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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Ida Larsen Spirits of Light, Wings of Fire Dj Brown Strong Minds and Powerful Hearts of Undying Spirit Marlene Buffa The Obstinate Heart Alegria Imperial Overcoming Resistance to Change Rev. Cheryl Jewett Being Upbeat in a Down Market: 12 Conscious Actions to Restore Abundance Jackie Lapin Stop Bottling Your Water! David Suzuki PhD Fasting: The Key to Optimal Health David Wolfe My Journey Back A Story of Diabetes Sam Hoover Foods which Create Health Elyse Nuff The Envelope Please… An Interview with David and Katrina Rainoshek Melissa Gilbert Breathe Wisdom Jacqueline Kramer Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Life in the Raw Melissa Gilbert Being Mindful Janet Alston Jackson Pet-sense Jean Hofve DVM Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson The Fasting Handbook Dining from an Empty Bowl Jeremy Safron Frugal Raw Mattye Lee Thompson Practicing Conscious Living and Dying Stories of the Eternal Continuum of Consciousness Annamaria Hemmingway Goji Cherry Truffles, Raw Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts and Mulberries and Rosemary, Garlic and Green Onion Pistachio-Almond Medley from Raw Food World

Please tell our readers about the Juice Feasting Program. How long ago did this all begin?

David: Almost 15 years ago, my mentor and colleague John Rose in Houston, Texas, discovered through thousands of hours of research and hundreds of days of fasting that you could drink a gallon+ of fresh juice each day for up to three months, and remove most—if not all—of the underlying causes of our most significant health challenges. Had John been working for a major university or the pharmaceutical industry, this discovery would have been world-famous instantly.

However, introducing juicing at this level to a processed-food, instant-gratification world was no easy task, and while John had moderate success in Houston, Texas, getting on television shows and radio programs, his approach did not receive nearly the attention it deserved. Over the last 15 years, however, John has coached thousands of people personally through Juice Feasts.

In 2003, I came into contact with John because of terrible complications from acid reflux, high blood sugar, overweight, and chronic pain. John was able to tell me more in five minutes about how to heal than the $50,000 in doctors and health professionals I had hired in three years of my quest to be well.

Within three weeks of implementing John's juice fasting program—called the "Ultimate Weight Loss Program", my symptoms were gone, as were the over-the-counter and prescription medications. I went on to study under the direction of Dr. Gabriel Cousens, MD for the Masters Program in Vegan/Live Food Nutrition, and read everything I could get my hands on about plant-based live food nutrition. I worked over 6,000 hours putting files together on everything related to nutrition and health, and during that time consulted students in what we did call juice fasting—now we call it Juice Feasting. I created a 90-Day Program in Live Food Nutrition for my students, with files that I emailed them each day before my daily consultations with them.

In August of 2006, two things hit me: I needed to call what we were doing Juice Feasting to emphasize the abundance aspect of the practice, and to give the gift of non-fear to the majority of society who see cleansing and healing through fasting to be a process of self-denial, deprivation, and hardship. Juice Feasting would stand as a program of self-reliance, abundance, and joy. Secondly, I switched my protocol and Live Food Nutrition Program to 92 Days, as Don Jansen and others were throwing the number 92 around as the number of mineral elements that were needed in the human body for optimal health. This would emphasize nutrient density, and be a number worth remembering—90 Days or 3 months just had no ring to it, despite the significance of the practice and discovery itself.

It is my hope, as the history of Juice Feasting is written, that people understand the significant discovery of how much juice to drink, and for what length of time, was made by John Rose, as was the initial use of the term juice feasting as a descriptive term. I decided to use the term Juice Feasting with capital letters to distinguish this practice from the common practice of juice fasting on much less juice, which is a distinctly different experience despite the apparently simple addition of more juice to the protocol.

This, combined with a group of supplements I learned about from Gabriel Cousens, MD, David Wolfe, and others, became my version of the Juice Feasting program in late 2006. It was at that time Angela Stokes came into contact with me and learned about Juice Feasting. I coached her—she used the relatively new blogging technology which had not been available/known to either John or myself in years past—and Angela became a significant force putting Juice Feasting (as I have created it) on the world stage.

