Bali Blog - happiness, friend, raw food cafe, plans

I hope you enjoyed yourself on Thursday having a jolly time with friends, family, loved ones, or on your own. The festive period is usually pretty positive for most, but for some it can bring up bad feelings. 

I hope that you're all aware that happiness or joy is our natural state of being and that anything else we may feel is an external influence. Therefore, we choose to be unhappy, sad, angry, frustrated, stressed, etc. Once you understand that you are not the body and it is actually a vehicle then you will understand how you can be happy without external influences affecting you! 

So what's been happening with me? 

Well I'm in raw food, spiritual heaven in terms of location. Ubud has so many raw restaurants and cafes offering raw dishes it's just incredible! There's not even a shortage of fruit here either. I am finally able to say I like the mangoes despite the perfumey taste. My taste buds accept the flavours now. And there's so much yoga, meditation, qi-gong, tai chi, etc that it might take a month to visit one new class everyday. (I've not taken any yet...) 

I have eaten out everyday with the exception of my second day in Ubud because I had a dodgy stomach. It was very easy to stay home that day because of how I felt, but since then I have been moderately OK. I do wonder if I eat out too much but then I think about going to Borneo, Malaysia and Thailand and I think about the lack of raw restaurants and in Thailand lack of good salad options so I'm making the most of it whilst I can! 

I was in Alchemy and someone approached me and asked if I am Braless and bananas... I was a bit surprised at first! It absolutely made my day though and I thought about Joe Best because he had the same thing happen during his trip to Bali. It's an amazing feeling being recognised, like someone actually watches my channel or views my photos other than my family! 

Her name is Beverley and she looks incredible. I must admit I was shocked when she showed me how overweight she was because she is so slim now, her skin was golden brown and she looked healthy. There were no obvious signs that she had ever been overweight and in my opinion this just proves how powerful a vegan diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables can be. 

We didn't have a lot of time together, but the time we had was quality and well spent. I really enjoyed talking about so many things to do with spirituality, our experiences with raw food, the sexiest raw vegans ;) and life in general. She kindly invited me to visit in Sydney (as well as let me use her yoga class card and gift me food and a knife!) so I may very well end up in the land down under soon! 

I hope that this new friendship will be a long lasting one because we just had so many similarities and the conversations were always interesting. Bev said that I have helped influence her through my channel (and through meeting me) and just how I am trying to live life so I find that to be one of the biggest achievements I have made in life. I just want to help others help themselves. 

Today I went to Sunday Dance and it wasn't as good as last week. I didn't feel the music as much. The music is upbeat but the DJ doesn't mix well and some of the songs he plays just seem to stop dead continually throughout so one minute the dance floor is jumping, the next it's still. 

I had a moment where I just stood still and meditated for a few minutes. It was incredible. I felt the floor bouncing, I could feel the vibrations of the speakers, I could feel people moving around me. When I opened my eyes I just started to well up. I have no idea why. 

That leads me to my sleep last night. I slept so well and I needed it. Yesterday I had a terrible headache. I wasn't sure if it was from the sun, looming thunderstorms or raw food. I slept well and woke up refreshed, but I had such a weird dream. I've not looked into it yet but it's stayed with me all day. I think I still have emotional baggage to work through but it's not family related. It's just strange because I don't feel affected by things anymore, but this dream was about something that happened over 15 years ago and I've never given it much thought until now. 

I plan on going to a lot of meditation classes this week and then some yoga, qi-gong and tai chi. So hopefully I'll learn something useful to help work my baggage out! 

I've just extended my stay in this accommodation until 4th January so I need to either find a new accommodation or visit Seminyak for 6 nights before I get the plane to Borneo, as the place I'm staying is now fully booked. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading. There's so much going on, but I'm trying to keep i1t chilled. Oh today is the first day since I got here that I've not had durian! Shock horror! It'll be nice for a break, I'm definitely getting some tomorrow though! I had an avocado instead and it was so creamy, one of the best I've had and is well up there in the leagues with La Palma. 

Love Jennifer x

Travelling Thursday - Bali 1st week

If you don't know then today is my 4th day in Bali. I left Manchester at 8pm on Saturday and arrived in Bali at 8am Monday (12am GMT). It was a long journey with 2 stops. The first at Abu Dhabi, probably my favourite airport so far because of the interior design and the fact that I can buy lots of different types of dates that have been washed and deseeded! The second stop was in Jakarta. This airport is probably my least favourite! However, the flight from Jakarta to Bali was one of the best flights I've ever had because of the beautiful scenery. 

