Guilen, Southern China

Yangshou, a magical place in time

Washing hands before entering Taoist Temple

Yangshou River, simply amazing

China: The old and the new

Cycling through the villages around Yangshou

Rice Field Beauty

So cute!

Walking along the Great Wall of China!

Great Wall Walk

The Great Wall

Great Wall, wow an amazing China experience!

I can highly recommend a 4-week holiday to Maui, Hawaii as a great way to de-stress, relax, recharge and have fun! I had a great time first in Lahaina with the family, catching up and spending days by the pool…yes some people may say that Lahaina is too touristy and that’s true, but it’s still beautiful, you can’t argue that!

From Lahaina I went over to Hana and spent a week with my friends who have an organic farm there. It was a nice break from the fast-paced world. After Hana I ventured over to Wailea where I worked at the Four Seasons Maui for a week. That was amazing! Met some great people, was surrounded by encouragement and support and thoroughly enjoyed livin’ it up for a bit!

Tasting the local healthy foods in Hawaii

For more photos of Hawaii, please go to my new website healthybliss.net where you can see a full gallery of shots.

To see some youtube clips of me in Hawaii, go to my channel at findyourhealthybliss.

Don’t forget, you can now follow me on Twitter @rawfoodbliss!

If you want to follow all the latest news and happenings of where I am and what I’m doing in the world, sign up for my new newsletter!

Wow, awesome ocean water in Maui, Hawaii!

It’s a very fine balance trying to succeed in today’s busy, crazy world while also making time for good food, nutrition, exercise and fun. It’s all about the balance, right? But how do you draw the line? Where do you make the time?

I myself even struggle with this issue. I get so busy with clients and writing and everything else that I can go for ten hours without a break. I can be busier with my work now than I was even in Corporate America. Everyone feels the pressure today. So what do we do?

Here are some things that work for me:

1. Take forced breaks. Every time I get up for the toilet, I force myself to do one other task while I’m up. It might be making my salad for lunch so that when lunchtime comes I have it already prepared, or it could be using a dry skin brush for a few minutes to get my circulation going. I might do some stretching, anything so that I have gotten something out of the break besides a toilet run.
2. Plan ahead. I give myself mini-goals throughout the day so I now where I should be with my schedule. I plan my day to include a walk or a massage or something that is just for me, so I know when that time comes I will stop, no matter how intent I am on my work.
3. Seek out help. If I feel too overwhelmed, I look for help and try to delegate as much as possible. At first this seems like it will take even longer because of the time to explain, but in the long run it will save a lot of time.
4. Meditation break. Even for 5 minutes every day I stop, reflect and give myself a few minutes of just being, breathing and focusing on the now.
5. Look for healthy take-away. Let’s be real – you might not have the time to make lunch or dinner even. But you can find healthy options for delivery. Don’t worry about the cost – if the $10 salad will stop you from eating the $5 hamburger it is well worth the added cost,. The healthier you are, the more productive you will be.
6. Always have healthy snacks on hand. There are times where you might have to work a 14-hour day and those are the days where we don’t want you to lose your health in the process. Keep dried fruit, raw nuts, or fresh fruit around so when you start to get the shakes you can grab a healthy bite and keep going.
7. Try not to eat late at night. Late night eating is the danger zone for most people. That is when emotional eating occurs and even more so when you are under stress. Be aware of that time for yourself; make a cup pf fresh ginger tea instead.
8. Don’t eat to please others. Often we get caught into family and friends telling us what to eat. Listen to your body; eat what you want when you want. They will get used to it. You will feel better.
9. Plan a holiday. It’s important to give your body time to recharge, rest, relax and rebuild. Be sure to make that time for yourself and eat healthy foods during your break so you return to work feeling restored and ready for the next onslaught.
10. Have fun! Go out with friends, watch a funny movie, have a laugh – it’s the best stress-reducer there is!

Keep in mind that your are creating the health of your future with everything you do today. So make the time, even one thing every day, to invest in yourself. Realize that health is the biggest wealth there is…as long as you do a little bit every day you can stay on the preventative side and still have balance in your world!

I’m not fat, there’s just more of me to LOVE

Civilized Sumo

Relaxed Sumo

Intelligent Sumo

Wide Sumo

Festive Sumo

LOVED Sumo

Thanks Momey for giving me so much love. My heart hurts just thinking of you…
Here’s to the best cat in the whole wide world. I love you Sumo.

