Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

Raw Chocolate is Energizing and fills you with a Sense of Well-Being
Did you know:
• Pre-made Raw Chocolate Costs an average of $85 a Pound?
• That same chocolate is usually made with Cacao Powder that’s been heated to as much as 122 Degrees (that’s actually considered cooked)?

Learn to:
• Make Your Own for Less than $20 a Pound
• Make Raw Chocolate in 20 minutes
• Prepare the cacao so it isn’t bitter
• Avoid common problems and mistakes (does your chocolate look like cottage cheese instead of a smooth, tempting chocolate bar?)

Enjoy:
• Samples given out at the class

For sale at the class:
• Printed and bound version of the Dawn of a New Day Raw Dessert book, by Dawn Light (foreword by Victoria Boutento) -$12.00
• Raw Cacao Nibs -$15.00 pound (Regularly $18 pound)
• Raw Chocolate -$60.00 pound (order beforehand)

Testimonials:
"I really enjoyed the Raw Chocolate Class…yummy !!
You presented it all in easy steps that makes me feel confident making my own decadent desserts right from your recipe book! From soaking the nibs right thru to eating the chocolate bars, i am ready to go, I can’t wait to get started! Since my lifestyle diet change to Raw Foods 4 months ago, "The Chocolate Thing", I can’t seem to ditch, has always left me feeling guilty……no more thanks to you and your simple and informative classes ! I look forward to staying in close contact with you so your knowledge can support me while fulfilling my "HEALTHY " relationship with Raw Chocolate !!!" Thanks, Dorothy P

"FUN class yesterday, and SO delicious. I loved learning how to make delicious raw chocolate candy, fudge and mousse. Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous culinary discoveries with us. I KNOW I will see you on Oprah someday!" Eileen

Exchanges and scholarships
All offers of exchanges and requests for scholarships are considered. Please email with your proposal of an exchange or your request for a volunteer scholarship (you take the class for free by helping with it).

DISCOUNTS: (May not be combined)

• $5 off for you and a friend (Bring as many friends as you like and get $5 off for each one, yes, even if that means the class is free for you. Your friend must give your name when registering in order for both of you to receive the discount.)

Date: November 7, 2009
Time: 1:30 to 4:00
Cost: $40 per person (unless you bring a friend for $5 off each)
Location: Phoenixville, PA
THIS IS THE LAST RAW CHOCOLATE CLASS SCHEDULED THIS YEAR

Email Dawn for more information on the class or to sign-up for this Raw Chocolate class

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What’s a Green Smoothie?
A green smoothie is a combination of fruit and green leafy vegetables blended with water in a high speed blender.

Why eat Green Smoothies?
Green smoothies are considered to be very healthy and the most natural way that humans should eat. You can read all about Victoria Boutneko’s study and discoveries of green smoothies in Green for Life.

How can I make Green Smoothies?
They aren’t hard to make but there are ways to mold the recipe to your own taste preferences and tips to making and storing them that can really help keep you on your diet of a green smoothie a day.

What I’ve found from drinking Green Smoothies
Once I started drinking a green smoothie a day I felt stronger and healthier then I had in a while. I noticed that I always had a nice glow in my cheeks and I even stopped bruising. I crave sweets less, continue to stay thin and healthy, have regular bowel movements and even have one within an hour of getting out of bed, whether I have had anything to eat or drink. It provides most of my nourishment throughout the day and is a great way to make sure I get my daily dose of greens and fruit in a tasty way.

When is the class?
I’m teaching the next Green Smoothie Class on Saturday, April 25th from 10:30 to 12:30, right before the Raw Chocolate Class. The cost for the Green Smoothie Class is $25 per person, paid in advance. $30 at the door. If you bring a friend you both save $5. Take both the Raw Chocolate Class and the Green Smoothie Class on the same day and get $10 off the combined cost. Offers MAY be combined.

Exchanges and scholarships
All offers of exchanges and requests for scholarships are considered. Please email with your proposal of an exchange or your request for a volunteer scholarship (you take the class for free by helping with it).

Details
Date: Saturday, April 25th
Time: 10:30 to 12:30 (before the Raw Chocolate Class)
Location: Phoenixville, PA
Cost: $30 (See available discounts below)

DISCOUNTS (MAY be combined)

• Bring a friend and you each save $5 (bring as many friends as you like and get $5 off for each one, yes, even if that means the class is free for you. Your friend must give your name when registering in order for you both to receive the discount.) 
• $5 off for Pre-paying
• $10 off for taking both the Raw Chocolate Class and the Green Smoothie Class on the same day, April 25th.

View the schedule of all available raw food classes
Email Dawn for more information on the class or to sign-up for the next class on April 25th, 2009

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Why germinate nuts and seeds?
Never eat cooked nuts or seeds. The best way to eat nuts and seeds is to germinate them before eating them. Why? Nuts and seeds have a component called enzyme inhibitors which keep them from rotting but it also keep our bodies from getting all their nutrients when we eat them. The question is, "What do we germinate, how do we germinate and how do they store after we germinate them?" Germinating Nuts and Seeds Class will answer these questions and empower you to eat your nuts and seeds in the healthiest manner. You’ll get more out of the nuts and seeds and they will be easier to eat and digest.

