Interviews

December 20, 2012
Dr. Brian Clement Interview by Happy Oasis

Meanwhile here’s what Dr. Brian Clement, exemplary citizen, and Director of Palm Beach Florida’s Hippocrates Health Institute, has to say:

• Listen to Exemplary Happy Oasis Audio Revealing Audio Interview with Dr. Brian Clement

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November 11, 2012
Gideon & Jackie Graff of The Graff Academy Interview by Happy Oasis

Gideon and Jackie Graff, RN,  are the founders of the USA’s foremost intensive retreats focusing on the raw vegan culinary arts, raw vegan nutrition science, healthful lifestyle and business for those interested in learning how to prepare the full gamut of simple and gourmet dishes to save the life of loved one or to become a professional chef, restauranteer, author or raw vegan entrepreneur.

Happy: How did you start on your rawmarkable journey?

Gideon: We had already been vegetarian for years. Jackie was a gourmet cook. My cholesterol was too high. It almost got worse on an unhealthy, high-fat vegetarian diet.

Jackie: Meanwhile, my brother was ill and it was suggested that he go on a raw cleanse to heal. We not only watched his recovery, but also gave him company to make it easier for him. To our surprise, we immediately noticed an increase in energy and clarity in our own minds. Once we started feeling the effects of the raw food,  we started noticing the quality of the air we breathed, the importance of exercise…  We realized how human beings can acclimatize to any poison, then condition our bodies to handle it, but it does not make it good for us.

Happy: What inspired you to open up the Graff Academy?

Jackie: We always guide our lives by responding to people’s needs. For example, we started hosting dinners because people asked us to do so. Then people wanted recipes, so we wrote them out and thereby co-created a book. Then people requested that we feature our raw foods in health food stores so that they could buy them. From there we were asked when we would open a raw restaurant. Someone at our restaurant asked, “Could you teach a compact, professional Certificate Course?” So, we have been doing this since 2009.

Happy: What a wise and remarkable approach to living! It reminds me of how you two saved the day at Raw Spirit East, our 2009 summer Raw Spirit Festival in Maryland. Though our venue in a park was in mostly sunshine, sprinkles and billowy clouds, the  festival was surrounded by a low-level hurricane on all sides, and when the food therefore failed to arrive, it was time to get innovative. What do you recall about that Raw Spirit Business Dinner?

Jackie: After you enthusiastically directed us all ten minutes prior to the dinner event, everyone immediately pitched in. As you strongly suggested, our entire volunteer team went out individually and collected almost all of our dinner items, asking for whatever vendors and participants could and would donate. Within minutes, donations poured in. The guests also went with the flow. They were very patient and understanding. It was a miracle. The camaraderie was so strong that it did not matter that dinner was late and simple. Where else would one square of chocolate satisfy people’s dinner? We actually served much more than that, but until you arrived and directed us to take command, Happy, one piece of chocolate each was the only food that had shown up to be served!

• Play Jackie Andrews Video Interview

Happy: It’s fun to still laugh about it now. How is your Graff Academy unique in the field of Raw Vegan Culinary Certificate Schools?

Gideon: There are many opportunities in the raw food industry. Not only do we focus on teaching nutrition science and cuisine, we teach our students how to open a raw vegan business, and also provide ongoing consulting support after the program finishes so that our graduates can be more successful in starting or expanding a raw food-focused career as the demand for personal raw chefs continues to grow.

Jackie: Yes, our Graff Academy is unique in that we not only teach how to be a chef but also a professional businessperson. We teach how to do a consultation with a questionnaire. Due to demand, we now include 220 raw recipes from our book. Guests stay at our lakefront home. The maximum capacity of 10 people ensures a small group with plenty of opportunities for individual focus. Because we provide the meals and accommodation on site, it allows for affordability and intense focus of education six days per week for 8 to 9 hours each day. We pick people up from the airport who fly in from around the world.

Happy: Gideon and Jackie Graff attribute their healthy state to eating raw foods and invite you to their classes in Miami, FL and Roswell, GA. I highly recommend their program.

Visit their website for a complete schedule of upcoming classes. 707.634.1572 or GideonGraff@gmail.com   www.RawFoodRevival.com.

