Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!

May this one be your best yet!

Over the holidays, I went with family friends, 12 of them, to see the most expensive film ever made, “Avatar.” I didn’t know a thing about it going in, only that it seemed everyone was talking about it and it was a chance to share an experience with good friends I rarely get to see. Since I no longer own a television, I’m sometimes blissfully unaware of things massively publicized via that medium. In the past five years, I’ve “retreated” into another dimension; that of Cyberspace, waiting to emerge when humanity wakes up.

Was I in for an experience! This film gives me confidence that it’s finally happening!

It seems that approximately $750 million was spent on a very engaging 3D film with a message that’s all about the sanctity of Mother Nature, that explores the motivation behind war and that encourages us to reassess our priorities as humans. A military operation invades the jungle of another planet in an effort to take an extremely valuable mineral, called “Unobtainium.” Hmmmm…a little foreshadowing about how this thing is going to end up.

In the film, the native people eat raw food, of course. And they literally plug in to nature. That’s how I feel when I eat fresh, organic raw food. I feel I am plugged in to nature; universal intelligence.

And I love the physiques of the natives. They’re lean and strong and sexy! And they have great agility. Inspires me to stay raw & do more yoga.

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Avatar In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatāra (Devanagari Sanskrit for “descent” (from heaven to earth]) refers to a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, and is mostly translated into English as “incarnation“, but more accurately as “appearance” or “manifestation.”

There’s more violence in the film than I would normally tolerate, but at least it’s for a good cause. And the animation is astounding!

The miraculous thing is that I happened to be watching the film with a friend who had a real-life experience like the one depicted in, “Avatar.” My friend Joe James (featured in my film as “Compost Joe”) was instrumental in saving the old growth rainforest of Tofino, British Columbia (Clayoquot Sound) on Vancouver Island in 1993. Joe’s girlfriend at the time was a passionate native of the land, very much like the story depicted in, “Avatar.”

She is one of the Tia-o-qui-aht people, of which there are only 500-600 remaining on the land.

More about the natives

857 people were arrested that summer in their efforts to stop the clearcutting. They were proud arrests. And it was one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in Canadian history.

More Info

The area had been slated for clearcut logging to provide materials for garden furniture, newspapers, magazines and phone books.

Clayoquot Sound is the oldest continuously-occupied land in North America. The area is home to ancient Western hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western red cedar up to 1,700 years old and 300 feet tall.

More than 10,000 people gathered to stop the logging that saved that westernmost point of the Trans-Canada highway from being leveled, at least for now. The point is that they were victorious! You can go there right now and experience intense nature! You can re-connect with our source in such a powerful way.

I was in Tofino in 2007 to screen an early version of my film, “Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw” at the Tofino Film Festival and I experienced what really felt like heaven on earth; hiking through miles of the old-growth forest to get to the phenomenal natural hot springs. Very large bears share that same wooded territory. It was scary at times, but I felt my most alive in that forest. And my prevailing feeling was one of peace.

This is Tofino…

But, I digress.

James Cameron, who backed, “Titanic,” reportedly invested $500 million in “Avatar.” And he spent the last 15 years working on the film.

The bizarre thing, considering the subject matter, is that it’s a Rupert Murdoch production. That’s FOX. Would you have expected an anti-war & pro-nature film coming from FOX? And what’s even more bizarre is that Murdoch is actually Australian. I wonder what he thinks about the Aboriginals. Isn’t it interesting that the word “original” is in their name? Shouldn’t all native people have “original” in their name? Does Murdoch enjoy the vibrational sounds of the didgeridoo?

Interesting that much of the movie is filmed in neighboring New Zealand. Hmmmm…

I’m not sure what to make of it all. Maybe it’s all about money in this dimension and there’s money in sci-fi and nobody’s all that enthusiastic about war right now. But even though this film is billed as a “sci-fi” film, it’s very much about this planet, right now. Doesn’t take much to read between those lines. You’ll understand once you’ve seen the film.

I just know that I love, “Avatar.” It resonates deeply with me. And it’s all about what I believe in my heart. It’s time for us to get back to nature. That is where true magic and our true power resides.

To your radiant health!
Jenna

Jenna Norwood

P.S. Get your very own copy of my award-winning raw food documentary, “Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw.” Viewers call the film entertaining, educational & inspiring. And film sales fund my life mission of spreading the good word about the power of getting back to nature. http://www.JennaNorwood.com

Was so glad to finally have the chance to visit a raw food restaurant in St. Pete called Leafy Greens Cafe yesterday.

