The Cacao Tree...

"Hey lady...this stuff doesnt taste like chocolate!"

My mom sent me this recent pic of the cacao tree.
It is getting too much direct sunlight in my opinion,
and I have to call her to let her know.

This is the same tree, which I picked up
at Pine Island Nursery in Miami, FL.
Just $30 if I remember right, and it has grown like a weed.

She (the tree) was SOOO happy in the summer greenhouse.
The air was thick, the sunlight was indirect, and the
temperature seemed to be just right.

I hope I can plant it directly in the ground in the next 2 years,
but soon enough she will need a new container.

Pretty soon, I'm hoping some flowers like these
will begin to pop up...patience is a virtue.

A creation of Man could never surpass a creation of Divine Nature.

Although, Man could co-create one thing in particular
that would make any god smile.

A forest garden in Bali, Indonesia.
Shambhala is not a city to be discovered,
it is a way of life to be created.

And on the same line of thought,
Heaven is not something that we simply hope for after
we decide to leave our temporary bodies,
rather, it is a state of mind and a state of living that can
be cultivated on the planet right now if we choose it.

Re-Build paradise, or keep on reminiscing about it
from historical and religious texts.
Our choice.

Reflections of Judgments

I was recently reminded of the first post I ever wrote
on rawmodel.com...a pretty long anger-filled diatribe about
how I felt that non-vegans couldnt be spiritual or truly peaceful.

You can read that HERE if you feel like it,
but Im frankly a little embarrassed that I wrote such stuff.
Its a documentation of my changes, for sure.

I wrote that in March of 2007 if I remember right.

When I read that, I feel like Im reading the rants of
some angry and judgment-filled vegan.
So much judgment and disconnect from others.
No compassion and just...total ego.

At that time, I didnt even want to hang out with
people that werent raw vegans...I thought at the time,
raw people were so enlightened and I only wanted to
spend time with them. I feel so different now.
I didnt even value the opinions of cooked food eaters.

We are all brothers and sisters!
Why must we fragment ourselves even more?

Do we not share the same hopes and dreams?
Are we for gardens covering the Earth?
Are we for organic produce? Unprocessed food?
Food not pumped out in factories?
Why cant we unite under that idea?
All the while, we criticize each other while
GMO giants continue to turn our forests
into soybean and corn fields. This is crazy.

Why judge people that are into different food?
Why assume that we are more enlightened because
we might choose to abstain from a certain food group?

I would be elated to see all of us just drop this
nonsense and look towards our vastly larger amount
of similarities that we so fiercely share.

Whole-unprocessed food, food grown locally with love, food not sprayed
with poison and fed with petroleum...We all like this stuff.
We are all FOR this...why focus on the negatives?

So what if someone wants to eat cheese still?
Or fish or beef or chicken?
Are they really inferior to a vegan?
Don't many vegans claim a more compassionate and
enlightened point of view because of their diet?
Then why all the quiet and not-so quiet assumptions that
non-veggie folks or cooked food eaters are stupid & brainwashed?

Im mad at myself for being so dragged down with
some crap superiority complex...writing just really narrow-minded stuff.

Use me as a mirror if you must...do you judge others by
what they put into their mouths? Or are you over that by now?
I want lots of healthy and thriving siblings on this planet,
but Im really done with the judgments.

Youre on your path, Im on mine, your parents are on theirs.
Becoming attached to this one chapter of your existence
will cause allot of unneeded suffering...
everyone is exactly where they need to be right now,
even it REALLY doesnt seem like it most of the time.
They are headed to where they need to be,
just like you, and myself. Its all good!
No worrying about what others eat and
for heaven's sake...no more judging.

Perennial-Based Agriculture - The Future?

I know that I would rather see the suburbs covered in
food forests than large fields of annual monocultures.

Everyone is always thinking about how the farming way of
life is dissapearing faster than ever.

Well...if that means destroying forests to plant monocultures,
and using endless amounts of fossil fuels to keep the whole
scheme going, then good riddance.

Every year, plow the soil, fertilize it, pack it down,
plant all the seeds, manage the weeds (usually with poison),
harvest the crop, (after ALL that) - and plow again and start over. CRAZY.

