Jim here... Allow me to think out loud, philosophically, for a few moments, will you? I have a gut suspicion about something, but need to think it through a bit here. I'll start with a quote:

"There have also been a number of traditions around the world that describe a divine confusion of the one original language into several, albeit without any tower [referring to the well known story of the Tower of Babylon from the Christian Bible]. Aside from the Ancient Greek myth that Hermes confused the languages, causing Zeus to give his throne to Phoroneus, Frazer specifically mentions such accounts among the Wasania of Kenya, the Kacha Naga people of Assam, the inhabitants of Encounter Bay in Australia, the Maidu of California, the Tlingit of Alaska, and the K'iche' of Guatemala. ... The Estonian myth of "the Cooking of Languages" has also been compared."

~from the Wiki page on the Tower of Babylon

Interesting, isn't it ? -- that stories abound regarding confusion (of the "one original language ") among human beings, the most famous being the story of the tower of Babel. You know, I had a dream related to that not terribly long ago. It happened during one of the more profound eras of change and personal development I've yet experienced:

I went out for a jog and decided to explore a new route not far from my home. Within minutes, I was on a hill overlooking a never-before-seen (to me) river. I was absolutely stunned to learn of the existence of such a major river so close to my home of 10+ years. How could I have not known about this ! So, I kept jogging and exploring the new landscape. Eventually, I became utterly lost!

Soon, I came upon a dilapidated parking garage.I decided to enter it and climb to the roof, from which I might look out and hopefully glimpse some familiar landmark. No luck; from the top, nothing familiar could be seen. I had no clue where I was or how to return home. On the way back down the stairs of the building, I noticed an old sign hanging sideways. It said simply, "Babel."

This is around the time I'd made a serious commitment to raw foods, newly transitioned from high raw to 100% raw. While I had certain interpretations at the time, what if it all means that, in committing to raw, I had discovered a place that was always nearby, yet never really explored -- an older place that needed some attention, a place not of confusion, but representative of an original language that I'd never learned?

Who among us can truly understand the primeval human language, after all ? If food could be thought of as a primeval language (metaphorically, as in the way it "speaks" to, or communicates with, our bodies and souls), still understood in rare pockets of the world, would the average modern person even recognize it? Would we not look upon it, just exactly as all of our S.A.D. friends continually do, with absolute confusion?

You see, that's what raw is: It's the primeval culinary language! It's the primeval dietary existence. This is enormously exciting, when you really think about it. You and me and everyone we know: We're the Indiana Joneses and the Laura Crofts of the health and nutrition world! Actually, we're also very much like James Spader in Stargate, you see ! We've cracked the ancient code, and we're ready to travel the universe.

But, uh, let's stay in this world for a bit, as I have further earthly observations.

This morning, I stopped on my way to work to pick up some snacks for the employees, as I always do during tax season. Now, these people know little or nothing about raw foods. It's actually a nearly carnivorous place, when you get right down to it. (Oddly, there is one nearly 60-year old woman here whose body rivals that of almost anyone younger. What's her favorite snack? Fruits. No one has put two-and-two together, though -- which is ironic, as I work in an accounting office.) This year, I decided to be a bit more health conscious in my snack selection; in addition to the traditional fare (bagels and cream cheese), I bought an enormous amount of fresh fruit.

I summed up the first reaction I encountered in two Twitter posts:

Strange "Fruit = Politics" tale: I brought a fruit platter into work 2day for everyone. Was accused of "promoting my liberal agenda." WTF

They said that, if I'm buying fruit for everyone, I should also buy them meat. LOL!

I initially laughed it off as merely a typical, rather sad office story. But then Linda Salas replied with the most succint, spot-on burst of insight imaginable. She wrote:

wow! how far away from nature must one be to feel threatened by fruit! Wierdo upside down humanity!

That's really the root of the root here: "far from nature."? It's not just my office that has removed itself so far from nature that it demonstrates actual resistance to healthy foods; it's society as a whole. What did that quip mean, really? Why was it that offering fruit constituted my proselytizing a "liberal agenda"?

Did you read my interview with Earthbound Farms cofounder Myra Goodman last week? In it, she relates a hugely insightful metaphor of organic farming as, really, the releasing of a controlling, "macho" farming ideal of growing whatever you want, where ever you want, when ever you want (all using pesticides to accomplish this quite unnatural task), and then simply denying any consequences of that act (e.g., denying that pesticides cause disease in humans and pollute the soil). It's no different from any other political stance, really. Corporations assert their right to manufacture this or that, spewing whatever effuvial matter they like into the air or rivers, denying any consequences to human health.

These are all instances in which we're moving away from nature and denying the consequences. It's become the norm; it's become acceptable and even admirable. "I want meat," they demand, denying all of the nutritional literature available today, ignoring their own doctor's warnings about cholesterol, repressing any thoughts at all of slaughterhouses, etc. Without question, this isn't natural.

You see, I think that, in both a metaphoric and even literal sense, what raw does is return you in a holistic way to a kind of sacred, primeval state, and this affects your communicative facilities, just as in all of the stories. The twist is: It doesn't bring you confusion; it returns you from the confusion. And, since many people around you still exist in the Babylon of double speak, corporate speak, buzz words, passive aggression, culture of death, whatever you want to call it -- what you begin to experience is a great deal like the tower of Babel (though just the inverse, as you're the only one left speaking the primeval tongue). And so, in these situations, others who cannot speak in this mode usually fail to understand you.

So, what is the primeval language ? It's in fact all languages, only purer, uninflected by the subtle influences that creep into human language via our embracing the unnatural. Did you catch, in that initial quote atop this piece, that the linguistic confusion is referred to as the "cooking" of language? Very, very interesting, no ? (unnatural = cooking). So, I'm referring to the universal dialect of truth. After this long journey of self-exploration (and I'm not saying I'm there yet), I think that's what's at the bottom: pure truth. That's what the "now" is. It's just truth. I think maybe it's all that simple -- and your and my commitment to raw foods is leading us all there together. (Some of you are asking what the truth is, then, right ?Come on, you don't really need me to tell you that, do you!)

I find this primeval language beautiful. How about you? :-)