Lots of good stuff is happening for me as well…since being back in Samui I’ve been pretty busy with lots of different projects. Last week I was interviewed by Fah Thai magazine, the inflight magazine for Bangkok Airways. They are doing an article on my Iridology at the Four Seasons – yeah! So check your inflight mag this Sept/Oct and look for some cool pics of me

Stay tuned for some upcoming travels planned for next month and beyond…

My last night in Bali was good fun, I had a free night at the Four Seasons Resort!! Below are my video clips from my villa, what a great little crash pad, not a place place to watch the time slip away!

I’m off to Bali at the end of this month for 10 days of island fun. If all goes well I should have a booth at the Bali Spirit Festival in Ubud doing Iridology reading and selling crystals. Then a bit of exploration is on the schedule as well as checking out the new raw food restaurant in Ubud – yum, yum!

After that I have a flight scheduled to Perth – thanks to the great cheap sale fares to be found on the internet – how lucky was I!! So I am due to be in Perth in the beginning of May…if any of my Aussie friends or Perth-based clients are reading this and have space to let me crash on their floor for a night or two, please send me an email!! I am as quiet as a mouse and will be out most of the time as I have a 4-day seminar that I am planning to attend. I can trade accommodation for Iridology readings!!!

Hope to see you all on the road, crossing paths in our journeys sometime soon!!

Life is so simple and yet abundant at the same time for me here every day in Thailand. I have the sea at my doorstep, I see the beach and sunrise over the water every morning, I run through the backroads of the island for exercise, I walk the beautiful stretch of beach 3 miles every day, I visit with friends, spend time with clients, have time to read or listen to music or whatever I want to do, I make my own schedule every day, working as much as I want to, I have time to work on my own projects, I enjoy and appreciate the simplicity of my days, I stay away from traffic and stress as much as possible, I sleep with the sound of the waves in my room, I have an abundance of fresh healthy food and I am in gratitude with every moment.

I created the life that I wanted to live, having escaped from corporate America over 10 years ago now and never once have I looked back, I work with passion and enthusiasm with what I do (finally!), and I did it all on my own against what everyone said was possible. If I can do it so can you, and I can tell you, your chances of success will be much greater if you believe in what you do and if you truly love your work. So spend some time getting to know yourself and find out what makes you uniquely special. Then become the best there is in the field that interests you. It won’t even feel like work when you find something that you love to do, that is how you know you are living out your true calling. Now more than ever it’s time to give up the financial rewards and start looking for inner satisfaction and peace of mind, body and spirit. Good luck and hope to see you on the road one day

Not much new here; some recent days in Bangkok and an overnight in Singapore where I got to see Chinatown in the heart of Chinese New Year. Man, they really take their New Year’s stuff seriously – with all the symbols of good luck, health, wealth, safety and love – the Chinese really get into their New Year. It was fun to see all the festivities, people and food.

Bangkok is still busy with tourists as well – I don’t know where they are all coming from, but hotels are still full and places are heaving with foreigners. I couldn’t think of a better time to take a holiday really, and Thailand is a cheap place for it if you are willing to go for a basic bungalow and simple Thai food.

I find it kind-of ironic how for years people have commented to me about my crazy style of living is, how foolish I was to not own a house or have a stable job…and now look at things! There is no such thing as stable, something I have known all along-ha ha!! And who wants to be stuck with a mortgage now – certainly not me! I relish in my financial freedom and choice of lifestyle. It is so much more important to be true to yourself and enjoy your life, because we just never know what may be around the corner.

So if you are ‘suffering’ from this ‘credit crunch,’ try to look at it from a different point of view – perhaps it is a gift, or an opportunity, to slow down, relax and rest, enjoy life a bit, figure out what it is you really want to do, spend more time with your family and friends, and realize what is most important in life is not money, but simple plain-old happiness. And guess what…happiness is FREE!

Tourism has picked up in Thailand these last few weeks, and it seems as if the airport closure has not affected the long-term tourism in the Land of Smiles…luckily for the Thais we are seeing people from all over the world come to the beach for their holidays still. Everywhere in Koh Samui is full of tourists…now all we need to do is order some better weather, more sun and blue skies, and all will be perfect again!