Just plant perennials and mulch mulch mulch.
Berries cost an arm and leg nowadays.
Who wants GMO corn besides corn syrup makers
and conventional grain-based factory beef farmers?

Im excited to get some hardy kiwis next year,
the ones that are about the size of a grape.
Those vines can put out 100lbs a year, and
I know people that will gladly spend $10 a lb for
good organic hardy kiwis like that, especially from
someones's "Space of Love - Family Domain".

Doing so many annual crops...it just seems like so much hassle to me.
It just fights nature every step of the way.

Dont get me wrong, I love tomatoes and melons
and cucumbers and all that good stuff,
but Ive decided that besides my sq foot raised beds,
Im going to make the whole core garden in the center
just perennial herbs like mint, lavender, sage, lemon balm,
catnip, sorrel, oregano, thyme, etc,
then do the borders with the raspberries and keep
doing rhubarb. I ran out of places to put grapes
so I put some in the core area too and will eventually have to
build a trellis for them. But yes...all perennials I think...I cant see why not.

Lots of flowers like echinacea, comfrey, yarrow, chamomile.
All perennials. Just let the clumps expand.
I bought a small chocolate mint, and it really took off this year.
I can only imagine what 4 years would bring. I really had to keep
it trimmed back so it wouldnt push too hard on the rhubarb.

This was the size of a dinner plate last spring,
and now its 5'x6'. Perennials! And the bees love mint flowers!

I think we will see this shift coming really soon,
many have already caught on and are making a serious
living selling their surpluses. The time is coming.

And with energy only becoming more scarce,
transitioning to this way of raising food with little fossil fuel
imput will be the key to adaptability and profit in the 21st century.

Think about patches and patches of Mint, Oregano, Lavender!
Nothing better...and bees just know its perfect for them.

And Deb from Debbie Does Raw sent us guavas and dates
in the mail, and nothing on earth smells better than a ripe guava.
Love you Deb!!! All we have in NYC is apples and pears now..haha.

For Our UK Family

If you can make it to Bristol this weekend,
it looks like a really informative and progressive event to attend.

I miss London, so charming compared to NYC.

Interview with Leoind Sharashkin

You can find some more HERE.

Echinacea Purpurea (Purple Coneflower everybody!)

The lessons of life and impermanence always reach us
in the natural world. What is now pictured above...

Was once in its full glory. Don't cling on to your outer
shell too much...change DOES happen.

Before I ventured out into the wilds of NYC to hunt
for wildflower seeds, I bought some online like a proper consumer.
The comfrey seeds were a smart purchase,
but the Echinaceas on the left - well...
Ive been finding many MANY of those around
the parks here, and there is really no reason to buy
any if you have access to the free stuff.

Im going to start the packaged ones inside and transplant them
in the spring, and the other THOUSANDS ive found -
Ill just spread them around the forest garden and hope
for the best...the bees will be even happier next year.

Plant lots of flowers...cover the area with them,
especially if you want beneficial insects around
and if you want to feed bees. The purple coneflower
*ECHINACEA PURPUREA*
is a long lived perennial that will continue to give bee food
and will provide medicinal roots for the humans wise enough
to grow and harvest them. And what a pretty plant.

I found some in central park, tompkins sq park,
prospect park, Irving Square...just about everywhere.
Madison Sq Park...Ill just walk around and pick seedheads
and make noises to the squirrels...who are totally trained to
eat from human hands...its crazy. Make a kissy-noise
to a NYC squirrel and prepare for some attention.

Plant beneficial perennials and reap the benefits for decades to come.

My Black Sapote

This was taken back in late August,
when I brought her from the greenhouse in Minnesota.

This was taken this morning (Nov 11th 2009).
Ever since putting her in direct sunlight
she has really advanced quickly.
Shoots are coming off the main leader stem,
and there are no pests bothering her at all.

In her container, I placed about 10 red wigglers,
shredded brown paper bags from Trader Joes...
truly the best thing to do with paper bags.
I occasionally put egg shells in there, along with some parsley stems.

On her right, the passion fruit vine,
far left, the Tropic Pink Guava,
and a just-beginning-to-flower lavender.
When I use up the rosewater from those bottles,
I put a mix of filtered tap and diluted oceanwater (Thalassa Mix)
and give them a good spray every day or so. LOVING IT.

