Jimmy's Vegetarian Kitty

Raw Vegan Chocolate Milk

Hi Guys,

Today is 21 days till departure and 5 days into my juice fast. I think I have attained "lift off." My body is feeling so clean and shiny and my friend Betta is telling me how different I am. That's why I juice. It brings out the best in me. People don't annoy me when I'm deep into a juice fast, and the whole world just feels like a better place to live.

I went the first part of the day, until about 4:00 o:clock, with no water or juice and my whole body was in such a state of peace. It was like I had no distractions coming from within me. Then right before I made a green juice demo video I did experience a crash and my mood slipped into a dark place for about 10 minutes. I have noticed these transient mood swings during previous fasts and try not to get too upset as it seems it is something leaving rather than a real problem.

I made some videos with the help of my good friend Betta today and thought I'd experiment putting them up on my blog. The first one talks about my beliefs about raw cacao as a health food.

The second video show's you how to make the world's yummiest raw vegan chocolate milk.

Just remember to keep one hand behind your back when opening a young coconut.

I hope you enjoyed these videos and get a chance to try the chocolate milk yourself.

The countdown continues

A little over 3 weeks till departure and I am busy trying to get all the material ready to turn in for the next CD project so that when I return from India there will be boxes of CD/DVDs waiting for me.

Today is day #4 back on the juice, if we excuse that little mishap with the BLT, and I am at the threshold of what I call "lift off." It happens between 3 and 7 days of a juice fast when your appetite gets tired of throwing its tantrums and you start feeling more alive.

One of the things I love about this phase is the childlike nature that returns to me. Last time I fasted for 3 weeks I found that I was no longer content to climb into bed. No, I needed to do a summersault into bed! 2 months into another juice fast I recall being assigned a long reading project in a room all by myself, with a chair that spun. That was fun.

I thought today might be lift off day but instead I am dealing with a mild headache and other strange aches in my upper spine that come and go every time I fast. Arnold Erhet taught that a fast is a great diagnostic tool that reveals current and future problems in the body by causing flare ups during the first 3 days. He said that after the diagnostics, the fast, if maintained for a long enough period would also allow the body's natural healing process to occur in those same areas.

Maybe lift off will happen tomorrow.

A discussion with my belly

I was doing great. Minding my own business when all of a sudden a  BLT (not really, just a raw vegan attempt to imitate what we remember a BLT tasting like) appeared on the shelf of my refrigerator. I didn't care how ugly, brown and dead the thing looked. I had to have it. My friend had dropped it off for me to try. Up until then it was sparkling clean citrus juice all the way.
In my defense, this "sandwich" was oh so tiny! Smaller than a deck of cards so it doesn't really count right? Tell that to my belly which is a little upset with me this evening. The discussion goes something like this.
Belly - "I thought you said nothing but juice?"
Me - "Yeah... I know... but it was like a last meal, (stammer) before we really go for it." (Innocent smile with fake enthusiasm)
Belly - "How many "last meals" are we going to be dealing with then?"
Me - silence... "Yeah I know"
Belly - "Now, you know I don't want to hurt you... but I have to. It's the way things work. I can't be covering for you anymore."
Me - "Okay"
Belly - "You take care of me and I'll give you gifts you never dreamed possible. Think of the peace that comes with an empty and quiet digestive tract. The shiny youthfulness that's been smothered by cashew cheese and avocados is waiting to open up for you once you find your way clear of all this. Recall how all the passions are your servants when I am given what I need and how out of control they all get, running rampant after everything that glitters when you indulge your appetite for rich foods. The more you feed those passions the hungrier they get. And consider how the world seems to be against you during the chase for the next fix. Keep hurting me and we're  both going to suffer."
Me - "Okay, back on the juice then."
Belly - "It all starts right here with you and me. If you learn to control this most basic urge you will in one pass control them all."
Me - silent but more determined than ever.
Belly - "Okay then. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and let's do this thing! Let's build a temple that is worthy of your calling. All 26 trillion of your faithful servants, your microscopic friends, are standing by at your command, willing to build whatever you choose. Make a good decision for us all."

Back on the juice.

Speaking of following the whispered desires of my highest guide, I'm back on the juice. Citrus juice to be specific. I'm surprised just how quickly I start to feel wonderful again when I leave the rawfood junkfood behind. I know that a liquid diet always brings out the best in me but have been lingering in the world of tasty treats choosing to try to satisfy my cravings instead of pursuing my highest path.
Enough of the lingering! It's time.
Grapefruit and orange juice only and I am feeling light, energized and peaceful after just one day. One nice thing about being on the raw diet for these past few years is that now when I jump into a fast I don't have nearly as many of the unpleasant detox symptoms as before.
Part of me wishes I could go back to cooked food just for a while to sample the exotic curries, chapatis, chutneys, and dhal, but I know what these foods create in me and want no part of it.
It will be good to land in India completely clean and ready to offer them my best.

To India!

I have been studying yoga for about 5 years now and have read much of the spiritual teachings that have come out of India. Most recently while reading Yogananda's "Autobiography of a Yogi," I became intrigued with the idea of visiting the origin of these teachings.
I also read Leonard Orr's book "Breaking the Death Habit," and saw that he was offering a tour in India to visit the immortal yogis. He is not talking about immortality of the soul. This we have always had. He is talking about physical immortality. He claims to have met 7 or 8 individuals who are over the age of 300 and have learned how to maintain the body in such a way that it lasts as long as Biblical accounts claim of the earliest humans.
I have seen in my own body that if I am totally willing to follow the whispered desires of my highest guide my body begins to rejuvenate and the signs of aging decrease. Through a prolonged juice fast of over 3 months I had coworkers at the hospital I nursed at thinking I had come to them straight from high-school and nursing school. They guessed my age at around 24 and did not believe me when I told them I was 42 until I pulled out my driver's license.

I decided to go for an entire month so I could really get a sense of India and not be rushed for time. Now as the reality of the trip begins to settle in I find myself questioning the wisdom of this choice.

I have been drawn to fruitarianism for the past few years though I've not been entirely able to limit myself to fruit. I have heard many stories about people getting sick for weeks while traveling in India from eating contaminated food so it seems that it may be a good time for me to make a clean break into the world of fruitarianism. I will not have a food processor or juicer at my disposal and the veggies will have been washed in contaminated water leaving peeled fruit as an attractive option.

While my main purpose of the trip is spiritual discovery I have recently been exploring the idea of attempting to give some performances and sell CDs. Who knows what may come of this idea? I have been told that if I were to begin performing in a crowded location I would easily gather thousands for the show and might get injured from the crowd. Having played on the streets in Portland/Vancouver for the past 2 years and finding it hard to draw a crowd of more than 20, I find this is hard to believe.