So far I've had 2 nights in Kuta and 1 night in Ubud. I liked Kuta because it has a long beach, a gorgeous raw food restaurant and it is flat! Ubud has many raw restaurants (but so far my first meal here wasn't the best) but it has so many hills... 

I cycled for 2 hours yesterday from Kuta to Ubud and it was definitely a challenge towards the end. About 30 minutes in I needed a wee, but I kept going. I think that could be part of the reason why I had a bad stomach all night. That and the raw food dips that I had the night before and then having slightly overripe jackfruit between papaya for breakfast and lunch. 

There's so much to photograph but when I'm on my bike it is so much harder to stop start, especially as road users here are crazy! So I'm just posting what I can photograph and the rest will just be in my head. 

Bali has some fantastic architecture and art. It seems like Ubud is home to a lot of artists. On the street I'm staying on it appears that every other shop is selling paintings, sculptures or other arty items. It's brilliant for me as I love being around creative people. 

I have had durian every day since I arrived, which has been awesome. So far I've only had good durian. It's great that the quality seems to be consistent and I've purchased them from 3 different places. I would like to go to a durian orchard but I've been told they grow in the North, which is great but I don't fancy cycling there... It's 32km from Kuta to Ubud, which took me 2 hours so I don't want to imagine how long it would take me to cycle to the top of the island. It's about double or triple the distance on the map, but cycling on the road might be even longer due to twists and turns. 

I am pleased to announce that I didn't suffer from jetlag and I'll be posting a video tomorrow about how I avoid it. 

Tomorrow I will go to the market around 6.30am to see if I can get cheap fruit and durian! Check out my Instagram page for all of my photos (it's hard to upload them onto the blog from my tablet). 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my second week in Bali. 

Jennifer x

Thursday Travel Update

Today is my 5th day back in the UK since my last trip abroad to La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. I have adjusted to the cold weather (and now I'm dreading going to the tropics because I'll just drip with sweat!) and I have got into some very bad sleeping habits. As the sun sets around 4pm and it's really dark by 5pm, the whole house is lit with artificial lighting so I am staying wide awake until 11pm! Very different from being in La Palma in my tree house, but I also have added distractions such as my PC and the TV.

I am flying to Bali on Saturday evening and I will arrive on Monday morning, 9am Bali time. I am looking forward to the heat, but I'm not actually sure if it will be sunny because I heard it's the wet season there right now! Tropical rain always feels better though, so I don't mind getting wet in it.

I need to buy travel insurance, book accommodation for at least the first night and I also heard I'm supposed to have a flight out of Indonesia... so tomorrow I have a lot to do.

I plan on taking a small backpack and my bike, plus food for my journey.

This is the bag I'm taking, not decided if I will take Monkey and Billy again... let me know if you think I should take them with me....

I have been trying to upload daily to YouTube, but I have a feeling that I won't be able to make this commitment in Bali due to my equipment, but I'm sure once I settle I will be more consistent. I will aim to do short videos too.

And on that note, I need to edit my video from yesterday!

Take care and I'll post again next week.

Love

Jennifer x

Travelling Thursday - where I'm at

Hi Craig and anyone else who may be reading! 

So I am going to try to be more active in my writing and I will start by doing 1 post a week. I'm sure once I've got that down and my daily YouTube videos then I may post more. 

Right now I'm in La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. It's said to be the most green, which it is because of the banana plantations! I think this is possibly the best place for fruitarians too, but I've not spent any time on the other islands... 

During my stay I've eaten some of the best fruit in my life; papaya, mango, banana, cherimoya, persimmon, avocado, fig. So so tasty. I enjoy waking up to mangoes and I've embraced the fruitarian way of eating them, which is ripping the skin off and having the juices flow all over me! 

The cherimoyas have been hit and miss, but I think that has more to do with how I stored them. Some of the best cherimoya have been so juicy and creamy. I definitely got my fix! 

My favourite lunch has been persimmons on the beach. I never used to like the beach, but since becoming a raw vegan I have fallen in love with nature, particularly the sand and sea. The contrast of the dark sand and bright orange fruit will always be in my memory as one of the highlights of my stay on La Palma. 

Avocados on this island are seriously hit and miss, in fact I'd say 1 in every 8 avocado is a sensational one. When you find a seller with good avocados you have to bulk buy! For instance, I was buying them on Sunday from the flea market and they were the best ones here so every Sunday I'd buy more. They were creamy, heavy, tasted like no other and we're seriously moreish. I had one yesterday and I wanted more so I went to my local shops and got one from each... Both avocados were rubbish! Wet, light and slightly bland, the complete opposite. Next time I'll learn to savour the best. 

