This one was taken a couple of years ago (1/7/07). I don't
know what she looks like now.
For me, when I think of a 'Raw Food Guru', or even a 'Spiritual Guru',
I envision perfection in human form.
As many of you have said..."look to yourself for the answer", "be your
own Guru", etc. You'll never find it in another person.....WY

[farm1.static.flickr.com]

Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As many of you have said..."look to yourself for
> the answer", "be your
> own Guru", etc. You'll never find it in another
> person.....WY


I like the picture posted by WY. Victoria is big and beautiful, and I love the dress!

Really though, I don't care how anyone else looks (except their smile), and I wish I cared less about how I look! None of us know what exactly Victoria eats anyway, so I don't know of any reason at all why her looks would be an issue.

Seems it might be more productive to discuss "green smoothies" or some other bit of info that Victoria has graciously brought to the raw food table.

I admire Victoria for openly discussing some of her personal issues with food. She deserves our support and respect. Isn't that what this raw food forum is for?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2009 03:54AM by suncloud.

A quote from Japanese poet Matsuo Basho: "Seek not to follow in the footstep of the masters. Seek what the masters sought."

But make sure the master is not a fraud and a charlatan out to make a buck or two!!

After thinking about this thread some more I would like to add to my previous post:
Every raw foodist you meet or ever will meet is going to be a product of the health challenges in their lives and their bodies ability to cope with those challenges. The effects of lifestyle ranging from food choices to drug store drugs they have taken and everything in between are all going to have an effect on a person's health. Its possible that the people who have learned the most have had the most to learn.

She is a well-meaning person, but she doesn't exercise, she doesn't bath and she only discovered "greens" a few years ago. A person's appearance says it all. Either you live the life or you're just talk.

I say if you need inspiration, look to those that have what you want, theres no need to judge anyone else on how they look.

JS

JERICHO SUNFIRE-BASIC TRAINING
www.jerichosunfire.com

Nobody knows everything. It's a puzzle, and everyone in the entire world carries a few pieces, Nobody carries all the pieces. Each of us is responsible for collecting the pieces and putting them together in a way that we think works best for us and for the whole picture! Victoria might know something that could be very helpful, even to a person who is already very fit.

If we look at someone - anyone - and decide they have nothing to teach us just because we don't think we'd like to look the way they look, then woe is us! - because we'll always be missing out on a lot of very valuable information, and our puzzle will always have great big holes!

It's about the information. It's not about the person.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's about the information. It's not about the
> person.
I like the way you're standing up for Victoria.
For me, it is about the person. I don't understand how she can present
herself before a group of people looking the way she does. I'd be
too embarrassed. Would someone please tell me what's going on in
her mind?....WY

Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> suncloud Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It's about the information. It's not about the
> > person.
> I like the way you're standing up for Victoria.
> For me, it is about the person. I don't understand
> how she can present
> herself before a group of people looking the way
> she does. I'd be
> too embarrassed. Would someone please tell me
> what's going on in
> her mind?....WY

Maybe Victoria presents with a clear conscience.

Wheatgrass Yogi, I think that's a little harsh... "looking the way she does". Just to clarify, do you mean ABOUT RAW FOOD or do you mean in general? If you mean about raw food you could have something of a point, if you mean in general I think you're being *exceptionally* harsh and I wipe my hands of that kind of talk. People don't have to look good to talk about things. I do agree that they could find someone better-looking than Boutenko etc.

If I was going to be EXTREMELY cynical and a conspiracy-theorist, I would say maybe the food giants support Boutenko and pay her under the table.

Advertising is worth billions and billions every year, especially for food because it's so feelings-based, that's why they spend so much on it. Millions are becoming more and more interested in raw foods, they'll see Boutenko, feel sick after it and are turned off raw foods... that equates to billions of dollars over the long term and millions for one organisation such as the USDA alone... only one person needs to be in on it and the funding could be disguised as something else... doesn't seem so far-fetched does it...?

All for a simple task of putting a bad-looking woman there. If I hadn't experienced the miraculous power of raw foods myself, then (and God help me for saying this) I'd be taken in by it and say: "look at that fat cow, the raw foods obviously don't really do anything".


Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------
> suncloud Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It's about the information. It's not about the
> > person.
> I like the way you're standing up for Victoria.
> For me, it is about the person. I don't understand
> how she can present
> herself before a group of people looking the way
> she does. I'd be
> too embarrassed. Would someone please tell me
> what's going on in
> her mind?....WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2009 09:21PM by SuperInfinity.

WY, I think you're clearly speaking the way many people may feel.

But only Victoria can correctly say what's going on in her mind. She may have truths to share, whether she happens to be following her own advice or not.

Just the fact that she's out there as an overweight person, and subjecting herself to everyone else's criticism (she must be aware of this), is admirable in itself.

There is no reason for Victoria - or anyone else - to be embarrassed about their looks. People who are embarrassed about their looks are.....vain. Maybe Victoria is not.

Vanity can have its good points, like when it's used as a tool for promoting a healthier lifestyle for ourselves. But it can also be a huge hangup. What if a person is so vain that a little imperfection - or a big one - keeps them home all day because they don't want to face the world? That would not be good, right? So, should Victoria do that? Of course not!

Good for her for getting out there and giving to others whatever she has to give! No one is forced to listen to her or agree with her if they don't want to!

I admire people who have the courage to act in the face of obstacles that they are challenged to overcome.

If we who are vain (like myself, unfortunately) choose to transfer our personal expectations onto others, we're surely doing them and ourselves an injustice - since there's so much more to everyone than their looks!

Victoria is not pretending that she's perfect. Thank goodness for all the raw food gurus who don't pretend they're perfect!

I wish I'd picked up more from my mother about the vanity thing. My mother was totally unvain. In my favorite photo of my mother, she is 55, alone, wearing a bathing suit and standing in a shallow river at Yosemite Park. She is gorgeous, looking up at the sky, with a beautiful smile on her face, the filtered sunlight beaming down through the trees upon her uplifted face and body. Her legs are plump with dimples of exposed cellulite, and she is wearing an ugly white bathing cap, but she obviously could not care less. It's a beautiful picture, and I will treasure it forever.

A few years later, my mother went on a juice fast for a month (after reading a book by Dr. Aerola). She looked great in her 60s but didn't care much about that. She cared about how she felt; and anyway, she just loved learning something new! My mother had no intention of staying raw or vegan, but I still appreciated that she shared her juice-fasting experience with me.

All other people are our family. All people are our mothers, our fathers, our children, our sisters and brothers, our grandparents and our grandchildren. All of our family suffers the consequences from mistakes. Hopefully we recognize our own imperfections in the imperfections of others, we empathize with them, we hope for their speedy recovery, and we pick up something from them to learn..

I like the way Fruit Faery put it:

The Fruit Faery Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe Victoria presents with a clear conscience.

Bryan, what shall we name this dead horse? *LOL*

Can we move on now ??

*****************************
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson

suncloud wrote:

>I admire people who have the courage to act in the face of obstacles that they >are challenged to overcome.

>Victoria is not pretending that she's perfect. Thank goodness for all the raw >food gurus who don't pretend they're perfect!

suncloud
I agree with your comments.

I feel that there is an emanation of honesty about this woman.

Ok, so she may not 'look the part'. She may even struggle with walking her talk, but i do feel that she believes in what she promotes.
I feel that this is where she finds her strength and focus.

ffx

plainlydressed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Can we move on now ??
Okay by me, but I'm really not ready. A persons
Looks speak volumes about that person.
Picture me moving on....WY