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September 28, 2012
Gangaji Interview by Happy Oasis

Thank you for being the heart’s harvest of this bountiful season! An interview yesterday afternoon with Gangaji in the garden of her simple, elegant, antique home office in Ashland, Oregon reminds us that we are the treasure and the trove. With a subtle shift of perspective, we are free in each moment to give up futile pleasures to enter the inner palace of ceaseless bliss.

Loved by millions, renowned spiritual teacher Gangaji is “one ofAmerica’s most pragmatic, homeostatic ecstatics” (according to me) in that she not only loves to effortlesslly meditate moment-to-moment, enjoying almost every aspect of creation; she also loves to run, to laugh, and to nourish her body temple with a raw vegan-friendly diet. Results?

Approaching 70, Gangaji is virtually wrinkle-free and glowing with youth. Gangaji offers a fresh message of sanity and serenity via yesterday’s intimate acoustic garden interview. Gangaji just released her new book “Hidden Treasure: Uncovering the Truth in Your Life Story.” www. Gangaji.org

• Listen to Profound Happy Oasis Intimate Audio Interview with Gangaji (Part 1)
• Listen to Giggleful Happy Oasis Intimate Audio Interview with Gangaji (Part 2)

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September 14, 2012
Dr. Anna Marie Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida Interview by Happy Oasis

Happy Oasis: What and who inspired you to become health conscious?

Dr. Anna Marie Clement: When i was 15, my mother, who had been a housewife, began to work, so my dad began to cook:  he made bacon, eggs and pancakes. After eating this for dinner every night, my brother and I did something unusual: we experimented with preparing our own salad, and that was the beginning. We could run faster, ski better, we had more energy! Because Swedish restaurants served mostly meatballs, it was my first taste of salad. We couldn’t get enough of it.

Happy: Your health education is impressive. How did it start?

Dr. Anna Marie: Thank you. After high school, intrigued with studying health, I worked with an older Danish woman who had healed her rheumatoid arthritis via a raw vegan diet. She opened a clinic in Sweden. We worked together 18 hours per day, which I thought it was normal. We had so much energy.

H: Do you still keep this up today?

Dr: I have seen many people burn themselves out, so today I work between 6 and 8 hours to enjoy a balanced life with plenty of time for my husband, three children and four grand children, who I can’t wait to talk with every day!

H: Could you offer any tips for a smooth menopause?

Dr: My menopause was easy and uneventful. In most cases, I’d recommend being very raw vegan-friendly, taking B12, enzymes and blue green algae with plenty of exercise, sleep, rest, passion, dance, live music and laughter!

H: What is some of your advanced education in the field? I understand that you are a lifelong learner.

Dr: I’m a Naturopathic Medical Doctor with a PhD in Nutrition. I’m constantly studying something. Now I am becoming certified in Weight Loss because it is an easy health door to open, especially in the USA.

H: How did you meet your husband, Brian Clement?

Dr: Ann Wigmore came to Stockholm in 1976. In ’78 Brian came with her. Along with thousands of others, I went to see her. Then Brian stood up and talked. Brian later peeked in to the kitchen, and said, “One day you will marry someone like me.”  It went in one ear and out the other. Dr. Ann Wigmore came to see our place in Sweden. Years later, In 1983, I came to Boston to study with Ann. Brian was there, and the rest is history.

H: What are your secrets for health, wealth and happiness?

Dr: Having a family, partner, friends. Incredible relationship with my husband. We just finished the book Seven Keys To Lifelong Sexual Vitality. We love writing books together.

H: Why is an active sexual life important?

Dr: It brings electricity to every cell in our body. Plus, it’s  nourishing, helps us connect, to be balanced, to be rooted; it aids the nervous system, vascular system, and positively stimulates our hormones. Orgasm is a big part of life. The sexiest guys out there are vegetarians. It is very sexy to be vegan.

H: Tell us about your recent book, Killer Clothes.

Dr: There are many issues with fabrics and fittings.

Happy: For example?

Dr: It’s important to know the damage that a bra does if it has a metal underwire and contains petroleum products. A bra should leave no marks when we take it off. As a solution, we hope to produce organic-cotton, wireless bras.

H: What is your role at Hippocrates Institute?

Dr: Counseling and inspiring people to and guiding them through the transformation. Our program is a three week program. By the third week, people are smiling. I like to encourage them by saying, “See what you’ve done in just three weeks! Imagine what you are going to do!” More than 85% of guests return. It is family. I don’t know how many thousands are part of our Hippocrates family.

