with only 7 ingredients: 2 large carrots, 2 to 3 large celery stalks, 1/2 small beet, 4 romaine leaves, half a bunch of parsley, 2 tomatoes, and lemon juice(to taste). I am careful to avoid the vegetables that inhibit thyroid production, hence I stay away from the spinach found in the "real" V8 (I don't bother with the watercress). I use my VitaMix for the lettuce, parsley and tomatoes because the juicer doesn't handle them as well, but I don't strain the fiber out since I want to keep that in my diet. I mix this beautiful green smoothie with the red juice I get from the remaining ingredients that I've put through my Juiceman. I've been getting a definite buzz from this concoction- a strange feeling that lasts maybe 15 minutes. Seven days of vegetables for 1 daily smoothie (2 on the 7th day) cost about $30 -however, I did have a head of celery left over. Budgeting is very important now, as I am living on savings as well as off my good friend, with whom I'm staying.

Today I went shopping for week two. I bought 3 mangos, 5 avocados and a bunch of bananas, and decided to change the smoothie a little by replacing the beets with ginger and the parsley with cilantro. This should be a treat, since I love both cilantro and ginger. I want to keep things simple, create my own concoctions and just go with what works in any particular week to make this as enjoyable as possible. My initial routine was to have a smoothie each morning, but starting yesterday I added a smoothie at night before going to bed. Regardless of what I eat in between, I will start and end each day with a smoothie. The extra foods I bought today will help me to replace a few processed foods with fruit and a salad each day. To get back into raw, "Slow and Steady" is my mantra right now. Much of my energy is going in to a job search. Wish me luck!

Long Time No Blog!

Allison — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:25:00 GMT

Many things have happened to me since I last blogged, but I will cut to the chase: I now live in Southern California, having left Las Vegas behind at the end of last month. One of the things I was excited about when coming here was the opportunity to visit more farmer's markets and to have easier access to a wide variety of produce now that I'm no longer in the desert. I am happy to report that in the past couple of weeks I have visited two farmer's markets, found a Trader Joe's and a Trader Joe's-like store called Sprouts.

Today I volunteered in a kind of farmer's market co-op, where I prepaid, online, $22 for a "mystery" share of organic goodies. I then drove out this morning for the weekly gathering to see whether my share was actually worth $22, skeptic that I am. Since I like to get everywhere early, my trusty Navigator got me there just as people were setting up the temporary marketplace. Of course I offered to help! What a lot of work it was, too. About a dozen of us, including children, unloaded a U-Haul trailer and another vehicle of many pounds of organic produce and proceeded to divvy up the goods among 71 large baskets and 71 smaller ones, 71 being the number of people who had paid $22 for a share of the produce this week.

I helped unload the trucks and fill baskets with organic goodies: broccoli, parsley, green onions, collards, radishes, butter lettuce, sprouts, serrano peppers and tomatoes of several varieties. There was also fruit: pears, kiwi, apples, nectarines and strawberries. By the time the 142 large and small baskets were full and arranged outside of an organic artisan restaurant (space donated by the owner, apparently), the sidewalk was being lined with people coming to pick up their shares. I snapped some photos for the blog, then helped hand out baskets, clean out empty ones as they were returned, and generally keep things going smoothly. I even worked up a sweat, for which I was quite happy. This is the kind of physical labor I like to engage in; that treadmill-in-the-gym stuff is not nearly as fulfilling. The volunteers were wonderfully friendly and enjoyable to work with. I love meeting new people and I had a lot of fun this morning. I helped with some of the cleanup before loading up the car and making my merry way back home. I think I got my $22 worth in both healthy, nourishing food and a great couple of hours spent with some cool people.

I think I'm gonna like California!!

Raw Fu: Challenging Myself to Go Raw

Allison — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Bunny Berry makes the attempt to get back to high and 100% raw such silly fun that I could not help but join her Raw Fu challenge starting today, August 1st, 2008: 100 days of raw. What I love about her challenge is her explicit instruction to go at our own pace- something I have always advocated in regard to adopting a raw lifestyle. As my longtime readers know, I have a huge pet peeve about raw gurus or leaders who prescribe a particular way to eat and then create environments (forums, message boards, etc.) where people end up describing feeling bad about themselves for not being able to adhere to the plan. I don't need help feeling bad about my eating habits- I do fine in that department all by myself - so it's nice to join a challenge that is not at all restrictive.

