I seem to be eating my way across the US. I feel a bit like Liz Gilbert from Eat Pray Love while she was in Italy, only instead of pasta I’m eating raw and macrobiotic food. So I thought I’d post a montage of the raw foods I ate at my first destination – New York City. This isn’t all the yummy raw food I ate either, just a collection of a few great snaps. Mind you, it was a little embarrassing always taking photos of my food, especially in the very posh Pure Food & Wine..
And yes, the food in these pictures are all raw!!!
I was on a cramped flight today sitting next to two other people. They knew each other so talked amongst themselves the whole time. Well, not really talked more like complained loudly. They were complaining about everything in their lives worth complaining about, which sounded like just about everything. The energy omitting from them was tense, frustrated and unkind.
For the first half hour or so I managed to block their energy and do my own thing, but I must have had little holes in my protection barrier because I started to feel what they were feeling, and that feeling was not particularly pleasant. I tried putting in ear plugs in and mediating through it but unfortunately their voices penetrated my ear plugs so I blocked the sound out with my ipod and worked on discharging the energy.
The thing is, it’s not like they were complaining about hugely important things. It was more like it was for the sake of complaining, like they were getting off on it somehow. Maybe by complaining about others in their lives they felt more comfortable with their own shadow self, because it was a way of saying that it’s okay to not be perfect because look at these flaws in everyone else.
We need to stop complaining so much. When we endlessly complain we’re stepping into a very negative vibration. I’m all for releasing negative emotions and exploring our shadow selves, but this act of complaining is a little different. It’s a self manufactured destructive energy that feeds the ego more than anything else. It makes us feel yucky, it makes those around us feel yucky, and it very rarely solves problems. We may leave the conversation feeling better, but is that our higher self feeling better or is that our ego feeling superficially better for a while because we’ve talked ourselves into it by complaining about others. Continue reading →
I felt a little guilty about my last blog post. I feel bad that I may have been too critical of a city that I don’t know particularly well – even though the reflection was a good thing with a great answer. Either way, when I finally got the chance to record some video, I extended on the post a little.
In this video I also show a few awesome products that I found in NY health food stores…
I wanted my first blog post in the US to be a video post and I apologize that it’s not. Staying in a hostel means not a lot of space or privacy for filming and it’s been raining out but I promise I’ll get the camera out as soon as I can.
Two weeks before I embarked on this journey I knew it was going to be a soul searching trip for me, and I’m happy to say I’ve already been answering some questions and getting some clarity on the direction I want to be heading in life.
When I first landed in New York and settled into my hostel, I spent a couple of hours wandering around my new neighborhood, checking out the cafes, bars and restaurants and was ecstatic to find three vegan restaurants, a handful of health food stores and two yoga schools all within a ten minute walk from my hostel.
The city of New York is amazing. There is always a very good health store within a short walking distance. I’m sitting in a cafe writing this and my macbook is picking up 30 wireless Internet connections. I don’t know if I’m going to have enough time to visit all of the raw vegan restaurants in the city during my stay and I walked into a clothing store the other day and bought the best ever organic cotton underwear that you won’t even find online in Australia let alone in a store.
In Australia I can list every health stores in my city on one hand. If my macbook picks up 5 wifi connections that’s a lot, and I have to drive over an hour to get to the one and only raw vegan restaurant in my state, and even then it’s on the border. Continue reading →
The unfortunate thing about flying to a new destination is the air travel. Over the next couple of months I’m going to be on a few air flights which is great because I get to visit some cool places, but it also means I have to endure an often uncomfortable time on the flights.
But there are some things we can do to make flight time a little easier on our physical health. In this blog post I thought I’d give you one of my tips, which is what I carry with me in the clear plastic bag full of miniature products that we’re allowed to take on board.
1. Essential oils
I’m new to essential oils but have no idea how I used to live without them. The great thing about flying with oils is they already come in tiny bottles so you don’t need to worry about putting them into smaller containers. You can also get many different types of oils that will help with a whole range of travel related “issues”. Here are the three I’ve been experimenting with on this flight-
Wintergreen essential oil dabbed just under your nose is great for keeping your sinuses clear and healthy during a flight. It’s a natural anti-bacterial so helps to keep those nasties away. It also has a strong smell of a mix between peppermint and eucalyptus which absolutely keeps the sinuses nice and clear.
Lavender essential oil is one of my all time favorites because it’s so versatile and a necessity to take while I’m traveling. During flight time lavender is great at calming and relaxing your whole system so you have a more peaceful flight. It also just smells super nice. One of the first things I did when I got onto this flight is dab some lavender oil on my wrists and temples. The man sitting beside me asked what I had just put on because he said it smelt so good! So in a way I guess you can relax a few people sitting around you with your use of aromatherapy. Cool huh.
Rosemary essential oil is great for waking up a foggy mind. I love rosemary essential oil, I’ve used it in the past in a facial steam to help dislodge stubborn blackheads. But on long flights it’s awesome for getting that mind clarity back after the haze sets in. For this flight that haze time was around the three hour mark.
2. Lip balm
We all know that flying really dries out the skin, and this includes our lips. I always carry a chap stick or lip balm with me while I’m traveling to prevent my lips from drying out and peeling. There are many natural lip balms so if you’re buying one, please buy at your local organic market or health store.
3. Hand cream
During winter and on flights I get “old lady hands”. My hands seem to be the first place that dries up. My favorite is the Hand Salve from Burt’s Bees. It’s natural, comes in a tiny jar and is thick and rich enough to hydrate even the most dried up oldest looking skin. The creamier hand lotions from Burt’s Bees are good too, but I don’t find them quite as effective.
4. Rescue remedy
I’m not scared of flying but I can find the whole ordeal a little overwhelming sometimes, especially when traveling alone or with someone else who’s scared of flying. I love Rescue Remedy or Emergency Essence by Australian Bush Flower Essences because it works quickly and effectively at calming down any anxiety or overwhelm that I’m feeling.
I have a little spray bottle which is the right size for air travel and simple to use. On the drive to the airport this morning I was feeling very overwhelmed so I pumped a couple of sprays under my tongue. Within minutes I was feeling a lot calmer.
That’s it! That’s what I’ve been carrying in my products bag this flight. If you have a completely different set up products that you love taking with you, let us all know about it…
I wanted my first blog post in the US to be a video post and I apologize that it’s not. Staying in a hostel means not a lot of space or privacy for filming and it’s been raining out but I promise I’ll get the camera out as soon as I can.
Wintergreen essential oil dabbed just under your nose is great for keeping your sinuses clear and healthy during a flight. It’s a natural anti-bacterial so helps to keep those nasties away. It also has a strong smell of a mix between peppermint and eucalyptus which absolutely keeps the sinuses nice and clear.
During winter and on flights I get “old lady hands”. My hands seem to be the first place that dries up. My favorite is the Hand Salve from Burt’s Bees. It’s natural, comes in a tiny jar and is thick and rich enough to hydrate even the most dried up oldest looking skin. The creamier hand lotions from Burt’s Bees are good too, but I don’t find them quite as effective.
I’m not scared of flying but I can find the whole ordeal a little overwhelming sometimes, especially when traveling alone or with someone else who’s scared of flying. I love Rescue Remedy or Emergency Essence by Australian Bush Flower Essences because it works quickly and effectively at calming down any anxiety or overwhelm that I’m feeling.
