Chocolate Conspiracy

Or: Chocolate Addict Discovers Chocolate Genius at Raw Spirit East

This past weekend was the East Coast Raw Spirit Festival, the first one on the East Coast for some time, these events are born out of CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) Heavenly (Happy) Oasis's desire to bring Bliss to the far corners of USA via raw food and raw community. It took place in Upper Marlboro and - to avoid repetition - you can read all about the details here, and find out how to attend the Arizona festival in September. Also you can follow Pure Jeevan's Jim Dee over the next week as he describes his road trip to, and experiences at RSF East.

Another time I'll talk more about my experiences at the Raw Festival but for now I want to introduce you to AJ.

This is AJ.

Hidden away down by The Valley Stage, his booth was (imho) not given enough light, kudos or space... but then I am an unapologetic Chocolate addict and don't understand the mental machinations of those who are not blessed with this same affliction.

AJ is the 'CEO' for Chocolate Conspiracy, a company out of Ridgefield, CT and he brings forth (at this time) five divine flavors of raw chocolate that - after ample samples - I decided were the best raw choc I have ever tasted. If you have ever tried to make raw chocolate bars (well, why wouldn't you really...?) you will know that the tempering, sweetening, non dairy aspects can present huge taste, texture and durability problems, but AJ has conquered them all.

I bought a selection of flavors from his booth early in the day and as the temperature climbed to around 98 degrees I wondered if my money was going to turn into chocolate sauce. Miraculously they stayed intact and believe me when I say, for raw chocolate, this is a miracle.

and

As to taste and texture, this is something I am not officially qualified to comment on, as wordy as I can be, I don't have the language for it. You know how wine connoiseurs say things like 'fruity bouquet' and 'complex mixture of blackberry with crab apple overtones and a hint of pine bark' (huh?) So real commentary can be left to the real experts while I will just advise you - if you want to change the course of your Destiny, put AJ's chocolate on your bucket list.

and

So, that's it?

and

Yup, just about.

and

I wanted to make a huge plug for someone who quite clearly has talent and could use our support as he makes a name for himself. If you have the inclination, go to his site and spend some dosh - I recommend Dark, Mint and Maca but I'd eat any flavour and not just because 'I do Chocolate'. They are delicious and inspiring and of course, because they are raw chocolate you'll get the bonus side effects - or maybe in the case of raw chocolate it's the full effects (or front effects - what is the opposite of side effects? It can't be 'other side effects' surely?) - of self respect, inner harmony and at-one-ment. All of which gets passed on to your fellow human beings.

More pics of an open bar before it vanished, quite mysteriously...

Once You Start to Awaken

This quote from John Donohue was passed onto me by an IKH classmate (Thanks Daniel!) and I was inspired to share it on my blog, it speaks to mine and I am sure so many others' current journey:

Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns. Now you realise how precious your time here is. You are no longer willing to squander your essence on undertakings that do not nourish your true self; your patience grows thin with tired talk and dead language. You see through the rosters of expectation which promise you safety and the confirmation of your outer identity. Now you are impatient for growth, willing to put yourself in the way of change. You want your work to become an expression of your gift. You want your relationship to voyage beyond the pallid frontiers to where the danger of transformation dwells. You want your God to be wild and to call you to where your destiny awaits.


From “The Question Holds the Lantern”
Reflection from Conamara

Happy Birthday to Me!

I recently had my 41st birthday and to celebrate I did not bake this cake - a raw Carrot and Goji Berry delectation... it truly was awesome as everyone who tasted it remarked - once again I have Café Gratitude to thank for the masterful recipe.

As part of my celebration I had a party and asked those who felt so inclined, to bring poetry, so Rumi, Hafiz and David Whyte also made an appearance along with several others.

And after the poetry? Music from two of my accomplished friends Mr Paul Carlson and Mr Larry Levine (in the house). My apologies for no pictures of the bash other than my artwork in the kitchen. Next time...

So as I reach the end of this short post I would like to thank Ms Dannielle Wade for the sizable metamorphic rock which now lives on my coffee table (to the exclusion of all else) and assure her son, Dash, that 'it likes it here'!

int

In closing, I give you Mr David Whyte with

Everything is Waiting for You

Everything Waits for You
Your great mistake is to act the drama

as if you were alone. As if life

were a progressive and cunning crime

with no witness to the tiny hidden

transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny

the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,

even you, at times, have felt the grand array;

the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding

out your solo voice You must note

the way the soap dish enables you,

or the window latch grants you freedom.

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

The stairs are your mentor of things

to come, the doors have always been there

to frighten you and invite you,

and the tiny speaker in the phone

is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into

the conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you.

Philosopher's Pie & Lemon Meringue Notes

Raw Lemon Meringue Pie, people... pretty cool stuff huh?

Just thought I would show off.

'Gor' (to quote Miggery Sow) raw you says, how's that then?

Check out Café Gratitude's book Sweet Gratitude for this confection.

No other reason for this part of the post - just showin' off!

And now for something completely different... nope, not a man with a stoat through his head, but this - 'get your wisdom on'.

thanksd dhkslaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Philosopher's Notes
Concentrated Wisdom for Your Hero's Journey

For those of you who have managed so far without the aid of Brian Johnson's expertise, then it's time to stop struggling.