I have noticed a loss of fat here too, even though I'm consuming avocados daily (and yesterday I had 3!). I think it definitely helps being warm because it makes me want to walk, cycle or go for a jog/run. The hills are very steep so the legs are building up muscle daily. I've mainly noticed this fat loss from around my waist, inner thighs and buttocks. I'm waiting for the day I wake up with smaller breasts... It will make buying a bikini more easy.

Oh and that's how I've noticed the weight loss, my clothes have become looser. My bikini top in particular just wants to fall down to my hips so I have to keep the removable strap on all the time! 

I'm actually returning to the UK on Saturday, I have a ferry booked Friday evening to arrive in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and I will stay one night in a hotel. 

My plan is to return home, see family, distribute Christmas gifts and then fly to Bali in the coming week (I'm hoping I get a fairly cheap ticket). 

Today has ended in the most perfect way possible, on the beach with persimmons and then a salad followed by the sun setting into the sea! I asked the higher spirits on my way down in the bus if they could clear the clouds for me so I can see the sun set into the sea and it happened like magic. If you want something hard enough it will happen! 

I will leave this post here. I started it at 6am and finished at 6:45pm!

I am in love with life right now and I hope I can distribute some towards you :) 

Love 

Jennifer xx

Fantabuloso Friday - Into the jungle

I visited an organic fruit farm in La Laguna on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. It is the creation of Martina Rasi-Rüger who gave us the grand tour on Monday 24th November 2014. The tour was given in German, but very kindly translated by the other guests. 

Martina loves her finca very much and I can see by the presentation and practices that she uses. This is one of the few permaculture farms on the island, the other farms being monoculture banana plantations using more water and heavy uses of chemicals to fertilise and control pests. Martina uses very little water in comparison because her soil contains the perfect amounts of nutrients needed to feed the plants, which is all thanks to her organic practices. In terms of pests, she combats the very few that occur using a very potent chilli and water mixture. 

From what I can remember Martina's working hours are Monday to Thursday 9am - 12.30pm (please correct me if I'm wrong), however she is now bound to this island because of the size and demand of her finca. I think the maximum time she can leave is 1 week, but when you visit you'll understand why she has given it her full commitment. 

The atmosphere inside is amazing, the video doesn't do it any justice and I recommend coming to look for yourself. I felt like I was in a jungle in another part of the world. The smells, sounds, birds, butterflies, trees, herbs, flowers, everything tickled my senses. I wanted to photograph everything and to a certain extent I did! I wanted to put it in my pocket and take it all with me, if I had a shrink-o-meter I would have done! 

Martina mainly grows organic bananas and apparently they're the best on this island. I haven't tried one, but hopefully I can soon! I saw papaya, guava, herbs, lettuce, chard, lots of different flowers, nettles and other plants I'm not certain about. 

As you can tell with this description I really had an amazing time visiting this finca, I would love to move the tree house I'm living in to it and live there instead. It gives me an idea about having my own plot of land to grow fruit on, at first I thought it was too much hard work but after reflecting I can see that it is not. Plus I would grow other fruits too. I am excited to start my own finca and I hope that it won't be long before that happens. 

Check out more photos on my Instagram page instagram.com/happyhealthyrawvegan 

OK so I copied and pasted my YouTube video description but they are my words! I am sorry I've abandoned my blog yet again but I'm pretty sure that it hardly gets seen! If you read this give me a hello below and if you miss my posts then say so! I think I prefer to post photos instead of writing as it's quicker and much more fun for me! 

Well I hope you're all well, I just devoured 6 mangoes for breakfast, I only got a slight melon belly afterwards but it wasn't the worst I've had. 

Check my YouTube channel too, I've posted a few videos recently :) 

Love

Jennifer xx

Soulful Sunday - November update

Well hello there. I have been in the Canary Islands since 31st October and I've been making more YouTube videos as opposed to blog posts! This adventure was last minute, like a lot of my previous trips. There's nothing more exciting than booking a flight less than a week before you fly! 

So what's been happening? Well I arrived in Tenerife in the morning and had to catch a ferry at 6.30pm I had lots of time so I found a fruit shop and ate cherimoya and papaya. After arriving in La Palma I stayed the night in a very quaint guest house. Unfortunately my trip has been full of noisy nights and a lack of sleep. My first night was Halloween and that meant lots of partying on behalf of the locals. 

