Change of Place. Back in Michigan. Change of Diet?

Well, I'm back in Michigan staying with my folks for a month before moving to Chile.

Before I left Puerto Rico and the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute, Kelly came to visit me.  We spent a week driving around the coast exploring the island.  We took the ferry from Fajardo and went to the island of Culebra for a few nights.  The beaches and snorkeling was fantastic!  Lot's of sea turtles!  

I really love Puerto Rico:  Its people, mountains, rain forests, beaches and its tropical produce.

I really love its tropical produce!  The coconuts, bananas, papayas, oranges, limes, grapefruit, avocados, mangos, watermelons, and more... 

However, I was really happy to eat an apple yesterday, or rather, several apples.  It's tough to find a good organic apple shipped to PR.  I needed a separation from Michigan to realize how much I love and appreciate simple things like apples, cherries, berries, etc...

I will now miss the tropical foods very much.  Anyone who hung out with me in PR may attest to the vast amount of bananas I ate.   I believe I could beat anyone in a banana eating contest.  The PR bananas and varieties are SO GOOD.  One banana that I believe they called "apple banana" has a berry like flavor that would sometimes make me feel like I was eating strawberry shortcake or a similar desert- just the banana!  Brilliant!

While traveling around PR, it was difficult to find good greens whenever I left the institute where we were growing greens ourselves.  So, I usually resorted to a high fruitarian diet.  The best place to buy fruit is not from the supermarkets but from all the fruit stands that are set up daily on busy roads.

While visiting a beach one day, I stood out like a total foreigner as I ate watermelon.  Although I was the only white kid on the beach- tanned white kid that is- it was my watermelon that was drawing attention.  I cut it half and scooped it out with a spoon.  A young group of locals started talking to me and thought it was funny how I ate the watermelon like a bowl.  I'm not sure if it was just the way I was eating it that was weird or if eating watermelon on the beach in general is weird...  We communicated a bit with our little understanding and speaking of English and Spanish.  It was nice. 

Although I was able to use Puerto Rico's abundant raw tropical fruit to create a healthy diet for myself, I found this contrasted with much of the island both culturally and economically.  Unfortunately, there is an abundant amount of fast food in Puerto Rico.  Traditional bakeries are everywhere serving nutritionally lacking products of refined sugars and flours.  Food carts and trucks are parked on every street and corner serving fried meats, plantains (tostones) and other foods.  Obesity is very common and it seems like fry oils are as imbedded in the current culture as it is in the cells and pores of the people.

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I thought about food and health a lot while I was in Puerto Rico:  What foods do I like most?  Eat most?  What fuels me best for my particular body type and activity?  Where do these foods come from?  

I recall reading a nutrition book that challenged me with a radical suggestion that sounded something like this:

The majority of your food should come from fresh local seasonal produce.  Perhaps you should MOVE to the region whose produce and growing season suits your diet and needs.

Woah!  This idea may seem far out but it makes intuitive sense to me.  

From my little bit of studies and experience, I think that diets and health use to be very traditional.   People adapted to the available and abundant food sources of their geographic region.  For example, a high consumption of seal, whale, salmon for Alaskan eskimos.  High consumption of fish, rice, and sea vegetables in Japan and coastal regions.  Corn and chia staples for the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico.  Perhaps high fruitarian diet for the tropics...

Perhaps particular people have physically adapted to better digest and perform with foods of that region as well, or perhaps sought the food that suited their needs best.  For example, the Tarahumara is known for being a running tribe and their diet includes chia seed that has the property to retain water for a longer period of time when soaked, which is important for hydration in hot climates.  I haven't studied any of this enough though to really know...  

When I say adapt, I mean to eat to really live healthily and not just survive but thrive.  In terms of Puerto Rico, I cannot believe that the people have adapted because they thrive best on a high diet of fried foods.  Obesity doesn't seem essential for thriving in the tropics whereas it may be for insulation and survival in the Arctic. 

Right now, I do believe there is no optimal universal diet.  That belief relies on the premise that I couldn't recommend a high tropical fruit diet for an eskimo that lives in freezing temperatures.  It simply isn't possible, at least naturally.

