Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

The Four Juiciest Secrets - Call Recording and Handouts

The response to my call last week has been truly incredible. I promised that the content would be life-changing, and it was.

For those of you who missed it and would like to hear it, you'll find the details below together with the handout that you may well want to use to take notes in a useful and structured way.

But first a selection of feedback we received after the call, whose authors have kindly agreed for their comments to be published:

“Dearest Karen – I just wanted to personally thank you for last night’s call.  After I got off, I made a decision to quit my job of 12 years and devote myself full-time to my company, Rite Food and Company.  I’ve been trying to run my company part-time for months now and have been really struggling... mainly because I was pushing back/ denying/ silencing my ‘inner voice’.  Thank you for reminding me that I’m powerful beyond my wildest dreams.” ~ Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt, Rite Food and Company, New Gloucester, Maine, USA

“Hi Karen, you are amazing....your breakdown was actually your breakthrough.  You have changed my raw food journey. Thank you from my entire green heart, mind, body and soul...a true convert.” ~ Reina Ocasio, New York, USA

“That recording is a gem, a masterpiece, or mistresspiece, it is awesome.  I'm on the net a lot, for over 12 yrs, and that is one of the very best things I ever, ever experienced by way of the net.  You are real, you are truly concerned, you have something of value to contribute, you are willing to put it out there, you are speaking from the truth of your being, you are a pioneer in life, in raw, in marketing, in being love - thank you.  I’m so happy to see you sold out, as is appropriate.  I know that your contribution will be returned to you multiplied.  Thank you; know that you have made a difference in lives all over the planet that will then touch others and others and others, wow - just wow!” ~ Dr. Dianne Jennings, Costa Rica

Introducing The Successfully Raw Pyramid

From Issue 57 of Successfully Raw:

If you're familiar with my web site you'll know that within its many pages you can find two raw coaching "models" - that is, frameworks that lay out simple step-by-steps or stages that we all have to go through to get from A to B in our raw food journey. The first model I created was "The 7 Steps To Going and Staying Raw" and the second "The 5 Stages of Raw Transformation". While the former deals predominantly with the external journey and the latter the internal, there are three other models that I have since discovered that have yet to make their way onto my site and that I have to date only very briefly made reference to.

Today it's time to start at the very beginning. I want to introduce to you what I consider to be Model #1: The Successfully Raw Pyramid. It is here that all the other models spring from, and, as far as I'm concerned is at the very heart of whether we go raw and stay raw, depending on how much we embody and understand the importance of each aspect of the Pyramid.

So that we can dive right in and get started with today's teach-in, please refer to the graphic above which depicts the Pyramid model.

As you can see, there are three aspects:

1) Delicious Food
2) Ongoing Support
3) Inspiring Vision

Although most people will likely agree that great food and support are absolutely vital in going/staying raw, the third triangle may seem to some people like a "nice to have" rather than a "must have", but I beg to differ..!

Let's take a look at each one in turn so that you can get a better idea of the what and why...

"Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade!" - Upping the Ante in Your Raw Life

When we first get into raw foods and we go through the "Oh my God, this is so amazing!" phase, it's pretty common to shut out other aspects of our lives so that we can focus 100% on revamping our diet, kitchen and everyday eating habits and get fully immersed in our exciting new awareness, food-related experiences and insights.

While this is pretty much par for the course (it takes a lot of time and energy to completely rethink this part of our life, after all), it's not going to be long before that laser-like focus starts to work against us, rather than for us.

Why?

Because we need to keep feeding and nurturing ALL aspects of ourselves - not just our mind, not just our body, and not just anything else for that matter!

As I write I'm putting the finishing touches to my web site. It launches tomorrow evening and the heat is really on! The thing I'm working on right now is the shopping part of my site, where I recommend lots of different resources that have helped me go raw, stay raw and live the best life possible.

I've just mentioned within the shop how important it is (well, I use the word "VITAL", as it absolutely is) to upgrade other areas of our life at the same time that we upgrade our food choices. Because when we don't, the gap between our physical energy and where we find ourselves located emotionally, spiritually or mentally in our lives can feel so great (as the body starts rushing around buzzing with raw energy), that the rest of us lags behind and eventually pulls us back. This is why the GoRaw!-then-Binge pattern is so unceasingly prevalent.

Your Blood Never Lies...

It's been quite some time since I last had my blood "read", and so, having been on a predominantly fruit diet for over a week (more about this in a moment), I thought it would be interesting to see how my blood was shaping up.