Since arriving in the campsite 9 days ago (which was an adventure in itself!) I have had approximately 2 decent nights sleep. I'm living in a tree house that sways with the wind and makes loud noises when moving and is directly above the communal area so I've been kept awake from people eating late, playing music and drinking. 

I really like the tree house, it's perfect with the exception of noise and swaying, but I am considering asking to be moved because I'm fed up of having broken sleep. Especially as I'm cycling and today I went jogging. I'm physically tired and mentally drained so I need this time to recover and I will NOT sacrifice sunshine just to catch up on sleep. Night time is for sleeping! 

The landscape is beautiful, the weather is good, fruit is amazing and cycling around is brilliant although hard work coming up the hills. 

I am really enjoying this place apart from what I've mentioned. There's papaya, mangoes, bananas, persimmons, bananas and avocados. There's also more fruit and vegetables but the ones listed are my staples. It's the perfect place, with the exception of no durian! 

If you want a great winter getaway I highly recommend La Palma. 

Jennifer x

Tasty Tuesday - my most recent creations

I thought I'd do a quick picture post of some of the yummy food I've been eating recently. If you don't have Instagram then you will be missing my posts! 

Dehydrated avocado and dill crisps

Durian!

Sprouted lentils and chickpeas

Dehydrated banana and cinnamon wheels

Dehydrated burgers

Dehydrated burger with "ketchup" and "mayonnaise"

Romaine lettuce wraps

Another dehydrated burger

Pasta and dehydrated pizzas

Fully Raw Pumpkin pie

Banana berry ice cream

Raw vegan coleslaw

Fermented red cabbage

Rainbow romaine wraps

I have been loving salads recently, especially wraps with coleslaw, I have been so creative this month that I have not been out of the kitchen. I really want to perfect burger making and also try to make a decent pizza base. I would also like to try making sausages too so that come Christmas I can have my own raw vegan Christmas dinner.

If you want to know the recipes for anything then comment and I may deliver.

Ciao for now

Jennifer x

Tasty Tuesday - Coconut milk

I have previously posted how to make nut milk here and today I just want to tell you that so far the best milk I have made is with a mature coconut.

This is by far the best non-human milk I have ever tasted and that includes cows milk! I recommend trying it for yourself.

My advice is to perhaps find a better way of opening the coconut, I am not too sure if smashing it with a hammer inside a plastic bag is the best way, or safest. It is the way I was taught and probably the most therapeutic, so I'll stick with it!

The main things to be careful of when preparing this milk is to ensure all of the hard shell has been removed from the coconut meat, even tiny pieces, as this can break your blender. When you have filled your blender with the meat, put the water in so it is just above the meat. This will make it a creamy milk. When I first made it I put in almost double the water so it was very weak. It is your choice though so if you prefer to have a creamy higher fat milk use less water, etc.

I stored it in a mason jar in the fridge. It is normal for the liquid to separate, so give it a shake before you use it. Mine formed coconut lumps and I scooped some out to try. Wow...it was like eating coconut butter! Heavenly, but I kept thinking about the fat content. Once in a while won't hurt but every day may not be so good for remaining low fat!

Unfortunately it didn't last long so I don't have any photographs. All I can give you is my word that this is by far the best homemade milk I ever made and tasted! 

I put it in a smoothie with bananas and some vanilla bean. Perfecto!

Get yourself a nut milk bag and you can do so much.

Jennifer x

Think Thursday - Solar Powered Human

Powerful video. I like his energy. Definitely "food" for thought!!







Let me know your thoughts



Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday - flashback!

Wow, it was just over a year ago that I wished for a vegan vampire boyfriend. To those who missed it, here is that post.

I have some more thoughts and opinions on this. I believe I was presented with a vegan vampire, yes it is true! My wish was fulfilled, although when I asked for a boyfriend I meant long term, but I suppose I didn't specify the longevity of our relationship.

When you think about vampires you'll either think of Buffy (if you're male) or Twilight (if you're female). As beautifully poetic as the twilight vampires are (sparkly and somewhat handsome) these characters are merely allegorical. Vampires are not infected beings who suddenly turn into blood thirsty immortal beings. They are, however, immortal.

Going into more detail, vampires are simply immortal human beings that are able to walk the earth for a very long time (until they're killed or their higher spirit decides they've accomplished their goals I guess) and have somewhat conquered the universal laws - meaning that they are no longer bound by time, ageing, etc.

I believe that it is very possible for humans to become vampires in this sense. As far as I am concerned I once believed that the human life should last until at least 120 years and over the last 100 years we have severely fallen short of that number. Nowadays you hear of people living till well over 100 and it's not actually that special anymore. 