I got the black sapote from one of these lovelies
on the far right side of the hotel table.
This pic was taken in Mexico City while I was filming a commercial.
The yellow guavas are bagged, there are some unripe sapotes,
as well 3 guanabanas (soursop) and some bee pollen.
I LOVE GOING TO PRODUCE MARKETS WHILE ON VACATION.
They are really some of the most lively places one can visit.

Black Sapotes should be really dark and soft before enjoying.
They are not as sweet as some would hope,
but some good honey or sweetener of choice will fix that fast.

Dont be afraid to start your own trees from seed!
Why not? Something may just come of it!
Spread plant-life! Im really trying to be an asset to Mother Nature
instead of a liability!! More people on the planet isnt necessarily a bad
thing if we all become assets to nature.

How many food forests can planet Earth Support?

Im wondering if a culture of Family Food Forests
will really take hold of Western countries.

Its a huge picture to look at, but how unrealistic is it? Really?
Could a shift in consciousness happen where the dream of
every young person is to build their own food forest
and then travel in the winter months off of the extra income?

There are many people that dont have any land,
but many people DO, and many others could buy some with
a year or two of frugality (and some priority re-evaluations).

How many out there are now considering a food forest garden one day?

Can we outplant the destruction?

A Message from Mindy

I recently received this letter from Mindy of Los Angeles.
Her story mirrors mine in many ways -
the constant feelings of hunger and the deep sugar cravings,
the highly-absorbed dogmas of veganism and raw,
and the strength to leave a few "...'s" at the end of her
story to make it known that this is an ongoing experiment,
and to not let her mind and heart become too rigid.

Here is what she had to say.

Ah yes, I just tried your suggestions out this weekend- wow, the dulse, avo and raw egg yolk was amazing, so rich and soul-satisfying. And kefir, very nice with blackberries and raspberries- i didn't even need to add honey, or other sugar/sweetener. At first before trying, I'd been cautious, almost scared I might have a bad reaction and my body would reject it. I remember distinctly these thoughts, "Mucus!! Acid-forming!! Milk is for baby cows, it's completely unnatural! It ferments and putrefies and decomposes in your body! You'll smell foul!" But no, I felt fine, actually a lot more grounded than ever, and realized I'd been letting strong vegan dogma and propaganda prevent me from achieving fine health. I won't discredit veganism because I do consider it a great cleansing regimen, which I greatly benefited from. But, as a raw vegan, I'd turned to way too much sugar for much of my energy needs, and that ultimately backfired on me. I was way too spacey, constantly thirsty, had excessive urination (probably because my body was trying to eliminate the excess sugars flowing through my bloodstream.) At that point, I was scared it might be a symptom of diabetes, because never-ending thirst is one of the main indicators.

well I've been reading up on the subject for a bit, and some of it came from readings of weston price. I too agree it's odd there has not been a single civilization that has thrived on veganism/ vegetarianism.

For the longest time, I refused to take in any dairy products because I would be reminded of the negative images of factory farming, and the horrific abuses inflicted onto chickens, pigs, cows etc. Not only that, but there are the environmental concerns of the hormones and chemicals fed to these animals that leach into our water/food supply through their waste, which is most likely not properly utilized through organic biodynamic farming.
I've come to see that there ARE small, local organic farms out there doing the right thing, raising these animals the natural way that is beneficial to their health, our's, and especially, that of the earth. Raising animals humanely CAN be done, as I've seen. I just hate that Gov. Schwarzenneger has banned raw milk here in California. **Is this true??**

It's too dichotomous to advocate complete veganism nor all-out meat-eating. I don't think it should be an either-or situation, because each individual's bodies reacts differently to any diet.
I'm interested on what you've had to say on eating for your ancestral background. Being of Korean descent, I'm well-aware that it wasn't feasible for my ancestors to be eating fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the year- that's why we fermented our surplus cabbage and made kimchi, so we could eat through the winter! Would you have any knowledge or info/ links on this subject? I'd love to know the protein/carb/fat ratios of different populations.

