Make Raw Foods Mainstream! :D

One last remark for today: UK health food expert Shazzie (author of 'Detox Your World' and 'Naked Chocolate') has now launched a new campaign called Make Raw Food Mainstream! Wow, this is exciting! She calls it 'Raw Britannia' and has many items in her online-store. But the best thing is that she provides a free e-book which you can download and print out and give it to your favourite restaurants! The vegetarians had their way gradually, then some places started to incorporate vegan options, now its the time the raw foodies get their chance! 

It is a very inspiring little booklet with an introduction to the rawfood lifestyle and many comprehensive and easy-to-make recipes, from savoury starters over juicy drinks to sweet desserts, all raw and vegan and totally mouth-watering! Yummmm!!! 

So get on your bike and start spreading the word! :) Be the change you want to see in the world!

FREE Health Book Summaries and Philosopher's Notes! :)

WOW! I just came across a website where you can download the summaries of amazing health books such as Gabriel Cousens' 'Spiritual Nutrition' or David Woolfe's 'The Sunfood Diet Success System' for free! After registering, you get access to the site where you can download the summaries in PDF format and also purchase the whole book if you please.

You can do this HERE. I just downloaded 'The Biology of Belief. Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles' by Bruce H. Lipton, PhD. It sounds really amazing, I can't wait to start reading! ;)

Also, I would like to point out the Philosopher's Notes, something pretty similar, but about all the amazing books on personal development and spiritual growth you don't get the time to read, such as 'Loving What Is' or Eckhart Tolle's 'New Earth'! Very powerful stuff. You can download in PDF Format or as MP3. There are two issues to download for free too! Unfortunately, the rest costs a bit of money :(

Hence, I had an idea: I have so many 'spiritual' books at home in my bookshelf, with all the best bits underlined and highlighted, but once they're back on the shelf, I hardly grab them again to re-read things and so most of it gets easily forgotten again! ;)

So I decided to write these bits of condensed wisdom in my little notebook, to have it always at hand when needed. So far, so good. Thinking of the Philosopher's Notes, I have now decided to give you this bit of extra knowledge for free, for your personal happiness and fulfillment :)

After all, sharing is the greatest gift, and what you give you will receive. :)

So from now on, I will publish a note on a regular basis, from all the amazing books I have read so far...look forward to some inspiration dudes! 

All Love, Nadjaaaaaaa :)

An approach in pictures

F/STOP Leipzig-International Festival for Contemporary Photography

SO! Lately, I have been really busy house hunting for Stockholm, but in the meantime I had the chance to volunteer at the F/STOP Photography Festival a week ago. It was absolutely AMAZING!!! :) Many international artists have been invited, exhibited and discussed amongst high-ranking artists from Leipzig and the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB Leipzig).

There were three major themes running through the shows: the first one was called 'Closer: Vicinity and Distance in Contemporary Photography.' Themes ranged from abandoned items left in the streets of New York City, symbolizing a potential threat to health and safety to portraits of skinny and nerdy looking young people who were beautiful, but also looked like they needed therapy. ;) I best liked the series of the Leipzig based Photographer Anna K.O., 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'. She took portraits of fellow students at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts (HGB). Her direct way of stabling contact with her fellow students asks questions about interpersonal grievances and the division of society and the individual. 

Another thread was called 'Invited' and covered National and International Invited Shows. 

These images adressed very relevant and partially shocking themes, such as the exhibition 'Soul Stealer', which deals with young people in China who move to the cities and abandon their tradition of rice-farming, which might hence die out. Most appalling I found the portraits of 'albino' people, when I found out that there is a literal man-hunt in South Africa at the moment, since these people are supposed to have certain organs that are like aphrodisiac. I couldn't believe it! How cruel. I wonder what kind of people are capable of doing such things. Well, without empathy, anything is possible. I wonder, why do these people not use super foods such as maca powder for their libido. If they are in need of stimulation, at least they should not do it at the cost of other living beings, no matter if animal or human!

The last major theme was called 'Fallen', which has various meanings in Germany, such as falling, obviously, but also traps. Many of these pictures were rather funny and had a humorous approach, but one artist, Daniel Schumann, portrayed a lady in a hospice. The series was called Living While Dying, and the woman sitting in her chair observes people coming and going, while she has been there for more than a year now, just remaining in her chair, eyes wide open.