Over the last year, Katrina and I have revamped the Juice Feasting program I have worked on for the last 4+ years, adding hundreds of videos, creating a Juice Feaster's Forum, updating the 350+ files on nutrition for download, and adding a free in-depth introduction to Juice Feasting to serve as a public record and service for those looking for consistent, knowledgeable, and up-to-date information about this Life Practice.

Before we talk more about Juice Feasting why don't you tell us a little bit about yourselves. Share how you met, what do you like to do for fun - stuff like that.

Katrina: This just might be the trickiest little question you have for us? How does one tell others a bit about themselves? I think the most spectacular little bit about David and I is that we are SOUL MATES and I never thought "soul mates" existed in the way I experience it now. Not in my wildest dreams did I expect to have such a love story in my life.

We met at the Tree of Life (TOL) Rejuvenation Centre in Patagonia, Arizona, where we now live. David was working as Dr. Cousens' Lead Research Assistant among other things, such as coaching the fasts and teaching the TOL café apprenticeship nutrition classes. I arrived as a café apprentice in January 2006 and David walked past me on the first night I arrived and I knew instantly that he was someone I needed to get close to. Then, the next night, I went to sit next to him in a community meeting and without even looking at me, David felt what he calls a "thundering silence" and he knew his soul mate had just sat down next to him.

We both feel that our coming together is one of our greatest testimonies for the power of raw foods. When you eat beautiful, raw, nutrient-dense, sun-filled foods and don't pollute your vibration, you come into alignment on so many different levels beyond physical health. As soon as we both honoured our authenticity, we found each other! My decision to come to the TOL didn't feel so much like a decision as it did a calling, and now I know why!

We now live in a beautiful small and simple straw bale house on a hill overlooking the fields and mountains of Patagonia, Arizona, where we work side by side at our computers, writing and illustrating books and running our website, and are aware of how precious each moment is! We both love hiking, and despite our height difference (6 inches) we keep pace with each other very well. (I was thrilled the first time David and I went on a hike and found out that he could easily keep up with my longer legs.)

If you could see our bookshelves you would know that we also love to read, and from the 1,500 plus books, you can see we love anything to do with raw food nutrition, sustainability, self-sufficiency, gardening, sailing (Katrina lived on a boat for over nine months while sailing to Tahiti), spirituality, peak oil, history, beekeeping, psychology and more. Oh, and if you want to read about pregnancy and babies, we have lots of books on that topic, too!

What is something you don't know about us? Well, I am a clothing designer and seamstress with a degree in textiles, and before coming to Patagonia I was running my clothing company called Johnny Now Joe, a line of 100% re-cycled, re-cut, re-stitched, re-loved, and re-ally happy clothing. Although I am thrilled to be working on Juice Feasting with David, I can't wait to pull my four sewing machines and 400+ pounds of old tee-shirts (that's about 1,200 tee-shirts!) out of the basement and set up shop again one day (on a much smaller scale than before… I think I'll focus mostly on Rainoshek clothes and stuff for friends). David, before he found out about raw foods, lived at Plum Village in France with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and considered being a monk there. Thank goodness for me that he did not!

And of course we eat all raw/living plant foods, and we are both so excited by how this makes us feel that we have set everything aside to bring this message to the rest of the world. We also strongly believe in the power of Juice Feasting and do see it as an important paradigm shift in health and healing. We are so excited to see how far-reaching raw foods is becoming and are happy to be part of this growing community that is seeing beyond live foods to transformation and abundance at every level, not just diet.

David, please tell us more about your experiences with Thich Nhat Hanh.

David: In 1985 I was introduced to the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh by Jeff Merkel, a good friend and Lutheran Pastor at Holden Village, an ecumenical community and retreat centre at Lake Chelan in Washington State. I was a sophomore in college on sabbatical for a year and a half and Jeff dropped a Parallax Press catalog in front of me and said, "Read this guy." "What should I read?" "Anything." Thich Nhat Hanh had written 50+ books at that point, and the subjects looked very engaging. A month later I picked up "Living Buddha, Living Christ". I read it cover to cover over a 4 hour period beside a creek I grew up near in Houston, Texas.

