Joy For Life Retreat

The Joy for Life Retreat is a unique chance to nourish and rejuvenate your health while embracing the opportunity for self realisation. It is organised by the Raw Family (Victoria, Sergei and Valya Boutenko) and Tom Compton. The Boutenko family teach participants about the nutritional value of leafy greens and wild edibles, exercise and general good health, while Tom facilitates "The Work" of Byron Katie, which enables participants to banish any negative emotions through asking ourselves four simple questions.

It is a week long reawakening of our true potential through eating green smoothies and organic fruits, participating in yoga, barefoot running, The Work and informative lectures, demonstrations and documentaries, all in a beautiful natural setting. These retreats are held in different locations around the globe and several times per year.

As I had offered to help out with the retreat in any way possible, my first task was to meet the first plane load of guests who were coming from all over Australia at 10am and take whoever could not fit into the mini bus to the retreat. After doing this and settling into the place, it was in the car and back to the airport to meet the 2pm flight. Upon arrival back at the retreat, I helped to rearrange some rooms, then settled into my own room before orientation with Victoria.

Here I learned that the green smoothies for the week were going to start out with 70% fruit and 30% greens, gradually increasing in greens each day until they were 30% fruit and 70% greens.
We also had our first session of 'The Work' on the first day which was an introduction to it by Tom along with a documentary about Byron Katie and 'The Work'. This was followed by a green smoothie pudding and then we all went off to bed and got to know our room mates.

Key points from the day.

Victoria:
- Greens are the only living thing that can turn sunshine into energy!
- People who eat lots of carbs always have elevated blood sugar levels.

Tom:
- Tom got us really thinking about whether or not it is actually possible to waste time!

This was our first full day and set the routine for pretty much the rest of the week. The day started out with barefoot running with Sergei around the grassy sporting fields at the retreat. This was an elevated position which gave awesome views of the sun rising over the nearby mountains each morning. A fantastic way to start the day. I struggled with the running initially as I had not run purely for exercise for many years! Each running session started and ended with stretches and included a few laps and then some skipping, handstands and cartwheels.

This was followed up by yoga with Valya at 6.30 for an hour, which was the perfect thing to do after running out in the wet muddy fields. I felt that the yoga each morning both relaxed me and gave me energy to get through the day.

After a shower and the breakfast smoothie, it was our first regular 9am three hour Work session with Tom. We each had to start working on issues that bothered us during this session.

Midday was our lunch smoothie. Meal times were also a great chance to socialise with the other guests and get to know one another. This was followed by a 1pm lecture from Victoria.

We had our dinner smoothie at 4pm each day. Today during dinner we also were given some information on Coffee Enemas. Those who chose to participate in the coffee enemas during the week, were also given their kits. I chose not to do them at this stage until I learned more about them. Dinner was followed by another Work session with Tom at 5pm. At 7pm each night, we had our green smoothie pudding which were thickened by psyllium husks or chia seeds and eaten with a spoon. At 7.30pm we all bundled into the conference room for our nightly documentary. Tonight the film was "Healing Cancer From The Inside Out" We bundled ourselves off to bed after this.

Key points from the day.

Victoria:
- There are 3Trillion types of micro-organisms which turn organic matter into nutrients.
180 years ago processed foods were born. Degenerative diseases then started to become common in people.
- Preservatives are designed to kill bacteria. They allow food to last longer, but also kill the good bacteria that we need for good health.
- Vitamin 'K' is only found in greens (plus a tiny amount in animals who live solely on greens) and is vital for cartilage development.
- Victoria's recent research into Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids suggests that we should be eating around 50/50 of each, but most people are eating 80% Omega 6's compared to only 20% of Omega 3's. Omega 3's help to fight depression, obesity and more. This research has been added into an extra chapter in the Green For Life book.

Tom:
- There a 3 kinds of business: Mine, Yours and "The Universe". Always be aware of who's business you are in when thinking negative thoughts.
- 'The Work' has the potential to end wars!
- If the universe is friendly, then how is it this problem I am facing is a good thing? (Meditate on that thought)

Monday started out the same way as Sunday, but the ground was a little wetter for the barefoot running and the yoga started 15 minutes later due to most of runners coming in late ¼ way through the yoga on the first day. After breakfast we had our morning Work session with Tom and I chose to help out doing the dishes until it was requested by Tom that I attend immediately as this was a special session.
It was a very powerful session that at times got rather emotional, but it was one that opened us all up to how we think and how others think of us. It was incredible stuff! What I personally got out of this session was a realisation that my issues that I have were pretty much the same as most of the others. I think it helped most of us to accept that our feelings are normal. Most people seemed a lot happier and lighter after this session.

After lunch we had a lecture with Sergei on wild edible greens. In other words, weeds that we can eat. Not only are these highly nutritious, but they are plentiful and free! After Sergei's talk, we had some free time, so many of us set off in different directions around the property. I grabbed my Ipod and set of on some great grassy trails that had been mowed through the grass and weeds. Their were amazing views of the surrounding mountains from every angle. I was constantly reaching for my phone to take more photos as around each corner was another amazing photo worthy vista.