Now more than ever, I think it is important to focus on the things in life that really matter, such as health, family, laughter, happiness and joy and not worry so much about credit, money, interest and loans…these are not the things that create a wonderful life…as I always say in my meditations at the Spa ‘Happy is he whose wants are few. The fewer the wants, the happier the person. Who doth not want many things is the king of kings. It is our wants that make us poor. He who has no wants is the richest person.’ So focus your mind and energies on all the things in life that you do have, all the abundance around you, and then you will see and feel how wealthy you really are!

Lots happening in Koh Samui for me lately. Check out my latest work opportunities at one of the spas on the island:

http://www.kamalaya.com/holistic-medicine.htm

All the best of Health and Wealth to everyone for 2009 and let’s all focus on a clean Mother Earth resonating only energies of peace, gratitude and love!!

If anyone is looking for a good holiday destination, Thailand is a fantastic place to visit, even more so now because you can negotiate good room rates and not have to deal with crowds! So, as long as you find an alternative way to arrive here, be sure to come – the Thai people really need the business! And I can tell you that the average Thai person is very unhappy with this current situation; most of them are embarrassed and feel that their country is losing face. I would have to tend to agree.

So, we continue to wait.

Here in Samui the more pressing issue at the moment is the continued rain. We actually had a break today for a few hours for the first time in over a week. Most people are saying that they didn’t think it was possible for it to rain so much without a break. It is funny watching how people still manage to get out, holding umbrellas while they ride their motorbikes, most people wearing ponchos with a helmet over top, I even saw one guy simply wearing a plastic bag on his head – I guess he didn’t care about his clothes, just wanted to keep his hair perfect. I have also seen a lot of people just surrendering entirely and riding around in their swimming trunks with no shoes even. When the rain does break, everyone quickly runs out to do shopping or errands before the next onslaught, and there is flooding in the streets, mud on the roads and broken umbrellas littering the sides of the roads providing evidence of the magnitude of these storms. I have a friend who is a school teacher at the grammar school down the road and her partner told me today that their sewage system backed up from lack of drainage and flooded the school kitchen with rain and sewage water. Lovely!

The photos below were taken on my way to Tesco Lotus in Chaweng 2 days ago. I nearly had water coming over the hood of the car at one stage! It was rather entertaining watching the young Thai teenagers trying to blast through the high waters on their motorbikes, only to have the engines stall half-way through and then have to walk the bike through the rest of it. I think the old Thai men were sitting along the side of the road taking bets over who was going to make it and who wasn’t! I suppose it is our equivalent of a good winter storm. The Thais seem pretty used to this chaos.

So, with any luck the rains will subside and the protesters will retreat and we will be back to big smiles and sunny weather in Thailand very soon.

Samui Rainy Season

Note the umbrella holding method

But even bigger news for me is that I plan to get a hot water heater installed in my shower this week!! Yeah!! Yes, that is right – I have been living with cold water showers for over 2 years now! Could you imagine?? Well I should say that most days here when it is 30C you don’t really mind having a cold shower and that is usually for about 10 months of the year. It’s the other 2 months that can be rather unpleasant.

The amazing thing is that it hasn’t really bothered me at all. In fact the very simplicity of my life here is what makes me love it so much. I have very few possessions and the ones that I do have I really appreciate. For example, I have a refrigerator, a juicer and a blender and with that I feel that my culinary needs are complete. I don’t even have a kitchen but it doesn’t worry me!! I have a bicycle which is rusty and has no gears but someone left it here and it is perfect for jetting into town and back. I love it! I have an old desk with 2 drawers that have no frame so you pull them out and there is nothing but who cares! I love the desk just to have a place to sit at my computer. I have a hard wire internet connection and with that life is truly complete, isn’t that right! I have a desk lamp which someone gave me – it works but is a bit wobbly…but how I love using it when I just want some soft lighting! I also have an extra fan which someone else gave me – and since I don’t have air conditioning, that extra fan has saved my life in very hot spells.