However, you cannot become a vampire over night. You need to be taught the secret.

Yes, just like every other worthwhile society there is a secret. 

It is too early for me to reveal the secret, but if you are curious then my first and most important suggestion is that you need to stop eating meat. I swear on my life that this is not just a ploy to turn you vegan, it is the truth. It depends on how ready you are to face the truth.

In time you will see.

When you are ready, take the first step and if you are already vegan, well you're already one step ahead of 95% of the world.

Stay tuned to find out more about vampire vegans.

Jennifer x

Wise Wednesday - Are you ready to go vegan?

Becoming vegan

I cut out meat because I didn't really enjoy it, I always enjoyed the seasoning or the batter that coated it! I've always had an instinct that eating meat was bad for us but I'm easily persuaded by nutrition "experts". Until I discovered 801010 I thought protein only came from animals! So naive of me. I changed my diet because I saw the results that one can achieve from being vegan and now I'm living this lifestyle I know how easy it is to sustain, even a raw food diet is easy, it just takes a bit of effort to beat the cravings of other foods. 

Are you ready to go vegan? 

It depends what type of person you are as to whether you are ready to go vegan. Are you willing to go against the beliefs of others no matter what they say? Are you willing to stand up to pressure no matter what it takes? Are you willing to be the minority? Are you willing to stand up for the animals? Are you willing to put your health first? 

My experience of being vegan. 

I've had countless discussions, countless sarcasm, countless comments. It's about being willing to stand up and say "I am not eating animals because I can sustain a life on plants". For me it's about health. I look at the majority of people around me and they are fat, sick and unhealthy. I look at me and I'm losing my fat, my skin glows when I eat and I hardly get ill anymore. 

What do YOU want for YOUR life?

If you need help with transitioning to a vegan lifestyle I am here to help, but the one thing that will help you the most is to actually want it. Like really want it so bad that there's nothing else that seems important. The main reason for going vegan should be your health. The animals are important, but first you should concentrate on yourself. 

The world is awakening and veganism is only the start of it, so don't be the last to get on board. Start a lifestyle where you'll thrive and be an excellent example of health. Open your mind and your eyes. Listen to your heart. 

Believe in good. Believe in God. 

Jennifer x

Tough Tuesday - Never Ending Circles

I never used to like the merry go round as a child. It always spun too fast for my liking and I'd either end up seriously dizzy, I'd fall off or I'd be very ill. In recent years you may have seen me push myself around one on this blog. I find that when I am in control of the merry go round I have a pleasant time. 

I'm not really here to talk about merry go rounds, but actually the never ending circle or cycle I have going on right now. 

I am on a spiritual journey. I never planned for this particular journey to happen. I have always been different and unconventional at times. It's unusual for me to conform so me taking on this journey isn't exactly out of the norm for me, but still, this time last year I would never have guessed I'd be on a journey to reach enlightenment. 

The only problem with my journey funnily enough is me! I am my biggest problem. I get in my own way. I prevent and cause my biggest issues! In every relationship I have it is me who causes my own unhappiness. In my gratefulness challenge I said I want honesty, but I'm still too stubborn to face it, too attached to accept it and too resentful to appreciate it. 

My biggest problem is how I react to people. I get overshadowed by the ego that it takes over in that moment so my head is flooded with negative thoughts and without taking time to breathe and process, I explode like a volcano. I take everything to heart, I believe that what someone is saying is true and I destroy the good in me by reacting the way I do. 

I keep forgetting to stop, look and listen, or stop and breathe at the very least. I'm quick to temper, easy to offend, easy to wind up and take everything to heart. These are my problems, no one else's. That's the lesson I need to learn because I keep going in circles and it's destroying everything I'm working towards. 

I don't want to be the person who keeps fucking up, I don't want to allow myself to create my own unhappiness anymore. I'm tired of being on this merry go round. I just need to find the strength to stop it and walk away in victory. 

Today I walked away from the greatest man I'll ever meet. 

Perhaps this is the start of the slowing down I need. 

Jennifer x

Soulful Sunday - Meditation, Gratitude and a General Update

Meditation

I have been trying to implement meditation into my morning routine. I wake up naturally, no alarms (unless I go to the wholesale market very early) and I get myself a drink of half a squeezed lemon and 500mls distilled water. This is important to get my system powered up and cleaned out from the day before! I take this back to bed and put on some meditation music off my YouTube playlist, lately I have been listening to the Chakra Chants. I think I did this 3 consecutive days in a row and I find that as soon as something disturbs the routine I am thrown off easily.

