RAW-annukah

Absolutely Raw-some Latkes

Oh WOW were these latkes awesome! I even made a raw sour kream and apple sauce.  I wish I had left overs!!

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 bunch of green onions

1/2 C of flax meal

3/4 C olive oil

Salt & black pepper

1/2 TBS  Onion Powder

1/2 TBS Garlic Powder

2 tsp  Amino Acids/Nama Shoyu

 

Peel sweet potatoes and shred in food processor. Place into mixing bowl.  Place green onions (about 6 or 7) into food processor and blend – add to mixing bowl.  Add flax meal (holds latkes together) and olive oil (I usually eye it, so you may want more or less) Add salt, onion powder, black pepper, and a few squirts of amino acids.

Mix really well.  Should be quite moist.  Scoop into pancake shapes and place on your teflon sheets in your dehydrator.  Set on 120 for about 6 hours.

 

Sour Kream

1 C Cashews

1/2 C Red Onion

Dash of Garlic

Water

1 Lime (I didn’t have any lemon, that would work well too)

Salt

Black pepper

2 cap fulls of Apple Cider Vinegar   *secret ingredient!

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until kreamy. Apple Cider Vin. is used to create the tang effect for the sour kream.  Play with amounts until it tastes AMAZING!

**To make apple sauce, simply place apples in blender and enjoy! **

Project INDIVIDUATION – Overview & Guildelines

I absolutely love my husband.  In fact, my husband and I are so in love that it is easy for us to spend night after night, talking about life or God or news…or watching great films or even developing our future visions together.

 

Not only do we work at the same place, but we spend so much time together, that we have both realized we’ve completely forgotten about our own selves!

So, that is when PROJECT INDIVIDUATION was birthed -

Individual Transformation within relationship to strengthen the self and the union.

individuation – discriminating the individual from the generic group or species

individuate – give individual character to

Guidelines:

• No partner evening activities
  • This means, after coming home from work, we are not to spend time together, but go to our own corridors and spend time with ourselves.  If someone is making dinner, you’re welcome to make enough for two, but consider not dining together.
• Minimal sharing
  • It is very easy in relationships to share our thoughts, feelings, ideas, perspectives, conversations…(especially as a woman), perhaps, waaayyy too regularly.  What about a little space for curiosity?  Minimal sharing is intended to showcase the individual just how much chatter one brings to the relationship.
• Be Discerning
  • As lovers, it is really easy to engage.  Discernment reminds us to recognize what we’re really investing ourselves in – not only in our relationship, but with the world around us.
• Celibacy & Separateness
  • Consider not sleeping in the same bed as one another.  Absence makes the heart grow stronger.
• Enjoy the freedom!
  • This is the time for YOU!! Do what you love, when you want. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going or what you’re doing.  Take a bath, write a book, watch a film…it’s all about you and how you contribute to the world you’re in.
• Most importantly – BE SUPPORTIVE!
  • It is really easy to forget that our partner is also having his/her own experience as well….we don’t always need to be engaged in one another.  Be supportive by creating space enough for your partner to flourish on his/her own.  When it’s time to reunite…there will be even more gratitude floating in the air because of this.

You’ll see each other throughout the day, so having casual interactions or brief updates on certain matters are absolutely appropriate.  We don’t need to hide from each other, but just stay connected to the Project and remember this is only for as long as it is needed.

_____________________

We are making this up as we go, and I’ll be sharing my findings as it unfolds! With only two days under our belts, much has already surfaced.  I did get a little gentle peck on the lips this morning, and it’s lasted me all day.  This might be one of the most profound things we’ve done yet!

All Aboard

Clearly there are changes in the air.  Something is shifting yet again and we are in a position to ask ourselves….what am I really doing? And is what I’m doing serving me?

As we step into fall, just like the leaves of the trees, our outer layer begins to shed – and our core source begins to be much more present.  It is time for us each to hone in on our core beliefs and practices…and from there, everything blossoms into what we truly believe it to be.

Be kind to yourself as the transformation unfolds.  Take some evenings for yourself and deepen into the meditation.  Be the peace, live the peace, breathe the peace.

 

Much love,

Aviva

 

Safety & Prayer

My brother A'Haron provides incredible amounts of safety for me when performing.

When we pray, we become vulnerable.  It is as if we are spilling out our every bit to the One–like emptying our purse or shopping bag. Whatever we are carrying in that moment, we can unleash to the Mighty Creator and hand these burdens over.  We are not designed to carry worries, fears, pains….these are the things that actually break us down (physically, spiritually and emotionally), so why do we continue to carry them anyhow?

Prayer is a powerful tool.  As stated above, it is a time to empty ourselves. What are we harboring that is causing us to disconnect with our TRUE SELVES?

What is our TRUE SELF?

We are created from a spark of light. We are birthed through the friction of the universe and awakened by the glory of Love.  Our true identity is that of joy, inspiration, happiness and liberation.  If we do no know these things NATURALLY within ourselves, this is a perfect opportunity to take a look at our childhood. What we found to be “normal” when we were younger, creates the conditions for who we are as adults.  But, we must remember, that just because it’s “what we are used to”, does not always mean it is alignment with our own inner peace and joy.

Finding our true selves requires safety.

Safety means we are in a place that is comfortable, relaxed and at peace.  We might have to go outside of our homes to find this.  This can be in nature somewhere or at a best friend’s house who never offers judgment or expectations of or on us.  When we are then alone and around those we love, can you feel safe to be YOU?  Share your feelings, thoughts, dreams….out in the open without concern of what others may say?  Creating a safe environment for prayer and spiritual growth is vital.  Then, when we know where our safe place is, we can bring that feeling into places that might not offer the same support.  Through this experience, we learn to begin to SEE those harmful and/or non supportive parts of our lives, and can slowly begin to step out of them.

