That's what I figured, Jennie, but I wasn't going to declare them.  I declared some fruit from Belgium, and then I was stuck in customs that threw everything out, and I missed my connecting flight.  My entire trip took me 1 and a half days to get home!  I felt that if I just didn't say anything, then they wouldn't have noticed.  I mean, with the stories I heard about Australia's customs, does anyone here know if the agents open up every piece of luggage, or are dogs sent to sniff everything? 

I was thinking of bringing some packaged hemp seeds, but I figured your country would confiscate them?  Or do they leave packaged things in our baggage alone?  What about any vitamin powders that are obviously vitamins? 

I'm thinking I should eat some hemp seeds before I arrive in Australia. I'm savorying my hemp protein powder more since I will be deprived of it.

Thanks, Gosia.  And thanks for your reply, meta.  I guess our attempt at addressing this issue isn't the important factor in this thread? Anyway, the fiber issue is a good point, but I thought that soluble fiber from fruit was absorbed quickly so as to also decrease the sugar rush.  When we eat insoluble fiber, it takes longer to absorb the food and therefore feel full, so we usually end up eating more, so I know we therefore consume more carbs. that way, even if they are more complex carbs. because they still are sugars.  And, the harsh fibers of insoluble fiber scrape through the colon walls in a somewhat damaging way.  Since no one is addressing this precisely, and we are trying to find out the real answer, then maybe this is what we have to settle with for now, or I could start my own thread?  I maybe will in the future if I care more.  I hoped also to engage in the discussion here with some people who are adamant toward their view, so I wanted to understand that view.  It seems, however, that that view is just a view with only some credible backing, therefore not being able to really explain my concerns. 

I do like what you said, Ivan, about feeling the energy of the food to see if we really want it.  I have totally become attuned to doing that, which is so neat.  But of course the emotional and mental short-circuits have happened!   

And earthmum, I find it so loving of you to treat your baby as you did/do while also finding balance for yourself.

Sincerely,
Theresa

Well, if anyone who believes in low carbs will PLEASE explain this to me, as I have wondering your reasoning for a long time, how are veggies and complex carbs. in general not seen as carbs.?  That has been illogical to me to where simple carbs. in fruits are villified since complex carbs. are converted to simple carbs.  I don't necessarily agree with the argument that, "simple carbs. make me feel unbalanced due to the sugar rush," and I will try to explain why. 

First off, when we do not eat a certain food group for a while, our body adapts to what we eat.  Usually, if we omit overt fats and then eat an avocado, for example, wow does it react strongly and even give the runs!  Same with eating very low calorie and then eating a date--I got a strong sugar rush!  Same with greens if not eating them for a while--I have to blend the greens to make them less harsh on the digestive tract.  And veggies are more harsh.  But, if we fast on water for many days, what food is most gentle on the body?  I have found that fairly sweet fruit, such as melons, pears, and others are amazing with no averse reaction.  That to me throws the sweet fruit and carb. idea out the window.  Am I alone in this?  I just find flaws in what I have heard about low carbs., for in addition, many of these people still eat grains and veggies, even cooked ones, so really, how healthy is that???   So, please take more effort in clarifying your beliefs.  I will respect your views.

I can see more about the replacing of good fats, but I just don't see it as being the end all for all.  It makes it seem like we are running on glycerol instead of glycogen, and yes, I have read articles, and that again makes no sense to me.  If people who believe in this can please enlighten me without smoothing over my two direct questions I asked about these topics and without going in circles, I would greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Theresa

I concur, Gosia.  I have time and time again found, however, that it is a typical response from anyone who is dogmatic to not respond to our questions and essentially say that we are against them, i.e. turning the tables on us by saying we are dogmatic when rather that person has no idea or even has a substantial idea about who we are, even when we plainly tell that person what we want, because if we don't agree with them, then we are just plain wrong.  I do not follow 811 exactly, and I have questioned it and expermented in other ways many times.  I know I function better on more fruit than fat, though, but my body is also different than other high-fruit eaters; every body is different to some fraction of a degree.  We do need to listen to ourselves as well as to others, I believe.