Two years later I was at a Zen session in Minnesota, and during dokusan (face-to-face meeting) my teacher recognized my deep desire to wake up and in the process serve (all beings). She told me that Thich Nhat Hahn was looking to ordain young persons such as myself as monastics. This resonated deeply within me, after considering it with my partner (at the time), we gave everything we owned away and went to France with one-way tickets. Immediately upon meeting Thay (Thich Naht Hanh is known as Thay to his students) and the monastic brothers I knew this was my authentic path. My partner, however, did not want to ordain, she wanted to remain married. It was a year of deep looking for me, many conversations with Thay and the brothers, before I made the difficult decision to remain with my former partner. To allow this experience to settle, within 3 weeks of coming back to the States, we began walking the 2,175-mile Appalachian trail, finishing seven months later.

This brings up two critical points for me:

One:

I did not honour my authenticity. I wanted to be a monk, and had I been true to my calling I would have ordained (At that time it seemed more honourable to remain in my original commitment to my partner). Anytime that we do not accept, as mythologist Campbell calls it, The Call to Adventure, life will let you know you made less than the best choice. For me, I became very ill after the Appalachian Trail and was so for three years before finding out about Raw Food and Juice Feasting.

Two:

Even when you don't honour your authenticity, or did not in the past, do not doubt the circumstances in your life. I did not ordain, and because of that walked the AT and became sick with acid reflux and it's complications, more severely than I would have had I not done that epic hike. This led to some pretty great physical and emotional suffering/education, and eventually to the brilliant-white light discovery (introduced by John Rose) of Raw Foods and the creation of the 92-day Juice Feasting Program, my teaching of which others are now enjoying. It was not until I found Raw Foods and understood it that I made a deep peace with my decision not to follow the life of a monk. Finally, my not ordaining provided my soulmate, Katrina, and I the opportunity to find one another—a life I find more authentic than had I ordained (not to take anything away from Thich Naht Hahn or monastic practice with the beautiful Plum Village community), given both our personal lives together and the continual unfolding of our true Dharma. Don't doubt the circumstances of your life, even when you feel past decisions were less than best. You may still be pleasantly surprised with the outcome you ultimately discover.

What is your favorite book that Thich Nhat Hanh has written? Why?

David: "Peace in Every Step" is a glass of cool, refreshing water that can be drunk by anyone, regardless of religious or spiritual practice/affiliation. It is the first book of Nhat Hanh's I read to Katrina, and it was wonderful for watering our best seeds as we discovered one another and created the foundation of our life together.

Why did you take part in the 92-day Juice Feast?

David: First of all, we did this for others to offer the gift of non-fear. The more of us that do this and provide examples in doing so, the more people will feel comfortable taking it on themselves. We are also did it to draw in abundance for the Global Juice Feast. There will be synchronicities created for not just ourselves but for the whole community of Juice Feasters through so many of us Juice Feasting and cleansing together.

Katrina: For ourselves, we Juice Feasted as preparation for conception (we are very excited about having babies, *big grin*). When it comes to physical fitness, we want to take things to the next level. David was looking forward to building muscle and body-building for the duration of the Juice Feast, which is unprecedented in the world of cleansing before Juice Feasting. My longest cleanse of any kind at this point is a 10-Day Juice Feast. During those 10 days, I saw amazing results on both physical and spiritual levels and was very excited to see transformations during my first 92-Day Juice Feast.

What changes in Spirituality or Consciousness have you noticed during this Juice Feast?

David: Ahh, this is where we are really headed after all, is it not? First we take care of ourselves because we are sick and out of balance, but once this is satisfactorily achieved, the question arises, what now? What is health really for? Is this just for my own ability to be able to watch TV and enjoy more years of grand consumerism or is there something more beyond an egocentric experience?