Erewhon.. I remember the first time I went, I was still a SAD eater. I got apple chips! Haha, little did I know it would be my raw-vegan haven several years later.. Man, that place is magical, I could easily spend over an hour or two just checking out their whole selection of goodies
That baby-sardine bit was interesting, thanks for putting that on the radar!

I just have one issue though. Ever since I got into raw, I've never been able to feel fulfilled. Raw dogma teaches you that all raw food is good, anything else is BAD. so i came to gorge on raw food all the time, because it's "good" and thus there was no limit on it. Now i have the problem of never knowing what is a good-size portion. Raw has kind of messed me up in terms of eating enough or too much. Any way to get back? I'm hoping more exercise will help regulate my eating patterns, so I can let my body naturally dictate when I should eat and so on.
Lots of love and positive vibrations to you Anthony!
-Mindy

I always found exercise to take my appetite away somehow.
An early morning workout would leave me satisfied
with just a simple liter of lemon water,
only becoming hungry later on.
As for the ancestral diet, I know Dr Hal Huggins works on
this, and as long as we head towards low sugar,
things will definitely look up.
No one in nature is eating all that fruit. NO ONE.
Fruit is WAY overpreached in our circles (IMO).
SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR. Too much...sorry.

My mind is so much steadier now that I eat the way I do.
Sure...there are losses with a fattier diet (that Ive noticed).
I sleep longer. I miss waking up totally alert after 4-5 hours.
But now, my mind rarely thinks about my next meal,
and I can simply eat to live, instead of living to eat.
Around 2 years into raw, I was still constantly
doing the roller-coaster of purity and binging.
This was a really bad cycle that gave me low self-esteem
and messed with my career and social life.

Im not saying that eating butter or cream or yolks
will fix your cravings or alleviate the feelings of hunger,
but they have really seemed to work for me.

Long term...who knows? I like the results of the people
studied by Weston Price, but those lucky souls also
had clean air, a strongly-knit community, and many other
life-giving attributes.

I dont ASSume that I have it all figured out.
Ive been at this for over 5 years now, so I am still a young pup.
I feel though as if Im getting closer to what works,
but things can (and always do) change.

The only thing I will recommend is to expose yourself to all
sorts of ideas, because when I buried myself in raw vegan books
and movies, it was obviously a narrow (VERY NARROW) viewpoint.

Eat what you want, and chances are you wont have the same
eating style in 5 years anyways, so don't take it as if
this is the final step that you need to take.
Try your best to see it as a never-ending journey.
Keep the student mentality, and you will always continue to learn more.

I want to add in more green juice again and take out even more sugar,
but this will all happen when its supposed to.
Im not dumpster-diving my leafy greens like I was from 2004-08'
so Im not juicing $20 worth of leafy greens like before.

Happy days...64 oz of green juice a day! Missing that :(

Anastasia Update...and videos

Im beginning to feel that there are two types of humans
in this world today, those who are taking an active part
in rebuilding Paradise on Earth, and those who are not.

The more I read Anastasia (which I dont necessarily agree
with everything written, we do have to remain open-minded)
the more hope and energy I feel to spread the ideas of joy
that can be had by creating our own Space of Love.

I really feel that this is the answer to every problem
we are facing. If a person takes action, every problem
that they might be facing will be dealt with by working
in the garden, whether emotional, financial, or physiological.

If a state or nation takes action, every problem that
it might be facing will also be dealt with.
Could you imagine tens of millions of families producing
their own food and living without any help from
some distant government agencies? Or corporate food providers?

This makes so much ECONOMICAL sense that Im amazed
more politicians havent jumped onto it, but I know who
they are serving mostly at the moment, so its all the better
that we can take the steps ourselves and also with our families
to make paradise happen in our little corners of the world.

Here is part 4 and 5 from a documentary about
people taking actions written about in the Ringing Cedars series.





It doesnt matter if you have lots of money,
or if youre living paycheck to paycheck.
That has NOTHING to do with any of this.
Planting a Space of Love will vastly improve your life.
And with a year or two of saving, you can EASILY get started.
A little discipline early on goes a long way...
and when I say a long way, I mean your great-grandchildren
will be telling stories about you to their children
about how you built the Sacred Family Garden that
they continue to enjoy and thrive in. Powerful.