H: What do you eat? Which foods energize you most?

Dr: I have to have my 2 ounces of wheatgrass and 16 ounces of green drink filled with sprouts every morning. Thankfully, these days wheatgrass is found in many restaurants around the country. I eat two green salads daily:  fenugreek, broccoli, clover, lettuce, avocados, nuts seeds hemp seeds chia seeds, sesame seeds. Our family is about 80 percent raw. Some days, we also eat quinoa, beans, sprouted and cooked. Only about 15 percent of the diet consists of fruit because overeating fruits can cause multiple illnesses.

H: I understand that you frequently travel around the world

Dr: Yes. We are open to going anywhere! We have recently enjoyed offering programs in Europe, Brazil and Israel. Of course, it’s wonderful connecting with people all over the USA!

H: Do you have a retreat happening in California sometime soon?

Dr: Yes we do. There are two weeks in Napa Valley, CA at the beautiful Mayacamas Ranch, Oct 21 – 27 and Oct 28 – Nov 3rd. Viktoras Kulvinskas and other prominent innovative research doctors will also present.

H: Could you offer any solutions for the transitions happening in America today?

Dr: The more that people take responsibility for our own health and the environment, the better. To transmute industries that uses animals as factory animals, the more we can explain the importance and ease of eating organic raw-friendly vegan to children, the better off we are. Also, considering the economic changes, raw vegan foods can be very affordable, even more affordable than others. We can grow our own sprouts, and go to farmers markets and CSAs that have sprouted up around the country. Another easy way to save is to remember that those who eat less, but eat quality, live longer than those who overeat. We can keep learning how we can improve our health and diet. We need not be intimidated with ads on tv. Instead, we can pick up good books that can lead us toward ever greater health and wisdom.

Happy: Anna Marie, you have a very blessed lifestyle. I can feel your joy and exuberance in your voice and your giggles throughout this interview! What else is inspiring you these days?

Dr. Anna Marie Clement:  I just started Ladies Night. We share what we are doing at Hippocrates Institute, opening up conversations that inspire people to get healthier and happier. Also, Brian and I enjoy an incredible life with our family and work.  It’s really not work; it’s a gift. Please come visit us soon at www.HippocratesInst.org

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September 9, 2012

Octogenarian Dr. David Carmos Interview by Happy Oasis

Dr. David Carmos is the author of 15 books on health and happiness, yogi for sixty years, vegan/raw vegan for fifty. 

Happy: David, How are you this morning?

Dr. David Carmos: Wonderful! Because I woke up! I’m still alive and got out of bed! (He giggles.)

Happy: I like your gladitude. As Essene Bishops, what inspired you and Dr. Shawn Miller to co-create the upcoming “Essene Revival” event in L.A. next weekend, Sept 29 – 30th?

Dr. David Carmos: To rekindle and expound upon the longevity traditions of the ancient Essenes as re-discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls and promulgated via the Essene Gospels of Peace by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely.

Happy: Longevity traditions? Such as?

Dr. Carmos: Vegetarianism, herbal medicine, and equality of the genders for starters. At the time of Christ, the average lifespan in the middle east was 36 years. However, the Essenes’ lifespans averaged over 110 years.

H: You obviously embody these principles in your daily life. You are so fit and flexible. What else do you do that augments your health?

Dr. Carmos: I eat only one meal per day, usually in the late afternoon. And, I exercise vigorously, including usually three hours at the gym most mornings.

H: You also never stop joking or laughing. Not bad for an 80 year youngster! …Your Essene Revival features quite a powerful line up.

Dr. Carmos: Indeed. David Wolfe, Patricia Bragg, Dr. Jameth Sheridan, and a happening panel of powerful women, including you, Happy!

H: I’ll be there via special video shot live from PranaFest the same weekend in Ashland, Oregon. Is it true that some people may be ordained on site.

Dr. Carmos: Yes, it’s a great and rare opportunity. This is our first festival of its kind. We will gather at the Philosophical Society’s Research Library of Los Angeles.

H: A most intriguing location! I fondly remember speaking there at David Wolfe’s first “Best Weekend Ever” Event, between Dr. Fred Bell and Dr. Patrick Flanagan. Your Essene Revival is going to be a history-making occasion and I feel honored to be a part of it!