Although if a universal diet is possible, I think it would include a very high quantity of GREENS.  The Ann Wigmore Living Foods Lifestyle is created in a very SIMPLE way in terms of ingredients for a universal approach to health and healing.  The main staples are sprouts and greens along with sprouted nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies and fermented foods.  I believe there is much truth to the Living Foods Lifestyle in which you can then add or tweak foods for your own personal needs. 

Bananas are probably one of the biggest staples in my diet because they are my go-to base for breakfast smoothies.  There are very few days when my breakfast is not a smoothie.  My typical smoothie in Puerto Rico would contain some combination of bananas, almond milk, rejuvelac, chia seed, avocado, coconut, sprouted buckwheat groats, sunflower greens, mixed greens, carob, mango, or papaya.

Now that I'm back in Michigan, I'm thinking of how I may rework my smoothie a bit more for this region... however, I'll probably still eat a good amount of bananas for now, even though they don't taste as great.

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Perhaps I am may be best suited to live in a tropical region.  However, I'm not gonna settle yet.  I'm gonna keep traveling and exploring:  Looking for the geography, the community, the food, the fun and everything else in life that suits me best.

I'm not saying I'm gonna settle in the tropics one day just for a banana.  Food is very important to me, but there are plenty of other aspects aside from a year round growing season that support the lifestyle I'm creating:  Lots of sunshine, barefoot running on the beach, the fresh air by the sea, the latin music and percussion.  I love the idea of living in a thatch tree house that I make myself...  I love the fact that I just spent the first winter in a long time where I didn't experience a fair to significant amount of seasonal depression during winter in Michigan.  The only thing I really missed was friends and family.  But, just like fruit, I realize by separation how much I appreciate them! 

Change in Lifestyle: 100% Raw @ Creative Health Institute

I'm undertaking a significant lifestyle change.  I'm living in farm country at the Creative Health Institute in Michigan where I have transitioned to a 100% raw living foods diet.  Previously, I enjoyed meat, dairy, and other foods that I've given up indefinitely- and not feeling that bad about it.

I arrived May 3rd and shortly thereafter began their 10 Day Detox program.  It was a crazy experience which I'll be sharing in future posts. After successfully completely the detox, I started my internship 2 days ago.  I'll be here at CHI until August where I'll be learning much about nutrition, preparing gourmet raw living foods, and alternative ways of self healing, all while eating a nutritious and delicious raw diet.

A little perspective:  I believed I kept a healthy diet prior to arriving at CHI but I'm already rethinking that after being here 2 weeks and taking a few nutrition classes.  I'll probably be a different person when I leave here.  I'll certainly be embracing a majority of the diet at least.

From the moment I walked in the door and the director smiled and hugged me, I knew Creative Health Institute was a special place.  This was reinforced later in the week when an intern graduated: There was a small certificate ceremony in which kind words were said about the individual and both the intern and staff cried tears of joy.  I cannot say that anyone cried when I left my film internships in LA.  I was lucky if they remembered my name. 

For the rest of the summer, this blog will mainly focus on my experience here, providing insights and ideas on health and nutrition, food recipes, and more.

Keep up with my blog and you'll learn how to enjoy and embrace a raw living foods diet too!

I made an awesome raw pizza!  Delicious!

Change in Audience: My Blog is Slowly Reaching the Masses?

There’s been a significant change in the number of hits on my blog.

“Nice!”

Checking my Google stats: My blog received 400+ hits for the month of August. Since I started this blog in January 2010, ~400 hits has been my monthly average. That changed drastically in September. I’m not sure why or how, but my blog received 2500+ hits last month- over a 500 % increase!

"Awesome!"

I’m not sure if this also means an increase in readership… Although I would like to think more people are learning about the changes in my life and the world… Unfortunately, these stats can only be treated as “hits” or “clicks” and not readers who fully read and digest material- there’s so much ADD in the world. Perhaps more robots or aliens are catching onto my presence, or maybe government agencies like the FBI or CIA are finally red flagging me for the power I convey on change… Or maybe I shamelessly tagged a post with “Justin Bieber” to tap into the large preteen internet audience…

Whatever it may be, I still hope I’ve gained a few new readers and I hope you continue to change and learn about my change by subscribing to my blog.