"They" say the best time to meditate is in the morning, but I get so relaxed that I end up falling asleep again! I seem to be sleeping a lot these days, going to bed at 9pm and waking up at 7am, but sometimes I have slept till after 9am despite the early night. My exercise is somewhat none existent, so I am rather confused as to why I sleep a lot! 

I find that the best time for me to meditate is in the morning because I have less disturbance from my house mate, alternatively I will meditate when he goes out. Some days I will get into a really deep state and one time I felt like I was above my body (I was quickly brought back though), but other times I will find it hard to keep my mind quiet. 

If you want to start meditating and need some tips then I recommend you get acquainted with the Chakras. I find that I get more from working on my Chakras than just breathing, but a good place to start is being aware of your thoughts and your breathing (e.g. take a deep breath and follow it to your stomach, legs, feet, toes, etc. feeling the sensation as it gets to each of these body parts).

Gratitude

I am currently on Day 26 of my gratefulness challenge and I have 5 more videos to film. I started an appreciation blog a few years ago and I made 146 posts! That is quite an achievement for me, so hopefully when the videos stop I will be able to carry on being grateful and thankful throughout my day. I want to be aware of everything in my day to day life and I think being grateful should start first thing in the morning. 

General Update

My house mate and I have decided that we are going to cycle to the Wholesale Fruit and Veg market 3 times a week. We have been getting a lot of free food recently and believe that we could probably sustain ourselves on this produce and reduce our spending. We would still have to buy bananas in bulk and we seem to have to buy tomatoes too. I will be spending some money on persimmons and cherimoya too because I enjoy these fruits a lot.

I had a Tarot reading on Wednesday and it was my first time. I actually started my day in Liverpool after spending the night at my dad's house (we had a father-daughter trip the day before). My dad had turned the TV over to the psychic channel and we watched a bit of Sally Morgan, she has a TV show that follows her around during her tours and one on one readings. From what I have experienced, my dad is a logical thinker and needs to see proof before he accepts the idea. Sally can speak with spirits and she was doing just that on her show whilst my dad tried to express his opinions that she is just a performer. I too used to think like my dad, "it's made up", "it's staged", but Sally seems really genuine.

I told my dad I was going for a reading as he dropped me off at the train station. I thought it was quite funny that we even had the discussion in front of the TV because he didn't know about my reading at that point! I don't want to tell you what was said to me, but a quarter of the way through I had a spirit come to tell me that I will be OK, I broke down in tears! I wasn't expecting any message, but to have one after the morning's discussion just hit me from nowhere! 

The rest of my reading was so accurate to my current journey I was just shocked that this is so real and I have now witnessed first hand that there really is something in the Tarot and people with psychic abilities. Out of all the cards I could choose, I got the ones that suggest I will be OK and everything that I am working for will work out. 

This afternoon I am going to a spiritualist church for the first time to see what it is like. I have really been feeling a calling recently.

I am going to leave it here and wish you all a wonderful Sunday afternoon. I hope you will get in touch if you want to tell me about your experiences.

Love

Jennifer x

Think Thursday - Gratefulness

I may have already posted about gratefulness before, but I have a new understanding that you can never be too grateful.

I have been doing a gratefulness challenge on YouTube because I have been and can still be rather ungrateful. What I am hoping to get from this challenge is the ability to be aware of everything in life, from the small things like being grateful for having a bed, food, water, etc to having opportunities, supportive friends and the ability to do whatever I set my mind to.

Since starting this challenge I have opened my mind a lot more (there's still a long way to go don't get me wrong!), but it has taught me many things about myself and about the rest of the world. It is great getting feedback from my very small audience as it is reassuring that these videos do help other people realise how important it is to be grateful for everything, even the small things. I am grateful that people have taken the time to watch my videos and even read this blog! 

There's so much to be grateful for everyday, so many people to be grateful to, yet I still seem to overlook the most important aspect of life. God.

I am not a religious person. I was brought up protestant and went to Sunday school until the age of 11, but once my parents divorced that was the end of my participation in practising religion. I contemplated going back to church when I was 21, but I didn't take it any further and since then I considered myself atheist. However, this year has changed me. I've met people, watched documentaries, read (and still am reading) books and see things around me that seem coincidental, but now I know that there's no such thing as a coincidence or chance.

I believe in God, but I do not believe in any particular religion.

Without God, we would not exist. God is the creator. I am grateful for having this life and for my journey. One day I will meet God, but until then I take comfort in his presence. I hope that one day you all reach a point in your life where you accept God as being the creator and find comfort and awareness of his presence.