Another thing I like about the Raw Fu challenge is that Bunny is trying to fight obesity. I know that lots of raw foods enthusiasts are trying to lose weight, but at many raw food sites I feel the same way I do when I go to the gym: I'm the fat woman surrounded by spandex-clad skinny beauties. The fact that Bunny says right on her blog "... I am hoping that a raw food lifestyle will help me fight obesity, and alleviate the symptoms of PCOS and fibromyalgia" and "I'm 37, fat, fatigued, and ready to change my life" makes me feel right at home with my own attempts to fight obesity and health problems. I'm ready to change my life, too! By the way, I don't feel that more restrictive sites are all "bad;" it's just that there's no single way to go raw or to maintain a raw lifestyle, so l like to "shop around" for the type of site that fits my needs. Both the Raw Divas and Bunny's RawFu sites welcome a relaxed approach to going raw, which I appreciate.

My high-raw debut went well: fruit salad in the morning, a modified Cobb salad for lunch (business lunch at a restaurant), iced tea, water and cranberry juice for my beverages. The only oops is that because I spent the week moving to a new residence, I ended up spending this evening cleaning and organizing rather than eating dinner. Oh, well- tomorrow's a new day!

Check out Bunny Berry's 100 Day Raw Food Challenge!

Why This Raw Foods Enthusiast Rejects "Superfoods"

Allison — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:12:00 GMT

We live in a culture that promotes the idea that More is Better. It's not enough to live with abundant health; we have to live into our 100s. It's not enough to feel energized and vital; we have to "buzz" and feel naturally high every day. And to do this we need... specialized foods that are altered into powders and pills and such, are transported from far away, and cost way more than the local whole foods we are trying to eat??

At some point I have to draw a line. The older I get, the more I value a life that is less and less complex. In fact, part of the joy I find in eating raw is the simplicity of it. I don't want complicated recipes. I don't like ingredients that can only be bought in specialized stores. I don't like paying outrageous prices for powdered algaes and pressed oils and dehydrated "bars." I don't like the version of the "More is Better" mentality that has crept into the modern raw food movement, facilitated by globalization and technologies like the internet, which makes finding and marketing "amazing" foods like acai, goji, Celtic sea salt and maca easier for the everyday entrepreneur.

I admit that I am not consistent in enacting my beliefs right now. For example, even though I bought Celtic sea salt before I started to rethink my beliefs about superfoods and imported products, I like the stuff. I also make room in my budget for young Thai coconuts and imported mangoes, despite what I've learned about their transportation and preservation techniques. Perhaps at some point these foods won't be desirable to me.

When I discovered the practice of eating raw foods in 2006, I was only interested in losing weight healthfully without undergoing gastric bypass surgery. I didn't realize at the time how well raw eating fits into my values for "naturalness" and simplicity. There was a time (it lasted about one minute, I believe) when I was healthy and slim. I wore my hair natural and in twists. I did not wear makeup or expensive, trendy clothes. I felt like a nature girl, and was truly happy to be alive. When I fell victim again to food addiction (refined sugars, oils, salt) and regained all the weight I'd lost, I considered a lot of complicated ideas for getting healthy again, including gastric bypass. But discovering raw foods has led me back around to my original values of simplicity and closeness to nature. So although I respect other people's decision to include superfoods in their own raw lifestyle, I reject those foods, as well as complicated raw recipes, because they just don't support my values for a simplified way of living. My rejection of superfoods is probably the first concrete, value-influenced decision I've made about my raw lifestyle.

Kicking the Factory Food Habit

Allison — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:54:00 GMT

I went raw in 2006, and when I first experienced the wonders of "raw health" I was floored. The lifting of depression, the rapid weight loss, the improved blood levels, the clearing of my complexion, the development of that health "raw glow"- all of those things I saw as direct benefits of eating a raw diet. Now, I wonder...

It's not that I doubt the benefits of eating raw foods, it's just that I'm noticing that just like me, many raw foodists tend to attribute all the positives that come from their raw diet directly to the consumption of raw foods. There is not as much consideration about the effect of what we've removed from our diet. Of course, not everyone switching to a raw food diet has the food history that I have! I've come to believe that my raw diet was amazingly beneficial not only because I was eating whole, unprocessed foods, but because I was NOT eating refined sugar and flour or high levels of unnatural fat. I was no longer taking in loads of sodium, and I was avoiding preservatives as well as flavor and appearance "enhancers." Back then it was a given that removing sugar, flour, sodium and fats made me feel better, but I didn't give as much thought to dyes, preservatives and other unnatural substances. I'm quite sure that this is because I am so used to the SAD method of weight loss, which incorporates those substances into packaged meals labeled "healthy."