The evening Work session with Tom was a follow on from the morning session.

During our evening green pudding, two diabetics shared that their blood sugar levels were balancing out through the eating of green smoothies and one of them had even stopped her medication altogether! These were just the start of many wonderful health improvement stories that we heard during the week from participants.

In the evening we watched another documentary on Byron Katie and 'The Work'.

Key points from the day.
Sergei:

- Only eat what makes you feel good. Introduce one edible weed at a time into your diet in small quantities at first. After you know that you are fine with that weed, then raise the levels and see how it goes. If that goes well, repeat the process with other wild edibles.
- Wild edibles benefits: Free; Longer roots for healthier crops; Do not need watering; More food diversity; Eating locally and you get fresh air and exercise while hunting for them.
- Dandelions are great for diabetics and liver cleansing. Their flowers are a good source of Vitamin D and there are no poisonous lookalikes.
- Purslane is high in Omega 3's.

The previous two mornings I had woken up well before my alarm and was raring to go by the time the alarm went off for running. This morning however, I was woken by my alarm and felt sluggish during the run. It was a real struggle for me to keep up with the other guys. It was also a lot wetter this morning than before. I got used to running through the mud though and enjoyed it thoroughly by the end of the week.

After our breakfast this morning, we had a one hour lecture with Victoria which was full of interesting facts as usual. She is such a wealth of knowledge and knows how to keep the crowd interested and yearning for more!

At 10am, we readied ourselves excitedly like school children for the bus excursion to Tropical Fruit World. At 10.30am the bus left on the one hour trip to the plantation, where we had a fruit feast on arrival. This was followed by a tractor tour of the property which included more fruit tasting, visiting the animal farm as well as a boat and train ride around an island at the bottom of the farm. We then went back to the top of the hill for a presentation on the history of Tropical Fruit World and some of the fruits. This also included more fruit tasting. YUM!

Feeling satisfied from all the fruit and extremely happy despite the rain that came down most of the day, we boarded the bus for the trip back to the retreat. We arrived just in time for the evening smoothie at 4pm. The dinner smoothies were all savoury smoothies and this one was delicious with garlic, ginger and lemon juice giving it a nice kick.

The evening saw our first Work session with Tom for the day. This was another interesting session which made a lot of people realise that they were worrying about other people too much. One of the key points from this was "Why do we worry about those things and people that we do not have the power to change?"

The documentary for the night was an awesome film called "The Beautiful Truth" about a young man who sets out on a journey to find the truth about cancer and Gerson Therapy.

Key points from the day.

Victoria
- Pain is good because it allows you to realise that your body needs to heal and repair itself. Always trust that the body knows what it is doing.
- Parasites cannot be killed by chemicals as they quickly adapt to them. A strong immune system is the best way to control parasites.
- People can be too clean. If someone is fanatical about a clean house and used chemical disinfectants regularly, then they would also be missing out on good bacteria.
- Children can develop allergies if they are not exposed to bacteria in soil when they are young.
- The body will always try to get back to a PH of 7.2. The most acidic substance to the human body is alcohol, followed by processed sugar, coffee, chocolate and medications.
- Happy experiences cause alkalinity in the body, while stress causes the body to become acidic.
- Hormones are the most important part of the body as they are in charge of controlling everything else.

Tom:
- People hear the words "should" and "shouldn't" and feel dysfunctional.
- When we are confused, our love comes out backwards!

I woke up extremely early at around 3am and could not get back to sleep. I got up and went to the toilet and had my first real bowel movement since the start of the retreat, which might have been due to the added fruit from Tuesday's visit to Tropical Fruit World. (sorry about the details...blush)

I could not get back to sleep and felt really tired so I decided to give the barefoot running a miss and just do yoga instead. I was able to do much better with my yoga after not running. At breakfast many shared their health success stories so far. There were skin issues that had cleared during the week, M.S symptoms which had disappeared, regular pains that were gone and also many were feeling better about their mental stresses.

The morning session with Tom was another powerful emotionally charged session with lots of people sharing personal things that they had never shared with anyone else before. There was lots of loving afterward for those who shared their secrets and those who did share, said that they felt so much lighter and more free after they had shared their stories.

After lunch we stayed in the eating area beside the kitchen as Valya demonstrated making green smoothies. She made a sweet beginner green smoothie which is great for introducing people to the concept and followed up with a more savoury smoothie/soup and then a dessert green smoothie. This was followed by Anand showing us how to open young coconuts that have come directly from the tree.

We had another lecture with Victoria after that which was more great information along with a bit of inspiration as she began to share how they had left the material world behind and accepted that they would always have everything they need. She had us do an exercise where we asked ourselves:
What do I really want?
What do I need to do in order to get this?
Who, or what is in the way of me getting this?
Describe myself and my life 5 years after I achieve this and then again at 10 years. This was a bit of homework for us to take away with us.

The evening Work session with Tom was a follow up on the session from the morning. I think what most people got out of these sessions was a feeling of being lighter and more powerful after they had shared their most intimate secrets to a room full of understanding and caring people. It made me personally realise that my problems in life are not as bad as some others and that we all carry some sort of burden. No matter how successful, popular, or happy a person appears, most do have issues that weigh them down. It was uplifting knowing that I am not alone.

