aha, thank-you globalresult, i was eating a very low fat diet for just starting out. I am seeking for a way and surpriseingly am running in to many interesting people. There are a lot of people who are searching for that something and some just don't know what it is but still seek. {hope I am makeing some sense here} I have found myself going through jags of very negative feelings and am finding a way to forgive myself and that is giveing me a release from conflicts in my thinking. I have had some very biased Christian thinking and in some ways eating raw has challanged some areas in Christian teaching I have had in the past. I was feeling so much more centered while eating raw and long for that again.
I do understand what Brian is saying about letting go of the control when there is to much conflict Sometimes, perhaps we are forcing when we need to learn other things. and taking a step back can help us see just what is really going on. A different perspective so to speak.

I applaud you for going the low fat fruit way not many are willing to embark on this path.

So your stonger than you think.

Just remember you will have many different thoughts no one in this world right now has always positive thoughts.

So negative thoughts are just that thoughts simply watch them, aknowledge them and let them go.

The vibration of this world is not as such but in time will change to a completly postive place. It is simply mater of a cleanse of the earth that's all.

If you eat cooked food remember it is an emotional issue not a nutrient issue.

Unless your in prison aways try to choose the best option.

You will become stronger for this you will say "Hey this food doesn't have any control over me" I am in charge and choose you when I want to.

This is wha raw is about for me and that is seeing where your at on a physical, mental and spiritual level.

Thank you all for your feedback.

David - yes, the ultimate healing is self realization.

WY - and there is even more things that need to be addressed in addition to what we both mentioned in terms of having a healthy lifestyle.

Sundancer, la_veronique, gorillawar, pakd4fun, fruitarianfitness, ruby, soraya, dewe - thank you.

EZ-Rider - I love the Serenity prayer.

anuiyer7 - self examination is crucial to healing that which is keeping us in pain.

Loretta - it sounds like you are really getting the hang of the raw foods and seeing health build on many different levels.

cy - I agree about the healing being a process. We need to remember that is it always going on, and we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that we are done.

Ariel55 - It sounds like the universe is moving you towards some like-minded people, which is a gift for you. I am glad you rediscovered veganism.

globalresult - I've been eating high fruit for over 6 years now. The beginning of that high fat started at 20% fat, but over 2 years it dropped under 10%.

zella - There is a place where control serves. And there is place where it becomes abusive. Its about paying attention to how it feels that you know when it has gone from serving to no longer serving.

yogi33 - What we think plays a huge part in how we feel about ourselves.

rawangel - Bringing these kinds of feeling to the surface and seeing them clearly allows us to let them go. Its when they are hidden and unseen that they have their greatest power over us.

happyway - I agree about proper breathing. The breath awareness in the hatha yoga I do represents about 95% of the benefit of the hatha. For me, breath gets my mind quiet and provides the vehicle for consciousness.

rawgosia - I am glad that my post served you. Its serendipitous that it was so timely for you.

pampam - Congrats at looking at your emotions. I came from a background where emotions were suppressed (this is typically Japanese) and it took some practice for me to get in touch with what I was feeling. Also "losing the shields" was a big surprise for me, and I found my meditation and hatha yoga practice really served to temper me to these new energies.

globalresult - Yes, many eating issues are emotionally based. However knowing this does not free us from these issues. What does free us is to observe ourselves, both when we are in it and after it is over, and raise our consciousness to see where the emotional self is driving and consciousness/presence has placed itself asleep in the back seat. One other point - one has to pay attention to if the discipline is serving or not serving. Again, its paying attention to how it feels that determines this.

I have seen so many times where a person eating a raw vegan diet has experienced very poor health on the diet, and once they re-introduce foods that desensitize the body and shut down feeling, they get better. Of course this is not real healing, its just that the wound is now protected behind a shield, and while the person may look better, the wound and pain are still there, but hidden.

And of course the person blames the raw vegan diet, citing deficiencies and the general unsoundness of the diet. And yes, when they introduced cooked foods back into the diet (or superfoods or whatever), they returned to their old health and their old bodies again.