Katrina: A big part of this Juice Feast for me has been to develop a strong meditation practice. Juice Feasting is like going on an adventure&#8212a journey, and so why not make the most of it? Take advantage of all the amazing daily practices you can and they all begin to support each other. I have found it much easier for example, to develop a strong practice of daily exercise while also Juice Feasting because my body feels so good it just wants to move! It is much easier to develop an exercise practice if you are also feeding your body food (juices) which make it feel good, rather than exercising to change your health while still eating food that makes you lethargic. Similarly, with meditation while Juice Feasting you are feeding your body in such a way that the mind is very clear and open to change and spiritual growth. Spiritual growth can be very challenging—it is a trip—and you have to be willing to put everything you know aside and welcome in the change. This is much easier when the body is clear of toxins and free of illness, and the mind is unhindered by foods containing neurotoxins, chemicals, and other processed food additives. This Juice Feast has been a quantum leap for me into the life-long journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth.

David: Spiritually and emotionally this Juice Feast has been a time for me to expand the circle of my awareness and teaching to a wider group of people. Such a transformation is an interesting development of a more cherished and private life at home, and an opening of my daily life and energies to the world. I have recognized during this Feast that my love for all beings is best offered in terms of work which most often benefits large groups rather than energy expended predominately for a few individuals. This means my work and the thought process behind it now requires a larger international geography in which I need to bring more information and gems from our wisdom traditions to bear on it for an all-encompassing embrace of peoples. Going forward my work will be focused increasingly on books, public (recorded) talks, and online writings that can be reproduced for everyone's benefit. While I am still a young grasshopper in all this and would rather wait for 10-15 years to teach, it is clear to me our collective challenges cannot wait for perfection. I like what Shunryu Suzuki said: "Practice is enlightenment." He also quipped about his students, "You are all perfect, and you could use a little improvement."

On JuiceFeasting.com, you suggest that we drink an average of 1 gallon (approx. 12 x 12-oz. glasses) of juices per day. What if we cannot fit that much into us each day? Is more juice better than less juice?

David: I know it sounds at first blush like a lot of juice, but everyone can drink right in the ballpark of 128 ounces, given a few days to get into the Feast. Before we get into the how, it is crucial that we address the question of why this much juice.

Throughout human history we have healed ourselves by getting out of the way and doing a fast, which, whether it is a water or juice fast, supplies your body with fewer calories than it requires for daily, long-term maintenance. Short-term, this is just fine, but there are some drawbacks. The main one being—your metabolism slows down on a fast—be it water or juice. The reason for this is that your system recognizes that not enough food is coming in for maintenance, and the body slows its processes—and you—down. This makes going to work and taking care of life responsibilities problematic or impossible on a fast.

Juice Feasting is historic in the evolution of cleansing modalities, because you feed your body everything it requires for daily energetic maintenance, but it is in liquid form. You are still placing yourself in a physiology of cleansing due to the decreased energy needed for digestion, but simultaneously you are feeding your body—and your metabolism does not slow down. In fact, quite the opposite happens.

When you Juice Feast, your body cleans out and your metabolism rises as you cleanse, which Feasters experience as an often dramatic increase in energy. So, you can go to work, drive your car, and take care of your family while cleansing. Juice Feasting, more than any other healing modality, allows a person to Cleanse, Rebuild, Rehydrate, and Alkalize to the greatest extent possible because you are drinking 12-15 pounds of produce each day—or about twice the juice you would be directed to drink on a juice fast.

What we find is that persons who find 4 quarts (approx. 7 x 20-oz. glasses) of juice daunting at the outset usually have a slow metabolism, and as it picks up, so does their hunger and desire for juice.

The Gerson Institute, over the last 70 years, has been feeding its clients with 110+ ounces of juice each day in addition to raw and steamed vegetables. Their practice is less juice, more often. For Juice Feasters, we suggest that if a quart (1 litre) at a time every two-and-a-half hours is too much, drink half a quart about every 90 minutes. Just make sure that you drink your juices as a meal. Sipping on juice all day long establishes a habit of snacking, and we have designed the Juice Feast to establish excellent Life Practices, which includes not snacking but eating full meals for better digestion and assimilation.