Germinating friendships
A friend of mine offered a friend of hers one of my germinated almonds but she declined. She said that she didn’t like almonds because they were so hard. My friend assured her friend that these weren’t like that. Well, her friend tried them, loved them and now that’s the only way she will eat her almonds.

Germinate nuts and seeds to:

• Digest them easier
• Get most of the nutrients out of them
• Make them a live food (those that can be made live)
• Make them more palatable

Date: TBA
Time: 10:30 to 12:30
Cost: $30 per person (See "Discounts" below for potential savings)
Location: Phoenixville, PA

DISCOUNTS

• $10 off the combined cost if you take both the Germinating Nuts and Seeds Class and the Raw Ethnic Desserts (Halvah, Irish "Potatoes", etc.) on the same day, May 16th.
• $5 off if you bring a friend ($5 off for each of you. Bring as many friends as you like. Bring enough friends and your class is free. Friend must give your name when registering.)
• $5 off if you pay in advance
• Offers MAY be combined.

View the schedule of all available raw food classes
Email Dawn for more information on the class or to sign-up

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From Edie Moser’s Description of the event:
An Invitation To Transformation

Goddess Retreat 2009

We are on the brink of extraordinary transformation, we can feel it in the air, our bodies are all a-tingle with the energy of it. Our hearts are racing in anticipation. Our minds are brimming with ideas for evolving ourselves in new and magical ways. As women, we are such creative beings.

From July 18th-25, 2009, women from all over the planet will be gathering for the third year in a row at the beyond beautiful Mt. Eden Retreat Center in Washington, New Jersey for Goddess Retreat 2009. The heart and brain-child of the dynamic facilitator Amy Storm, it is a co-creation of other talented teachers and healers, as together we weave and blend magical modules that will help you stretch and grow in ways that you have desired and perhaps ways you have never considered.

At this retreat, you will also be pampered by the environment itself. “Every time I have driven up with winding road that leads onto the grounds of Mt. Eden which for many years has been the home of the Kindred Spirits Festival, through lush greenery, I have felt an immediate sense of ahhh…as I have entered into a realm of relaxation in which ANYTHING is possible”=-Edie.

Physical nourishment comes in the form of vegetarian, organic, gourmet cuisine that rivals that of other retreats that I have attended throughout the country. Three meals a day, plus yummy snacks and decadent desserts keep us fueled for the inner and outer work that we do for and with ourselves. A key ingredient in the food is the love that is poured into it, as the ‘kitchen Goddesses’ work wonders.

Emotional and spiritual nourishment emerges from our time together. We are all blown away by the ideas that blossom, the insights that arise and the profound healing that takes place for each of us. Tears and laughter abound, bonds form, delight deepens, personal visions come to fruition, relationships are healed.

Those of us who have attended and facilitated have found that our lives have changed dramatically. “It was at this retreat last year that I learned how to simply BE rather than keeping busy doing all the time and I’m convinced that as a result, one of my long held desires came to be…the interview with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama that I conducted within a few weeks after the retreat last summer. I first got word about the impending audience with him while at the retreat.”-Edie

The modules celebrate “All that is Human, all that is Woman and all that is Divine” with not a single aspect ourselves left behind. Together, we sing, dance, drum, play, meditate, practice yoga, create art, learn how our own bodies work, create rituals and experience pleasure.

What would make this experience even more complete for us is if you were there:)

According to Amy:
“Think about this: the entire Goddess Retreat is priced at $1800. For 7 days. That is only $257 per day, including meals and lodging, and all modules! The going rate for any full-day quality class is $200 per day. At the Retreat, the participants get full days of transformational modules, PLUS gourmet vegetarian food, PLUS lodging, PLUS community! I am still rocked by what a bargain it is.”

If offered ala carte, these services would cost $2,800 in total!

Consider what you spend money on without even thinking twice about it. Also, as women, it is our tendency to put ourselves last. This is an investment in yourself with life-long benefits.

WE KNOW you are worth it and what is also cool is that Amy has said many times that the families and partners of those who have attended have expressed gratitude to her for the transformation that has taken place for the women who have returned simply glowing. It is a radiance that doesn’t fade since those of us who participate remain in contact via a yahoo group in which we support each other on a daily basis, even if we live a distance from each other. It is hard for us all to imagine a time when these wonderful women; part of our ‘family of choice’ were not part of our lives. YOU can join the family that we think of as ‘Goddess Sistahs’ too.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Amy Storm 410-290-9090
Edie Weinstein-Moser 215-249-9190

And please pass this on to women you know, post it to any groups you are on, any networking sites. This is how all successful ventures thrive, through personal recommendation.

Love and Gratitude,
Edie

Goddess Retreat 2009 starts AT LUNCH, on Saturday, July 18th. Arrivals will be from 12-1pm. The Goddess Retreat will end with Lunch served on Tuesday, July 21st. COST for participants has shifted! Instead of $1800, it is only $975 What a bargain since it includes all of the workshops, beautiful accommodations, 3 gourmet, organic veg meals and snacks per day, art supplies and take home items AND best of all…lifelong friendships. (That part is priceless:)

Please visit the website at www.goddessretreat.net and register today. Space is limited, but YOU are unlimited.