However, if you pay attention to how the person's energy feels and if you can see their face, you can feel their pain. And until the person deals with and releases this pain, they will not be free.

Bryan,

Yes I agree.

It takes a courageous soul to go within and low fat raw is the quickest way to expose many things.

For some unkown reason many people associate food as acceptance, love and feeling good.

All this can be accomplished without food and in the end it is all in our heads.

THANK YOU bryan, your post really hit home for me. perfect timing.

ain't life grand like that?

Bryan,
You've explained how I feel exactly a person should transition to a raw lifestyle. The mistake of many people is that there is some "magical cure" behind everything and they hope that by changing their diet, all of their problems will melt away and they will feel great. In a way, it's not good that some people who have gone raw only describe how good they feel afterwards and not the process to which they transitioned their diet.
Right now, I can say I agree with you, because it's getting easier and easier to accept the change of finally engaging in the raw food diet. (other then the fact that I've been slowly changing on other diets and have experience, 7 months vegetarian, to now 1 and a half years vegan) Every day I want to engage in eating only fruit and greens, nuts, seeds and what have you. The reason for not jumping in IS that my mind is not prepared, and that i DO want to get the very best out of this. I have so much time to live and heal, and until I finally get that craving for overall health and stability in my head to it's highest intensity, I will continue with what makes me feel stable now, while still learning more everyday to make me feel more comfortable with it. No abuse here, man.

Mind and Body definitely need a balance to live, live live.

-Chloe

Bryan, what a great post! I really needed that at this moment in my life. I am "struggling" with raw food right now, eating more cooked than usual, but now I kind of know why. Also, I'm allowing myself to start dealing with heavy emotional issues. I understand completely about the shield we create with heavy foods/alcohol, etc. I can so clearly see that I am doing this and have done this for so long! It's scary to let that shield go but I know it is inevitable for me. There is awareness and consciousness eating raw where there once was none. Thanks for the thought put into that post!

Jennie

I like to share one more thing about this shield we create to keep the energies and pain out. While the shield is effective at keeping the pain suppressed it also keeps out the love. This love is everywhere in our reality and in our world, and we can't feel it if we are living behind a shield. This is why people shrink as they get older, their hearts become more protected and closed and their musculature contract as if the brace themselves against the world. I have seen women in their 60s who after working on themselves lose the big worry wrinkles on their faces and their bodies become more supple and they seem to lose 15 to 20 years of aging as they quit constantly defending themselves against the world and the reality.

wow-

Amen

and more yeah- that's right!

Bryan- you really hit it dead on.

raw to me is like the world between worlds in C.S. Lewis- a safe, stable place to launch into new worlds. but you can't depend on it to be your world. it's a lauching off place.

it's nice to have a place where we all can see that.

peace-

I have just registered here and am very excited about being able to take my health to where it needs to be!

bryan, Your words are so true and it takes a lot of effort to achieve a completeness of mind , body and spirit. I have been working on this for many years and have progressed to thinking hard about my diet and have decided that being 'RAW' is the only way to go to achieve the life I want to live.

Thanks, Lexie

Bryan -

thank you. So much of what you said is what I need to hear right now. I have been 100% raw for a number of years, trying different approaches to it (mono, low-fat, not low-fat, etc) and get quite caught up in doing it "right." When I don't feel good, I immediately go back to that and read posts about people saying that you MUST eat low fat, or don't eat past noon, or don't eat....and it just tweaks me and awakens an orthorexic monster in my head. Talk about control issues....

Anyways, this is helpful as when I feel peace I feel better. I feel my best when I don't worry about what I am eating and just eat what I want (always raw vegan and whole foods) and don't get caught up in what to eat when and all those boundary issues.

Bryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...as they quit constantly defending
> themselves against the world and the reality.

Now those are some of the best words I've seen in my life. Besides, I don't have that much energies to do that.

All the Best,
Wong