My point in outlining all of that is to show you how little you really need in order to feel fulfilled and grateful. In fact, you probably never even stop to appreciate the hot water in your shower every day do you? Yet alone all the other wonderful means of abundance you have all around you?? Sometimes in life we become so focused on everything we still don’t have or what we think we still need, and we forget to stop and feel the gratitude for everything we already have. I am quite sure that I feel more ‘complete’ and at ‘one’ with myself and my life than many of you out there who have 10 or 20 times the material wealth that I have.

So stop, look around you, see and feel the abundance in your own life, and take a moment to say “I am so grateful for……’

So I am happy to be back and out the the North American approaching winter, but just wishing for some sun and warmth! It will come…eventually. In the meantime I’m trying to keep on top of the mold situation inside my bungalow, which is pretty near impossible, and waiting patiently with the Thais for this to be over! Yesterday was Loy Kratong, the full moon and sign of the end of the rainy season so according to the locals the rain should stop. Should.

Hey, it is the tropics, and part of being in the tropics is living with the rain.

Perhaps the hardest thing to deal with all weekend was that there were too many things all happening at once – with 3 talks going at any time plus raw food cooking demos plus meditations every hour and exercise workshops in addition to live music and all the vendor booths, it was just impossible to see and do everything!

I met some amazing people, from the speakers to just other participants like me, and if only I had more time, I would have met more of them! I guess there is always next year….

Minh, me and JiYoung

Anyway, the speakers….so many good ones. Everyone had something unique to add and something good to say – this was the beauty that I saw even within the diversity of the speakers.

David Wolfe was someone who I was really excited to see…especially because his book ‘The Sunfood Diet Success System’ was the main book that I used in my raw food transformation. I must admit that since then he has gone a lot more commercial, and many would say that he is a supplement pusher more than anything else these days, but I did enjoy his talks and his enthusiasm. You can’t deny that this guy is into raw foods, that’s for sure. He had some great points. I liked when he said, ‘We are coming out of a nutritional holocaust.’ He noted that, ‘Everything we eat is affecting our state of consciousness.’ Now we all know that, but think about it really. I mean REALLY. Include in there the coffee and cakes and chocolates and all the little things which really do add up in a big way.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Dr. Flora VanOrden speak, she has been a raw foodist for over 40 years and worked with Ann Wigmore for over 25 years. This was her first public appearance in over 10 years, and we were all blessed to hear her words of wisdom. She has done some amazing work over the years doing outreach education. She outlined her secret recipe for a longevity smoothie, and hey, it looks like it’s working for her!

One of the most motivating speakers I saw was Kris Carr author of Crazy, Sexy Cancer. This woman is so incredibly positive and uplifting, and to hear her come from a place of real healing and still remain so full of love and gratitude, well it was completely inspiring. She definitely advocates changing to a healthy diet but also doesn’t over-define the diet she is on and allows room to accept herself with the cancer, instead of feeling that life would only be good or whole if the cancer were gone. I hope to see more of her outside of hospitals and more speaking to general audiences because we need to get this message to people BEFORE they get sick. Prevention, yeah. She also talked about affirmations and saying every day, ‘Thank you for my prefect health, my spiritual wealth and my happiness.’ Something we can all do, wherever we are!

Other great quotes to remember…’Vote with your Fork!’ and ‘Make Juice, not War!’

I also saw Dr. Yashpal Jayne who spoke about Ayurvedic principles, Dr. Jameth Sheridan, Dr. Ritamarie Loscaizo talking about thyroid dysfunction, Brigitte Mars explaining color therapy, Philip McCluskey who has had an amzing transformation and has lost over 200 pounds on his raw food journey, and Ronnie and Minh talking about sprouting sunflower seeds at home (they are so cool by the way).

Are you overwhelmed yet??? I was!!

I was very inspired by seeing Matthew and Terces Engleheart, owners of Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco talk about their concept of ‘Sacred Commerce.’ They are the most genuine, kind-hearted people and I am sure that every staff member they have feels lucky to work for them. They talked about ‘clearing energies’ with each staff member before each shift as a way to make each and every person feel loved and appreciated, and from there as they start their work for the day, they are only spreading more of the same love and, well, gratitude. We practiced the exercise on each other…and it really works!! I so hope to meet them again!

