Raw Evolution.

by Steven Corwin

Whatever I say here today will most likely change in the future as I am forever evolving. Ten years ago my wife, one year old son and I, all vegans, were living in Westchester NY. One day my wife complained about the ‘normal’ conversations the friends in her mommy group were having. I said, “honey, we are not normal, so all normal stuff will seem boring to us.” I immediately got on the internet and began to search for new like minded people in the area.

I found EarthSave and soon we were at a potluck dinner making new friends and having more meaningful conversations. So there we were, vegan, with our new kin and on top of the world. That is, until we met Karen Ranzi. She spoke of something we had never heard of- a raw food lifestyle. “You mean there is more to healthy living?”, I questioned. Karen introduced us to a whole new perspective, which right from the very beginning resonated with us and became the focus of our existence for the years to come. For my wife and I, anything we get excited about becomes part of our lives and something we enjoy.

It took us a few years to become totally raw. We experimented, listened to others, read books on the subject and experimented more. We tried all the complicated mixtures in many of the uncook books, but found them too difficult, and time consuming and just too rough on the digestive system. I was inspired and determined to invent quick and easy recipes that even pleased non raw food people and nearly wrote a book on the subject. Then, once again presented with a whole new level of thinking at a potluck dinner, we gave up olives, olive oil, and salt. All my recipes had to change and I started all over again.

At many of the potlucks the topic of discussion was finding the best place for conscious raw fooders to live. It was agreed that it had to be warm enough year round to grow tropical fruits, with fresh air and clean water. We went through every state of the union, none of which could meet the criteria. It seemed that no such place existed. That was until we vacationed in Costa Rica. While touring the country it became obvious that this was the place we were looking for.

After going back home to New York life was just not the same. All we thought about was eating that fresh flavorful fruit. It inspired us to spend the next year researching and planning our subsequent trip to Costa Rica to look for land. Combining intuition and internet we honed in on an area in the south pacific in the mountains halfway between a small city and the ocean.

We spent two weeks visiting several regions in Costa Rica before looking for land in our chosen area. It didn’t take long to find the right spot. We committed and soon thereafter became land owners in Central America. It all seemed so dream like, but it was very real and we were on our way.

The next six months we rearranged ourselves and surroundings to prepare for the big move. We were both excited and anxious. So many doubts and questions came to mind but we just followed our hearts. We stopped thinking of what we were “giving up” and focused solely on what we were to gain.

At that point in our lives we were living as naturally as possible with our two boys which meant minimal intervention when it came to health other than treating our bodies to the freshest live food we could find and letting our bodies do the rest. It worked very well for us and we were quite healthy making it an ideal time for our transition to living in the tropics.

Moving to Costa Rica with enough clothes, books, some bedding and personal items to fit into a few duffle bags and back packs, at first, felt like we were on vacation. But after a few months we were all feeling the pain of adjustment which only lasted a short time, thank God. It was then that we all settled in and began to feel like we were home, even while living in the 30 year old, very modest farm house.

It didn’t take long before we began building a new home for us, guests houses, a community/ yoga center and developing the farm. It became so very clear that we were going to have to share this paradise with others who wanted the same life experience. This was the place we talked about so much in those potluck dinners. A place where we could find the optimum balance by breathing fresh clean air, eating only natural foods grown on the farm, drinking clean alive water, experiencing pure nature and where our very daily actions would bring joy to our hearts and “exercise” to our bodies.

What became apparent is that good nutrition doesn’t only come from good food. Sun, water, air and our thoughts are just as important and should be ingested in their natural state. Clean air with plenty of oxygen nourishes our cells. Fresh natural sparkling water excites and hydrates the entire body while the sun feeds us through eyes and skin. Doing fun and meaningful physical activities keep our blood flowing to our muscles including the brain. But, the absolute best nutrition we found for our bodies is thinking thoughts of appreciation.

Looking out into the natural surroundings triggers wonderful healing thoughts that replace any of those musty old unhealthy ones that swim around in our minds running us ragged. Thoughts are where life begins and lay the ground work for everything we experience in a given day. They directly effect the outcome of our existence. If we want to experience freedom and joy then we need to think thoughts that will bring us to that place. Living simply here has helped us to see this and practice it as part of our daily diet.

This sounds so simple and it really is. Life need not be complicated. It’s up to us and all it takes is a fresh new thought to get it going. By living more simply and being surrounded by nature’s bounty our thoughts shift and slow down as well. Sometimes that is all that is necessary to begin the liberation. The only way to change this world is to change what we think, one clean, beautiful thought at a time and let the new era of a purposeful and deliberate evolution begin.