There is nothing stronger and more feasible
than this idea...this one act can fix everything.
If the corrupt leaders of the world will plant a
Space of Love of their own, I believe that their minds and
hearts will completely change and they will no longer be able to
steal from the public and serve destructive interests.
Call me naive, but I really believe that it will fix everything.

Eating berries and leaves as I walk through my garden
each morning gives me more tranquility than hours of meditation.
I think we had to start meditating more because we separated ourselves
from the true source of calming love that once always
gave us so much insight before we decided to leave it.

We can get that back! Its even easier if you have family members
willing to take this project on with you, or if you already have yard
space. Sure...Anastasia says 1 hectare (about 2.5 acres) is perfect -

(I have .75 hectares...but remember to work with surrounding
areas for lovely wildflowers and cover crops too of course) -

-but even if you have WAY less, you can still feed yourself most of the time
and give yourself some much needed connections with the cycles of
life and the creations of the Universe.

And your actions will inspire those around you,
and it will be a large ripple in the pond of your existence.

When you start playing with objects created by nature
instead of the much slower objects created by man,
your thoughts will begin to speed up dramatically.

Think about that when you give a baby a piece of plastic to play with.

The Space of Love is a living work of art.
Compare it to a painted canvas sitting in a museum.

The garden, a living-breathing work of art,
continually co-creating itself and evolving.
Made with the highest love, the love of co-creation
and the intention of providing for one's descendants.

The painting...beautiful and made with care and love,
but now dead...not changing and sadly finished.
And not taking care of anything living either.

We need art that is alive, and that can actually
feed our bodies and our souls as well.
Become that artist. Now is the time.

Rawmodel was started to get people excited about eating
raw vegan foods, but if you create your own Space of Love
and continually eat from the plants that live within it,
your diet will become a complete afterthought.
When that happens, you will then be sailing to complete health.

Eating raw is great, but we are still dependent on others
for nearly everything that keeps us fed and comfortable.
Can we not improve upon that anymore?
Even the richest people in the world eat like hobos
compared to those who live in their own Spaces of Love.
Think about that.
A golden raspberry, enjoyed 1 second after picking...

You can't buy a berry this fresh.

Have a good weekend...visualize your Eden.

Philips Party This Weekend

Dont forget, if youre near NYC this weekend,
make it a point to get to Philips bday party.

Here are the details from our friend, who is shining at 33!
What a transformation in so many ways.
When I think of Jared from Subway - I feel bad for the guy.
The fact that he limited his diet to those processed sandwiches
for so damn long. Im thinking about all the raw desserts.
JUST MY OPINION, but there are MORE CHOICES.
Ugh...think of the raw decadence Philip has enjoyed these
past few years, and dont forget the changes in consciousness that
living foods has brought on for him. They definitely brought them to me.

If weather is decent tomorrow during the day,
Ill be in central park powerwalking/jogging and
looking for wildflower seeds for next spring.

Im already finding stuff everywhere...lots of echinacea.

Email me if youre possibly up for a group jog/seed hunt.

Here's Philip-

...
Yo..... Party People in the Place to Be!

Much love to my NYC family. I am so excited to see you all tomorrow at my birthday party! Woohoo!!!

We got a cool group of conscious cats coming out to celebrate my 33rd trip around the sun, and for this I am grateful. Who's on the list you ask? Well I ain't saying any names but we got: celeb internet bloggers, world traveling musicians, doctors to the stars, and cool peeps of all kinds. Shoot, you might even meet Christine from Phantom of the Opera... or who knows... maybe even an electronic/dance superstar known around the world... Keep your eyes peeled.

But most importantly YOU are going to be there. I am so grateful for all the love and support I have received from each and every one of you. The love that I feel from this raw community is amazing. WE are all blessed.

Event Details:

7:45pm: Line queue starts to ensure your place

8:00pm (sharp) - 8:45pm: Shazzie, International Author & Vegan Superstar will be coming to us Live from England via the magic of Skype for her virtual book launch of her latest controversial book Ecstatic Beings (which has already been removed from the shelves of some stores in London). We will have an amazing Q & A session via a 50inch plasma with every question from Raw Food to Ecstatic Living, and Living A Life Without Comprise and Creating Your Own Rules.

