Eat Real: Canola Oil

Canola Oil is not all it's said to be. Currently, it is marketed as a heart healthy oil because it falls into the category of a polyunsaturated fat.

Canola Oil is made from rapeseed oil. The name comes from 'Canada' and 'oil'. According to AgriAlternatives, a magazine for farmers, "By nature, these rapeseed oils, have long been used to produce oils for industrial purposes, are toxic to humans and other animals." It's used in insect repellent and synthetic rubber. And if you see the word Canola Seeds - this is just marketing. It's just a name change from rapeseed. It's the same seed.

Because it is a highly refined, processed food product, the body cannot break it down and use it for nutritional fuel in the body. Sure, it has a high heat tolerance, but so does the oil in your car.... It may be heart healthy and polyunsaturated, but anytime the body ingests a fragmented food product, it is missing nutrition - that simple.

Some clinical studies are showing permanent scarring of the kidneys, heart, adrenals and thyroids in animals when given canola oil. More clinical trials have been done showing a relation to growth retardation, deficient blood platelet, high blood pressure, stroke and allergies.
Although the oil may be toxic, I would not blame these conditions solely on this one product. Look at the whole enchilada - most processed, refined foods use canola oil in their manufacturing processes because of cost, shelf life and marketing. It's a lifestyle contributing to disease. A lifestyle that encourages stress, a fast pace, eating on the run and not listening to the body.

So, what can you do instead? Use extra virgin olive oil, unrefined sesame oil, red palm oil, coconut oil and plain old butter. Use fat/oils the way God created them. When the whole of the nutrient is present, the body knows what to do with it. When you eat a fragmented food, which is usually a processed food, you are missing vital nutritional pieces for the whole of your body.

Whole food = whole body. Do you want to be defined in fragments or as a whole?

Be Real Guest Blogger: Winds of Change

Dear Friends,

My good friend and colleague, Rhonda Simpson has generously agreed to provide an article for this weeks post. We spend our time talking about exactly what she has written about. In fact, we share the experience together, always reaching for the higher thought, action, moment. I am grateful for God bringing her into my life. She is an incredible writer and highly intuitive individual. I hope you enjoy her insights as much as I do! -Roberta

Expect winds of change to be blowing through the windows of your world as this month roles out unprecedented cleansing and preparation for what’s to come. Feeling a little bombarded? With good reason. The energies coming in are intense, to say the least, and the effects of such will string you along from every end of the scale. One moment you may feel invigorated or even a bit like you’re spinning as your system attempts to digest the flow. The next, you may find yourself incredibly low, swimming in age-old stuff that you think couldn’t possibly be yours since it so doesn’t fit with the distance you’ve come and the joy you had touched on just moments ago.

The energy is asking you to transcend what has been and is giving you every opportunity (note the plunging effect at play) to take a good hard look at what you’re still holding onto. As uncomfortable as this is, we’re being presented with an incredible opportunity to mop up all that lower level stuff that is still lurking within. You may feel somewhat estranged from what’s bubbling up as it seems so incongruent with the higher levels you’d only just begun to operate at.. But this time of purging is necessary because we’re only getting ready to go higher. And since you’ve had a good taste of what that’s like, perhaps it will give you impetus to endure this hydro-cleaning of our psyches and hearts and might even provide the impetus to release the grip on what we’re still holding onto after all these years.

It’s shocking, I know, on some level, that we still have those fears and doubts and insecurities. Haven’t we moved beyond that,(many,many times over)? Yes..but. The ‘buts’ won’t get us anywhere but deeper in the trenches and further into confusion. What we need to address needs addressing and there’s no better time than right now to take it head on and cleanse. Out truth wants allegiance. And you are being asked to take another good hard look at the scope of your integrity and measure up to the level you intend to operate on. The old patterns of thought and reaction are dated and it’s time, my friends, to get a new groove. Reprogramming away from old drama is a conscious choice, and at first takes some effort. But you are way beyond simply blowing in the wind. You are anchored, so act new. No need for confusion. It’s a time to trust. Trust in your process. Trust in you. Trust that all will be well, is well, is not the projection of what is being excavated.

Feelings of depression, anxiety, and distress may be at hand, but don’t allow yourself to get lost in a vortex of gloom or despair. Beware, actually, the tendency to fall off track and into a very familiar distraction of victim-hood as your plans may be waning in order for you to do the deed of excavating and recalibrating. Now is the time to enact all of those tools you’ve gathered and put them into place. You’ve become a conscious co-creator. This is not a curve ball, this is the destruction part of the process that is creation. Think life-death-rebirth. This is part of you dying, so that more of you can be born. This is you aligning even more perfectly with your truth and contesting all that you still harbor that’s out of harmony with the You you’ve come to know.

You haven’t fallen out of grace. You’re simply preparing. You know all those dreams- come-true that you’ve been aiming your heart at? Comin’ right at’cha. But, in preparation, you’ve got to step into the You that is ready to receive. So, if things seem to be put on hold, and that’s making you squirmy, get busy releasing. Get on-purpose with the process and give, give, give it all away. This isn’t the time so much for deep introspection or ruminating on what any unwanted thoughts might be bringing to the forefront. But rather, it’s a time for insisting on consciousness and making good ol’ empowered choices. May sound a little out of sink in a time of feeling like you’re sunk, but now’s a better time than any. If you can lift out of what is taking you under and keep your eye on the prize, emitting your Truth, even in the darkness, imagine what you can do when you feel more connected to the light.

