JEAA article in issue 21, Fall 2003
The Journey to Rawdom: Vision
By Karen Knowler
When you first came across the concept of raw eating, do you remember what thoughts first crossed your mind or how you felt? Did you try to imagine how you would look or feel if you began it yourself? Or did your body and mind become all-consumed by your excitement as your mind filled with visions of an internal and external paradise? A life lived with excitement and enthusiasm and the energy to pull it all off? Or, perhaps, after months or years of ill health, you simply imagined getting well again, of feeling life pulse through your veins once more? Or maybe your first vision wasn't so positive and you simply didn't know what to expect, or your imagination ran away with you and created a rather more negative scenario based on fear of the unknown? Whatever it was for you, I'm willing to bet that, for most if not all of you, the visions you've had since then have been loftier, wider and deeper than you previously thought possible.
Sense of Vision
It's been my experience that my sense of vision has increased literally and figuratively since going raw. Before raw I didn't envisage anything of any consequence regarding my health, or my relationship with food. To be honest, I didn't even know there was anything to be thought on the subject you just eat and get on with life, don't you? So I thought. I didn't see it as a way of connecting myself more fully to the world I live in, to the earth, sea or sky, or to others around me. I didn't know that what I ate and didn't could clear my mind as well as my body, or allow me to feel things in a different, more intense and intuitive way then ever before. I didn't know that my mind would open itself to a whole variety of thoughts, insights and subjects previously outside my range of perception I thought I already had a complete and whole perspective on life! Goodness, so much has changed!
Over the past few years I have watched in awe as my life and my body have metamorphosised. I have seen the same for many many others too, those who have also chosen this lifestyle. For a large percentage, I'm sure, the changes which have ensued have usually been precipitated by a vision of some kind a vision of a fitter, healthier body, of clearer skin, brighter eyes and shinier hair, or, as often happens, visions of living a different lifestyle somewhere else, with a different routine or different climate.
It's a fact, however unquantifiable it may be, that different ideas - those of a brighter, lighter kind - tend to frequent detoxified minds much more often than those cluttered with emotional, mental and physical garbage. Think about it for a momentY How many different ideas about yourself and your world have you explored since changing your eating habits? I'm sure you'll be quite amazed when you think about it. Think of all the possibilities for your life which have become apparent to you along the way. Think of all the new hobbies or interests you've added to your mental to do' list. Think about all the new projects you've planned or the different types of avenues you've begun to explore thanks to that new influx of energy you've begun to experience. It can be breathtaking to recall just what kind of effect lightening your diet can have on your mind.
Inner Feng Shui
The reasons? I like to refer to it as inner feng shui. Feng shui is the practice (originally of Eastern origin) of arranging rooms or buildings in such a way that positive rewards' are attracted, whether it be better relationships, better health or greater prosperity. By default feng shui also encompasses space clearing, which means that all the unnecessary clutter is got rid of, allowing new, fresh air and energy to come into the space and cleanse it, opening it to fresher options, and attracting higher things, whether they be higher quality of thoughts, feelings, more inspiring ideas B anything. I feel our bodies are like that, and that the more fresh air we let in via the things we take in, be they positive thoughts, loving feelings or wholesome foods and drinks, the more our body aligns itself to a higher way of being. We feel lighter yet richer in every way.
When it comes to literally seeing things more clearly, it's funny how countless people have experienced a noticeable improvement in their eyesight since changing to a purer diet.
From a physical point of view this makes complete sense, as every part of the body is renewed and rebuilt using finer quality ingredients. The body simultaneously cleans itself of all the old unwanted debris which can often clog the body in all manner of ways. I know for a fact my eyesight has improved. I find it quite beautiful to ponder how our sense of vision becomes clearer and finer in both the real and non-real sense of the word, bringing with it yet more evidence that there is an ongoing relationship between things of the body, mind and spirit, if we could but focus long enough and gently enough to see it.
Vision for the Future
When it comes to having a vision of the future, I think this is where the two begin to come together very strongly for those who have been following a high or all raw diet for some time. To be able to see something clearly in your mind's eye what you really want for yourself or your life makes it far more likely that you will bring it to be. Whether it be a new you, a new home, a new job, a new way of living if you can use your mind as a filter for your highest aspirations and allow yourself to really see what you want Ah, there's magic to be had!
Along the way I have had many discussions with fellow raw fooders about what their aims are and where they feel they're going in life. It's interesting to note that most people eating a raw diet do tend to ask these bigger questions of themselves and are rarely content to carry on as before. Of course this does depend on where the person chooses to focus (again, note the sense of vision here). Some people see their diet as a big part of a large picture, while others see it as most, or all of the picture. As long as people see diet as the centre of their world, and a small world at that, all they will see is the food. For those who see their diet as integral to their lifestyle, merely some of the strands that enable the phenomenally strong bond between mind-body-spirit, they will be able to see above and beyond what others believe is there to be seen.
People like this meet the challenge of broadening their horizons head on and embrace the new breath of fresh air in their lives. They make big changes and choose to follow their heart, discovering more of who they are and what it means to be truly human and alive. For others, usually those who have been concentrating very heavily on food and food related issues, sometimes the feeling that anything is possible can be overwhelming and falls outside of the box for them B never before has food had such a dramatic impact on them, and surely this can't be right? It simply (and understandably) can be too much to have your reality chipped away at, even if the rewards of rebuilding it seem attractive.