Brian's website gives you the 'Cliff Notes' on all those 'improving' books you keep meaning to read by such authors as Byron Katie, Ken Wilber, Paulo Coehlo, Joseph Campbell and Wallace Wattle. Titles include Rumi Daylight, The Science of Being Great, Ask and It Is Given, Loving What Is, Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, The Power of Now and Spiritual Economics. Over 50 titles as a downloadable pdf and mp3.

Each Philosopher's Notes runs about 6 pages, the whole book is reduced to nuggets of wisdom. The bones. And I have no idea how Brian manages to capture, in these short essays, the essence of each literary work. He is a talented artist.

Brian offers this extraordinary service for free - there is the option to upgrade and for a nominal $20, however its not a hard sell and you'll get all you need by just subscribing gratis. I personally think supporting him financially would be a service to mankind but, hey - what do I know? I write a Blog in my spare time...

Never a Dull Moment

`Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, `I - I hardly know, sir, just at present - at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

So I woke at 4.16am and decided to blog - yeah I know... but life is that weird for me right now - and then I wondered where I should start? It's been a year after all and there is so much to report:

• My raw and living foods diet (regime not restriction).


• IKH work and imminent graduation (31st May 2009, for those who care).


• My continued journey and education by Nature, with Plant Spirit Essences (PSE) - an archaic term for me now that another year of 'study' has gone by - and Nature vibrations. Hmm... this may be the starting point - I shall come back here if it is.


• 5 Rhythms comes to DC and I learn to 'sweat my prayers'.


• Prayer. Singing my prayers and how my prayers are and always were answered, I just didn't know that was what was happening.


• Kathleen Thomas; extraordinary acupuncturist and healer. A true Lightworker.


• A call to catering; a request to cater raw dessert for 70 at Martin Luther King Day and 44th Presidential Inauguration Dinner hosted by Wholeness for Humanity.

And then there is my personal journey of transformation which underlies the fabric of my daily life - is in fact a reflection of and at the same time is fueled by these manifestations listed.

Let's just start somewhere, huh?

I once asked The Universe (*smiles* - Morning Nancye!) about healing and whether we only had 'one shot' when things came our way. Let me open that up a bit more: I must have been concerned at the time that when opportunities for growth/transformation come into my life, if I don't grab them then and there - thats it, they are gone and so is my chance at healing/revealing in that aspect. (This is a no doubt a much shorter version of what I was actually thinking about, and probably how I worded it to The Universe (TU) however, you have the gist.) As is usually the case, TU responded instantly, it said "How many mathematical equations end in the answer 6?" (Must have been channeling my old Math teacher, Miss Abraham! Or perhaps TU in its infinite wisdom decided to manifest in that particular relationship as a Japanese Roshi and give me a Koan. Rascal....) I got it of course, instantly and the beauty of the answer delivered in this way is it continues to unfold for me, and I remember it and the understanding implicit in it whenever I need to.

The answer? (You probably figured it out for youself.) Infinite. And beyond. Beyond Infinite? Well, this is some personal understanding of non-duality but I think if I follow this thread I will get lost. Another time perhaps.

So if there are infinite equations that result in the answer 6, then there are infinite healing journeys that result in wholeness and revelation (or 6 to use the analogy) and no matter what I choose to do I am still moving towards 6. Working 'backwards' 6 being the end result, there are infinite choices in Life and what I choose in the moment defines, or maybe potentiates is a better word, the next moment. Both words are good in fact. Ergo, if I miss an opportunity as it manifests in a certain form, TU will send it in another depending on what I did choose. Enter free will, and also the underlying knowing that there is some form of Destiny - Destin-ation.

(Here my Ego rejoices at the fact it is not being herded like some mindless, choicesless creature and yet sings with Joy because there is inherent safety in the idea that no matter what I do, I am always 'on track' I am always 'headed home'.)

This means my friends that, the pulse of existence, the energy of Life - however you personally define the movement and life in all things, its expression and its direction - is towards more, not less. And it is, to use a term recently given to me (Thanks Jason!) Anti-entropic.

What a lark! Do you see how that lets us all 'off the hook', how now we get to have more fun and can relax, not take things and ourselves so bloody seriously...?

This also opens up into (for me anyway, it starts to unfold in this way, for you it may unfold differently - see my previous few paragraphs!) ideas such as manifesting, the laws of attraction as some call them, co-creation, consciousness and its relationship to defining our Reality. Individual Reality as opposed to the same Reality for eveyone and so much more.

But enough, Alfred Hitchcock once said that the duration of a movie should be no longer than the capacity of a [wo]man's bladder and I believe that's about Blog posts too.

Check out the movie Leap. Email me if you want to explore PSE as a healing modality and investigate how I work with clients in this area and above all, relax, enjoy yourself and I'll 'see' you next time I post.

'Take heart, truth and happiness wil get you in the end. You can't lose in this game. Have fun. It goes on too long to be taken seriously all the time.'

John & Lyn St Clair Thomas, Eyes of the Beholder

The Leap: The Movie

It's been a while - I know.

I have much to report and yet, as I am in the middle of some big shifts (when am I not, right? and yet this feels tectonic...), I don't have all the words to tell you how I am or what is occurring. Once things coalesce I will write a much longer blog post, bringing you all up-to-date.

In the meantime, check out the trailer for the movie The Leap . Fans of What the Bleep and other 'mind expanders' will find no doubt find something of interest.

If you decide to purchase a copy, it would be great if you went this link which is my affiliate program:

http://www.leapmovie.com/jrox/jrox.php?id=10258

Enjoy!