It is Rajas season on Be Love Farm!
Today we have several volunteers here and I am so grateful that my BIG batch of bread ( first since finishing a weekend long Baguette class at SF Baking Institute) is going to be done in time for our community lunch! Rajas (fire roasted chilis and onions with fresh artisan bread) sounds yummy!
The same co-worker shared that her roommate's dog has bladder control problems. The dog pees, unintentionally, all over the apartment. She even got diapers for the dog, and urine still sometimes leaks out of the diapers. It made my situation not seem so bad (see photo). I'd take dirty dishes over dog pee any day. Moments after this discussion, I listened to a voice mail message from a customer. She was returning our call – from the Cafe Gratitude retail office – with an update on her address. The order she placed online for Cafe Gratitude retail didn't get to her; it got returned to our office. We didn't know why it got returned so we called her. After a few days she returned our call and left us the voice mail message that stopped me in my tracks. She explained that her apartment had burned down. That's why the order got sent back to us by UPS. There was simply no place to deliver it. So, the customer calmly gave us a new shipping address and confirmed that she still wanted the items she ordered. My stomach sank, and I felt guilty and ashamed for complaining about my roommate's dislike for washing dishes. My co-worker and I agreed that dog pee and dirty dishes didn't look so bad, compared to a burned-down apartment. It's all a matter of perspective.
The other day I was talking with a co-worker about how my roommate doesn't enjoy doing dishes. She lets dishes pile up without washing them for longer than I'd like. My co-worker sympathized.
Have you met frank? Well, let me introduce you. Frank Ferrante is a 58 year old Sicilian from Brooklyn; a lover of life, great food, beautiful women, and a good laugh. Four years ago, he was also a drug addict, morbidly obese, pre-diabetic, and fighting Hepatitis C. He was estranged from his daughter, single, and struggling with depression. Frank knew that life could be better, and was looking for a way out.
When he walked into Cafe Gratitude and his server asked him, "What is one thing you want to do before you die?" he responded, "I want to fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do." That server, Ryland Engelhart, arming himself with a camera and a wide open heart, enrolled his brother and his best friend in taking Frank on a transformational journey. The final agreement was made that for the next 42 days, Frank would turn his life over to three twenty-something young men committed to his healing and prepared to coach him physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Setting out to help Frank lose weight and get healthy, no one anticipated the profound impact this journey would have on the lives of countless others. Through Frank’s story of love, redemption, and transformation, the viewers witness the power of change for themselves and the world. To find out more about his journey, visit MayIBeFrankMovie.com
"In spite of the anxiety and uncertainty, I am so grateful to be alive and to participate in this adventure. I get to do my dream job; travel and emotionally connect with people. The Beatles were right, “ …and in the end. The love you take is equal to the love you make.” I plan to make as much as possible. "
Now, Frank is extending his invitation of love to you. "Change Your Life" is Frank's first ever retreat, held at a spectacular Malibu mansion overlooking the sea. This 4 day intensive is an opportunity to "make over your self," and includes inspirational seminars with Frank, daily yoga sessions, gourmet raw catered meals, and a swimming pool and private beach.
Fees for the retreat range from $1200 to $1500. When you call to register we will give you additional details on the available accommodations.
Recently, I experienced the Kindred Spirit workshop with Matthew and Terces. There were many profound openings in my soul and realizations of truth in my consciousness. It is my hope to share some of the benefit I received in Kindred Spirit with you through this blog post.
I made this recipe for Living Light's “5 in 5 Hot Raw Chef Recipe Contest”. It is easy to make, has only 5 main ingredients along with 5 flavor enhancers and is a truly delightful meal or appetizer depending on how hungry you may be. I hope you enjoy this light and refreshing recipe! Click here to see the video submission which will walk you through the process of making the recipe! The 5 main ingredients in this roll include: Avocado, Papaya, Jicama, Thai Young Coconut, & Nastertium Flowers. The 5 flavor enhancers include: Lime Juice, Sea Salt, Mint Leaves, Chili Flakes & Coconut Sugar Paste. The flavors and textures are well balanced, fresh, and truly alive. I hope you all love this light and filing meal as much as I do. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think or what you may turn this recipe into. I love all your creativity! Here’s the recipe:
Hi.