I am sure that this, more than any other factor, accounts for the drop-off around the 1-2 year mark for many. Sometimes the perceived changes which need to be made to remain completely on the path' seem too great or impossible to tackle. It does take quite a lot of courage and vision to be able to go from stage to stage of detoxification-rejuvenation and not become bowled over by each new level of awareness as it reveals itself, but it is certainly achievable for those who truly wish to explore the alternatives.
Cycle of a Butterfly
I very much believe that the journey to rawdom mimics the life cycle of a butterfly. Think of our friend the caterpillar: he likes to hang out with his friends, to keep routine, to spend his days chewing on leaves and never straying far from the pack. However, one day, after several sessions of shedding his skin, for reasons we cannot fully know (other than to put it down to instinct), he decides his time has come and off he goes, alone, to find his resting place, away from everyone he knows and anything else which might detract from his process. Once at his resting place, he attaches himself to the twig, upside down, he may spin a cocoon, and prepares for something nothing short of a miracle.
From the outside nothing is visibly going on, but inside amazing changes are taking place. Does he know what's about to happen to him, or does he simply have a sense of it, a vision perhaps?
Do you see any parallels with your own story?
This is often the stage people get to, but once inside they panic. The doubts and fear creeps in, and because our instincts to blossom have been restricted most or all of our lives, rather than face the unknown. However much we intuitively believe it to be better or for our highest good, we go back to being caterpillars again, back to safety, back to comfort, back to familiarity.
But do we? Do we ever truly go back?
I don't think so.
Some choose to see the process through no matter how many doubts or fears creep in. So strong is their vision, their sense of possibility that, when all else seems too much, their vision is strong enough to pull them through.
For others, those who left the process and returned home, life can never truly be the same again. How can you forget what you've felt and seen when it was so very real? This is often where new patterns of destructive eating can replace the more recent cleaner eating. This destructive eating is often the only way to blot out that which disturbed us and rocked our world, if only for a few days or weeks.
Successive Metamorphosis
For those who see the process through I have seen wonderful things happen to them. Not that the journey ever ends of course, but each successive metamorphosis brings greater and greater rewards, rewards which previously we didn't consider rewards at all, not by material standards anyhow. These people invariably find that each rebirth becomes easier still, as stepping out of the comfort zone has become the new comfort zone and staying in the old zone feels decidedly uncomfortable!
When it comes to remaining happily and easily on a raw food diet, I do believe that all of us must go through the out on a limb' stage and brave the isolation for a while. I believe this is important and is actually unavoidable. In a world that's not yet set up to nurture and support individuals in the way they really should be, the practice of going it alone for a while (internally, not necessarily externally if the support is right) is the only way.
But only for a while. Butterflies are not solitary creatures, but they do stay true to themselves and stay butterflies, remaining majestic, beautiful and flying. Note how they migrate to warmer climes, how they literally need sunshine to enable them to fly at all. (Their tiny muscles need to be warm to work).
To this day I marvel at the effects a lighter, more natural diet can have on a person. As much and as often as I have tried to deny it, it remains the case. Are all of us designed to be butterflies? I'm not sure, or at least, if we are, not all of us are ready. Personally speaking I know I have entered the metamorphosis zone on many occasions, but not always successfully. In the early days I spent as much time backing out as I did trying to enter. In the end it got harder to back out and easier to move forward. It was always easier to move forward than to reverse if I was honest with myself, and much more pleasurable, ultimately. Now, years later, the lessons get bigger and the light gets brighter, and, although sometimes it is mildly tempting, I know I can never turn back. For me now, it is the only way to live. I am constantly shedding my skin and revisiting myself on different newly emerging levels. It's no longer about food (remember our friend the caterpillar, constantly munching), it's now purely about freedom (think butterfly). This is how I believe life should really be. It's about getting to the truth isn't it?
I invite you now, if you feel ready, to take 15 quiet minutes for yourself, to ask the question, to hear your heart, to listen well and bathe in the peace of honouring yourself fully. I invite you further to wallow in that space, that peace and that light and to have and to hold your vision.
What do you see? Is it beautiful, wondrous, awe inspiring? Know that its beauty reflects yours yes, really. In this day and age of fast living and trash culture, do you see the gap widening between yourself and many of your peers? Do you wonder where you're going while they are standing on apparently safe ground? I know, it can seem scaryY but consider your options. Which side of the precipice will you stand? Will you step back or jump forward into a new reality? Ultimately I ask you, and to come to clarity you will need to ask yourself: Am I ready to live my highest and greatest vision?
Karen Knowler is director of The Fresh Network Europe's largest raw food organisation based in the UK author of Feel-Good Food: A Guide to Intuitive Eating, editor of Get Fresh! magazine, and a popular international speaker and presenter. She offers personal, Go Raw! Life Coaching Sessions, helping people to go and stay raw and get the most from their life. For more details on any of the above, see www.fresh-network.com
http://www.justeatanapple.com/a_journey_rawdom.html
