Wellnes Journalism: Sweet Dreams

I’m walking through campus and an older man in a green sweater approaches me. “I have your driver’s license,” he says. This makes sense, somehow, and I respond: “That’s fine. Just turn in it to the professor after class.” I give him a friendly smile but he now resembles my high school English teacher, Mrs. Phillips.

At this point, I realize I am dreaming.

When you become aware that you are dreaming while still in the dream, you’re having what is called a lucid dream. Beyond providing a fascinating out-of-body sensation, lucid dreams are a forum for experimentation, exploration, and empowerment. Let’s say you dream that a large, hairy monster is trying to pound down your front door. If you know that you’re dreaming, you have no reason to be afraid. You have options. You can whip up a quick explosive device, or excuse yourself through a back door, or talk it into becoming a cute little puppy.

The dream world is complex, to say the least. Through dreams you experience a great many feelings and scenarios, all real aspects of some element within the psyche.

A lucid dream can begin in one of two ways. A dream-initiated lucid dream starts as a normal dream before you catch on to the fact that you’re dreaming, while a wake-initiated lucid dream occurs when you slip from a normal waking state directly into a dream state.

Either way, you can test your environment to determine whether or not you are awake. The pinch test—"Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming!"—is not actually an effective indicator of reality; a dreamed pinch will probably feel just like a real one. However, there are some tell-tale signs that expose a dream for what it is:
• Look at text or a digital watch. Remember what it says, look away, and then look back. The information will likely have changed.
• Look into a mirror (if you dare). Reflections are often blurred or distorted.
• Look at the ground beneath your feet, or at your hands. What you see may be quite different from what you’re used to…

Intrigued? Start by writing down your dreams every morning when you wake up; this will strengthen your dream recollection. Keep your eyes closed while trying to remember the dream, and then record what you remember in the present tense. Over time you can consciously develop awareness within dreams.

Flying, time-travel, magical ability—all yours with the power of lucidity!

Wellness Journalism: In the Raw

Does the idea of a raw food diet sound like a slow, boring death? It did to me at first. The thought of never eating a delicious hunk of honey-glazed salmon with grilled asparagus and sweet potato fries…alas. I couldn’t picture myself saying “Oh, no thank you. I’ll just eat this handful of nuts and this head of lettuce.” It’s like instant alienation; a brutal self-exile from Foodland.

But as it turns out, raw food eaters are much more resourceful—and creative—than I realized. From pizzas to pastas and desserts, there’s a wealth of incredible edibles available in the raw. For some examples, click here.

We do live in a culture of cooked food, where “slaving over the stove” is thought to produce a square meal. But with all the fancy frying, roasting, grilling and baking, we’ve forgotten the awesome power of food in its raw, natural state.

When it comes to sheer nutritional value, nothing compares to raw food. Raw food retains all of its life-giving properties, whereas cooking denatures the proteins and destroys many of the enzymes that benefit digestion. Processed food costs the body a great deal more energy to break down and scour for nutrients. So what does a body do with the extra energy? For one thing, it heals itself. A raw food diet has, in many cases, been known to stop or reverse the advance of many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. It can relieve constipation, heartburn, gas, and other digestive malfunctions. The increased physical vitality also helps to protect against ordinary colds and flu.

While I have a new appreciation for the benefit and bounty of a raw food diet, I haven’t totally crossed over yet (there’s an omelet sitting next to me right at this moment). But I do make an effort to eat more food raw—and I have it in mind to gradually increase my raw food intake over the coming year. I notice that the more food I eat raw, the more satisfied I feel. It seems to harmonize with my body. And in fact, raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fiber to meet the body’s needs. It’s like putting ultra-super-premium gasoline in your car.

A final thought: eating food raw also saves time and money. And consider: no burns to the hand or mouth, no kitchen fires, less preparation, and easier to clean up! Bon appétit.

For more information about raw food diets and health issues, check out the following studies:

Cardiovascular health: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/10/2372.abstract?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=raw+food&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

Breast cancer risk:http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1207/S15327914NC4602_05

Diabetes (through the reduction of diet derived advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) that are produced through heating food):http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC21074/?tool=pmcentrez