What is the most radical transformation that you have witnessed so far from a person Juice Feasting?

David: I have had many memorable Juice Feasting students, but I will share two with you.

One was a lady with a history of fibromyalgia for almost 25 years. Her pain was so severe she had organized her life and the life of her family around her health challenge. She had tried eating vegetarian, eating Macrobiotic, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with acupuncture and herbs, chiropractic, massage, hot/cool treatments, yoga, meditation , etc. This student had spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years "treating" her condition. I coached her on a Juice Feast, and a little over 20 days into the Feast she called me to let me know that her pain was nearly gone and by Day 30 it was completely gone.

At first she was a very happy woman to experience the resolution of this major conundrum that all these health professionals over the years could not help her transform. A few days after hitting her high from that realization, however, a new realization surfaced: she had suffered all those years, and had inconvenienced her family, spent all that money, when a gallon of fresh homemade juice each day could have resolved her issue. Depression set in, and that became the next part of my work with her—which brings up an important point:

Do not doubt the circumstances of your life.

We are tempted to think that while we are wrestling with a health challenge, or in the case of the student mentioned above, that there must be some kind of wrinkle in the fabric of the universe. When I was sick before meeting John Rose, I played a game with myself. Every time something seemingly "bad" would come in, I would stop myself from saying oh sh**, and say, "Wait a minute, let's just see how this actually turns out to be good." And it always did. You can do this in your own life. Look back on things that seemed to be bad, and in most cases you will be able to identify how that event actually worked for good.

This is a strong practice to develop faith in the events of your life, and has served me and my students very well. In the case of this student, she was able to see that her suffering and healing was able to positively impact the lives of her friends and family by encouraging them towards a life-affirming diet of plant-based foods which would not have otherwise happened were it not for her own challenge and resolution.

A fun student was my own Dad. He had back pain for a couple of years which had him leaned over in agony every evening. When I came home to visit for a few months, I noticed how much this was hurting him, and suggested he Juice Feast. He would have nothing to do with it. He went to my chiropractor, and from there a general practitioner and a specialist. All three said he needed back surgery right away. I pleaded with him to Juice Feast to see if he could avoid surgery—he was, after all, about 60 pounds overweight. Not believing in Juice Feasting or live foods, angry about his job and not even being invested in the Juice Feast (I made all his juices at 3:30 am for 92 Days), he did it! He came in on Day 47 and said, "Well, I don't know if I should tell you this, but my back doesn't hurt anymore. I guess I won't need surgery." All we had done, of course, was reduced the inflammation, hydrated the discs in his back, and removed the 30 pounds of animal he was carrying around as his belly.

The reason I love to tell this story is to illustrate the power of live food nutrition, even in someone who does not believe in it and has a bad attitude! I wanted to be well. I was a happy person who meditated and had a big vision for service to the world and all the good intentions and love in the world was not healing my crippling health challenges. Three weeks on raw food with no emotional or spiritual change from my already happy disposition, and I was well. Between my Dad and I, the common denominator was the food. By all means, establish love and gratitude and use the power of the mind in your toolbox for healing. These things are crucial in healing fully from anything, but do not discount the fundamental power of nutrient-dense plant-based live food nutrition, especially in the concentrated form of a Juice Feast.

You suggest taking "superfood" supplements while we are Juice Feasting. These can be quite expensive. Which ones do you suggest to the people who can only afford to purchase one or two of them? Can a person still participate in the Feasting Program without these supplements?

Katrina: Yes, that is true, the supplements can add up! Something that we feel is important to remember when weighing the financial burden of doing a Juice Feast with its benefits is that the cost of NOT looking after your health will add up to FAR more in your future than the cost of looking after your health today will. That being said, many of us cannot afford it in this moment, regardless of what the future cost/benefit analysis looks like. We tell people that the most important thing they are doing is drinking juice! If you can't afford anything but produce for your juices, even if it is non-organic, you will still achieve amazing healing through drinking a gallon of fresh juice every day. You can participate in a Juice Feast without taking supplements, but please don't try one without your new best friend -- the red bag (aka enema kit), skin brushing, exercise, hemp oil, and emotional and/or medical support.

