More to the point lets examine the validity of Raw Food Diet as a “healthy” diet. What constitutes a healthy diet? The more appropriate question would be “what does NOT constitute a healthy diet?”. Being that most degenerative diseases are diseases of excess we should first look at what needs to be eliminated from our diets to make it a healthy one. Even most nutrient “deficiencies” are caused by poor eating choices and overeating in general. By and large, deficiencies are not from eating insufficient nutrients, they come out of ignorance of the natural physiological functions of our body. Yet we are convinced that all we need is MORE CONSUMPTION to cure what ails us. “Eating less food cures disease” is, again, just as true as “Raw Food Cures Disease” but again,quite incomplete.

A healthy diet is a diet that respects and observes our natural biological, chemical, and anatomical constitution and function. Our bodies are designed to provide us with everything we need to flourish and all we have to do is remove all obstacles that may arise due to our disconnection from nature and intuitive knowledge. By eating the foods that we are designed to eat in the form which they were designed to be eaten, we allow our bodies to function efficiently and effectively with a fair and even distribution of energy and resources throughout the entire body. So raw food seems to fit that criteria, yea? Hardly. Think about elementary Geometry. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Well all healthy food is “raw”, but not all “Raw Food” is healthy. Think about what was said in the beginning of this passage. Diet is just one of many aspects of overall health. Well in the very same way, the “rawness” of a food is just one of MANY aspects to be considered when rating the health value of any food. Here are just a few other aspects that are just as important; food combination, calorie content, caloro-nutrient ratio (carb/fat/protein), volume, water content, etc. None of the aforementioned characteristics are exclusive, by any means, to a “raw food” diet. In fact, many cooked food choices score more points on this checklist than certain “raw foods”. Sure, it has been reported that many people experience marked improvement in health by adopting a “raw food” diet based solely on the fact that all foods eaten are raw. The fact is that paying close attention to ANY one aspect of proper diet, e.g. raw vs. cooked, will increase your level of health to some degree but is thoroughly incomplete as a path towards overall health and wellness. In Dr. Shelton’s extensive food combination studies he found that even those who lived on standard American fare found tremendous relief from simply learning proper combination of the otherwise unhealthy foods they were eating. The work of Dr. Graham shows that, whether raw or cooked, a diet of sufficient carbohydrates and a relatively low amount of fat will provide a tremendous boost toward increased health. If we only judge our food choices on the single merit of whether or not it is “raw” we open the door for a myriad of dangerously high-fat, abhorrently combined, toxic food choices that are sure to bring the same inner putrefaction and toxic loads as any cooked food options we may encounter. Therefore the statement “Raw Food Makes You Sick” is as true and easily as justifiable as the statement “Raw Food Cures Disease“.

In the proper context, with the right rationale, and by way of mere technicality one could potentially argue that “Raw Food Cures Disease” is a true statement. However it is rarely ever accompanied by the whole “big picture” message presented here. The simple reason for this is that when “Raw Food” is contextualized in this way it loses any practical significance. It becomes less marketable and less worthy of the sensationalized cult following it has been able to sustain. The convenient omission of the Natural Health Science behind such statements has irresponsibly caused a new kind of food obsession that brings people no closer to health than any other foolish diet fad. This is not to say that everyone must go directly to the perfect diet. I am also not implying that one cannot begin their health journey with “raw” food as a first small step, but the deceptive way these statements of fragmented truth are framed has many people inferring that this tiny first step is actually the destination. Diet itself is simply one aspect, and a single aspect of diet such as whether or not it is raw, is merely peripheral in the grand scheme of overall health and wellness.