So these days I'm giving equal credit for my amazing health improvements to the absence of those horrible manufactured substances we call "food." However, the role that raw foods played in my recovery was crucial; they were the key to my not having cravings or an abnormally strong appetite after I gave up the unhealthy stuff. Raw foods gave me emotional control over what I ate. Unfortunately, there is such a thing as human will. I have a history of eating foods that are really bad for me but which are wrapped in good memories, so I slide off the raw wagon with great frequency, especially during times of stress.

But back to raw: I am not the same raw foods enthusiast I was back in 2006. I am not worried about "being a raw foodist" or eating raw for raw's sake. I'm not so much into the packaged products or the expensive superfoods touted by the raw industry. No Braggs, bars or bee pollen for me. I'm also not in need of faux cooked entrees, so nut burgers will be few and far between (if at all- I still gag thinking about my last one 2 years ago!). My main concern is that the food starts out in a whole state, which I will choose to eat raw or cooked based on my needs or desire at the time. Anything I cook will likely be done by steaming so that I can preserve as many nutrients as possible. Because of my low thyroid, I cook certain vegetables to render their thyroid-inhibiting compounds (goitrogens) inactive. I still plan to eat sushi - and I ain't talkin' the raw version with no rice!- but my diet appears to be morphing in a mainly vegan one, combining raw and cooked whole foods. I also have to compensate for the greatly lowered appetite I experience when eating raw. When I eat raw, the one thing I always did to alleviate stress- eat- is no longer pleasurable option it used to be because I don't crave foods any more. Strangely, though, I still want to eat non-raw foods to relieve stress and will reach for something I'm not hungry for just to see if I can get that old comforting feeling. Clearly I need to find a new stress-relieving behavior or I'll always fall off the raw wagon.

I've pledged to get back to mostly/all raw starting August 1st. That is the day I'm moving into a pro-raw room mate situation - yay!! It so happens that I have a new health issue I am being checked for, so dumping the factory stuff (again) and returning to raw is right on time.

Me So PoMo

Allison — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:47:00 GMT

Week Two on Weight Watchers
What a week it's been for me. As I write this, I don't think I've lost any weight. I've eaten more than I should at times, and I haven't eaten many raw foods (although I just finished a lovely salad chock full of avocado, garlic, scallions and snow peas with romaine). The good thing is that I feel great about being in touch with every little thing that passes my lips rather than just eating mindlessly. Every time I eat I know why I'm doing it and I think of the consequences. I've tremendously decreased my snacking at work (and I wasn't even doing that daily in the first place) and limit it to coffee, roasted nuts, and the fruit from our weekly delivery of organic produce.

I'm not obsessed with the scale, but because I know that WW uses it as a measure of my adherence to their program, of course I want to see what my "damage" is before the official weigh-in. But guess what? I am not going to let even weight gains deter me this time around. It will take me a while to readjust to using WW points, get through my cravings and food "issues" and to segue into a high-raw diet (via the Core plan), and I expect to have weeks where I gain or simply don't lose. If any WW weighers or leaders give me a hard time I'm simply going to tell them that I have to walk this journey the way that works best for me, and that I'd rather take the time I need to adjust rather than quit due to not losing weight at first.

This is a major change in attitude from my previous times on WW, where I'd quit soon after starting because I felt like a failure. My Raw Odyssey has taught me that we each have different needs and preferences based on many unique factors, so there is no "one way" for all of us to eat- just broad generalizations. When we embark upon someone else's plan for us, like Weight Watchers, a green smoothie challenge or a "30 Days to Raw" type regimen, we have to bend our way to satisfy the requirements of someone else's brainchild- someone who doesn't know our quirks, abilities, preferences, schedule, taste -or anything! If their program doesn't fit our needs, that is no failure on our part, yet we tend to berate ourselves and find ourselves lacking in some way. Why? That makes no sense. I feel the same way about WW now. I know the program works and is healthy (in SAD terms, that is), but there will be an adjustment period for me and some tweaking of the program as I use it.

The Post Modern Health Enthusiast
This recognition of individual needs and voices is a real phenomenon- it's very much reflected in the flurry of personalized products and services, and the prefixing of "my" in front of everything, like MySpace or "My VerizonWireless," etc. So post-modern, aren't we, refusing to capitulate to authority figures or subsume ourselves into a mass of people. We want to be heard and we see the value of personalization. There is much value in groups -I love my Twitter friends, the "GiveItToMeRaw" site, the idea of raw festivals, etc. But I'm talking about taking control of a program rather than letting it control me. So it's "MyWeightWatchers" (I'm sure they've come up with that already)! It will be a plan that fits my own preferences.