You know more than you think. Stay with the knowing and veto the doubts. Be confidant in your decisions, and compassionate in your shift. Loving you through this is the way to move forward in grace. Grace is a powerful ally in this process. Take it by the hand. Let the ancient relics of your deepest fears go, and when you struggle with loosening the grip, love yourself some more for the pain and burden you’ve endured by holding on. The holding on has weathered you more than any of the pain or fears ever could. Be the watcher and observe what’s being presented. Notice your reaction to it. And do it different this time. You’re in charge. Light trumps dark. Free yourself of what’s holding you down and be grateful for this opportunity to know that yes, it’s still in the way, and yes, you really can set it down and choose higher.

It’s only a phase of the moon, a moment in time, a window of opportunity. Decide to master the phase, own the moment and open that window wide.

Bio

Inspirational author, visionary and teacher - Rhonda Simpson. Visit her blog and website, and fill your heart with Love, Light and Faith in your Divine Nature. You will be more connected with the Core of Your Being.

www.awakeningthedivine.net

http://consciouscocreating.blogspot.com/2010/09/surrender-into-being.html

Join Rhonda for the Conscious Cleanse on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145378058837634&ref=mf

Eat Real: Peaches

The weather is changing and with it, so are we. Our bodies are intimately connected to the earth and what is happening in nature. The best way to maintain balance is to follow the cues nature is sending.

Buddhist monks know that the way to enlightenment is balance in all things, including the mind, body and spirit. Current Western traditions have lost sight of this important connection to the earth, yet Eastern practices embrace it.

Look at what is in season locally where you live right now. If you're up north, the food offering may be different than what's down south. Here, in North Carolina, we've got peaches and plenty of them! It's perfect that peaches are in season now as they offer fluid, sugar, fiber and vitamins that help balance the body when it's cool and dry outside. We haven't had much rain as of late and the grass is drying while the air is cooling. This combination makes for a perfect combination to dry out our mucus membranes. Had a few bloody noses lately? Been clearing your throat? Both signs that what is going on outside is being reflected inside. Nature knows what the body needs right now - lubrication. And, just on cue - peaches are provided at just the right time, and in plentiful amounts.

Hm mm, maybe we should take a hint... if there are a lot of peaches, is that a sign of things to come? Nature wants to make sure we are properly balanced so that we can maintain health. As we maintain balance, come into harmony with our environment. This harmony occurs in opposites. Balance occurs in juxtaposition. There must be dark in order to experience light. When it's cold out, our bodies require warmth. When it's warm out, our bodies require cool. When it's dry out, our bodies require moisture. See the delicate dance that takes place? The key is to allow the dance to take place. Look outside, feel the air, listen to the trees, watch the animals. Nature is telling you, showing you what is coming. We just need to slow down enough to pay attention.

Our family eats peaches raw. There's something so satisfying in the sweet, juicy crunch that comes from biting into one. Here's a tasty breakfast recipe we love. Add some fresh peaches and it feels like dessert!

Peach-Ginger Oatmeal Breakfast
2 cups water
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons grated ginger
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 fresh chopped peach
1 tbsp. agave nectar

Directions: Bring water to a boil, add oatmeal, ginger, salt, raisins. Reduce heat to low and cook until creamy (less than 10min). Remove from heat and add sunflower seeds and peaches. Hemp seeds can be used as well. Experiment and enjoy!

Be Real: Drinking Blood

I touched blood today, in fact I drank it. Not only did I drink it, I served it to others and they drank it too.

As Catholics, we are taught that when the Priest consecrates the wine and the bread, he turns it into the body and blood of Jesus. It has become almost a perfunctory exercise. We understand it is holy, but do we really believe it is the transformed body and blood of Christ? Be honest. Part of me didn't. But in honesty, it's because I didn't understand the bigger picture.

Our thoughts, words and actions are prayers. We are all connected because we are part of the larger soul. To Catholics, this is the body of Christ. Jesus was the man who embodied the whole body of Christ. He embodied the whole Soul. And, he left us with symbolic gestures we could return to in order to practice our devotion to God. A devotion to love. A devotion to surrender of wants and desires to knowing all is and will be provided. Jesus the man understood this. He was able to allow his mind, body and spirit to be in complete alignment with Source energy. That is what the metaphysical community calls it. To me, Source = God. He was able to master all his emotional, mental, physical and spiritual bodies to be in complete harmony with God's Will. And, because of this, He could show us that death is an illusion - that this incarnation is an illusion.

So, if it is an illusion and He could die and come back to life, then our faith can transform wine and bread into body and blood. Jesus humbled himself in this gesture to us so that we would be able to remember our truth - our essence. We are light and to light we shall return. I accept this belief system because it allows me to give of myself and allow God to fill me. And God feels good.

I was overcome with joy, grace and love as I offered the Blood of Christ to my sisters and brothers. In fact, I had to compose myself as I was moved to tears. It is quite something to be so close to Jesus that you are holding His blood.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.