9:00pm: Music, Dancing, unlimited Raw Vegan Chocolate, sexy conversation and fun interaction... downstairs in the Chakra Room

11:00pm: The Chakra Room opens to the public and we will get to interact with all the fun people parting upstairs. This is your time to SHINE!

Venue Details:

Sutra Lounge

16 First Ave (btwn 1st & 2nd)

NYC, NY 10009

Note: When you come to the club say you're here for Philip's Birthday party and you will be allowed in. Remember, this is a club and you will need to be over 21 and have your ID. No tickets will be sold at the door so if you have any friends that want to come have them book today!

Love you... and save a dance for me,

Philip McCluskey

philip@lovingraw.com

Modern vs. Ancient (Wild) Humans

While swimming through the debris of facebook,

I came upon this gem recommended by Tim Van Orden
of Running Raw. This guy really gets my respect for the
staircase races he does especially.
He would take me to school in any race,
but those staircases are HARDCORE.
Check him out HERE.

It was THIS article on Reuters.com about the
steep decline in strength and agility in the past few thousand years.

Oddly, but sadly, no real mention was made of our diets.
It was all about the sedentary life to the
writers and/or the scientists (it seemed).

I say - Crappy building blocks, crappy temple.
We all know that exercise is obviously needed for thriving,
but if you are built out of corn/soy fed beef and white bread
instead of spirulina and bee pollen, you will be a different person.
I'm sorry if that messes with anyone's ego, but its true.

Whatever your eating style at the moment,
go for QUALITY. Wild foods, and QUALITY.

People get so worked up about what to exclude in their diet,
but a MASSIVE fact is that no matter what most "civilized" people
are eating, they are quite usually eating the CHEAPEST -

(ahem...least-mineralized and loaded with crappy fillers
like corn and soy, plus chemicals with scary long names)

- DIEt they can possibly get their hands on.

If almost everyone is trying to save money,
why havent our leaders made food abundantly cheap by planting
massive stands of fruit forests and berry patches?
And why all the fruitless trees when they do plant anything?
I think we pretty much know why.

I know that this is changing though.
The answer to that last question IS changing.
The people that get it are beginning to take part in this massive shift.

When it CLICKS inside the heart and mind,
we will soon be eating lots of wild, and lovingly-grown food.

Lets do our best to turn back the clock on our bodies
by turning back the clock on our food choices.
Lower in sugar, no matter what "ism" you are,
(as I eat granola...*hypocrite*) highly-mineralized,
and as WILD AS POSSIBLE. CHECK ONLINE.

And if you go for quality, ingenuity will do wonders for the weekly budget.

Why cant our work/consume economies be based on more
fun stuff (bikes, ipods, vacations, camping gear...whatever!)
and not necessities (Housing, heating/cooling, FOOD, and water)???

Questions that need resolving on the personal level first.
Then tribe, then community, then widespread.
Politicians will be the last to jump on,
they will wait till the public DEMANDS this of them.

More Exposure for Self-Reliance

Please be inspired enough to do something similar.

You can still have a regular job (if you want?).
Just now, you can take your earnings and use it
on vacations or whatever you please instead of
food, energy, and housing.
These things should be naturally abundant.

Let our economies be based on fun stuff instead of
necessities...the fact that our "leaders" have
kept our wallets tied to necessities is quite telling.

Since its painfully obvious that governments
arent looking to change this indentured servitude, its up to us as
individuals, tribes, and communities to do it for ourselves.

Please be inspired enough to do this for yourself.
They make it seem like extreme frugality is needed,
but if all your food is provided for, then you have more
extra income to play around with. Makes sense?

"We're looking for farmers!" Haha!

Submerged into the Embrace of Pacha Mama

Again...these ideas are being picked up by many of us.
After learning about Earthships, I came to the conclusion
pretty quickly that by submerging any structure,
whether for humans, plants, livestock, or a combo of these..
INTO THE MOTHER EARTH,
we are protected within her embrace from the ups and downs
of the ever-changing and sometimes brutal weather.