Organic Produce Delivery
Some of you may want to consider organic produce delivery services. I'm happy with what we've been getting at my office, and if I ran my own business and could afford it, I'd have fruit delivered for all my employees. The professionals do a much better job at picking out good fruit than I would, so there are very few duds, if any. Plus, the contents vary, so it's kind of fun seeing what's in the box every week. A persimmon? An avocado? What kind of plum is that? I've tried fruit I've never had before. It's lots of fun, plus we get a free subscription to the Berkeley Wellness Newsletter. What company am I talking about? The Fruit Guys. There are other services, though.

Final Words
I've been getting some great support from my Twitter friends about the topics in this blog, including my Weight Watcher's endeavors. I was surprised to meet other people trying both methods for health. How cool is that? So if you are thinking about combining WW and raw or are already doing it, please don't be shy about sharing your experience, making suggestions, or asking questions. Also, if any of you get organic produce delivered to your home or office, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Have a great week!

Back to Familiar Stomping Grounds

Allison — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:25:00 GMT

Those who have followed Raw Odyssey from the beginning in 2006 know I have a long history with Weight Watchers. I have joined them over and over while eating the Standard American Diet. I never had problems losing weight, but I always had problems keeping it off. I finally got tired of joining them, even though I truly believe they are the best weight loss program of their type out there. No program works for everyone, though, and I finally realized that something about Weight Watchers wasn't helping me to stop regaining the weight. Part of the problem was their overwhelming focus on the scale, while the other is the fact that they endorse what those of us who prefer raw diets wouldn't even recognize as natural food. I mean, look at all of the ingredients in one Weight Watchers "Smart Ones" meal:

Water, Beef, Water, Onion(s), Bell Pepper(s) Red (and), Bell Pepper(s) Green, Soy Protein Concentrate, Catsup {Tomato(es) Concentrate <Water,Tomato(es) Paste>,Corn Syrup High Fructose,Corn Syrup,Vinegar,Salt,Onion(s) Powder,Spice,Natural Flavor(s)}, Seasoning {Salt,Onion(s) Powder,Yeast Extract Autolyzed,Cornstarch Modified,Flavor <Soy Sauce Decolorized,Dextrose,Cornstarch Modified,Celery Extract>,Celery,Wheat,Soybean(s)}, Sugar, Spice, Turmeric, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate], Potato(es), Margarine [ Soybean(s) Oil, Water, Salt, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate, Natural Flavor(s) (and/or), Flavor Artificial, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Palmitate], Tomato(es) Diced [ Tomato(es), Tomato(es) Juice, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Citric Acid], Tomato(es) Paste, Corn Maltodextrin, Cornstarch Modified, Cream Powder [ Cream, Soy Lecithin], Beef, Au Jus Concentrate [ Beef Stock, Flavor, Soy Sauce {Water,Wheat,Soybean(s),Salt,Sodium Benzoate}, Beef Fat, Caramel Color, Whey Cultured {Milk}, Cornstarch, Onion(s) Powder, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Salt, Cornstarch Modified, Potato(es) Starch, Beet Powder, Lactic Acid, Corn Syrup Solids], Milk Non-Fat, Beef Type Flavor [ Corn Gluten Hydrolyzed, Soy Protein, Wheat Gluten, Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Dextrose, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Cottonseed Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Soybean(s) Oil], Onion(s), Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Garlic Roasted, Salt, Sugar, Corn Oil, Pepper(s) Red, Pepper(s) Paste Red [ Bell Pepper(s) Red Roasted, Dextrose, Water, Salt, Yeast Extract, Potato(es) Starch, Natural Flavoring, Soy Sauce {Water,Soybean(s),Wheat,Salt}], Worcestershire Sauce [ Vinegar Distilled, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Water, Salt, Caramel Color, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Spice, Anchovies, Tamarind, Natural Flavor(s), Sulfite (Added as a preservative)], Xanthan Gum, Parsley, Pepper(s) White, Corn Syrup Solids High Maltose, Emulsifiers [ Mono and Diglycerides, Milk Non-Fat, Wheat Starch], Chives, Black Pepper, Garlic Granulated, Soybean(s) Oil, Spice, Spice Extractive.