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What’s a Cuddle Party?
Cuddle Parties are facilitated gatherings where adults come together to cuddle. Far from being a free-for-all, Cuddle Party facilitators start with an orientation where rules are set and exercises bring connection and feelings of safety. Want to get a hug? Just ask. Want to give a hug? Just ask. Cuddlers wear PJs and congregate in a living room or other comfortable space to touch, talk and cuddle. And Cuddle Parties have been going on for the past 5 years. From ‘s Cuddle Party’s Website: "Cuddle Party is a playful social event designed for adults to explore communication, boundaries and affection. The brainchild of two relationship coaches, Cuddle Party was conceived in February 2004. Since then, Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski have sought to bring clean, safe, welcomed affection to the world through these events."

My experience
Arrival and set-up
I’ve known about Cuddle Parties since Edie Moser told me about them a couple of years ago and I always wanted to go. It never worked out for me to go until just recently. I arrived to find a snack buffet and people dressed in their jammies, ready to cuddle. We all signed in, got name tags, were told when we would start and that the process would be explained once we started. I felt well-informed and comfortable. After everyone arrived and signed in, we proceeded to our cuddling location. The living room of the house hosting the event had been set up with mattresses, pillows and blankets, in addition to the couches, chairs and rugs already in the room. We were given an orientation of the house, what the house rules were, where the bathrooms were, where to go for snacks, that it was okay to get up, walk around, go to the bathroom, get a snack or leave if we had to. We introduced ourselves, said why we were there and what we hoped to get out/bring to the Cuddle Party. Then we got into the Cuddle Party rules. Set perfectly within the explanation of the rules were exercises specifically designed to make people feel comfortable in addition to sharing with each other and practicing saying, "no". Being able to say, "no" is so important that we each got to practice it 6 times. We told each other what our boundaries were, what type of touch we like and what type of touch we don’t like. After everyone understood the rules and had started connecting through the exercises, we were ready to cuddle!

The Cuddling
Our cuddling blossomed out of the last exercise in the orientation where we were all falling into each other. But I found myself asking someone if I could massage her shoulders and while I was doing that someone asked if he could massage mine while I was massaging hers. We had all said, "yes" so we started massaging. There were requests for many different types of touch during the 3-hour cuddling session, including hair stroking, hand holding and foot massages. Every time someone wanted to move on to something or someone else, they were very considerate of the person they had been cuddling with before moving on.

I was surprised that there was so much talking during the cuddling, but I just hadn’t thought about it much before I went to one. It makes sense, though, and lots of interesting conversations were had and overheard.

What I especially liked
Everyone was responsible for themselves, asking for what they wanted, being honest with saying, "yes" and "no" and everything else. This took a lot of pressure off those of us who feel a need to be reciprocal when someone does something nice for us. Therefore, I knew if someone was sitting off to the side, and wasn’t asking for anything, that they would ask when they needed or wanted something, or when they got over whatever was keeping them from asking for what they needed or wanted. It was freeing for me because I realized I wasn’t responsible for everyone’s happiness. (I think a lot of mothers have that feeling of being responsible for keeping the party moving and making sure everyone has a good time.)

Added benefit
One thing Edie told us was that this is also therapeutic. She was right. I got over several fears I had along with a lot of beliefs that weren’t working for me. It raised my level of awareness of how touching can affect someone’s mood and outlook on life. I can also imagine how great this would be for people who have intimacy problems they are ready to get over.

After affects
As I was driving home I found I was more forgiving with drivers and the people around me. It was amazing. And when I got home that night I found myself wanting to touch my family more and finding more opportunities to touch. I had this happy glow and felt wonderful.

I became more aware of touch. I saw a friend of mine in a store a few days afterward and noticed how it positively affected me when she stroked my back in greeting when she saw me.

When the next Saturday rolled around, I wanted to have the experience again and considered how nice it would be to have a weekly cuddle practice. I guess if I lived in an intentional house like Trellis House, (where we had the cuddle party), we could cuddle every day to our mutual benefit. Maybe we’ll plan a family cuddle each night before bedtime. That would be nice. Or maybe I’ll just have to become a Cuddle Party Facilitator to get enough cuddling.

Conclusion
I really enjoyed the Cuddle Party and plan on going to more, taking my husband with me. I think that going alone and going with your partner can be both healing and opening for the relationship. This can be a really wonderful experience for many people, positively altering their experience of touching and being touched.

The End
At the end of the Cuddle Party, Edie announced, "You’re no longer strangers. Now you’re just strange!" And strange we all are: in our society to be willing to reach out and touch someone, honoring values and boundaries while still nourishing ourselves and others in a loving, thoughtful way. Now that’s strange, and wonderful and beautiful.

Cuddle on! and let’s change the world, one cuddle at a time.

Visit the Cuddle Party‘s Website
Find a Cuddle Party in your town

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