I admire your persistence, Gosia.  Rudy, thank you for a reply, but still I do not see much of any evidence or a substantial answer to my questions.  It seems you are basing everything on YOUR body and belief system, so why act as though you are the authority? 

Grant, I think your post was great toward your experience and think/know it will last a long time for you.  Sparta on!

Rudi, your post leaves me confused then.  I am asking the following questions because you are acting like an authority, so I would like to know your reasons for your diet:  

1.  Why do you eat bread since it is a complex carbohydrate (and cooked grains alter the amino structure, but that's another issue)?  Veggies are also carbohydrates for the most part.  Complex carbs. are broken down into simple carbs., so what's wrong with simple carbs.?  
2.  Are you saying our body runs on fat for energy and not carbohydrates? (i.e. glycerol instead of glycogen?)
3.  And, what is your source for saying that humans before your existence have not eaten sweet fruits?  Dates, possibly the sweetest fruit, for example, have been around for many thousands of years, and that has been in the Vedic culture of Egypt/Middle East (these religions share roots).

Thanks,
Theresa

Hi MB,

I am happy you found this forum, as it has been a pivotal place in my life as well.  I just want to add that raw foods are actually a big category with many ways of eating.  Since you say you are "addicted" to sugar, well, you can eat as much fruit as you care for here as long as you don't get the high brain from too many dates, e.g.!  I find that balancing the sweet fruits with greens or celery really does the trick.  There is so much misinformation about carbohydrates, for whole, unprocessed, raw vegan foods are essentially all carbohydrates except for the obvious avocado, coconut meat, and nuts and seeds (these still have some carbs).  We need carbs for energy as well as other functions with the added healthy nutrient density of raw foods.  Fruit fruit sugar is NOT similar to white sugar and also that of cooked carbs--I'm sensitive and can easily tell the difference. 

I think that Doug Graham's 80-10-10 book might be up your alley during the transition time to eat as much fruit as you care for, unless you do want more fatty stuff.  It is harder on the body and can create candida issues when we mix way too much sweet fruits and fats, so you can experiment and see what works best for you. 

Take care, and this step of yours is an excellent one!  Also, when you get your body moving from all the fruit energy, that helps quell depression.  Anti-depressants make us more depressed in reality, and they are all synthetic chemicals.  I think your openness here shows that you may not need that crutch anymore--it's time for a new chapter.

Sincerely,
Theresa

Does Ms. Wood have a background in nutritional science?  I have found that many raw leaders do not know much in this regard and have gone with their preference and research like any one of us here does.  Everyone knows that fresh-off-the-tree fruits are amazingly rich in nutrients that also rebuild our bodies, and due to the greater digestive ability, I'm sure those nutrients are better assimilated.  

But, I do recognize that a lot of sweet fruit does not do me well unless I exercise like crazy beforehand.  I always think we should go with how we best feel (with inner knowing and our body's reactions, of course), so if more good fats are great for people (and I find citrus is so lovely in a diet with extra fats), then good!

Awesome post, Les.  I knew about some of this but not all these details.  I will forward this letter onward.

Gosh, Jennie, I sure wish you were the organizer of potlucks near me!  You have the best plans for the get-togethers.  I would love to be able to not just eat whatever with people but to learn more about why we are doing it and how to do it better. 

Love,
Theresa

Rudolf,

I can decode your message--no, I am not the alternate to love with this.  It is interesting that you find yourself in judgment of others when they speak out of knowledge and experience rather than belief.  And it is also interesting that my words had more 'truth' in them than your belief of what proved itself to end up happening today. 