Check it out at www.EsseneRevival.com

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September 7, 2012
Mind-Boggling Video Interview with Legendary Dr. Richard Anderson by Happy Oasis

Four-Part Video Interview with the Legendary Dr. Richard Anderson, author of the health classic Cleanse & Purify Yourself and founder of the Rise & Shine cleanse. This is one of Richard’s first interviews after 12 years in research and blissful seclusion that I call ‘solitary refinement.’

• Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4

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August 31, 2012
The Doctor of Delight, Dr. Elizabeth Interview by Happy Oasis

Happy: Dr. Elizabeth, What’s the bliss?

Dr. Elizabeth: I’m completing my first book, Skinnydipping In The Fountain of Youth: Seven Keys to Eternal Radiance.

H: What a fantastic title. I’m inspired to read it already. When will it be finished?

Dr. E: It will be finished, as you love to say, in “PDT”, Perfect Divine Timing.

H: Dr. Elizabeth, you live up to your exuberant book title. I’m wondering why you are so dang energized and so incredibly beautiful? Have you ever fasted?

Dr. E: Yes, after doing the first juice fast, it was as if I had plugged myself into a light socket. My cells get so excited to receive such food in this way.

H: Which foods are you referring to that give you the greatest strength?

Dr. E: I’ve been on 100% living foods for years. Fruits and vegetables.

H: Besides strength, joy, health and beauty, what else does dining on fruits and vegetables do for you?

Dr. E: Living foods burst my pineal gland wide open. It helped me to remember my inherent intuition. I’m a second generation medical intuitive. I can now help guide people. My father is very third dimensional, rooted in religion, and a phenomenal diagnostic physician. Due to his keen perceptions, I asked him not so long ago if he uses a power greater than himself. “Do you use your intuition?”, I asked. He answered, “I always get a hunch.”

H: What else have you learned from your father?

Dr. E: That if challenges arise with family members, we can remember to ask, “What is the gift in this relationship?”

H: What are your healthiest habits?

Dr. E: Being willing to be open to the possibility of saying “Yes” when I’ve previously been saying “No”; living from the heart, and dancing. I started dancing at age 40. I started interviewing people who have done extraordinary things. When I turned 50, I was told I would be a circuit speaker within 6 months. And I was! Part of my mission is to demonstrate that a woman can be more beautiful in her 50s than she ever has been in her life. There are a zillion expressions of beauty. The question is, is she in her joy? Any woman who is in her joy is absolutely radiant and also absolutely undeniable. I love boogie boarding and swimming in the ocean. I love to see how much stronger I can be today than yesterday. I am going to dance rehearsal tonight with women who are half of my age. I love being on stage because I know that the Universe expresses its love and joy through me. It is about shifting our choices from fear to love. I rely on joy and also on service. If i can inspire and remind people to do whatever they love, that is delicious to me. We can all ask, “How much younger, stronger, kinder, deeper, more loving, more radiant, more beautiful can I express today?”

H: Wow. Inspiring.

Dr. E: It’s so much fun realizing that we have the capacity to get better every day.

H: What is your observation of what is happening in America these days and do you have any suggestions?

Dr. E: I am going to the place that is health and wellness. I am observing people committing to jobs they don’t’ love, and lives they don’t love by watching tv, eating dead (cooked) foods, and consuming pharmaceuticals. I would love to see everyone opening up to what gift that each would love to give to the world. I suggest that each of us move forward with our heart, just doing what we love. If everyone chooses to live and lead with lovingkindness, compassion and joy, together we can create heaven on Earth.

HO: I can hear the angels applauding.

Dr. E: I was so inspired being part of the Wise Wild Women’s Panel at Raw Spirit Fest this last New Year’s in Phoenix, Arizona. Happy, let’s have a Wise Wild Women’s Panel soon on the Dr. Elizabeth show!

Contact: Speaker@DrElizabeth.com • Call: 310.383.8764 • Website: www.DrElizabeth.com

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August 17, 2012
Interview with The Spark Called Katharine Clark by Happy Oasis

Born the Middle East (Indiana), highly-entertaining and well-informed, Katharine Clark is not only a gourmet raw chef with 25 years of innovative recipes, but also also a professor of algae, a cosmopolitan traveler, and fascinating encyclopedia of health and nutrition with whimsical twists for fun, love and adventure.