Also, thanks to your readership, I’ve made a total of $77.24 since I started this blog! THANKS! It’s not the best hourly wage… but I still am one step closer to making money without doing anything- one of my side projects. If I ever get a day job, maybe one day I’ll be able to quit it so I can pursue a CAREER IN CHANGE! Whatever the outcome may be, I appreciate your support!

For the new Changers, here are some of my favorite posts from the past:

2010: A Year of Change (My first post.)

Change at the Party: Move a Car with Your Bare Hands

Change in Waste: Confessions of a Compost Virgin

Change in Sleep: The Filmmaker’s Schedule + Dementia

Change in Money: Suck My Debt!

Change in Lifestyle: Dreaming to Live Out of a Car

For my loyal readers and Changers, I’m sorry I haven’t had time to write in a bit… but I look forward to sharing the upcoming posts in the near future…

Change in Possessions: Lost and Found – Old School

Change in Competence: From a Second Story Ladder in Alaska

Change in Attitudes / Ideas / Beliefs: Freedom of the Hypocrite

Change in Defecation: Pooping Down the River

Keep Changing,

-Lazer

Change in Happiness: "What the Hell Am I Doing with My Life?"

[Wikipedia says, "The smiley face is a well-known symbol of happiness."  However, how to find happiness itself seems to be less well-known...]

I think a majority of us at some time may pose the question in one form or the other, "What the hell am I doing with my life?"  At least I do.  You may ask that question everyday... or perhaps when checking off one of those life mile stones: Graduate from high school, graduate from college, get a job...

I find that most post-college graduates pose this question somewhat frequently.  At least I did when I graduated from a significant college (University of Michigan) without a significant job, nor a significant other... That question came frequently on weekend mornings when I was still recounting my attendance at college parties...

"What the hell am I doing with my life?"  The question itself asks about the present:  What "am I doing" now?  Well, I am writing a blog post now.  But, that's not what I'm doing with my life- at least I hope not.  So, this question seems to be a reflection on one's present, while asking oneself what to do with their future...

The key verb of the question is DO.  The underlying premise of the question is that there is something to do in life.  I don't know if that's completely true but I'd like to think so...  So then, what do you do?

First off, to have a life with a future, you must survive the present.  If you do want to survive, then there are things you must do like drink water, eat food, find shelter, and maybe make time for sleep.  Okay... so what else is there to do in life?  Well, if you're thinking further into the future, that is, the future of you as a species, then you must find a mate, do that mate, and reproduce.

That is is pretty much what most animals do with their lives.

I'm not really sure what humans do with their lives, or rather, what they should do... But, it does seem that most of us need to do more than animals...

And so we did.

One of the biggest things to do for an animal is to eat food.  To eat food, they go around and find it.  Humans use to do this too.  But within the last few thousand years, a majority of human culture changed all that.  Agriculture was introduced, then industrialization came and the majority of land was now owned or claimed.  If you tried to find food or water on the land, now known as property, an owner could rightfully shoot you dead and you would no longer have anything to do.

So you see, over a few thousand years, the majority of humans changed one of the essential things that they must do, that is, find food.  This was the thing to do for humans for hundreds of thousands of years.

Skipping over several evolutionary and cultural details: The great majority of food is no longer found it is bought. Yes, of course you know this.  Nearly everyone buys food.  But, this brought a new thing we must do within our discussion of what to do in life.  To have a life, the thing you must do is survive.  To survive, the big thing to do is eat food.  The majority of us must buy food to eat.  So, to eat, you need money.

So the new thing we must do now is find money.  And because you usually can't find more then a few coins on the ground, the thing we must do is get a job.

I still believe that you don't need a job to survive and there are small groups of people and individuals who continue to prove this... But for the sake of this discussion and mass culture we'll say you do.

The question again, "What the hell am I doing with my life?"