Would you ever guess that this is Weight Watchers' "Meatloaf with Gravy and Garlic-Herb Mashed Potatoes"? Yet, this is the kind of SAD stuff WW has us eating. So why do I keep going back to this program? Mainly because I do better with the accountability, and I like all of the other support - the books, health information, support meetings, and myriad tools to help with recipes, exercising, etc. If there were a raw group like WW I would go there instead, but for now this is all I've got.

For those of you unfamiliar with Weight Watchers, they have you pay a weekly fee to attend a support group and receive helpful materials aimed at helping you lose weight. You get a food tracker and you document everything that passes your lips (including water, since that's good for you!). All foods have Point values based on their fiber, fat and caloric content. The healthiest foods have the lowest Points, naturally, so that you are encouraged to eat more of them. On the "Core Program" you don't even count Points; you just stick to the foods on the Core foods list and eat until you are satisfied. Perfect for a raw foods enthusiast, as just about every common fruit, herb and vegetable we'd eat is on the Core plan. You get weighed every week and, during the lecture, you hear the WW Leader tackle a variety of issues related to weight loss and health. The best meetings for me are those with a lot of people (so I can hide in the back) and a charismatic, enthusiastic and creative leader who truly lets the needs of the group trump any weekly lesson plan offered by WW Inc.

So, anyway, I've spent my first week on the WW plan using the Flex Program, which allows you to eat whatever you want but requires you to count Points. You have a certain number of Points you can consume weekly, based on things like your weight, gender and activity level. Being overweight, I can eat a lot of Points right now. I've lost 8 lbs as of today, the end of week 1. Going raw on WW will be a challenge, so it's something I'll do gradually and will involve switching to the Core plan. Eventually I'd like to be eating whole, vegan foods - some cooked- while on this plan. Some raw foodists may think I should jump right into eating raw, but I have to do this my way- and right now I'm just happy to lose weight and get myself motivated!

By the way, I'm on week three of my hypothyroid medication (Armour) since starting it up again. My hair doesn't appear to be falling out yet. I've also continued to stay away from eating raw foods that inhibit thyroid function. Since the variety of raw foods available to me is greatly decreased because of this, I've decided to bring back some of the goitrogenic vegetables and eat them cooked, as cooking removes the thyroid-inhibiting effect. That means that for dinner today I'll be eating broccoli for the first time in ages!

Left Brain, Right Brain and the Ego

Allison — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 06:44:00 GMT

Today I listened to the interviews Oprah did with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist (brain specialist) who suffered a massive stroke in her left hemisphere in her late 30s, consequently experiencing a life-changing reconnection to a world we often leave behind once we pass toddlerhood and acquire language. Dr. Bolte Taylor lost the function of her left brain, thereby losing her language and, by extension, her identity. Relying on her right brain, she had to construct a new identity for herself. It took her almost ten years to regain full function of her left brain, but she has learned to balance the functions of the two hemispheres in order to create a new life for herself that is less judgmental and linear, and more creative and socially connected.

These kinds of stories are fascinating to me, and I wonder if there are insights I can use in dealing with my most challenging problems. For example, I know that eating raw foods would change my life for the better- I've experienced it before. So why do I keep returning to my old eating habits and endangering my health? Eckhart Tolle's writings and interviews are enlightening, as are my Buddhist readings, in that they talk about the Ego and its need to maintain an identity -and dominance -in our life. Apparently it's my ego that identifies with food and which so fiercely demands that I go back to those damned chicken wings over and over again. Its my ego that overwhelms me with thoughts of anxiety and food-related remedies, and which keeps me from being mindfully present. Tolle came to his awareness of the ego and the need to "live in the now" through a personal crisis which allowed him to see two selves, one of which is obsessed with problems and which constantly "chatters," and another which observes and experiences without judgment.

Bolte Taylor, due to her stroke, came to the same awareness, but because she is a brain specialist she was able to understand the experience physiologically as well as spiritually. Bolte Taylor explains that the left hemisphere is the most highly developed part of our brain in our society, which values logical, linear, sequential thinking and other left-brain tasks. Its other abilities include the manipulation of numbers, the interpretation and performing of languages, the creation of boundaries and the understanding of the body's position in space. It also includes an understanding of concepts such as familial relationships and the meaning of "yes" and "no." Mental phenomena such as pride, embarrassment and judgment are other left-brained tasks, as is conceptualizing the past and future- and connecting those to our present. Bolte Taylor says that our ability to use language and to conceive of a past and a future all help us to form an identity; a series of stories about our past and our future plans. Our left brain therefore helps us to negotiate the external world and to create within that world.