After our regular green smoothie pudding at 7pm, it was documentary time again and tonight's was on the AIDS hoax. It was called "House Of Numbers" and was an interesting account of how AIDS evolved over the years as a scare campaign and how the testing is not really accurate.

Key points from the day.

Victoria:
- Gaining Vitamin D from the sun is like charging our mobile phones. We need to do it daily or at least every couple of days, or we will go flat.

Tom:
- Do not try to get your children to agree whether or not a particular food is healthy. Tell them. This is what we have! Are you hungry yet?

I woke at around 5am on day 6 full of energy. I read my book for 45 minutes until my alarm went off and then bounded out of bed ready for the morning's barefoot running. I found the running really easy today, perhaps it was due to having a rest from t the day before, or perhaps I was feeling more alive and energetic after 5 days of nothing but greens and fruit. The ground was really muddy this morning as we had been getting a fair bit of rain, but despite that, we ended up doing an extra lap of the fields this morning and I could have done more, I felt that good. Yoga also went well.

After the morning smoothie we all gathered around to sing a happy birthday song to two of the participants who were celebrating their birthdays during the retreat. We also formed a big circle and sung an American Indian love song which was a really uplifting experience. There was also more sharing of positive health changes during the week. Although some people had experienced some detox symptoms during the week, most people were feeling much better than normal on the green smoothies and fruit diet at the retreat.

The morning session with Tom was as life changing as usual, with more follow up work from the previous day, before moving onto something else. After lunch Sergei did a demonstration of some edible weeds that he had collected and labeled for us. We then followed Sergei on a bit of a walk where he showed us how to eat grass and how to harvest Cat Tail, which grows along waterways such as dams and ponds. Yes, Sergei did go for a swim in order to demonstrate this for us!

At 2pm, we were back in the conference room for our final lecture with Victoria. Today she talked more in depth about her life story and how she has always looked at life as one of abundance where material possessions are meaningless and easy to come by. Every problem that she faced always found a quick solution as the universe was always willing to provide.

The final evening documentary that we watched was called "Killer At Large" which was about obesity in the USA. The most shocking part of this film for me and many in the room was a 12 year old girl who undertook liposuction surgery with the support of her parents. Instead of addressing the real issue which was her eating habits, they opted for surgery which was initially successful in making her thin and happy, but....you can guess the rest! It is definitely worth watching.

Key points from the day.

Sergei:
- Daisies are part of the sunflower family and all sunflowers are edible. (including every part of the plants)
- All mint has a square stem
- Start slowly introducing new plants into your diet. Break off a little piece of leaf and place it under your tongue first to see if there is any reaction.

Tom:
- The coin of the realm is suffering. That is how we pay for everything.
- Do you want to be free, or do you want to be right?

The final day had come around so fast and I awoke full of energy ready to be going home to my family, but also sad to be leaving my new friends and the amazing beauty of the retreat. The morning run was every bit as easy as the day before and I finished off full of confidence that I could continue this barefoot running protocol once I returned home. The above photo is of the final day's running group after we had finished.

During breakfast a couple of people performed songs that they had written during the week about their experiences. These were amazing, touching and humorous songs that had us all smiling as we finished our last green smoothie at the retreat. After breakfast we gathered for a group photo on the grass and finished packing all of our belongings out of our rooms and into our cars.

The last session for the retreat was a 2 hour session with Tom starting at 9.30am. This was focused on what we had learned during the week and how we could apply what we had learned into our daily lives.

We then had a farewell feast of mainly fruit which lasted until all the food was gone and everyone had slowly drifted off after saying their goodbyes. This was great for me personally as my wife Jennie had turned up to say hello to everyone and had brought our children along too. It was so good to see them all. I then drove a car load of people back to the airport for their flights home, before heading off to the raw food cafe on the Gold Coast, "From Earth And Water". This turned into another farewell feast as quite a few of us locals from the retreat plus some others flying home the following day, met up there to keep the retreat going as long as we possibly could.

Finally I returned home, satisfied, rejuvenated, and feeling more carefree than I have for years. The Australian Joy For Life Retreat is booked again for Easter 2012 at the same venue, so stay tuned, start saving now and I might see you there!

Thanks Everyone
I have to give a big thanks to Victoria Boutenko and Tom Compton for their passion that drives them to help people through running these retreats. They could not run them without the support and passion of Sergei and Valya Boutenko either. They were amazing also all week long. Also a big thanks has to go out to Anand and Runi from Raw Power who did an amazing job finding the retreat and helping to make it all come together.

I cannot give out thanks without mentioning the wonderful Ines. Ines Compton is Tom's wife and she was definitely a highlight of the retreat for many of us. She tirelessly worked all week long, from organising the rooms on the first day, to cleaning up after us all week long and sharing her story of her own remarkable health turn around. She was a smiling happy face that was always there to cheer us up. Thanks you so much Ines.

My appreciation also goes out to those who attended this retreat and who also made it the special week that it was by opening their hearts to all. Without all you incredible people, it would not have been as amazing. :-)