Jim here... Here's an interesting way to finish out the week: Today just happens to be my one-year "rawniversary." That's right, for the past full year, I've existed as a 100% raw food vegan.

Sure, I'd been "high-raw" for a couple of years prior to September 18, 2008 -- and it was during those high-raw years when the bulk of my weight came off and when I kissed prescription meds goodbye (I'd been on powerful beta-blockers for my heart and blood pressure).

But, on that fateful day a number of tumblers simply aligned in some magical way in my brain and a huge "aha!" moment unlocked. Among the numerous realizations that hit me at once, I knew from that moment on, I'd be living in a new way, permanently. It's tough to capture in words... I can only say that something clicked and changed me on some fundamental level. My entire chemistry changed in an instant, in fact, both physically and metaphysically.

High-raw (in my case, a 75-90% raw existence) is a wonderful dietary existence, to be sure. For me, it was step one -- something necessary to heal the body. This makes sense, looking back, as it's critical to get your body functioning properly when it's in crisis. (I didn't know at the time that I was in crisis, but I most definitely was, carrying so much excess weight and relying on those heart pills.)

I realize that we're all about a holistic approach here, and think that it's wonderful to apply that approach when possible. But it's also true that, for many, the most critical step is often to address the body. After all, if it's entirely possible that you could actually have a heart attack at any moment and actually die, then maybe you should table some of your emotional issues at least until you're physically strong enough to deal with them.

Mind and body are so tightly interconnected, after all. For example, we were just speaking a few days ago about the passing of an old beloved dog of ours, Christabel. I remember telling Wendi that I thought I was going to have a heart attack because of how upset I was after losing her. In the shape I was in, I honestly think I could have!? I'm sure you can think of a similarly painful period in your own life as an example of this powerful link between body and emotion.

So, back to addressing the physical domain first... This would be in accordance with many well-known psychological theories such as Abraham Maslow's famous heirarchy of needs, in which the physiological aspects of human beings serve as their very foundation. Of course, at some point far short of physical perfection, that foundation can surely be built upon by striving for a healthy emotional state, a healthy mental state, and a healthy spiritual outlook, whatever those all may be for you. Once you're reasonably physically healthy, you should then work on all of the domains simultaneously. (And when, exactly, are you ready ?I think we'll address that one in a future post.)

After a few years of a high-raw existence, my body reached a definite plateu -- relatively much healthier, but still not quite where I should have been. To be sure, I was thankfully off the medicine and enjoying a new, much lighter physical feeling pretty much all the time. I'd also become in tune enough with my body to know that, when I wasn't eating raw (e.g, out to lunch with office mates or attending some board dinner or something), I would feel it in a negative way later.

For me, hanging onto that 10% of cooked foods represented not fully living as the singular identity of who I wanted to be. It was as though that 10% gave me permission to live in two separate worlds -- one in which diet didn't matter one day out of 10, and the other in which it was critical nine days out of 10. This, my friends, was the powerful dissonance that was keeping me at the plateau I'd described -- and, musical as I am in nature, it took me a while to hear.

And so I needed to transform that dissonance into a harmony of body, mind, emotion, and spirit. I think that, without the physical foundation I'd built over a transition period, I would have been unable to focus in on my own conscience as deeply and truly as I did.Yes, there were external catalysts for all of this introspection, but the introspection itself was authentic, and the resulting connection with my inner self was profoundly spiritual. I've described some of this before in more grounded terms (e.g., in my "Thoughts on Meat" post from around six months ago).

I wish I were a strong enough person -- or, maybe strong isn't the most accurate word -- to have come to the crossroads that I did come to without any kind of force or unusual catalyst. I wish I'd been more proactive in nature back then rather than simply reactive. I do feel I'm proactive now, which is a wonderful feeling. But, even though I needed some nudging to find the type of consciousness that I did, maybe that's not true for everyone. At least, I hope it's not.And just maybe there's one person out there to whom these rather ethereal words may speak -- and that these words will be all the catalyst you'll need to realize that you can access your true self and bask in the absolute freedom available to you if you're courageous enough.

So, in short, going from 90% to 100% raw was HUGE!? It took that dissonance I spoke of and force-filtered it through an honest representation of my purest core being.Old discordant beliefs were jettisoned; new harmonic truths surfaced. The tumblers aligned, the vault door swung open, and I saw limitless possibilities for the first time ever. And then, my friends, the ride got truly interesting!

Your mileage may vary, of course. But, that's my story. I hope it wasn't too "out there," but it is very late on a Friday night and that's what came out! Don't worry; we'll balance this off with a nice practical article on kale or something.