MDW

Freedom and Vibrant Health Through Nature

With Matthew Warner

What does freedom mean to you? To me freedom is independence of anything outside the domain of one’s self.  In a spiritual or an emotional sense this would mean that everything we need to satisfy our desires must be sought from within. In a more gross physical sense, the domain of one’s self would extend to the entirety of the physical body and include the elements of the earth and all other beings with which we share our existence. This is the domain that I will refer to as “Nature”. Nature provides us with air, water, food, sunlight, love, affection, touch, along with all the tools and intuitive knowledge we need to enjoy the pinnacle of healthful joy. Anything created outside of this “Nature”, often through manipulation and manufacturing, creates a void between ourselves and our inherent opportunity for total freedom and sustainability. When there is an apparent necessity for something outside of nature, i.e. medicine, supplements, refined micronutrients, drugs, alcohol, stimulants, etc., it is merely an indication that the principles of nature are being ignored in some other aspect(s) of one’s lifestyle. Our bodies are fully capable of every task necessary for vibrant health provided we maintain enough awareness to remove all obstacles that arise due to the self destructive lifestyles that have become convention.

Learn how to remove all of these obstacles and more importantly how to avoid allowing new obstacles to crowd your path to total freedom. We will explore and discuss practical lifestyle aspects from an anatomical, physiological, biological, mental, emotional, ecological, and philosophical/spiritual perspective. Of course not everyone is ready, willing, and/or able to make such a total reform, but gaining an understanding of this perspective is sure to provide a beneficial shift to some part or parts of your lifestyle and outlook.

Our philosophies tend to be geared toward an honor and reverence for nature because we can intuitively identify with the power and peace found in the miraculous natural world. The more you align your actions with that philosophy the more of that power and peace becomes accessible to us as individuals. When we are able to fully embrace a truly natural lifestyle we may find that all of our greatest desires are fulfilled without any boxed, packaged, bottled, electrified, digital, or destructive outside influences. We are able to joyfully experience and appreciate all that already is and break our attachment to fleeting material distractions. Optimum health and infinite joy is the natural state of being. Open your mind to the possibilities of a return to nature and the natural state of Freedom.

Topics Covered:

Dietary Nutrition

Elemental Nutrition

Physical Fitness

Integrative Exercise

Principles of Natural Hygiene

Finding your natural high

Applications of Natural Philosophy to conventional society

Overcoming Habits, addictions, and cravings

Natural Philosophy

Practical Sustainability

Emotional Observation

And More…

Detailed lesson plans forthcoming

Matthew Warner is a Hygienic Counselor, Nutritionist, and fitness facilitator. He is a 5 year raw vegan fruitarian, endurance athlete, Naturalist, Reiki practitioner, student of Hatha yoga, aspiring Acro-Yogi, and is currently pursuing his degree as a Hygio-Physician (Naturopathic Doctor). Matt has utilized a Natural Health/Lifestyle philosophy to transform his own life and now he wants to share with others who may be able to find the happiness and satisfaction they are seeking. You can learn much more about Matt at his website http://www.rawnaturalliving.com.

This class is by donation only (organic fruit welcome ). After all, how could I charge for a class about freedom?! You are free to donate only if you experience a positive shift or constructive revelation during the course and you would like to reciprocate. It is my opinion that capitalism in the natural health movement has greatly blurred the lines of true health and sustainability. Nature is free, but when you bottle it, box it, or trademark it, it becomes quite profitable. Of course at that point its essence is lost and so is its usefulness. Seek truth, avoid attachment, discard expectation, and abundance will find you.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please feel free to post them and I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

Your body regulates itself according to physiologically determined priorities. It takes the amount of energy that is available and directs it to the most life threatening issues immediately. Then, with whatever energy might remain, every issue of lesser urgency is tended to in descending order until the energy is exhausted. In nearly all conventional diets the energy is exhausted very quickly because of an excessive digestive load and/or a steady consumption of toxic substances.

So I ask again, What is a Cleanse/Detox diet? Is it a diet that will eliminate the introduction of toxins and reduce the amount of digestive stress as much as possible? If so then why is this not the ideal diet for maintenance? Is this just another way of rationalizing our motional and mental attachments to our destructive eating habits?