Doesn't a gospel have a verse that seems to be a loophole to your and that communicated message's reasoning of "either, or" in that we don't have to be aligned to their thinking but are still friends (which is odd when the bible is really "either, or")?  I.e., I know love (but you don't yet know that about me), and if they knew it too, then that frequency will be together without the grand orchestrated events and such of their coming to supposedly "save" us from whatever in their idea of numerology and resurrection/assension?  Hmm, can't I know love without "believing" what you and they do, or are you the only ones who have copyrighted it?  And I wonder also, what is their definition of love?  Sure seems to me to have lots of stipulations attached. 

Are you serious, Jennie?  Bummer that it's on my birthday, as I am not at all excited about this "desire" to come to our planet for whatever reason.  Their planet must have been messed up in order to want to take over ours and direct us so forcefully to their aim.  I went to the youtube site, and this is not an uncommon practice to take hold of people.  It happened to my mom for 3 decades and still tries to happen to her, but she now tells it to stop completely.  The alien energy went through her and wrote out "prophesies" of which many didn't come true, but some did.  They changed too as we changed in our awareness; the bottom line is that they wanted us to believe in them in order to create a self-fulfilled prophesy and further their agenda.  Hmm, why aren't people seeing it's not really our agenda from within but someone else's?  Aliens are already here by the way, but I don't necessarily want them to be.  I detest the manipulations.  If they were genuinely loving, it would be different, not what I've learned from the Galactic Federation's message. 

I know the bearer of this message won't care at all what I'm saying, but I just wanted to speak up to whoever might have their own mind to question this.

Hi Janita,

Thank you for your comments.  Gosh, I wondered if my thoughts could be seen that way, and lo and behold, you said something to that effect.  I really didn't mean anything in the sense of someone being "less than" to me.  I tried to convey that everyone is on their own path, but I was also just stating my thoughts that on a whole, sometimes people do get complacent and therefore stuck, and there really is so much more growth to be attained (myself included). 

I like to be able to speak up with my observations, even with whatever "off" feeling or day someone has, because that promotes a new awareness for that person to then think, "hmm, maybe I wasn't radiating my good self like I wish I was."  I am always open to constructive criticism also.  I sure wish I didn't write in a way that may have been judgmental--I was simply stating the energy that I felt, and from the energy of a message that is off to me, such as high fat versus low fat, or a certain message of "truth" in religion versus actual reality, etc., it is good to state dissimilarities so that more contemplation on both sides can be engaged. 

Take care.

Hi all.

I had an eventful last four days.  Everything is working out without me even planning it, which is great since I used to be a type-A personality! 

I drove down to Los Angeles to see my sister and primarily to see Jim for his layover that he extended for 2 days and that surprisingly escaped my memory since we barely talked about it.  It was truly "in the moment" with him in Arizona.  Well, it was better than I thought, and now there are no worries.   He told me that he read my entry here, hehe, and it's fine. 

You're right, Jennie, because there are so many layers upon which we cover our true self just to live in this often harsh world.  I was in Hollywood and stressful L.A., and I majorly flashbacked to my adolescence there, where I was "cool" and hardened because I was always the sensitive type, and I never felt accepted for being just me, hence my compromises to sometimes fit in but really to usually just survive and pretend I was happy.  I never wanted to allow fear to be normal, but fear runs this world.  At least now with looking back, I have a clear view, and what I really want is now unfolding because I now am living as me instead of others projected onto me. 