And, just so you know….we are only half-way through the festival at this stage!!! So you can imagine how many great speakers there were…quite a few that I was sorry to have missed

I was very happy to see Karen Knowler from the U.K. and I was impressed how authentic and down-to-earth her message was….I really wasn’t sure what to expect after seeing her website which seemed very commercialized, but I’ve gotta say that girl is speaking her truth, and living it too. She’s a great public speaker and had me feeling inspired by the end. As she said, you’ve gotta ‘find a way that works for you.’ She points out that when you eat something, ‘ask yourself, what am I trying to get from this food and why?’. She also stresses visualization and emphasizes that you need to have a bigger version of yourself to step into on your journey. So….who do you want to be???

Sunday morning was my day of enlightenment during the festival. I had a silent prayer very early Sunday morning where I asked to meet someone who really motivated and uplifted me, and on the very first talk I went to at 8:00am Sunday morning, I knew I was receiving what I had asked for! Dr. Medicine Wolf was, by far, the highlight if my weekend. One of the first things he said was that he has dedicated his life ‘to the healing of Mother Earth and all Life.’ And he was genuine, wow this guy moved every single person in that room. The most impressive thing about him is that he has no ego whatsoever. Just a man full of love dedicated to helping everyone. As he said, ‘I don’t care if you are a butterfly, an elephant, a dog or a cat or a human being, I want to help you all just the same.’ He made it very clear that ‘we lose a species to extinction every 10 minutes, and WE are on that list!!’. He talked a lot about the chemicalization and radiation that is affecting the planet and all life today. His words were ‘we have to move from a numb and dumb situation; we need to advance our brain and we will discover that we have the intelligence to live in a disease-free state and every thing we need to do this is in Mother Earth.’ He also explained the importance of frequency 528, the exact scientific frequency of divine unconditional love. If you make one goal from reading this entry, it should be to try and meet Medicine Wolf just once in your lifetime.

Medicine Wolf Rocks!

Before I forget, I must mention Shantree and Lorenna, such a beautiful couple living their message and sharing so much wisdom and knowledge with others. I really felt a connection to them and would highly recommend anyone visiting their centre and working with them in the future. I love Shantree’s concept of ‘spending 20 minutes every day with a tree’ as a way to actively meditate and re-connect with nature. You guys rock!!

I was so busy moving from talk to talk that I missed Victoria Boutenko’s talk, but luckily I was able to meet her in person and have a chat about Green Smoothies, because I tell you, her book ‘Green for Life’ is incredible, and it really helped so many raw foodists I know add an extra value-packed meal to their diet each day. That woman is so gentle and kind and really genuine…I so hope she comes to Thailand soon

Now…we are finally getting to the ‘headliners.’ Sunday was a day FULL of amazing speakers. I finally got to see Victoras Kulvinskas speak, and I can honestly tell you that this guy is so HIGHLY evolved and so incredibly intelligent that he has to struggle to come back to earth and find a way to communicate to us mere humans. It’s so unbelievable and if you weren’t energetically tuned-in, you might say that he has dementia or that he is ‘out-there,’ and guess what, in a way you would be right! This guy is super-knowledgeable and I find it such a shame that in the recently aired television show 20/20 on USA tv network ‘abc,’ that Victoras was edited to look like a complete fool when asked about this so-called new health threat called ‘orthorexia.’ If you had a chance to meet Victoras in person and if you had any ounce of conscious to your spiritual body, you would know instantly that this guy is tapped into something much bigger than what we know on earth to date. Enough said. I love him! His talk was uplifting, full of useful knowledge and very funny as well! Victor man, keep being you!!

So many people to mention, but gotta wrap this up so I’m going to end with mentioning 2 very impressionable speakers for me this year…one is Gabriel Cousins who has been a spiritual and health teacher to so many and is so powerful in his energy and his presence. His talks centered mainly on the success he has has in reversing diabetes just through diet. Check out his new DVD on the subject. This guy is an MD from Columbia Medical School by the way, and he has embraced the raw food diet for over 30 years!! So enough with calling us ‘airy-fairies’ – ha!

And finally I must mention Doug Graham who was one of the last speakers of the festival but had one of the most powerful messages and that was ‘I though this was a raw food festival…so where is the FOOD?’ Hahaha…you knid-of had to be here to get the jike, but the festival was over-run with vendors selling supplements and ‘super’ foods and everyone agreed there was a definite lack of ‘real’ food. Gotta give it to Doug who is true to his message which is EAT WHOLE FOODS! In that case there is no need for supplements or processed and refined superfoods. I liked his simplicity – it goes a long way. All the Doug crew are invited to Koh Samui anytime for some yummy Durian indulging. Earn your food – yeah!