David: If only adding one or two supplemental aspects to your Juices, we would suggest the best bang for your buck can be found in MSM and Spirulina. Most people are at the Fourth through Sixth Stages of Disease (inflammation and scarred/thickened tissues), and MSM is an inexpensive, completely non-toxic way to reduce inflammation and break down scar tissue. Spirulina is a miracle food—and it is a food not pond scum. It is so protein and nutrient-dense it saves mothers and children in the third world from malnutrition. At 1 tablespoon a day with no negative side effects is not only a food, but a miracle superfood. Read "Earth Food: Spirulina" by Robert Henrikson and you will develop a newfound appreciation for blue/green algae like spirulina, chlorella, and E3Live.

Again, please remind readers why the Juice Feasting program is 92 days! What if a person wants to feast longer than the 92 days?

David: Believe it or not, this is one of the most commonly asked questions about Juice Feasting! Why 92 Days?

I have coached people on Feasts longer than 92 days, as has John. The main reason for doing this is for a person who still has weight to lose, or a serious health challenge requiring more time, such as cancer. In most cases, it is important to return to solid foods after 92 Days. Although many people will feel reluctant to return to solid foods after their Feast (especially those who have had trouble maintaining a balanced diet in the past), it is an important part of Juice Feasting to return to eating. For this purpose I have created "The Four Means to Get Your Greens" which is a real world, raw food approach that anyone can do with a knife, cutting board, nut milk bag and blender. Be sure to look for this book sometime this fall; it is how Katrina and I eat every day and we get in loads of greens and feel nothing short of amazing eating this way.

What would you say to those individuals who would love to start a Juice Feast of their own, but are afraid to make such a commitment to themselves?

There are three important qualities to develop when preparing for and enjoying a successful Juice Feast: faith, doubt and determination. And yes I realize my Dad only had one of these… doubt—but for people who want to achieve this without having someone else spoon-feeding them their juices—these qualities are very important to have.

First:

A person needs faith in live food nutrition, Juice Feasting, in the community of persons who will support them, and in one's own ability to transform as an Act of Love. This kind of faith comes naturally to some, and to many of us it is earned by a conscious decision to water that seed in ourselves by seeking out faith-building experiences, information and persons.

Second:

You need to palpably feel what Zen masters call a "doubt-mass." This is a mass you feel in your gut about what conventional society tells you concerning health. A strong doubt that your health is a good as it will ever get. Doubt that life gets more dull, painful and joyless as the years go on. This doubt must be present to assist you to shift, as most suffering is about getting stuck, or dukkha as the eastern traditions call it.

Third:

We are brought by this faith and doubt to a place of solid determination that we can get unstuck—sukkha—that we can find more beauty, peace, and determination is in place to rise above the limitations, avarice, and sanctified misunderstandings which grease the machinations of the impersonal claims of post-modern society. We can swim free of the momentum of mediocrity, and claim our inheritance of wisdom passed on to us by our ancestors who have us jettison this path of individual and collective destruction we are now on and choose consciously to discover what the world is to be when: all are fed; we are not poisoning our air, soil and water, and individual religious dogma and mythos is seen as mere supporting structure for a mystical union of all traditions at the level of spirit.

Katrina: Instead of making the commitment to Juice Feasting, a person can make the commitment to continue to move towards health at whatever pace they are comfortable with. This might mean adding 1 quart of green vegetable juice to your day while still drinking your 3 daily lattes, then moving to 2 quarts of green juice and 2 lattes, and so on. A really easy way to transition towards better health is to focus on addition rather than subtraction, and eventually, all of the foods that are less than good for you will fall away as you fill your body with nutrient-dense, health creating foods and juices. One green juice a day can do wonders for all sorts of things.