We know what we must do in order to have a life: survive.  But the question is not, "What the hell am I doing with my life to survive?"  People already know how to survive, at least to some degree.  I certainly wasn't waking up black out drunk on a stranger's couch in college wondering, "How am I going to eat today?"  I was really wondering if I would be content to do this day after day...

So we should rephrase the question: "What the hell am I doing with my life to be happy?"

Now that makes the question even more difficult.  Survival is a big thing, but happiness is huge!  That's what most of us want right?  To be happy.

So what do you do to be happy?

There are many things to do that bring happiness to certain people: love, share, act, create, compete, play, build, imagine, dance, listen... to name a few.

But, no one can know what you should do to be happy except for you.  And there's always a good chance that you don't know either.  I know I'm not certain for myself.  No single person is the same, so what works for person X may not work for person Y.

But we do know there are things we must do to survive: drink, eat, sleep, work a job (maybe...).  So why not start with that:  Enjoy drinking, enjoy eating, enjoy sleeping, and enjoy your job!

A 1/3 of the average life is spent sleeping, another 1/3 spent working, and the last 1/3 is spent eating, drinking, and a few electives or hobbies.

If you cannot be happy with the things you must do, then you may have a difficult time finding happiness with the electives...

You may be thinking you've heard this a dozen times, "Do what you love," or, "Enjoy your job."  But that is not what I'm trying to say here.  What if you don't have a job or haven't found what you love?  Then, you may not have anything to really do... except survive... if you want to, which I hope so.

What I am saying is this:  STOP doing everything that doesn't make you happy. Period.  No excuses.  Then, maybe you can find happiness.

If you're not happy with your job, stop it right now.  You can be nice and give a 2 weeks notice, but don't wait any longer.  If you are not happy with you're college classes, drop them.  Don't take any of those "back up" courses or majors to "fall back on" just because your parents wanted you to.  If any parent asks that you study something you don't want to, they do not have your best interests in mind and that is completely unacceptable.  A parent that asks their child to study something they don't want to is saying, "I don't care about your happiness, I only care about your survival."  Animals are able to survive, but humans want something more... or so it seems...

Some may argue that certain people or themselves are destined to be unhappy.  I would like to think that's not true... but I understand, unfortunately, that very difficult circumstances beyond ones control can exist.  However, I would think the majority of people in the world have the power to take control of their happiness.

A lot of us may be misled in our pursuit of happiness by mythic cultural dreams.  The big one in America is: Start at the bottom, and work your way up!  This myth may work for the functioning of an economic system but it doesn't really work for an individual's happiness.  I think a lot of people are realizing this after the recent economic depression.

Certain religions may also mislead us in the pursuit of happiness.  They may contextualize certain happiness as sin while preaching the delay of gratification and the acquisition of wealth as noble.  I'll spare further details to spare a religious argument...

So, "What the hell am I doing with my life?"

I'll continue to ask this question of myself... these thoughts are just my own reflection and I'm not sure if I made any progress...  I don't really intend to tell anyone else what to do except myself.  I'm concerned with my own survival and the survival of my own happiness.  That is the only person I can be responsible for.  However, I do hope that my thoughts and consequent actions may contribute to the survival of happiness elsewhere.

[Comments always appreciated.]

Change in Lifestyle: Dreaming to Live Out of a Car

The Chevy Aveo Dream Machine.  Somewhere in Montana.
 

Woah! Dear Readers, I apologize for not writing in quite sometime… I hope I didn't mislead you to think that things stopped changing in my life and that I therefore had nothing more to write about… Actually, the exact opposite is true. So much has changed in my life in the last 2 months that I've hardly had time to catch up and write about it.

The biggest change in my life lately is my lifestyle. I'm currently living out of a car and tent with my partner Kelly.

Why?

Well, we're on a journey we call the Pan-American Dream: We're traveling by road to Alaska and then to Argentina! We're exploring national parks, different countries and people, making our own films/photography, while teaching free film workshops to youth in the majority of places we visit.

We're currently in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada and making our way towards Alaska where we'll do our first workshop in Palmer, AK.