What an amazing week this was. We went to Los Angeles to lead Kindred Spirit and were so well received and supported by all the participants doing such deep and meaningful work on their relationships. I left completely inspired. We also got to soak up the LOVE at Cafe Gratitude L.A. where everyone wants to be and is! What a beautiful expression of love in action the Cafe is. I felt so good just looking around the restaurant at all the BEAUTIFUL VIBRANT people there knowing that they were in a fun, exciting and loving place being served food that is healing and good for them! What a miracle that is. What an amazing combination of serving others is created there. Thank you all. If you haven't yet been to the Cafe on Larchmont, make plans to visit it soon, you will LOVE your experience, I promise! We also got to hear Jason Mraz record a song on his upcoming album and I was deeply moved and appreciative of who he is for all of us. Thank you Jason!
Fresh peaches are in the Cafes now, and soon we will be moving to fresh frozen this year, so have and I AM Peachy soon, they are the sweetest peaches ever!
Anger is not my favorite emotion. I do not consider myself an angry person, and I do not frequently experience anger in my life. Situations that are uncomfortable for me usually elicit frustration, sadness, or hurt, before they ever touch the nerve of anger.
I am beginning to realize, that even though I do not feel angry when people betray my personal standards of conduct, my anger does surface in other ways: silence, avoidance, and irritability. I am beginning to consider that anger is actually on my side, and is trying to help me become more empowered in my relationships. I push it down because of fear that it is not socially permissible, or that it will not be taken well. Sometimes I am even afraid that if I let my anger out, it will simply be too much and run amok.
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric-James Horton, Certified Health Counselor, Chef, and co-owner of "Conscious Nosh Chef Services." Conscious Nosh is a bay area business that helps customers create personal health and diet plans, and delivers hand crafted healthy and delicious foods to their doorsteps to help them stay on track. (They also make overwhelmingly delicious raw vegan macaroons!) I caught up with Eric to find out about what has led him down this path, and what inspires him about his work.
To find our more about Eric, or to sign up for his "Farm To Table" Cooking Class on Sept 6th, visit: BayAreaHealthCoach.com.
What are you passionate about? I'm passionate about the work that I do; one-on-one health and wellness counseling, one-on-one cooking coaching, teaching group cooking classes and personal chef services. I love connecting with a huge network/community of movers and shakers in the health and healing world, learning about permaculture, becoming a homesteader and a family man.
What motivates you in the work you are doing?
Setting up a good home space for the future generations! I want my kids to live in a world that they feel safe and healthy in. My clients motivate me. Their strength and courage to create a life they feel powerful in motivates me to do all that I can do that too.
I'm back from a second amazing Leadership weekend at Be Love Farm in Vacaville, CA. I am incredibly grateful to be part of a group of forty strong dynamic and diverse light workers growing under Matthew and Terces leadership. Terces and Matthew's commitment to community and growing leaders is amazing, inspiring and producing incredible transformations.
This weekend I got in touch with how this training is providing me tools for a powerful inner healing. I grew up in a home in which community was always present. First, as a one of five children of a diplomat living in Germany, Turkey and Romania. Community showed up in the form of visitors and guests attending gatherings in our home, and visits and travels to others homes and places. Life swirled around me and I was enriched by it. Then as an adolescent, my parents settled in Washington, DC and created a spiritual center. From the age of thirteen, my parents held classes, services and workshops in our large home. In addition to these activities my father brought home a few assorted yogi's, inventors and kind folk who had fallen on hard financial times. These folks found refuge in our basement and lived with us for periods of time. During these years I experienced community connection in meditations, classes and services. But my experience included not only loving connection, but also anger at some of these strangers for intruding on my family experience. With my siblings, we criticized some of the community for being too wacky or weird. Honestly, I was embarrassed in front of my peers because I didn't have a “normal” family life! Looking back now I see my experience as a powerful early education in community. However there were gaps in my understanding of community, and those gaps began to show up when I was called to create and grow a spiritual center in NYC from 1975 – 1985. I am grateful I had the tools to create a dynamic center of spiritual learning and practice in mid-town Manhattan. So many people were benefited, so many good relationships grew. However my leadership skills, especially in growing community, were limited. I was still committed to being right and having strong opinions of others. I practiced unconditional love in meditation, but once I left meditation and re-entered ego awareness, the unconditional love gave way to judgements and opinions. These practices limited my effectiveness, and ultimately led to burn out.
For those of us who are gluten-free and/or vegan and need to find good baked goods to enjoy while everyone else is pigging out on the "regular" stuff, this is recipe is for us. And all of my friends who AREN'T gluten-free or vegan totally enjoy these treats as well. I was at my friend Debbie's house when she made these for her first time, and we both discovered our new favorite cookie. Even if you don't have time to make the icing, these cookies are great all by themselves. But we highly recommend the full experience. And yes, they do taste like my favorite Girl Scout Cookie, Thin[k] Mints. Enjoy!!!