David: The progression is from Matter… to Body… to Mind… to Soul… to Spirit, and each level includes and transcends the one before like Russian dolls. If you want a transcendent experience—a unio mystica, with the Divine, or even of you just want to live happily at peace in your own body and mind, then you must include the best matter possible. Juice Feasting will jettison the garbage, and help you assimilate the best matter available, no matter what journey is ahead for you.

Tell us all about your web site and how our readers can get in contact with you.

Our website www.juicefeasting.com is a constant, ever-improving source of guidance, community support, and inspiration to anyone wanting to see a significant shift in their being. We have drawn in the best things possible to create Juice Feasting, not only as a Program of physical healing, but significant life shifts and global transformation that make cleansing a personal experience that has a world-centric effect. We love what Joseph Campbell says in "Pathways to Bliss" about personal transformation:

"You have to find the zeal in yourself and bring that out. That is what is given to you—one life to live."

Marx teaches us to blame society for our frailties; Freud teaches us to blame our parents. The only place to look for blame is within: have the guts to live the life that IS your potential.

The most successful Juice Feasters we have coached have not seen the improvement of their physical health as a life shift that occurred in a vacuum. Rather, a shift in your health and diet can only be successful when done in the context of a greater life shift. They practice what Integral Philosopher Ken Wilber calls "spiritual cross-training," in which consistent practices of self-development that are seemingly unrelated work synergistically to improve performance of one another. In other words, you will be a better writer if you spend less time writing, and more time also adding in meaningful exercise, spiritual practices, cultural activities, nutrition, and so on.

Through cross-training and not just hyper-focusing on our diet as part of our personal evolution, we recognize shifting to a diet of nutrient-dense plant foods is not an act which exists by itself, but part and parcel of a larger determination to acknowledge who you are at a fundamental level and to live your authenticity to the best of your ability.

In 1984, George Orwell coined the word doublethink to describe the act of knowing one thing and doing something else. When it comes to something as fundamental as your foods source, shifting to a non-toxic, life-affirming, world-centric diet of nutrient-dense live foods encouraged by Juice Feasting will inform and support your choices in every avenue of your life. This makes the challenge of moving into live foods easier, as it is just one aspect of a greater life transformation. While live foods may be your first shift towards the amazing life that your deepest inclinations compel you, please view it—and make it—part of a larger Act of Love for yourself and all beings.

With this perspective of spiritual cross-training, below is a taste of who and what we have accessed to create the Juice Feasting Program:

Mindfulness practice, yoga, rebounding, nutrition, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ken Wilber, Gabriel Cousens MD, David Wolfe, Speed and Photo Reading, The Law of Attraction, Victoria Boutenko, Gary Snyder, Paul Bragg, Max Gerson, Herbert Shelton, Gandhi, John Rose, Peak Oil, The Principle of Life Transformation, swaraj, Jeremy Rifkin, Helen and Scott Nearing, Jared Diamond, Peace Pilgrim, Wendell Berry, Jack LaLanne, Anthony Robbins, Neville Goddard, conscious conception and birth, alternative fuels, art, music, The Hero's Journey of Joseph Campbell, John Robbins, T. Colin Campbell PhD, and much, much more.

Readers can get in touch with us via email and also through our website www.juicefeasting.com or www.globaljuicefeast.com. We would love to hear from you!

Is there anything that you would like to mention in closing?

Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview, Melissa! (Melissa has completed her 92-day Juice Feast and has set a shining example to all, doing a wonderful job of doing all the right things for an excellent Juice Feast and is currently doing another one.) You can read all about Melissa's new Juice Feast here: Raw Mom - Raw Love. Aleesha is doing a 92-day Juice Feast as well. If you want her to coach you through your fast then contact her via Whole Body Healing.

Every last one of you out there who has recently Juice Feasted or is planning on beginning one, you are serving this amazing practice well and we salute you in paving the way for others, for being examples of what is possible. Let's build up such a strong storm that it sweeps out past the borders of the raw foods community and reaches the vegetarian community, and the whole foods community, and even the fast food community! We have seen how Juice Feasting applies to everyone, and can be the door we all walk through to better health.

Copyright (c) 2008 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

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