Interesting also with how the days progressed, and I just got an update phone call from my sister right now.  My newly vegetarian nephew got “discovered” on Saturday night at the mall.  We all did the stereotypical L.A. thing and went to an open casting for kids from a reputable company the next day, and he was chosen as one of the very few to progress and likely get signed.  Well, Jim and I were in Hollywood yesterday, and wow did the energy and symbolism there really dampen our moods.  All we saw were sex, drugs, death, and Reptilian/alien symbols.  Even a Universal Studios advertisement catered to kids showed the scariest monster as the picture.  I worried about my nephew being in that environment, but I was trying to convince myself that his purity and good sense could positively affect it by reaching the right people.  Well, my sister just told me that she got the worst feeling about it after their meeting with the agent this afternoon.  She was feeling emotional because she wanted to give him the best opportunity since he really wanted to act, and she believed in him with being a great person no matter what.  I was trying also to think that, well, there are probably lots of good people in this industry, so just stay open regardless of what really runs Hollywood and also Disney.  However, my sister decided after being handled strongly by the agent that it was not the right thing to do.  She thankfully confirmed with my nephew that he was intuitively feeling the same way.  We were all on the exact same page, and sadly but wonderfully, we are all right that what is ingrained in something with really not wanting to change (i.e. Hollywood), us people who are open to truth and freedom feel "off" toward that.  I just hope she continues discovering more about herself in this way. 

In a related note, Jim and I felt all that negative energy on the Venice Beach strip.   We were grounding each other in our good energy, so it gave us a protective shield it seems, and we felt separate but happy in our own world.  The open beach was nice and also reminded me of when I often went to the beach, and we of course did some bodyweight exercises at Muscle Beach.  Well, Jim really did them--SPARTA!!--and I again attempted a pull-up. 

Jim and I had some interesting raw adventures also.  We first went to Juliano's and OH MY GOSH, that food is the best raw restaurant food I've ever had.  It made me feel sick, though, because of how rich it was, but it was a fun, classy, and rare raw restaurant experience.  Juliano was there, and he talked to us briefly but only to pitch more of his creations.  He had a self-important, "Hollywood" feel about him.  The next day felt like I gained a pound from that food, so we thought, well, another day of this uncommon type of experience and that's it.  We went to Matt Amsden's low-key place practically down the street, and guess who we saw right outside the place?  David Wolfe.  Funny.  Jim didn't want to go up to talk with him, though, and I thought "why not since you gave him money to go to his retreat in Hawaii over the winter?"  Well, that was an experience for him to see what else in the raw community was out there, and he doesn't need to go back there.  So, the signature Matt burger was RICH and salty and felt fried to me!  But yes, it was very tasty.  I was feeling pretty much done with the gourmet thing, and this time, Jim felt sick.  It was still an experience.  Then, guess who walked in?  David Wolfe, Goji Girl, and another woman.  It was strange since when Mr. Wolfe looked at me and we locked eyes (we talked briefly and pleasantly 2 years ago when Harley wanted to meet him in Nor. California), he quickly looked away.  I smiled nicely when I passed him to go to the bathroom, but I felt and experienced absolutely nothing genuine from him.  Anyway, I observed a lot, and I know with whom I connect, although of course I still look to have some connection with everyone.  I found it quite appealing that Doug Graham actually answered a deep question I asked him at Raw Spirit.  I felt a very good vibe from that man.

There is a large raw community in the Los Angeles area.  To get my last raw experience from the co-op in Santa Monica this morning to help me on my long drive home today, I easily met another raw foodist in the large raw food aisle.  It seemed like everyone in the raw world is gourmet raw, and those people I saw aren't as fit and trim or healthy looking as they could be, but at least there is a big awareness toward the benefits of raw foods.  I wish the awareness was more toward optimum nutrition instead of medicinal/anecdotal thinking that I see is keeping people in the matrix loop of non-health; e.g, Goji Girl was still putting tinctures and herbs in her smoothie for pervasive acne after so many years on “the best raw foods ever”.  Yes, we all have health and stress hurdles to overcome, but it saddens me and even upsets me when hype generated from partial truths spreads to and influences the masses instead of pure, simple truth.  I don’t want to think negatively because there are all steps to uncover the layers of our “onion”, and many people do progress to more and more genuine truth, but many people also do not and therefore stay perpetually stuck due to somewhere within them not wanting to break free.

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts.  I feel renewed and more in touch with who I am apart from my past, so I am looking forward to more and more of a wonderful life for me in the now and in the future.

Yee haw! 
Love,
Theresa