It really is important to be grateful and step by step I hope to improve myself so that it is something I do automatically without the need to think.

What are you grateful for? Let me know your thoughts about God.

Jennifer x

Hairy women

I  have not epilated, shaved or waxed my body hair since I arrived back in the UK on 22nd July. The only body hair I have maintained are my eyebrows (and even that's becoming less frequent!) 

If you have any experience or imagination at all I'm sure you can guess my armpits are reasonably hairy, as are my legs! 

I decided that I wasn't going to remove my armpit or leg hair because being back in the UK it doesn't usually get or stay hot enough to bare these parts of my body. After a few weeks my hair had grown quite quickly and I started to really like having armpit hair. I often find myself loosely pulling at it as if it were some sort of relaxation exercise! 

Initially it was the armpit hair that I was only interested in keeping, I was inspired to keep it by Miss Diana Fruitypants from Canberra, Australia. We met at the Thai Fruit Festival in July and she had this wonderful patch of hair on her armpits. Admittedly I was taken aback by it, not sure why I was surprised to see hair there on a woman, but it really grew on me. After some thought I remembered how natural it is. 

Proud to show my hairy pit!

I am in somewhat of a love hate relationship with my leg hair. Having grown up secretly shaving my legs (when my mum went to work) to avoid the name calling or general making fun of at school, I have always viewed having leg hair as disgusting and not very feminine so this is still a challenge to get used to. 

At first I had decided to keep the hair out of laziness. I normally epilate so it is quite painful, as is waxing. When I shave I sometimes experience irritation and I'd definitely never use hair removal cream as it has so many chemicals in it. Therefore, I decided that I would see how long I could grow my hair before a. I got disgusted by it b. it started to get too long c. it had a negative effect on my life. 

So far I have found myself only disgusted with my leg hair, but then I put on some trousers and it goes away! I think even today it isn't too long, it's just longer than it's ever been. It should never have a negative effect on my life. If anyone has a problem it is with themselves, so in that respect I would disregard them! 

I have recently googled "women with hairy armpits" and I was surprised to see a movement this year to embrace having hairy armpits! (Link, Link, Link) It gave me a sense of liberation when I saw so many pictures of young women posting their pit pics with pride and of course we have the much loved celebrities who have covered numerous magazines and newspapers with their hairy armpits. I am in full support of this hairy movement! Let's get back to being as natural as we can (without defecating in public of course)!! 

My mum's reaction to my hairy armpits was somewhat unexpected, although I should have prepared for it in all honesty. Apparently in the 21st Century women shouldn't be hairy... Also, because I have previously removed my hair it grows back differently, so I should continue removing it... Now I haven't done my research about the growing back part, but really the 21st Century comment can be turned around like this, it's the 21st Century so I have every right to do with my body as I please (without breaking any universal laws) , so if somebody has a problem with my body then the problem lies within themselves (as stated above)! 

Admittedly it is shocking at first, but once you give it time it grows on you (pun intended)! If you're female I urge you to try it out, if you're male I urge you to encourage your partner to try it out! Let's learn to embrace nature, if it wasn't meant to be there then it wouldn't grow. 

Hairy women unite! 

Jennifer x

Sunday update - technology

The days all merge into one by the time Sunday comes around. My weekly trip to New Smithfield Market always seems to feel like it was just yesterday that I had been, but clearly it was a week ago else I wouldn't need more tomatoes!

I try to get some exercise in every other day or so by means of cycling and I really pushed myself too hard the other day. I still need to purchase some pedals and shoes, but I'm delaying it a bit longer to see if they go down in the summer sale. I like being on the bike, it's a great way to cover some distance and get in a workout. Running would make me need to wee and poo so I didn't run far... :-)

I really want to get a group of ladies together to meet once a week for a group exercise class in the park. It would be a good challenge for me and will help my own fitness as well as my creativity.

I've spent some time listening to specific meditation tunes on YouTube over the last couple of days. It's been interesting and I want to focus some time experimenting to see if they work long term or just at all! I mainly want to look into astral travel, healing, positive thinking and working on the chakras. I'll make a post when I've done some experimenting.

It's been a few weeks since I deactivated my Facebook account and I have to say it's liberating. It is easy to be addicted to it and I even question using any technology... I think that's partly why I haven't blogged as much. 

The world is very much technology focused and when I met George in Thailand he got me thinking. George is from Cyprus, said he is sensitive to electromagnetic sources so he doesn't own a phone, laptop, tablet, etc. He's well read (Dad owns a bookshop) and he meditates, that's his claim for knowing about the Thai Fruit Fest, it came to him in his meditation. I'm either naive or he's genuine, but I'm going with him on this one. I doubt I'll give up my phone or tablet (because I like taking photos) but I like the idea of spending less time glued to a computer.

