Today was another awesome day with the raw vegan community at the Kanekiki farm. I woke up late but still made it in time to do yoga with Jake in the community room. It was our second day practicing in a row.
During morning meeting I decided to work cleaning the kitchen and other community areas like the gym. I didn’t want to work under the rain and this was a job I still hadn’t had. It actually didn’t work out so well, the rain stopped immediately and cleaning was boring as hell.
Some of the upsides of the morning activities included Bill teaching us how to use “bread fruit” to make raw vegan pizzas on the dehydrator. It was the second time since I have been here that Bill taught something to the group. I really enjoyed the class-like setting.
Nonviolent Communication at the Kanekiki Farm
I spent most of the early afternoon in the kitchen. I opened a few coconuts and made a big smoothie of coconut water and bananas which tasted absolutely delicious. Right after that I made a banana “nice-cream” with frozen bananas, cacao powder and vanilla powder. It was delicious, but I probably made too much and ate it all.
I was planning on getting some work done but I didn’t get that much covered. I wrote a few blogs and checked my website’s analytics. I seem to be doing better than ever which is gratifying, inspiring and motivating me to continue writing this blog.
At 2:30 p.m. we had our bi weekly nonviolent communication class at the Kanekiki farm. Nonviolent communication is a style of talking and listening, also known as compassionate communication or emphatic communication.
I got to share and listen in an open way that felt meaningful and fulfilling. This type of communication is one of the main reasons why I chose to come to the Kanekiki farm instead of other raw vegan communities in Hawaii. We only pay $2 or $3 per class and they last 90 minutes, they are surely worth more than that to me. If you are interested in this type of communication I recommend the following books:
Tasting an Avocado Feast
Right after our nonviolent communication meeting I went downstairs, ate a few oranges and made my salad for the night. I made it simple and again it was a success: tomatoes, cucumbers, red cabbage, avocado lemons and a few fresh herbs.
During our meal prep-time Ray showed me the different variety of avocados we have at the Kanekiki farm. We feasted in four of them. Somewhere smaller, thicker and creamier. Others were bigger, more watery and less flavorful. Needless to say, the creamier ones are the best.
I tried not eating a lot of avocados but it was hard to resist. I am still fighting the battle against eating too much fat. I am not doing great, but I am not doing too badly either.
Another Successful Speak Easy Night at the Kanekiki Farm
After eating my salad I prepared for the Speak Easy meetings I have been facilitating at the Kanekiki farm.
At 6 p.m. we gathered in the Kanekiki community room. We had an awesome time, as we always do during these authentic relating meetings. We played a bunch of games to improve and increase our self-awareness and our awareness and relationships with other people.
The last game we played is “The Dead Seat”. During this game, one person lays on the floor facing down and the rest of the group talks about them as if they were dead. I was the last one to take a turn, it was absolutely wonderful.
While I was on The Dead Seat, everyone talked about many beautiful qualities they notice in me including my passion, my ability to listen and connect, my free spirit, my comfort in being my silly self, my ability to be humorous, my drive, my honesty, my leadership skills, my willingness to help… It almost feels wrong to list all these things now, in a way it feels like I am bragging. But I understand now how important it is to hear these complements and receive love and appreciation for who we are.
So far The Dead Seat and Shower of Love are the most popular Speak Easy games and certainly the ones I enjoy the most. It seems obvious now that we all need to feel loved. It is amazing to realize how seldom we do that and how unwilling we are to make an effort to give and receive the love we all need day in and day out.
Giving and Receiving Love, the Ultimate Healthy Trick
Giving and receiving love seems as important, or more important than being raw, exercising, making money or anything I can think of. I actually believe this is the most important need to living a healthy life. I look forward to doing more of this during our meetings, during work and during our free time.
After our Speak Easy meeting a few of us stayed in the room before heading to bed. Ray and I stayed up sharing a few more avocados. That was obviously not the wisest decision, but I am not going to beat myself up for it.
I am doing so many things well, I don’t want to focus on what I perceive as mistakes. I just want to keep doing my best and enjoy the love I can already get from my family, friends and the raw vegan community at the Kanekiki farm.
READ ABOUT DAY 30