By submerging our structures into the Earth,
we are snuggling ourselves in with superior insulation
and creating a little womb of warmth in the winter months.
I will definitely be doing this, at first for a new greenhouse
that will support two Paw-Paw trees,
then a small chicken-quail-duck home on the east side of the dome,
and then eventually a 40ft diameter circle human home with walls
2-3 ft thick and big southern facing windows to be able to grow tropical fruit
trees in the painfully cold winter weather of Central Minnesota.

Imagine the picture above with a pure glass ceiling.
Even a raised hoop ceiling or an A-frame.
Making sure there is enough head-room for two
vigorous paw-paw trees that will need their space in 5 years.

Keep visualizing your paradise!

Sunday Ideas

Its a sad state of affairs when people feel safer
eating corporate "chocolate" like Milky Way and Hershey's
full of GMO soybean oil and corn syrup,
instead of homemade cacao treats created with love.
How nice would Halloween be if it were done in a
tightly-knit community where everyone could make their
own treats with love and pass them out to the kids?
That would be fun, right?
Who convinced us to trust M&M Mars more than each other?

I was going to head up to Central Park and look for
wildflower seeds that I can plant next spring,
but it was just really windy and the NYC Marathon
was going on so I decided to stay in.

After vibrating gratitude and joy on the couch
for 45 minutes or so, I decided to give some love to the plants.

Here is the lovely Black Sapote.
We had some sunflowers in a jar that are just
now going bad, so I tore them up (sorry!)
and spread them around the base of the trees.

Here is the base of the White Sapote.
Im interested to see if the worms will eat this stuff pretty quick.
The worms are all alive and well inside the containers,
moving nutrients around and depositing castings
(free organic fertilizer) onto the top layer.
So they will convert these torn up sunflowers
into organic compost...thank you my wormy friends.
And they aerate the soil too, dont forget.

I also came up with an idea for the sundeck in Minnesota today.
I first intended to put a yurt on top of it,
but after some acknowledgement of basic science,
I realized that keeping that thing warm in the winter would be
a massive hassle. Maybe Ill put something smaller on it, but
what I would really treasure would be a raised bed in the
shape of an octagon (like the deck, but smaller), about 12-14ft in diameter.
It would fit right in the middle of the deck.
We could put a little fire dish in the center and it would be just perfect.
You should see the views of the Milky Way from that spot.
Truly humbling and breathtaking.
I intend to plant the whole perimeter with a sacred plant
such as yarrow or maybe chamomile.
Maybe even some nettles? But I want flowers for sure.

And then cover the rest with a low-lying white clover,
so it takes on a nice carpeted effect.

We would have places to sit and relax,
and it would be a great place to tell stories and have ceremonies!
Singing songs and playing music!

The deck is obviously in the upper left corner.
The canopy really opens up to the southern sky so
the view to the south and the east is just stellar. Literally.

There would be plenty of space around the raised octagon bed
to hang out and walk around, so its not like it will take over the deck.

It would be such a magical place to sleep as well!
Or give birth? Or conceive and then give birth? What?

ON THAT TOPIC...
I'm reading part 6 of the Ringing Cedar Series,
and its focusing heavily so far on child-raising.
Anastasia says that a child should be conceived
in the "Space of Love", the Kin's domain, the special garden of the family.
And that if the child is conceived in one special place in that
garden, and then enters the outside world in that very same space,
even more power will be bestowed upon that little soul.

She also says that the mother should hopefully stay in the Space of love
for the duration of her pregnancy. This is such an interesting
series, and I really have to recommend it to everyone.

Could you ever imagine how powerful it would be to create
a Space of Love for your future family and then bring
a fiercely-treasured child into that garden?

She also said that when a child is conceived with the pure
intention of co-creation instead of sexual lust that something
magical happens as well. Its a really intriguing book, and I wish
more young people would get into it as soon as possible.

How cool would it be if a high-school or university professor
did a course on the Ringing Cedars Series?
Think about the conversations in class!

The books are truly life-changing, and if you are inspired
enough to create your own Space of Love, get a plan in place
as soon as you can. With about 4-5 years of hard work,
saving, and planning, you can create your own Garden of Eden.

Thats my Sunday...I talked with Debbie from Debbie Does Raw too!
What a jewel you are!! Miss you Deb!!! I hope to reconnect soon!

A