Katharine recently completed two years as the Health Education Director at the Hipppocrates Health Institute in Florida. In July, Dr. Gabriel Cousens invited Katharine to speak as the sole female presenter at the Elders Conference at the Tree of Life. It’s easy to imagine that dynamic Katharine could be an even more famous circuit speaker. Perhaps she is too free-spirited and too humble to take such ambitions seriously?

H: Katharine, What’s inspiring you these days?

K: How many new and young raw fooders there are! A growing number of bloggers are not so knowledgeable, jumping on and off a healthy diet, but are very popular – which is amazing.

H: Perhaps because they are ridiculously honest?

K: Yes.

H: Katharine, What lights up your life?

K: Nature. Friends.

Katharine and I shared stories of the heart about our treasured friendships with many raw leaders including Dr. Gabriel Cousens, David Wolfe, and Viktoras Kulvinskas – the original presenters at the first Raw Spirit Festival back in May of 2005. As we spoke about the unfolding of relationships, we call now on all Raw Spirit leaders to lead by example regarding honoring differing perspectives, arousing the compassion that begets forgiveness, dignified respect, and unconditional lovingkindness. After all, We Are One LovIng Being expressing its magnificence in so many marvel-us ways. We are Godus. We talked about the joys and challenges of creating community event, when Katharine surprised me.

K: The greatest thing about Raw Spirit Festival was that all the leaders were there. Raw Spirit was the first and only event that brought everyone from around the world together.

H: Interesting. Viktoras Kulvinskas and Gabriel Cousens, who have been the Raw Movement for decades, told me the same thing. Dozens of Raw Spirit leaders have asked me how the apparently-miraculous Raw Spirit gatherings happened year after year. Behind the scenes, as you know, Katharine, that I realized the only way I could pull it off was by the spiritual practice of radiating love while eating one’s ego. I learned this while living at ashrams and at a particular Buddhist monastery in Thailand on and off for many years. With love filling my heart I consciously took responsibility and expressed my sorrow again and again for wrongs that I did not commit, and acted as a mediator between countless opposing parties. Thereby I willingly became a door mat, and eventually became the Raw Spirit Movement’s most popular scapegoat. What an honor! (giggle) in order to bring us all together in relative peace and loving harmony to actualize the miraculous with ‘education inspiration and celebration’.

Katharine shared how she founded and managed smaller events. After just a short while, she said she was disrespected by the entire group of about 100 participants who, unaware of the expenses, inaccurately imagined that she was raking in too much money. The next year Katharine wisely handed over the reins to the group to discover the challenges of event management for itself. Without Katharine’s guidance and highly-energetic focus, the group failed. Spectacularly.

For decades I’ve wondered, Why is it that in Asia the ashrams, monasteries and even businesses often succeed for centuries? The followers respect the wisdom of the leaders. Here the youth and uniformed are sometimes less humble, respectful, or ready to help make things better. Instead it’s vogue among some to complain and disdain without understanding. This attitude may be harming America more than any other factor. The leaders who are doing their best in all fields often lack support, so many of the best businesses are now on cosmic vacation.

H: After you leave summer Ashland, Oregon, what’s next, my friend?

K: I love to live in summer around the year. My life is very open.

H: Your life always seems open. That’s one of many reasons why I love you!

K: This autumn I’ll be on a speaking tour of the East Coast.

H: Speaking about…?

K: “How Raw & Living Food Can Put You In The Mood!”

H: Any hints for how the readers can increase libido?

K: Durians. Figs contain seeds like little ovaries. Eating nuts increases libido, especially for men.

H: Men have nuts. They need to feed them.

K: Exactly. (giggle) For vitality, greens and sprouts.

H: A large bunch of parsley blended with water is apparently a great Viagra substitute. Katharine, you are so vibrant yourself. What are you eating for breakfast these days?

K: Chia and nutmilk, sometimes fermented like yogurt with local blackberries or other sub-acid fruits. Blackberry smoothies. Herbal teas with super blue green algae.

Since we both prefer summerlike weather we shared a few ideas of where we might meet in the tropics this winter. That Katharine has enjoyed ample sunshine in her life is evident in the warmth of her smile and sunlike sparkle in her eyes. If you’d like to book Katharine to present at your conferences health spa, yoga studio, home event, etc, call 808.280.8414 or healthworkshi@gmail.com