Luckily I just happen to know a very good blood microscopist! Pete (Fresh Network Pete) lives just 7 minutes away and so last night in true microscopist-style he took some blood, put it onto the slide and put it under the microscope to see where I'm at.

Well, first things first. The reason why I've been eating predominantly fruit for so long (something I never usually do) is because I'm putting myself through Frederic Patenaude's 30-day Body Enlightenment System. This is a 30 day course which comprises of email support, downloadable workbooks and menu plans, telephone support, teleclasses and buddying up.

I decided to do this because I fancied a change, a bit of a spring/summer clean and also was curious as to how Frederic and his team would transform the lives of 150 would-be raw foodists from all over the world through a program such as this, both on- and off-line. (So far so good as it happens!)

So, by the time Pete read my blood last night I was on day 9, and had eaten only fruit, salad ingredients (very simple salads and soups) and a few tiny tasters of other things that weren't on the program (I ran a class on Saturday and so couldn't not try things before serving them!). This meant that for the whole time apart from those tiny tasters I had had no fat and no stimulants of any kind since Monday last week (and haven't done since...)

And this is what my blood showed...

Wild Love, Freedom and Bliss

Yesterday, during the Brian Clement lecture in London, I was given a book - Wild Love by Gill Edwards; a book that has only been available since 22nd June, had been mentioned to me only a week previously by Tracey, a RFFB course attendee, and a book which as soon as I heard about it, I thought "I've just got to get it".

But as per my last post, the past week has been busy beyond belief, and combine this with about 10 books waiting to be read, well, you could say it wasn't top of my priority list!

But the Universe delivered it to me with no effort at all, as a gift unexpectedly, because it's exactly what I needed, exactly at this time in my life. (Thank you Anna!)

Article: From New Insights Magazine, May 2001 - "The Raw Truth"

As mentioned in my last post, this article was published many moons ago but we just uncovered it while doing a media sort. Even though it's 5 years old, it's still as relavent today as it was then, and will be forever... ; )

Makes good reading.

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The Raw Truth

Elizabeth Holmes detoxes and finds you’ve nothing to lose but your stuff

I have just been on a raw food detox diet. I have no idea why I started it when I did and little understanding of what I hoped to achieve. I was also unbelievably naïve about the extent to which my life would be impacted by such relatively simple dietary changes.

The inspiration came from Susie Miller’s and Karen Knowler’s Feel-Good Food: A Guide to Intuitive Eating (Women’s Press, 2000). In it, the authors argue that many of our ills, attitudes and dependencies on food result from our inability to intuit what we really need to eat. So much of what many of us consume is based on habits, cravings or, in some cases, perceived sights that we are far removed from making skilful choices when it comes to food. Perhaps we’re just so clogged up with debris it eludes us.

As a non-drinking, non-smoking, caffeine-free vegetarian, I had misplaced confidence about the extent to which I needed to detox. The book suggests that ‘feel good food’ is raw food and also the key to intuitive eating. It explains how to introduce increasing levels of raw food into your diet so that your detoxification is gentle and suggests tackling your diet in this way at a relatively quiet time work-wise. Great idea, but not my style; if I can drag myself through the path of greatest resistance at a time when demands on me are high, I will.

On Day One I ate nothing but fruit and felt good for it – good enough to continue on fruit for another two days, by which time I was waking at 5am and storming through a day’s work by lunchtime. On Day Four, when I introduced nuts and seeds to my fruit diet, I crashed. The aches were I imagine, although I’ve never succumbed, like flu, and my eyes and nose had started to stream. This is not unusual, the book reassures, as cleansing reactions are simply the result of the body ridding itself of the crap that has been undermining it. Detoxing was never meant to be an ecstatic experience! And such reactions would only last a few days anyway; I ought to be able to cope with that.

"A Bit About Intuitive Eating"

Welcome to my first audio blog entry!

I recorded this live and unscripted just minutes ago and I'm actually quite pleased with it. This "mini class" lasts just under 11 minutes, so there's a fair bit of info on there, also proving that I'm very capable of rambling to myself for extended periods of time, when given a viable excuse, which is a little worrying ; )

The content is based on that to be found in my book, Feel-Good Food (above) which was actually written 7 years ago now and published a year later in May 2000. Amazing how time flies, but also gratifying that my opinions on this particular subject have barely changed - if at all. Happy listening!