Leafy Greens

Seems that most raw food restaurant owners have a great story of healing themselves on raw. And that’s what inspires them to dedicate their lives to sharing the food that saved them. Leafy Greens owner Denise healed herself of Systemic Lupus. She said she was always tired and slept most of the time. Now, she’s energetically running a busy restaurant.

The place is small and charming, with an open kitchen, so you can see just how the food is prepared.

Good thing I hadn’t fully launched myself into the juice feast, or I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the food there. Had an awesome Thai coconut soup, half an onion bread sandwich and blueberry banana ice cream. Took some chocolate-coconut macaroons home. Yum!

Yes. I stuffed myself. It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed gourmet raw food prepared by someone else. Good thing the juice feast is coming up…

Had some great conversations with the customers at the cafe. And, funny thing. An old friend walked into the restaurant for the first time whom I hadn’t seen (at least I thought) in years. Turns out she was the featured soloist at my church service on Sunday, but I didn’t recognize her there because she had cut her long hair short and I was sitting far away in the balcony. Her voice blew me away on Sunday and I had wondered who she was. It was good to get that cleared up and to reconnect with her. Listen to the gorgeous song on her site. I think her voice will blow you away, too! Jennifer is accompanied on the piano by my very talented friend, Rob Satori.

Check out Jennifer Real!

And I met a young man at the cafe who was visiting from Madison, Wisconsin who’s an English/Spanish translator. He just may be the one to translate my film to Spanish!

Magic always seems to happen at raw food restaurants. Look! I caught a rainbow in my palm : )

Can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve. It’s heartwarming to think of all the families who are together now.

Enjoy the spirit of the season!

To your radiant health!
Jenna

Jenna Norwood

P.S. Get your very own copy of my award-winning raw food documentary, “Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw.” Viewers call it entertaining, educational & inspiring. And film sales fund my life mission of spreading the good word about the power of getting back to nature. http://www.JennaNorwood.com

Fresh-squeezed orange juice this morning. Will be juicing veggies and greens later, then going to a raw restaurant, Leafy Greens, in St. Petersburg, FL for the first time. Really looking forward to trying it.

Went to a great play called, “Searching for Eden” in Sarasota with my mother last night. It’s set in the Garden of Eden and is a humorous look at Adam and Eve’s first meeting, the differences between men and women and how they finally learn to appreciate each other. Of course, there’s the disastrous apple scene and they get kicked out of Eden. The second act takes place in modern times. Adam and Eve are modern-day, busy professionals with cell phones constantly ringing. They decide to book a vacation at the place where they originally met, which is now a resort called, “E.” They’re trying to rekindle the love they first discovered there.

Turns out the back story is pretty romantic, too. The actors playing Adam and Eve are actually a married couple who met at the theater where the play is showing.

If you’re in the Sarasota area, I highly recommend checking it out! It’s at the Asolo Theatre, which is one of only three theatres in the country that has a rotating repertory. I plan to go back there soon to see the “Life of Galileo.”

Here’s more info re: “Searching for Eden.”

Searching for Eden

I’ve been searching for Eden myself, with the desire to get closer to nature. Several months ago, my search led me to a beautiful place called “Fruition” on Maui. I made the trip & navigated the harrowing road to Hanna to visit the land where the owner/permaculture farmer, Stephan Reeve (a raw foodist), has cultivated a veritable Garden of Eden with hundreds of fruit trees. He lives exclusively on what he grows and has done so for more than a decade. All the power he uses comes from the sun and his water comes from the rain. He uses bamboo for building and grows it nearby. It was absolutely heavenly there. Got some great, professional footage. I’ll be putting out the series of videos from this stunning place in early ‘10.

More about “Fruition”

I’m curious what it would be like to live in such a place. Would definitely be interested in trying it. Seems it would be wonderful to be so connected with nature. I’m sure it comes with its own challenges, but what a nice reprieve from all the hyper stimulation of our typical American culture. And such perfect food! Truly locally grown, organic and fresh, picked just before eating as you’re strolling through the garden. Mmmmmmm….

Can you imagine going back to the biblical Garden of Eden where the worst thing you could do was to eat an apple? These days, that’s one of the best things you could do! In fact, in honor of Eden, I’m going to add a juicy apple to my green juice this afternoon. That’s just naughty! Hope Santa doesn’t notice : )

To your radiant health!
Jenna

Jenna Norwood

P.S. Get your very own copy of my award-winning raw food documentary, “Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw.” Viewers call it entertaining, educational & inspiring. And film sales fund my life mission of spreading the good word about the power of getting back to nature. http://www.JennaNorwood.com