The right brain has different tasks. It perceives through the senses, thinks visually. It can assess moods and the emotional content of language based on what we've been socialized to learn about speech-related behaviors such as vocal intonations. It sees the big picture or the "context" in which events occur. It acts as the witness or observer of events, and experiences emotions such as peace and gratitude. Because the right brain does not rely on language, it doesn't develop complex memories as the left brain does; it lives in the "now" without critical judgment. It allows the feeling of connectedness or "one-ness" with other entities in our universe. The right brain allows us to connect to the world.

Bolte Taylor says its easy for any of us to get in touch with our right brains and to learn to quiet the analytical, judgmental and critical left-brain chatter that keeps us away from the present. I wonder, though... If it were that simple for us to stop the domination of our left brains, why don't we all "just do it"? Why do we need life-altering experiences that give us glimpses of right-brain living before we have that "a-ha" moment? Why do so many people find themselves reading book after book, or going on retreats (or into therapy!) without figuring out how to have those experiences? Maybe it is possible for each of us to learn to achieve a "cerebral balance" that will allow us to reach our full potential as joyful human beings, but I think it is unfair of those who have achieved it to claim that it is easy.

Bolte Taylor says that our society rewards left-brain thinking and trains us out of appreciating our right brain's functions. When I read that, I thought about how I have worked so hard in my life to focus on left-brain skills even though I'm naturally more right-brained. From childhood I have been artistic, imaginative, visual and intuitive. Even my facility with languages, while supposedly a left-brained task, seems to stem more from my passion to be connected to people across cultures than anything else. Lord knows I am not a logical person. I've always struggle with numbers, sequential thinking, map-reading and other left-brain tasks. Maybe this mismatch is the reason I suffer from anxiety and turn so often to food for comfort. Ha! I wish the answer were that easy to come by. But I do wonder if a better understanding of how I use my left and right brains would help me to gain control of my eating. At the very least I could use the concept as a metaphorical tool of some sort.

On the other hand, is that just me doing what I'm trained to do- analyze? Parse? Explain? Might that be what's gotten me in trouble in the first place?

AARGH!!

Dr. Bolte Taylor's presentation can be found here.

From Invisible to Visible

Allison — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:10:00 GMT

As I sit here drinking my tasty coconut & raspberry smoothie I'm thinking about my recent experience at a clothing store where I was looking at racks of stuff I wished I could fit into. I so hate the clothes I'm stuck with at my current size! I would rather hide in my house than be seen the way I look now. I started remembering....   About six years ago when I got down to a size 10, I became visible. Despite having lived in the same neighborhood for 10 years, I started receiving attention I'd never gotten before. Strangers held doors open for me, employees waved to me inside the grocery stores. Browsers among bookstore shelves would chat with me about their literature choices. It was like I mattered to people- I was one of them.

As I regained the weight, though, I apparently began to become invisible again. One day I realized that once again, few sales people wanted to come over to offer assistance, fewer people smiled at me on the street, and fewer strangers chatted with me anywhere.

I was very bitter at the discovery that a friendlier, more inclusive world was being denied me as an overweight person. In response, I began to avoid situations that reminded me of my exclusion. No more visits to clothing stores that sell to smaller people. No more looking into strangers' eyes with a smile or a hello. I talked myself out of a lot of public activities, like visiting cafes or seeing movies and shows with friends (or even by myself). I've gotten to the point of not leaving my house unless I have to. The result is a boring, unimaginative life. A rut.

In my happiest moments I have usually found myself around people, enjoying the sunshine and feeling a part of the world I lived in. I was having new, unpredictable experiences that kept my mind alert and joyful.   In my saddest moments I find myself stuck in a boring rut consisting of the same junk foods, following the same routines, holed up in my bedroom with only myself for company.

What to do? It seems the key for my health and happiness is to get out there and live the life I hope to live when I'm healthier. That means a little retail therapy to help myself feel better about my appearance right now. Some quality clothes and a good haircut, for example.   Next, I need to remain mindful of the reasons I want to be healthy, so rather than just imagining what I'll do as a healthier person, I think I need to start doing those things now. I may not be able to wear the smaller sizes, but I can visit the clothing stores and stay on top of the styles that "speak" to me so I can be motivated to stay on my healthy track. I can also visit cafes and bookstores, which I used to love doing, so that I can be around people and keep my mind alert with new and interesting things.   These are all things I've known I can do but it doesn't hurt to keep wrapping the ideas in new packages to get myself re-motivated.

All right, back to my coconut smoothie, and then... perhaps the movies!