Left vs. right brain hemisphere and who we really are

This is  a truely amazing must-watch about a brain scientist who had a stroke that paralyzed her left brain hemisphere. Watch here which incredible effects this had on her entire being. 

It reveals who we really are and what we are capable of as human beings on this earth. Truely magnificient, it touched me to tears...

The Matrix

Is she 'worth' 900 Kronas?

Okay, I admit it, I actually am addicted to good music. I am still singing :)

So you can understand what I am so mad about, I will share the song with you. You can listen to it here.

Enjoy and tell me if you love Jens' music as much as I do! ;)

''Loves me, loves me not....

I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-not, so she'll think of me, in Barcelona...'' I am dancing my socks off all day already to that Jens Lekman song. I know the lyrics by heart now...just gotta practice the hands-clapping. ;)

Jens is not afraid to lend his heart out to a stranger. 'Wear your heart on your sleeves' is a common saying. But what if we get burnt each time we try to open up? Emotional pain accumulates and we build armor, in order not to get hurt again. Our pain is our armor. 

This must not be. Jesus said 'build your house on rock, not sand'. I think what he meant was that if we build our lives on 'sand', we are always dependent on outer circumstances. One disappointing phone call and our world crumbles. If we build our house on 'rock', which is unconditional love, then nothing can really harm us. He who loves has conquered the world! 

Those disappointments arise from the expectations we have on other people. In order to enter a truly healthy relationship, it is vital to understand that the other person can neither add nor take anything away from us. From this point, freedom arises. 

The illusion of a partner is, in most cases, experiencing the lack of interconnectedness with all things, as author and speaker David Icke explains. We want to be with someone so badly because we hope that (s)he will ease our existential pain. For a while it even seems like that, when we are 'in love'. But soon, the frustration comes back and often, we project it onto the other person. This is where the human drama begins. The point is to look at the lessons we have to learn ourselves from this. After all, we have chosen that person to learn a thing or two, and not to be happily ever after.

In the play 'Closer', one of the female characters says to the other about men: 'They love the way we make them feel, not us.' Or, in other words: they are not in love with a person, but with the anticipation of the emotion they're addicted to. We don't even know what real love is. These 'I love you' s don't mean anything if we are at the same time capable of despising someone so deeply for something (s)he has done or said that hurt us. It is not love until it is unconditional. Real love has no opposite and knows no fear, is not conditional and not limited to one other person. We barely love ourselves. How can we believe to truly love another person? This is a very deceiving illusion that will cause us pain again and again. I am not trying to sound like a locked-up cynic here, but rather trying to understand the motivations behind everyday behavior and hurt.

Why do women complain that men cannot commit? Maybe because they feel contempt for men. Contempt that has grown out of past disappointment and accumulated emotional pain that still lives inside of us. And people always act according to how we expect them to act. If we believe that men are crap, then we will always attract men into our lives that will confirm that belief. Hence it is important to de-condition from such destructive thought patters and see others with fresh eyes, from a heart perspective. Understand that we are always complete and whole and the other person's task is not to make us happy, but aware. Shift your inside from fear to love, and the outside will unfold accordingly.

Many blessings,

Nadja xxx

Less is more.

'It was raining outside, so I cleaned house today. Spent half of the morning, throwing old things away' is what The Mountain Goats from Sweden sing in their sweet twee songs. This is not really exemplary though, considering the new wave of ethical consuming and recycling that finally hits the masses. Yes, being eco is now 'in'. Corporations sell us hedonism without regrets, if the consumer wants it, (s)he will get climate protection and social justice on the shelf.

One example is the new campaign from Topshop: 'Topshop wants your rubbish!' Reusing and recycling old unwanted clothes is the new ecofriendly and concience cleansing campaign, in alignment with fairtrade labels and organic cotton clothes. 'Planet, Sweet Planet' read the T-shirts these days. This Marketing Strategy is called 'Greenwash', modelled after the term 'Whitewash'. Quite appealing at first glance, but are the corportions REALLY interested in saving the planet or is it not just all about making more profit? How serious are they really about their efforts? I mean, you can compensate your bad concience for regular flying by donating for a good cause in India, in some 'Human Energy'-project, in which the Indians are encouraged to use footpumps instead of diesel-to stop CO2 emission. Well, it sounds rather cynical to me... Also this hype about the so eco-friendly washing nuts from India: the demand for them in the Western World has grown so rapidly that the prices on the global market have risen to such a height that now the Indians are not able to afford them anymore! Now they have to use chemical detergent and pollute their environment even more. The opposite of well is meant well.
So is there no way out of this? Well, there is, but it might not be as sexy and eye-catching as bying T-shirts that say 'I used to be a...' It is simply to get informed (e.g. see the Channel 4 programme 'The Devil Wears Primark', of which the screening has now been postponed for some dubious reason...). And most of all: consume less, live more! I want to use this opportunity here to raise attention to the international BUY NOTHING DAY on Saturday, 29th November (UK).
Anyone can participate, it is about detoxing from consumerism and living without 'shopping'.