The diet that naturally fits us is the diet that gives us nothing more than a complete nutritional package and a relatively sufficient amount of clean efficient fuel. A diet that introduces toxicity to the body or has a constitution that is incongruent with our digestive capabilities, it is certainly not a health creating human diet. If we are consuming a diet that presents us with the necessity to occasionally alter our diet temporarily to “detoxify”,  then why on earth would we return to such a toxic diet? Surely we value ourselves more than that.

At the onset of my car-free inspired cycling journey I was very much in support of bicycle helmets and other tools of athletic safety. All of my friends and fellow cyclists wore and advocated them as well. Perhaps this practice was just so conventional that I was never moved to explore its virtuousness, as is often the case with most day to day issues.

One evening at dusk I was riding down a long open country road. On either side of the road were vast fields of tall grass. It was quite flat so I was cruising along at over 20mph. The sky was perfectly clear yet it began to sound as if it were steadily raining on my helmet. After the momentary bewilderment I quickly realized that my head was being pelted by thousands of small bugs who were either splattering on the helmet or ricocheting off onto the road. I was disgusted by this discovery and immediately pulled to the side of the road to contemplate the situation. As with all dilemmas I face in my life I look to the intuitive and self evident laws of nature to find a practical resolution.

Why are the bugs there?

They are there because nature has made it so. They have stood the test of natural survival and claimed their place in this world. They are there to fly, feel, live, and make their contribution to the delicate balance of their habitat.

Why is the helmet there?

The helmet has been created by man to protect our skull during the event of an accidental crash.

But hold on a minute…that means that the helmet is only useful while we are falling on our heads. At any moment that we are not falling on our heads, the helmet has no usefulness. So RIGHT NOW since I am not falling on my head the helmet’s only contribution is to kill and injure thousands of tiny flying creatures. RIGHT NOW thousands of creatures are dying in vain and RIGHT NOW the helmet is not protecting me because RIGHT NOW I am not falling on my head.

Needless to say, the helmet came off and went in my saddle bag behind me and for the rest of the ride I smiled joyfully every time I felt a little bug land safely into my soft cushion of hair.

Yea this story may be a bit silly and some would say I overreacted or overanalyzed the situation. But the point remains solid that we really need to think about these seemingly insignificant day to day occurrences as they represent the larger issues of our lives. In this case it is the underlying ignorance present in (Wo)Man’s quest for safety and security.

Plastics, chemicals, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, shipping methods, air pollution, water pollution; all of these products and byproducts of the “safety” industry. Are we REALLY safer? Or are we ignorantly poisoning ourselves and our fellow beings out of ignorance and fear. Beyond the gross physical manifestations of this ignorance, examine the energetics for a moment. These products of “safety” directly oppose the virtuous notion of being in the moment. By wearing a helmet you are energetically creating the intention that you are going to fall on your head. Why else would you be wearing it? The universe doesn’t understand “just in case”. Its is wearing something that only has purpose outside of the present moment. It is not “this is in case I fall on my head” it is  ”this is for when I fall on my head”.

It is fear based and therefore self propagating. There is a whole industry that makes billions of dollars off of fear and being outside of the present. It supports what is in my opinion the greatest travesty to afflict our society; FEAR OF DEATH. To fear dying is to be afraid to live and let live. Death is as beautifully virtuous to nature as is birth. Fear of death or of the unknown creates a massive wall between us and a blissful experience of nature and our true selves. This is of course not to say that facing and conquering such a fear is easy, but the massive collective ideas put forth by the institution of “safety and security” make it near impossible to even approach the concept let alone come to terms with it.

So do I have no regard for safety? Quite to the contrary, only I approach safety within the confines of natural order. Through my diet, physical fitness, cultivation of mental clarity, emotional poise, and all of the other tools given to me by nature I outfit my being to live a long healthy joyful life in harmony with nature. Strong, healthy, conscious people who live joyously in the moment don’t need safety, however when left to the will of nature, they will experience the fullest of lives, safe from the pitfalls of ignorance and fear. One moment in true bliss is far more meaningful and virtuous than 1000 years lived in fear.

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