I have not attended the Raw Spirit Festival yet..My impressions of the 2007 & 2008 festivals, which I gained from reading hundreds of posts here & on other forums, is this..Over the past 3 years this festival has morphed from one that originally celebrated raw foods that were minimally processed into one that seems destined to become a platform for companies selling highly processed raw "Super" foods..Looking at the descriptions in Steve's post of the foods that he noticed at the festival can lead to no other conclusion..

Highly processed raw foods are helpful to people in transition..As most people come to realize, it is best to make the transition period as short as possible..For some, this might be weeks; for others months, perhaps a year or longer..

As I have observed the raw community & myself over the past 2 years, several facts have become abundantly clear..First, changing the way that one eats from a SAD diet to a 100% raw one is as difficult, if not more so, than breaking any other known addiction..Second, at it's core, a 100% raw diet is much simpler with far fewer taste sensations available for the brain to process..The SAD diet has an exponentially greater number of differing tastes for our brains to process & enjoy..

The stark contrast between the two diets of tastes for the brain to process is one reason that people reach out for these highly processed snacks.. It is also why raw sites, such as Alyssa Cohen's, place so much emphasis on recreating & mimicking everyday SAD foods with raw counterparts that look & smell as close to the SAD original as possible..

It is my belief that once a person starts to clean out their digestive tract, their cells, & their brains that they will begin to notice the most subtle differences in the tastes of their raw foods..So, the abundance of taste sensations that exist within a SAD diet will eventually return if & when the raw vegan allows themselves to become clean..

It is truly sad that a festival that supposedly embraces the concept of raw veganism would not have a single vendor offering juices, smoothies, & fresh raw fruits or vegetables to the festival goers..

Bruce

Balto chef are you from Spain?



Anyways, I agree with you. It has. DW says cacao brings people to raw foods and of course, its so stimulating..anything to take us out of our minds, right?


But Thanks to people like DG, I can see clearer ,

he may be too extreme, but there is a balance..


I am reading his book, he tears apart the Tree of Life, makes fun of the live blood analyses and the fat filled nut patties

Yes it is rather comical to be called a Raw Festival after all.

I hope that people starting seeing what DR. G. is trying to convey just remember he benefits financially in no way for communicating this message.

Many people ask is it Raw and get all freaked out about it and instead they should be asking "is it healthy".

Right do you think its not good to be too pure too raw truly raw?

Because that might be orthorexic no?

Yes,

One has to decide what is real health.

I have seen it to often energy being wasted on unhealthy thoughts.

Now Ones thoughts is a good gauge of true health.

Of course only we know what our treu thoughts are and where we are at because we only know if we are honest with ourselves or not.

hi big G!--

q. #1

You said: 'just remember he benefits financially in no way for communicating this message.'

But doesn't he benefit tremendously by having people then go and buy his book? Seems to me the more he lectures the more he sells his book.

q. #2

Are you Big George, whom I remember from the '90s? If so... HI!!!!!!!!
(if not, 'hi' anyway!)

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Who is Big G

Kwan,

Thanks it is nice to meet you as well.

One has the right to earn a income from my experience the buying of the book is optional just like the message.

The book could save someone a lot of unnecsessary challenges or better yet open up new possibilities but a book is just a book what you do with the knowledge acquired is the key.

Yes I have been on the side lines for awhile watching all this drama unfold.

Everything has it's place and time.

I am suprised you remembered me.

In these times worrying about trivial matters simply will not be to your benefit.

>Yes I have been on the side lines for awhile watching all this drama unfold....
In these times worrying about trivial matters simply will not be to your benefit.<

Big G--
Not sure what you were referring to-- are you talking about the drama in this thread? Trust me, I'm not worrying, about Doug Graham or about the bail-out.

:-)

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Hi Bruce

Just to say that I was at Raw Spirit 2008 and there were a few vendors (admittedly not many) offering juices and smoothies, and fresh fruit.

I 'declined' the 'superfood' smoothies at one stall (very expensive!), but had a raw (from memory, pretty 'natural' (!)) smoothie at another, and the Hippocrates stall was handing out fresh watermelon (free). Another stall was selling yellow-fleshed watermelon (a new experience for me). One stall was selling young coconuts (lovely ones - lots of juice, lots of jelly).

There was also a Farmers' Market section selling lots of fresh fruit.

Love

Debbie Took
www.rawforlife.co.uk

Kwan,

My comment was not directed at you but to anyone who is worrying about trivial matters.

If it is healthy than eat it and move on.

Dr. G. is a descent soul it is great to see he has the courage to step into this type of environment and shed some light on the "DarK" raw movement.

Big G really needs some punctuation in his posts.

debbietook Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Bruce
>
> Just to say that I was at Raw Spirit 2008 and
> there were a few vendors (admittedly not many)
> offering juices and smoothies, and fresh fruit.
>
> I 'declined' the 'superfood' smoothies at one
> stall (very expensive!), but had a raw (from
> memory, pretty 'natural' (!)) smoothie at another,
> and the Hippocrates stall was handing out fresh
> watermelon (free). Another stall was selling
> yellow-fleshed watermelon (a new experience for
> me). One stall was selling young coconuts (lovely
> ones - lots of juice, lots of jelly).
>
> There was also a Farmers' Market section selling
> lots of fresh fruit.
>
> Love
>
> Debbie Took
> www.rawforlife.co.uk


Thanks, I stand corrected..

It's just sad that the emphasis has been moving away from fresh natural fruits & veggies towards the whole cacau, noni, kombucha super food aspect of raw foods..

Especially when so many of the so-called "Super Foods" are not truly raw when looked into closely..

Bruce

Hi Bruce

I agree...

which of the 'superfoods' are you thinking of?

Love

Debbie Took
www.rawforlife.co.uk

Brian :-)

Bruce,

I agree and the challenge is do you trust those that are saying it is Raw?

Never seen a tree with bottles or plastic bags growing out of them.

The #1 B12 Supplement used by millions.

www.getsuperb.net/13054098

Sorry Bruce - replying to my own message, I can see you that you did list three 'superfoods' you were thinking of!

Love

Debbie

***Dr. G. is a descent soul it is great to see he has the courage to step into this type of environment and shed some light on the "DarK" raw movement.***

What is the dark raw movement? Is it the cacao or is it the superfoods not being really raw, are any of them raw at all? I know agave is not raw, although apparently you can get some raw agave and it is clear, is that true? I find myself not knowing what to believe any more

I was happy with superfoods a little while ago although something never really felt quite right about it all but I couldn't put my finger on it exactly. With recent events coming to light,ie what dr doug graham has said, I can see more clearly what is going on, but it is difficult to sort the chaff from the wheat so to speak. Some supplements are useful aren't they such as B 12 for some people.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2008 06:26PM by Ariel55.

Yes I recommend a sublingual B12 supplement and when you think about it how much value does a goji berry have over some fresh ripe fruit?

Maybe if you ate the goji berry in a fresh states but shipped so far away and coming to you in a plastic bag does this sound like a super food?

I am glad you where able to see this many don't and continue to waste money.

Take Care,

Big G.

I've often wondered how come if these "super foods" were so super, the people living around where they grow aren't any healthier than anybody else.

Yes, that is true, I feel quite silly now, as I did believe it all for a while and I never felt any better actually I felt worse, and then I kept searching for more and more different stuff and I thought I was so clever cos I knew all the latest super foods and now I kind of realise I've been had and lost the plot to some degree.

Of course fresh local foods are going to be better, it seems so obvious now.

Thanks!