It's been a big change to move out of a small apartment and into a small car… and we're still getting use to it. Although we eat a lot of pasta and don't shower much, it does feel a bit like a dream: We wake up early to the sunrise without an alarm clock, pass through gorgeous landscapes, and stop a few minutes to watch baby mountain goats wrestle in the middle of the road. The past 2 weeks have been great!

There were two major forces that realized this adventure:

1. Kickstarter and the family, friends, and strangers that supported our project and helped us raise over $7000- THANK YOU SO MUCH! Kickstarter.com is a great community of people making change. Check it out. See what people are doing. Support them. Start your own project. Make it happen.

2. Attitude. Simply believing and acting like a trip like this would happen regardless of how possible it may seem.

One thing that disturbs me is the way some people may think about dreams. For example, have you ever heard the expression, "Ha! In your dreams!" Although it may be casual, the attitude behind the statement is that your dreams, or dreams at large for that matter, are unattainable. If you let any little idea or thought like this take root, it can cripple you for life.

If you want a simple way to make dreams or anything you want to do happen, then change the way you think and talk about them. Don't say you would love to do this or that, start saying you are going to do this or that. Don't try to do something, JUST DO IT (I guess Nike was onto something…). And sometimes don't think or hesitate too much… It's these simple attitude and thought adjustments that will help make the things you want to do happen. BOOM!

This philosophy of attitude is discussed in further detail by the book and film The Secret. I saw this film during an uncertain post-college time. I was working random freelance work, still showing up at college parties, and every other day wondering, "What the hell am I doing with myself?"

The main idea I took away from The Secret was that if you want to change, do, or be something… First, you have to really believe and imagine that you can do it. From a filmmaker/photographer standpoint, I practice visualization as a primary means to believing. If it's something I want, like a new camera, I imagine myself already having that camera. I really try to see myself holding that new camera, how it feels, and what I may photograph with it. If it's somewhere I want to go, like Alaska, I look at photos and videos and hang up maps in my room as a reminder of where I'm going (notice I didn't say where I want to go). So you see, even if you don't have the best imagination, you can use external resources like film, photographs, books, and more to help you visualize. The important thing is to create and imagine the details. The more detailed your vision is, the greater energy and chance you'll have of actualizing it.

Yesterday was my 24th birthday. I'm in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada and I am driving to Alaska. It's been great to look back and see where I've ended up 2 years after college. Throughout this reflection, I found a Word document that I wrote shortly after seeing The Secret. Over a year ago, I printed this out and hung it on the basement wall above my desk in my sister's basement where I use to live. Everyday it was a constant reminder of my short term goals.

Goals for 2009
-Pay off my student loans [Done. Zero debt. Boom!]
-Go to Alaska in the Summer [delayed, but happening now]
-Make a new music video [Charlie Slick Music Video. Check my Vimeo.]
-Write a feature screenplay [Still working on it.]
-Make an animation [I kind of did one. But still need to do more.]
-Get my website up [Yikes… I'm slacking a bit…]
-Meditate 15-30 min everyday [Not as often as I should…]
-Eat less candy and processed foods [I've limited my processed foods… but I still have that sweet tooth!]
-Read more philosophy [Not enough…]
-Read more novels and biographies [Not enough…]
-Exercise and feel great [Pretty good.]
-Play my drum more and get more percussion instruments [Check.]

Things I Want
-A radical girlfriend [Check! Thanks Kelly!]
-A new Macbook Pro [Check. Thanks to a few good freelance gigs.]
-A Canon 5D MkII Camera [Teaching job.]
-Road Trip Gear [Thanks Kickstarter!]

Wow! It feels quite empowering to look at this list that I wrote during a somewhat pathetic, jobless and loveless part of my life and see that I've checked off most of it!

So there you go Dear Reader. I hope you visualize what you want, want to be, want to change. Let me know how it works.

I'll continue to update this blog from the road when things change. If you want to hear more about my trip, follow The Pan-American Dream blog.

Hearts,

-Marty

T

The end of a hike in Glacier N.P.