May we all feel SAFE in our skin, to pray, love, dream and do!

Love,

Aviva

Loving Simba

 

We did not see it coming.  Simba was barely 3 years old….and his life was brought to an abrupt end.  Our sweet, newly adopted dog, our Mighty King, Simba, died do to several illnesses caused by over-vaccination. Our vet and our family are all incredibly shocked at what man has created for our animals (and humans) and the fact that the “government” allows these things is horrific and sad.  When Simba was brought home from the pound by his previous adoptee, Simba had a skin infection due to mites in the body.  When we house sat for Simba, he was already on drugs to help his little body – and long story short, it only got worse.  We found that he had ear infections, which could have been months and months old and his body wasn’t allowing him to heal.

Why?

Do too the over-vaccinations done to the body, an auto immune disease was developed which caused Simba to not be able to heal on his own. Even the strongest drugs (homeopathic to allopathic) couldn’t keep him pain free for longer than 5 days.  We are heartsick we had to let Simba go, but are SOOO grateful for the amazing medical support we have received.  We simply could not stand to see him suffer any more, and our vet shared with us that he would never put a dog down that he felt truly had the chance to thrive in life. 

Simba is dancing in the heavens and his incredible, strong, beautiful spirit will live on and on.  Thank you for your sweet snuggles, little Simba-Lou…..you will forever be in my heart.

Please do not over-vaccinate your pets. These drugs are harmful and can do so much more harm than good. *

Peace & Health,

 

Aviva

 

Returning to Who We Truly Are

In this blog, we are talking about how the Phase 1 lifestyle can offer more than just health benefits. There are several people (Gabriel Cousens & his beautiful wife Shanti included) who utilize this lifestyle for strengthening a spiritual practice as well. How is this possible?

Most of us, who have been doing live foods for short or long periods of time, recognize that nutrition plays a part in relationship to our contribution into the world. David Wolfe and Gabriel have both said the phrase “You are what you eat” is completely valid. So when we transition to a plant-source only lifestyle, we are declaring our NATURE in a way.  Going back to that which created us (the Earth).  This allows our mind, body and spirit to be unharmed by false additives, tweaked colors or processed artificial junk.

Then we get into the topic of CARRYING A VIBRATION. What does that really mean?  Can foods really contribute to this?  Well of course.  If we get what we put in our bodies is what we get out of our bodies, then we are in fact influenced by the vibration or energy of foods.  The more wholesome the food source, (planted and cultivated with care) the more grounded we feel in our bodies–we know this.

But through the research that Gabriel Cousens, M.D. has compiled over decades, we have been told over and over again that SUGAR cuts off years of our lives and contributes to illnesses in the body–and causes us to be distracted through meditation.  So, in the simplest terms, if we are looking to be our NATURAL SELVES, then eating bowls of fruit, dates and figs every day won’t be helping that to happen.

“The basic teaching of Spiritual Nutrition is the eat and live in a way to enhance and sustain our Communion with the Divine for at least as long as it takes to be Liberated.” – Gabriel Cousens, M.D. Spiritual Nutrition

In Spiritual Nutrition, the Gabriel shares about the effects in significant rising and falling of blood sugars-which is the main fuel that feeds the brain and the rest of the central nervous system. When our sugars fluctuate, this disrupts mental function-which then effects our moods, creates depression, anxiety, and overall wellbeing. How are we to have a spiritual life if we are feeling miserable?

The point here, is that by allowing our selves to come off the sugar high, we have a chance to come back to OURSELVES.  If we are ready to receive CLEAR guidance from the Divine, how are we to do this when our minds are jumbled or distracted? Take a moment to just consider the power of Phase 1 and what it could bring into your life.  If you’ve never been sugar-free before, try it out! And, if you have been told by your doctor that you HAVE to be on phase 1, embrace it! This is an opportunity to truly hone in on who you truly are.  And who wouldn’t want that opportunity?

Strengthening: Taking the Next Step

Flooded by a world of thoughts

Emerging feelings like a blossoming lotus

Head and heart merge, into one-knowing the Divine.

To think,

What would this world be like if this one were able to offer even more?

What would this one’s children see if she strived for something a little more beyond who she thought she was?

Would the example, of the one who supports their lives, be like sunshine to them?  Bright, committed and warm?

This one’s heart explodes with the possibilities…like a streaming river of outcomes, the flow is never-ending.

Who this one could be,

What this one could do….

all from taking the next step and committing to it.

And perhaps that’s where the fear lies.

COMMITMENT.

Every time we sit in session, there is a stone, brought to the altar. Engraved is the word C O M M I T–it is almost as the rock is alive (she is)–reminding us the importance to the practice. The practice of knowing the Divine, the practice of meeting the Divine…over and over, moment after moment. It says….”Show up”–and that is where the masks are off.

There is an inner personal calling to tap in to…but only when we are ready and willing to listen. Sometimes it screams at us, other times it’s a soft murmur always humming in the back of the mind. It’s the Eternal Light – a Ner Tamid – within our own essence.  This place-is so pure–that we can almost tremble at the thought.  This place, is so raw, that emotions can rise-and that is where the choice lies.  Are will ready and willing to take the next step? You will get pushed to the edge-but who are you, really?

 It’s okay to not exactly know what that next step is - but it is the willingness that matters. Like Nachshon and the splitting of the Sea of Reeds…we don’t know until we do it.

The the Holy Light of the Eternal One Bless You on your path, each and every moment.

* * *Blessings *  *  *