Sunday 7 November 2010

Alternatively......................

I live a very conventional life, safe and somewhat mundane yet I have always hankered after the unusual, alternative and extraordinary ways of life.

When I was younger I experimented with alternative ways of eating. I used to look up to Leslie Kenton, health guru and author of the Raw Energy Diet and followed her raw health diet for months. It wasn't sustainable as it was too restrictive. She also advocated running along the beach and taking vitamin supplements.

Years later I started following a macrobiotic diet which is a very sensible but yet again restrictive way of eating. It was based on yin and yang foods and eating a mostly grain diet.

Now I eat a sensible well balanced diet (if you ignore the Friday cake bakes and the sweet treats!) based on the knowledge I have gained about healthy eating over the years.

Away from diets, I have dabbled with other 'alternative' things such as Reiki, and been attuned by a Reiki Master. I have used Bach Flower Remedies, Homeopathy, Aromatherapy oils etc. I have drunk clay, aloe vera juice and Bancha Twig tea!

I believe I am perceived to be slightly 'odd' by conventional types and too 'normal' by people that embrace more unconventional ways of life.

I like to sit on the edge, dipping my toes in the water and retreating when it all gets a bit too weird! Do any of you feel like this?

15 comments:

  1. Oh Yes! Yes I do know wht you mean - I too am considered slightly odd by "normal" friends and not quite odd enough by the alternative ones. Like you I have dabbled but I am a down to earth sort of a gal so I don't travel too far along the alternative routes and with the diets etc it's not long before common sense steps in and I am back to "sensible" eating on the principle that man was made to eat whatever he could find although no doubt Big Mac and Coco Cola and chips were not envisaged by the Maker!! Me thinks you have probably touched a nerve here and I feel a post coming on so watch my blog!!

    Jane

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  2. Isn't that exactly what they tell about post-modern living- experimenting with what works for us, balancing, tuning, living as best we can? I'm so glad you kept the FCB! I do love it so! It's that sort of natural poetry that seems to be the rhythm of your life? I do hope, though, that you're still doing some running on the beach?! Did you read Skipping in the Meadow? She hasn't blogged in ages, but was fascinatingly in tune with accessible alternatism!

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  3. I haven't really tried much in the way of alternative ways of eating, but I'm extremely interested in natural remedies, and would like to use more of them. Not as a way of replacing medicine, of course, but as something to try first, or for ailments that aren't too bad.

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  4. I think most of us try different 'alternative' remedies from time to time - often when we're feeling a little desperate for relief from some physical or mental mishap. With me, none of them last, and I'm beginning to realise there's no substitute for a balanced diet (which allows for occasional indulgences), good friends and family support, and taking an interest in helping others less fortunate than myself.

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  5. I think like you and the other comments, I think we all dabble in the hope of findingan answer!
    love
    Lyn
    xxx

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  6. Much of what you posted resonates with me - I too have 'flirted' with macrobiotic diets, etc. Am vegetarian (for 30 + years) and try to eat organic. Often use alternative remedies, e.g. Bach flower essences, and go to Alexander technique sessions. But have an open mind re more regular approaches - I too dip into both. A sensible attitude, surely :) - not too extreme / exclusive.

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  7. I have tried most alternative things over the years. There has been homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy you name it but apart from becoming a vegetarian 29 years ago the other things have fallen by the wayside. I suppose becoming a veggie all those years ago when not many people were made me feel slightly different and odd.
    I loved it when I went I had Reiki healing and said I would go again but didn't! How does it work? I felt so much better.
    I joined a weekly Tai Chi class and stopped going after a few month when the Winter weather prevented me from getting there for a few weeks.

    It is us who are the normal ones Simone x

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  8. I'm considered unconventional by many because I'm a vegetarian!! It's amazing the questions I get asked and the frankly daft comments I receive!
    I think it's all a personal thing and if you take a little bit from all camps and it works for you then that is fine.
    Who said we all had to be the same anyway!!!!
    Vivienne x

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  9. I've dipped into a few things in the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle ... but I usually fall back into my old ways. I do aim to eat a healthy diet (apart the odd chocolate) and I like to know exactly what is in my food. I couldn't eat a big mac or drink coke to save my life ... I've never smoked , don't drink really, and I gave up drinks with caffeine in years ago.... I only drink fruit teas. All that makes me different from the people I work with ... I am usually the odd one out in many ways...hobbies, holiday destinations, even as far as what we watch on TV .. I generally don't know what they're all going on about. But I really don't want to be like everyone else. They probably think I'm a nutcase!!!!
    Love Kathy xxx

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  10. Yes, I do that too - when I gave up eating meat in the 1970s it was considered a weird thing to do, but I didn't go into the whole not wearing leather or wool or not eating dairy products so I was still not considered a 'proper' vegetarian or vegan. I think we can all learn from different things and just use the parts of it we want and the things that help us in our lives. Like Kathy, I'm glad to be a bit different and like Rosie - I think we are all normal:)

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  11. i feel that in my 40's i am returning to many of the alternative ways of living that filled my 20's... i know that these are the essence of me and have been put aside as busy life with young children and running a business took over. i am so excited to be coming home to who i am and exploring all that this brings further.
    although i have to say that i have never drunk clay!
    enjoy
    xx

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  12. I've tried a few alternative therapies. When I had cancer years ago, I went to a healer, learned about the chakras, practiced meditation and did visualization. All of it helped with stress and sense of well being. I still do meditation and am thinking of taking up Hatha Yoga, which I did back (way back) in my twenties!
    I say, if it works for you - why not??
    Interesting topic, Simone! xxx

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  13. I'm not too fond of restrictions, so no wacky eating plans for me, but I'll give most alternative remedies a go - cranial osteopathy, homeopathy, flower remedies - and I've been pretty impressed.

    I have no idea how others perceive me, really. I don't need their permission, do i?

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  14. Oh yes, of course... I was attuned to Celtic Reiki via distance attunement (which of course was frowned upon by some of the more "conventional" of Reiki people, but which worked wonderfully for me). I have sat between formal religion and New Age thinking for many years, never quite fitting into either, and my diet choices, though caused by health issues, are often misunderstood by others. I wouldn't have it any other way though... I think being who you are is the most important thing you can be, despite the awkwardness it can sometimes bring about xx

    (have I ever mentioned how students and my Russian landlady alike mocked me for not drinking alcohol... had it been for a "religious" reason they would have understood, but my just not liking alcohol was far too difficult for them to understand... such small things, yet such large reactions to them!)

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  15. I believe I am perceived to be slightly 'odd' by conventional types and too 'normal' by people that embrace more unconventional ways of life.

    I like to sit on the edge, dipping my toes in the water and retreating when it all gets a bit too weird! Do any of you feel like this?

    Re: the above quoted..... Bingo! You hit the nail on the head! But I'm long past the stage of worrying about what others think. Thank goodness! :-)

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