So on that note I am going to go!

Enjoy your Sunday. If you're in Manchester and want to do some weekly exercise send me a message!

Jennifer x

Think Thursday - Fad following

Today I want you to think about following the latest trends that are later termed fads.

Do you get easily excited? Are you the first to jump on the bang wagon? Do you go from one thing to the next as easily and as often as changing your underwear?!

If this sounds like you, then you may have already considered a raw food or even just a high carb vegan diet. When I say the term diet in this sense I mean eating a certain way for a certain amount of time. To me lifestyle means commitment for the long haul.

So if you are one of those people who have gone back and forth between diets then this is what you need to seriously consider.

What are you doing it for?

If you are eating for health then you need to consider your nervous system. What is optimal for your nervous system? Of course I will tell you a raw vegan diet is optimal, that's the whole point of my blog ;) but you need to make sure you feed your body the best sources of vitamins and minerals and where do these come from?? You guessed it, fresh fruits and vegetables. Preferably organic, but if not I at least encourage you to try to grow your own salad.

You should consider swapping your alcoholic beverages for a freshly squeezed juice or smoothie (in fact you should never poison your body with alcohol again!), take a 15 day course of probiotics 2-4 times a year and stop eating white refined carbohydrates to help your nervous system stay in good condition. Probiotics are a great supplement to take throughout the year to get your gut flora back into tip top shape, especially if you experience diarrhoea or illnesses alike.

Why is this diet going to work when the previous ones didn't?

You really need to keep this in your mind. If you do go from one diet to the next after losing weight and then putting it back on you really do need to question the diet. You are damaging your body the more you yo-yo from one to the other, so do you really want to risk causing a serious illness?

Does it really seem like a healthy diet?

We all know that fruit and vegetables are incredibly healthy for us, the government, TV, shops, etc go on about eating 5 a day (and research has suggested that the minimum amount should be increased to 10 a day!), so I think when you include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet you know you're onto a winner.

My concern is that people think that they need protein, especially animal protein. NO! Leave the animal in the field. If you feel like you want to eat protein (bearing in mind we need no more than 10% from our calorie intake) then get it from sources made from plants. Plants are miraculous. They are sun foods. They are living foods (unless you cook them of course). Why would eating anything dead be good for us? (Referring to paleo here)

To me, these are the main points to consider. 

The raw vegan diet may not be easy, it may not be 100% convenient, but if you think about it in terms of what it can do for your HEALTH, your BODY and your LIFE, well maybe you will consider it.

Stuff your face with fruit all day, drink loads of different smoothies, eat so many different fruits, fill up on greens and get that raw vegan glow!

If you want help transitioning to a raw vegan lifestyle or just want some friendly advice about buying fruit or increasing your fruit intake send me a message.

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday - an abundance of fruit

Today I am back with another wish. 

As you may or may not know, I have just come back from a trip to Thailand. Due to unforeseen circumstances the trip wasn't as long as I anticipated. I thought I had left England for quite a long time but the universe obviously decided otherwise.

I remember that leading up to my departure I didn't actually know what I wanted to get out of the trip. I had told myself that I would "find myself" and grow, I suppose in a way I learnt a heck of a lot about myself, albeit rather unpleasant realities.

Since coming back to the UK I have had some time to process the reality of staying here, at first I couldn't even fathom the idea of staying, my mind was set on returning (given the fact that I had a return ticket!), but I have decided to let go.

Letting go is one of the hardest things I have had to do.

This is my wallpaper. I look at it everytime I use my tablet because it really is hard for me to do.

I have to trust in my higher self. I have to trust in God. 

Just a bit of background information about myself right now, I lost faith in God when my parents divorced and as a teen, young adult and until this year I didn't believe in God. I've always been a "I want proof" type of person, but so much has happened to me over the last year there has to be a higher power. Coincidences don't exist. 

Let go and let God.

So getting back to my wish. After letting go of going back to Thailand, I have slowly been able to assess what I want and how I would focus when I travel. I have decided this.

I wish to travel to the tropics in order to live an abundant life, eat the freshest and ripest fruits, go to the source and not just the markets. I want to taste different varieties of fruits, to focus my day around eating the best produce and to nourish my cells with quality.

It is from having the time to reflect on my experience that I am now able to decide what it is I want from travelling. I now have a focus.

Jennifer x