There is an article I have read long ago in a magazine, about Matt from Manchester. He wanted to move to London, but on the way, his lorry got stolen, with ALL his stuff in there. All he had left was the clothes he was wearing and his purse. It was not until then that he finally realised how much his books, DVDs and clothes meant to him. He decided to buy only the most essential things and became a minimalsit. Now he spends his money on going for meals with his friends and traveling :) Or Richard from Bristol, who quit his job with EMI to go to India and do a Yoga teacher training. When asked if he doesn't want a corporate job, for the salary and status, he added: 'Actually-no. It's about finding inner peace.'

I am not trying to patronize anyone here, I am not perfect myself. I just want to raise some awareness about the fact that everything we do and buy has an impact on our planet and the people around us. It is about making a difference, everyone of us, in the realms of each one's possibilities. We should be careful trying to compensate the feeling of spiritual and emotional emptiness with consumerism, since the gaping hole inside cannot be filled with more posessions but only with love and charity. We cannot solve our (global) problems with the same means we have created them. Go out and connect more with nature and the people around you. Build deep relationships that matter to you. Give more. Be creative. Love more. Keep it simple. Be there when people need you. Count your blessings. Take responsibility-for every area of your life.
Have the best day ever! :)

Be well.
One Love,
Nadja

aftermath

Life really flashed me today: I was writing about Kate Bush before...and ten mintes later I got in the car and turned on the radio...and guess which artist was playing! Yepp, Kate Bush! I couldn't believe it! It really showed me once again that everything IS connected and nothing happens randomly. The Universe is constantly communicating with us, the question is just: are you listening? :) 

another sunny day

HEJ!

This is the first post in my blog and I am happy I finally got round to do this since the idea has been growing within me since a while now. :) 

I am sitting here in my room listening to Radiohead, and a fresh post-rain/thunderstorm air is coming in through the open windows. The birds are singing and I am feeling goooood :)

This is the first time I am working with my new MacBook,  gradually getting used to it ;)

This morning, I signed up to the awesome rawfood online community giveittomeraw.com, a platform for people who love raw foods. It is hosted by the lovely Dhrumil, who has published this great quote by Eckhart Tolle which I would like to share here: 

Internal and External Worlds

"Internal and external are ultimately one. When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently. Love and compassion arise, and they affect the world."

What does this mean to me? Basically, the outer reality is just a projection of our collective inner realities. If you live in fear, your outer reality will always reflect this fear and you will hence get the corresponding experience. Energy goes where attention flows. 

If you shift your inner reality from fear to love, the outer reality, i.e. experiences and people you attract, will ultimately change as well. You will attract more love into your life, this is a universal law: what you send out comes back to you.  And after all, things are always in transition, everything is movement, energy, change. When I started writing this post, clouds were in the sky and I was listening to Radiohead. Now, just a couple of minutes later, the clouds have cleared up and the sun is coming through and I am listening to Zero 7. 

Yes, I have been digging out some old tapes! I remember the days before the digital age, when none of my friends had a laptop, and we were listening to all our favourite songs on our parent's stereo, making mixtapes for each other with Kate Bush on. Hmmm, I am getting really nostalgic now :) Digital is NOT always better. In this fast moving world, some slowing down and returning to basics might actually do us good. There is a great deal of creativity lying in slowness. In peace and quiet, there is space for greatness. You get access to the potential that is lying within each one of us. Its just the constant noise around us and within us that disturbs. Silence is important. In this respect, I would like to refer you to the amazing artists John Cage (musician), Merce Cunningham (dancer) and Robert Rauschenberg (painter), who were very interested in silence in music and nothingness in art. But more about this next time, gotta go now :)

All Love, Nadjaaaa xxxxxxxx :)