What can I say to close except I am fully inspired to be a speaker at the festival next year! We need more girl power representing and also we need someone like me to tell my story, which is totally different to everyone’s story I heard, and to speak to the newbies in the raw food world because we have to find a way to make this lifestyle work for everyone, no matter where they are on their journey!

With that I say HAPPY EATING and MANY BLESSINGS!!!

Raw Spirit Sedona 2008

Homeward Bound!

Still, it’s great to be back in the USA and I will fully enjoy my 6 weeks break here. I’ve been shopping like crazy these last few days getting all of the end-of-summer bargains in…something we don’t have in Thailand because, well, it’s summer all the time. So nice to have clothes that fit and are not made for 5′ high Thai women with 17″ waists!! I can even get shoes that fit me!!! Life is good. I have also been enjoying simple things, like driving, which if you do it every day for hours stuck in traffic you obviously hate it, but if you never really drive at all then it becomes an enjoyable novelty again. Freedom.

Seeing family has been great as well, and friends and of course my big fat beautiful cat Sumo, who is still going strong after 21 very spoiled years.

So I’m digging into to all the good things that there are on offer here, namely good cheap wine, and yes I did indulge in a sesame bagel today and it was bee-u-tiful! On Thursday I am heading out to Arizona for a crazy fun-filled 3 days in Sedona at a Raw Food Festival….

So I’m sure I will have some interesting stories to share from that! I’m looking forward to seeing some Red Rock and feeling the energy of Sedona for a few days…also hanging out with conscious-minded people will be good fun too!

So stay tuned…I’ll update more as the weeks progress during my time here in ‘America.’

Hey mister bee the world change but you remain the same
And i wonder how you’ll survive with the environment going down the drain
Hey miss dragonfly i see you look at me with your beautiful eyes
You must be wondering what type of creature am i

A dog looked at me and said ziggy why can’t we trust man
Puss and me get together [so] why can’t you all just understand
An old tree stood there silently listening to every word we said
As a tear fell he cried what type of creature is man

I said hey mister tree the world change but you remain the same
And i wonder how you survive with the environment going down the drain
Hey miss butterfly i see you look at me with your beautiful eyes
You must be wondering what kind of creature am i
You must be wondering what kind of creature am i

Everybody’s worried about time
But i just keep that shit off my mind
People living on twenty four hour clocks
But we’re on a ride yes we’re on a ride we’re on a ride that never stops

Hey mister bee the world change but you remain the same
And i hope you’ll survive with the environment going down the drain
Hey miss butterfly i see you look at me with your beautiful eyes
You must be wondering what type of creature am i
You must be wondering what type of creature is man

Ziggy Marley – Dragonfly

I like the low season because it’s quiet. I haven’t seen a prostitute on the premises of my bungalow for months. But the European summer is approaching….so before long I suspect I shall see the groups of Italian Stallions bringing in different girls every night. Want a holiday full of sleazy, dirty cheap sex? Come to Thailand!!!

Must admit I don’t resonate with that side of Thailand at all.

But there are many good things about this place, and if you chose to spend a lot of time here, you must focus on the good and just accept the bad. Generally speaking the Thai people are very caring and kind, but often in very subtle ways that are not obvious to the average Western eyes. Once you are able to see the subtle nuances in their culture, it can really be a pleasure to live amongst them. They also have a great sense of humor and a light-hearted way of looking at life, which is so refreshing when you come from a society where everyone complains. Thai people just don’t do that. Yes I fully know that the Thais also repress a lot of their anger and it can lead to a lot of physical abuse at home, believe me I know the underbellies of Thai culture. But on a daily basis in terms on living in a place where people are friendly, Thailand is good.

It’s definitely not as cheap to visit here as it used to be. The English complain about the price of beer, which to be honest I would have never noticed, but I do see the price of coconuts and pineapples rising. Same same everywhere in the world really. Can’t get away from that one.

And still, where else can I afford to live right on the beach and hear the sound of the waves from my bungalow as I sleep at night? That one sells me every time. Despite all the debauchery around me, I’ve always got the sound of the waves.